In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Saturday, August 29, 2026
ANNALS OF TRUMPI$TAN: Trump administration considering deal to give up part of Yosemite National Park. (Jake Spring, WaPo, August 28, 2026)
Lanny Davis, 2014
Know Your Developer Mouthpieces: The dodgy developer's louche lawyer is LANNY JESSE DAVIS, Washington, D.C. fixer, lobbyist, and former counsel to former President WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON.
From The Washington Post:
Trump administration considering deal to give up part of Yosemite National Park
The National Park Service is looking into a land exchange that would give a small portion of Yosemite to a private developer.
The Trump administration is considering a deal that would give a small part of Yosemite National Park in California to a Nevada-based private developer, which is seeking to build a road to gaindirect access to the park, according to park advocates and a representative of the company involved.
Under the potential deal, according to the National Parks Conservation Association and others, the federal government would exchange land that is part of Yosemite for property that directly borders the park held by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real estate investor. Yosemite is the fifth-most-visited national park, and is renowned for its mountains and waterfalls.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer representing Kingsbarn, said the company plans to build “single-family upscale, private homes” on the parcel next to Yosemite.
He confirmed that Kingsbarn has been discussing a potential land exchange with the Interior Department for more than a year, with property of equal value being swapped. The deal would allow for residents of the development to make an 11-mile drive to the park, rather than taking a longer 28-mile route, Davis said.
“We went to the Department of Interior to make the environmental argument, that it’s better to have people make the direct drive to the entrance or exit than to do the roundabout route,” he said.
Aubrie Spady, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, said in a statement that “no final decisions have been made.”
“If a proposal advances, the Department will follow established procedures to ensure appropriate coordination, transparency and public involvement consistent with federal law,” Spady said.
She said that claims that it is secretly working on a deal to hand over National Park Service land to a private developer are false, and that there has been no political pressure to reach a certain outcome. Spady blamed “anonymous allegations to manufacture a political narrative that simply is not true.”
Kingsbarn’s website says it has over $2.8 billion in assets under management with 330 properties around the United States.
“This shady dealing involving Yosemite is incredibly disturbing,” said Neal Desai, a senior director for the Pacific region for the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group. Desai said the group separately verified with people with direct knowledge of the matter that the exchange is under consideration.
“The National Park Service, they need to get back to prioritizing conservation, not participating in an open-air market where they’re just selling away Yosemite to the highest bidder.”
NOTUS first reported Friday that the land exchange is under consideration.
There is a long history of trying to develop the property currently held by Kingsbarn. A previous owner of the property, an undeveloped area on the western edge of the park, had attempted to build there and gain road access more than a decade ago, an effort that was ultimately blocked in court, Desai said.
Davis, the Kingsbarn lawyer, said a land exchange would avoid these past legal obstacles.
“Under regulations, the Park Service is able to exchange land of equal or greater value as long as it’s otherwise environmentally sound,” he said.
Davis, who previously served as a lawyer in the Clinton White House, said the deal had no connection to President Donald Trump.
Desai saiddeveloping the land would cause environmental destruction that runs counter to the National Park Service’s mission.
“They need to be prioritizing conservation, not helping to bulldoze land, cut down towering trees and construct a luxury development that’s going to harm Yosemite,” Desai said.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment