Daryl Hannah sitting in a tree, P-R-O-T-E-S-T-I-N-G

Daryl Hannah was arrested with about 40 other farmers and protesters at an urban garden in Los Angeles. Daryl had spent more than 23 days sitting in a walnut tree to protest the destruction of a 14-acre garden used by over 350 different individuals in an area surrounded by railroad tracks and warehouses. This particular horticultural horror has drawn the attention of perennial concerned Danny Glover, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson and infamous tree-sitter Julia Hill.

Horowitz noted that the farmers were squatting on land zoned for warehouses and factories. The landowner said in a telephone interview that he was paying $25,000 to $30,000 a month in mortgage and other land costs.

While I think every urban setting should have adequate green space - and that cities are obligated plan it into their futures - I'm not sure that private citizens should have to just hand over the land they own because it's already being used. One one hand, these farmers and gardeners are nothing more than squatters. But, on the other hand, if you have invested over a decade in something and have businesses and livelihoods that depend on it... you should fight for it.

Zoning doesn't mean anything where I live, everyone and their dog is grandfathered in to the laws. Maybe the city should have a land "exchange" program for rich land owners (that obviously hate flowers, trees and their vegetables!) to trade their "green space" with empty strip malls that litter every other intersection. Then everybody could be happy.

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