Doolittle (CA-04) Fearlessly Protects Superwealthy at Lake Tahoe

The Sacramento Bee reported this morning that Republican Congressman John Doolittle (CA-04) has taken some time out from defending himself against accusations of financial missteps related to Jack Abramoff, see also November 2005 diary by Mrs. Pastor, to reserve 770 acres of land at Lake Tahoe for 23 "estate-sized lots for the superwealthy."  

The Bee reports that the United States Forest Service has been negotiating with the owner of the Homewood Ski Resort who owns the land to buy the property and allow the resort to go on operating.  Doolittle, apparently irked that he wasn't consulted enough, and understandably worried that there are not enough "very exclusive lakeview estates" at Lake Tahoe, scuttled Forest Service purchase plans with a last-minute one-sentence prohibition in the 2007 Department of the Interior spending bill.  His ostensible reason?  The federal government has too much land already, and can't manage it.  (Of course, one major reason for problems in managing public property might be inadequate funding caused by diversions to reckless wars and massive tax cuts for the mega-rich.)  Federal sources quoted in the article point to the recreational value of the land, and the dangers of increased pollution if development goes forward.  Charlie Brown
Doolittle's leading Democratic challenger would be a better choice for Lake Tahoe and California.