Urban Renewal

[Holister]

Cancelled; thank you for your time.

[Lord Z]

You've got my interest, Big H. What's the angle?

[Holister]

*****

[Jefffar]

Interesting, there's a certain board member who owns a fairly profitable business located in the area known as Blight . . .

[Holister]

*****

[Jefffar]

Thinking on this one, I'm not sure it will work out like you think.

What makes the Blight the Blight is the fact that nobody really cares about what's going on out there. That apathy has allowed predators of all kinds to move in and pick off those who nobody will miss.

If there is a major development in the middle of the Blight, that will bring attention to the region. With that attention will come more development, more people will move into the Blight. People will start taking care of the place. Streetlights will get fixed, police will patrol, the transients who the monsters feed upon will move away.

In short, the development will finally destroy the Blight, not create a safety zone for monsters. They will be forced to look elsewhere.

Which I can see a certain local business owner being in favour of (he'll still try to get a reasonable relocation fee for his business of course, he does have a loyal clientèle he wants to continue to serve).

Oh and he'd appreciate it if people living in a certain property in Montana found themselves having to deal with the real world instead of hiding from it. He'd be extra happy if a certain expanse of forest got torn up in the process.

[Holister]

*****

[Jefffar]

Just saying it's not going to work out the way you expect.

Even if these guys are slime-balls, their very presence will put an end to the Blight.

[Holister]

*****

[Holister]

*****

[Cybermancer]

We'll just call Joe the Demolition Man!

And give him lots of nuclear bullets to do it all with.

[Cybermancer]

Like some giant native burial ground?

An ancient Atlantean colony?

An ancient mass grave of angels from before the time man walked the earth?

All of thee above?

[Jefffar]

The Blight is what happens when people stop caring. Many large cities have a Blight. In some cities it threatens to engulf the whole city, in others it's just that part of town that the nice people avoid.

The Blight is a physical result of a collective indifference to the suffering of others.

[Holister]

*****

[Jefffar]

Or perhaps the Blight was there first. Ron admits he's been drawn to the city for a task . . . though he also indicates he feels that task was taken care of when he, Willie and Shadow dealt with Payopas and her cronies in 2008.

[Holister]

*****

[Cybermancer]

I'll be honest. I have some reservations about this plan so I'm just going to toss them out there for you to mull over.

First, from what you've discussed or at least what I've understood, the bad guys are going to buy up 8 blocks of land in the blight. Then they're going to basically level it all and then begin some urban development, yes? And within that development area, there will be a so called 'safe zone' for the supernatural.

I see a number of problems for the bad guys in this scenerio. First of all, it bottles them all up in one, much smaller area. Sort of like a supernatural roach motel. Just add firepower.

Secondly, the development of one part of the Blight is going to encourage development in other parts of the Blight. Companies other than CK international and with no relationship with CK international are going to want to exploit the oppurtunity being created. Buy up cheap land and develop it with the help of the same government programs that CK international used. This will mean a return of police patrols and attention paid by outsiders to the area. Things the supernatural don't generally want.

Those who own homes in the Blight will profit and move to better neighborhoods. The homeless will be pushed out to other neighborhoods, recreating the blight elsewhere.

When all is said and done, you'll have 8 blocks of supernatural nasties pent up in a small area where they can't leave without being scrutinized by Joe Average. And big business. And the government. They'll follow their prey like migrational hunters to where ever the new blight appears.

All in all, it's a win-win for the good guys, a lose-lose for the bad guys and all the good guys have to do is sit back and let it happen.

There is another issue.

There really isn't all that many hunters in the blight. There was a recent spike to help Hannah try and nab Khavik but everyone is splitting up and going their own ways now. Based on conversations with Slayer, I know he has his own reasons for being in DC at the moment which will soon be revealed. But those reasons won't be keeping him there, it's a jumping off point. There's Ron and Hannah of course but Hannah will be going to college in the fall and it's already been indicated on the boards that they plan to move to an undisclosed location. Nemmy is in the area currently but once she wraps up her business there, she'll be on the move again.

Keeping in mind that it's not fair to present problems without suggesting solutions, I'll toss out some more ideas.

Vigilante groups. They're the good guys, right? They're there to clean up the streets. Except that they're really preying on the street people. Maybe they're even supernatural critters in disguise. Heck, they may even be ordinary humans getting in the way.

Protestors against vigilantes. A lot of what some hunters do could be seen as a form of vigilantism. Especially if seen by outside eyes who didn't know what they were seeing. Here's a chance for the bad guys to play both sides. One of the Blade movies had a good set up where Blade was framed for the murder of an normal human.

"We bought this land and would like to develop it but there's these gangs/vigilantes..." 'Nuff said.

Corporate Espionage. CK goes after other businesses that try to develop in the area. That could draw out the good guys who want to see this development go ahead. Also, you don't get to be a big dog like CK without earning your own share of rivals, competitors and enemies. Perhaps some of these other companies have their own agenda's and plans for the Blight.

Hell in Suburbia. The blight is now suburbia. I picturesque little paradise where entities whisper evil things into the ears of bored housewives...

People just don't care. CK buys up their 8 blocks and then... nothing at all changes. It turns out to be much ado about nothing.

Just some possibilities I thought I'd toss out there.


Now, for Nemmy's perspective on things in the Blight as they are and how it looks like things might change.

The super nasties: Kill 'em.

Most street people: Pity and useful sources of information.

Street criminals: So beneath her in the criminal food chain so as to be beneath her notice. If they get in her way, they get squished.

The Law: What?

The Caliburns: Friends and allies. Mess around with 'em at your own peril.

CK International: Who?

Other Big Business: Who?

And like I said before, she'll soon be on her way to other business.

[Holister]

*****

[Jefffar]

There's no objections because this one is actually a win for Lazlo society - it would destroy the Blight. The Blight itself isn't supernatural, it's just what happens when people stop caring about a place. That's what makes it so frightening, the Blight could happen literally anywhere in any city - inf act for a few years nobody knew the Blight was actually in DC, I had people PMing me all the time thinking I lived near them because they thought the Blight was in a city near them (typically their own).

As for the people in the Blight, being forced to move out and make a new beginning for themselves away from the predators (mortal and supernatural) is probably for the best. It will be tough and it will be hard for them, but it will make them safer in the long run.

BTW, CK couldn't just declare Eminent Domain and snatch properties, there would have to be evidence of an appropriate process done, so while a lot of the buildings in the Blight have lapsed ownership, those that had buildings would have to be given an offer on the buildings, opportunity to consider that offer, to make counter offers, etc. Eminent Domain would only come into effect when all reasonable efforts to secure the properties through normal channels had failed.

So in short, if CK started buying stuff today, they would probably be able to use Eminent Domain to seize the rest a couple years down the road.

It's an interesting idea . . . but there's some problems with it as a master plan.

[Cybermancer]

I was going to post here in character pointing out the flaws but I thought I'd give it a go here first and hope that reason and co-operation win out.

First up.

The place can't be under martial law.

Here is why:

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Note that between where it says "in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion" and "the public Safety may require it", that there is no "And", "Or", "Also" or other joining word? That is because it is only when the public safety requires it in event of Rebellion or Invasion. In other words there must be a requirement for the public safety AND either Rebellion -OR- Invasion. A threat to public safety alone is not enough.

Care to guess when the last time martial law was declared in the States? If you guessed Hurricane Katrina, you would be wrong. A state of emergency was called by the state governor, which is similar but different. Did you guess during the terrorist attacks of Nine-Eleven? Wrong again. And that was when there was a threat of both invasion AND to public safety.

The last time it happened was Jackson Mississippi for one year. Protestors there interfered with the movement of troops which can be considered rebellion. The other three times it happened was during World War Two, the American Civil War and in Lousianna during the War of 1812. *Only four times in the nations history has Martial Law been invoked. That's how serious it is to revoke Habeas Corpus in the U.S. of A.

So there is just no way that the blight or any portion there of is under martial law.

Next up.

You've ignored portions of Ron Caliburns post. Sure you make reference to it but you ignored the part where he says that the streets are currently reopened. You've ignored other things in that post as well.

Just as you've ignored legitimate concerns already brought up in this thread. Instead of acknowledging them you brushed them off with "So you wouldn't object then." and "Then as I said before, there no objections."

Both times there were objections. Legitimate ones.

This is not your table, you are not the GM. It is supposed to be about co-operative gaming and storytelling. Ignoring concerns, objections and IC posts is not co-operative.

Finally there's the suspension of disbelief. What you're trying to have the bad guys do just doesn't work. I can't buy it. CK International cannot blatantly and publicly break the highest laws of the land without getting slammed by the authorities, the media, international aid agencies and their competitors. Not to mention any legitimate stock holders. As it stands, I can't buy into this plot as at all believable.

As such, I will not be participating in or even acknowledging this plot arc ICly until these concerns are actually addressed both OOCly and ICly.

*During The American Revolution, King George III invoked martial law but that was the British Government, not the American government so is not pertinent to this discussion.

[Jefffar]

The plot does have some workable elements to it, but unless you're playing Nightbane, this sort of thing wouldn't happen in this manner in the USA.

This is the sort of thing that would take literally years to get done and work it's way through the courts. IF CK had really just done this, the FBI would be kicking down their doors right now.

I like the idea of the Blight being bought up - but it has to happen in a logical and legal way if CK is going to continue doing business.