The latest flashpoint in national debate over the

The latest flashpoint in national debate over the use of eminent domain is a decision by the Washington, DC, City Council authorizing seizure of the Skyland Shopping Center on Alabama Avenue in the southeast part of the city. If the city and the quasi-independent National Capital Revitalization Corp. have their way, the 51-year-old shopping center, which many regard as shabby, would be replaced by a new, higher-quality retail center containing housing above stores. Opponents say the seizure tramples on the rights of the 16 property owners and 27 businesses in the shopping center and is not in the interest of low-income people who shop there. The opponents have gone to court to try to stop the taking, The Washington Post reported Sept. 10 in a long article about the controversy.