Newspaper Articles about Jesse
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Naples
Daily News - July 23, 2006
Homesteader full
of regret as house faces demolition
In January, Hardy left his
160-acre homestead in Southern Golden Gate Estates, which he
reluctantly had sold the previous April for $4.95 million. Today, he
still swears - often in both senses of the word - that the
government stole his rustic lifestyle from him.
Naples
Daily News - March 5, 2006
A pumping
problem
Dispute clouds progress in key Everglades restoration
project
It is going on two years since the bulldozers rolled
away from the Prairie Canal, leaving most of its northern two miles
filled with sand and chunks of limestone.
Here and there, clusters of needle rushes and other
marsh grasses are taking root on the new land. Foot-long bass dart
around in the deep pools of bluish-green water that are the remnants
of the steep-banked canal.
Orlando
Sentinel - February 20, 2006
Feeling the
squeeze
Developers coveting land ratchet up the pressure on
holdout residents, businesses
Jesse Hardy recently sold his
ramshackle home of 30 years on the edge of the Everglades for nearly
$5 million.
But he wasn't happy about it. Hardy had lost a
years-long fight with the federal government, which wanted his 160
acres of scrubland for its $8 billion Everglades-restoration project.
Naples
Daily News - January 13, 2006
Today's the
deadline for Hardy to leave his haven
Box by box, homesteader
Jesse Hardy is leaving his house in the woods of southern Golden Gate
Estates. Thursday was the deadline the state Department of
Environmental Protection set for him to be off the land to make way
for an environmental restoration project.
Naples
Daily News - January 1, 2006
DEP gives Hardy
eight more days to leave
Florida has averted a potential
showdown this week with the man whose fight to keep his rural
homestead in Collier County made him a folk hero for property rights
advocates.
The
Charlotte Observer - December 4, 2005
Everglades holdout finally must go, but not
quietly
Nothing will make Jesse James Hardy a happy man these
days. Not the $4.95 million the state paid him for his land. Not the
big and modern home he's buying with chandeliers and fancy-schmancy
rooms such as a foyer and lanai.
And not his status as the last Everglades holdout in
Collier County that elevated him into a folk hero.
Naples
Daily News - December 1, 2005
DEP gives Hardy
extension to move out
Jesse Hardy's days as a holdout living in the
woods in Southern Golden Gate Estates were supposed to be over
today.
Instead, the state Department of Environmental
Protection has given Hardy until Jan. 4 to move out and make way for
an Everglades restoration project, DEP press secretary Anthony De
Luise said Wednesday.
Naples
Daily News - July 6, 2005
Hardy reluctantly
collects $4.18 million for land
Jesse Hardy said all along he
didn't want the money.
Now it's his - at least most of it.
Hardy went in person last week to the Collier County Courthouse to
retrieve a check for more than $4.18 million. Collier Circuit Judge
Dan Monaco signed a June 20 order authorizing the money transfer to
Hardy.
WorldNetDaily
- May 21, 2005
Caught in government's
vise
For years, Jesse James Hardy tried valiantly to avoid the
day when the State of Florida would take his 160-acre "patch of
heaven," 30 miles east of Naples. He spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars in engineering studies and legal fees trying to convince the
state that his land was not necessary to the Everglades Restoration
Project. The state disagreed.
The
Miami Herald - May 16, 2005
Glades exile
forced to change home, life
Jesse James Hardy can't believe
South Florida home prices nowadays.
He recently looked at a three-bedroom, two-bath home set on 2 1/2
acres in rural Collier County and was hit by sticker shock.
"They want $400,000 for that!" exclaimed Hardy, who in 1976
purchased 160 acres - only a few miles away from the house - for
$60,000.
Naples
Daily News - April 27, 2005
Workers allowed
to haul dirt from planned Everglades project
Workers can
continue to haul dirt from the middle of a planned Everglades
restoration project until Dec. 1, Collier County commissioners decided
Tuesday.
The dirt already has been mined from a 160-acre homestead that the
state Department of Environmental Protection bought earlier this month
from landowner Jesse Hardy after years of high-profile negotiations.
Naples
Daily News - April 13, 2005
Hardy accepts
state's offer on S. Estates land
Jesse Hardy has ended his
years-long eminent domain fight with the state over land in Collier
County that is part of an Everglades restoration project.
Senior Judge Jack Schoonover signed papers today approving a deal
by which Hardy, 69, will receive $4.95 million for Hardy's
160-acre homestead in Southern Golden Gate Estates, a mostly abandoned
subdivision south of Interstate 75.
Chicago
Tribune - April 12, 2005
Florida landowner
fights to keep `hole in doughnut'
On a patch of rugged
wilderness, with alligators, bears and an occasional panther for
neighbors, a partially disabled former Navy frogman is nearing the end
of a battle to save his homestead from an $8 billion plan to restore
the development-battered Everglades.
Naples
Daily News - March 31, 2005
Jesse Hardy,
state agree to mediation session April 12
Holdout landowner
Jesse Hardy does not agree with the state Department of Environmental
Protection on much of anything.
The two sides have agreed, though, on a new mediator to try to work
out their differences.
Naples
Daily News - March 13, 2005
My home, my
heritage has no selling price
Many of you have heard my
name. Numerous articles have been written about me, especially during
the past few years, as different environmental agencies have tried to
make their voices heard in protest of my property rights. From
Gov. Jeb Bush and down through the "chain of command" everyone has his
or her opinion of what should happen to my property. With all the
articles written about me no one has ever found it newsworthy enough
to ask why I am fighting so hard to keep this property.
My name is Jesse Hardy and this is my story.
Naples
Daily News - March 5, 2005
County tells
holdout landowner to stop letting dirt leave property
Collier
County code enforcers warned landowner Jesse Hardy on Friday that he
faces possible fines if he keeps hauling dirt from his homestead in
the middle of an Everglades restoration project.
"If he continues to do that, he's doing it at his own risk," said
Michelle Arnold, the county's code enforcement director.
St.
Petersburg Times - March 1, 2005
Standing his
ground
The government wants his land - really wants it - but
Jesse Hardy isn't interested. It isn't about money, he says. It's
about fighting for what's his.
WorldNetDaily
- February 26, 2005
Do John Adams' words mean
anything?
John Adams must have been spinning in his grave while
attorneys for the city of New London Development Corporation explained
to the U.S. Supreme Court why Susette Kelo's home should be taken by
the government and resold to another private owner.
Naples
Daily News - February 8, 2005
Eminent domain
against Hardy delayed 60 days
Jesse Hardy has 160 acres where
he lives in Southern Golden Gate Estates. Now he has at least 60 more
days to stay there.
Collier Circuit Judge Dan Monaco had been scheduled to hear
arguments today on whether Florida can force Hardy to sell his land
for an environmental restoration project, but Monaco decided Monday
afternoon to delay the hearing for 60 days.
Naples
Daily News - February 7, 2005
Estates
resident seeks delay eminent domain hearing
Southern Golden
Gate Estates holdout Jesse Hardy is asking a judge to delay an eminent
domain hearing set for Tuesday.
Hardy's attorney Charles Foreman, in Fort Lauderdale, filed papers
Jan. 31 seeking a 60-day continuance to give him more time to prepare
Hardy's case.
The Miami Herald - January 18,
2005
SHOWDOWN NEARS IN "RIGHT TO TAKE"
CASE
Longtime Collier County landowner Jesse James Hardy has a
showdown with a state judge early next month to determine whether the
government can force him off his 160 acres of mosquito-infested
property. Last year, the state filed court papers for eminent domain
to force Hardy to take a lump-sum buyout. Eminent domain allows states
to take a person's property for the public good, giving them fair
market value.
Naples
Daily News - January 15, 2005
Landowners sue
Collier over plans for Estates roads
Three landowners are suing
Collier County over its decision to turn over roads in Southern Golden
Gate Estates to the state to make way for an Everglades restoration
project.
Naples
Daily News - January 15, 2005
Everglades
project managers scrutinize restoration goals
Balancing the
twin goals of land acquisition and completing projects in the quest to
restore the Everglades is a tough one, state and federal officials
told members of the Everglades Coalition on Friday.
Naples
Daily News - January 13, 2005
Environmental
advocates converge on Naples for Everglades Coalition
meeting
Environmental advocates are fond of pointing out that
Southwest Florida is part of the Everglades too.
Naples
Daily News - December 1, 2004
Glades holdout
granted delay for earthmining permit hearing
Collier County
commissioners agreed Tuesday to postpone a scheduled hearing on
holdout homesteader Jesse Hardy's request to renew a permit for
earthmining in the middle of the Southern Golden Gate Estates
restoration project.
Naples
Daily News - November 27, 2004
County might
stop buying rock from Jesse Hardy while permit on hold
New
trouble is brewing for holdout homesteader Jesse Hardy's earthmining
business in Southern Golden Gate Estates.
Naples
Daily News - November 20, 2004
Comment period
opens on Estates restoration project
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is warning that it needs more information to figure out how
much an Everglades restoration project proposed for rural Collier
County will help the environment.
Naples
Daily News - November 16, 2004
Commission
vote on landowner's earthmining request postponed
Collier
County commissioners won't vote today on landowner Jesse Hardy's bid
for an earthmining permit in the middle of a proposed environmental
restoration project in Southern Golden Gate Estates.
Naples
Daily News - November 6, 2004
Holdout
landowner's attorney sues state, feds
Holdout homesteader Jesse
Hardy is stepping up his fight to stay on his land in the middle of an
Everglades restoration project.
WorldNetDaily
- November 5, 2004
Disabled vet sues agencies
over land-grab
Jesse Hardy, the disabled vet who has battled
government to stay on his Everglades-area land, has charged 13
officials in six state and federal agencies with multiple violations
of law in a 43-page
complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court.
WorldNetDaily
- October 30, 2004
David the landowner fights
government Goliath
Three years ago, the government of Collier
County, Fla., approved a three-year conditional permit for Jesse Hardy
to begin the construction of an aqua-culture project. The plan called
for the excavation of four 20-acre fishponds on his 160-acre
homestead, about 30 miles East of Naples. The "conditions" placed on
the permit were to insure that the ponds were actually the size and
depth shown in the plan, and that the project proceeded in an
environmentally sensitive manner.
Naples
Daily News - October 22, 2004
Jesse Hardy
loses round in bid to start Estates fish farm
Southern
Golden Gate Estates holdout Jesse Hardy lost a round Thursday in his
bid to start a fish farm in the middle of an Everglades restoration
project.
The Collier County Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend that
county commissioners reject an extension of an earth mining permit,
called a conditional use, the county granted Hardy in
2001. Commissioners are set to take up the issue Nov. 16.
WorldNetDaily
- October 16, 2004
Government grabbing homes
- who'll be next?
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like
home - unless the government wants it.
Until 1954, a man's home was his castle, where no one could enter
without an invitation or a warrant. Then, under the watchful eye of
the U.S. Congress, the city of Washington, D.C., decided to exercise
eminent domain to take land from poor blacks to redevelop a blighted
area. The action was upheld by the Supreme Court [Berman vs. Parker
(1954)].
Naples
Daily News - October 15, 2004
2 local
projects among those announced by governor
Two Southwest
Florida water projects are part of a plan unveiled Thursday to try to
speed Everglades restoration.
Gov. Jeb Bush announced the plan, dubbed Acceler8, at a Palm Beach
County wildlife refuge on the edge of the Everglades.
Naples
Daily News - October 8, 2004
Editorial:
Everglades restoration
How wily is Jesse Hardy? Hard to tell, because he keeps outdoing
himself.
The 68-year-old who lives a rustic existence on 160 acres south of
Interstate 75 is one of the last holdouts in the way of Everglades
restoration. The state's latest offer to be rejected by the folk hero
is $4.4 million, and the Department of Environmental Protection has
started eminent domain proceedings.
Naples
Daily News - October 5, 2004
Hardy defends
right to dig lakes for fish farm
The longtime Floridian sat
slouched in camouflage pants and a T-shirt on Monday, defending his
property and his livelihood with his thick Southern drawl. He left his
home in the Southern Golden Gate Estates to attend a public hearing
the county forced him to have because he's asking for permission to
extend a permit that would allow him to excavate four lakes.
Naples
Daily News - October 4, 2004
Holdout
landowner seeks permit extension
Southern Golden Gate Estates
holdout Jesse Hardy is asking Collier County for an extension of his
earthmining permit. Hardy, 68, got the original permit in 2001 as part
of a plan to dig lakes and start a fish farm on 160 acres he owns in
the middle of an environmental restoration project planned for the
huge grid of canals and deserted roads south of Interstate 75.
Naples
Daily News - September 24, 2004
State DEP
gives green light to Everglades restoration
Plans to turn a
mostly abandoned Collier County subdivision back to nature took a step
forward Thursday but hurdles remain.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen
Castille signed papers this week putting the state's seal of approval
on plans for the restoration of Southern Golden Gate Estates, south of
Interstate 75. The DEP issued the papers Thursday.
Miami
Herald - August 30, 2004
State DEP files
eminent domain against Jesse James Hardy
The state of Florida
has fired a warning shot against Jesse James Hardy, in its efforts to
take away his beloved 160 acres of mosquito-infested land in rural
Collier County.
Naples
Daily News - August 28, 2004
State DEP
begins eminent domain proceedings against Jesse Hardy
Florida
raised the stakes Friday in its long-running dispute with Southern
Golden Gate Estates landowner Jesse Hardy.
The state Department of Environmental Protection filed papers in
Collier County Circuit Court to start eminent domain proceedings
against Hardy, a 68-year-old disabled Navy veteran who lives on 160
remote acres in a wooden house he built himself.
WorldNetDaily
- August 20, 2004
Disabled vet's home saved
- maybe
A disabled Navy veteran, whose David-and-Goliath
battle with the state of Florida to save his home is being closely
followed by property-rights advocates across the country, won a brief
reprieve when Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet postponed a final
decision on whether to take his land by eminent domain as part of the
$7.8 billion Everglades Restoration Project.
WorldNetDaily
- August 7, 2004
At last, a property-rights
victory!
Landowners across the nation can breathe a deep sigh
of relief because of a decision
rendered by the Michigan State Supreme Court July 30. The court
reversed a 1981 decision that has allowed state and local governments
to take the private property of thousands of landowners and then give
or sell it to other private entities.
Miami
Herald - July 6, 2004
Keep out: Glades
settler dreads showdown with state over land
If Hollywood
central casting ever needs a wise-cracking, bearded backwater type, it
will find a movie star in Jesse James Hardy.
Miami
Herald - July 3, 2004
Man refuses Florida's
millions in battle to keep swampy home
Out in a scrubby, muggy
patch of former swampland, Jesse James Hardy owns everything under the
sunrises that stretch from a horizon of slash pine and palm
trees.
Miami
Herald - June 20, 2004
Internet boosts
Glades holdout's folk-hero status
Jesse James Hardy lives in a
ghost community, amid dirt streets and empty lots and emptier lies
spun by slick telephone salesmen four decades ago. Golden Gates South
was one of those dreamy Everglades subdivisions that never was.
New
York Times - June 13, 2004
160 Acres of
Mosquitoes and Dust in Florida? To Him, Priceless
The land
that Jesse James Hardy loves is unlovely. It is flat and dusty, with
slash pine, cabbage palms and the bare-bones house he built, its porch
screens ripped and flapping. He sold his horse because in summer, the
mosquitoes on its back were as thick as a blanket. Breezes hardly ever
pass through, and until recently neither did visitors.
WorldNetDaily
- April 10, 2004
'U.S. backs U.N. plan to
control land'
That headline appeared in the Utah Independent and hundreds of other newspapers across the country on July 22, 1976.
The article proclaims that:
"Use of all land, public and private, will be controlled by the
federal government in the future," Assistant Secretary of Agriculture
Rexford Tugwell predicted this week.
Land which cannot be operated effectively under private ownership,
will be held by the government as public forests, parks, game
preserves, grazing ranges, recreation centers and the like, Tugwell
asserted. Privately owned land will be controlled "to whatever extent
is found necessary. ..."
WorldNetDaily
- March 18, 2003
Letter-writing helps vet
save home
Disabled veteran Jesse Hardy and his neighbor George
Miller won a second reprieve last week in their ongoing battle to save
their homes and land when Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet again
voted unanimously not to approve the use of eminent domain to acquire
the properties.
WorldNetDaily
- March 8, 2003
Veteran still fighting for
his home
Outraged at continued efforts by the state of Florida
to seize the home of a disabled veteran for conservation purposes, a
local property rights group has launched a nation-wide letter-writing
campaign on his behalf.
WorldNetDaily
- January 29, 2003
Disabled vet's home safe
for now
Plans by the state of Florida to seize the home of a
disabled veteran through eminent domain have been put on hold, the
Naples Daily News reported today.
WorldNetDaily
- January 28, 2003
Disabled vet fights for
home
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his Cabinet are meeting today
in Tallahassee to decide whether or not to give the green light to the
state of Florida to use its power of eminent domain to oust a disabled
veteran and other property owners from their homes and land, reports
the Naples Daily News.
Washington
Post - June 23, 2002
A Rescue Plan, Bold and
Uncertain
President Bill Clinton and Gov. Jeb Bush met in the
Oval Office on Dec. 11, 2000, to launch a $7.8 billion effort to
revive the Florida Everglades. Vice President Al Gore, the plan's
leading White House advocate, stayed home to watch CNN. That morning,
the Supreme Court was hearing final arguments in the Florida
vote-count case pitting him against Bush's brother George.
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