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Residents of Rio Vista, an agricultural city of 10,000 close to the sting of Solano County, have been captivated for many of the final six years by one query: Who was shopping for up all of the farmland?
It gave the impression to be a little-known firm referred to as Flannery Associates, which by final yr had turn out to be the most important landowner within the county. Residents speculated on its function: Some thought it might be a canopy for international spies; others believed it was a shell firm buying property for a brand new Disneyland.
However even after investigations by the county and federal businesses, no one may study something concerning the firm’s homeowners or true intentions.
The veil lifted in August, when my colleague Erin Griffith and I revealed that the purchases have been being directed by a former Goldman Sachs dealer named Jan Sramek, who needed to construct a metropolis of as much as 400,000 folks on what’s now rolling yellow farmland, the place households have raised sheep and cattle for generations.
Sramek is backed by a who’s who of Silicon Valley. His buyers embrace billionaires like Michael Moritz, the enterprise capitalist from Sequoia Capital; Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn; and Laurene Powell Jobs, founding father of the Emerson Collective and the widow of the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Now comes the marketing campaign.
In a latest article, I delved into Sramek, the historical past of Flannery Associates and the place the hassle might go from right here. Final week, the corporate, now referred to as California Eternally, started amassing signatures for a poll initiative that will primarily ask Solano County voters for permission to construct town.
It is going to be an uphill battle. The initiative, if it qualifies for the poll, would ask voters to amend a well-liked, longstanding county ordinance that goals to guard farms by steering improvement to cities.
Sramek got here to California from the Czech Republic to make his fortune in start-up corporations. In an interview, I discovered him to be well-studied in housing coverage. His fundamental message was that if the state was critical about tackling its housing issues, it must construct entire new communities. Including density to present neighborhoods by means of “infill” improvement — the main target of state legislators over the previous decade — can also be necessary, however won’t be sufficient, he stated.
“We are able to’t say that we’re about financial alternative, after which working-class Californians are leaving the state yearly,” Sramek advised me.
His coverage message is difficult to disagree with. However as a result of he operated in secret for years, and in a number of circumstances sued farmers who refused to promote to his firm, many citizens discover him untrustworthy. That has made California Eternally’s ballot-initiative marketing campaign one thing of an apology tour.
You’ll be able to learn my full article right here.
What we’re recommending
In her new novel, “Lifeless in Lengthy Seashore, California,” Venita Blackburn explores the chaos of mourning by following a lady who stumbles into an ethically doubtful method to deal with loss.
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Daily, editors on The New York Occasions’s Insider staff pluck attention-grabbing and shocking details from articles within the newspaper to showcase in our print version.
The Insider staff, which offers subscribers with behind-the-scenes appears at how Occasions journalism is made, just lately rounded up its favourite details of 2023. The listing consists of tidbits on historical past, science and common tradition, amongst different topics. Some are playful, just like the recipe for Cookie Monster’s prop chocolate-chip cookies on “Sesame Avenue,” whereas others make clear points within the information.
All 72 details are organized by the month they appeared within the newspaper, and embrace hyperlinks to the articles from which they have been drawn.
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