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q , Z46 LEGALfrom page 2- as * * * *aas00•••• litigation. The letter brief is posted under the "recent filings" section of the legal advocacy section of the League's web site. LEAGUE GRASSROOTS IN ACTION An occasional report on Grassroots activities by League divisions (outside of work specifically on the state budget crisis, which is highlighted in the LOCAL Update article). Cases Decided Eminent Domain Public agencies received relatively good news in the Ninety-Nine Cents Only Stores v. Lancaster Redevelopment Agency case. (No. 00 -07572 SVW). The core issue in the case is what satisfies the "public purpose" requirement for public agencies to acquire land through eminent domain. The public agency had taken steps to acquire property to, in essence, convey it to another private business. The trial court had ruled that it was not a "public purpose" to acquire property and then reconvey it to another private entity. On appeal, the appellate court ruled that the case was moot, because the redevelopment agency decided to pursue another approach that did not involve the condemnation of this particular piece of property. The League thanks Thomas Douvan of McDonough, Holland & Allen, for writing the brief. Some of the issues in this case will be the subject of further discussion in the May issue of Western City. Demonstrating its commitment to a strong legislative program, the City of Torrance has established a legislative tracking web page on the city's internal web site so that staff can view the bills tracked by their own and other departments, and prevent conflicting positions or redundancy in their participation in the legislative process. In this system, city departments input the bills that they are following, and update their information as the bill progresses through the legislature. When a department takes a position on a bill and sends a letter to the legislature, the action is indicated on the bill page along with the bill's status (in committee, on hold, etc.). Staff can conduct searches by city department or by bill number. They can also print bill reports directly from the site. The city web page also provides sample posi- tion letters for use by the departments as well as other legislative resources by which to track the bills. Examples of the other resources linked to the web site are Assembly and Senate web pages, Official California Legislative Information page, and the League of California Cities' web pages. The city is very pleased with the implementation of this project and feels it can only enhance Torrance's legislative program. REGISTER NOW! LEGISLATIVE ACTION DAYS MAY 14 &15 AT THE SHERATON GRAND HOTEL, SACRAMENTO " Join with hundreds of others concerned about protecting local services. Visit the LOCAL website to register (www.calocal.org). • Contact the League regional representative for your League division for more information and to schedule an appointment with your legislator. Don know how to contact your regional rep? Visit the Issues and Advocacy- Grassroots Advocacy Section of the League's website ( www. cacities .org /grassrootsadvocacy). PAGE 6 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org