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State & Local News Vol. 23, No. 3, Spring 2000 Chair’s MessageBy Sholem FriedmanIt is hard to believe that half a year has already gone by. We just returned from the ABA's Midyear Meeting in Dallas where the Section Executive Committee reviewed and discussed a long list of topical and vital issues-from federalism and privatization to crises in public education-that are continuing to keep the Section and its committees extremely busy. In my previous columns I focused on our Section's involvement in three high-profile matters: "pay-to-play," urban sprawl, and disputes regarding the "Takings Clause" of the U.S. Constitution. Here's a brief update. First, I am pleased to report that the "pay-to-play" Resolution filed by the Business Law Section and supported by our Section passed the House of Delegates at the Midyear Meeting. David Cardwell, Section Delegate, and Pat Arey, Chair-Elect, are continuing to do a terrific job in representing us on this important public issue. Second, the problems associated with urban sprawl will once again be the subject of CLE programs at both our Spring Meeting in Scottsdale in May and our Annual Meeting in New York and London in July. If you have not already made arrangements to attend these meetings, I urge you to do so immediately. More information on these meetings can be found on pages 5 and 11 of this issue. Third, we are continuing to receive comments on the "retreat" co-sponsored by our Section this past June on the "Takings Clause" of the Fifth Amendment and the resultant report prepared by Peter Buchsbaum, chair of our Land Use Committee and member of Council. The International Municipal Lawyers Associations (IMLA) is devoting an entire afternoon to the Retreat Report at its midyear meeting in Washington, D.C., in April. We hope to have all comments in and analyzed in time for consideration by our Council at our Spring Meeting. I would like to thank Peter, Tom Roberts, Mary Massaron Ross, and Larry Smith for all the time and attention they are devoting to this important project. The full Takings Retreat Report is available on our webpage at www.aba.org/statelocal. These three matters are illustrative of the kinds of timely and relevant state and local government issues we deal with. The range of subjects covered by our Section's publications, programs, and committees literally run the gamut from airports to zoning. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I urge all of our members who have yet to actively participate in our Section's activities to make every effort to do so, either by joining one of our committees or attending one of our upcoming meetings. Because we are a smaller section, active committee members can rise relatively quickly to leadership positions. If you are interested in joining a committee, please contact Lisa Allen at 312-988-5649, e-mail allenLI@staff.abanet.org. Finally, our Section is aggressively pursuing involvement in an appropriate public benefit project. Our Council is ready to consider making funds available to any Committee or Section member who has an idea for a public service project and is willing and able to take the lead in implementing it. Some of our members have suggested projects dealing with schools, disaster preparedness, and legal issues surrounding the Internet. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who may be interested in taking advantage of what I think is a wonderful opportunity to utilize some of our Section's resources and abundant legal talent to render a meaningful service to the public. Sholem Friedman is Chair of the Section and Chief, Real Estate and Environmental Law Division of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in New York, New York.
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