Joan Baez up in a tree over L.A. real estate

Thu25May2006

Joan Baez up in a tree over L.A. real estate

12:48 H | Topics: Activism - Celebrities - Los Angeles

Folk singer and long-time activist Joan Baez has climbed into a tree in L.A. to protest the commercialization of a piece of farm land there, according to Spain's 20 Minutos:

The object is to raise public sympathy to impede the eviction of 350 families that live off the land of this modest farm and who have been served an eviction notice.

The owner of the property at first accepted the 6 million dollars offered by the farmers, but later upped his demand to 16 million.

According to Los Ángeles newspaper La Opinion, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated that he cannot do anything else for them: "I am the only elected official who has supported them -- the only one. I've raised 6 million dollars, but I could not raise the 16 million tat Mr. Horowitz is asking for. What can I say? We tried, we raised a lot of money to buy the land, and there are many officials that have worked against the interests of farmers. I'm not one of them."

According to 20 Minutos, actress Daryll Hannah has also jumped on the bandwagon in support of the campesinos:

Actress Daryl Hannah asked that the owner of the property "swallow his greed" and accept the 6 million dollars being offered by the farmers. "He would not only get back the 5.1 million he paid for the land, but also the interest."

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Via / 20 Minutos