Professor Mark Perry has this gem from the San Francisco Chronicle:
"Novella Carpenter (pictured above) took over a vacant lot on a hardscrabble corner of West Oakland eight years ago and turned it into a working farm of vegetables, goats, rabbits and, sometimes, pigs. Carpenter milked goats, made cheese and ate much of the produce. She also wrote a popular book, "Farm City," about the experience and became an icon of the Bay Area's urban farming movement.Permits and regulations exist to restrain trade by limiting supply and raise prices. Regulation is nothing more than a scam.
But the future of her Ghost Town Farm is in question. This week, Oakland officials suggested it may need to close. The reason: She sells excess produce for about $2,500 per year and needs a costly permit of several thousand dollars to do so."
