The Air Force wants to change the security footprint at Travis AFB, Calif., and to do so it has served legal papers invoking eminent domain to take 13 acres from Bill Maher. It plans to pay the 80-year-old rancher $261,000 for this piece of his 300 acres of pasture along a road near the base’s south gate. The Contra Costa Times reports that Maher has been receiving such legal notices from the Air Force for years, usually with differing acreage. He claims he has tried to negotiate with the Air Force, but the US attorney now handling the matter says, “The court is now involved. At any time, if he wanted to resolve it, we can.” Maher believes the land is worth $800,000.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
