This story is now all over the news in places like The Huffington Post, The Agitator, The Washington Post, Fox News and many others. The gist of the story is that after the city tore up the Bass' front yard for sewer work the family decided to install an organic veggie garden to help feed her family of 8 organic produce that they were unable to afford otherwise. Spurred on by a couple of nosy neighbors who complained, the city has declared that her vegetables are not "suitable" plant material for a front yard and wants her to grow grass...water-hogging-useless grass. Julie Bass has refused to remove her veggies and is now facing 93 days in jail if convicted of the crime of growing her own food...on her own property...to feed her family. And as you can see from the picture above, it's a very nice garden completely devoid of weeds. It has mulch, and is beautiful. That's more than you can say about a lot of people's grassy front yards.
Is it just me or is this insanity? Julie has her own blog at Oak Park Hates Veggies where you can read the whole story straight from her own keyboard. And you can sign the petition to "protect residents' rights to urban homesteading and demand that the ridiculous charges brought against Julie Bass be dropped".
If there is any common sense left in the city council of Oak Park, MI, they will drop this absurd case immediately and get back to more important matters rather than harassing its citizens.
That sounds like insanity!
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