About to Lose the Urban Farm?

One of my farm-where-you-are heroes is facing a burecratic upheaval in Oakland, CA. Novella Carpenter, who wrote a wonderful novel Farm City, has in the past year saved up her pennies to buy the vacant lot she tranformed into an urban oasis. And now, the city of Oakland has informed her that she growing vegetables illegally on the lot and she needs to buy a $2500 permit to comply with new "urban farm usage" rules. Poor chickie has no spare cash to face such a whopping fine, and has humbled herself to ask for help. Click on the link to her blog posting (http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/asking-for-help/) and if you feel moved to do so, you can make a donation to the case by PayPal. Please know, I never send out solicitation emails, but this case hits close to my heart. If I ever found out I couldn't have my little 3/4 Acre Farm with its feathered, furry, and plant-based characters...I don't even want to think about how devastating that would be. This woman has served as a role-model to many, inspiring people in cities and towns everywhere to embrace the idea of being their own, self-sustainable farmer using however much land they are blessed with (or make do with!) I felt moved to support her, and to share her dilemma with others. This issue is coming up everywhere, as communities work through deciding where the "farm lines" get drawn. If it isn't affecting your backyard today, it could be tomorrow--and we all need to support one another.