Well, not quite "taking." I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure what you would call it.

The borough is considering trying out a new Pennsylvania law that would allow it to ask a court to put control of blighted properties into the hands of parties capable of fixing them up. The law is nicknamed the "Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act," and it passed last year.

This is interesting, because it has echoes of eminent domain. Once again, since I'm not a lawyer, I'm not sure how strong these echoes are. If you are a lawyer and are interested in sharing with me your views on the law, please send me an e-mail [dkristie@dailylocal.com]. I'm highly interested in this issue.

To read the law, click here.