November 25, 2016

WELSHING IN SCOTLAND:

In Scotland, Trump Built a Wall. Then He Sent Residents the Bill. (KATRIN BENNHOLD, NOV. 25, 2016, NY Times)

David and Moira Milne had already been threatened with legal action by Mr. Trump's lawyers, who claimed a corner of their garage belonged to him, when they came home from work one day to find his staff building a fence around their garden. Two rows of grown trees went up next, blocking the view. Their water and electricity lines were temporarily cut. And then a bill for about $3,500 arrived in the mail, which, Mr. Milne said, went straight into the trash.

"You watch, Mexico won't pay either," said Mr. Milne, a health and safety consultant and part-time novelist, referring to Mr. Trump's campaign promise to build a "beautiful, impenetrable wall" along the border and force the Mexicans to pay for it.

The Milnes now fly a Mexican flag from their hilltop house, a former Coast Guard station that overlooks the clubhouse of Mr. Trump's Trump International Golf Links, whenever he visits. [...]

As many Americans are trying to figure out what kind of president they have just elected, the people of Balmedie, a small village outside the once oil-rich city of Aberdeen, say they have a pretty good idea. In the 10 years since Mr. Trump first visited, vowing to build "the world's greatest golf course" on an environmentally protected site featuring 4,000-year-old sand dunes, they have seen him lash out at anyone standing in his way. They say they watched him win public support for his golf course with grand promises, then watched him break them one by one.

A promised $1.25 billion investment has shrunk to what his opponents say is at most $50 million. Six thousand jobs have dwindled to 95. Two golf courses to one. An eight-story 450-room luxury hotel never materialized, nor did 950 time-share apartments. Instead, an existing manor house was converted into a 16-room boutique hotel. Trump International Golf Links, which opened in 2012, lost $1.36 million last year, according to public accounts.

Posted by at November 25, 2016 8:08 AM

  

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