CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Board Votes Not to Buy Cory’s Home

Responding to a public outcry, Sacramento County supervisors have decided not to buy former state Controller Kenneth Cory’s riverfront home, which sits two miles from the end of a Metropolitan Airport runway. Supervisors had voted tentatively to purchase Cory’s sprawling, ranch-style house for $717,250 as part of a plan to buy homes and vacant land under the airport flight path. But after an emotional public hearing, the supervisors voted 4 to 1 to end negotiations with Cory and the other landowners. The decision came after a storm of public protest, much of it fueled by a radio talk show host who repeatedly blasted the proposed purchase, which would have netted Cory $32,750 more than his house was appraised for. Cory threatened to sue the county not only for the price of the home but for punitive damages as well.