Old cemetery adjoins Virginia housing development

An old family cemetery in Virginia coexists beside a modern housing development.

Needless worries in Colorado Springs

A city councilman wondered why dirt was being placed in a city cemetery, and worried that the dirt was a precursor to graves being placed on top of old ones. No worries, says the city manager' they are just replacing soil that has eroded.

Why cemetery scandals happen

In the wake of the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal about bodies dug up and graves resold, one columnist weighs in on how something like this could happen. In short, society is more mobile and people are less physically tied to an area where loved ones are buried and people are less comfortable with death.
It shouldn't take a Burr Oak to make people sit up and take notice of the deplorable state of some of our cemeteries. Not every cemetery is a Burr Oak waiting to happen; nor is every cemetery a parcel in ruin, but until they become a prime element in comprehensive land use policy, the danger of tragedy exists.

Volunteers work to spruce up Arlington National Cemetery

Hundreds of volunteers, many from professional landscaping companies, turn out to work on fixing up Arlington National Cemetery.

Burr Oak, Illinois

Much of this involves criminality that doesn't really apply to the scope of this blog, but the scandal is so eye-opening, I'm posting a couple of links here. I'll add more, as the story unfolds, especially since I'm reading about flooding/drainage/etc - which *are* land-use concerns, but for now, here are some links to the basics:
Chicago Sun-Times
New York Times
Chicago Tribune

Indian mounds in Alabama to be replaced by Sam's Club

I'll find more on this later, but here's news from the Native American site Reznet about the destruction of an Indian burial mound in favor of a Sam's Club in Alabama.

Forest Lawn: Where Michael Jackson won't be buried

MJ's final resting place is elsewhere, but here's an interesting feature about the noted Los Angeles cemetery Forest Lawn, where his funeral procession began today.