Casino news source: Boston.com - http://www.boston.com
Foes gird for forums on casinos
By Christine Legere
Globe Correspondent / March 16, 2008
Casino foes are getting ready for battle on two fronts over the next couple of weeks, beginning Tuesday with a hearing at the State House on Governor Deval Patrick's proposal for three resort casinos in Massachusetts.
A week after that session, on March 25, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a hearing in Middleborough to gather reaction to the Mashpee Wampanoag proposal for an Indian-run casino on 500 acres off Precinct Street. That hearing will help shape an extensive environmental review of the project.
Neither the state nor federal session involves any votes. But Rich Young, a Middleborough resident who is president of the local opposition group CasinoFacts.org as well as the statewide opposition organized as Casino Free Mass, said casino opponents will use each event to make their case.
Tuesday's hearing, before the joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, will focus on Patrick's proposal to legalize gambling and put three commercial casino licenses out to bid.
The House and Senate are expected to take up the governor's package, which is aimed at bolstering the economy, within the next several weeks.
Casino Free Mass is urging members to attend the 10 a.m. Tuesday session on Beacon Hill.
"We're going to have business leaders, social experts, and economic experts testify on why the governor's plan is bad for Massachusetts," Young said. "This plan relies on casino customers losing. That's not a proper way to create revenue for the state."
The casino opposition has been lobbying against the governor's plan for legalized gaming. "We've already made phone calls to every single legislator," Young said. "We've been concentrating on the House because they will have the first vote."
Greg Stevens, another Middleborough resident and member of the CasinoFacts group, is organizing casino opposition for the Bureau of Indian Affairs hearing March 25. That session will be at 6 p.m. in Middleborough High School and will focus on the Mashpee Wampanoag application to place the Middleborough site into federal trust for the purpose of constructing a large casino-resort.
Stevens said he has scrutinized the federal environmental review process, which allows for comments in 33 categories of impact. "Our group has people doing research based on all those areas," he said. "We're encouraging people to speak at the hearing. But I think the written comments may be even more important." The comment period ends April 10.
The Rev. David Milam, chairman of the Middleborough-Lakeville Clergy Association and rector of the Church of Our Saviour in Middleborough, was confident that representatives from the statewide Council of Churches would be present at the State House hearing Tuesday to make their case against gaming.
The clergy association, comprising the area's religious leaders, took an official position in opposition of gambling a year ago, when the Wampanoag proposal was unveiled.
Local religious leaders and their congregations expect to attend the March 25 hearing. "I don't speak about [the casino issue] from the pulpit," Milam said, but there have been plenty of other opportunities to talk about it with congregants. Milam said he plans to survey members to identify anyone able to address environmental review issues.
The Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts, comprising leaders from 18 communities surrounding Middleborough, planned to have a few members at the State House.
Task force member Joseph Freitas, a Plympton selectman, said his local board had already signed a letter in opposition to the Middleborough plan and forwarded it to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "That will be more important than getting up and speaking with about 300 other people on March 25," he said.
Following a task force meeting Wednesday night, member Matthew Albanese, a West Bridgewater selectman, said he plans to attend the State House hearing Tuesday, but said the coalition's main focus continues to be on impacts of a casino in Middleborough.
The task force has submitted a formal list of concerns about casinos, including traffic, public safety issues, and school impacts, to the governor's office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. |
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