When a group of us met with former Mayor Scott Lang, information about the impacts of urban casinos was presented.
Atlantic City stands as a stark reminder about the destruction of local businesses, escalating crime, devastation to tourism and urban decay. There are surely others such as Detroit and Niagara where the failures of Predatory Gambling are duplicated.
Blinded by the glitter of Fools' Gold, evidence is ignored.
The Zeiterion Theater, a gem struggling to survive, will breath its last gasps, unable to compete.
False promises will be made, broken at the earliest convenience. before the ink dries.
Those in office will leave, ignoring connections between their short-sighted policies and the devastation. No one willing to stand.
They'll pretend that somehow 'New Bedford is different. We'll do it right,' just as Beacon Hill pretended.
Having made great strides in a positive direction, filled with wondrous potential, it offers no comfort to say "I told you so" years hence when dreams turn into rubble.
Our View: Trial and errors — Ruling points out gaming law's flaws
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit gives life to KG Urban Enterprises' bid to build a billion dollar casino at the site of an abandoned power plant in New Bedford.
The decision also gives KG some losses regarding a request for an injunction and their claims dealing with a "Carcieri fix," but none that should discourage them in their pursuits.
Neither should the decision discourage the Mashpee Wampanoag in their pursuit of a half-billion dollar casino in East Taunton.
The state gaming law, on the other hand, is looking a little shaky.
The Appeals Court ruled that the First Circuit should not have dismissed KG's lawsuit on equal protection grounds, and remanded to the First Circuit "for such further proceedings as may be appropriate."
Bottom line? KG's claim that the gaming law's set-aside for the tribe harms Southeastern Massachusetts deserves judicial scrutiny.
We would agree. It is clear that any commercial applicant is prevented from competing for the license allotted to Region C because of the state law's accommodation for tribal applicants.
The state law requires that commercial competition will be settled partly on whether one applicant's plan is better for the state and surrounding communities than another's.
KG, which has a plan, doesn't get that chance as the law stands.
If, on the other hand, Region C were open to competition just as the Greater Boston and Western Mass. regions are, KG, the tribe and any other applicant could compete on equal footing. If a commercial applicant were to win, then give the tribe the chance to continue the process it's now involved in, that is, seeking approval of the federal government to take the Taunton land into trust for the the purpose of casino gambling.
If the tribe is eventually successful, after KG or another commercial applicant had won a license, then grant the tribe their license, as well. The now-approved compact between the tribe and the commonwealth allows the Mashpee to try, try again if this first attempt to get land into trust fails.
This set-aside wouldn't diminish a commercial competitor's opportunity and still gives the tribe theirs.
The downside?
Massachusetts could end up with more than three casinos, which the state says should be the maximum. But that's how it goes. A lot of work went into writing the state gaming law, but its imperfections are starting to show. The law today could very well change in order to settle what is looking more and more like a disparity of opportunity. One way or another, the weakness in the law is going to have consequences.
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