Showing posts with label House Speaker Racino DeLeo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House Speaker Racino DeLeo. Show all posts
Friday, October 3, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Prime Casino Cheerleader House Speaker Racino DeLeo!
House Speaker Racino DeLeo doled out Chairmenships and Offices based on LOYALTY, punished those who opposed.
There is much work that needs to be accomplished to reform Beacon Hill, but let's REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL first!
A corrupt process that excluded voters passed this abomination, ignoring the FACTS, ignoring the GAMBLING MARKET SATURATION, ignoring the DECLINING REVENUES!
US alleges Robert DeLeo had deal with probation officials
Prosecutors say there was a quid pro quo agreement
Aram Boghosian for the Globe
Robert DeLeo (above) has repeatedly denied he ever had an agreement with John O’Brien, and his office would not comment Monday.Federal prosecutors said Monday that they will introduce evidence confirming there was a quid pro quo agreement by which probation officials gave jobs to House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s favored applicants, and, in return, DeLeo provided legislative favors for probation officials.
Assistant US Attorney Robert A. Fisher said prosecutors plan to call several current and former legislators and aides to testify about conversations they had with DeLeo and the former probation commissioner, John J. O’Brien, that were allegedly part of that agreement.
Related
“This testimony provides substantial proof” of the racketeering and conspiracy allegations, prosecutors said in court documents, requesting more time to present what they called an essential part of their case.
For instance, one of DeLeo’s top aides, Toby Morelli, will testify about an agreement DeLeo allegedly had with O’Brien to protect O’Brien’s budget from the chief justice, who had discretion over probation spending, according to prosecutors.
Former state representative Charles Murphy, who headed the House Ways and Means committee, will also testify that DeLeo told him in 2008 to spare the Probation Department any budget cuts.
Another aide to DeLeo will testify that O’Brien was making requests for the speaker to pass reforms to his department’s structure and give him more autonomy over hiring. The reforms were so outlandish that the aide determined they were unconstitutional, prosecutors said.
“This enterprise was ongoing,” Fisher said. “What we’re presenting to the jury is just a small sample of the hiring that occurred during the conspiracy.”
Prosecutors laid out their case during a hearing in which US District Court Judge William G. Young said he would limit the remaining time that prosecutors have to make their case to the jury. The jury was not present for the hearing, but is slated to hear more testimony Tuesday.
Prosecutors have alleged that O’Brien, the commissioner from 1998 to 2010, and top deputies Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke ran the Probation Department like a criminal enterprise, by offering jobs to the friends of legislators over more qualified candidates. In exchange, the legislators routinely boosted the department’s budget and provided legislative favors, helping O’Brien to build his political clout.
Defense lawyers say their clients did nothing illegal, that they practiced patronage hiring typical of Beacon Hill politics. But prosecutors say the defendants committed fraud by creating a bogus hiring system to conceal what they were doing from the judges who oversaw hiring.
The defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of charges including mail fraud and racketeering.
Young said he will force prosecutors to stick to a time limit for the remainder of their case. The trial began with opening statements on May 8, and the judge is attempting to curb testimony, saying jurors should not be overwhelmed. Young has told prosecutors that he will ban any cumulative, or repetitive, testimony.
But prosecutors argued that they should be able to introduce more evidence to show that O’Brien engaged in a pattern of corrupt hiring.
The testimony about DeLeo centers on allegations that he supported legislation around 2007 allowing the Probation Department to hire employees for a new electronic monitoring program. DeLeo’s office was then allegedly allowed to handpick 10 hires, and his office allegedly offered those jobs to the friends of other legislators whose votes he was seeking in the race for House speaker.
According to trial testimony, the legislators’ friends were offered the jobs without being interviewed.
Attorneys for O’Brien said Monday that the prosecution has not proved there was an agreement.
“There has to be a meeting of the minds, from the other side, the Legislature,” attorney William Fick argued, noting that some of O’Brien’s legislative proposals, such as the request to change the department’s structure, were never approved. Fick said that every department head lobbies the Legislature and that O’Brien was no different.
“The Legislature effectively holds the purse strings,” Fick said.
Young acknowledged that jurors should be able to decide some of the allegations, for instance a charge that O’Brien gave a key job to the wife of Representative Thomas Petrolati, a powerful legislator who supported the electronic monitoring program.
Young questioned that, saying, “You want to take on in this indictment the entire patronage culture?”
Fisher responded, “This is a state agency that went over the line, into illegality.”
Related coverage:
• Ex-judge admits to patronage hiring
• Retired chief judge testifies in probation hiring trial
• Witness says probation hiring at the mercy of legislators
• Wife of representative got probation job, ex-official testifies
• Witness speaks of irritation on Probation hiring
• Legislators said they suggested candidates for Probation jobs
• Ex-Probation official discusses discipline
• Ex-Probation supervisor kept messages directing him to favor candidates
• Judge in probation trial may give prosecutors time limit
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/07/prosecutors-say-probation-leaders-deleo-had-quid-pro-quo/qFwCKBTI8WTz09kDWKzdhI/story.html
Friday, June 27, 2014
DeLeo: Counting His Chickens Before They Hatch!
The Monument to Political Hackery, the Boston Convention Center comes quickly to mind when considering sensible fiscal policy.....the Probation Department?....the Pension abuse?....
House Speaker Racino DeLeo rewarded loyalty, punished opponents. Democracy anyone?
Who was paying attention? Who voted for these clowns?
Speaker: 'Tough decisions' on budget could be required if casino law repealed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 25, 2014
BOSTON — House Speaker Robert DeLeo says state budget officials and lawmakers would have to make some "tough decisions" if voters repeal the casino gambling law in November.
DeLeo told reporters on Wednesday that the proposed state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 assumes $54 million in licensing revenue from the casino law. That money would not be realized if voters repealed the 2011 law which allows for up to three resort casinos and one slots parlor.
The state's highest court ruled on Tuesday that casino opponents can go forward with a proposed ballot question that seeks to outlaw casino gambling.
DeLeo says a repeal vote could necessitate budget cuts. The Democratic speaker has been a strong supporter of the casino law.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d381dd1e7b394278b535ef68cdb27f09/MA--Massachusetts-Gambling-DeLeo
Sunday, April 13, 2014
When the Brainless follow the Clueless.....
CAUTION: Choking Alert! Do not read with mouth full!
After you read the article below and pick yourself up off the floor from laughter, this is one more reason to REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!
DeLeo gets award for helping gambling addicts
House Speaker Robert DeLeo accepts the Kathleen Scanlan Advocacy Award from Marlene Warner, the executive director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. The award was given Friday afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick. Contributed photo
By Jonathan Phelps
Daily News Staff
Posted Apr. 12, 2014
NATICK – House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Friday afternoon he was compelled to pass legislation for expanded gaming in 2011 after meeting with 700 electrical and construction union workers.
Many were out of work and concerned about health care, mortgages and educating their children, he said.
"I looked at this as a way to get jobs to the blue-collar workers," he said of expanded gambling before a group at the Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems Friday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Rte. 9.
But he understood the need to pass legislation to help gambling addicts.
"I am very well aware of the horrors of gambling addictions," he said. "We spent a lot of time getting it right."
DeLeo, D-Winthrop, was in town Friday afternoon to accept the first Kathleen M. Scanlon Advocacy Award by the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. The award, in its first year, was developed in honor of Scanlon, the former executive director of the council. The council is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
"I've received many awards, but this is really special to me," he said. The award was given during the 2014 Massachusetts conference on gambling problems.
DeLeo has been a "longtime champion" of intervention and treatment of gambling disorders through statewide services, said Marlene Warner, executive director of the statewide council.
"He had understood the need for balance in both securing plans for economic development and growth in his districts of Revere and Winthrop, as well as statewide, while also recognizing that there is a downside to legalized gambling and securing services to address those," she said.
DeLeo said the state has the "finest law in the country" on expanded gaming.
"I think Massachusetts is going to stand out as a state that got it right," he said.
He said they worked hard to make sure there were strong provisions for public health programs for compulsive gambling, support programs and prevention.
The state's Gaming Commission will require each gaming establishment to pay $5 million annually into a public health trust fund for these programs. Additionally, 5 percent of casino gaming annual revenue will go to the trust fund, estimated to be $15 million a year.
DeLeo spoke of the "Moral Test of Government" by Hubert Humphrey, who served as vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson.
He said the "test" is how the government treats children, elderly, sick, needy and handicapped.
"I'd add that the moral test of government is how the government treats those struggling with gambling addiction, those tormented by drug addition and those suffering from mental health woes," he said.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140412/NEWS/140418625/11514/NEWS
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Revere Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein to resign......lawmaker to lobbyist
Ahhh.....is this to get ready for some cushy Casino Job down the road?
One of Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s top deputies plans to resign this month, according to people familiar with the decision, a move that would also remove from House leadership a chief advocate for a casino in Revere.
Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, first elected to the House in 1998, plans to step down to accept a post as government affairs manager for the Boston Beer Company, said people with knowledge of her decision.
The company, which brews Sam Adams beer, has been shopping for a government affairs executive for months, eliciting interest from several prominent figures in local politics.
Reinstein’s decision comes at a pivotal time in the ongoing debate about where to site a Massachusetts casino. The Revere Democrat has been a vocal proponent for Suffolk Downs and a Mohegan Sun facility in Revere, after East Boston residents last year voted down such a venue in their neighborhood.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/02/revere-rep-kathi-anne-reinstein-backer-casinos-and-house-speaker-deleo-resign/dg13kIWNkV2tpxD00YTnuN/story.html
Rude & Ruder: The Kathi-Anne Reinstein Story
I don't know if any of you have ever tired to get your elected representatives to actually listen to you, but I have.
Once, as I stood with my NO CASINO sign on the sidewalk, my State rep pulled up in his boat of a car, bellowed something mostly unintelligible out the window, then sped off into the distance waving his cigar as I called and motioned - to no avail - for him to return and have a conversation.
When I went to see him at his office at the State House, his contemptuous slimeball of aide left me in tears.
I have repeatedly, and with little success, requested that a selectman from my town attend meetings of the 17 Town Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts.
Last year, my ardently pro-slots state senator made a brazen attempt to stop a public meeting of this same task force in Carver.
This task force, which represents a quarter-million people in Southeast Mass., has yet to have been granted an audience with the Governor - though he frequently meets with the 1,500 member Cape Cod Indian tribe which wants to build the world's biggest casino there.
Back in 2007, after writing to my congressmen (members of the same governing body which made suburban tribal mega casinos a reality) about my concerns regarding the Middleboro casino project, I received a brief, and utterly clueless, letter from Ted Kennedy's office thanking me for my interest in immigration reform.
And I'm still waiting to hear from John Kerry.
Sad thing is, I've actually voted for these guys. Many times over the years.
And it's not just the big guys. I've also been gaveled to silence in my own town hall, and witnessed similar gaveling in Middleboro whenever concerns were raised about having the world's biggest casino as a neighbor.
A ballot vote by residents there opposing the casino project was unanimously deemed "irrelevant" by local selectmen and as a result not forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior.
And, thanks to a labyrinth of regulations seemingly modeled after the game of Battleship, the fact that my community is not a host community, even though it would potentially abut a newly created sovereign nation and the world's largest casino, the Federal government denies my town so much as a say-so in the matter.
But what does any of it matter anyway since I'm frequently reminded by the media that my representatives and I are completely powerless - because the only one who does matter in Massachusetts is whoever is currently filling the shoes of the Speaker of the House.
So I shouldn't even bother trying.
But I do try. I've held my sign, done lots of research, collected signatures, given testimony, written letters, blogged, made videos, built web sites, given interviews, attended myriads of meetings, participated in events across the state, arranged educational forums, written fact sheets, sent out mailings, maintained databases, and have put up with pro-casino abuse ranging from having F-bomb's hurled at my children to receiving a threat on my life.
And I'm just one member of the team.
Thankfully, in the second half of last year, we started seeing our efforts start to make a difference. We managed to get the facts out to the Mass. Democratic Party convention - which then adopted a resolution opposing slots.
The Attorney General's top staff, the Governor's top staff, and even the Governor himself let us make our case about the real costs of slots and casinos - after which both the Governor and Attorney General endorsed having the Commonwealth perform a fresh, independent cost-benefit analysis of expanded gambling.
But despite the compelling facts and recent inroads, it still amazes me how little understanding there is about our message among legislators and the general public.
Pigeon-holed as 'moralists', or painted as an axe-wielding, fun-stealing cadre of Carrie Nations whose mission is to deprive individuals of their private liberties and the State of much needed jobs and revenue - a characterization aided and abetted by the media and assorted anonymous comment section hoopla - our message is lost.
And so, in an attempt to more clearly define that message, to frame it in easy-to-understand, graphical, economic terms, we managed, last Thursday, to pack a room at the Statehouse with reps and their aides to present "A Mathbook for Beacon Hill".
More than a dozen people volunteered their time, expertise and resources to the project for over two months. Many of us took the day off from work and drove in from across the state to be available to answer questions at the presentation - which countered the inflated figures for jobs and revenue we keep hearing about, along with the invariably non-existent costs that accompany them.
But what do the efforts of a bunch of concerned taxpaying volunteers matter when a solitary, paid legislator and big-time slot cheerleader like State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D - Suffolk Downs) can mosey down from her office, sit through the meeting like a fidgety 5th grader who'd sold her last Ritalin for a snickers bar, then proceed to hijack the Q & A as her own personal pro-slots soapbox?
After purposely having framed our presentation to specifically address economic impacts - partly in response to accusations by Kathi and others like her who've repeatedly tried to characterize the opposition's message as one of moral imperative over financial reality - Kathi proceeded to use our meeting to bend the message back to addiction and social costs.
And before long, Kathi-Anne the pro-slots cheerleader becomes Kathi the slot-wielding human bullhorn, dripping with sarcasm, reeking of indignation, dismissive, bombastic and rude.
Attempts to reign her in, requests that she phrase her comments in the form of an actual question were utterly ignored. This was "a public meeting!" after all, she insisted! She had the right to be heard.
That's right, because just like those of us who worked hard to set up this meeting sans a staff, who don't get to vote on expanded gambling legislation, who've been repeatedly ignored by many of our own elected leaders in favor of track owners, lobbyists and others, who are outspent by gambling interests $2 million to one and are invariably regulated to the last quote on the second page of virtually every news article on the subject, Kathi-Anne appears to actually be afraid that someone won't hear her.
Actually.
Which, from what I've seen of Kathi-Anne Reinstein, is downright impossible.
After pontificating for a good fifteen minutes (and at least a quarter of our allotted time) on just about everything from license plates to cigarettes to adopting thoroughbred horses, Kathi-Anne finally asks that all too familiar and predictable question:
And really, I don't hold it against Kathi that between her horse-based life experiences and limited intellectual abilities, she can't wrap her head around better, creative solutions that won't end up helping the gambling industry more than citizens of Massachusetts.
Or that she, who at an October 2009 hearing referred to her constituents as "not exactly rocket scientists" with an existing array of gambling problems, is in favor of creating future generations of addicts in her district in order to save them all a bus ride to Connecticut.
Or that the woman who once championed making the fluffernutter the official sandwich of Massachusetts isn't perhaps incapable of comprehending the serious ramifications that legalizing slots could have for other communities and taxpayers outside the confines of her district.
Heck, after three years of observing a certain percentage of the people who make up the Massachusetts legislature, including Kathi-Anne, you won't catch me holding my breath waiting for them to come up with a better solution than expanded gambling.
No, the thing that really gets me is that State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein had the unmitigated, sanctimonious gaul to face a group of unpaid citizen volunteers, including health educators and web designers and demand that they - they - provide her with alternative revenue sources.
Because heck, isn't that her job. Isn't that's what she's paid to do. Paid by us?
We all have jobs to do. So, are we free to call Kathi up and ask her how to do them?
Should medical doctors stop to confer with Kathi-Anne when stumped for a cure for their patient?
Perhaps demolitions experts should keep Kathi on speed dial in case they have to ask "should I cut the blue or the red wire."
Of course not. But this isn't the real world, it's the Commonwealth of Kathi-Anne - where she gets paid to try to make you look bad for not being able to do her job.
Which begs the question, aside from ignoring constituents, failing to perform due diligence, pretending not to fawn over special interests, supporting bad ideas, promoting unhealthy sandwiches to school children, talking too much, listening too little, collecting pensions for life and expecting other people to do their job, what is it, exactly, that today's legislators do?
I can tell you this - most of them haven't even taken the time to look at this website.
Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps we should add "being busy already knowing everything there is to know about slots" to that impressive legislative job description?
Because the more people know about this industry, the more they're likely to oppose it. Or, at least, more likely to demand a DEEPER LOOK.
Which is why people like me wait patiently for the Q & A session at the end of another long meeting, if they allow one at all, and then carefully phrase our comments in the form of a question. We wait for a year to give 5 minutes testimony to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and two and a half years to testify for 3 minutes at the State House. We wait our turn, for 13 hours, folded up like a human lawn chair in an over-crowded auditorium, to speak for less than a minute.
We work, unpaid, and play - if you can call it that- by the rules.
And that's the real problem, isn't it. It's why lobbyists spread around big money behind the scenes, and why legislators make quiet deals with the devil behind closed doors. Why unions pay their members to pack halls in distant towns, and why policy analysis turned industry shills label us, without grasping a shred of irony, the 'chattering class'.
Kathi wasn't afraid that her peers at the State House wouldn't hear her - she was terrified that, for once, they might actually hear us.
http://gladyskravitz.blogspot.com/2010/02/rude-ruder-kathi-anne-reinstein-story.html
Revere Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein to resign
Reinstein, a backer of casinos and House Speaker DeLeo, to take post with Boston Beer Company
By Jim O’Sullivan
| Globe Staff January 02, 2014
Kayana Szymczak for the Boston Globe
Kathi-Anne Reinstein, one of Speaker Robert DeLeo’s top deputies and a backer of a Revere casino, plans to take a post with Boston Beer Company.One of Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s top deputies plans to resign this month, according to people familiar with the decision, a move that would also remove from House leadership a chief advocate for a casino in Revere.
Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, first elected to the House in 1998, plans to step down to accept a post as government affairs manager for the Boston Beer Company, said people with knowledge of her decision.
The company, which brews Sam Adams beer, has been shopping for a government affairs executive for months, eliciting interest from several prominent figures in local politics.
Reinstein’s decision comes at a pivotal time in the ongoing debate about where to site a Massachusetts casino. The Revere Democrat has been a vocal proponent for Suffolk Downs and a Mohegan Sun facility in Revere, after East Boston residents last year voted down such a venue in their neighborhood.
Her departure also takes out a top ally of DeLeo. Reinstein has been a staunch DeLeo backer since early in his campaign to become speaker, and serves as an assistant majority leader in the House.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/02/revere-rep-kathi-anne-reinstein-backer-casinos-and-house-speaker-deleo-resign/dg13kIWNkV2tpxD00YTnuN/story.html
Rude & Ruder: The Kathi-Anne Reinstein Story
I don't know if any of you have ever tired to get your elected representatives to actually listen to you, but I have.
Once, as I stood with my NO CASINO sign on the sidewalk, my State rep pulled up in his boat of a car, bellowed something mostly unintelligible out the window, then sped off into the distance waving his cigar as I called and motioned - to no avail - for him to return and have a conversation.
When I went to see him at his office at the State House, his contemptuous slimeball of aide left me in tears.
I have repeatedly, and with little success, requested that a selectman from my town attend meetings of the 17 Town Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts.
Last year, my ardently pro-slots state senator made a brazen attempt to stop a public meeting of this same task force in Carver.
This task force, which represents a quarter-million people in Southeast Mass., has yet to have been granted an audience with the Governor - though he frequently meets with the 1,500 member Cape Cod Indian tribe which wants to build the world's biggest casino there.
Back in 2007, after writing to my congressmen (members of the same governing body which made suburban tribal mega casinos a reality) about my concerns regarding the Middleboro casino project, I received a brief, and utterly clueless, letter from Ted Kennedy's office thanking me for my interest in immigration reform.
And I'm still waiting to hear from John Kerry.
Sad thing is, I've actually voted for these guys. Many times over the years.
And it's not just the big guys. I've also been gaveled to silence in my own town hall, and witnessed similar gaveling in Middleboro whenever concerns were raised about having the world's biggest casino as a neighbor.
A ballot vote by residents there opposing the casino project was unanimously deemed "irrelevant" by local selectmen and as a result not forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior.
And, thanks to a labyrinth of regulations seemingly modeled after the game of Battleship, the fact that my community is not a host community, even though it would potentially abut a newly created sovereign nation and the world's largest casino, the Federal government denies my town so much as a say-so in the matter.
But what does any of it matter anyway since I'm frequently reminded by the media that my representatives and I are completely powerless - because the only one who does matter in Massachusetts is whoever is currently filling the shoes of the Speaker of the House.
So I shouldn't even bother trying.
But I do try. I've held my sign, done lots of research, collected signatures, given testimony, written letters, blogged, made videos, built web sites, given interviews, attended myriads of meetings, participated in events across the state, arranged educational forums, written fact sheets, sent out mailings, maintained databases, and have put up with pro-casino abuse ranging from having F-bomb's hurled at my children to receiving a threat on my life.
And I'm just one member of the team.
Thankfully, in the second half of last year, we started seeing our efforts start to make a difference. We managed to get the facts out to the Mass. Democratic Party convention - which then adopted a resolution opposing slots.
The Attorney General's top staff, the Governor's top staff, and even the Governor himself let us make our case about the real costs of slots and casinos - after which both the Governor and Attorney General endorsed having the Commonwealth perform a fresh, independent cost-benefit analysis of expanded gambling.
But despite the compelling facts and recent inroads, it still amazes me how little understanding there is about our message among legislators and the general public.
Pigeon-holed as 'moralists', or painted as an axe-wielding, fun-stealing cadre of Carrie Nations whose mission is to deprive individuals of their private liberties and the State of much needed jobs and revenue - a characterization aided and abetted by the media and assorted anonymous comment section hoopla - our message is lost.
And so, in an attempt to more clearly define that message, to frame it in easy-to-understand, graphical, economic terms, we managed, last Thursday, to pack a room at the Statehouse with reps and their aides to present "A Mathbook for Beacon Hill".
More than a dozen people volunteered their time, expertise and resources to the project for over two months. Many of us took the day off from work and drove in from across the state to be available to answer questions at the presentation - which countered the inflated figures for jobs and revenue we keep hearing about, along with the invariably non-existent costs that accompany them.
But what do the efforts of a bunch of concerned taxpaying volunteers matter when a solitary, paid legislator and big-time slot cheerleader like State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D - Suffolk Downs) can mosey down from her office, sit through the meeting like a fidgety 5th grader who'd sold her last Ritalin for a snickers bar, then proceed to hijack the Q & A as her own personal pro-slots soapbox?
After purposely having framed our presentation to specifically address economic impacts - partly in response to accusations by Kathi and others like her who've repeatedly tried to characterize the opposition's message as one of moral imperative over financial reality - Kathi proceeded to use our meeting to bend the message back to addiction and social costs.
And before long, Kathi-Anne the pro-slots cheerleader becomes Kathi the slot-wielding human bullhorn, dripping with sarcasm, reeking of indignation, dismissive, bombastic and rude.
Attempts to reign her in, requests that she phrase her comments in the form of an actual question were utterly ignored. This was "a public meeting!" after all, she insisted! She had the right to be heard.
That's right, because just like those of us who worked hard to set up this meeting sans a staff, who don't get to vote on expanded gambling legislation, who've been repeatedly ignored by many of our own elected leaders in favor of track owners, lobbyists and others, who are outspent by gambling interests $2 million to one and are invariably regulated to the last quote on the second page of virtually every news article on the subject, Kathi-Anne appears to actually be afraid that someone won't hear her.
Actually.
Which, from what I've seen of Kathi-Anne Reinstein, is downright impossible.
After pontificating for a good fifteen minutes (and at least a quarter of our allotted time) on just about everything from license plates to cigarettes to adopting thoroughbred horses, Kathi-Anne finally asks that all too familiar and predictable question:
"If not gambling, what other ideas do yoooooooooou have for coming up with new jobs and revenue."Okay, look. I've heard this same question from everyone from small town selectmen to Sen. Marc Pacheco, to that slimeball in Dave Flynn's office.
And really, I don't hold it against Kathi that between her horse-based life experiences and limited intellectual abilities, she can't wrap her head around better, creative solutions that won't end up helping the gambling industry more than citizens of Massachusetts.
Or that she, who at an October 2009 hearing referred to her constituents as "not exactly rocket scientists" with an existing array of gambling problems, is in favor of creating future generations of addicts in her district in order to save them all a bus ride to Connecticut.
Or that the woman who once championed making the fluffernutter the official sandwich of Massachusetts isn't perhaps incapable of comprehending the serious ramifications that legalizing slots could have for other communities and taxpayers outside the confines of her district.
Heck, after three years of observing a certain percentage of the people who make up the Massachusetts legislature, including Kathi-Anne, you won't catch me holding my breath waiting for them to come up with a better solution than expanded gambling.
No, the thing that really gets me is that State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein had the unmitigated, sanctimonious gaul to face a group of unpaid citizen volunteers, including health educators and web designers and demand that they - they - provide her with alternative revenue sources.
Because heck, isn't that her job. Isn't that's what she's paid to do. Paid by us?
We all have jobs to do. So, are we free to call Kathi up and ask her how to do them?
Should medical doctors stop to confer with Kathi-Anne when stumped for a cure for their patient?
Perhaps demolitions experts should keep Kathi on speed dial in case they have to ask "should I cut the blue or the red wire."
Of course not. But this isn't the real world, it's the Commonwealth of Kathi-Anne - where she gets paid to try to make you look bad for not being able to do her job.
Which begs the question, aside from ignoring constituents, failing to perform due diligence, pretending not to fawn over special interests, supporting bad ideas, promoting unhealthy sandwiches to school children, talking too much, listening too little, collecting pensions for life and expecting other people to do their job, what is it, exactly, that today's legislators do?
I can tell you this - most of them haven't even taken the time to look at this website.
Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps we should add "being busy already knowing everything there is to know about slots" to that impressive legislative job description?
Because the more people know about this industry, the more they're likely to oppose it. Or, at least, more likely to demand a DEEPER LOOK.
Which is why people like me wait patiently for the Q & A session at the end of another long meeting, if they allow one at all, and then carefully phrase our comments in the form of a question. We wait for a year to give 5 minutes testimony to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and two and a half years to testify for 3 minutes at the State House. We wait our turn, for 13 hours, folded up like a human lawn chair in an over-crowded auditorium, to speak for less than a minute.
We work, unpaid, and play - if you can call it that- by the rules.
And that's the real problem, isn't it. It's why lobbyists spread around big money behind the scenes, and why legislators make quiet deals with the devil behind closed doors. Why unions pay their members to pack halls in distant towns, and why policy analysis turned industry shills label us, without grasping a shred of irony, the 'chattering class'.
Kathi wasn't afraid that her peers at the State House wouldn't hear her - she was terrified that, for once, they might actually hear us.
http://gladyskravitz.blogspot.com/2010/02/rude-ruder-kathi-anne-reinstein-story.html
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Beacon Hill's "Big Three" all say casinos? "Not in my backyard"
Murray, Patrick, DeLeo are casino NIMBYs
Beacon Hill's "Big Three" all say casinos? "Not in my backyard"
Article | News | | By Andy Metzger, State House News Service
The state's three top leaders all say NIMBY on casinos in their hometowns. SHNS photos.
Beacon Hill's "Big Three" - the state's most powerful forces behind enactment of the 2011 expanded gaming law - are of like minds in disapproving of hypothetical casino proposals in their hometowns.
"No," Senate President Therese Murray told the News Service Monday when asked if she would approve of a casino in Plymouth. "Plymouth doesn't' need a casino. It's a historic destination."
On her way to an event after attending a Hanukkah menorah lighting, Murray declined to expand on her answer.
A seaside town south of Boston, Plymouth was home to one of the country's oldest European settlements, founded by the pilgrims and led by William Bradford.
Echoes comments by Governor and House Leader
Gov. Deval Patrick had a similar answer when asked by a radio caller whether he would approve of a casino in Richmond, the far-western town where his Sweet P Farm is located.
"I would vote against it personally," Patrick said in November.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo said his hometown of Winthrop doesn't have the space for a casino.
"I don't know about Winthrop. Winthrop doesn't have enough space, so let me just put that right out there. If Winthrop was in another location and we had enough space, I'd say so," DeLeo said.
Winthrop has been designated a surrounding community by Suffolk Downs, the racetrack where DeLeo's father worked, which is hoping to build a casino in Revere, next door, after East Boston rejected the proposal. The Mass. Gaming Commission is weighing the split verdict and plans for a Revere-only casino.
Not In Martha's Vineyard either
On Monday, Patrick sued to block the Aquinnah Wampanoag's plans to build a casino on Martha's Vineyard outside of the regulatory process established by the state law.
The gaming law provided authority to cities and towns to determine whether to allow a casino or not. Developers have to first secure an agreement that would then be ratified or rejected by voters.
Patrick, Murray and DeLeo were prime pushers for the Casino Bill
Patrick signed the gaming bill into law Nov. 22, 2011 after DeLeo and Murray pushed casino bills through their respective branches. DeLeo's predecessor, former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, strongly opposed casinos. The House reversed its position on casinos once DeLeo became the speaker.
After voters in several communities rejected proposals for gambling facilities within their borders, the state has just a handful of proposals still in the mix for three available casino licenses.
Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said over the weekend that it could be three more years before the state's first casino opens its doors.
"No" votes culled the field of contenders for casino licenses in the east and west to an MGM project in Springfield, a Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett and the Suffolk Downs bid. In the southeast, the Mashpee Wampanoag are seeking to build a tribal casino in Taunton while KG Enterprises has submitted an application to build a casino in New Bedford should the region be opened up to commercial bids.
Licensing of a slots parlor is down to a Cordish Companies bid in Leominster, a Penn National proposal at the Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville, and a group seeking to redevelop the old Raynham Park dog track into a slots parlor.
http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2013/12/03/23020-murray-patrick-deleo-are-casino-nimbys
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Time for Change?
Those of us who testified, listened to the SHAM HEARINGS, PHONY DEBATES and watched the SLICK LOBBYISTS.....
...we watched the backroom deals that excluded the media and the public....
....little egos were stroked ......
The Corporate Media mostly shirked its responsibility rather RISK future Ad Revenue....except for a few notable exceptions, becoming nothing more than CHEERLEADERS....
If you're not sickened, maybe you weren't watching.....and again the Gam[bl]ing Commission holds a public hearing when the public can't attend and on a Jewish Holiday!
Stunning!
LIKE PATRICK, DeLEO WOULD OPPOSE CASINO IN HIS HOMETOWN
By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, NOV. 20, 2013….First it was Gov. Deval Patrick who said he would not support a casino in his second hometown of Richmond.
But as voters in communities around the state continue to reject casinos within their borders, House Speaker Robert DeLeo says he also would vote against a casino in his town of Winthrop if one were proposed there.
“I don’t know about Winthrop. Winthrop doesn’t have enough space, so let me just put that right out there. If Winthrop was in another location and we had enough space, I’d say so. We’re having difficulty right now just trying to figure out where to put a high school and a middle school combination, but obviously I would be supportive if I live in a place with proper space,” DeLeo said Wednesday.
Voters in Milford on Tuesday night rejected a proposed Foxwoods casino off Interstate 495, following similar negative votes in East Boston and Palmer this month.
“What I envisioned was when we wrote the legislation, and obviously it came to a final vote, was that any community that did not want a casino wasn’t going to have a casino, no matter what . . . This has proven us correct,” DeLeo said.
DeLeo was a force behind the expanded gaming law that turns two-years-old on Friday, but he also has an appreciation for the not-in-my-back-yard sentiment that has scuttled a number of casino proposals.
“If I lived in a place that had enough space for a casino, and quite frankly there were concerns about traffic that they didn’t address, if there were concerns about them working with our local communities in terms of about police presence and fire presence that they didn’t work out then no, I would not be supportive. The concept itself yes, but with the proviso though that they would have to work out some of the details of concern to the local communities,” DeLeo said.
Supporters of a proposed ballot question repealing the 2011 casino law reported late Wednesday that they had filed more than 90,000 signatures locally by a 5 p.m. deadline. Initiative petition sponsors need at least 68,911 certified signatures to advance in the process toward the 2014 ballot.
Repeal the Casino Deal noted West Springfield and Foxborough had also turned down casino plans.
Voters in Everett, Taunton and Springfield have voted to host casinos in their cities.
Attorney General Martha Coakley has ruled the casino law repeal proposal is not eligible for the ballot, but repeal opponents hope the Supreme Judicial Court will rule that it is eligible. Noting applicants have invested in the legal process of applying for casino licenses, analysts in the attorney general’s office say contract rights are considered property and may not be "taken" by an initiative petition.
“Like all our battles, this one was hard fought and we’re not certain of the outcome but we’re hopeful we have enough to move ahead,” John Ribeiro, chairman of the Repeal the Casino Deal Committee, said in a statement.
[Michael Norton contributed reporting]
END
11/20/2013
Serving the working press since 1910
http://www.statehousenews.com
...we watched the backroom deals that excluded the media and the public....
....little egos were stroked ......
The Corporate Media mostly shirked its responsibility rather RISK future Ad Revenue....except for a few notable exceptions, becoming nothing more than CHEERLEADERS....
If you're not sickened, maybe you weren't watching.....and again the Gam[bl]ing Commission holds a public hearing when the public can't attend and on a Jewish Holiday!
Stunning!
Are you as
sick to death of hypocrites like DeLeo, Patrick, and Crosby as I am? They
know the system isn't working. They know the voters of Plainville
got screwed by the gambling commission. But, clearly, as long as there isn't a
casino in their town, they don't care.
The
governor has ignored our entreaties — he never even acknowledged the joint
letter from voters in Plainville. Chairman Crosby and his commission refused to
finish vetting Penn National before our vote and decided that six days was
plenty of time for voters to learn about a new applicant; he refused to give
Plainville the same consideration he gave Milford, resulting in a blatant denial
of equal protection for our town. (But, hey, it's not his town, so why should
he care?) And Speaker DeLeo's argument in support of casinos in anybody's town
but his own is specious, at best.
PLEASE
attend the December 4th hearing in Plainville from 4 to 6PM at the Wood School.
I know it's at a perfectly terrible time for most citizens to attend, as well as
falling on a Jewish holiday (they'd NEVER hold a hearing on Christmas). But,
the gambling commission is FAR more interested in Penn National's
convenience than ours. We MUST make them listen to our concerns, at this hearing
or in the courts or both.
If you can't attend the hearing,
please send your comments to mgccomments@state.ma.us.
FYI:
LIKE PATRICK, DeLEO WOULD OPPOSE CASINO IN HIS HOMETOWN
By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, NOV. 20, 2013….First it was Gov. Deval Patrick who said he would not support a casino in his second hometown of Richmond.
But as voters in communities around the state continue to reject casinos within their borders, House Speaker Robert DeLeo says he also would vote against a casino in his town of Winthrop if one were proposed there.
“I don’t know about Winthrop. Winthrop doesn’t have enough space, so let me just put that right out there. If Winthrop was in another location and we had enough space, I’d say so. We’re having difficulty right now just trying to figure out where to put a high school and a middle school combination, but obviously I would be supportive if I live in a place with proper space,” DeLeo said Wednesday.
Voters in Milford on Tuesday night rejected a proposed Foxwoods casino off Interstate 495, following similar negative votes in East Boston and Palmer this month.
“What I envisioned was when we wrote the legislation, and obviously it came to a final vote, was that any community that did not want a casino wasn’t going to have a casino, no matter what . . . This has proven us correct,” DeLeo said.
DeLeo was a force behind the expanded gaming law that turns two-years-old on Friday, but he also has an appreciation for the not-in-my-back-yard sentiment that has scuttled a number of casino proposals.
“If I lived in a place that had enough space for a casino, and quite frankly there were concerns about traffic that they didn’t address, if there were concerns about them working with our local communities in terms of about police presence and fire presence that they didn’t work out then no, I would not be supportive. The concept itself yes, but with the proviso though that they would have to work out some of the details of concern to the local communities,” DeLeo said.
Supporters of a proposed ballot question repealing the 2011 casino law reported late Wednesday that they had filed more than 90,000 signatures locally by a 5 p.m. deadline. Initiative petition sponsors need at least 68,911 certified signatures to advance in the process toward the 2014 ballot.
Repeal the Casino Deal noted West Springfield and Foxborough had also turned down casino plans.
Voters in Everett, Taunton and Springfield have voted to host casinos in their cities.
Attorney General Martha Coakley has ruled the casino law repeal proposal is not eligible for the ballot, but repeal opponents hope the Supreme Judicial Court will rule that it is eligible. Noting applicants have invested in the legal process of applying for casino licenses, analysts in the attorney general’s office say contract rights are considered property and may not be "taken" by an initiative petition.
“Like all our battles, this one was hard fought and we’re not certain of the outcome but we’re hopeful we have enough to move ahead,” John Ribeiro, chairman of the Repeal the Casino Deal Committee, said in a statement.
[Michael Norton contributed reporting]
END
11/20/2013
Serving the working press since 1910
http://www.statehousenews.com
Monday, October 21, 2013
Political connections fail to protect Caesars-Suffolk Downs casino partnership
Oct 20, 2013, 3:35pm EDT
Political connections fail to protect Caesars-Suffolk Downs casino partnership
- Jon Chesto
- Managing Editor, Print- Boston Business Journal
So much for those political connections.
Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, the owner of the Suffolk Downs horse track in East Boston, has long been viewed as the odds-on favorite in the race for a Boston-area casino license. Two of the most powerful politicians in the state – House Speaker Bob DeLeo and Boston Mayor Tom Menino – are big supporters. And the ownership has essentially been working toward a casino license ever since Richard Fields bought a significant stake in 2007, four years before the Legislature even passed the law allowing three resort casinos and a slots parlor in the state.
The fix was in, or so everyone thought. That was at least the popular thinking for why no other big-time casino operator seemed to be showing up to bet on the casino resort license for the Boston area, by far the most lucrative of the four licenses up for bid.
Eventually, though, someone did show up. Steve Wynn, spurned in Foxboro, came to Everett, promising casino riches to this modest community with plans for a majestic casino project in a run-down, industrial area along the Mystic River. A third bidder for the Boston-area license, with ties to the Foxwoods casino, is seeking to build a casino in Milford. But Wynn and Suffolk are seen as the two front-runners.
Or at least, they were ‑ until Suffolk’s’ casino partnership with Caesars Entertainment imploded.
Caesars, a Las Vegas powerhouse led by Massachusetts resident Gary Loveman, announced on Friday that it was withdrawing from the Suffolk project. The abrupt withdrawal was certainly unexpected – one of Caesars’ top executives was just elected to the board of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, after all. And it comes at an inopportune time, with a Nov. 5 vote in East Boston scheduled on whether to accept the Suffolk casino plan.
The reason for Caesars’ abrupt departure? The Massachusetts Gaming Commission – or its staff, at least – was apparently taking a surprisingly stringent approach to a review of Caesars’ suitability to run a casino here. (Caesars would have a small equity stake in the project, and would operate the casino.) Caesars issued a statement to the media after 11 p.m. on Friday, calling the commission’s approach “arbitrary, unreasonable and inconsistent with those that exist in every other gaming jurisdiction.”
Caesars’ debt issues are well known. But Loveman is saying the debt was only one part of the problem. Caesars was given an opportunity to review a draft report from the gaming commission on its suitability (the document isn’t public yet, but will be soon), and Loveman was surprised that a seemingly tangential connection would be enough to remove Caesars from consideration. Loveman told a Bloomberg News reporter that state investigators zeroed in on a hotel project in Las Vegas in which Caesars was licensing the Gansevoort Hotel Group brand. Apparently, a red flag went up because the New York Post discovered German court documents that showed that an investor in Gansevoort was accused of having ties with the Russian mob. Never mind that Gansevoort and Caesars were willing to drop the licensing agreement to make the Suffolk project happen. Loveman said the gaming commission report still recommended that the commission deny Caesars a suitability review.
The commission has already done this once before, but it was a case that was much more cut and dried. Commissioners rejected the owners of the Plainridge racetrack after discovering that the guy who ran the track until recently had been accused of taking money out of the track’s funds for his own personal uses and not repaying it. At least in that case, the commission allowed Penn National to reach a deal to buy the track and move ahead with the track’s bid for a slots license.
Don’t count Suffolk out yet. Fields and his team still have time – although not much time — to consider another operator. My money is on Hard Rock International, because of Fields’ previous relationships with Hard Rock and that company’s recently failed bid to bring a casino to fruition in West Springfield.
But it couldn’t be clearer now that political clout doesn’t mean much over at the gaming commission’s offices on State Street.
DeLeo helped fashion the casino law to help Suffolk - although he reluctantly gave up on insisting that all tracks be allowed to host slot machines - back in 2011. But this issue is now largely out of the Legislature’s hands. And the once-indefatigable Menino announced his retirement earlier this year.
His replacement is scheduled to be picked at the same Nov. 5 election that would decide the Suffolk project’s fate. (Menino is apparently looking at whether it made sense to postpone the casino vote until Suffolk’s new partner is lined up.)
Steve Crosby, the gaming commission’s chairman, is as familiar a face as they come on Beacon Hill, particularly from his role as a top aide in the Cellucci and Swift administrations.
But Crosby has made it clear from the start that the gaming commission would be an island, one not subject to influence from the tight-knit web of business and political insiders that drives much of the decision making around here.
Crosby hasn’t even voted on Caesars’ suitability yet. But the staff’s approach to this case reaffirms a message Crosby has been sending as frequently as he can: It doesn’t matter who you know in this town, all of these applications are going to be given a tough look by the gaming commission.
Loveman certainly heard the spiel before. But he certainly didn’t expect it would actually come back haunt his company like this.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Casino Menino
Bravo! From BMG.....
heartlanddem | Wed, Aug 28, 2013
Flashback to Speaker DiMasi – Marriage equality, progressive leaning budgets – not necessarily in structure (taxation, etc) but in funding priorities and a big fat NO to “Casino Culture” for the Commonwealth. His reticence to acquiesce to the sharks circling the Commonwealth as the last virgin slot market got him a whacked and Bobby “Slots” DeLeo steps in. Governor Patrick was given the tip that to be elected Governor he needed to bring this to the fore after he got elected. His inaugural hosts were in the back-rooms dreaming of counting the “take” even while the parties shimmered! Remember the inaugural balls? Seems like a different lifetime. I digress.
Media and journalism are half-the-man they used to be…..literally and figuratively. One Boston Globe journalist told me in 2009 that they used to have about five reporters covering the casino/predatory gambling story but now (then….and it hasn’t gotten any better in the Biz) they had 1-2 reporters on it. MSM laid-down on the slots/casinos matter as they drank the “inevitability kool-aid.”
Casino Menino – arguably Boston’s most powerful mayor in recent times has served the city he loves like a work horse at Suffolk Downs. Always there, always plugging. As the sun is setting on his storied time as the CEO of the fairest and most distinguished of United States cities (must see Jimmy Tingle – we got it all here!), we see the mayor’s legacy eroding into that of being the guy who bull-dogged casinos into the heart of America’s history.
We ALL know that there would be no slots coming to the Commonwealth if Casino Menino, Bobby “slots” DeLeo, Therese and Deval hadn’t silenced almost all the opposition with the sheer power of their offices. Lots and lots of people are hired and paid by the Commonwealth. Lots and lots of businesses provide services for the Commonwealth. Lots and lots of citizens and officials want to please elected leaders….who have concentrated and significant powers. Too concentrated and too powerful for this kid who still believes democracy – even representative democracy – is a sacred form of government formed and sustained by self-rule.
The legislature under the direction of the bosses fell lock-step into line with casinos to the extent that they even crafted a devious way to manipulate referendum by allowing ward based voting for the largest cities in the Commonwealth (wink Boston.) Worcester wasn’t really on the map…..this whole exercise in shifting wealth has been for the boys at Suffolk Downs. With a handshake to the Springfield sharks and a token nod to Cedric (Cromwell) for a Native American tribe. And just to keep folks quiet, slots for tracks and a sliver of funding for a dozen other groups that needed hush money.
Notice, I said they silenced almost all the opposition? Not all.
The wonderful and amazing thing about this experiment we refer to as democracy is that there have always been and always will be people who stand up and speak their truth.
God bless MLK, Jr.
One man is standing up in Boston speaking “truth to power” and he has many supporters. That is Bill Walczak who gleaned some really positive words from Adrian Walker in today’s Globe which followed his scathing if not overdue criticism of the Casino Menino process. It’s true!
Walczak has drafted a Change.org petition to hold Boston leaders accountable for a community wide/city wide referendum on casinos.
A casino executive from Spectrum Gaming stated in testimony, “casinos change everything.” All voters should have a right to their ballot for issues that impact them.
Go to the petition and check it out here. And seriously, check out Walczak’s positions – this guy is bright.
Then, sign up to help get signatures to place the slots/casino matter to a vote on the 2014 ballot at Repeal The Casino Deal.
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/2013/08/casino-menino/
Casino Menino
heartlanddem | Wed, Aug 28, 2013Flashback to Speaker DiMasi – Marriage equality, progressive leaning budgets – not necessarily in structure (taxation, etc) but in funding priorities and a big fat NO to “Casino Culture” for the Commonwealth. His reticence to acquiesce to the sharks circling the Commonwealth as the last virgin slot market got him a whacked and Bobby “Slots” DeLeo steps in. Governor Patrick was given the tip that to be elected Governor he needed to bring this to the fore after he got elected. His inaugural hosts were in the back-rooms dreaming of counting the “take” even while the parties shimmered! Remember the inaugural balls? Seems like a different lifetime. I digress.
Media and journalism are half-the-man they used to be…..literally and figuratively. One Boston Globe journalist told me in 2009 that they used to have about five reporters covering the casino/predatory gambling story but now (then….and it hasn’t gotten any better in the Biz) they had 1-2 reporters on it. MSM laid-down on the slots/casinos matter as they drank the “inevitability kool-aid.”
Casino Menino – arguably Boston’s most powerful mayor in recent times has served the city he loves like a work horse at Suffolk Downs. Always there, always plugging. As the sun is setting on his storied time as the CEO of the fairest and most distinguished of United States cities (must see Jimmy Tingle – we got it all here!), we see the mayor’s legacy eroding into that of being the guy who bull-dogged casinos into the heart of America’s history.
We ALL know that there would be no slots coming to the Commonwealth if Casino Menino, Bobby “slots” DeLeo, Therese and Deval hadn’t silenced almost all the opposition with the sheer power of their offices. Lots and lots of people are hired and paid by the Commonwealth. Lots and lots of businesses provide services for the Commonwealth. Lots and lots of citizens and officials want to please elected leaders….who have concentrated and significant powers. Too concentrated and too powerful for this kid who still believes democracy – even representative democracy – is a sacred form of government formed and sustained by self-rule.
The legislature under the direction of the bosses fell lock-step into line with casinos to the extent that they even crafted a devious way to manipulate referendum by allowing ward based voting for the largest cities in the Commonwealth (wink Boston.) Worcester wasn’t really on the map…..this whole exercise in shifting wealth has been for the boys at Suffolk Downs. With a handshake to the Springfield sharks and a token nod to Cedric (Cromwell) for a Native American tribe. And just to keep folks quiet, slots for tracks and a sliver of funding for a dozen other groups that needed hush money.
Notice, I said they silenced almost all the opposition? Not all.
The wonderful and amazing thing about this experiment we refer to as democracy is that there have always been and always will be people who stand up and speak their truth.
God bless MLK, Jr.
One man is standing up in Boston speaking “truth to power” and he has many supporters. That is Bill Walczak who gleaned some really positive words from Adrian Walker in today’s Globe which followed his scathing if not overdue criticism of the Casino Menino process. It’s true!
Walczak has drafted a Change.org petition to hold Boston leaders accountable for a community wide/city wide referendum on casinos.
A casino executive from Spectrum Gaming stated in testimony, “casinos change everything.” All voters should have a right to their ballot for issues that impact them.
Go to the petition and check it out here. And seriously, check out Walczak’s positions – this guy is bright.
Then, sign up to help get signatures to place the slots/casino matter to a vote on the 2014 ballot at Repeal The Casino Deal.
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/2013/08/casino-menino/
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Fitzgerald: Pols sell out city for blood money
Fitzgerald: Pols sell out city for blood money
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
By: Joe Fitzgerald
They hear just fine, but the powers that be do not listen, which is different, because if they listened they couldn’t kid themselves into believing they’d be serving the public well by tearing apart homes and families.
Make no mistake, that’s what gambling can do, which is why it’s called a family disease, a term you’ll never hear from those so-called public servants now closing in on bringing casino gambling to this commonwealth.
Some time back, when legislation permitting casinos was winding its way through Beacon Hill, a senator named Sue Tucker zeroed in on some ugliness her colleagues preferred to ignore.
“I found references to wiretapping, money laundering, enterprise crime,” she said. “But what really got to me were the lines requiring casinos to check their parking lots every two hours for abandoned children.”
To his credit, House Speaker Bob DeLeo called here one day asking for the number of a reader who was livid over the prospect of casino gambling.
He had hoped to offer her reassurance.
“I told him how my father hocked my mother’s ring, then her watch, always promising to replace them ‘when my ship comes in,’” she said.
“I told him if my father saw two cockroaches on the floor, he’d want to bet a buck on which one reached the wall first.
“When he asked how I felt about casinos and slots I said, ‘People sitting there all night long, swinging their arms on levers, pouring in quarters; that’s how we’re going to fix our economy?’”
Oh, pols can rationalize it; look at all the money the losers will leave behind.
But they can’t justify it, because too often those losers are moms and dads who can’t afford the losses, but are seduced by the cruel allure that maybe the next bet will be the one that helps them crawl out of an ever-deepening hole.
While citizens have every right to engage in a destructive obsession, the government has no business encouraging them.
Indeed, from its founding days, one of government’s fundamental roles has been to “promote the general welfare,” remember?
How does taking blood money from suckers square with that?
Now, in an unconscionable rush to create this cash cow at Suffolk Downs, our public servants would disenfranchise most of Boston’s voters, not allowing them to voice their feelings in a referendum, even though the whole city would have to pay for many of the resources a casino would need.
Then again, sweetheart deals have never been big on democracy.
Public service? Please. This is a public disgrace. - See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/joe_fitzgerald/2013/08/fitzgerald_pols_sell_out_city_for_blood_money#sthash.vxKuDArd.dpuf
Monday, April 15, 2013
No Questions Asked
An Open Letter to City Councilors At-Large regarding The Potential Casino at Suffolk Downs
by Tina St Gelais Kelly on Sunday, April 14, 2013
Dear Councilors at Large,
We are nearing a vote in East Boston on something that will impact our entire city tremendously.
How many of you have attended HCAC meetings? You are the Checks and Balances for our Mayor, how many of you can reiterate the information that the HCAC has given to the community? The answer is none of you, because the HCAC has NOT given any information back to the community.
You know, there was a meeting that HCAC held on Suffolk Downs transportation plan last Wednesday. Where were you? Where were you to ask the hard questions of the Mayor's committee and Suffolk Downs? This casino is going to be a huge impact on the City of Boston and every single politician that I voted for, (which is every single one of you too, by the way) has not been able to give me absolute proof this is a prosperous choice for the city and beneficial to our community.
Have you read the transportation plan? If you did, you would know that it is not a plan, it is a band aid. Have you listened to constituents concerns at community meetings? What research have you done to show your constituents that this is a good idea for the City besides creating jobs? That the revenue the city will be reportedly making will offset the the long list of negative impacts on East Boston? What about the people who live here? Have you spoken to them? Or just the politicians that are in Suffolk Downs pocket? The Mayor, Sal Lamattina, Anthony Petrucelli and Carlo Basile are all in, and here’s why: The Jobs! Exactly what Suffolk Downs says as well. Who is asking how many additional police officers will we need to off set the increase in addiction, burglary and prostitution?
How much have we spent already to prepare for this? Why is Chip Tuttles wife donating to Senator Petruccelli and Carlos Basiles’ campaign? Why was John Vitagliano, the Suffolk Downs traffic consultant (who has donated 1000 dollars to Petrucelli, Basile and also donated to Deleo) appointed by Speaker Robert DeLeo last week to serve as a member to the newly created Special Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Commission? (Conflict of interest, no?) Why are they changing the law all of the sudden to let the background check on investors “slide” BEFORE the community votes?
No one has given solid research that this is a good choice for East Boston. All positive accounts are conducted by gaming consultants. I suggest that you all sit down and research before you let this Casino be shoved down East Boston’s throat. East Boston votes you in too. Start asking questions.
Start getting us some answers because right now Suffolk Downs is running the show and you are letting them. It is time to roll up your sleeves and remember why you wanted to be a leader, why you wanted to make a change in this great city and why you want to continue to do so: because we believe in you. East Boston needs you, Councilors, more than ever. We need to hear why this is a good idea or why it is not. I think it is not, because of all the back door negotiating that the HCAC has been doing for a year with no information available to the public, will you prove me otherwise?
Thank you,
Tina St. Gelais Kelly
Friday, April 12, 2013
Vitagliano appointed to serve on Infrastructure Comm.
Mr. Vitagliano is the person who was commissioned by Senator Petrucelli to conduct a review of infrastructure surrounding Suffolk Downs, determined the cost would be + $500 MILLION and then couldn't find the report.
Does something smell funny?
From Facebook --
This smells REALLY BAD to me. Anyone else?
Does something smell funny?
From Facebook --
Vitagliano appointed to serve on Infrastructure Comm.
By Giordana Mecagni in No Eastie Casino (Files)
Vitagliano appointed to serve on Infrastructure Comm.
By John Lynds
Longtime East Boston activist and transportation guru John Vitagliano, principal of
Seagull Consulting, was appointed by Speaker Robert DeLeo last week to serve as a member to the newly created Special Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Commission.
Vitagliano, an Eastie native, will join six other members on the legislatively mandated commission that will reviews and approve all public-private partnership transportation infrastructure requests.
“We have potential to address the state’s deteriorating infrastructure issues by entering in good partnerships with private entities to address some of the costs given the current economic climate,” said Vitagliano.
According to MassDOT, commission members had to be experts with experience in
transportation law, public policy, public finance, management consulting, transportation or organizational change. Vitagliano was a former Massport board member and the former Transportation Commissioner for the City of Boston.
He was most recently involved in the multimillion-dollar federal construction project of the Chelsea Street Bridge and played a significant role in the bypass road that now connects Eastie via Logan Airport to Chelsea.
“There’s a need to identify entities that benefit from the state’s infrastructure and find
ways to bring them into the fold to help defer some of the costs,” said Vitagliano.
Vitagliano said his role, although not yet defined, could potentially focus on public transportation improvements.
“I look forward to our first meeting and take an active role in addressing some big
transportation needs”, said Vitagliano.
According to MassDOT requests for proposal for a public-private agreement for
design-build-finance-operate-maintain services must receive the commission’s
written approval before being issued by DOT.
Vitagliano and the commission will also, in reviewing the requests for proposals, consider such issues as the proposed policies for overseeing a privately operated transportation facility; financial issues including taxation, profit-sharing, revenue producing ideas and the financial value of any state transportation facility
involved; use of new technologies; and the anticipated advantages of entering into a
public-private agreement for services.
“These highly-qualified leaders will provide critical early input to ensure that
transportation investments are made wisely,” said Governor Deval Patrick. Last year the U.S. Coast Guard recently honored Vitagliano for his work on the Chelsea Street Bridge project.
Vitagliano was presented the award along with a certificate and official medal at a ceremony in Eastie.
The Coast Guard recognized Vitagliano for ‘meritorious service of national and
regional significance while providing critical public and multi-coordination in the facilitation of the Chelsea Street Bridge’ project. Throughout the entire bridge project, Vitagliano provided thousands of hours of outreach and coordination efforts
between state agencies, the Coast guard, the Army Corp of Engineers as well as the community.
The Coast Guard recognized Vitagliano’s astute networking and communication skills as being a critical part in completing the multi-year project.
[Picture] John Vitagliano with Representative Carlo Basile during the dedication of the new Chelsea Street Bridge. Vitagliano, was appointed to serve as a members to the newly created Special Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Commission.
http://www.eastietimes.com/wp-content/uploads/EastieTimes.pdf
Vitagliano 'loses' Petrucelli's $500 million study on route 1a improvements and somehow gets a sweetheart position serving on a public-private transportation infrastructure committee? Also, he was on the Massport board?
By John Lynds
Longtime East Boston activist and transportation guru John Vitagliano, principal of
Seagull Consulting, was appointed by Speaker Robert DeLeo last week to serve as a member to the newly created Special Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Commission.
Vitagliano, an Eastie native, will join six other members on the legislatively mandated commission that will reviews and approve all public-private partnership transportation infrastructure requests.
“We have potential to address the state’s deteriorating infrastructure issues by entering in good partnerships with private entities to address some of the costs given the current economic climate,” said Vitagliano.
According to MassDOT, commission members had to be experts with experience in
transportation law, public policy, public finance, management consulting, transportation or organizational change. Vitagliano was a former Massport board member and the former Transportation Commissioner for the City of Boston.
He was most recently involved in the multimillion-dollar federal construction project of the Chelsea Street Bridge and played a significant role in the bypass road that now connects Eastie via Logan Airport to Chelsea.
“There’s a need to identify entities that benefit from the state’s infrastructure and find
ways to bring them into the fold to help defer some of the costs,” said Vitagliano.
Vitagliano said his role, although not yet defined, could potentially focus on public transportation improvements.
“I look forward to our first meeting and take an active role in addressing some big
transportation needs”, said Vitagliano.
According to MassDOT requests for proposal for a public-private agreement for
design-build-finance-operate-maintain services must receive the commission’s
written approval before being issued by DOT.
Vitagliano and the commission will also, in reviewing the requests for proposals, consider such issues as the proposed policies for overseeing a privately operated transportation facility; financial issues including taxation, profit-sharing, revenue producing ideas and the financial value of any state transportation facility
involved; use of new technologies; and the anticipated advantages of entering into a
public-private agreement for services.
“These highly-qualified leaders will provide critical early input to ensure that
transportation investments are made wisely,” said Governor Deval Patrick. Last year the U.S. Coast Guard recently honored Vitagliano for his work on the Chelsea Street Bridge project.
Vitagliano was presented the award along with a certificate and official medal at a ceremony in Eastie.
The Coast Guard recognized Vitagliano for ‘meritorious service of national and
regional significance while providing critical public and multi-coordination in the facilitation of the Chelsea Street Bridge’ project. Throughout the entire bridge project, Vitagliano provided thousands of hours of outreach and coordination efforts
between state agencies, the Coast guard, the Army Corp of Engineers as well as the community.
The Coast Guard recognized Vitagliano’s astute networking and communication skills as being a critical part in completing the multi-year project.
[Picture] John Vitagliano with Representative Carlo Basile during the dedication of the new Chelsea Street Bridge. Vitagliano, was appointed to serve as a members to the newly created Special Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Commission.
http://www.eastietimes.com/wp-content/uploads/EastieTimes.pdf
Vitagliano 'loses' Petrucelli's $500 million study on route 1a improvements and somehow gets a sweetheart position serving on a public-private transportation infrastructure committee? Also, he was on the Massport board?
This smells REALLY BAD to me. Anyone else?
Top of the list:
| VITAGLIANO, JOHN A | $1,000.00 |
votesmart.org
Review Senator Anthony Petruccelli's campaing finances, learn where the money is coming from, and who are the top contributors
http://votesmart.org/candidate/campaign-finance/4792/robert-deleo
votesmart.org
Review Representative Robert DeLeo's campaing finances, learn where the money is coming from, and who are the top contributors
Taken from a tiny article on pg 7 of the ET ... after the fluff.
**
Suffolk Downs and its partner Caesars Entertain-
ment (NASDAQ: CZR) will announce their plans for a
multi-faceted business partnership program, offering local businesses a variety of opportunities to benefit from the proposed $1 billion world-class resort and casino at the
historic racetrack. The announcement will be held on Thursday, April 11 at 2 p.m. at the Courtyard Boston Logan Airport, 225 McClellan Highway, East Boston. bers to redeem their rewards
at participating local businesses, and to partner with the
resort as an on-site restaurant, among other opportunities.
This small business announcement comes only weeks after Suffolk Downs and Caesars Entertainment announced a major arts and cultural agreement with the Citi Performing Arts Center.
The event will be in the first floor conference room at
the Courtyard Boston Logan Airport.
For more information,
please contact Lara Mendizza
at (617) 338-6601 or lara@carpmancommunications.com.
**
I have to say, SD/"CZR" will 'spend' all the fake mountains of cash they (won't) say they have to bribe the crap out of people and eat this town for breakfast when they get folks go to sign up.
I'm so sick of it.
ALL these things CAN be achieved without casino involvement.
DONT tell them what you want. JUST VOTE NO!
**
Suffolk Downs and its partner Caesars Entertain-
ment (NASDAQ: CZR) will announce their plans for a
multi-faceted business partnership program, offering local businesses a variety of opportunities to benefit from the proposed $1 billion world-class resort and casino at the
historic racetrack. The announcement will be held on Thursday, April 11 at 2 p.m. at the Courtyard Boston Logan Airport, 225 McClellan Highway, East Boston. bers to redeem their rewards
at participating local businesses, and to partner with the
resort as an on-site restaurant, among other opportunities.
This small business announcement comes only weeks after Suffolk Downs and Caesars Entertainment announced a major arts and cultural agreement with the Citi Performing Arts Center.
The event will be in the first floor conference room at
the Courtyard Boston Logan Airport.
For more information,
please contact Lara Mendizza
at (617) 338-6601 or lara@carpmancommunications.com.
**
I have to say, SD/"CZR" will 'spend' all the fake mountains of cash they (won't) say they have to bribe the crap out of people and eat this town for breakfast when they get folks go to sign up.
I'm so sick of it.
ALL these things CAN be achieved without casino involvement.
DONT tell them what you want. JUST VOTE NO!
When Mayor Menino and Senator Petrucelli are allowed under law to maintain 'charities' that received undisclosed contributions, it would seem there is much work to do.
What other contributions were received?
We also know that Secretary Bialecki and Senator Rosenberg profited from investment in casino interests that weren't publicly disclosed.
It would seem that the public knows very little.
This needs to change and the change requires all of us asking and insisting on change. We need to support candidates who insist on change.
Democracy is not a spectator sport and only works when all of us protest.
What other contributions were received?
We also know that Secretary Bialecki and Senator Rosenberg profited from investment in casino interests that weren't publicly disclosed.
It would seem that the public knows very little.
This needs to change and the change requires all of us asking and insisting on change. We need to support candidates who insist on change.
Democracy is not a spectator sport and only works when all of us protest.
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