Casino opponents in the city have had a hard time getting their message out, given the staggeringly lopsided nature of the battle between them and the deep-pocketed MGM. But tomorrow night, the anti-casino side will get a high-profile boost, via an appearance by former Mass. Attorney General and long-time casino critic Scott Harshbarger.
Harshbarger—who earned both fans and enemies by going after public corruption in Springfield in the early ’90s—will speak at an event organized by the Western Mass. Episcopal Diocese. He’ll be joined by Bob Steele, a former Connecticut congressman and author of the anti-casino novel, The Curse: Big Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, and Bishop Douglas J. Fisher.
That event takes place tomorrow, June 26, at 7 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 35 Chestnut St.
Earlier in the day, the organized-labor supported GreenWork will host a forum with MGM on the “green” aspects of the company’s proposed South End casino. MGM will make a pitch about how it intends to incorporate sustainable practices in the design and building of the casino, including efficient use of water and energy and efforts to reduce waste and pollution. After that, the audience will have a chance to ask questions.
The green-casino event will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 200 of Western New England University’s Center for the Sciences and Pharmacy, 1215 Wilbraham Rd.
Residents will vote on whether to approve the Sarno administration’s host-community agreement with MGM on July 16.
