Build a Casino, Already
The question of a casino in this state is ridiculous, and I find writing about it just as silly. The main question is this: do we, as a state, wish to continue to help fund our neighboring states or keep Massachusetts dollars in Massachusetts? Personally, I find casinos to be nothing more than money funnels. But many people do seem to enjoy the experience. To them I say, thank you for your hard earned dollars and thank you for keeping them in your own state. The article (“Shut up and Bet,” April 22) should not question the legislators who’ve changed their minds about casinos; it should question the legislators who dared to let dollars cross state lines for so long and didn’t look out for Massachusetts’ best interest. Shame on those who held back on supporting casinos. I question the integrity of each legislator for letting this go on for so long. Did someone make out by voting against casinos? I believe deep in my heart they did.
Jim Girard
via Online Comments
Casino Rationale Irrational
It is naive to believe that Baystaters travel to Connecticut to gamble solely because they cannot do so in Massachusetts. People who have come to enjoy Foxwoods (the largest casino on Earth) or Mohegan Sun may not necessarily be in any hurry to stop doing so. If anything, Massachusetts’ legalized gambling will create choice, but it will not recapture all or possibly not even a majority of the revenue sent to Connecticut.
There are polls that suggest residents of Massachusetts are in favor of a casino so long as it is nowhere near them. In that regard, Connecticut residents caught a break when their state’s casinos were built on remote Indian reservations. Would Massachusetts be so lucky? Probably not.
Finally, there is nothing wrong with questioning the motives or flip-flopping of the legislature. Behavior like that of Rep. Ellen Story’s is candid, but disgusting because it shows a total compromise of her principles for the sake of access and power. Whether those principles, when they were intact, ran contrary to a proponent’s view of gambling is irrelevant. Additionally, I would caution voters who favor casinos from allowing their support for gambling to blind them from the greater evil in the House’s vote: the fact that many legislators are flipping from their 2008 vote against casinos does not reflect a sudden burst of wisdom about gambling, but rather, as on many other issues, the autocratic pressure House and Senate leaders wrongly and undemocratically put on their colleagues.
Matt Szafranski
Via Online Comments
Scott Tower Fan Mail
I just wanted to say a belated thank you for Mark Roessler’s article on Scott Tower. (“A Tale of Two Towers,” Nov. 8, 2008.)
My wife and I are relatively new to the area; we’ve been up to Scott’s Field [now known as Community Field] numerous times, but we had never come across Scott’s Tower. Today we decided we’d do a bit of adventuring on our walk with our son in the carriage, and I was very surprised to find so much detail at the end of an otherwise common service road.
I instantly saw the cell phone tower, and how it was previously neatly covered by a fence, but which had since been pillaged. We then rounded the corner and certainly couldn’t have been more shocked by the presence of this large stone tower. How I never saw this above the tree line I don’t know, but I’ll be looking for it in the future. I was also shocked by the contrast of the current tower’s condition to the post cards I found online (along with your story). Once I found out this was the Scott Park they were referencing in the survey Holyoke put out a year or so ago, I felt incredibly guilty for not knowing the extent of the park.
I would really like to do something, and today we saw a sign that said “April 25th—Bring yourself and your dog, as much time as you can volunteer—with trashbags to come clean up” I am hoping there is a grasroots effort to clean this area, because upon seeing the glorious park that once was, I truly hope it can be restored.
Joshua Wilcox
Holyoke
Editor’s note: The Holyoke Parks & Recreation Department is looking for volunteers for a Community Field and Scott Tower Clean-up on May 15 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Anyone interested in helping may call the department at (413) 322-5620 or show up at the Community Field, located off of Cherry Street, that morning. The rain date for the event is Sunday, May 16. The event is being coordinated by the Recreation Department and Holyoke Ward Six Councilor Todd A. McGee.
There are also at least two online “Friends of Scotts (sic) Tower” groups dedicated to seeing its revitalization. One is on Facebook and the other can be found here: http://holyoke.ning.com/group/friendsofscottstower
