IT NEEDS TO BE SAID AGAIN!    

Retired SSU History Prof.  Tony White says it all and says it best in his 2008 Opinion in the Press Democrat   

Gambling the future on El Casino Real

Are we so desparate for revenue and employment that we have to compromise important values or principles in casino promises?

By TONY WHITE  Tony White of Santa Rosa, a retired Sonoma State University history professor, is co-founder and contributing editor of planetwatch.org, a global warming/energy independence Web site.  

Published: The Press Democrat, Wednesday, June 25, 2008  

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 25, 2008  

Whether you call it gaming, as opposed to gambling, and hire the best PR firms to disguise reality, the gargantuan casino proposed for Rohnert Park is just bad public policy, and positive spin does not make it a good policy.

While I appreciate the need for projects that will benefit the first Californians, why compound a litany of historical misdeeds with a project with so many downsides? Let me list some of them:

Gambling is a regressive tax, which affects those least able to afford it. It is a serious addiction that affects many hardworking Americans, including Native Americans, and destroys lives and families. The California Lottery, hailed as an unlimited source of funds for education, has not lived up to its promise of funding public schools.

Not only would the proposed Rohnert Park casino add 18,000 vehicle trips per day to an already gridlocked Highway 101 and increase carbon emissions, but the casino and its parking lot would obliterate precious wetlands. Rohnert Park faces serious water and sewage problems, and drilling wells for the casino will deplete the local aquifer. Even if green building techniques are used, the casino would have a sizable footprint and release large amounts of greenhouse gases.

Are we so desperate for the revenue and employment that the casino promises that we have to compromise important values or principles? If our schools, cities, police and fire departments and hospitals are starved for resources, then it is the community's obligation to support them with tax revenue. As the saying goes, there is no free lunch.

There is no guarantee that a casino will flourish and have millions to spare, and it passes the burden of financing public services and projects onto the backs of low-income families. Just this week, the Sycuan tribe in San Diego deferred payment on the $30 million it owes the state of California from gambling.

While the creation of new jobs would be welcome, many would be in low-paying service positions. Since we already have a housing shortage for working families, casino workers would have to live outside the area and commute long distances to work.

 The Rohnert Park casino plan raises other questions. Will the profits from gambling stay in Sonoma County or be siphoned off by a Nevada gambling company? Will this mega-gambling site increase criminal activity and require additional police or social services? How many Pomos and Miwoks will be employed or benefit from the project?

In order to accurately measure the impact of this project, a comprehensive community impact report should be prepared and submitted for approval. Since this project will affect county residents, candidates for the Board of Supervisors should not only state their position on the casino, but also indicate whether they support a countywide referendum on the project.

 Since other tribes already operate casinos in Geyserville, Hopland and Lake County, do we really need another gambling center in the North Bay? River Rock Casino not only built a massive parking structure without prior approval, but is planning a mega-sized resort in Alexander Valley. Will this experience be replicated in Rohnert Park?

 This country owes a tremendous debt to its original inhabitants, and our history is replete with atrocities and abuses committed against them. But we need more constructive ways of helping them to help themselves through self-improvement and education, while preserving their culture. Very few Californian Indians currently benefit from gambling, it has not reduced poverty and Indian communities are divided on the merits of owning casinos.

 There also appears to be a basic contradiction between building a casino on wetlands and the ideal of living in harmony with nature and your neighbors. Does the tribal vision also include shopping around for casino sites, preventing other tribes from fulfilling their destinies or intimidating critics?