Mark Chapman is NancyOnNorwalk’s editor
“Massachusetts has declared war on us and we are going to fight back.”
So said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), according to CT News Junkie, as the state legislature responded to an imminent threat from Massachusetts that is actually some 40-plus years in the making.
That’s how long the Bay State has been debating legalized casino gambling. Some hopeful investors actually built structures in the early ’70s that were planned for gaming but run as dinner theaters and function facilities while the debate raged. Turns out the group was way ahead of its time, and the facilities were all repurposed. But finally, years after two Connecticut American Indian tribes jumped on the gambling bandwagon – with much initial success – Massachusetts gave the revenue-raising ploy a thumbs up.
That apparently has enraged the usually docile Duff, who showed grit reportedly not seen in the closer-to-home battles over ECS funding when he threw down the gauntlet to Massachusetts.
Duff and his compatriots want to permit the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods (Mashantucket Pequots) to join forces to open three new casinos in Connecticut before the Springfield, Mass. gaming resort opens in about 2 ½ years.
As CT News Junkie reported: “According to Duff, the number of casinos in the Northeast has more than doubled in the last 10 years. Simultaneously, Connecticut’s share of revenue from the state’s two existing gaming facilities has been cut in half, with the number of available jobs in those casinos decreasing.”
According to another CT News Junkie story, a report commissioned by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun estimated some 9,300 Connecticut jobs could be lost if the Springfield challenge goes unanswered.
“This is our clarion call,” Duff said in the report. “We’re going to fight for jobs in Eastern Connecticut.” Duff told the CTMirror, “We would do the same if this were Electric Boat or Pratt & Whitney.”
More from CT News Junkie’s story: A report released last week by the Northeastern Gaming Research Project said revenue from the two casinos in the state has declined by 39 percent since peaking in 2006. For Foxwoods, that translates to total revenue in 2014 of $892 million, down from $1.6 billion in 2006. Mohegan Sun Casino brought in $1 billion in 2014 compared to $1.6 billion eight years earlier.
MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren says the response is focused on the wrong thing: Improving the existing facilities would keep and create more jobs than adding what he called “slot boxes” to try to keep the coins in Connecticut.
While Duff and Co., and the casino execs, believe adding casinos is the answer, a blinder-free look at Atlantic City might be in order. Overbuilding casinos nearly killed the golden seagull at the long-suffering beachside resort, and then casinos popped up in Philadelphia, Delaware, New York and, yes Connecticut, siphoning off even more casino dollars.
Over the past year, four Atlantic City casinos have closed. One, the Showboat, wasn’t even a loser, but the parent company owns Harrah’s, Caesars and Bally’s, and made a choice to boost business and cut overhead.
As more casinos open, the market is spread thin. It’s like a winning lottery ticket: One winner might become a millionaire, but 12 winning tickets dilute the pot. Connecticut legislators might want to study that part of the equation before splitting their hand and doubling down.
Racial Profiling report presents mixed picture of Norwalk
When the recent dense, data-heavy Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project was released, the preliminary reading showed Norwalk had an elevated number of stops for black drivers given the city’s population demographics, but nothing so out of line as to raise any red flags.
We checked out the data for further information. We looked at dispositions of traffic stops, which were broken down into Uniform Arrest Report, Misdemeanor Summons, Infraction Ticket, Written Warning, Verbal Warning, and No Disposition. According to the report, in the period covered by the study (Oct. 1, 2013-May 31, 2014), arrest reports were written for 1.38 percent of white drivers while reports were written for 2.63 percent of black drivers stopped. White drivers received misdemeanor summonses 5.90 percent fo the time, while blacks were at 9.45 percent; for infraction tickets, it was 57.91 percent for white, 38.86 percent for blacks; written warnings, .57 percent for whites, .90 percent for blacks; and verbal warnings, 33.14 percent white and 46.96 percent blacks.
When it came to cars being searched after a traffic stop, blacks got searched twice as often as whites, 14.33 percent to 7.05 percent. Blacks gave consent for the searches 49.21 percent of the time, while whites were slightly less cooperative at 46.34 percent. The report noted contraband was found in 23.34 percent of the searches of cars driven by white, and 17.28 percent of the times in cars driven by blacks.
The report noted that 60.73 percent of those stopped were city residents; 93.52 percent were Connecticut residents.
Senior Citizens Connection Day is April 15
And what, pray tell, is Senior Citizens Connection Day?
It’s a chance for Norwalk seniors to find out about cost-saving programs and to meet the people who administer them, as well as Mayor Harry Rilling.
The free event will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday April 15, in the Community Room at City Hall. Seniors can enjoy refreshments while learning about the programs that could save them money on taxes, rent, groceries, energy, medical care and other services. The Norwalk Health Department will offer free blood pressure checks.
Transportation will be available from the Senior Center on Allen Road. For those who prefer to drive, parking will be available in the City Hall lot.
Do the right thing?
Some food for thought in this political season:
“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.”
– H. Jackson Brown, Jr. quotes (best selling writer, author of Life’s Little Instruction Book)
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