People Against a Casino Town
News of Interest
Casino in LaCenter?  Time to take a stand
 ...  it is long past time for those who ask us for their votes to take a stand in this four-year-old dispute.

There are better ways to use that land - ways that would keep it on the tax rolls
(unlike a reservation for a tribe that is based closer to Toledo, Wash., than La Center)
and provide higher-end jobs without the gambling addiction and the problems it fosters.

 
 In Our View: Get Off the Fence

Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Columbian Editorial Staff

Vancouver mayor opposes casino; other elected officials should follow

It was no surprise that Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard on Monday declared himself against the proposal by the Cowlitz Tribe's David Barnett and the ­Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut to build a sprawling casino-hotel complex near La Center, or anywhere in Clark County for that matter.

Now it's time for the drama: Will there be any dissenters when Pollard asks the Vancouver City Council on May 7 to support a resolution opposing a casino here? And will other fence-sitting elected officials, boards and commissions join him in opposition to the long-term effects of one of the state's largest casinos on the natural and social environment here?

We hope they take Pollard up on the invitation and oppose this Palace of Lost Wages, Concrete Landscape and Low-End Jobs.

Opponents such as Tom Hunt, spokesman for Citizens Against Reservation Shopping (CARS), say opposition from elected officials would carry weight with federal officials who ultimately will decide if a casino complex may go in at the La Center junction on Interstate 5. (Columbian Publisher Scott Campbell is a member of CARS. The Columbian editorially opposes the casino because it would diminish the local quality of life.)

But even if one supports a casino in the county, the mayor's challenge is welcome. Indeed, it is long past time for those who ask us for their votes to take a stand in this four-year-old dispute.

Congressman Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, would be a good place for Pollard and other opponents to start, although his office reiterated Monday that he is waiting for the Cowlitz Tribe's final Environmental Impact Statement to be published before taking a stance.

Pollard, who initially did not oppose a casino, said he has studied the issue and lumps his opposition into three categories:

. The heart of the Cowlitz tribe's ancestral lands are farther north, in Cowlitz and Lewis counties. So, even if the tribe is to get a reservation for a casino, it should not be in Clark County.

. Casino customers and 3,151 employees would have negative impacts on the county, including effects on traffic, housing, schools, and social service agencies, owing to the low-pay status of the jobs. Gambling addiction would lead to bankruptcies, broken families and crime, which would be felt throughout Clark County.

. The casino-approval process, overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Interior Department, has not been consistently transparent and accessible to the public. Many who occasionally seek information or responses from the BIA can testify to that vast void. (A Columbian editorial writer Monday was unsuccessful in getting comment on Pollard's announcement from the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., the BIA in Washington and the BIA regional office in Portland.)

Vancouver Councilwoman Jeanne Stewart said Monday she will support the anti-casino resolution, primarily because of the impact the casino's employees and patrons would have on traffic, especially the I-5 Bridge.

"The I-5 corridor has already failed," she said. "It is (beyond) capacity." She and Pollard, like this editorial board, come back pretty much to the same conclusion: There are better ways to use that land - ways that would keep it on the tax rolls (unlike a reservation for a tribe that is based closer to Toledo, Wash., than La Center) and provide higher-end jobs without the gambling addiction and the problems it fosters.

We hope the Vancouver City Council resolution is approved and the example followed by similar proclamations from our elected leaders around the county.

http://www.thecolumbian.com/

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