Don't lose hope for casinos in the Buckeye State just yet

Don't lose hope for casinosin the Buckeye State just yet
EDITOR:
It appears the only method left to develop casinos in Ohio is by acquiring the necessary amount of signatures in 44 of our 88 Ohio counties that will allow a referendum to appear on the 2007 November statewide ballot.
A flimsy effort by Jane Campbell (which I was a small part of), then mayor of Cleveland, came up short in 2005 to acquire the necessary signatures to get a referendum on the November 2005 state ballot. Jane said if she were re-elected mayor of Cleveland, she would have continued to pursue the Casinos In Ohio Initiative in 2006. Ms. Campbell was defeated in her bid for re-election.
Many of the Democratic state legislators then threw the hopes of developing casinos in Ohio in the hands of Ted Strickland, the Democratic 2006 candidate for Ohio governor. We all know Republican governor Bob Taft was always opposed to developing casinos in Ohio, and so is the 2006 Republican governor candidate Ken Blackwell strongly opposed to Casinos.
Now guess what?
Ted Strickland is also opposed to casino gambling in Ohio. The casino industry could produce as much as $5 billion in much needed revenue each year for Ohio to help people and programs, including our schools that are in desperate need of financial assistance. Also, as many as 50,000 new jobs would be created in the state.
The state legislators could still act to get a referendum on this year's statewide ballot through special legislation to be voted on by the people of Ohio. However, like in the past, a Republican stronghold in both the Ohio House and Senate will keep this from ever happening.
So we're back to base one for my casino-supporting friends. It appears the Casinos For Ohio Supporters will have to acquire the necessary signatures in 2007 and get the referendum on next year's November ballot.
Based on past polls, the casino issue will pass, and Ohio will get its casinos. No thanks to our politicians.
PATRICK MACKONDY
Youngstown
YSU needs open-door policyto give chance to all students
EDITOR:
In a recent column, a Vindicator writer asserted that Gov. Bob Taft, in a recent visit to Youngstown, gave YSU a & quot;reality check & quot; by exempting us & quot;from the tough academic standards that will be in place by 2011 for admission to Ohio's public colleges. & quot; It appears that more incoming YSU students need remedial studies than students elsewhere. The reason is not because, as the writer suggests, YSU is at the bottom of the intellectual bucket but because without a local community college to feed mature students into our university, we must (and should) give a chance to all high school graduates who apply. Without this open-door policy, many young people would be denied an opportunity to better themselves, ending up as grease jockeys or writers for this paper.
In actuality, it is Gov. Taft and the Republican-controlled Legislature who need a & quot;reality check. & quot; In the 12 years the Republicans have been in power in Columbus, state aid to higher education has decreased each year. Their solution is one of unreason: more testing, less funds (K-12); less funds and less students (university-level). Not very helpful, are they?
Every year, more and more educated Ohioans are leaving the state because they can't find jobs. Taft giving $750,000 to the city of Youngstown for a & quot;technology center & quot; is ludicrous because (1) technically-trained people have already left the state because of his policies and (2) Youngstown city government is not competent to solve any problem. It is not hard to understand why Taft is a convicted criminal (emphasis on & quot;convicted & quot;). I, myself, am considering a move to a more progressive state like Mississippi.
YSU is a high-quality university; many of our faculty members are outstanding, with international reputations. Instead of making derogatory comments about YSU at every opportunity, I invite the writer, the editors, and the publishers of The Vindicator to become more familiar with the scholarly work being done here. Come to our annual Quest program and see what our students are doing in research. When was the last time you covered our annual Physics Olympics? (You can even take one of my physics classes, unless, of course, you are in need of remediation.) Remember that making specific comments from a state of ignorance is never a good way to enhance one's reputation.
RON TABAK
Professor of Physics & amp; Astronomy
Youngstown State University