Block out jive about evils of gambling; start rolling dice

Opinion: April 14, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

EDITOR:

The lengthy March 29 letter by Atty. Dave Betras on the latest casino gambling proposal targeted the root evil of the passage of such proposals: political apathy. The do-gooder religious fanatics would rather see their constituency or flock starve than become gainfully employed in a casino; that drumbeat compounds the problem. It reminds me of that old movie about the evils of pool — P.O.O.L. — espoused by actor Robert Preston.

We lost 50,000 jobs when the steel mills closed and we need to replace them with jobs that pay a living wage — not all the service jobs touted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. Emptying bedpans and flipping McBurgers or BK Whoppers won’t resolve Youngstown’s employment problems. We need a major industrial base to locate here. Since Carter/Reagan/Bush 1/Clinton/Bush II and our local talent like Hunter/Vukovich/Ungaro/McKelvey/Willaims have all failed to provide any help to the citizens of the Valley, we must seek alternative solutions.

Since no one of any substance can provide help, reaching out to obtain casino jobs for the Valley should be the next priority. We may be able to end-run the greedy casino interests who operate nearby by adopting the NFL’s 65-mile blackout rule vis- -vis Mountaineer. Local politicians of each and every hamlet, township, and city must use whatever political clout they can muster for the inclusion of a depressed area like Youngstown or the Mahoning Valley as a casino site. Every effort must be made to include us as a casino site — pure and simple.

All local do-gooders and casino opponents know full well that there are many people who are driving or flying out of state to gamble. They know full well that their rants of “evil” will never change that. It’s time for people to step up; we need jobs — not jivin’.

JOHN ZORDICH

Youngstown