01.07.07
Editorial: Feds must come to aid of Port Huron
Casino support would be welcome; help must come first.
Of the many challenges Port Huron faces in 2007, the most daunting clearly is the Blue Water Bridge Plaza expansion. The project, to bring the bridge plaza to ground level and reroute Pine Grove Avenue, is expected to take 131 homes, 36 businesses and about $32 million from the city's tax base.
As bad as that news unquestionably is, it also is worse because the expansion is an admission of poor planning. A second span was added to the bridge in 1999 to accommodate increased traffic. Although trucks comprise a principal component, the plaza wasn't adequately enlarged to handle truck inspections.
Expected to start next year and finish in 2011, the project promises to plague Port Huron for at least that long. For a city struggling with high unemployment and limited opportunities for economic growth, the sacrifices the plaza expansion demands couldn't come at a worse time.
On the other hand, the prospect of gambling couldn't come at a better time. Sought for years by gambling proponents, a Port Huron casino appeared to be a dead issue. Despite a public referendum that supported the gaming facility and clear evidence that Point Edward's casino draws more Americans than Canadians, the dream of a Port Huron casino at the Thomas Edison Inn never materialized.
Suddenly, though, the casino idea is seeing new life. The massive harm the plaza expansion will bring to the city requires the feds to do what they can to make Port Huron whole. Delivering a casino won't repair all the damage, but it could help.
Congressional approval, or more precisely, the failure to win it, is what killed Port Huron gambling. The Detroit delegation and its allies, such as U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., based their opposition on self interest. With gambling facilities in their own districts, allowing more casinos, even one in tiny Port Huron, apparently would be too much of a threat.
In talks with U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Port Huron City Manager Karl Tomion pushed for approval of the Edison Inn casino. Stabenow, a past supporter of Port Huron's gambling bid, reportedly favors the idea.
The city finally getting a casino is an intriguing possibility. It still is a long shot. The same forces in Congress that previously opposed the effort aren't likely to change their minds. Although the Democrats' newly-won control could improve Port Huron's chances, it still is very far from being a done deal.
Tomion also is pressing for federal aid, and that assistance must come with or without congressional support for a Port Huron casino.
Gambling was supposed to be a means of enhancing Port Huron's economy. The traditional ways of promoting economic growth simply would be strengthened.
Now a casino would become one of the ways to treat the city's economic losses.
That's an offer that shouldn't be refused, but it is one that must come in addition to the aid Port Huron desperately needs.
Roll the dice. Just make sure the feds meet their responsibility to help the city through this crisis.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/OPINION01/701070343&template=printart
Editorial: Feds must come to aid of Port Huron
Casino support would be welcome; help must come first.
Of the many challenges Port Huron faces in 2007, the most daunting clearly is the Blue Water Bridge Plaza expansion. The project, to bring the bridge plaza to ground level and reroute Pine Grove Avenue, is expected to take 131 homes, 36 businesses and about $32 million from the city's tax base.
As bad as that news unquestionably is, it also is worse because the expansion is an admission of poor planning. A second span was added to the bridge in 1999 to accommodate increased traffic. Although trucks comprise a principal component, the plaza wasn't adequately enlarged to handle truck inspections.
Expected to start next year and finish in 2011, the project promises to plague Port Huron for at least that long. For a city struggling with high unemployment and limited opportunities for economic growth, the sacrifices the plaza expansion demands couldn't come at a worse time.
On the other hand, the prospect of gambling couldn't come at a better time. Sought for years by gambling proponents, a Port Huron casino appeared to be a dead issue. Despite a public referendum that supported the gaming facility and clear evidence that Point Edward's casino draws more Americans than Canadians, the dream of a Port Huron casino at the Thomas Edison Inn never materialized.
Suddenly, though, the casino idea is seeing new life. The massive harm the plaza expansion will bring to the city requires the feds to do what they can to make Port Huron whole. Delivering a casino won't repair all the damage, but it could help.
Congressional approval, or more precisely, the failure to win it, is what killed Port Huron gambling. The Detroit delegation and its allies, such as U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., based their opposition on self interest. With gambling facilities in their own districts, allowing more casinos, even one in tiny Port Huron, apparently would be too much of a threat.
In talks with U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Port Huron City Manager Karl Tomion pushed for approval of the Edison Inn casino. Stabenow, a past supporter of Port Huron's gambling bid, reportedly favors the idea.
The city finally getting a casino is an intriguing possibility. It still is a long shot. The same forces in Congress that previously opposed the effort aren't likely to change their minds. Although the Democrats' newly-won control could improve Port Huron's chances, it still is very far from being a done deal.
Tomion also is pressing for federal aid, and that assistance must come with or without congressional support for a Port Huron casino.
Gambling was supposed to be a means of enhancing Port Huron's economy. The traditional ways of promoting economic growth simply would be strengthened.
Now a casino would become one of the ways to treat the city's economic losses.
That's an offer that shouldn't be refused, but it is one that must come in addition to the aid Port Huron desperately needs.
Roll the dice. Just make sure the feds meet their responsibility to help the city through this crisis.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/OPINION01/701070343&template=printart
You may also want to review these posts:
* The Verifiable Truth: in Governor John Engler's opinion, "Michigan has enough casinos"
* The Verifiable Truth: Aide negotiated '11th Hour' Port Huron casino deal for Gov. Engler; then returned to private practice, retained by those who got the deal
* Candy Land: On the Same Page
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