Slots group silent - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Slots group silentRight on the mark. Not only is the gaming task force silent -- but what about the blasted GRAFITTI TASK FORCE? Bruce Kraus was so quick to mention all his experience with that group -- and the group is SILENT. What about the Chamber of Commerce? Silent mostly.
By Andrew Conte, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 16, 2006
In the three months since Pittsburgh's Gaming Task Force last met, a new mayor has taken office and three bidders for the city's slots casino began marketing details of competitive, multimillion-dollar plans.
But no one has heard from the task force, a group charged with exploring the impact a casino could have on the city.
What about the PARK's BLUEPRINT or whatever the SSLDC did about a "feasibilty study" of the now closed, lone indoor ice rink and "green space" in the South Side.
These groups put forth by Tom Murphy are "weenie groups" that did little to nothing except pad resumes. And those that used them to pad their resumes are 'do-little takers' from the community too.
Rick B is on that task force -- and that task force is a JOKE.
They always try to "HIRE CONSULTANTS" and make "studies." Then they don't even get the reports printed up. Nor are the reports put online. And, when you try to get your input into the reports, they are ignored.
This is the same old "mode of operation" of dozens and dozens of groups around here. Then when one group really figures out how to kick up smoke, say the WEST PITTSBURGH PARTNERSHIP, they teach the others how to do the same tricks to hoodwink.
And, on top of all of this -- the I.C.A. and Act 47 Task Force -- are absent too. And those OVERLORDS don't meet and work on the problems before us all either.
We don't want 'free rides.' We don't want dead weight.
I put other organizations into the same global category as well.
I got involved with a clean election task force in 2005 under Bill Peduto's leadership. We gathered. Many smart people were involved. But the results and outcome of those meeting is still hidden -- thanks to Bill Peduto. This stinks. I've been a squeeky wheel. Bill needs to call a blasted public hearing and allow for the task force to present its outcomes. He needs to MOVE and do SOMETHING on this issue.
I got involved with City's Aquatics Task Force. What a joke. This was an appointement that was promised under Faith Gallow -- the old Citiparks Director who has been dead for a number of years. The Aquatics Task Force met twice in five years. They all the pools were closed. And then the SOS came into being -- another do nothing group except get a 60-minute special on QED's on Q with Elsie Hillman. What pools should be opened and what pools should be closed should NOT be decided by the rich woman who writes the checks. Elsie Hillman does NOT use the city pools.
Too often we have clueless power grabs -- and spineless players who don't want to make a mention on something crucial.
Jack Shea is right. And, in this area, at least the UNIONS are day-to-day leaders on concerns near-and-dear to them.
Posts
1 comment:
Slots group silent
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 16, 2006
In the three months since Pittsburgh's Gaming Task Force last met, a new mayor has taken office and three bidders for the city's slots casino began marketing details of competitive, multimillion-dollar plans.
But no one has heard from the task force, a group charged with exploring the impact a casino could have on the city. The task force hired a consultant to help it gauge the pros and cons of slots gambling, and was expected to voice the public's concerns at state hearings.
The task force held neighborhood meetings and has posted studies on its Web site, www.pittsburghgamingtaskforce.org. But its opinion on a crucial question -- should gambling money help pay for a new arena? -- remains unknown.
"It's almost like, let's get something done," said Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council and a member of the task force. "Take a position."
Appointed by former Mayor Tom Murphy last year, the 27-member task force has been divided for months over whether to advocate using gambling money to build an arena or to create a neighborhood development fund. Under the law, casino operators must give an unspecified portion of their profit back to host communities.
Co-chair Anne Swager said in December that the slots application process was "hijacked" by Penguins supporters who want an arena. One of the three casino applicants, Isle of Capri Casinos, has agreed to give $290 million for an arena. The others have not.
"There's always pressure," Swager said Wednesday. "People really want an arena. We all understand that. Is the right way to finance that a slots parlor? Perhaps, perhaps not."
Swager and co-chair Ron Porter have registered to speak at local public hearings April 18 and 19 hosted by the state Gaming Control Board, which will award casino licenses. The meetings will focus on the three Pittsburgh proposals.
Mayor Bob O'Connor said yesterday he's not sure what to expect from the task force, which he inherited upon taking office in January. He plans to meet with the group's co-chairs next week.
"An arena is crucial," O'Connor told reporters at a luncheon hosted by The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.
He declined to say whether he thinks the task force, which meets at 8 a.m. today in the Koppers Building, Downtown, should endorse using gambling money for an arena.
O'Connor and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato have said whoever gets the slots license should help build a new arena. They have not endorsed any of the three proposals, and O'Connor said he might not back any proposal.
"I'm not a gambler," O'Connor said.
Swager said neither O'Connor nor Onorato has pressured the task force to endorse an arena plan.
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.
Post a Comment