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This whole process has been moving too fast, like a speeding truck headed right at our city. The PA Gaming Control Board is rushing casinos when we have not yet been given full access to up-to-date documents and enough time to understand and comment on them (we think one year is a reasonable amount of time).
Please take five minutes to write Governor Rendell and your State Representatives.
Tell them we need more time -- time to get the final planning documents, which are still not released. And time to give meaningful public input.
In addition to Gov. Rendell and your State Representatives, your letter will be sent to your City Councilmembers. With zoning rights, they have the power to influence the outcome, even of licensing. (The Gaming Control Board can't license if none of the plans are "viable" -- something City Council could do.)
The essential message: No licensing of casinos for at least one year.
Your fax will be sent starting December 11th, the day that Casino- Free Philadelphia's Operation Transparency goes to Harrisburg and does their Citizen's Document Search for the secret documents. They assert that the lack of public documents is just one example of the lack of transparency that completely discredits the PA Gaming Control Board's decision.
No public input means no deal.
For months the PA Gaming Control Board excluded us from "public" hearings and limited us in how long we could talk or submit our written comments. We had more to say, but they were done listening to us. Based on a recent study 98% of our written comments to the board said "no to casinos."
Yet the PA Gaming Control Board stayed the course, ignoring public concern and Philadelphia City Council's resolution asking for more public input. We asked for them to make public the updated casino's traffic plans, architectural renderings, and other documents about the impact in our neighborhoods.
They kept the documents secret, claiming confidentiality, then security concerns, and then finally that they did not have the time. The documents they have begun releasing, only at the 11th hour, are over two months old.
Today, December 11th, citizens from around the state have moved from asking the PA Gaming Control Board to do the right thing, to helping them do the right thing. Through a Citizen's Document Search they are attempting to liberate the secret documents. We are writing to show our support for them.
This direct action is just the beginning. Licensing is just Round 1 of a long struggle if this botched process moves forward. We are committed to protect our city and our neighborhoods and stand with those in Harrisburg who are right now standing up for democracy and true transparency.
The time of talk is over.
We urgently call on you to move to stop the December 20th licensing of the Philadelphia casinos. The process has been illegitimate from the beginning. Please halt all licensing until there is meaningful public input where we -- the public, not some unelected officials in Harrisburg -- decide how we want our neighborhoods to look and if we want casinos as part of them.
Urgently yours,
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ps: For an even more comprehensive list of the disasters leading up to where we are now, I invite you to check out Marc Stier's recent blog piece. He names the nine ways this shows a broken political process, including the lack of planning and our disappointing lack of political leadership. It's time to turn that tide around.
Daniel Hunter, Faxbank Manager
Hyrax1 @ gmail.com
