Don't sell out the Hill to gambling interests

Isle of Capri's main business is gambling. We should not seek to fix the problems of the Hill District with gambling. We cannot address a wrong with a wrong.

Massive plans are being made for Pittsburgh's development. East Liberty and Shadyside are being redeveloped and they have a new grocery store, Trader Joe's, positioned almost across the street from the Shadyside Giant Eagle, with Whole Foods not far away. I see new homes being built, but I have not heard anyone say these things could happen only with gambling money. I have not seen the entire future of a neighborhood dependent upon the revenue from gambling. And development is occurring in the Hill at this very moment.

Pittsburgh First offered $1 million a year for "community reinvestment" in the Hill. How much will the slot machines make in one year? Supposedly more than $300 million -- almost $1 million per day. How far will $1 million stretch in development for the Hill? How many years will it take to see real development beyond Crawford Street with $1 million per year? Is that all the historic Hill District is worth?

It is ironic that Isle of Capri is willing to spend $290 million for an arena for the Penguins and yet give the lower Hill $1 million per year. Something is wrong with this picture. Do we see that changing? I see no equity there. It appears they want the Hill to "sell its soul to the company store."

I read in the Good Book, "What would it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?" Is the soul of the Hill being sold to Isle of Capri and the Penguins? If so, who is the broker?

REV. DR. JOHNNIE MONROE
Pastor
Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church
Hill District

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Good neighbors

With the Isle of Capri situation looming, many of us are hoping that it obtains the casino license, not just for what it means to the Pittsburgh Penguins but the entire city as well. A while back Nationwide Realty Investors (which would build the arena if Isle of Capri gets the license) built an arena in Columbus, Ohio, for the Blue Jackets in an area much like the Hill District is now.

Its plan was not only to build a state-of-the-art facility but to revitalize an area of the city that was in poor shape. Well, to make a long story short, it succeeded and then some. If you could see a before and after picture of the area, you would be amazed. The area is very clean, has beautiful housing, has many shops, is extremely safe and has become a hot destination for many of the residents in Columbus. It has had a tremendous impact on the city overall and the residents within it. What many are forgetting is that Nationwide plans on doing the same to Pittsburgh's Hill District. This deal not only benefits the Penguins but also the residents.

On another note, I am a transplanted Pittsburgher now residing in Las Vegas. For those of you who believe that a casino would only bring crime and addiction, you are wrong in your assumptions. I live 10 minutes away from the Strip and I am within two miles of four local casinos, and they are no problem. They have to keep them clean and regulated, because if they didn't nobody would go. If anything they help keep neighborhoods clean and safe.

Also, the casinos give a lot back in the way of social services. Take care, Pittsburgh, and let's hope for the best -- whatever the gaming board's decision is.

STEPHEN McLAUGHLIN
Henderson, Nev.

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Casino troubles

In response to the Dec. 12 article "14 People Arrested for Protest About Casino Information": This is ridiculous. This is why we shouldn't have casinos in Pennsylvania; most aren't even up yet and they're already causing trouble.

Those protesters had every right to come together in a peaceful assembly and ask for information concerning the casinos in Pennsylvania. They were not causing any trouble, and as long as the information didn't include anything that might inhibit security, why couldn't they see it? What trouble would it have caused?

By denying these people the information they wanted and their civil liberties, the gaming control board only strengthened its opponents' case against casinos. Sometimes it's just better to go along with the flow.

CORRIE PARRISH
McCandless

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Setting us back

A great big "thumbs down" to the owners of Smithfield Cafe and Mitchell's Bar and Restaurant for letting Big Tobacco be a bully to our county ("Tobacco Company Funding Smoking Challenge," Dec. 13). The residents overwhelmingly want smoke-free workplaces, but these restaurants allow a company like R.J. Reynolds to fund their frivolous lawsuit to oppose the county's new ban on smoking in the workplace.

Big Tobacco has had a poisonous grip on our society for far too long; toxic secondhand smoke is no longer welcomed by the majority. These two restaurant owners not only wish to take us a step backward but also to waste our tax dollars with this lawsuit.

COLLEEN SPIEGLER
Upper St. Clair

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Our electoral right

Here we go again with the call to eliminate the elected sheriff's position ("Pursue the Case: DeFazio's Legacy Should Be an Appointed Sheriff," Nov. 26 editorial). Even though, as pointed out by the Dec. 4 article "Outcome of DeFazio Case Raises Doubts About Its Value," only 1 percent of the sheriffs in the entire country are appointed, our know-it-alls recommend the further stripping of electoral rights from the citizens of Allegheny County.

Regarding the elimination of our row officers, only time will tell if we will reap substantial cost savings and witness award-winning efficiency from those Grant Street offices that will soon be run by individuals not of our choosing.

Just when you start to think the voters have lost their minds they do something that confirms their sanity, like retiring a Supreme Court justice and a number of state legislators who obviously forgot they were answerable to the public.

If eliminating the elected sheriff is the remedy for anything, and if it works, then the next battle cry should be to nix the elected county executive along with the elected County Council. We can let the governor appoint them because, after all, it should make it a lot cheaper and more manageable.

JOSEPH CLEMENTE
McKeesport

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Let voters decide

I recently read that people have expressed to the county chief executive a confidence and happiness with the voting system in place. I did not. I do not trust the present system and believe it is at all times subject to misuse.

We need better ways to vote. Either they do something with the present system that rules out any chicanery, or they come up with completely different voting machines. When someone really wants to fix an election, he or she will do it. And the people who voted will have voted for nothing. Now is the time to get working on a better system.

As for the sheriff, I support an elected sheriff. Making it an appointment puts more and more power in the hands of fewer and fewer people. It allows them to pick and choose cronies. Maybe the county can consolidate duties through agreement with the sheriff while letting people evaluate and pick the sheriff. People should keep in mind that, by far, more sheriffs are elected.

Allegheny County would be in a very small minority. Either way has problems. Is it not better to let the people vote?

NORMAN AUGUSTINE
Arlington

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For the sake of peace, please read Carter's book with an open mind

I read Dan Simpson's Dec. 6 column ("Carter's Clear-Eyed View"). I also have been reading some of the rebuttals and am saddened that President Jimmy Carter's voice has not been given more credibility in the media. I am from the Pittsburgh area (Oakmont) but am currently living in East Jerusalem and volunteering with a Palestinian peace organization.

Mr. Carter's book has been received here with great enthusiasm as providing a courageous voice that dares to speak up for the truth of what is happening here, especially as it relates to the tragedy of the Palestinian people. It is our hope here that his voice will give others the courage to speak out, especially against U.S. policies that fuel the conflict. He is correct in saying that there is a stronger critical voice in Israel against their own policies than one finds in the U.S. media and government.

As an example, this is a quote that comes from Jewish Voice for Peace that followed the "End the Siege in Gaza" rally in Tel Aviv recently: "Between the recent cease-fire, former President Jimmy Carter's new book and today's call from the Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker, for a 'renewed and sustained commitment' to solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, there is much cause for hope this season."

I challenge Americans to read Mr. Carter's book with an open mind and a desire to learn the truth so that the hope for a peaceful solution to this tragedy will become a reality.

TINA WHITEHEAD
East Jerusalem

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