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Florence is better off without casino
Florence is Better Off Register Guard Editorial April 18, 1996 Whew! Florence residents can breathe easier now that the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw have decided against moving forward with a plan to build a casino. The City Council and Florence residents should be applauded for standing up against a project that would have changed the character of the community, mostly for the worse. This is the second time the confederated tribes have withdrawn casino development proposals in the face of local opposition. late last year the tribes announced that they hoped to open a casino in Springfield's Gateway area but pulled out after the plan failed to win public support. In both cases, the tribes deserve credit for showing sensitivity to local concerns. It might have been possible for them to push ahead despite the will of the community in either city. It seems likely that the proposed casinos would have been highly profitable, drawing gamblers off Interstate 5 in one case and visitors to the coast in the other. Springfield and Florence were fortunate to find themselves dealing with the people who cared about public opinion. The tribes are still seeking a coastal casino location. The site that would be easiest to develop would be on reservation land in Coos Bay - but the Coquille tribe already operates a casino in North Bend, so the market there may be saturated. The Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw tribes need an economic base of some sort to provide jobs and to finance educational and cultural programs. It may be that the best opportunities available will not involve casinos. The tribes, having shown respect for the views of people in Springfield and Florence, should in turn be able to expect support for any such projects. In Florence and elsewhere, casino proposals brought with them the promise of jobs. This promise might have been particularly appealing in Florence, which already relies heavily on tourism-related service jobs. But tourists now go to Florence to enjoy the beauty of the area's beaches, dunes and lakes. A casino would have attracted a different kind of visitor. And while gambling would have brought paychecks to some Florence residents, the opportunity to feed an addiction would have cost others their money, their homes and their families. Tim Rose, the tribe's gambling consultant, said that with this latest withdrawal, "Lane County is probably the only underserviced area with a sizable population in the state." Good. Let's keep it that way. |
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