Letters: Casino concerns are real; Will ‘climate complainers’ pay the price?

Casino concerns are real

I have been watching the letters arrive regarding the proposed Nittany Valley casino but I am not seeing any sent by people who truly know what they are all about. I worked as a security head in Atlantic City casinos for years and I have seen it all, as well as interacted with the leadership of these places. I must assure everyone that the casinos are not there to improve the community, to share the wealth with anyone but themselves, to provide inexpensive entertainment, and to police themselves. They know that there are few people who will enter and leave a casino without losing money in total, and there are also few who can go for a relaxing time and will not gamble. Their entire existence revolves around getting you in the door and separating you from your money. They take advantage of those who can least afford to lose it, with slots being the ultimate money maker for the casino from this population. They encourage a culture of gambling excessively (hence why you will see no windows or clocks — they don’t want you to realize how long they have you in there). Gambling addiction rises, they find excuses to pay less in relation to the damage they cause, and you have a population of excessively at-risk people here, especially with the students. Any questions if this is true? Research what has happened in Atlantic City and other areas independently, not by what casinos tell you. They lie.

Will ‘climate complainers’ pay the price?

Now and then, I’ll see an editorial written by a State College area resident complaining about the lack of state and/or federal action on climate change. But I seldom see anyone talk about what can be done by local individuals or county/local governments.

Here are some suggestions.

Owners of homes (new and existing) and commercial buildings in the county could voluntarily install a solar/battery system with the capacity to provide all of the building’s energy needs 100% of the time.

FYI, I received a quote for a solar system presumably capable of removing my home (approx. usage 16,000 kwh/year) from the grid. The total system cost, which included 37 monocrystalline solar panels (which degrade to 85% efficiency over 25 years) and two-9/kw batteries (good for 10 years), was about $97,000. Of course, should I purchase electric vehicles and equipment, I’d likely have to increase the size and cost of the system. Over time, I’d also have to increase the number of panels or replace degraded panels to maintain a consistent power output.

Individuals could junk (not trade or sell) those gas/hybrid cars and purchase climate friendly all electric vehicles.

Centre County’s mountain ridges, including Mount Nittany, could be covered with windmills.

Since we need to preserve farmlands and forests, lightly used or unused shopping centers could be demolished and replaced with mini-solar farms.

So, are the climate complainers ready to pay the price and ugly-up the area? If not, I question the sincerity of our local climate crowd.

Freedom from yearly automobile inspections

In his quest for the Republican nomination for governor, State Sen. Jake Corman tells us in his zany commercials that he favors freedom. He never explains what he means by that and so we are left to fill the void.

I’ll bite. I’d like to suggest that candidate Corman promise that if elected governor, he will endow motorists with freedom from annual automobile inspections. I remember when we endured the burden of getting our cars inspected twice a year. Thankfully, it’s down to one and I think it should be down to none.

I lived in New Mexico for eight years. That state does not mandate annual car inspections. New Mexico drivers have the freedom to take their cars to a dealer to have them checked — or not. I don’t recall one incident in which an unsafe car caused an accident.

I don’t expect an FDR four freedoms speech from Corman, but I think he should start enumerating the many freedoms he thinks we should have.