Letters: Casino still not a sure thing; Paterno should be honored in Legacy Plaza
Editor’s note: The CDT welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the May 16 primary election and will accept letters that are received by May 11. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.
Casino still not a sure thing
The supporters of the proposed Bally’s casino at the Nittany Mall can anticipate and look forward to shaking their heads in disappointment when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tosses ice water on their campfire of hope for a casino in State College. The casino licensing legal battle in the Supreme Court may languish on in Harrisburg for at least two more years.
The license was approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) in January, but the license cannot be officially issued until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court makes a final decision to authorize its issuance. In other words, the court admonished the PGCB by saying, “Not so fast!”
March 31 marked Mr. Robeson Reeves’ first day as the new CEO of Bally’s. He may not appreciate experiencing the embarrassment of having an unwanted Bally’s casino fail in the crumbling Nittany Mall. The mall’s previous anchor stores of Macy’s, Sears and JCPenney are gone. Would you encourage or expect the new CEO at Bally’s to continue moving forward with putting a brand-new Bally’s casino into a vacant Macy’s store in a dying shopping mall? I’d think no current decision-maker at Bally’s Corporation hopes for that anymore — they just hope the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tosses that ice water onto the campfire, so Bally’s doesn’t experience the embarrassment of having to take that action on their own.
The former Bally’s CEO unwisely wanted a brand-new casino in the Nittany Mall. Look what happened to his tenure after he pursued that unwise and unrealistic goal. Welcome aboard, Mr. Reeves!
Paterno should be honored in Legacy Plaza
I just read the article about Legacy Plaza being built at the stadium to celebrate Penn State football and its history. If Coach Paterno is not recognized and celebrated in that history a huge “black hole” would be glaring and another travesty would be inflicted on Coach Paterno and his family. Penn State and our football program would not be the success and honor that is without his vision and dedication. I am still angry to this day that our board of trustees has not publicly apologized for his shameful firing and worked to restore his reputation as a coach and educator. He did nothing wrong.
Fluoride move hurts community
As the State College Borough Water Authority stops adding fluoride to our water, the SCBWA Chair shamelessly admits (CDT, March 31) that he, and the board of the SCBWA, do not care about the less fortunate of our area. How sad for everyone, including the children, who will have dental issues because of this.
Chair Jeff Kern states that the fluoride removal rationale is that most toothpaste and mouthwashes have fluoride, that most dentists provide fluoride treatments, and that most of us are drinking bottled water. What community does the chair of our water authority live in? Is he not aware that so many of our neighbors have trouble seeing dentists, let alone buying mouthwash instead of food? And bottled water? According to our local health officials, many of our residents are in a “dental health crisis.” I don’t think those unable to afford dental care are drinking bottled water, but rather are relying on the water provided by our water authority while trying to provide for their families. And the board should be encouraging people to drink our water, and not saying environmentally bad plastic bottles of water are just as good for us.
The board continues to tell us that they looked at scientific articles on this subject. Yet our local dental and medical leaders refuted the board’s interpretation of those articles. We live in a university community, yet they are using bad “science” to harm people in our area who can least afford to be harmed.
The price of democracy
In answer to a recent letter to the editor stating that it costs $343 per citizen to finance the war in Ukraine: That’s less than $1 a day and, as my husband Mel, of blessed memory, used to say, cheap at twice the price.
What is the price of democracy, anyway? Our Founding Fathers seemed to think that it was worth donating their lives for. Are we going to let their dream of Democracy die in Ukraine? Not me, and I hope not you either, dear reader!