Rolling the dice
Voters in West Warwick last week overwhelmingly said in a non-binding referendum they would like a casino in their community. Business leaders, as expected, in this week’s executive poll, said the opposite. We remain firmly opposed to building a casino in Rhode Island, not based on any moral standard, but instead based on the belief that it is bad business for the Ocean State.
It is not surprising that West Warwick residents voted as they did because casinos flourish in areas of economic distress. And it is not surprising that business leaders responded as they did, because there is the feeling that casinos siphon money out of the overall economy into slot machines and roulette wheels.
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If a casino were built in mid-Rhode Island, we suspect it would funnel dollars into the local and state communities, but not as much as predicted, since no one calculated the added expense of more police, busier courts, and expanded services that the casino would demand.
But here’s our real concern. Our most attractive quality in this state IS our quality of life. In Rhode Island, where we have 1,545 square miles (about a third of which is water) and where the greatest distance from north to south is 48 miles and from east to west 37 miles, there is little question of how dominant a casino anywhere would be.
In other states, casino(s) occupy a portion of one small area – Connecticut, with 5,018 square miles, is more than three times the size of Rhode Island.
Decisions about where to locate or expand a company are often based in large part on the quality of life, the ability of top company employees to raise families in safe, beautiful and comfortable environments, without concern about the influence a casino might have.
We need to concentrate our economic development in those areas that feed our quality of life, that produce the high paying, quality jobs of the future in industries like technology, financial services, insurance, and, yes, tourism that is based upon our state’s overall beauty and natural qualities.
We urge the legislature to reject any proposal that could lead to casino gambling in Rhode Island.
Providence Superintendent
We were very pleased last week to read that the city of Providence has two quality candidates as finalists for the school superintendent’s position, chosen by a search committee of some of the state’s finest educators. The 14-member panel is chaired by Brown University President E. Gordon Gee.
But we were equally surprised and disappointed to read that now that this part of the process is complete, the school committee didn’t seem to have a plan for what to do next. We hope that by the time this newspaper reaches print, the school committee’s course is clear and swift so Providence can put in place the very best person to lead the city’s schools.
In the middle of last week, school committee officials were saying they didn’t know when the school committee might meet to discuss the candidates, what further interviews the candidates might expect, and whether there would be some public forum for residents to hear the candidates.
Both candidates appear to be in demand. Diana Lam, the former superintendent of schools in San Antonio is, according to Gee, also looking at other top educational possibilities, and June Collins Rimmer, the chief academic officer in the Indianapolis school system is also a finalist for the number two spot in Seattle. The fact that both candidates are in demand is a credit to the quality of the candidates who have emerged, but also potential disaster if both end up accepting positions elsewhere while waiting for the school committee to act.
This is not just a critical issue for Providence schools, but also for Rhode Island businesses. The quality of our educational system remains a major concern of the state’s business community. It would appear that either candidate has the tools to make a real difference in upgrading the Providence system, and casting a positive spell over Rhode Island’s entire education community.
Now, it is up to the school committee to move swiftly and responsibly to assure that the best possible candidate emerges.
