SEARCH NEWS:

 

Casino referendum revealed economic divide

PAWTUCKET, Rhode Island – As reported by the Providence Journal: "The dividing line over the casino vote in this former mill city runs clear through a funky new East Avenue eatery called Jac's Wraps. The sandwich shop, which serves fresh vegetable wraps and fruit smoothies, sits at the intersection of the casino debate.

"To the west are neighborhoods filled with working-class people such as the store's owner, Ameth Alzate. A 41-year-old Columbian-born immigrant who lives just over the city line, in Central Falls, Alzate sounded crestfallen yesterday over the state's rejection, by nearly 63 percent of voters, of the casino amendment.

" It's 3,800 jobs out the window," Alzate said, standing behind the counter wearing an apron and New York Yankees baseball cap.

"…But just a few blocks east, in Pawtucket's upscale Oak Hill neighborhood, residents such as Marisa Garber couldn't be more pleased with the vote's outcome. 'I don't think we need to have that element in Rhode Island,' said Garber, a 40-year old mother of three.

"…If ever there was a vote in Rhode Island that split the state — and this city — along class lines, the casino may be it.

"…In Rhode Island, the casino's promoters lobbied heavily in the inner cities, promising 3,800 new jobs and property-tax relief. The pitch went over best in the state's poorest communities.

"Central Falls, the smallest and poorest, went the most strongly in favor of a casino, with nearly 66 percent of voters approving the referendum. The only other communities where the casino amendment garnered slightly more than half of the votes in favor were West Warwick, Providence and Pawtucket — communities with significant populations of low-income residents.

"In Pawtucket, where homes in Oak Hill are priced as high as $600,000 less than a mile from aging triple-deckers, voters split right down the middle.

"…The economic fault lines in Pawtucket are apparent in tallies from the city's polling places…"

< Gaming News