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Connecticut Casino Plan Stirs Fears, Hopes

``But in Bridgeport, the casino is a tantalizing project to some in a city hungry for jobs and tax relief after the loss of manufacturing jobs and a major corruption scandal.

``The casino, proposed by the Golden Hill Paugussetts, is stirring long simmering battles between Connecticut's wealthy suburbs and the struggling city.

``...The Paugussetts want to build a casino in Bridgeport if they earn federal recognition from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. After two decades of efforts, the tribe is expecting a decision on its petition by January.

``...The BIA in June granted recognition to the Eastern Pequots, the third tribe recognized in southeastern Connecticut. That ruling has heightened speculation the Paugussetts will be recognized, although the tribe has been rejected in the past.

``...Fairfield County towns hired a law firm earlier this year and sent a letter to the BIA raising concerns about the prospects of more casinos in Connecticut.

``Opponents cite traffic studies that found a casino would add tens of thousands of cars daily onto severely congested Interstate 95. They fear the resulting gridlock would threaten an economy that has provided many with a comfortable life in the suburbs of New York City.

``...The Bridgeport City Council passed a nonbinding resolution supporting the tribe and casino project. Residents overwhelmingly favored a casino in a referendum taken for the earlier defeated casino.

``...Chief Quiet Hawk said his tribe has about 350 members, a majority of whom are unemployed.

``...`Given that dimension of the conflict, I'm inclined to support the tribe,' Lawrence Kazura, a history professor at Fairfield University, said. "It should irritate them -- the suburbs who don't give a damn about Connecticut's cities. All they care about is preserving their comfort.'..."

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