In response to the April 18 VBJ article “Two sides to the coin:”
Comparing Tacoma to Clark County? Possibly VBJ writer Charity Thompson should visit that city to the north and report back to us the similarities. She will find that there are few, unless we proceed with allowing the proposed Cowlitz casino in our corner of the world.
Go to Tacoma; see first hand the cement jungle populated by gangs and crowded populations. Is that what we want for Clark County?
Here, residents of Clark County have slept under Portland’s shadow for decades, with most people having to travel across the river for jobs and even goods and services. Only in the last several years have we seen the fruition of economic activity here at home, where more and more people can now choose to work in the county, and be home on time to see their kid play baseball or attend a dance recital.
Why are we now willing to trade it all for a casino, for thousands more cars daily, most with Oregon license plates, speeding up and down our roads 24/7?
To the tribal casino, there is no “local community.” There is only the casino. They pay no tax. They have their own stores and restaurants. They take every last dollar from the gamblers, before sending them back home across the river. Clark County only gains more crime and smog and disillusionment.
Protect our way of life. Protect our homes and families. Let your elected officials know that the answer to a casino is an emphatic “No!”
Christopher P. Lucia, Vancouver
