Lowell Sun Nails It

Accurate and thorough reporting by the Lowell Sun.

Dan Ring's article in the Republican was excellent as well. Imagine Mohegan Sun with all it's "responsible gaming" BS have a guy playing for 23 hours straight, lose 450,000 dollars and they don't know it?

But after the formal press conference, Hartmann, in an interview, conceded that the Mohegan Sun failed to adequately deal with an addicted gambler from Western Massachusetts who said he lost a net $450,000 mostly at the Connecticut casino over the course of a year.

Hartmann talked with the gambler from the Berkshires after both participated in the press conference on the need for practices to ensure responsible gambling in the state.

Hartmann told “Scott,” the addicted gambler, that in hindsight, “I wish we had connected everything. Clearly, we didn’t handle it properly."

-Ya think?

Freedom Players and Social Change

Every effective social movement in history has had four elements to it: education, litigation, legislation and demonstration.

Here is a video of "The Freedom Players" demonstrating.

Kathleen meets Emily

Check out the interview with Emily Rooney, February 9, 2010.

Click at a 12:00 minutes into the recording and ends at 21:05.

When casinos win, communities lose

When casinos win, communities lose. If a 10 percent decline in net Lottery revenue projected by casino opponents occurred, municipalities would see a loss in state aid of up to $100 million, the state's Lottery director Mark Cavanagh announced at a forum on Beacon Hill. A range of net losses have been projected if slots/casinos are legalized including a 10 percent figure which he called, "drastic." I think we acknowledge that there will be a deterrent effect to our sales. And the concern is, from a macro perspective that if our sales go down, money to cities and towns will go down." USS Mass declares slots/casinos a “some-thing-for-nothing scheme” that will harm already depleted town and city budgets and the services taxpayers need.

WBZ - mp3

WBZ interview - Casino Math Workbook for Beacon Hill.

Thank you LG Murray

Dear Friends,

You may have read the sobering news about the recent chain of domestic violence-related deaths in Massachusetts, including the horrible news out of Westford this week.

These incidents are tragic and saddening. Domestic violence in any form is unacceptable and we all must play a part in preventing abuse from happening to anyone in the Commonwealth.

As Chair of the Governor's Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, I want to share with you resources that exist for victim advocacy, counseling and shelter services, as well as programs to hold batterers accountable and prevent domestic violence incidents.

If you or someone you care about is a victim of domestic violence, you are not alone. Programs across Massachusetts can provide free, confidential services to victims.

· If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.

· For help you can also contact SafeLink, the Massachusetts Statewide Domestic Violence hotline. The SafeLink hotline is staffed 24 hours a day with trained domestic violence counselors who can provide help in multiple languages. If you need help, call the SafeLink toll-free number: 1-877-785-2020.

· Visit www.janedoe.org/safety.htm for a listing of local victim service programs.

In 2008, our Administration issued a Public Health Advisory on domestic violence to raise awareness and to educate the public on this issue and the resources available to aid victims. The public health advisory helped to communicate urgent information about domestic violence issues facing communities across the Commonwealth.

Though progress has been made, including implementation of a zero tolerance policy on domestic violence and sexual assault in the workplace, it is clear that there is much more work to be done.

On Friday, I will be convening a community forum at Fitchburg State College to discuss issues of domestic violence, engage in dialogue, and share existing resources in an effort to increase awareness and education of this serious issue within the community. This forum will be held at 2 p.m. at Fitchburg State College’s Tent Recital Hall.

Please join me and help play a role by supporting and encouraging any one you know who may be a victim of domestic violence and letting them know help is available and healing is possible.

Sincerely,

Timothy P. Murray
Lieutenant Governor

Money, money, money!

Lawmakers cash in with casino bill

By Jessica Van Sack
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 -

Money-hungry Beacon Hill solons have hit the jackpot, with gambling lobbyists funneling tens of thousands of dollars into their campaign accounts as lawmakers put the finishing touches on a bill to legalize slots and casinos in the Bay State, a Herald review shows.

Lobbyists have placed their biggest wagers on the State House’s very own pit bosses - Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo - who each got roughly $5,000 in 2009 from about two dozen lobbyists representing casinos.

Their political action committees cashed in even bigger, with DeLeo’s Committee for a Democratic House and Murray’s Committee for a Democratic Senate raking in nearly $10,000 each from pro-gambling lobbyists and a handful of proponents of racinos.

That the very lawmakers who are designing the expanded gambling system are accepting cash from those who will profit the most is akin to stacking the deck, a leading watchdog group said.

“This is our pay-to-play system,” said Craig Holman, of the D.C.-based non-profit Public Citizen. “The lobbyist is the chief money-peddler on behalf of casinos. Lobbyist contributions are simply contributions from their clients. It’s part of the lobbyists’ salary.”

DeLeo’s campaign treasurer released a statement saying the speaker is “at work preparing the best bill for Massachusetts.”

Murray’s spokesman, David Falcone, noted that many of the lobbyists represent multiple clients and added that Murray “does her best not to accept contributions from anyone who is directly employed by a casino or gaming organization.”

The role of casino money in the push to approve gambling palaces and slot parlors underscored a 2008 Common Cause study showing gaming interests gave state lawmakers $1.5 million in campaign cash between 2002 and 2007. Gambling proponents also ponied up $8.2 million to lobbyists between 1998 and 2007, the study showed.

But as expanded gambling gets closer to reality, the Herald review found casino-related payments to lobbyists surged by a whopping 27 percent last year, to more than $2 million - an apparent record.

Two lobbyists hired by Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, a Dorchester native, contributed more than $10,000 to Beacon Hill pols last year. Also heaping campaign dough on key lawmakers are former state Sen. Robert A. Bernstein and former House Ways and Means budget chief David K. Shapiro of Bay State Strategies, which represents the maker of slot machines for dozens of Las Vegas and Native American casinos.

Colorado developer David Nunes, who is pitching a $4 billion casino in Medford, hired Democratic lobbyist Paul M. Pezzella last year. “We believe at the end of the day this will all be about location and financial wherewithal,” Nunes said. “Buying yourself a license is never the way to go. Earning it is.”

Nunes’ lobbyist, Pezzella, contributed more than $11,000 to key lawmakers last year.

Casino lobbyists also donated heavily to House Ways and Means chairman Charles Murphy, who received $4,300, records show.

The Burlington Democrat defended himself, saying, “If people think a $200 donation is going to affect how I decide something, they don’t know me very well.”

Gaming cos. bet big on Mass.:

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Photo by Nancy Lane

STRIKING IT RICH: Senate President Therese Murray, above, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo have each received about $5,000 in campaign contributions from casino lobbyists.