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Keller @ Large: Somerville Mayor Is Right In Wynn Casino Delay

BOSTON (CBS) - Developers and supporters of the Everett casino lashed out at Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone Wednesday over his appeal of their plan to build the massive new Wynn facility along the Mystic River waterfront.

They painted the mayor as a grandstanding politician copping a not-in-my-backyard attitude that could chase away all the jobs and spending their casino promises to deliver. And there was this dire warning from John Fish, the construction magnate you may remember as the man behind the ill-fated Boston Olympics push. The casino "will attract people nationally and internationally," said Fish. "This is a chance to showcase our culture."

Really?

While the casino will certainly create badly-needed construction and permanent jobs, it is not needed to attract visitors or investors to the Boston area.

As General Electric recently demonstrated, our appeal to investors does not rely on having a casino, and we are already one of the world's top tourism destinations without one.

And the reference to our culture is a provocative one. Our culture is largely shaped by our history, our natural resources, and our determination to preserve both of them, unlike places like, say, Las Vegas, where commercial blight is king. That culture is the reason why we have the strict environmental-protection law that the mayor is employing to force a better deal out of Wynn.

Curtatone is no anti-development tree-hugger; one look around his city will confirm that. But Wynn would be better served dropping the ad hominem attacks and cutting a deal that's more consistent with who we are.

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