Hindsight says state made right call on Sands

[Watchdog]

I agree with Walkin in Betlam that the Sands property was valuable land that would have been developed similar to LVIP and Majestic.

Bethworks only paid $3 million for the entire piece of property and no competitive bidding process was put in place soliciting proposals.

Nice that Majestic handed out $20,000 immediately to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts etc. Sands has done squat to help the minority community or other community groups up to this point. Token money pledged to Museum group. Wonder if they will live up to their pledge to preserve the Blast Furnaces that I see rusting every day from my house.

Greed and intimidation are the operative words to describe the Sands. My neighborhood on the Southside does not welcome their arrival---call me a NIMBY all you want.

[Billy Givens]

Another unresolved issue - or at least one that has never been reported in the MSM - in South Side Bethlehem is that of the workers who are constructing Sands BethWorks down

[Billy Givens]

...down in the Lehigh River flood adjacent to - and even underneath - the Minsi Trail bridge and literally encompassing the pilings that support it.

Also unresolved is whether these workers are receiving prevailing wage as required by Davis-Bacon. And are they protected by Project Labor Agreements such as those Northampton County required for the courthouse and prison expansions into Easton's African-American and Latino neighborhood of Dutchtown-Gallows Hill?

[Walkin in Betlam]

You'll have my vote, if you ever decide to run for office Billy.

All I know about the workers is their cars and themselves are under lock and key. When I drive past I feel like back in time if I happened to stumble on the Warsaw Ghetto I should mind my own business and keep walking . I've seen some picture takers on the bridge and they all had colored vests on.

[Walkin in Betlam]

Slot Cops ?

[Mysterious aol guy]

You're as nutty as all your Adelson and Rendell flag waving fools Roger.

I'm not that much of a mystery. It's just your paranoia .

Adelson is losing big time in Vegas and Hong Kong with the lawsuit against him. He will drop Bethlehem like a hot penny the first time things go wrong and sue for any thing he can.

[Roger]

Why then did it sit empty for a decade without a taker? Bidders? Hell, nobody wanted it! And who else has pert near a billion bucks to spend here, boys and girls? PPL? Air Products? Lowes? NASCAR? The vast majority of the south side folks WELCOME the project.
The Venetian Sands Foundation HAS already and will continue to donate grants to worthy projects here. They just don't advertise it. There will be more down the road. ALL promises will be kept, if not surpassed. I bet you a lunch at Alexandra's Bistro,'dog! ;-)

The projects started before the Sands included a Big Box depot after total bulldozing of the site, a baseball stadium (remember that?), and the BethWorks plan developed by us Bethlehemites to help save the historic significance of the site with the NMIH and preservation of what happened there for almost a century. The SBW plan IS that same project with the casino aspect added later to pay for it all. Without the Sands bucks, the project was but a pipe dream of a bunch of locals who cared about what happened here.

The talk of lawsuits, intimidation, and continual babble of the Givins blogstuff tells me to begin to simply ignore the blather and wait for the results of the project to prove the point. But I agree with those who think that the development of the REST of the site in LVIP 7 and Majestic's segment will play an even larger role in the future of the city...but that's down the road. I KNOW Bethlehem will be much better off than it was in 1997!

[truthsayer]

Senior Plus wrote:

<quoted text>
How about the Tropicana in AC. Just went bankrupt.

No it didn't -- an unreleated company under the parent company claimed Chapter 11 protection. BIG difference.

[drmmkr]

NIMBY! NIMBY! NIMBY!..now you should be happy?

Watchdog wrote:

I agree with Walkin in Betlam that the Sands property was valuable land that would have been developed similar to LVIP and Majestic.
Bethworks only paid $3 million for the entire piece of property and no competitive bidding process was put in place soliciting proposals.
Nice that Majestic handed out $20,000 immediately to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts etc. Sands has done squat to help the minority community or other community groups up to this point. Token money pledged to Museum group. Wonder if they will live up to their pledge to preserve the Blast Furnaces that I see rusting every day from my house.
Greed and intimidation are the operative words to describe the Sands. My neighborhood on the Southside does not welcome their arrival---call me a NIMBY all you want.

[Raygun]

WeElectedABunchOfIdiots wrote:

<quoted text>
The Blind sheep will continue to follow fast eddie down the road to ruin... 6 tax increases and counting since his last election, and he promised tax cuts....

Hey Clinton fan, it looks like Billary is finished in the primary. Dispite your constant pushing them with your avatar, they failed.
Whats next for your fake Republican strategy.

[jones]

I will admit your right about the jobs Roger.

As long as I can look out my window from my PC and see trees and the light rotating on South Mountain I'm happy for Bethlehem.

We don't have the haze that hung over the valley when the steel was 24-7 and it looks like more than enough jobs to replace what was lost.
What was really lost was a lot of steelworkers still had ten years to work and lost their medical benefits and a lot of their pension.
For these people the new jobs can't take up the lost time, but that's life.
The traffic and roads are horrible but I think we'll both be gone when that problem will be addressed.

Sands?, I'm not into gambling and have never been to a Casino. I still give that and the traffic a wait and see.

See Ya,

[WeElectedABunchO fIdiots]

Raygun wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Clinton fan, it looks like Billary is finished in the primary. Dispite your constant pushing them with your avatar, they failed.
Whats next for your fake Republican strategy.

Do you even bother to read what I post?
Why don't you take five minutes and register like a real man....
If you can't see the sarcasm you should go back to elem school.

[Billy Givens]

Walkin in Betlam AOL,

Thanks for your offer. In fact, I am seeking the 136th Legislative District seat currently occupied by my long-time friend and College Hill, Easton, neighbor Bob Freeman - as an Independent candidate.

This means I am also running against another friend, Republican candidate Ron Shegda of hellertown, who is challenging Democrat Freeman.

Bob is too much of a "tax and spend" Democrat for my pocketbook, and Ron, I find too extreme.

While I, like Ron, oppose abortions on demand, I do support the procedure in cases of rape, incest, and, on the recommendation of competent medical advice, a threat to the life of the pregnant woman.

My e-mail address is [e-mail].

[Senior Plus]

ACLU-Tom wrote:

Actually, the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City is in the process of being sold and is not part of Tropicana Entertainment's bankruptcy.
<quoted text>

I stand corrected, I was just responding to illustrate that Casinos do go bankrupt. I should have sadi the Tropicana in Laughlin or Las Vegas. Both are part of the bankruptcy.

[Raygun]

WeElectedABunchOfIdiots wrote:

<quoted text>
Do you even bother to read what I post?
Why don't you take five minutes and register like a real man....
If you can't see the sarcasm you should go back to elem school.

You Clinton lovers are all alike. Good luck since she won't be the pick. What next a picture of Obama?

[WeElectedABunchO fIdiots]

Raygun wrote:

<quoted text>You Clinton lovers are all alike. Good luck since she won't be the pick. What next a picture of Obama?

Nah, I think I'll put up Ted K driving off a bridge

[Mobbed up casino owner-]

ha ha ha ha!

[Tony One Eye]

Yo, mobbed up! check your car and lock your windas on da house, yo! You dont know jack ****