From: "Joel Rose" To: Subject: CACGEC: Don't Forget: Casino Opposition Week Date: Friday, September 12, 2003 8:32 PM Summary: (1) picketing 9/15 at 4-5 p.m. at Erie County Hall (2) special Steering Committee meeting 9/15 at 5:30-6:30 p.m. (3) Cheektowaga Town Board meeting 9/15 at 6:45 (4) Tom Grey speaking 9/16 12 noon - 2 p.m. at Canisius (5) forum on 9/17 at 7 p.m. in the Science Museum (6) rally on 9/20 at 12 noon - 2 p.m. at Hoyt Lake, Delaware Park ============================================================================== Discussion: The coming week will see a sequence of events we've been planning for a long time. We're calling it Casino Opposition Week. This message will bring you up-to-date on our plans for the week. Please try to participate in these events as much as you are able, and tell your friends what we're up to. Hoping to see you soon, Joel Rose, co-Chairperson Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County http://NoCasinoErie.org Don't forget to sign our on-line petition if you haven't already: http://PetitionOnline.com/CACGEC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) picketing 9/15 at 4-5 p.m. at Erie County Hall Monday is Picketing Day. CACGEC will conduct an informational picket on Monday, September 15, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., in front of County Hall, 95 Franklin Street, in Buffalo. The picket line will form on the east side of Franklin Street, between Church Street and West Eagle Street, in front of the new County Hall, directly across the street from the old County Hall. As always, the picket is to be non-confrontational. We will engage passersby in conversation, but will not obstruct their movement in any way. Signs and leaflets will be provided, but you are encouraged to bring your own. This picket will be part of Casino Opposition Week, so we'd really like to have a good turnout. We are picketing at County Hall in order to indicate our continuing opposition to a casino in Buffalo, in Cheektowaga, or anywhere else in Erie County. This is all one community, and we all have a stake in it -- all of it. The message to County officials is that ALL of Erie County must be off-limits for casino gambling. We know from polls published in the Buffalo News and from what people are telling us that this is the wish of a majority of County residents. We expect County office-holders either to show some leadership on this issue, or at least to be able to follow the clearly expressed preferences of their constituents. The contact person for this event is Jeffery Termini, 862-0470 or 440-6597, JLTHumanist@aol.com. We are continuing to decide on a week-by-week basis whether and where to picket. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) special Steering Committee meeting 9/15 at 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tom Grey, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, will be in town next week in order to speak at our forum (see item 5 below). This special meeting will provide an opportunity for members of the CACGEC Steering Committee to meet with him. The meeting will be held Monday, September 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Avenue, just south of Gates Circle, across from the hospital. Some people may wish to leave around 6:15 in order to attend the Cheektowaga Town Board meeting. Because the meeting will be sandwiched tightly between the picketing at County Hall and the Cheektowaga Town Board meeting, making for a long evening, pizza will be provided. Steering Committee meetings are open to any member of CACGEC. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) Cheektowaga Town Board meeting 9/15 at 6:45 Yes, you read that right. Picketing downtown at 4, a meeting at 5:30, and a Town Board meeting in Cheektowaga at 6:45, all on the same day. What did you expect, time off for good behavior? Seriously, the Cheektowaga Town Board is meeting Monday at 6:45 p.m. We know that our friends from Citizens Opposing New Casinos in Established Residential Neighborhoods (CONCERN -- that's the name of the group that has recently formed in Lancaster) plan to attend. We would like to have some of our members join them as a show of solidarity with these folks who are facing a very imminent threat of a casino right across the street from their elementary school, and to encourage them to broaden their opposition to a casino to encompass the larger community. At the same time, we want to indicate to the Town Board that there is opposition to a casino anywhere in the county, so that this problem cannot be solved by picking a different site in Cheektowaga, and it most certainly cannot be solved by dredging up the Buffalo proposal. We especially encourage those of our members and friends who reside in Cheektowaga or Lancaster to attend. Unless some of you have already signed up to speak, we will probably not be allowed to speak at the meeting. But at this point it's hard to say how events will develop at the meeting, so we should just be there, distribute some fliers if possible, and be prepared to react to whatever develops and to speak if the opportunity arises. Fliers will be provided, or bring your own if you have any. The contact person for this event is Jackie Donaldson, 15 Mayberry Drive West, Cheektowaga, NY 14227, 656-0576, flytyer2@olm1.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (4) Tom Grey speaking 9/16 12 noon - 2 p.m. at Canisius Tom Grey, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, will speak at at Canisius College, in Old Main 219, on Tuesday, September 16, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Mr. Grey will be in town next week, from Saturday evening until Thursday morning, in order to speak at our forum on Wednesday (see item 5 below). We're taking advantage of his presence to have him speak at a variety of venues. You can see his entire schedule at http://ical.mac.com/stanbratton/Tom32Grey32Schedule (click the Next Week arrow to get to the week of 9/14 to 9/20). Most of these venues are for restricted audiences; however, the appearance at Canisius is open to the public. If you are unable to attend the forum on Wednesday, do try to attend his talk at Canisius. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (5) forum on 9/17 at 7 p.m. in the Science Museum Wednesday night is Forum Night. CACGEC will sponsor a forum on Wednesday, September 17, at 7 p.m., at the Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway in Buffalo. This event will be open to the general public, with no charge for admission. There will be two speakers, Rev. Tom Grey, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, and Ms. Judy Bachmann, Vice Chairperson of the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance. We anticipate that these speakers will be speaking not only about the reasons we must oppose a casino in Erie County, but about how we should go about it. This should be a very good forum. The speakers are both very knowledgeable. Mr. Grey has been fighting the scourge of casino gambling on a nationwide basis for many years. Ms. Bachmann has been a leader of the citizens fighting against the disintegration of the community surrounding Turning Stone Casino in Central New York, and can provide a first hand account of the likely consequences that await us if we fail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (6) rally on 9/20 at 12 noon - 2 p.m. at Hoyt Lake, Delaware Park Saturday is Rally Day. CACGEC will host an anti-gambling casino rally on Saturday, September 20, at noon, near the steps at Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park. This event is planned as the culmination of Casino Opposition Week. Speakers will include United Neighborhoods Director Shakoor Aljuwani, attorney and regionalism advocate Kevin Gaughan, Senecas for Justice and Preservation Chairman Lloyd Jacobs from the Allegheny Reservation, CACGEC Vice Chairperson Ellen Kennedy, CACGEC Co-Chairperson Rev. Dan Schifeling, Citizens for Common Sense Vice President Jessie Schnell, pediatrician Dr. Robert Schulman, and some others whose availability has not yet been confirmed. Music will be provided by John Bartley & Robin Reed, and by Jean Dickson & Gary Stevens, with sound provided by Jim Whitlock. It should be a lot of fun as well as an important event to attend and show your support. Please come, and bring some friends.