"A proposal by the Spokane Tribe for a $400 million casino is a gamble best not taken.

Although understandably aggrieved by the success of the Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Resort & Casino within their ancestral lands, the Spokanes cannot make the case for economic hardship the Kalispels did a decade ago. Nor can the region let the light and traffic from a new casino put at risk Fairchild Air Force Base.

The base employs roughly 5,000. The Spokanes’ casino might employ as many as 3,600 after more than a decade of build-out.

Fairchild has survived two Department of Defense reassessments of the nation’s military facilities. The base escaped closure partly because local officials have diligently scotched any development that might compromise its operations. With reductions in defense spending possible as budget talks continue, Fairchild’s future cannot be taken for granted."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Government should fold on casino proposal (The Spokesman Review 10/11)

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