To the Editor:
The answer is No. It is a DRI. The tribe should not be allowed to build their casino without MVC review.
Regardless of their “sovereign nation” status. The casino raises a ton of questions on issues that affect other towns: traffic, law enforcement, environmental issues, impacts on other
Aquinnah residents, supposed Island-wide “economic development,” and more.
The tribe’s assertion that casino development is going to be a positive feature of economic development for the whole Island needs to be examined in detail. How is this planned to work? This assertion is an acknowledgment that the project is a DRI. The rest of the Island should get a chance to weigh in on whether it wants this kind of “economic development” or whether it might be a Trojan horse.
It is sadly ironic that the tribe that won’t let non–tribe members step on environmentally sensitive lands in Lobsterville to pick beach plums (which appear to go unpicked by anyone) is the same tribe that trashes 4.7 acres of untouched land for gambling. The public is forming its opinion of tribe priorities. I foresee a lot of wisecracks and jokes about the tribe’s choosing to hitch its “economic development” wagon to gambling.
Katherine Scott
Tisbury