THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508180647
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
Chesapeake's first legal gambling parlor (if you don't count bingo and the lottery) is scheduled to open soon at South Military and George Washington highways. It will be a place where gamblers can go to lay bets on horse races televised from New Kent County.
No doubt, there are those who feel that this will be a boon to the quality of life in these parts and will attract out-of-town money to plump the local economy.
But, somehow, a gambling den - even a state-run one - isn't consistent with Chesapeake's character as a quiet, hard-working, family-oriented kind of town.
Citizens who might feel the same way probably won't get a chance to say so. There will be no public hearing. City official say off-track betting is no different from other forms of ``indoor recreation'' and already permitted under existing zoning laws.
Maybe citizens should be proud that Chesapeake has been chosen for the first off-track betting parlor, but pride is not what some of us are feeling. by CNB