On December 14 the Town of Southampton appropriated another $150,000 for its legal fight against the Shinnecock Nation's plans to operate a gaming casino. This brings the total funds wasted to close to $1 million in the Town's attempt to stop our native neighbors plans to become economically self-sufficient. The moneys are wasted because this issue will be decided between the Federal government and the Shinnecocks. The proceeds from a casino could help fund the poorly financed educational system in Hampton Bays and elsewhere in the Town.
The Shinnecocks who have preserved their lands for millenia are still poor while the rest of us continue to profit from the overdevelopment outside tribal lands. Let's start the new year on a positive note. Instead of spending more money on legal fees why not put our tax dollars into a fund to help all those who have been left out of the booming Hamptons economy?
Anthony Ernst
Southampton
(from a letter to the Southampton Town Board and the Southampton Press)
