URI & Cox to host televised town meeting on
proposed gambling casino
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- May 9, 2000 -- The University of Rhode Island and
Cox Communications will host a statewide, televised town meeting to discuss
the proposed Narragansett tribe-sponsored gambling casino project in West
Warwick on Monday, May 22 from 7 to 8 p.m.
The forum will be televised and aired live from the Paff Auditorium at
URI's Feinstein College of Continuing Education and broadcast over Cox Channel
3. Anyone wishing to attend the forum should arrive by 6 p.m. to
be seated. The College is located at 80 Washington Street in Providence.
No tickets are required, admission is free, and seating is available for
several hundred people on a first come, first served basis.
Sean Daly will moderate the forum. A former newscaster of ABC Channel
6, Daly will host a news program on local public television, Channel 36,
this fall.
A balanced panel of three experts on the subject one pro, one con,
and one neutral academic researcher will open the meeting with informational
background on the present proposal, its history, and data from previous
studies.
Invitations have been sent to about a hundred people who are directly
involved in promoting or opposing the proposed casino in West Warwick, including
the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Boyd Gambling, Rhode Island State Legislature,
Rhode Island Council of Churches, CasiNO and others. The meeting will encourage
all Rhode Islanders to voice their opinions on the proposed gambling casino
in our state.
The televised Town Meeting is the latest in a series of similar programs
that URI has organized over the past three years in concert with Cox, the
Providence Journal, Channel 36, Channel 10, and Public Radio WRNI. All meetings
have been designed to provide a television forum for Rhode Islanders to
think about, discuss, and watch a discussion about major public issues.
The meeting's subject has been selected at this time to encourage wider
understanding of the issue of the West Warwick casino that is due to be
voted on as a statewide referendum on November 7.
The Research Center of URI is currently conducting a statewide telephone
opinion poll seeking statistics about current attitudes and opinions related
to this proposed West Warwick casino. The results of that poll will be
available prior to the televised forum schedule for May 22.
The University of Connecticut is also conducting a detailed study of
the impact on the state made by gambling casinos in Southern Connecticut.
The results of that study will be available at the May 22 town meeting and
UCONN representatives will be present to answer questions at that time.
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For Information: Bob Sauber, 277-5311, Jan Sawyer, 823-8331
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