This past month I received a stack of postcards from constituents regarding the funding for the rain forest at the Buffalo Zoo. All correspondence was in favor of the project. I voted positively that Erie County bond the $4 million for the project.

My rationale was simple - because I traveled across the border to Ontario to spend the day, spend a few bucks and visit the butterfly exhibit, I assumed that the same thing will happen when we build a state of the art rain forest at our zoo. People will come just to check it out. . It will generate new revenue, educate, and put people in touch with nature. I think the Darwin Martin House has the same effect. People from all over will come to see firsthand our charm and our treasures.

I don't feel the same regarding casino gambling. Years ago, my mother had made this pithy statement in regards to gambling: "once money is put on the table, it's no longer a friendly game." With gambling, the odds are in your favor that you will leave the place empty handed. To me, it's not a good bang for your buck. I have similar feelings for the Bass Pro initiative. That corporation did not choose Buffalo because it has character and charm; because if that was the case, the old War Memorial Auditorium would have sufficed. Now they want to tear it down and build something to their liking.

First though, we taxpayers have to help them out with about $66 million start-up money. It reminds me when Kmart wanted to establish a presence on Broadway across the street from the Broadway Market. That seemed fine to me, but I thought it would be best if they built the store as close as possible to the street, with a bridge that would connect it to the market. It wasn't a county issue then, so I petitioned the city leaders to see if that could be possible. And the Kmart reply was ultra-corporate: No, all our stores have parking lots in front. That may work in the suburbs, but you'd think the corporation would've been a little more flexible in an urban setting. We still have this huge parking lot in front of the store; the only problem is, Kmart pulled the plug on the back building years ago.

So, to me, Bass Pro is a huge gamble, and a huge amount of our money will be on the table. The zoo is a better bet for our area.

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