 |
“PASTOR MARK D. BOYKIN AND THE ASSOCIATION OF HISPANIC PASTORS OF PALM BEACH COUNTY WILL SPEAK AGAINST THE PROPOSED GAMBLING REFERENDUM BY THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS”
Contact: Martin Camacho (561) 329-7896
West Palm Beach, Florida (December 19, 2011). Pastor Mark D. Boykin, Senior Pastor of Church of All Nations in Boca Raton and the Association of Hispanic Pastors of Palm Beach County will be speaking against the proposed gambling referendum by the Palm Beach County Commission on:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2011
9:30 AM
Palm Beach County Commission Chambers, 6th Floor
301 Oliver Road
West Palm Beach, Florida
The Palm Beach County Commission plans to take a final vote whether to hold a referendum on November 2012, asking voters to allow slots machines at the county’s parimutuel facility, the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach and the old jai-alai fronton in Mangolia Park. Allowing slot machines would also open the door to more of the casino-style gambling long advocated by the kennel club owners, the influential Rooney family.
“This referendum will be a waste of taxpayers money, and their proposal will bring higher crime rates, and violence to a neighborhood already in need,” said Pastor Mark D. Boykin. “I believe that everything that happens in Vegas, must stay in Vegas, and we do not need the kind of crime, prostitution, and others evils associated with gambling to expand in Florida,” continued Pastor Mark D. Boykin.
“For decades we have cultivated a family-friendly vacation postcard image here in Florida and this proposed referendum is a waste of taxpayers money and will destroy our image,” said Pastor Valentin Fontanes, President of the Association of Hispanic Pastors of Palm Beach County.
According to NeighborhoodScout.com and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies across the United States, the City of Las Vegas, Nevada has 3 of the top 20 most dangerous neighborhoods with the highest predicted rates of violent crime in America. (#3 Balzar Avenue; #4 N. 28th Street; and #8 D Street; all neighborhoods in the City of Las Vegas).
“There have been a numbers of studies that show that gambling does not bring any economic advantages and more importantly it brings a higher rate of crime,” ended Pastor Mark D. Boykin.
Pastor Mark D. Boykin, Pastor Valentin Fontanes and others members of the Association of Hispanic Pastors of Palm Beach County will be speaking at the Palm Beach County Commission Meeting.
 Members of All Nations Church protest Boca Raton ban of holiday decorationsBOCA RATON, Fla. - Members of All Nations Church in Boca Raton took to the streets Tuesday to protest city rules regarding holiday decorations.The group marched from their church on 4th Avenue to City Hall with crèches in hand, upset the small nativity scenes cannot be displayed publicly inside the city building.
Pastor Mark Boykin calls the move a civil rights violation, saying the city is denying the recognition of Christmas.
A few weeks ago, the City of Boca Raton decided not to have any holiday decorations inside City Hall or public libraries in an effort to avoid upsetting the group.
But the Mayor admitted Tuesday that was a mistake. She says there will be protestors regardless what city leaders decide, and she's also heard from many residents who miss the decorations.
In an about-face, the city voted Monday night to permit holiday symbols inside city buildings that the U.S. Supreme Court deems allowable. It includes Christmas trees or Hanukkah menorahs.
The Supreme Court says both those symbols don't necessarily signify religion.
But that isn't enough for members of the Church of All Nations who feel they have the right to display the crèche and other religious symbols anywhere.
The City of Boca Raton has set aside a place for all religious decorations in Sanborn Square off Federal Highway. That is a place where nativity scenes and Jewish symbols like the Star of David are allowed. GALLERY
Mark Boykin Leads Parishioners, Others In Procession To City Hall
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A Boca Raton pastor is back at it again in his fight to get a Christmas crèche, or nativity scene, at City Hall.Mark Boykin, a pastor at the Church of All Nations, was leading the "March of the Crèche" to City Hall on Tuesday. The procession is made up of parishioners and city residents. Boykin began his fight in December 2009 when he lobbied to get a nativity scene placed beside the menorah at the city library. The city had a Christmas tree on display, but Boykin argued that it wasn't a secular symbol.Last year, he led the charge to include a Christmas crèche with City Hall's other holiday decorations.Boca Raton banned all holiday symbols in government buildings this year, but city officials reversed their decision Monday.
As a betting man, I'll set odds of 50-to-1 against the South Florida resort casino bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Ellyn Bodganoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, from being approved in the legislative session that starts in January.With so many opponents and hurdles, a 2-percent chance sounds right.Even if the bill gets through a Legislature that's been historically anti-gambling, socially conservative and fiercely protective of Central Florida's theme parks and convention business, there's no telling what Gov. Rick Scott would do when it lands on his desk. He likes jobs and new business, but in a recent meeting with the Sun Sentinel editorial board he made clear his personal aversion to gambling. Still, the proposal to allow three Las Vegas-style resort casinos in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and the jockeying among major casino companies to our Florida market, has been entertaining. Among the funniest parts:--Seeing a former gambling opponent like Bogdanoff turn into a cheerleader for the big casino firms, making nonsensical arguments about this not really being a gambling expansion. Please. It's a gambling expansion. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But let's be honest about it.--Seeing a gambling executive like Dan Adkins of Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach turn into a gambling opponent, at least when it comes to this bill. That's because of the potential imbalance of having new competition with a 10 percent tax rate while slot machines at South Florida's parimutuel "racinos" like Mardi Gras remain taxed at 35 percent.--Seeing the Genting Group of Asia arrogantly get way ahead of itself, buying a prime piece of waterfront land in downtown Miami and unveiling plans for a monstrously large casino before having one shred of legislative or zoning approval. With 5,200 hotel rooms, dozens of restaurants and more casino space than several of the largest Vegas resorts combined, the proposed design also features six cascading glass towers meant to resemble a coral reef over Biscayne Bay.My favorite reaction to Genting's renderings came from humorist Dave Barry."One word – hurricane," Barry said in a radio interview. "There'll be pieces of glass landing in Atlanta from that thing."Genting certainly threw caution to the winds with its brash vision, but now there's a backlash. Scaling back and dialing down the big promises of jobs, revenue and guaranteed visitors would seem a wiser course.After all, there's no such thing as a sure thing. Just look at Dania Jai-Alai, where the house has taken a beating in recent years.Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming bought the fronton and its slots license for $152.5 million in 2006, making big promises about jobs and redevelopment. Five years later, there are still no slots at the property, and a proposed sale at a big loss (for $80 million) just fell through.No wonder why casino operator Las Vegas Sands is taking a more low-key approach to South Florida."We think it's better to go slow, start small with one [resort] and see if it's successful," Sands lobbyist Nick Iarossi said at a Fort Lauderdale business forum last week.Odds are, full-blown Vegas-style resorts will be a long time coming.
|
|
