by KYW's Steve Tawa
Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell says don't expect anything dramatic when he meets next week with one of the two casino interests about the possibility of moving the controversial projects from the Delaware River waterfront.
The governor, Mayor Nutter, Pennsylvania state senator Vince Fumo, and Pennsylvania state representative Dwight Evans want to talk with Foxwoods and Sugarhouse about relocating. But Rendell points out that under the law, the casino operators cannot be forced to relocate:
"I told them the battle is not going to end soon, and if there are other viable sites, and maybe if the city and state helped smooth the way, they could be up and running faster."
But Rendell (in file photo above) says any resiting could create problems and open the door for the losing bidders for casino licenses to reënter the fray:
"You'd be asking these licensees to open this up to a whole new re-bid."
Rendell recalls a meeting with neighborhood groups last year, during which they came up with more than a dozen alternate sites, and the casino operators rejected them.
The meeting next Thursday will involve only Foxwoods, proposed for South Columbus Boulevard; a similar meeting is being arranged for the Sugarhouse concern in Fishtown/Northern Liberties.
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