I have not written and in depth article since probably senior year of high school. So, when I sat down with my notes and transcription from the phone interview I was at a loss at where to go. I had so many ideas in my head when I was doing the interview and I did get a lot of great info from my main source but that was part of the problem; I had so much I didn't know which direction to take. And unfortunately I think that shows in my article. But I did it and my method was quite scattered. I sat down with all my sheets of paper and just wrote what I wanted first- I literally just scribbled it all down by hand. Then I actually read it. Of course it was not perfect and so then I transferred it to a word document and went to work editing it for grammatical errors. All the while I was listening to the string quartet's performance of Incubus songs (I find that when I write I cannot listen to music with words because I am to distracted and often find my work littered with words from the songs- so that's a no go- but I also cannot sit in silence because I find that there is no such thing as silence and every little noise turns my head). So violins humming and keyboard clicking I wrote for about an hour, changing and adding, deleting and undoing. Finally I thought I had something that would suffice. The last part of my process was to read the article out loud to make sure that the flow was at least manageable.
I'm not convinced this is my best work and i struggled a lot but I really enjoyed dissecting my process because I do see some flaws that I need to and want to adjust for future projects.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
first stab!
Casinos journey to Ohio
On November 3, 2009 Ohio citizens turned out to vote for a myriad of issues including one that carried with it a tumultuous history.
Ohio Issue 3, also known as the Four Casinos Initiative, stood to change the Ohio Constitution in major way, a way that had been denied many times before. Issue 3 would allow for Casino’s to be built in the major cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.
This legislation would potentially change the Ohio economy in arguably positive and negative ways. The voice of the people was heard, and the answer was yes. Voters were in favor of the new legislation and approved it with the necessary majority vote. There was and continues to be backlash surrounding this sensitive issue but many still aren’t one hundred percent of how all of it came to be. On the sidewalks of Ohio University a few students were uncertain about all the details surrounding this topic. Rachel Meyer is a sophomore studying Hearing Speech and Language Sciences. She found herself to be uniformed on the subject, “I knew there was a big push for casinos in Ohio and that the issue passed but I guess I really never understood the significance of it all.” Martina Bell a junior studying retail merchandising was also unfamiliar with the history of the issue. “I guess I knew that Casinos were being built, I just never really questioned the why or how of it”. But evidently some people cared. So how did Ohio come to this point, and why now were the casinos important in the minds of the majority of voters?
Issue 3 applied all of the scrutiny necessary to ensure that this time it would obtain a “yes” vote from the majority. Among the criteria that was necessary for this amendment was that only Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo would be authorized to build casinos in specifically designated areas that were to be determined. This was very different from the language of previous issue initiatives. With all of the legal and formal jargon set aside the voters and lawmakers stood to make the process finalized. And this was a familiar battle that had been fought continuously over the years.
Casinos were introduced to the ballot before, each time coming up short. Most recently in 2008, Ohio Issue 6, or the Ohio Casino Measure, failed by a stronger majority than Issue 3 would eventually pass with. What changed? State Representative, Denise Driehaus, saw the action first hand during her many trips back and forth from Cincinnati to Columbus where she represents the 31st District in the House of Representatives. She explained in a phone interview that flaws in the actual issues lent to the failures but that a tanking economy helped put the ace in the hole on Issue 3. “We’ve had this issue on the ballot a number of times over a number of years and voters have always defeated it” she said. “They pretty soundly said they didn’t like the proposals that have come before for different reasons”. One of these reasons she proposed was personal opposition to gambling just by way of principal. This can become a big issue especially in very conservative religious areas that exist throughout the state.
And yet the issue passed. As State Representative Driehaus suggests the economy plays a big role. “I think people see gambling as a way to improve economic development in the areas where the casinos are going to be located” she said. “And so I think many of us that were supportive this time and really have not been supportive in the past did it for economic reasons.” She mentioned that people are associating the Casinos not only with job creation due to construction, but permanent and continuous job creation in the immediate surrounding area. For example the Cincinnati casino, she explained, would not have a hotel included. This can provide a great opportunity for hotels and restaurants to set up shop, creating the potential for more jobs. The economic situation that has worsened over the years has instilled fear in a lot of people, a fear that evidently can be calmed by change by opportunity. There can obviously be many reasons for why the legislation passed when it did and understanding the rationales of each voter would be nothing less than impossible to find. But there is a connection between the downward spiral of the economy and the timing of Issue 3 that even the experts like Driehaus can not deny.
At this point any opportunities that may be created are just speculative but they are the hope of the majority of voters who said yes to Issue 3. The casinos have made their way to Ohio via the economic downturn. The future is now just a gamble.
On November 3, 2009 Ohio citizens turned out to vote for a myriad of issues including one that carried with it a tumultuous history.
Ohio Issue 3, also known as the Four Casinos Initiative, stood to change the Ohio Constitution in major way, a way that had been denied many times before. Issue 3 would allow for Casino’s to be built in the major cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.
This legislation would potentially change the Ohio economy in arguably positive and negative ways. The voice of the people was heard, and the answer was yes. Voters were in favor of the new legislation and approved it with the necessary majority vote. There was and continues to be backlash surrounding this sensitive issue but many still aren’t one hundred percent of how all of it came to be. On the sidewalks of Ohio University a few students were uncertain about all the details surrounding this topic. Rachel Meyer is a sophomore studying Hearing Speech and Language Sciences. She found herself to be uniformed on the subject, “I knew there was a big push for casinos in Ohio and that the issue passed but I guess I really never understood the significance of it all.” Martina Bell a junior studying retail merchandising was also unfamiliar with the history of the issue. “I guess I knew that Casinos were being built, I just never really questioned the why or how of it”. But evidently some people cared. So how did Ohio come to this point, and why now were the casinos important in the minds of the majority of voters?
Issue 3 applied all of the scrutiny necessary to ensure that this time it would obtain a “yes” vote from the majority. Among the criteria that was necessary for this amendment was that only Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo would be authorized to build casinos in specifically designated areas that were to be determined. This was very different from the language of previous issue initiatives. With all of the legal and formal jargon set aside the voters and lawmakers stood to make the process finalized. And this was a familiar battle that had been fought continuously over the years.
Casinos were introduced to the ballot before, each time coming up short. Most recently in 2008, Ohio Issue 6, or the Ohio Casino Measure, failed by a stronger majority than Issue 3 would eventually pass with. What changed? State Representative, Denise Driehaus, saw the action first hand during her many trips back and forth from Cincinnati to Columbus where she represents the 31st District in the House of Representatives. She explained in a phone interview that flaws in the actual issues lent to the failures but that a tanking economy helped put the ace in the hole on Issue 3. “We’ve had this issue on the ballot a number of times over a number of years and voters have always defeated it” she said. “They pretty soundly said they didn’t like the proposals that have come before for different reasons”. One of these reasons she proposed was personal opposition to gambling just by way of principal. This can become a big issue especially in very conservative religious areas that exist throughout the state.
And yet the issue passed. As State Representative Driehaus suggests the economy plays a big role. “I think people see gambling as a way to improve economic development in the areas where the casinos are going to be located” she said. “And so I think many of us that were supportive this time and really have not been supportive in the past did it for economic reasons.” She mentioned that people are associating the Casinos not only with job creation due to construction, but permanent and continuous job creation in the immediate surrounding area. For example the Cincinnati casino, she explained, would not have a hotel included. This can provide a great opportunity for hotels and restaurants to set up shop, creating the potential for more jobs. The economic situation that has worsened over the years has instilled fear in a lot of people, a fear that evidently can be calmed by change by opportunity. There can obviously be many reasons for why the legislation passed when it did and understanding the rationales of each voter would be nothing less than impossible to find. But there is a connection between the downward spiral of the economy and the timing of Issue 3 that even the experts like Driehaus can not deny.
At this point any opportunities that may be created are just speculative but they are the hope of the majority of voters who said yes to Issue 3. The casinos have made their way to Ohio via the economic downturn. The future is now just a gamble.
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