Column: Military silent on Spokane Tribe off-reservation casino

Columnist wonders why military officials won't say anything about the Spokane Tribe off-reservation casino:
Why all the whispering, Fairchild?

If the Spokane Tribe’s proposed casino is a threat to the base – which is, in turn, a threat to the local economy – why not just say so, in clear, modern, American, nonbureaucratic English?

Short of that, why not just say why you won’t say?

“You are asking the right question,” said Greg Bever. “But I don’t know the answer.”

It is no small thing that Bever, of all people, doesn’t know the answer. Fairchild Air Force Base has few, if any, better friends than him. Bever is chairman of Forward Fairchild, the arm of Greater Spokane Incorporated that advocates on behalf of the base and tries to promote the best future for it. A more or less constant concern is the question: How does Fairchild stack up against other bases in the event that the government starts closing them down? What potential liabilities can be addressed now, to prevent demerits if the government begins a base-evaluation process?

Get the Story:
Shawn Vestal: Fairchild’s casino silence baffling and frustrating (The Spokesman Review 4/12)

Federal Register Notice:
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Spokane Tribe of Indians West Plains Casino and Mixed Use Project, City of Airway Heights, Spokane County, WA (February 1, 2013)

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