A thousand MGM Springfield employees have been canned, effective today. A skeleton crew of 800 keeps the casino-resort open, as it writhes in pandemic economic throes. Reports the Boston Globe, “State rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have limited the availability of table games, reduced restaurant capacity, and barred large gatherings such as concerts and conferences that are important to casino’s business.” As the story points out, even if all furloughed workers had been restored to their positions, MGM Springfield would be well below the 3,000 jobs it promised the community. (Encore Boston Harbor at its peak only achieved 80% of projected employment.) One positive that Mayor Dominic J. Sarno was able to salvage was that MGM began work last week on 74 apartments it had promised the city.
Perhaps we should know way more about the long term effects of a disease before we name a “herd immunity” promoter to the White House Task Force, Dr. Scott Atlas, who has no formal training in viral diseases, is now front and center calling shots for our entire country. Dr. Atlas seems to think that “we can protect the old people”, he has obviously not met mine and my spouses mothers, who insist on seeing their children and grandchildren, old people are not keen on isolation, this notion that they want to stay home alone while young people go out to restaurants and school is a con job if you ask me…
When Donald Trump was running for President, I believe a reporter asked Ivanka about the failed projects with the Trump name on the “coming soon” signs. Her response was that the Trump company got a multi-million dollar “naming rights” fee upfront, and had no ownership interest in any of the failed projects (including downtown Philadelphia).