Alabama electronic bingo facilities spark debate about what kind of jobs rural areas need

An attempt by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to rid the state of electronic bingo has put rural county officials on the defensive for one of the few industries they say has created jobs in their jurisdictions. "This fight might have its roots in the legality of electronic bingo, but the tussle also has taken on an economic development angle in areas that see gaming establishments ... in the same light as the state's Mercedes-Benz and Honda factories," Michael Tomberlin of The Birmingham News reports.

"It comes down to the fact that desperate people do desperate things," Larry Lee, a former economic developer in Covington County and other parts of the state, told Tomberlin. "Whatever it is we have called 'rural development' for years in Alabama has failed miserably. We've just not taken a meaningful approach to it, and those chickens are coming home to roost." Neal Wade, the executive director of the Alabama Development Office, disagrees telling Tomberlin the "state's economic development efforts must be attached to safer bets."

Proponents of the facilities say they account for nearly 5,000 jobs, while the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations reports the figure is fewer than 2,200. Local officials tell Tomberlin "by either measure, those are jobs those counties can't afford to lose." But one of the governor's spokespersons told Tomberlin the casinos have been no economic cure for those counties. Federal data shows the unemployment rate in December was 15.6 percent in Lowndes County, 15 percent in Greene County and 12 percent in Macon County. Houston County's 9 percent rate made it the only county with a large bingo facility and an unemployment rate less than the state's 11 percent average. (Read more)