A round-up of things in my neck o’ the woods:

1. Foxwoods fiasco remains stalled: The bizarre Foxwoods fiasco remains stalled out, but that didn’t stop the casino from filing for a license extension last week. The petition reads like one long plaintive whine on why their gamble on a downtown casino hasn’t hit the jackpot yet. It also demonstrates how effective Councilman Frank "My Fighting Days are Over" DiCicco and Mayor "No Barriers to Casinos" Nutter were in stalling the project and potentially getting concessions from the casinos – something both have refused to do now that the project is off the waterfront.
2. Petition to stop predatory gambling practices: Meanwhile, the No Casino in the Heart of Our City Coalition is pushing a petition for City Council which targets predatory gambling practices (sign here). The "No Blank Check For Casinos" Campaign argues that Council has a moral and civic duty to enact basic protections when a slots house is placed next to neighborhoods and homes – things like: making sure casinos close between 2-8 a.m.; prohibiting free unlimited alcohold service, and prohibiting ATM machines and lending on the casino floors. So far DiCicco has argued that such protections are outside his control.

   Ironically, in 2007, DiCicco made sure the City amended its otherwise strict limitations on payday lending to exempt casinos. Seems like it’s not impossible after all for Council to consider citizens’ needs as well as casino needs.

3. Another out of touch Inky editorial: Over the weekend, the Inquirer published yet another awful editorial on the Philadelphia public schools. It was based on the annual report written by the District’s one-note Safe Schools Advocate, whose apparent sole contribution is an annual doomsday report on school violence. In its editorial "Rotten Apples," the Inquirer stated it’s time to "get rid of persistent troublemakers." Unfortunately, its tough on kids approach offered few options, and the Safe Schools Advocate, as expected, simply pounded on his one issue – noting the fact that schools don’t expel enough kids. That got me thinking about a recent Baltimore Sun story about Baltimore’s "go nuclear" approach: permanent expulsions under zero tolerance. With zero tolerance, there’s hardly any need for due process (parents have 10 days to appeal in writing) and the rotten apples are prohibited from attending any public, charter or disciplinary school, thereby placing the entire burden on the parents to either home-school or pay for private school.

On the heels of the brutal murder of Luis Ramirez, comes yet another Shenandoah hate crime:

On Friday, Javier Alcala Jr., 21, allegedly was abducted and beaten by three men who duct-taped and blindfolded him.

This follows the July 12 killing of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, 25, an illegal immigrant who had been living in the U.S. for six years. He allegedly was pummeled near a local park after a confrontation with at least four teenage boys.

It’s almost impossible to believe that the murder of Luis Ramirez wouldn’t have functioned as a wake-up call. Instead, it emboldened some people in this town to dig in on behalf of bigotry, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric, and violence.

On a recent Saturday, the Babe Ruth League field around the bend from the Mrs. T's Pierogies factory was crowded with people waving Old Glory, surrounded by their families and dogs.

The sun was still out, but mosquitoes were circling. Some folks carried placards - "Gallon of Gas: $3.69, Purchase of a Gun: $419, Deportation: Priceless," - that hinted at the turmoil that has simmered and occasionally boiled over since Ramirez's death.

Midway through the anti-illegal-immigrant rally, Crystal Dillman, who had been Ramirez's fiancee, arrived with her sister and some friends. The women, all of whom are white, unfurled a large Mexican flag.

"I'm here to support the cause; I'm here to support my husband," said Dillman, a Shenandoah native, quickly amending her statement to say "fiancee."

When some in the crowd noticed them and the flag, they shouted: "Why don't you go to Mexico?" and "Go home, Crystal!"

But the mother of three held her ground. "I'm not going nowhere," she said. "Let them say what whatever they want."

The trash-talk continued: "Wetback kids!" was directed toward Dillman's group. Her sister Lita responded joyfully with her arms raised in obscene gestures.

The tension escalated until state troopers stepped in, standing as a barrier around the Mexican flag until the crowd dispersed.

Note to reporter: I wouldn’t call a placard linking a gun reference to deportation following the murder of an innocent man a hint at turmoil nor would I call a mob surrounding a group of women and hurling ethnic slurs "trash-talk". It’s a little more serious than that.)

How is it possible that one hate crime could follow so closely to another – especially one that has received such nationwide attention?

Maybe it’s because Pennsylvania refuses to acknowledge or hold accountable bigotry engrained into the political fiber of the state.