Praise for the Post-Gazette: Toland's Casino Journal Is a Great Idea

Post-Gazette reporter Bill Toland is now running a blog called Casino Journal. He plans to update it 3-5 times per week, and is positioning it as one-stop shopping for info about the Burgh's foray into gaming.

This is a good thing. Toland has been very good on the casino beat, and he is not afraid to cast a critical eye on these complex proceedings. Here's a sampling that I like a lot--it is in a section called "Stuff we missed," and provides links to stories from around the state. But even in that capacity it manages to be witty and... well, like I said, critical:

The Philadelphia Inquirer had a piece about Pennsylvania's rosy casino revenue estimates: $3 billion by 2010, which sounds overly optimistic to many of us on planet Earth, but not to supporters of gaming ... The Morning Call of Allentown published an opinion piece warning that the "gambling road" won't lead cities of the Lehigh Valley out of economic doldrums ... The Pottstown Mercury gives us an update on the proposed casino in Limerick, Pa., with religious groups and the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling leading the protests against the proposed Boyd Gaming venture ... The Express-Times has a short piece about the upcoming casino hearings and the Bethlehem, Pa., casino ... The Boston Globe reruns a story from the AP's Marc Levy about Donald Trump's comings and goings in Philadelphia, and The Donald's promises to remake the city... The AP also chimes in with the Lehigh Valley's plan to share the pool of slots money ... The Lebanon Daily News says "Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill has returned $21,000 in campaign contributions from donors with gambling ties -- and may give back more."

So hie thee to Casino Journal.