Rumbles of Progress

Yvonne Battle-Felton

July 23, 2010

Construction trucks rattle early in the morning; drills drone late into the night: The Landscape of Baltimore is changing.

I can remember when it changed in New Jersey too.
Tourists straggled the boardwalk, haunted the beaches, coveted seashells. Years later, syringes littered the dunes, beach umbrellas dotted the sand, and poverty was everywhere.

The shoreline was gone.

More tourists came and went and came back in droves.
What was left—was progress.

Casinos over shadowed the ocean, parking garages jutted against the boardwalk, casino chips paved the main streets.
Atlantic City always had its problems. It’s not fair to say the casinos brought addiction, poverty, absolution. They brought jobs, revenue and change.

Many people lost their homes to casino redevelopment plans; others were pushed into jobs and out of careers.
Still, casinos were good for some and better for others.

Now Baltimore is getting casinos, well slots.

It’s true, Baltimore has its challenges—I’m just hoping progress doesn’t become one of them.

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