One of the world’s biggest gaming companies, MGM, is in the late stages of negotiations to operate the proposed casino along the Potomac River in Prince George's County, according to The Washington Post.
On Tuesday, Milton V. Peterson, chairman of the Peterson Cos, the developer of National Harbor, told reporters that an announcement about who would operate the casino on the Potomac River was days away but wouldn’t release the company’s name.
The Post reports that MGM executives are also planning to meet Friday with Gov. Martin O’Malley and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), possibly about a potential special session for lawmakers to consider the expansion of gambling in the state.
The casino, which would be the sixth in the state, has still not been approved by Maryland lawmakers.
* The DCist reports on a study published by the Fiscal Policy Institute today that found that immigrants make up 22 percent of D.C. but account for 28 percent of its workforce and 33 percent of its small business owners.
This is the fifth highest rate in the U.S.
Nationwide, immigrants make up 18 percent of the 4.9 million small business owners even though they represent only 13 percent of the total population and 16 percent of the labor force.
* Here’s Romney’s latest ad airing in Virginia where he goes on the attack and uses Obama's comment that the “private sector is doing fine” to attack.
* The two top deputies to ousted University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan praised the Board of Vistors for acting in a “resolute and authoritative” manner.
The Board of Visitors is the governing body that voted to remove Sullivan.
“The Board of Visitors’ action is resolute and authoritative,” they wrote. They promised that the panel would follow “a deliberate, principled and thoughtful search process for our next president” after installing an interim leader next week.
“We encourage all of us, even as we adjust and absorb to this change, to focus constructively forward” in preparing for the next administration, they wrote.
* D.C. Attorney General Irv Nathan filed the first 13 lawsuits against the current and former D.C. employees accused of taking unemployment compensation they were not entitled to receive.
Nathan announced that he is trying to recoup $14,000 from this first group of lawsuits.
In all, the alleged double-dipping involves as many as 150 workers.
Nathan’s statement, via DCist.
The lawsuits seek to recover amounts wrongfully paid to these individuals ranging from $4,320 to $13,790. The individuals work or have worked for various agencies across the D.C. government. Some of them have been subject to disciplinary actions, including termination, where appropriate. As the city’s Department of Employment Services continues its inquiry into these cases, it will continue to refer matters to the Office of the D.C. Inspector General. That office is responsible for determining which of these cases should be referred to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for possible criminal prosecution, or to the Office of the Attorney General for civil action.
Some employees or former employees may agree to repay amounts that were collected fraudulently, avoiding the need for civil collections efforts. These employees remain subject to disciplinary measures.
