PARDON OUR SKEPTICISM - You'll have to pardon north county if we're a bit skeptical about the whole "public comment" process on plans for a slots casino near Arundel Mills. We've got a chip of history on our shoulder.

Some of it landed in the post World War II days, when Baltimore managed to use eminent domain to takeover the sleepy community of Friendship. Residents tried to fight, but found no ally on the county commission in Annapolis and eventually moved out.

Today, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is undeniably a major economic force both for the county and the state, providing jobs and tax revenues.

Fast forward to...