biin group of w ealthy campaign contributors,rnmany of whom supported casinorngambling.rnRestaurants in Detroit’s Greektownrnliad posted campaign signs for both therncasino and ball-park initiatives bearingrnthe same slogan, “Detroit Needs Jobs.”rnLeading restaurant owners had bid onrnone of the gaming licenses with supportrnfrom both Archer and Council PresidentrnGil Hill, despite the fact that these samerninvestors were also delinciuent in payingrntheir city taxes. Much to Hill’s chagrin,rntheir bid was finally denied due to morernserious legal problems back in Greece.rnAnother interesting connection beh-rneen the two iniriatives is Marian Hitch,rna casino investor and wife of the Tigers’rnowner. When asked at the 1997 tri-count’rnsummit on Mackinac Island about thernobvious conflict between ownership inrnboth a casino and a sports franchise. MayorrnArcher plaved the sex card, insistingrnthat the questioner simply disliked thernfact that Mrs. Hitch was a successfulrnwoman.rnThe annual summit is a planningrnsession involving the mayor and executivesrnof Wayne, Oakland, and MacombrnCounhes. Wayne Count}’ Executive EdrnMcNamara was quite helpful in promotingrnthe new ball park. But no one wasrnmore helpful than Gov. John Engler—rneven though he is a Republican andrnArcher, a Democrat. Engler funneledrn$5 5 million to the project from staternfunds without voter or legislative approval.rnThe measure got more bipartisanrncover when Ingham County CircuitrnJudge James Giddings (a liberal who hadrnclashed previouslv with Engler) ruled therngovernor’s achon legal.rnBut there was another glitch vet to bernto overcome. Hitch needed $145 millionrnto complete the project. Although ComericarnBank subsequenfly bought the rightrnto name the ball park, it could irot comernto terms with Hitch over financing hisrnshare of the costs, and Hitch was forced tornturn to a Japanese bank. In other words,rnComerica pays to advertise at the newrnball park, but doubts its worth as an investment.rnComerica chief economistrnDavid Littman has stated publicly thatrnnew sports facilihes are of doubtful benefitrnto the community.rnAlas, Comerica Park is the new homernof the Detroit Tigers. As the city celebratesrnits tricentennial this year, it willrnlack the closest Hiing to a tourist attraction.rnIt is impossible to overstate TigerrnStadium’s history. Having opened asrnBennett Park in 1896, it was the oldestrnhome in all of professional sports and thernmodel on which Yankee Stadium wasrnbuilt. Tiger Stadium (called Briggs Stadiumrnat the Hme) is where Lou Gehrigrnremoved himself from the lineup inrn1939, ending his record of consecutiverngames played. It is also where DennyrnMcLain won his 30th game in 1968, andrnwhere Reggie Jackson thrilled the nationrnwith a monster home run into the rightfieldrnlights during the 1971 All StarrnGame.rnMeanwhile, a new stadium underrnconstruction for the Detroit Lions is beingrnfinanced by a hotel-and-motel tax,rnmaking Detroit even less attractive to visit.rn(The cit’ did have visitors besides thernopposing team when Tiger Stadium wasrnalive and well.) But the demise of TigerrnStadium is more than just a slap in thernface to real baseball fans. ComericarnPark, albeit a beautiful brick structure, isrna breach of public trust.rnJohn O’Neill writes from Detroit.rnLetter From Eivissarnby John CarneyrnDos mojitos, por favorrnA mojito is a Cuban mint julep, mixedrnwith rum rather than bourbon. It wasrnErnest Hemingway’s second-favoriterndrink. The shot of gin first thing in thernmorning from the bottle beneath the bedrntook top honors.rnSomewhere just on the dark side ofrndawn in an Eivissa nightclub, I was tryingrnto convince the waitress to deliver anotherrnround of mojitos because I wanted torncontinue my conversation with the leggy-rnCatalan brunette sitting beside me on thernnightclub’s rooftop terrace. The waitressrnseemed to hear me above the musicrnthundering out of the club and went offrnto fetch our drinks. I watched her conrnpermiso her way through the crowd ofrngood-looking, depraved, and decadentrnEuro-youth before turning my attentionrnback to my Catalan conversationalist.rnOne thing was certain: We were not thernonly people on the terrace discussing cocainernand sex.rn”Eivissa” is the Catalan spelling of thernMediterranean island that the Spaniardsrncall “Ibiza.” Greeks called it the Island ofrnPines, and rugged pines still rise alongrnthe rocky hillsides and shoreline. In thernvalleys and plateaus, a dusty red soil supportsrnolive, fig, and almond tiees that risernin neat rows on farmsteads that look veryrnmuch as they would have in the time ofrnthe Carthaginians who founded EivissarnCitv-.rnThe newspapers reported that Spanishrnfarmers were planning to join the antifuelrntax revolt that was spreading acrossrnEurope as the summer drew to a close.rnMy brother wrote an article for the WallrnStreet Journal Europe arguing that thesernweren’t truly tax revolts but raids on thernstate treasuries bv special interests. Hernhas a point. The Erench truckers relaxedrntheir protest when the government promisedrnthem a targeted tax rebate, whichrnmeans more government red tape andrndoesn’t relieve the tax burden on mostrnFrench drivers. Governments use loopholes,rndirected tax-cuts, and rebates torngrant favors to special interests and torncontrol their citizens. They’re reallv arnsneaky form of government interventionrnin our lives.rnA wise man once said, however, thatrnwe shouldn’t oppose tax loopholes. Wernshould try to expand them, in order torneliminate their favoritism. More generally,rnwe should support anti-tax revolts regardlessrnof what we think of the undedyingrnmotives of the protesters. These raidsrnon state treasuries are double blessings:rnThey let people keep what they earn, andrnthey deprive the state of money it wouldrnotherwise spend to attack the liberties ofrnthe people.rnHere in Eivissa, however, it’s difficultrnto imagine that the farmers’ protestsrnwould have had much effect. Life has arnslow pace amidst the red clay and harshrnhills, especially beneath the stiflingrnMediterranean summer sun. If the farmersrnhad brought ever}’thing to a halt, I’mrnnot sure anyone would have noticed —rnunless they blocked the discos at night.rnThat would have caused rioting. In thernend, several ships blockaded the Barcelonarnharbor, but the Catalan oliverngrowers kept on keeping on, tendingrntheir trees around the occasional Carthaginianrnruin.rnThe Romans and, later, the Visigothsrnfollowed the Carthaginians. Muslimsrntook the island before the turn of the firstrnmillennium, and held it for more thanrn300 years. Eivissa’s modern historv be-rnAPRIL 2001/37rnrnrn