TWO SEEMINGLY unrelated stories (''End draws near for Wonderland racing'' and ''Jobless plight growing longer'') occupied prominent places on the front page of the Sept. 7 Globe. But the stories are very much intertwined. With the end of greyhound racing at Wonderland and Raynham parks, 1,300 people will be thrown out of work during one of the worst employment climates Massachusetts has ever had to endure.
These people, who have families, mortgages, kids in college, and all of the other obligations of middle-class life, have little chance of getting comparable jobs any time soon, if ever. When their world comes to a screeching halt on New Year’s Day, leaving with them will be more than $10 million in track-generated state taxes.
The track workers are the victims of a well-organized, wellfinanced cadre of animal-rights extremists who, after failing twice, finally convinced voters that dog racing is inhumane. Never mind that the deplorable images Question 3 proponents showed voters came from outside the United States. Never mind that some supporters of the racing ban helped write the current racing regulations, which they now say are inadequate.
It is debatable how much these extremists care about dogs, but one thing is clear. They don't care one bit about the people whose lives they are ruining. If they did, they'd support state Senator Marc Pacheco's proposed two-year delay in the implementation of the ban.
Linda Jensen
President
Protection of Working Animals and Handlers Inc.
Lynn 
