It's the season when people are outside the post office or the grocery store with their petitions and promises. There are a couple proposals in particular you need to know about.

They promises to deliver more state funding for things we care about. But the petition circulators don't tell you the whole story:

• The proposals call for dozens of new casinos all owned by private companies that no one has ever heard of before now.
• The proposals take away the right of local communities to vote on whether to allow a casino to be built.
• The proposals are loaded with loopholes. It's the Lottery flim-flam all over again.
• And the proposals give a tiny number of people constitutionally-guaranteed casino licenses.

If someone asks you to sign this petition, you should steer clear. Don't sign away your right to vote -- and don't write so many loopholes into the constitution.