At a meeting of the Barstow City Council (review video; at 43:35 minutes) on August 6, 2007, Barwest Spokesman Tom Shields was asked what would happen to the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indian's plans for a Barstow casino if the Big Lagoon Rancheria withdrew its interest in Barstow and renewed plans for a casino on its existing reservation -- a path Big Lagoon Chairman Virgil Moorehead has threatened to take if his tribe's currently negotiated gaming compact for Barstow isn't ratified by the California Legislature when it adjourns September 17, 2007. 
Shields' answer suggested that the two tribes had seperate land in trust applications pending and implied that the Los Coyotes project could move forward on its own; that Los Coyotes future in Barstow wasn't dependent on Big Lagoon's presence in Barstow.
NOT SO!
How is it that Shields does not know that the unratified state gaming compact the Los Coyotes tribe negotiated with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ties any Barstow casino for the Los Coyotes tribe directly to a Barstow casino developed by the Big Lagoon Rancheria.
The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians' Tribal State Gaming Compact, page 80 reads:
(Los Coyotes doesn't have any land in Barstow; Barwest does. The City Council had previously approved a site not to exceed 20-acres for the Los Coyotes; yet somehow the two tribes are now planning to build two casinos on 48 acres).
The Governor's negotiators have made it clear that the Los Coyotes tribe does not meet the independent public policy requirement outlined in the Governor's May 2005 Proclamation on Gaming; and that the only reason the Los Coyotes tribe holds an as of yet unratified compact (negotiated but unratified since 2005) is because the tribe has represented it would be sharing its Barstow site with the Big Lagoon Rancheria -- a tribe with independent issues the Governor's negotiators were attempting to resolve.
However, given the many twists the Barwest scheme has taken the last six years, one could assume based on Mr. Shields response that the Los Coyotes Tribe plans to move forward and take Barwest's Barstow land into trust regardless of what direction Big Lagoon Rancheria Chairman Virigil Moorehead decides to take. If Los Coyotes was successful in completing the trust process absent the Big Lagoon, the tribe could force the Governor to renegotiate a stand alone compact with the Tribe sometime in the future; thus beating the Governor at his own game.
Shields' answer suggested that the two tribes had seperate land in trust applications pending and implied that the Los Coyotes project could move forward on its own; that Los Coyotes future in Barstow wasn't dependent on Big Lagoon's presence in Barstow.
NOT SO!
How is it that Shields does not know that the unratified state gaming compact the Los Coyotes tribe negotiated with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ties any Barstow casino for the Los Coyotes tribe directly to a Barstow casino developed by the Big Lagoon Rancheria.
The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians' Tribal State Gaming Compact, page 80 reads:
In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger denied the Los Coyotes Tribe a compact for a stand alone casino in Barstow. Later Shields' client Barwest convinced the Governor's negotiators that Los Coyotes would share its Barstow site -- previously approved by the Barstow City Council -- with the Big Lagoon Rancheria.Sec. 14.1. Effective Date.
This Compact shall not be effective unless and until all of the following have occurred:(a) The Compact is ratified by statute in accordance with state law;
(b) Notice of approval or constructive approval is published in the Federal Register as provided in 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(3)(B);
(c) The adjoining parcel, located at assessors parcel no. 0428-171-69, is taken into trust for the benefit of the Big Lagoon Rancheria and determined eligible for Class III Gaming pursuant to section 20(b)(1)(A) of IGRA; and
(d) The State's compact with the Big Lagoon Rancheria has been ratified by statute in accordance with state law and notice of approval or constructive approval is published in the Federal Register.
(Los Coyotes doesn't have any land in Barstow; Barwest does. The City Council had previously approved a site not to exceed 20-acres for the Los Coyotes; yet somehow the two tribes are now planning to build two casinos on 48 acres).
The Governor's negotiators have made it clear that the Los Coyotes tribe does not meet the independent public policy requirement outlined in the Governor's May 2005 Proclamation on Gaming; and that the only reason the Los Coyotes tribe holds an as of yet unratified compact (negotiated but unratified since 2005) is because the tribe has represented it would be sharing its Barstow site with the Big Lagoon Rancheria -- a tribe with independent issues the Governor's negotiators were attempting to resolve.
However, given the many twists the Barwest scheme has taken the last six years, one could assume based on Mr. Shields response that the Los Coyotes Tribe plans to move forward and take Barwest's Barstow land into trust regardless of what direction Big Lagoon Rancheria Chairman Virigil Moorehead decides to take. If Los Coyotes was successful in completing the trust process absent the Big Lagoon, the tribe could force the Governor to renegotiate a stand alone compact with the Tribe sometime in the future; thus beating the Governor at his own game.
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