Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes prepared to part company; Los Coyotes reports new negotiations with Governor for solo Barstow casino

as posted 9.05.07 by John Myers at KQED's blog, CapitolNotes:

Final Push For Barstow Casino Project

The two Indian tribes that have been lobbying for several years to build side by side casinos in Barstow are giving it one more shot in the final days of the 2007 session of the Legislature. And if the project remains in limbo next week, the two tribes now say they'll go their separate ways.

We've reported several times on the efforts of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians and the Big Lagoon Rancheria to open casinos in the desert town -- even though the tribes hail from hundreds of miles away.

Los Coyotes' reservation is in rural San Diego County; Big Lagoon's is on the coast up in Humboldt County.

At a news conference this morning at the state Capitol, the tribes announced an 11th hour media campaign, with a TV ad (online here) that they say will be broadcast in Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles over the next few days.

But there's no indication that the casino deals will be ratified before legislators adjourn for the year early next week. While the two tribes signed formal casino compacts with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005, those compacts have been in limbo in the Legislature ever since.

Critics say the projects might set a precedent for tribal casinos on non-tribal land. And several politically powerful tribes in southern California say that's why they oppose the casino deal -- even though Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon accuse those tribes of being more concerned about casino competition in the region.

And if the Barstow agreement isn't acted on by September 17, the two tribes say they will go their separate ways -- Big Lagoon back to a casino on their coastal reservation, and Los Coyotes to a new Barstow casino project solely of their own.

You may remember that in May, Big Lagoon agreed to wait a little longer before going back to a Humboldt casino project. That project would sit smack dab in the middle of what everyone says is an environmentally sensitive region. The tribe was persuaded by the Schwarzenegger administration to drop their legal battle for a Humboldt casino... in exchange for one in Barstow.

So what's happened since late May?

"A lot's happened," said Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead, alluding to the ratification of amended casino deals for some of the tribes opposing his project. "Our [compact] got pushed down, kind of to the bottom of the barrel. Why did it get pushed down to the bottom of the barrel? Because these tribes don't want us down there... A lot has happened [since May], but not for us."

Moorehead also said he thinks Schwarzenegger hasn't done enough to cajole legislators into ratifying the deal, an accusation the governor's office disputes. Meantime, the vice-chairman of San Diego's Los Coyotes, Shane Chapparosa, told reporters that his tribe has now begun separate negotiations with the governor's office for a solo Barstow casino. The governor's office won't confirm whether that's the case.

Regardless, the two tribes' quest to be part of the club of gambling tribes may be about to start a brand new chapter.

NOTE: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger previously turned down a proposal to build a stand alone Los Coyotes tribal casino in Barstow in Spring 2004. Further, Governor Schwarzenegger's negotiator told a Senate Governmental Organization committee hearing in April 2006 that Los Coyotes would not qualify for a stand alone agreement based on the Governor's May 2005 proclomation for gaming.