Slots No Jackpot for Californa; Schwarzenegger says off-reservation casinos not likely in his lifetime

1.20.09

Tribal Slots No Jackpot for California

By Peter Hecht

As California government verges on going broke, one long-promised elixir – Indian casino gambling – is proving to be not such a sure bet...

...But in recent years, some casino deals pushed by Schwarzenegger couldn't pass political muster.

The governor signed a creative, yet controversial deal to allow two poor, isolated tribes from San Diego and Humboldt counties to build side-by-side hotels and 2,000-slot casinos in Barstow in exchange for the state getting 16 percent to 25 percent of profits.

The deal failed in the Legislature amid vehement opposition from powerful Southern California tribes, calling the planned Barstow development – along Interstate 15 to Las Vegas – an egregious case of "reservation shopping."

The Barstow deal was encouraged by Schwarzenegger to settle a lawsuit from an Indian band seeking to build a casino on tribal lands bordering a pristine North Coast estuary and state parklands. The Barstow tribal partnership has since collapsed.

Virgil Moorehead, chairman of the 23-member Big Lagoon tribe, said he is returning to court to build a casino on its Humboldt County land. He said talks broke down with the governor on the tribe's request to build a temporary, 350-slot machine casino in exchange for the state finding an alternative, off-reservation site later.

"He nixed the idea," Moorehead said. "... He didn't think he could get land into trust for off-reservation gaming accomplished in his lifetime. So we're going back to court."... (Original Post)

Who told Arnold Schwarzenegger that the Big Lagoon was "pristine?"

As published at CA.gov Envirostor regarding the so-called "pristine" Big Lagoon in Humboldt County, CA:

FROM THE CORPS PUBLIC GIS SYSTEM: Property Description - The 153.03-acre site is located in Humboldt County, Big Lagoon, California, near the Big Lagoon Indian Reservation. The property is currently part of the Dry Lagoon State Park and is adjacent to the Big Lagoon County Park. During the 1920s and 1930s, cabins were built at the south end of the lagoon and the area was a popular destination for weekend and summer travelers. Many of the old cabins still exist alongside newer houses, several of which appear to be inhabited year round. The area remains a popular destination for camping, boating, fishing, swimming, and beach combing. Property on the southeastern side of the lagoon is part of the Big Lagoon Rancheria, inhabited by the Yurok and Tolowa tribes.

Property History - The Big Lagoon Range consists of land that was acquired by leasehold condemnation on 13 June 1944. The mission of this site was the installation of rocket targets for the training of Fleet Air Squadrons from NAAS Arcata. Due to existing hazardous conditions, the Fleet Air Training Detachment withdrew from the Station on 1 July 1945, stripping its targets and removing all squadrons, Fleet personnel, and equipment. The lease was terminated on 14 April 1946. After this, the site was divided among the state of California and Humboldt County. This property is known or suspected to contain military munitions and explosives of concern (e.g., unexploded ordnance) and therefore may present an explosive hazard.

Other resources:
Calif.gov - EnviroStor
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program
2007 Defense Department’s Annual Report To Congress – Big Lagoon Bombing Target Clean Up costs $8.6 million
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Big Lagoon Survey Maps
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Big Lagoon Hazardous Potential
GAO.gov - California: Cleanup Projects
Memorandum to Commander U.S. Army Engineer Division on risks at Big Lagoon
Sacramento Bee – Inventory of California Former Defense Sites
California State Military Museum - Big Lagoon Bombing Target Number 12
Wikimapia.org
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Inventory Project Report
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Map
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Cover Letters
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Site Maps
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Inventory Project Report and Real Property Report Maps
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Historical Documents
Big Lagoon Bombing Target ED Project Review and Comment Instructions
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Real Property Report
Big Lagoon Bombing Target MMRP Project Cover Letters
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Archive Search Report Findings
Big Lagoon Bombing Target MMRP Project Area of Concern Range Map
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Archives Search Report Maps
Big Lagoon Bombing Target Range Inventory Working Data

Schwarzenegger Approves Casino Plans Near Fresno

4.29.08

Governor OKs Indian casino near Fresno
State legislators and U.S. officials must still approve plan for off-reservation site with 2,000 slot machines.

By Nancy Vogel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Monday that he has signed a deal to allow a Sierra Nevada Indian tribe to build a casino along a major highway near Fresno that could be worth about $25 million a year to the state.

But the tribe lacks federal permission to put a gambling operation on that land. And state legislators -- many of whom are wary of urban, off-reservation casinos -- must approve the compacts. Those are high hurdles that could take months, if not years, to clear.

The deal also may conflict with the governor's own policy on tribal gambling accords.

Under the unusual arrangement, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians would build the casino along California 99 in the heart of the Central Valley, about 40 miles from their foothills reservation. The tribe would share profits with the state and an impoverished tribe, the Wiyot, on the Humboldt County coast hundreds of miles away. The Wiyot would agree not to build a casino on their land near Humboldt Bay.

Schwarzenegger's official policy, spelled out in a May 2005 proclamation, states that he will not negotiate with tribes that do not already own land that the federal government deems eligible for a casino.

It also states that Schwarzenegger will oppose casino construction in urban areas away from tribal reservations.

The proposed North Fork casino is less than a mile from Madera, population 46,000, and about 22 miles northwest of Fresno. It is owned by Station Casinos, a Las Vegas company pursuing projects with several California tribes.

"Placing a casino along Highway 99 right at the foot of the city of Fresno is certainly an urban casino -- there is no other way to see it," said state Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who heads the Senate committee that oversees gambling.

In a press release, Florez called the proposal "erratic" and "illogical."

Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary, Andrea Hoch, defended the agreement. It is consistent with the governor's gambling policy because the North Fork tribe does own land that is federally eligible for casino construction, she said -- it just isn't the land where the tribe proposes a casino.

"These compacts are novel approaches to providing what is best for the state of California," she said.

Under the compact, the North Fork tribe would build a hotel and casino with 2,000 slot machines and give the state 13.5% to 22% of net revenues, with the state's share rising as revenues increase.

The tribe also would share a small percentage of revenues -- estimated at $3 million to $5 million a year -- with the 600-member Wiyot tribe. Wiyot tribal administrator Maura Eastman said the money would probably be used to invest in economic development.

North Fork tribal Chairwoman Elaine Bethel Fink said her tribe's rancheria south of Yosemite National Park is too remote for a casino.

"Environmentally, it just makes sense for us to partner up," she said.

Schwarzenegger failed the last time he sought federal and state approval for an off-reservation casino. In 2005, he struck a deal with the Los Coyotes band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians in San Diego County and the Big Lagoon Rancheria of Humboldt County to open casinos in the Mojave Desert town of Barstow, where city officials eagerly sought the jobs it would offer.

Legislators -- who can ratify or reject tribal gambling compacts negotiated by the governor but cannot change them -- refused to vote on the Barstow deals.

In any case, the U.S. Department of the Interior refused to allow the tribes to use the Barstow land for casinos because of the potential harm of tribal families leaving their reservations to work in casinos hundreds of miles away.

Schwarzenegger said he would not submit the North Fork and Wiyot compacts to the Legislature until the secretary of the Interior gives North Fork approval to use the land near California 99 for a casino.

There is no guarantee that will happen.

In January, the Bush administration toughened its stance on off-reservation casinos and promised greater scrutiny on casino proposals more than a "commutable distance" from a reservation.

Cheryl Schmit, director of the gambling watchdog group Stand Up for California, said the compacts, if they are ever implemented, could lead to more casinos near big California cities.

"I think the policy of negotiating before the tribe even owns the land . . . is an invitation to further off-reservation gaming expansion," she said.

nancy.vogel@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-casinos29apr29,0,966956.story

CA Bill Would Require Federal Approval Before Governor Can Negotiate Gaming Compacts

4.15.08

No Federal Approval, No Casino?

By John Myers, KQED

Legislation to change how, and possibly where, new Indian casinos are built in California cleared its first hurdle today at the state Capitol.

For years, the most controversial part of the tribal gaming process has been casinos proposed for land that either isn’t an ancestral reservation… or land that the federal government hasn’t yet recognized as part of a tribe’s reservation. Critics have derided such proposals as examples of “reservation shopping,” accusing tribes and their deep-pocketed investors of choosing locations solely based on how much money can be made.

The legislation in question, SB 1695, would change the way new casinos are approved, by prohibiting the governor from negotiating with any tribe whose casino land hasn’t yet been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Interior.

(A quick explainer to those who don’t follow this issue much: federal law lays out a long process for non-Indian land to become a reservation. It also requires a tribe to negotiate a formal gaming agreement, known as a compact, with the governor of the state before opening a casino.)

Governor Schwarzenegger has negotiated a number of casino compacts with Indian tribes since he took office, but his most controversial deals have seemed to be ones where the land hadn’t yet secured a federal OK. Most notable on this list: the long saga of the two tribes wanting to build side-by-side casinos in Barstow… even though the tribes’ reservations are in another part of the state. Schwarzenegger agreed to the casinos long before the feds had ruled on the proposal; earlier this year it was rejected.

The bill, authored by Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), simply says that the governor can’t negotiate a formal compact until the feds have had their say. The current version of the legislation is notably more tame than the original, which would have essentially banned any tribe from opening a casino on land away from its ancestral home… presumably even if that tribe no longer has a reservation (and many don’t).

The bill sailed out of the Senate Governmental Organization committee this afternoon, which Florez chairs (its one dissenting vote: Sen. Pat Wiggins, a Democrat whose northern California district includes one of the tribes that wanted to go to Barstow).

A spokesperson for Schwarzenegger said the guv won’t take a position on the bill until it reaches his desk.

If the Legislature sends it to him, it certainly puts him in an interesting position: if he signs it, it would seem to imply that some mistakes were made in the past. And it would seemingly derail secret negotiations he might currently be conducting with some tribes (though there’s no official confirmation that any casno negotiations are even underway).

But if he vetoes it, critics of the rapid expansion of Indian gambling will say the governor is ignoring the plight of communities that don’t want casinos, and that he’s being inconsistent with his earlier pronouncements about the siting of new tribal gambling facilities.

Barstow's State Senator blames Gov. Schwarzenegger for failure to ratify casino agreements

As posted on the Web site of California State Senator Patricia Wiggins, who was the author of a bill, SB 157, to ratify compacts for BarWest casinos in Barstow:

Barstow’s state senator Roy Ashburn blamed the failure to pass the compacts on a "noticeable lack of will on the part of the governor [Arnold Schwarzenegger]." He said that although he would consider sponsoring the compacts next year in the legislature, he expected that fierce opposition would continue.

After fighting expanded gaming compacts, Tom Shields changes his tune about approach to Barstow Casino

As posted 2.11.08 at The Roundup:

..."Across California, wannabe casino tribes and their investors are feeling invigorated by voters' approval Tuesday of ballot referendums to give four rich Southern California tribes permission to add up to 17,000 slot machines," reports Peter Hecht in the Bee.

"They are also excited by Schwarzenegger's public statements that he is ready to deal on new gambling agreements with additional tribes that agree to pay a "fair share" of casino revenue into the state's general fund.

"Among the first in line may be the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of San Diego County. The tribe -- whose poverty was dramatized in television commercials for 1990 and 2000 ballot measures legalizing tribal gambling in California" has fought unsuccessfully for 2 1/2 years to get a casino in Barstow.

"Now the tribe and wealthy backers, including Marian Ilitch, Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino owner, are eager for another appointment with Schwarzenegger.

"'We will attempt to go back and renegotiate with the governor and go to the Legislature and say the people obviously support an expansion of gambling if it will provide revenues to the state,' said Tom Shields, spokesman for Los Coyotes and the Barstow casino group, BarWest Gaming. 'We are more than willing to be a part of that.'

"The governor signed controversial 2005 gambling agreements that would have allowed Los Coyotes and the Big Lagoon tribe – 700 miles away in Mendocino County – to build 2,000-slot casinos in Barstow. Opposition from major Southern California casino tribes helped kill the deal in the Legislature and, politically, the Barstow development remains problematic."

NOTE: Representatives of BarWest LLC and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla Indians -- including Tom Shields -- fought against ratification of the four Indian Gaming agreements voters approved on February 5th. In fact, Shields took credit for stalling legislative approval of the agreements in August 2006.

Full story at Sacramento Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/111/v-print/story/701123.html

CA voters approve four gaming compacts

2.06.08

Voters back gambling measures

By Nancy Vogel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO -- Measures to uphold an expansion of gambling at Indian casinos were headed for victory with about 90% of the state's precincts counted this morning, while an initiative to adjust the Legislature's term limits was behind. Roughly 56% of voters favored Indian gaming propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97. About 53% of voters opposed the term limits measure.

Another measure, Proposition 92, to guarantee community college funding, was rejected by about 58% of voters. As expected, voters also appeared to be rejecting a transportation funding measure, Proposition 91, that had been abandoned by its authors months ago.

A strong lead opened early for the gambling measures, which would give state taxpayers a share of slot machine revenues.

"Right now it looks like the voters are saying yes to hundreds of millions of new dollars each year," Roger Salazar, spokesman for the Yes on Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 campaign, said Tuesday. "We hope when the final tally comes in that will still be the case."

Scott Macdonald, spokesman for the campaign that opposed the casino measures, acknowledged late Tuesday that the returns so far "don't look good."

The battle was hard-fought, Macdonald said, even though opponents of the gambling propositions were outspent 4 to 1, because "people have serious reservations about what's in these compacts."

The gambling propositions asked voters to uphold or nullify four agreements negotiated by the governor and approved by the Legislature.

The pacts were forged to allow four Riverside and San Diego county tribes to add 17,000 slot machines to the 8,000 they already operate. In return, the tribes would pay the state a combined minimum of $123 million a year and up to 25% of the revenue from the new machines.

Advertisements for and against the measures have dominated airwaves for weeks. The campaign came within a few million dollars of breaking a record. Both sides raised a total of $147 million, just shy of the $152 million campaign over a 2006 oil tax initiative.

The four tribes with agreements at stake -- the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, Morongo Band of Mission Indians and Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation -- said the deals could be worth $9 billion to the state over the next 22 years.

Opponents called that a rosy assumption and argued that the agreements would further enrich four tribes without increasing payments to tribes without gambling operations or with small casinos.

The four referenda were financed by Terrence Fancher, who manages companies that own California horse racetracks and have a stake in a Las Vegas casino; the casino workers union Unite-HERE, which dislikes labor provisions in the compacts; and two tribes that struck different gambling agreements and different revenue-sharing arrangements with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004...

Chemehuevi tribe looking at options

1.14.08

Barstow and Chemehuevi officials unhappy with casino rejection.

By David Bell

The Interior Department has said no to a second Chemehuevi casino in Barstow, Calif., but city and tribal leaders are saying the fight isn't over. Barstow officials say they will not allow the issue of off-reservations casinos to die.

In letters dated Jan. 4, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman notified the Chemehuevi, Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indian tribes that the tribes' fee-to-trust applications for land in Barstow was rejected.

And because the land would not then be considered part of the reservation, it could not qualify as a site for a casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Ron Rector, acting City Manager and Director of Economic Development and Redevelopment for the city, said Barstow is reviewing its options and a response will be forthcoming.

"We believe the decision by the (Interior Department) Secretary was just to set a policy," Rector said. "It's a slap in the face of us and the governor."

"We worked with all three tribes for over five years, followed all rules established by Congress and did it all in good faith," Rector said. "We're very disappointed in the Secretary's decision."

But Barstow residents may not share that feeling. Online reader's comments to the Barstow Desert Dispatch story on the Interior Department decision are negative on the issue of Native American casinos.

"This is good news to all Barstonians," wrote the poster identified as "Yipee," while "John" wrote "Barstow doesn't need a casino the council should concentrate on trying to get businesses that are worthwhile Revitalize main street its looking like a ghost town."

Rector said the two casino proposals, the Big Lagoons and Los Coyotes, were partnering on a 40-acre casino project. This would have provided the economic boost the Web poster is looking for.

"The initial investment was about $175 million with 2,000 jobs and $50 million in payroll," Rector said. "There would be indirect expenditures of well over $30 million, and our agreement had us (the city) receiving 4.3 percent of gaming revenue for Class-3 slot machines. We anticipated that at $7 million to $10 million per year."

Chemehuevi Chairman Charles Wood previously said the tribe was looking at options the tribe could take to keep the casino project moving forward.

"Those options include responding with comments to the concerns in the letter, the appeals process and resubmission. Others (tribes) are threatening to sue. I'm not saying we would, but I would hope it wouldn’t come to that," Wood said.

Wood also said the Interior Department failed to recognize the Chemehuevis claim of ancestral ties to the area, the major factor in placing land in trust for a tribe.

"Right now we're in discussions on what will be the right course of action," Rector said. "There will be action taken by the City of Barstow."

In 2003, the Chemehuevi and Los Coyotes tribes approached the Barstow City Council about establishing off-reservation casinos. The city entered into a municipal-services agreement with the Los Coyotes in 2004 that, in 2005, announced plans to partner with the Big Lagoon tribe. Later that same year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced approval of a gaming compact between the state and the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoons.

Meanwhile in 2005 the Chemehuevi tribe negotiated a municipal-service agreement with the City of Barstow.

On Feb. 16, 2006 the Chemehuevi tribe submitted the application to acquire in trust a 40-acre parcel of Barstow land and one month later the Big Lagoon tribe and Los Coyotes submitted an application.

Last year Schwarzenegger and the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoons agreed to allow the gaming compact to expire, as it had yet to obtain passage by the state legislature.

You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com.

Los Coyotes tribe dumps Detroit-based casino syndicator BarWest, LLC (Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.)

On September 28, 2007, the spokeswoman for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Katherine Siva Saubel terminated the tribe's partnership agreement with Detroit-based LCB Barwest, LLC to build a casino resort in Barstow.

Saubel sites Barwest's inability to get legislative ratification of Compacts signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 as the primary reason. Saubel notes with the failure to win ratification this past year, the Compact has expired and the tribe must now begin negotiations for a new Gaming Compact with the state.

Saubel indicates the tribe plans to conduct a search for a developer once its has a new agreement with the Governor and promises LCB BarWest, LLC will be included in that process.

Saubel also indicates the tribe is interested in acquiring land held by BarWest, LLC in Barstow which the tribe is currently seeking to have taken into trust by the Deparment of Interior.

Letter Terminating LCB BarWest, LLC

Barwest casino project in chaos ... again

10.31.07

Internal documents indicate strife in casino project

By JASON SMITH, staff writer

BARSTOW — Someone wants people to think that a Barstow casino project has fallen apart.

The Desert Dispatch and other media outlets were recently sent internal correspondence from an unknown source showing that the deal between the Los Coyotes Band of Cahullia and Cupeno Indians and developer BarWest, LLC to build an off-reservation casino in Barstow near Lenwood had been called off. Representatives from both BarWest and the Los Coyotes said that although the internal memos are accurate, both parties are in negotiations, and the project is still moving forward.

BarWest spokesman Tom Shields declined to comment about the internal memos between the tribe and BarWest, and said he’s not sure who leaked the documents.

“The leaking of private correspondence between the Tribe and our business associates is just another underhanded attempt by those who are trying to derail this project. ... We look forward to meeting with the Governor to discuss how we can make this project a reality,” Shields said in a statement representing the Los Coyotes and BarWest on Tuesday.

The Los Coyotes tribe had partnered with the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe and BarWest to develop a Barstow casino several years ago. The project was approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the agreements necessary for development stalled in the legislature and expired in September.

In a letter dated Sept. 28 to BarWest president Michael J. Malik, Sr., Katherine Siva Saubel, chairwoman of the Los Coyotes tribe, discontinued the tribe’s relationship with BarWest.

“The tribe is in the process of starting over and will attempt to open discussions with the Governor’s office to obtain a new gaming compact. As part of this new beginning and at least for the time being, the tribe will disengage from LCB BarWest LLC,” the letter stated.

The letter also mentioned the tribe’s desire to negotiate the purchase of the proposed casino site, 47 acres near Lenwood, from BarWest. The developer currently owns the land but must transfer it to the tribe as part of the federal land-into-trust process before the project can move forward.

Malik responded to the letter stating that he was “puzzled” by the tribe’s decision and said the land was not for sale.

“Our willingness to transfer that property to the Tribe is part and parcel of having a relationship as the Tribe’s Developer and Manager. The use of that property is also contingent on agreements with the Big Lagoon Rancheria, which still holds the key to Barstow,” he wrote in response.

The letter also stated that BarWest had spent millions on the Barstow project and blamed employees of the investment bank BarronHaus, for trying to “disrupt” BarWest’s relationship with the tribe and “sell the project to other developers.”

Los Coyotes contracted with BarronHaus in May 27, 2003 to perform financing for a gaming facility in California. On Oct. 14, the tribe severed all ties with BarronHaus, according to a representative from the tribe.

On June 21, 2007, BarWest sued BarronHaus in California Central District Court to stop the investment bank’s affiliation with the casino project, said BarWest spokesman Tom Shields. Employees of BarronHaus did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Shane Chapparosa, spokesman for the tribe, said that although BarronHaus employee Gretchen Belli was once an assistant to tribal council member Kevin Siva, the firm is no longer affiliated with the project. Siva, who had served as a spokesman for the tribe and the project and had spoken about the project at Barstow City Council meetings, is no longer a member of the tribal council, Chapparosa said.

Citing “internal matters of the tribe” Chapparosa declined to provide details, but said that the tribe did end its contract with BarWest after the tribe’s compact with the governor expired in early September 2007. He said the tribe plans to continue to work with BarWest to bring a casino to Barstow.

“We are putting everything back into place — the arrangements with the developer BarWest, the City of Barstow and the governor,” Chapparosa said.

He said that the Los Coyotes may continue to collaborate with the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe on the Barstow project, but this is uncertain as Big Lagoon is proceeding with casino development plans on their Humboldt county reservation.

“That would be up to Virgil (Moorehead, Big Lagoon’s chairman), as he has his own agenda,” Chapparosa said.

Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribal spokesman Jason Barnett said that Big Lagoon recently sent a letter to the governor to begin negotiations to build a casino on their Humboldt County reservation, but may continue with the Barstow project.

“As Chairman Moorehead said, ‘If Barstow is not in play, the tribe will consider it’s options back in Humboldt county’,” Barnett said.

He said that despite the Humboldt development, the tribe has not given up on building in Barstow.

“Barstow is still in play because we think and the state thought that it is the best location for the tribes and the city," he said.

Barnett said that he couldn’t comment about the relationship between BarWest and the Los Coyotes, but said that the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe is committed to working with both parties on the Barstow project.

Barnett said that all three parties are working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put the land for the proposed Barstow casino into federal trust, a neccesary step before the project can move forward.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or jason_smith@link.freedom.com

Has the Los Coyotes Band of Indians abandoned Detroit casino syndicators Barwest LLC?

Have the leaders of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians once again terminated their contract with Detroit based casino syndicators Barwest LLC?

Back in 2004, after being awarded a contract with the City of Barstow, the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians quietly severed its ties to Barwest LLC, a casino development entity formed by Detroit's Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. The leaders fo the Los Coyotes Band sought out another development partner, Jerry Argovitz of Houston, Texas.

During the 2004 Barstow City Council elections Mayor Lawrence Dale and others were questioned about the split between Los Coyotes and Barwest. He and others denied there had been a split between the tribe and the Detroit casino syndicators. However, during the second quarter of 2005, having reunited, Los Coyotes leaders and Barwest principals publicly acknowledged they had parted ways for a period of time the previous year.

Documents forwarded to TVT clearly acknowledge the split and the various arrangements that were attempted during that period between the various parties; despite the previous public denials.

And now rumors have started to circulate that the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians have again parted ways with Barwest LLC.

Barwest failed to garner legislative support in both 2006 & 2007 for ratification of gaming agreements for both the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon Rancheria Indians signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.

It's not clear what if any agreement is still in place between Barwest LLC and the Big Lagoon Rancheria Indians.

Tribes file lawsuit to block statewide referenda

10.11.07

GAMING NEWS
California tribes dispute petitions

SACRAMENTO, California -- As reported by the Sacramento Bee: "Two Riverside County tribes claim opponents of their recent gambling deals missed the deadline to file signatures for February ballot measures that would give voters final say on whether they can expand their casinos.

"In lawsuits filed Wednesday, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians near Temecula contend Secretary of State Debra Bowen wrongly let the agreements' opponents have 90 days to gather voter signatures.

"...In their suits, the tribes argue that the 90-day window covers both circulating petitions as well as the weeks-long process of certifying signatures. Opponents of the deals turned in their last petitions on the Monday deadline -- too late to be certified, the plaintiffs say.

"...Gov. Schwarzenegger signed legislation ratifying the compacts with the Morongo and Pechanga tribes, as well as two other tribes, on July 10, when the 90-day clock started running.

"The deals would give the tribes permission to install up to 17,000 additional slot machines. In return, the tribes would pay the state as much as several-hundred million dollars annually.

"...The campaign said it turned in about 2.8 million signatures, about 300,000 more than the minimum number of valid voter signatures needed to qualify each referendum measure..."

ALSO...

• Riverside Press Enterprise: Two tribes sue to halt expansion challenge
• North County Times: Pechanga sues to keep gambling deal
• KQED - John Myers' Capitol Notes: Tribes Ask Court To Block Referendums

Opponents of CA Indian gaming compacts begin turning in referendum signatures

10.05.07

California voters may be asked to decide Indian casino expansion

By Aaron C. Davis Associated Press

Opponents of a nearly 30 percent expansion of tribal gambling began turning in petition signatures Friday for what could prove to be latest ballot fight over Indian casinos in California.

A group opposing deals between four wealthy Southern California tribes and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it has collected enough signatures to let voters decide if the agreements should be revoked. It said the rest of the signatures will be turned in by Monday to the secretary of state's office.

The deals, which were approved by the Legislature in June, would allow the four tribes to install as many as 17,000 additional slot machines.

In exchange, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula and Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in San Diego would share a percentage of their earnings with the state.

But a coalition of two other tribes, horsetrack owners and a casino workers' union say the deals are flawed. The coalition consists of the United Auburn Indian Community east of Sacramento, the Pala Band of Mission Indians in Riverside County, Unite HERE International Union and Terry Fancher, managing partner of the parent company of Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park race tracks.

They point to a state analyst's report that found the gambling expansion for the four tribes would not provide as much money to the state as promised. They also argue the deals amount to one of the single largest expansions of gambling in the nation's history and a major shift in the state's policy toward Indian gambling.

Al Lundeen, spokesman for the coalition, said the group began turning in nearly 700,000 signatures to put four referenda against the compacts on the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot.

"Voters want to have a say, and they want to say no to this drastic change in gaming policy," Lundeen said.

Roger Salazar, a consultant for the four tribes targeted by the coalition, said those opposing the agreements have their own interests in mind.

"Two wealthy tribes who don't want competition and a Las Vegas casino mogul were able to bankroll this signature-gathering effort," Salazar said. "We think these are good agreements, and voters will feel the same when they learn more."

Tribes already operate more than 58,000 slot machines in California, where the Indian gambling industry generated an estimated $7 billion in annual revenue last year.

Salazar said a competing petition drive by the Agua Caliente, Morongo, Pechanga and Sycuan tribes collected 100,000 signatures in support of the compacts.

The tribes also sent workers to follow opposition signature gatherers and convinced nearly 15,000 of those who signed to rescind their signatures.

If the secretary of state certifies the referenda, the tribes likely would spend tens of millions of dollars to sway voters.

Moorehead focuses on Big Lagoon, blames Schwarzenegger for Barstow failure; Wiggins won't author bill to build a casino at Big Lagoon

9.29.07

Casino at Big Lagoon back on the table

Jessie Faulkner
Eureka Times Standard

BIG LAGOON -- The Big Lagoon Rancheria is bringing its casino project back home after two unsuccessful legislative sessions attempting to get the go-ahead to build in Barstow.

Big Lagoon Rancheria Chairman Virgil Moorehead said Friday that negotiations with the state will begin Oct. 5 to build a gaming facility on the tribe's lands on the south side of Big Lagoon.

The decision to bring the proposed casino back to the North Coast follows the end of the 2006-07 legislative session without action on the gaming compact allowing Big Lagoon to open a casino in Barstow. That was the tribe's second attempt to get the September 2005 compact ratified.

In the 2005-06 session, the bill made it to committee but was voted down. This past session, even that step alluded the Rancheria.

The Barstow compact was part of the settlement agreement of the tribe's case against the state alleging bad faith negotiation. Without ratification of the much-heralded compact, the Rancheria is back to negotiating for the Big Lagoon site.

Moorehead said the only way the Rancheria would consider pursuing the Barstow compact at this point is if tribal members, the governor, the state Senate pro tem and the Assembly speaker all got together and said the Rancheria could build a casino in Barstow.

”It doesn't mean anything for the governor to sign an agreement,” Moorehead said.

Throughout the process, the Rancheria chairman has criticized the governor for not supporting legislation to ratify the compact.

Shortly after signing the Barstow compact in fall 2005, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a news release that the agreement brought an end to “many years of litigation and ensured that Big Lagoon will be protected for generations to come.”

Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary, said that they do not comment while a gaming compact is being negotiated, but the governor will attempt to find a solution that works for the tribe, the community and the state.

Moorehead said the settlement agreement specifies 120 days of negotiation for a new compact. If that doesn't materialize, then it's back to court on the original bad-faith negotiation charge.

State Sen. Patricia Wiggins' spokesman David Miller said the senator won't be sponsoring legislation for a compact allowing a casino on Big Lagoon. Wiggins had sponsored the second bill for the Barstow compact.

Moorehead said it's been more than a little frustrating.

”We're basically back to where we started,” he said.

Jason Barnett, a spokesperson for the Big Lagoon Rancheria, said the tribe's leadership has taken steps to mitigate concerns about building a casino on the shores of the lagoon, one of a few on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the Rancheria's application to bring the Barstow land into trust -- granting all rights that come with native lands -- remains in process. The intent, Barnett said, is to keep all options open.

”Clearly,” Barnett said, “Virgil's in it for the long-term.”

Jessie Faulkner can be reached at 441-0517 or jfaulkner@times-standard.com.

Sen. Feinstein's bill approved; will block expansion of off-reservation Bay Area casino

9.28.07

GAMING NEWS
California Bill Approved

CALIFORNIA -- As reported by the Contra Costa Times: "A bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would keep a North Bay Indian tribe from expanding its San Pablo casino, while ensuring that the tribe that runs it can keep profiting from more than 1,000 electronic bingo machines there, cleared a key committee Thursday in a unanimous vote.

"For years, Feinstein fought in vain to reverse a controversial act of Congress that granted the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians the rights to run an Indian casino on nine acres near Interstate 80 that had housed the Casino San Pablo card club.

"That act, shepherded in 2000 by Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, paved the way for the tribe's deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 for a mega-casino with up to 5,000 slot machines, more than any casino this side of Connecticut.

"...Feinstein's compromise bill, which would lock in the status quo, has drawn support from the tribe and some of the casino's staunchest critics, including Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. Opposition remains from East Bay Coalition Against Urban Casinos, a local group funded by a few Bay Area card clubs..."

CA Gaming Compact foes form uneasy alliance

As reported 9.27.07 in The Roundup, a daily look at the news from the editors of Capitol Weekly and AroundTheCapitol.com (part of the national Hotline Political Network):

Temporary alliances

Capitol Weekly takes a look at the strange alliance that is working to repeal four recent tribal gaming compacts. "For more than three years, the Pala Band of Mission Indians and the United Auburn Indian Community have been locked in a legal struggle with racetrack owners over the validity of gaming deals the tribes signed with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"But now, even as their internecine legal battle continues, the courtroom combatants have joined forces in an effort to repeal four new compacts ratified by the Legislature earlier this year.

"The legal fight is largely motivated by one man's struggle to bring slot machines to the racetracks his company owns and operates. Terry Fancher is the managing partner of Stockbridge Capital Group, the parent company of Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows racetracks. Since September 2004, Fancher and the racetracks he runs have sought to have the Pala and Auburn compacts ruled invalid by the courts."

"The lawsuit has been long and contentious.But now, in a relationship of convenience, forces on both sides of that legal question are fighting against the 2006 compacts signed by Schwarzenegger for some of the state's largest gaming tribes. " (Full Story)

Barstow Casino still elusive; gaming Compacts unratified

9.24.07

Casino still elusive
Lawmakers end session without ratifying compacts for tribes' project

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

This year's legislative session came and went, and two California Indian tribes hoping to embark on a joint casino project in Barstow are still missing the key component - ratified gaming compacts.

An eleventh-hour media campaign launched by the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe of Humboldt County and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians in San Diego County to try to sway legislators to ratify the compacts was unsuccessful.

The legislative session ended Sept. 12 without ratification.

"The governor was disappointed the Legislature convened without ratifying these compacts," said Sabrina Lockhart , spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Both tribes are pushing to build a joint casino project - Barstow Casinos and Resort - in the city of Barstow.

The project has been received with open arms by the city and is supported by the governor and environmental groups.

But after two years of waiting and compacts still not ratified, the tribes may wind up going their separate ways.

Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead sent a letter this week to Schwarzenegger with a request to negotiate a compact so it can possibly build a casino or other facility on its reservation, said Jason Barnett , a spokesman for the tribe.

"We hope to hear from the governor's office soon on that. Meanwhile, Big Lagoon is keeping all its options open," said Barnett, adding that the tribe is not giving up on the proposed Barstow project.

"If the governor were to come to us with a creative solution he felt would get approved by the legislature for Barstow, the tribe would certainly be open to it."

Schwarzenegger and environmental groups are pushing for the Barstow casino project to become a reality for the tribes because it would mean Big Lagoon would not build on its ecologically sensitive reservation.

The 20-plus acre Big Lagoon Rancheria reservation sits on the Northern California coast and supports the largest estuary in the state.

It provides habitat to many endangered plant and animal species.

"These agreements are a creative solution for avoiding the construction of a casino on California's coast and alongside a state ecological preserve," Schwarzenegger said at the time the compacts were negotiated in September 2005.

But efforts by Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes have been met with fierce opposition by other wealthy gaming tribes, primarily the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near Highland who argue that neither Big Lagoon nor Los Coyotes have ancestral ties to the Barstow area and therefore shouldn't be allowed to build a casino there.

Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes, however, feel San Manuel is more interested in eliminating competition than protecting what they said are Serrano ancestral lands.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows tribes to build casinos off their reservations as long as they are not met with opposition and do not adversely impact the areas where the casinos are proposed to be built.

San Manuel is lobbying to amend that law to require tribes to have ancestral ties to the land where they wish to build casinos.

The city of Barstow estimates Barstow Casinos and Resort would generate 3,700 jobs and $6 million in revenue to the city annually.

Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale said while the city is in full support of the project, whether the plans come to fruition rests in the hands of the state and the tribes.

"We're just going to sit back and see what's going to take place," Dale said. "We are still very interested in having a casino in Barstow. We think it would be a good economic boost to our community. We haven't given up, or I haven't given up."

Lockhart said the governor has until Oct. 12 to act on several hundred pieces of pending legislation.

There is no word on whether he will extend the compacts of the two tribes, which expired at midnight Sept. 17.

She said the onus is on the tribes to contact the governor and request a meeting to negotiate new compacts.

"If they approach us and want to renegotiate, we're more than happy to sit down and talk to them," she said.

Governor's office indicates Barstow compacts are "null and void;" Senator "can't imagine" reconsidertion of the failed deals

9.19.07

Big Lagoon tribe, Los Coyotes band may revive talks with on another anyway

By James P. Sweeney
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

SACRAMENTO – Blocked by powerful tribal opponents, gambling agreements that authorized the Los Coyotes band of San Diego County and another tribe to build large, off-reservation casinos in Barstow have expired.

The passing of a midnight Monday deadline to have land eligible for the joint project rendered the compacts “null and void,” said a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who negotiated the deals.

However, the bid by Los Coyotes and the Big Lagoon tribe of Humboldt County to build side-by-side casinos along a popular route to Las Vegas may not be dead.

"Within the next few weeks we'll meet with Big Lagoon and Barstow and try to get a meeting with the governor's office . . . to see what options are open," said Shane Chapparosa, vice chairman of Los Coyotes.

Jason Barnett, a spokesman for Big Lagoon, said "the compacts have expired but that doesn't necessarily mean we're at the end here."

The administration also said Barstow remains its preferred alternative to a casino on Big Lagoon's environmentally sensitive reservation along the Northern California coast.

The compacts never developed much traction after they were signed two years ago. They were conceived as a compromise after the Big Lagoon tribe sued the state, seeking a compact to develop its coastal property.

Without a compact, the Big Lagoon tribe may ask the court to push ahead with the litigation.

The off-reservation casino proposals were always controversial. The Big Lagoon reservation is 700 miles from Barstow.

Some of the state's most successful gaming tribes urged state legislators not to ratify the agreements, even though they recently approved a compact with an off-reservation casino for the Sycuan band of El Cajon.

State Sen. Dean Florez, a Bakersfield Democrat who is chairman of the committee that screens gaming compacts, said California voters never intended for Indian gaming to be hundreds of miles from a tribe's reservation.

"Gaming was to be conducted on Indian lands – period," Florez said in an e-mail. "At this point, I don't believe the two-casino compact proposal is viable and I can't imagine the administration making a strong case as to why it should be reconsidered."

Schwarzenegger official said the Governor would negotiate off-reservation gaming Compacts with tribes that meet terms set out in 2005

Governor's aide does not rule out Compact negotiations with the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe

A letter dated September 17, 2007 from the director of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) indicates the Governor will negotiate with any tribe which seeks to establish gaming in Barstow, CA and which meets the terms outlined in his May 2005 Proclamation on Indian Gaming.

A report put forth by Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale following a September 6, 2007 meeting with Cynthia Bryant, the director of the Governor's OPR, misconstrued what Bryant had said and attempted to suggest the Governor would not negotiate with the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe or others.

Bryant makes it clear in her letter that the Governor would negotiate with the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe or other tribes seeking off-reservation gaming Compacts provided they meet terms set forth by the Governor in 2005.

Meeting in Governor Schwarzenegger's office violated Brown Act

What or who compelled Cynthia Bryant, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's director of the Office of Planning and Research to meet behind closed doors with four of five Barstow City Council members (including Mayor Lawrence Dale), Barstow's City Manager and Barstow's Director of Economic Development in Sacramento on September 6, 2007?

Bryant's participation in the meeting raises questions about other possible Brown Act violations that may have occured in the Governor's office. Is it possible the Governor's Office of Planning and Research isn't familiar with provisions of the Brown Act?

The closed-door meeting in the Governor's office was clearly understood to be a violation of the Brown Act as now acknowledged by Barstow's Mayor Lawrence Dale, City Councilwoman Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre and Barstow's City Attorney at this past Monday night's City Council meeting.

It is now clear that item #31 on the September 17, 2007 City Council meeting agenda (a report on the 9/6/07 meeting with Bryant) was meant to "cure" the Brown Act violation that had occurred more than ten days earlier in Sacramento. However, the published agenda item failed to acknowledge the Brown Act violation. The published item also failed to clearly acknowledge that the Mayor and three of four other council members were present at the meeting with Director Bryant.

Also concerning, the City's official report apparently "misconstrued" what Director Bryant had said at the meeting. Bryant was compelled to fax a letter from the Governor's Office on Monday, 9/17/07 clarifying what she said at the meeting. Apparently Bryant requested that the Mayor read her letter at the Council meeting to make things clear.

At Monday's City Council meeting, apparently no one requested the Mayor or three members of the City Council who participated in the Brown Act violation to disclose what was said or represented by City Officials at the meeting in the Governor's office or at any other meetings that took place the week of September 3, 2007 in Sacramento with a majority of the Council present or in back-to-back "serial " meetings. While the meeting in the Governor's office has been reported in the press as a meeting where the four members of the Council simply received information; that representation has yet to be verified with each of those present.

No one asked publicly what was said by City officials at the meeting; or what may have been conveyed by those present to Bryant or other policy makers after the meeting.

No one asked if the Council members present had reached any sort of concensus or had conveyed their feelings or position to Bryant during or following the meeting.

No one asked if any of those present represented any "official" position of the City nor what that might have been.

No one asked who if anyone else other than the six officials from Barstow and Bryant were present during the closed-door meeting (other administration officials, lobbyists, Barwest representatives, tribal leaders, etc).

And given Mayor Dale's recent unauthorized letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and his portrayal of personal opinions as official city positions, these sorts of questions are most appropriate and the answers are quite relevant to determining exactly what, if any, more serious violations of the Brown Act may have occurred.