Wisconsin tribes fighting over casino plans; highlight Mohegan Sun involvement

as posted at indianz.com
04.17.07

Wisconsin tribes fight over off-reservation casino

Two Wisconsin tribes continue to battle over plans for an off-reservation casino.

The Menominee Nation wants to open a casino in Kenosha, nearly 200
miles from the reservation. The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, the owner of one the largest casinos in the world, is financing the project.

The Forest County Potawatomi Tribe is running ads against the proposal, highlighting the Mohegan involvement. The tribe operates an off-reservation casino in downtown Milwaukee.

The casino is currently before the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. If it gains approval there, the state governor has to concur with the decision.

Even if that happens, the Menominee Nation still needs to have the land placed in trust for the casino site. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has raised concerns about off-reservation gaming.

Tribes once tied to Troha fight over off-reservation casino

Tribal Dispute
April 16, 2007

(AP) - Lucrative casino revenue has pitted two Indian tribes from Wisconsin against each other.

The Menominee tribe of Keshena has been trying to get permission to open a casino in Kenosha. The Potawatomi of Crandon operates a casino in downtown Milwaukee.

Recently, the Mohegans of Connecticut entered the picture. It's investing money in the Kenosha project to help the Menominee tribe.

Maybe you've seen or heard the ads opposing the Mohegans' involvement. The ads by a group called "No East Coast Gaming in Wisconsin" claim the Kenosha casino will only help the Mohegans.

The group sponsoring the ads include the Potawatomi and other organizations. They say it would be a dangerous precedent for tribes to move across state lines beyond their historic homeland.

The Menominee say the casino profits will provide better education, health care and law enforcement for its tribal members.

The proposal still needs approval from the federal government, as well as a deal with the state.

http://www.wluk.com/common/article.shtml?article_id=1176732731004020

Barwest spokesman exploits Indian circumstances once again with half-truths

Barwest says: [Tom] "Shields, however, said that Propositions 5 and 1A included provisions for off-reservation gaming. He said members of the Los Coyotes feel that other tribes used them in the ad campaign for those measures by depicting their poverty to convince people of the need for gaming income. ‘They were the face of the Native Americans,’ he said.” Desert Dispatch, 04.11.07

Background: In the 7-10 years since those measures were approved by California’s voters, six other neighboring tribes in north/northeastern San Diego County have successfully negotiated Compacts with the State of California and opened a spectrum of casino resort properties on their existing reservations.

The newest northeastern San Diego County casino, located less than 10 miles away from the Los Coyotes Reservation, celebrated its grand opening this month on the Santa Ysabel Reservation. That tribe’s challenges are even greater than the Los Coyotes’ but they have not been granted any special favors (they are one of San Diego's largest tribes and the poorest; there are three times the number of residents living on their smaller mountainous reservation; they have significantly larger general membership; and that reservation didn’t get funding for electricity until five years after the Los Coyotes, etc.).

The Los Coyotes have reported they didn’t partner with Barwest until 2003 (five years after passage of Prop 5) and then it was after the Detroit-based developer had already identified Barstow as a target market to expand their Michigan-based gaming empire. Barwest representatives had shopped their proposal to various southern California tribes before adopting the Los Coyotes Tribe as its Barstow partner. All parties involved have known Barstow was a long shot from the start. Governor Schwarzenegger had originally denied Los Coyotes a Compact for Barstow (2004) but Barwest didn’t reveal that to the public for a year.

At any point in the last decade, Los Coyotes could have more easily developed a modest casino on its 25,000-acre Reservation. The Warner Springs Ranch Resort with its 248 individual casitas, 18-hole golf course, spa and gliderport is located at the gateway to the Los Coyotes Reservation attracting visitors year round. NBC’s Today Show co-host Lester Holt visited Warner Springs last December to do produce a feature segment on the area.

Tribal compacts face opposition from Assembly
Democrats stand against current deals Debra Gruszecki and Jake Henshaw The Desert Sun April 16, 2007 SACRAMENTO - In the upcoming legislative showdown over five Indian gaming deals that would usher in a 22,500-slot expansion of gaming in California, it looks like an expected Senate vote for passage will be the warm-up act, while action in the As­sembly will be the headliner. But the point man on the issue for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said flatly the current compacts won't be approved in the Democrat-led Assembly. "What I'm saying is that as currently written, they are going to be re­jected,'' said Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, who chairs the Assembly Governmental Organiza­tion Committee that will hear and vote on the compacts in the Assem­bly. And that means at least one local tribe could walk, leaving $1.3 billion in General Fund contributions through 2030 on the table. Agua Caliente tribal council chair­man Richard Milanovich has been reluctant to discuss strategy at this stage. But in an interview last week, Mila­novich, in Sacramento with dozens of other tribal leaders to testify on the compacts, made clear he had no in­tention of renegotiating. "This is it,'' Milanovich said.”It's the compact we have before the Legis­lature." Robert Martin, chairman of the Mo­rongo, said as much. "Our position is what it is all along,'' said Martin.”We started this with (former Gov.) Gray Davis, and worked very hard since to come to these terms (if) this isn't passed, Mo­rongo will continue about its busi­ness, and the state will lose the abil­ity to capture $37 million in its Gen­eral Fund, without adding one new machine."	And the authors are Lawmakers carrying tribal com­pact legislation: SB 174 - Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego: Morongo Band of Mission Indians SB 175 - Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego: Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation SB 903 - Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima: Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians SB 941 - Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, and Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana: San Manuel Band of Mission Indians SB 957 - Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians AB 266 - Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier: Morongo Compact observa­tions Reactions ran the gamut when newcomer Assembly Govern­mental Organizations Commit­tee members were polled. Here's what a few had to say: The key issue is sovereignty. "Sovereignty is sovereignty. I think the tribes should be able to make decisions on their own." - Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach, who has had a second home in Palm Springs for 20 years Tribes should be able to conduct their affairs like any business. "Frankly, I'm a little disappointed that within the Indian community they have to seek approval for expansion. I would really like to get to the point that their business is just like any other business, and (is) treated appropriately." - Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach Tribal funds that pay for public safety and help other non-gaming tribes could be impacted. "I certainly would like to see gam­ing tribes do more to help non-gaming tribes. I intend to bring that up in our hearings." - Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Riverside more online slot increase faces votes

Former legislators lobbying for various gaming compacts in Sacramento

PE.com Politics
Political Notebook - 04.16.07:

Familiar Faces

It seemed like old home week during a pair of state Senate hearings last week to examine renegotiated compacts between the governor and five Southern California tribes with casinos, including four in the Inland area.

The deals would give the tribes thousands of additional slot machines in return for more revenue-sharing with the state.

Willie Brown, the self-described 'Ayatollah of the Assembly' during his 14 years as Assembly speaker, was part of the contingent with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Cabazon.

Keith Olberg, a former Victorville assemblyman-turned-lobbyist, represented the Los Coyotes tribe of San Diego County, who wants to open a casino in Barstow. ($187,036)

Phil Wyman, a Tehachapi Republican who served in the Assembly for almost two decades, represented the Chemehuevi tribe near Lake Havasu. The tribe also wants to build a Barstow casino.

Phil Isenberg, another Assembly veteran, represents Sycuan tribe of San Diego County.

And those were just the ones at the crowded hearings. Former Inland lawmakers Russ Bogh and Jim Brulte are advising Morongo tribal leaders behind the scenes.

Neither Brown, Bogh nor Brulte are registered as lobbyists in 2007.

But they said Marian Ilitch owns 100% of MotorCity Casino?

According to records filed with the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth, MotorCity Casino is a d/b/a for Detroit Entertainment, L.L.C. And it has been represented that as of 2005, Mrs. Marian Ilitch owns 100% of MotorCity Casino and Detroit Entertainment L.L.C.

So what's with this "partially owned" nonsense that was presented before the U.S. Supreme Court last summer?

IN THE
Supreme Court of the United States

Detroit Entertainment, L.L.C.,
d/b/a MotorCity Casino, and
Marlene Brown,
Petitioners,
v.
Stella Romanski.

July 6, 2006

"Petitioner Detroit Entertainment, L.L.C., is partially owned by Atwater Casino Group, L.L.C., which in turn is partially owned by Z.R.X., L.L.C., and IH Gaming, Inc., which in turn are partially owned by CCM Merger, Inc."

http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/Reasonable/06-38.pdf

Superior Court Judge orders Detroit casino syndicators to pay ballot measure proponent's $110,000 legal bill

According to Barstow District Superior Court records (Case BCVBS08816), a front group for Detroit casino developer Barwest LLC has been ordered to pay $110,000 in legal fees charged to proponents of a June 2006 ballot measure.

The Barwest backed group Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development (BCRED) had filed suit in 2005/2006 against the City of Barstow, former Mayor Manuel Gurule and others attempting to block a citizens’ qualified ballot measure on future casino development.

After several months and several hundred thousand dollars in legal fees, in early March 2006 Superior Court Judge John P. Vanderfeer tossed out the original Barwest-backed lawsuit and ordered the election to stand.

Background

More than 1,500 Barstow voters had signed petitions to qualify the citizens’ measure for the June 2006 ballot. Barwest feared the measure would open the doors to competition in Barstow and found that unsettling. Barwest's group filed suit in December 2005 to stop the election.

Gurule had lead the petition gathering effort and when Barwest brought suit to stop the election from going forward, Gurule was forced to give-in or find legal representation. Court documents indicate attorneys representing Gurule racked up nearly $150,000 in fees to defend the citizens’ measure and keep it on the ballot.

In January 2007, Gurule filed a motion to recover attorneys’ fees, and on February 15, after hearing arguments from both sides, Judge P. Vanderfeer ordered BCRED (Barwest) to pay $110,000 to the law firm that had stepped in to assist Gurule and defend the citizens’ measure.

In depositions taken as part of the original case, so-called leaders of Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development (BCRED) and the Los Coyotes Indian Tribe revealed BCRED was funded and directed by the team of public relations consultants and lawyers backing Barwest LLC, a Detroit-based casino syndication driven by Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.

After the Judge’s 2006 ruling, Barwest had even greater fears about the outcome of the impending June election; BCRED (Barwest) reported out spending the measure’s proponents by at least 4-to-1, logging close to $200,000 in expenses.

That’s got to be more than was spent on Barstow political campaigns collectively for the last 25 years.

Campaign reporting documents indicate Barwest principals Ilitch and Malik each contributed $20,000, approximately $5,000 was contributed by other sources, most of which were outside of Barstow and no other contributions have been raised since June 2006. Nearly $150,000 was fronted by Ilitch public relations lieutenant Tom Shields, Marketing Resources Group, Inc. (MRG).

Acting as a lendor for the committee, Shields' pr firm paid the TV, radio, direct mail and advertising vendors as well as a group of Los Coyotes tribe members who formed a “grassroots” team. The committee has been showing payments made by Shields to those vendors as outstanding debt for nearly a year. In November 2006 the committee made additional expenses but did not repay Shields.

It’s unclear who wrote the $110,000.00 check that Judge Vanderfeer ordered BCRED to pay.

And it's unclear who if anyone has or will reimburse Shields. Certainly he's not going to "eat" the costs.

When all is said and done, someone has spent at least $500,000 to block the citizens’ ballot measure from being approved. That's probably more than has been spent collectively on Barstow political campaigns since the town was formed in 1888.


Resources:
Barstow Superior Court: Case #BCVBS08816
Further Background & Court Documents

You may also want to review this post:

Barwest LLC fined $6,500 for violating CA Political Reform Act

Author of Barstow casino bill not hopeful

For the second time since 2005, it appears a bill to approve twin Indian Casino resorts in Barstow has failed to win legislative support in Sacramento.

Senator Pat Wiggins (D-Eureka), principal author of SB 157, has indicated to the Eureka Times Standard that the bill is all but dead.

Eureka Times Standard
04.14.07

Casinos, Klamath, truck lengths, rail revival all on Wiggins' priority list

"...But the fate of another agreement, between the state and the Big Lagoon Rancheria for a casino in Barstow, doesn't look so rosy, at least for the time being, she said. ..."

SB 157 would ratify gaming compacts allowing two Indian tribes (Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians) and their Detroit casino developer Barwest to build side-by-side, off-reservation casino resorts in Barstow, Calif.

Wiggins and project proponents held a press conference in January to announce the introduction of SB 157.

At that time there were two other legislators who had joined Wiggins, Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) and Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Santa Rosa).

Since then, proponents have failed to produce any other legislators willing to publicly endorse the bill. SB 157 was intended as a tool to win legislative ratification of gaming compacts the Governor's aides had negotiated in 2005.

Proponents have failed to produce any other sign that SB 157 had been making progress; instead they have joined with labor to attack compact agreements moving through the legislature for several established gaming tribes. Those compacts would allow expanded gaming at several existing locations on current reservation lands and would produce substantial new revenues for the State of California..

Another bill, SB 168, introduced in 2006 and authored by former Senator Wesley Chesbro, Wiggins' predecessor, failed to make it out of committee as well. Two legislators who supported that bill in the last session have failed to announce their support for SB 157: Assemblyman Bill Maze and Senator Leland Yee.

Mrs. Marian Ilitch, wife of Detroit Tigers baseball team owner Mike Ilitch, and Michael J. Malik, Sr. are the principals behind the Barwest syndication.

Coastal commission exec's casino wager a bluff hoping no one checks his cards

Commission exec says here that Lagoon is 'pristine' and 'untouched natural resource' but it was a former 153-acre bombing target range. DOD, DTSC, USACE, EPA, GAO, all have it on lists of pending environmental clean up; identified as a munitions and explosive hazzard. This trained attorney certainly knows what the words he chose mean; he lied.



read more digg story

Coastal Commission exec calls Lagoon "untouched natural resource," unaware the former bombing target range is on USACE/DTSC toxic clean up lists

DTSC Official: EnviroStor Database Listing

BIG LAGOON TARGET RANGE BIG LAGOON, CA HUMBOLDT COUNTY SITE TYPE: FUDS ACRES: 153 ACRES APN: NONE SPECIFIED NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST: NO CLEANUP OVERSIGHT AGENCIES: DTSC - SITE MITIGATION AND BROWNFIELD REUSE PROGRAM SUPERVISOR: DONN DIEBERT DIVISION / BRANCH: OMF - NO (SACRAMENTO) ENVIROSTOR ID: 80001175 SITE CODE: ASSEMBLY DISTRICT: 01 SENATE DISTRICT: 02 SPECIAL PROGRAM: FUNDING: DERA PRESS CONTACT: CAROL SINGLETON

STATUS INACTIVE - NEEDS EVALUATION AS OF 7/1/2005

REGULATORY PROFILE PAST USE(S) THAT CAUSED CONTAMINATION: NONE SPECIFIED POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN: EXPLOSIVES (UXO, MEC, DMM) POTENTIAL MEDIA AFFECTED: NONE SPECIFIED

SITE HISTORY 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.

So-called 'Pristine' Big Lagoon on DoD/DTSC Clean Up List

As it turns out the area in Humboldt County that Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission called “pristine” and “untouched” in an essay he wrote for Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle was once part of a 156-acre bombing and rocket target range. Perhaps Douglas meant “untouched” since it was abandoned by the Defense Department as a bombing range.

Both the Big Lagoon and the Big Lagoon Rancheria Indian Reservation have been on the Defense Department’s list of pending Defense Department/Army Corps & California State Department of Toxic Substance Control’s pending clean up lists for at least a decade.

The Defense Department in its last report to Congress estimated it would take $7.2 million to complete clean up of the Big Lagoon identified sites.

Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS)

California Inventory List

DOD - Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress

Military Munitions Response Program

Big Lagoon Bombing Target	Trinidad Bombing Target
Map	Map

Calif Department of Toxic Substance Control

BIG LAGOON TARGET RANGE

Big Lagoon bombing Target (BIG LAGOON INDIAN RESERVATION)

TRINIDAD BOMBING TARGET

		SITE NAME	SITE TYPE/ STATUS	DESC	CITY	COUNTY
[REPORT]		BIG LAGOON BOMBING TARGET (IND RESERV)	MILITARY EVALUATION /DERA	INACTIVE - NEEDS EVALUATION	BIG LAGOON	HUMBOLDT
[MAP]
[REPORT]		BIG LAGOON TARGET RANGE	MILITARY EVALUATION/DERA	INACTIVE - NEEDS EVALUATION	BIG LAGOON	HUMBOLDT
[MAP]
[REPORT]		TRINIDAD BOMB TARGET	MILITARY EVALUATION /DERA	INACTIVE - NEEDS EVALUATION	TRINIDAD	HUMBOLDT
[MAP]

Another tribe accomplishes what Marian Ilitch's Team (Barwest) says is 'impossible'

For months the Los Coyotes Band of Indians and the crew working for its billionaire Detroit developer Marian Ilitch (Barwest) have been trolling the State Capitol, trying to convince legislators in Sacramento that it would be “impossible” to build a casino on their San Diego Reservation; at the same time, the Santa Ysabel Tribe (Los Coyotes’ neighbor) has been hard at work proving it can be done!

This week the Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino celebrated its grand opening. The $27 million, 35,000-square-foot project has 349 slot machines and was financed with a bank loan guaranteed by the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Arizona.

The Santa Ysabel reservation is located less than 10 miles from the Los Coyotes Reservation (nearly the same drive time from Los Angeles).

hhhmmmmm …Perhaps what Los Coyotes’ leaders and Barwest representatives mean to say is they prefer the financial model associated with their plans to build two side by side full-blown Las Vegas like “off-reservation” casino resorts, and the opportunity to develop a broader destination resort community surrounding the casinos in Barstow – alongside I-15 highway halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

indianz.com news summary

04.11.07

Santa Ysabel casino opens

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

SANTA YSABEL INDIAN RESERVATION -- It's not the biggest and it's not the closest, but the Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino, which opens to the public today, has an enviable view of Lake Henshaw and the surrounding mountains.

Tribal leaders said Wednesday they hope the scenic beauty of the remote, northeastern part of the county will attract visitors to generate enough revenue to help the band's 700 members climb out of poverty...

Vice Chairwoman Brandie Taylor said the casino will help create opportunities for her young son and everyone in the tribe.

"This is an avenue not only for him, but all the members of the tribe to have an education, to have infrastructure, electricity -- to have a future," she told a cheering crowd.

The facility, designed to look like a mountain lodge, has a 150-seat buffet restaurant, an entertainment stage and brewery-style bar...

For years, the Santa Ysabel band, near Julian, watched other North County tribes build mega-casinos with large hotels and luxury resorts. It passed on an opportunity to sign an agreement, or compact, with the state in 1999 to allow gambling on its 15,000-acre reservation.

Four years ago, several new tribal council members who favored building a casino were elected. They negotiated one of the last compacts under Gov. Gray Davis. The agreement included more stringent requirements...

Santa Ysabel Chairman Johnny Hernandez, 54, said opening the casino will help build better roads on the reservation, provide health care for members, education for children and a center for seniors.

"We just got open and now we got to pay our bills," he said. "But we've got to take care of our tribal community."

(Full Coverage)

Impoverished Northeastern San Diego Tribe proves it can be done; celebrates opening of County's newest casino resort

Tribe has party to welcome county's 10th Indian casino

By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 12, 2007

SANTA YSABEL – San Diego County's 10th Indian casino opened last night with a private party for more than 1,000 people.

“This is your casino,” Brandie Taylor, the Santa Ysabel tribe's vice chairwoman, proclaimed to tribal members in the crowd. “This is your future.”

The crowd, standing shoulder to shoulder amid silent slot machines, cheered loudly.

Later, after the first slot pull at 5:51 p.m., the sounds of electronic music from the machines mixed with the voices and rattles of traditional Indian singers.

The 349-slot Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino, on state Route 79 about 4½ miles north of Route 78, opened to the general public at 9 p.m., after the party.

It will be some time before the casino sells alcohol.

The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is waiting for the casino to meet several county conditions, specifically some road improvements, said Robin Van Dyke, head of the San Marcos ABC office.

“We are not issuing the license until that is done,” she said.

County officials say they are waiting for word that the tribe has implemented an alcohol training program for its workers; will serve food; has a designated-driver program; and sponsors a shuttle to public transit.

Adding turn lanes to Route 79 and moving the entrance to the facility's mile-long driveway will take eight to 10 weeks, said casino General Manager Douglas Lentz.

The tribe is working with the state on getting the license, Lentz said, and he expected it to be issued over some of the county's objections.

The $27 million casino on the side of Volcan Mountain overlooking Lake Henshaw was funded through a bank loan guaranteed by Arizona's Yavapai-Apache Nation, whose leaders were at yesterday's ceremony.

The 35,000-square-foot casino will fund the tribal government and provide for direct payments to Santa Ysabel's members.

Tribal Chairman Johnny Hernandez has said the money won't make tribal members rich, but will provide more opportunities. Several tribal members are now working for the casino.

“There was really nothing here when I was growing up,” said tribal member Bettina Paipa, 33, who will serve drinks.

About 350 of the diverse tribe's 781 members live on the 15,000-acre reservation.

Under a 2003 agreement with the state, the tribe will give 5 percent of its slot-machine revenue to the state, plus make payments to the county for problem-gambling programs and law enforcement.

Tribal Council member Bonnie Salgado said the casino opening ranked as one of the tribe's milestones, along with an 1852 treaty that was later ignored and the creation of the reservation in 1893.

“After today, nothing will be the same,” she said.

Los Coyotes supports San Manuel pact now; Unions still oppose Pechanga

Pact on Pechanga casinos fails to win over unions

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 11, 2007

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Labor unions Wednesday attacked a renegotiated gaming agreement with the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians near Temecula, alleging that the deal, known as a compact, lacks protections for casino workers.

A short while later, though, union leaders urged support for a nearly identical compact with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near Highland.

The distinction -- the San Manuel tribe has a union agreement with hundreds of its employees while Pechanga does not -- underscored a second day of intense testimony in a Senate committee hearing on compacts negotiated last summer between Gov. Schwarzenegger and five wealthy gaming tribes, four of them in Riverside or San Bernardino counties.

It also could determine which agreements the Legislature ratifies. The full Senate could consider the deals as early as next week.

Under the compacts, participating Inland tribes could add up to 19,500 slot machines in return for the tribes paying more money to the state.

Wednesday, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro said the agreement with his tribe would help the local economy and generate an extra $14 million for the state annually before slot machine are even installed.

The tribe plans to add 1,500 slot machines within five years, he said. The compact allows the tribe to have up to 7,500 slots.

Macarro said the tribe will not be pressured into accepting parts of 2004 compacts that made it easier to unionize casino workers, even if means giving up a chance for more slot machines.

"Every tribe is uniquely situated. San Manuel went a different direction than we did," he said. "At any point in time, we've never felt like we were holding onto an agreement so tight that we couldn't walk away. There are just certain lines that we won't cross."

San Manuel's compact drew much less opposition Wednesday.

The tribe's vice chairman, Vince Duro, said it is ready to install many of the additional 5,500 slot machines allowed under the deal.

"San Manuel is not a problem," said Michael Hartigan, the state president of the workers union that represents San Manuel employees

Leaders of a San Diego County tribe trying to build a casino in Barstow testified in favor of the San Manuel deal. But they used the opportunity to urge the Legislature to ratify their own gaming agreement, something opposed by the San Manuel and other Inland tribes.

"The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting the shaft," said Francine Cupsch, secretary of the tribal council of the Los Coyotes band.

Reach Jim Miller at 916-445-9973 or jmiller@PE.com

Sacramento: Union leaders and Senators wrap up second day of skirmsh over tribal gaming compacts

April 11, 2007

Senators press union leader on change of tune on tribal organizing

Debra Gruszecki
The Desert Sun

SACRAMENTO -- The skirmish with labor unions continued today in the second wave of hearings on tribal gaming compacts before a state Senate committee.

Unite HERE! Leader Jack Gribbon repeated his request to halt any action on ratification of the compact amendments, which would allow up to 22,500 more slots in tribal casinos across the state.

That increase includes more than 8,000 new slots in the Coachella Valley -- at casinos owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Agua Caliente and Morongo leaders testified Tuesday.

The leader of the 450,000-member union representing hotel, casino and needle-workers, said “We ask you to support the most vulnerable people in the state,” this morning in the hearing on the request to add slots for Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and San Manuel Band of Missions Indians.

The compacts did not pass in 2006 – following last-minute labor opposition and lobbying.

This time, however, in the stand-room-only hearing room, today state Sens. Jim Battin R-La Quinta and Jeff Denham R-Merced grilled union leaders on the differences between the Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance struck in 1999, which allows workers to organize through a secret ballot systems. The Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance is in effect at local casinos as part of the compacts approved in 1999.

Unite HERE! wants a “card check” system, allowing organizers to approach workers if they sign a card.

Tribes say that the secret ballot method that is part of the 1999 compacts allows workers to organize if they want.

Battin led a news account from the 1999 Los Angeles Times coverage of the tribal compact approval. The article said that Gribbon supported the secret ballot, or Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance passed then.

“What's changed?" Battin asked.

Gribbon was quoted in the LA Times at the passage of the 1999 compacts as saying, "It's finished. It's done...it's a significant compromise with labor."

An observer watching the proceedings today in the overflow crowd uttered "Ouch!" when closed circuit TV broadcast that portion of the hearing to the hallway.

Gribbon said the secret ballot matters were discussed clear through 4 a.m. in 1999 and that then-Senate Pro Tem John Burton D-San Francisco and then-Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa D-Los Angeles, both noted for their strong support of labor, approached and said it was the best they could do.

Gribbon told today’s hearing that he was advised at the time to support Proposition 1A for workers’ rights because it was the best they could do.

Unfortunately (since that time), Gribbon said today, some tribes have not shown good faith.

Battin and Denham both said they are hard-pressed to find cases where tribes have shut organization cases out.

The hearings and lobbying will continue throughout the day in Sacramento on the issue that has attracted supporters and detractors ranging from labor unions to business groups to social organizations and tribal nations.

Some time after noon today, petitions bearing more than 12,000 signatures are expected to be presented to the governor's office asking for no more slot expansion.

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/UPDATE/70411008/1263/RSS01