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Stand Up for California! is a statewide organization with a focus on gambling issues including tribal gaming, card clubs, horse racing, charitable gaming and the state lottery. | |
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Jamul tribe sues, claims Caltrans is meddling
10/9/2008, San Diego Union Tribune
EAST COUNTY - A tribe fighting to build a casino on a tiny reservation next to a curvy state highway is taking its battle to court. The Jamul Indian Village sued the California Department of Transportation last week over the state's threat to block a driveway to the reservation if the roadway is used as access to a gambling hall. The driveway would be dangerous if used for a large casino, Caltrans officials say. The tribe says the state agency doesn't have the right to ask about the casino plans and how they might affect state Route 94.
Rulings allow tribes to sue for more slots10/9/2008, North County Times
Thus far in the cases ---- Rincon sued in 2004, San Pasqual in 2006 ---- the courts haven't looked at the actual issues, the meat of the tribes' arguments. Rincon runs Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino and San Pasqual operates Valley View Casino, both of which are in the Valley Center area. "The court hasn't even addressed the issues, let alone decided it," said Howard Dickstein, a tribal attorney who added that the case is "years off from a resolution." At the heart of the issue is the statewide number of slot machines allowed under a 1999 state agreement that gave the tribes the OK for gaming. | |
Bus, driver in Colusa County crash were not properly licensed
10/9/2008, Sacramento Bee
Neither the bus nor the driver in Sunday's Colusa County crash had the legal right to be on the road that evening, state officials confirmed Wednesday. Owners of the 19-year-old former Greyhound bus had legally designated it in May as nonoperational on state forms, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. "It means you cannot drive the vehicle," DMV spokesman Mike Marando said. According to accounts, however, Daniel Cobb of Cobb's Bus Service in Sacramento and Modesto continued to operate the bus, regularly ferrying gamblers to and from several Northern California casinos. DMV officials said Cobb had registered the bus for use the previous two years, and had been mailed California license plates.
Fatal crash highlights casinos' lure for seniors
10/8/2008, Fresno Bee
The casinos run by American Indian tribes in Northern California work to attract lonely seniors on fixed incomes by offering cheap transportation on charter buses like the one that crashed over the weekend, killing eight people and injuring dozens. The casinos also provide free meals and complimentary slot machine play to the thousands of seniors who have helped fuel the industry over the past decade. Some seniors fund the excursions with their Social Security checks and return home worrying about not being able to cover basic living expenses.
Casino roadwork protested
10/8/2008, Redding Searchlight
Members of a family disenrolled from the Redding Rancheria tried to stop ongoing road construction Tuesday near the Win-River Casino expansion project. About a dozen members of the Foreman family and their supporters attempted to block a construction project that will remove a driveway on rancheria property that leads to one of the family's homes. The road is being widened as part of a casino expansion. Bob Foreman Jr., whose father Bob Foreman Sr. owns land adjacent to the casino, said the family is not opposed to the casino's growth. "If we were part of the tribe still, we would want to expand," he said.
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Upcoming Conference
INDIAN COUNTRY'S WINNING HAND, October 16-17, 2008, Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino Scottsdale/Fountian Hills, Arizona. Register online: www.law.asu.edu/ilp
State Legislation to Watch
December 1- the 2009 Legislative Regular Session Convenes for Organizational Session
Federal Legislation to Watch
H. R. 2963 - Congressman Issa Transfers without regulatory environmental process 1,178 ac. in Riverside and San Diego Counties to the Pechanga Band. AMENDED TO INCLUDE:
No Gaming. Maintained as open space and construction consistent with this purpose.
No existing right of ways or right of use prior to the date of enactment are affected.
H.R. 3490 - Congressman Radanovich Declares that specificed federal lands are to be held in trust by the US for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuik Indians for non gaming purposes.
H.R. 5608 Congressman Rahall - mandates that adminstration directly consults with tribes on policies that directly affect their lives.
H. R. 5680 Congressman Grijalva - A bill to extend leases for Morongo and transfer money to CRIT.
S. 2676 - Senator Vitter - Common Sense Indian Gambling Reform Act of 2008. To make technical corrections to IGRA. Consultation with local government.
S. 3320 - Tribal Law and Order Act - to be introduced in early 2009.
LINKS and Legislation
Stand Up For California - Library
Stand Up For California - Helpful Links
Compulsive Gambling Institute www.gamblingaddiction.cc 1-800-GAMBLER 24 Hour Problem Gambling Help Line - Tom Tucker, Chief Executive Officer
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