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.

PALA: Band to be 'treated as a state' on air quality concerns
10/30/2008, North County Times
FALLBROOK ---- The Pala band of Mission Indians has been granted state-like status in weighing in on projects that affect air quality within a 50-mile radius of the reservation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decided earlier this month to give the Pala tribe what it calls 'treatment as a state' status. The designation means the tribe must now be notified when a project that may cause air pollution is proposed within 50 miles of the reservation. Tribal environmental health director Lenore Lamb said this week the agency's decision means the tribe's concerns about proposed projects will be taken more seriously in the future.

CRIT reveals its financial picture
10/29/2008, Parker Pioneer
In the new issue of the Colorado River Indian Tribes newsletter, the Tribal Treasurer, Dennis Welsh Jr., has published a financial summary. Total revenues for CRIT, ending Sept. 30, are at $14,684,286; total expenses are at $16,150,808, making a shortfall of $1,466,522. The types of revenue were listed as from leases, taxes, enterprise distribution, permits and fees, etc. This does not include revenue from the CRIT Auto Shop, Tax Revenue Account or the $1.2 million from the Moovalya Plaza in July of this year. The Tribe has two outstanding loans that totaled $29 million. The reported balance is at $9,553,449. The monthly payment on the loans is $424,956. A summary of bank account balances and short-term investments was described in the following categories: General Fund, Grants and Contracts, $18 million; Enterprises, $8.9 million; and Casino-Resort, $3.7 million. Welsh states in the report the following figures "were derived internally based on unaudited financial information."
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians gift opposed
10/29/2008, Red Bluff Daily News
A routine $300,000 donation from the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians to Tehama County met resistance Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors. The donation s placement on the consent agenda prompted one Red Bluff resident to say the county was trying to discretely accept a donation designed to influence county government. Upon request, county officials moved the item to the regular agenda, where it passed unanimously. The county put the donation on the consent agenda this year because it is a regular occurrence, said Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin. It was included in our budget that s how regular it has become, he said. The $300,000 donation will be allocated as $200,000 to the General Fund, $50,000 to the Tehama County Sheriff s Department and $50,000 to the District Attorney s Office. The money provides additional resources for the General Fund and funds a deputy district attorney for public safety and a correctional officer at TCSD, freeing a deputy for patrol duty

County approves site for Needles casino10/29/2008, Sacramento Bee - Associated Press
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The proposed site of an Indian casino on the outskirts of the Colorado River town of Needles has the blessing of San Bernardino County supervisors. The location on 300 acres some four miles west of Needles near Interstate 40 was approved Tuesday by supervisors. The 1,120-member Fort Mojave Band of Indians would build roads to the 100,000-square-foot gambling hall.

Supervisors OK location for casino near Needles 10/28/2008, Inland News
In what could be an economic boon for a city that has hit hard times, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the location Tuesday of a proposed casino situated on the outskirts of Needles. The casino, which is being proposed by the 1,120-member Fort Mojave Band of Indians, would house two restaurants, a 100,000-square-foot gaming floor and 1,500 slot machines, according to documents submitted to the county. After the meeting, Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, who represents the area, spoke cautiously about endorsing the project. He said his opinion on the proposed project hinges on whether the city and its residents sign off on the concept. "Particularly when tribes have historical ties to the area - as this tribe does - then I think it can be a good thing, as long as the community supports it," Mitzelfelt said.


 
 
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New PGA Tournament to be Played on Soboba Course10/28/2008, KESQ.com News Services
Come next fall, the Country Club at Soboba Springs will be a stop on the PGA's Nationwide Tour, it was announced today. The Soboba Classic will offer $1 million in prize money, one of only three events on the tour to do so, joining the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in West Virginia and the Nationwide Tour Championship, which will end the season. The PGA Tour and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians signed a four-year contract, according to tribal information officer Mike Hiles. The club is on the Soboba Indian Reservation in San Jacinto. The PGA Nationwide Tour is a proving ground of sorts to select those eligible to play in the PGA Tour.

Setting the record straight in Plymouth
10/28/2008, Amador Ledger Dispatch
Plymouth once again faces political upheaval in what portends to be a heated campaign for three city council seats. This time, however, upset of the current city council would plunge Plymouth back into the pre-recall dark ages when the people's vote meant nothing and tribal meddling in our city government ruled the day. Quickly announcing her candidacy in pink lettering on Highway 49, Maria Simon-Nunez has spent the last five years staunchly supporting the proposed casino. Despite saying she is not in favor of the casino, she has acted as the unofficial spokeswoman for the tribe at virtually every meeting of the Plymouth City Council, even when the casino was not an agenda item.

San Pablo's gamble pays off
10/28/2008, Contra Costa Times
SAN PABLO - They're raising fees in Walnut Creek, sapping reserves in Antioch and San Leandro, slashing jobs in Oakland, Hayward and San Mateo, shaving mental health services in Berkeley and mulling rolling "brownouts" at fire stations in Alameda. The mounting loss of sales and property tax revenues has forced painful choices upon cities and counties across the East Bay. Yet one city barely feels the pinch. In San Pablo, home to some of the East Bay's poorest households and highest unemployment, City Hall sits high-and-dry amid a raging fiscal storm. Here, tax revenue takes a backseat to a far different budget model: Jackpot economics

 
State Legislation to Watch
On December 1, 2008 the 2009 Legislative Regular Session Convenes for Organizational Session
 
Federal Legislation to Watch  
A Lame Duck session may begin Nov. 17/18, there is speculation of a  'Lands Ominbus bill' to be introduced by Senator Harry Reid. It will carry approximately 160 bills that have previously passed the House, as well as Senate Bills. MORE AS IT EVOLVES. 
 

H. R. 2963 - ENROLLED 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 -REPORTED TO SENATE 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. 5680 REPORTED TO SENATE Congressman Grijalva - A bill to extend leases for Morongo and transfer money to CRIT.
S. 3320  - Tribal Law and Order Act - to be introduced in early 2009. 
 

 

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