HelpHinkley.org Host Candidate Forum

Local candidates oppose proposed sludge composting site

By Aaron Aupperlee, city editor

October 8, 2008 - 4:23PM

“We found some good ones here. We see a couple of people who are willing to stand up.” Bill Thomlinson, Barstow resident

HINKLEY • They had different names for it — poop plant, hazardous waste site, human feces dump. The had different solutions — cover it, run it out of town, legislate it into impossibility. But all the candidates, from school boards to the U.S. House of Representatives, strongly opposed the proposed sludge composting plant in Hinkley.

Twenty-two candidates who will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot spoke to Hinkley and residents from the surrounding communities Tuesday night during a candidate forum at the Hinkley Fire Hall. Hinkley residents cannot vote in many of the races represented Tuesday night, but forum organizer and moderator Norm Diaz said he wanted the night to highlight the relationship between Barstow and the surrounding rural communities of Hinkley, Daggett, Yermo and Newberry Springs.

Most pressing to many residents in Hinkley is the Nursery Products composting site proposed for the old Hawes Airfield outside of the town. Spearheaded by the group HelpHinkley.org, residents and supporters from Barstow and other communities have been fighting to keep the plant out of the community for years. Carmen Hernandez and others said that since Barstonians breathe the same air and drink the same water as Hinkley, the composting plant is Barstow’s problem as well.

“You shouldn’t be calling it sludge,” said Nathaniel Pickett, a candidate for mayor. “Call it hazardous waste. If you want to defeat something, you have to call it what it is.”

Pickett stopped short of promising Hinkley to rid the community of the proposed plant, saying he could offer advice and guidance on how to fight it. Other candidates also pledged support for Hinkley in fighting the plant.

Some candidates proposed solutions to the plant. Gene Deaton, running for City Council, said that if Nursery Products does not enclose the plant, they should not be allowed to build it. Marvin Ellis suggested pushing for legislation that would make it illegal to ship sludge long distances.

Erika Schneider has lived in Hinkley for 40 years and liked hearing all the candidates speak against the composting plant. Norm Sheppeard, who lives in Barstow Heights but feels the proposed composting plant will pollute the air around him, said that he too appreciated the support from all the candidates.

“They all sounded good,” said Hinkley resident Floyd Burns. “Everybody is against it, but...”

Floyd and his wife Jean worried that the candidates lacked plans to stop the facility from coming. What they liked hearing, they said, was plans from the school board candidates to start more vocational education training and the prospects for the area’s economy.

“Kids need to be prepared for jobs,” Jean said.

“We need more jobs here,” Floyd replied.

In attendance

MAYOR
Joe Gomez
Nathaniel Pickett
(Mayor Lawrence Dale had a prior commitment to Tips for Tots, a fund-raiser for the Toys for Tots program, and could not attend. A letter from Dale addressing the people of Hinkley will be available at www.helphinkley.org.)

CITY COUNCIL
Gene Deaton
Marvin Ellis
Carmen Hernandez
Tim Saenz
Richard Villegas

BUSD BOARD
Ace Acevedo
Julie Clemmer
Mary Rodriguez
Paul Wilkey

BCC BOARD
Fred Baca
Ted Baca
Bob Conaway
Linda Wyman-DeWald
Marcia Zableckis

BARSTOW FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Eddie Garcia

MOJAVE WATER AGENCY
Kimberly Cox
Ellen Johnson

36TH DISTRICT STATE ASSEMBLY
Linda Jones (D)

25TH US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Jackie Conaway (D)

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4121 or aaupperlee@desertdispatch.com

Reeb (the Dweeb) parrots GOP's Obama smear campaign

Desert Dispatch Letters to the editor - June 18, 2008

June 17, 2008 - 9:56AM

Reeb (the Dweeb) parrots

GOP's Obama smear campaign

by

Ira Gwin

It’s a temptation to refute Mr. Reeb’s latest sly and cunning smear against Senator Barack Hussein Obama point by point (”Obama a risky and cunning candidate,” June 11). The veiled reference to the Senator’s middle name is particularly despicable, especially from someone who reportedly taught journalism and therefore fully understands the impact of innuendo.

After all the revelation on the road to war, the lies from the Bush administration, the erosion of our liberties, the deaths of over 4,000 American soldiers, the murder of countless Iraqi civilians, and the cost of $12 billion every month that we are borrowing from our children and grandchildren, Mr. Reeb is upset that Senator Obama was against the war, does not support this government’s war policies, and has promised to end it and get our troops out as quickly as possible.

But a direct response to Reeb’s desperate defense of the worst Republican Administration since Reagan will not change his mind, or the minds of readers who still believe that another four years of Bush Lite in the guise of John McCain would be just fine. I believe most people have already decided between the two candidates and from now until the elections we will all be plowing the same ground and slinging the same mud.

There may be a few people out there who haven’t made up their minds, and both parties will do what they can to win them over. To help them decide, here are a few points to consider.

One: If you like our energy policy, or lack thereof, if you like paying $5 plus for gas, if you enjoy seeing your president on his knees begging the Saudi Kings for a little more oil, if you are happy that the oil companies are sucking your paycheck right into their pockets, vote for McCain.

Two: If you don’t think it’s really important how many Americans are still in Iraq, if you think we could and should be there for the next 100 years, if you don’t care if we have a plan for the vets and their continued health care, vote Republican.

Three: If you like giving tax breaks to the top one percent of the population, if you really believe that big corporations are your friends, if you don’t mind that your jobs are going overseas, if you believe that unions are un-American, then vote for John McCain. Four: If you really believe the only way to deal with foreign nations, including dictators, is down the barrel of a gun, then stay the Bush/Cheney course with four more years of McCain.

Or you could stand up, take your country back, and vote for change. You could vote for an administration that would honestly work to wean this economy from a dependency on foreign oil to survive. We could make a commitment to leave Iraq and bring our troops home as soon as possible, we would have to negotiate a pull-out with the neighboring countries so everyone would have a stake in a stable Iraq, and we would abandon our bases and imperial designs on the region. We cannot morally nor economically sustain an empire based on military might and fear. The Romans couldn’t, the British couldn’t, and neither can we.

The Republican slander machine is just getting started and in the coming weeks there will be many more articles like the one from Reeb. Karl Rove no longer openly soils the halls of the White House, but his dirty tricks playbook is still being studied by apologists like Reeb and the McCain Republican machine.

Ira Gwin
Barstow

Shackford Apologies for not Recognizing Brown Act Violation

Shackford Apologies
for not Recognizing
Brown Act Violation

The Editor of the Desert Dispatch was dismissive when the violation was first brought to his attention, after some consideration he realized that the law was violated and that there are even more serious ramifications of the Council’s Transgressions.

Apparently former Barstow Mayor and City Councilman Gil Gurule had contacted Shackford to give him a heads up that while the four members of the Council were supposed to be attending the League of CA Cities Conference in Sacramento, they were actually playing hooky and spending their time lobbying on behalf of Barwest.

The fact that all four members of the Council were meeting behind closed doors in the Governor’s office, lobbying, setting policy, and negotiating upon their special interests was something that Shackford wasn’t interested in when Gurule first brought it to his attention. But after the matter exploded into view at the Council meeting on Sept 17, Shackford had an awakening and to his credit was man enough to offer up an apology. Here is what the paper’s editor had to say on his "Editor's Blog" at DesertDispatch.com:


http://shackford.freedomblogging.com/2007/09/18/who-watches-the-watchdogs/

Who Watches the Watchdogs?

posted by Scott Shackford

September 18th, 2007 ·

It looks like I owe Manuel “Gil” Gurule an apology.

He called me at the end of last week about the casino happenings (and lack thereof) in Sacramento. His intention was to point out to me that the meetings between the governor’s staff and four City Council members may have been a Brown Act violation. The Brown Act is California’s public meeting law, which is intended to make sure that local governmental meetings and decisions (with some exceptions) happen in a public forum, with the community appropriately notified.

I blame casino outrage fatigue for not listening, though it’s really a lousy excuse. City Council members aren’t supposed to gather in large enough numbers to define a quorum — three or more in this case — without public notification of the meeting. Their meeting in Sacramento is most likely a Brown Act violation, though they amended the situation by reporting out the content of the meeting at the subsequent City Council meeting Monday.

I was dismissive of Mr. Gurule’s call, because I’ve grown tired of folks on both sides finding ways to pick pick pick at their opponents and trying to get the newspaper involved. I’ve also been made increasingly aware by our readership that most folks out there don’t care about the squabbling, just the results.

But while this particular Brown Act violation was fairly mild — they were just there to receive information, it appears, not to plan anything — there are potential serious repercussions when this happens. What other meetings could have taken place in Sacramento without our knowledge? Could there have been strategy sessions to deal with opposition to one project? Could they have discussed dumping the city’s agreement with one tribe or the other? These are all potential discussion subjects that are obligated to happen in public.

So I apologize for letting my frustration with the nature of this debate cloud my perception about what is happening in Sacramento. Gurule was absolutely right to be concerned and I appreciate his call, in retrospect.

Desert Dispatch on Barstow's Brown Act Violations

Desert Dispatch on Barstow's Brown Act Violations

Jason Smith, staff writer for the Desert Dispatch covered the September 17 Regular Meeting of the Barstow City Council Meeting. The night was highly focused on Indian gaming due in part because of the timing on the Barwest Compacts dying their last and final death at midnight that same night.

Item # 31 on the Agenda was a lame attempt by four members of the Council to "cure" and clean up their Brown Act Violation from meeting with Cynthia Bryant, Legislative Analysis Assistant for Governor Schwarzenegger. The Council got in a heated debate before I spoke on the subject.

During my comments I brought up the immense Conflict of Interest that they all have and that combined with the Brown Act Violations caused me to file a Complaint with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit earlier that same day. At the end of the meeting, Jason was asking me about the complaint and I gave him a copy of the Complaint I had filed. On the next day, Tuesday, Jason wrote the following article which was scheduled to run in Wednesday's paper.




September 18, 2007 - 5:21PM

Council accused of violating Brown Act over casino meeting Citizen files legal complaint; council reveals details of gathering

By JASON SMITH, staff writer BARSTOW — At its Monday meeting, the City Council disclosed that members held a closed-door meeting earlier this month about the Big Lagoon/Los Coyotes casino compacts, leading some to believe that the council violated California’s open meeting law.

While attending the League of California Cities Conference on Sept. 6., four council members met with Cynthia Bryant, the governor’s deputy chief of staff, who handles Indian gaming issues, to discuss the issues holding back the Barstow casino compacts. City Manager Hector Rodriguez and the city’s Economic Development Manager Ron Rector also attended the meeting. No agenda was posted prior to the meeting as is normally done when more than two council members are present.

Barstow resident and frequent critic of the council, Larry Halstead, announced at the Monday’s council meeting that he had filed a complaint with the Public Integrity Unit of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office. He accused council members of “corruption” and was upset at what he called city lobbying for a private developer.

“We paid you guys to lobby on behalf of your special interests, that’s what this was,” Halstead said.

The Brown Act, the section of state law which governs how government agencies hold public meetings, states that no more than two council members can gather together outside of a scheduled meeting. Three or more council members at the same meeting would constitute a voting majority and is not allowed under the law except when the event is previously placed on a public agenda or under special circumstances.

Council member Joe Gomez, the only member not to attend the conference, said he was disappointed that the council decided to meet as a group.

Gomez said he chose not to attend the conference because he had attended similar events in the past and said he felt the event was “a waste of taxpayer money.” He accused the Mayor Lawrence Dale of leading the council into violating the Brown Act.

“You clearly led this council, which consists of several new members, to violate the Brown act. … You met without posting a meeting. You met behind closed doors and this clearly violates the Brown Act,” he said.

Council member Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre defended the council’s actions saying that the meeting was not pre-planned and was the result of a last-minute scheduling change

“We had 20 minutes to drop everything to see her,” Hackbarth-McIntyre said.

She said that due to the complexity of the issue and differences of opinions among council members, she felt it was important that all members had the same information.

“There was no vote. We just received information. It was very important for all of us to hear what was discussed by Ms. Bryant,” she said.

Hackbarth-McIntyre said that council members were aware they would have to disclose what was discussed.

“We’re here tonight to let everyone else know what was said and done to cure what went on in that meeting,” she said.

City Attorney Yvette Abich said at Monday’s council meeting that the Sacramento meeting should have been handled differently.

“Should an agenda have been posted? Yes. But it wasn’t. But the Brown Act has a mechanism to cure situations like this,” she said.

She pointed out that the Brown Act has a provision that allows for closed door meetings to be disclosed after the fact, “curing” the violation.

Frank Vanella, Deputy District Attorney with the Public Integrity Unit acknowledged that Larry Halstead’s written complaint of the council’s actions had been received and said his office will review the allegations to determine if further investigation is needed.

He said that assuming the violation was not intentional than a warning would be the most likely penalty that council members would receive. He said that though his office did not keep statistics over Brown Act complaints for individual cities, violations were a common occurrence mostly done by officials unfamiliar with the law.

“There’s a history of Brown Act complaints in almost every city and every board,” he said.

Operation Desperate BarWest Media Blitz

HOT OFF THE WIRE
DIRECT FROM
THE PRESS ROOM:

Desperate BarWest, Desperate Politicians Unleash Massive Media Campaign and all out Lobbying Effort

Emails, campaign adds on YouTube, and major lobbying efforts by Mayor Dale, Council Members Hackbarth-McIntire and Silva spreading their distortion, deception, and outright lies in Sacramento. The shameless sell out of our council as the pawns and puppets of BarWest is in full operation.


Here is the Media Coverage of the BarWest’s “Operation Media Blitz and All Out Last Minute Lobbying Campaign”:

INDEX

BarWest/ Los Coyotes ad on YouTube, and select TV markets
The YouTube Video version of the television advertisement

The Desert Dispatch story of 9.5,7
Casino Backers Try Last Minute Effort to Pass Compacts

Business Wire Press Release of 9.5.07
PRESS RELEASE Tribes Fronting for Detroit Billionaires Launch Media Campaign to Urge Passage of Barstow Compacts

TheVerifiableTruth.com Editorial of 9.5.07 and 9.6.07
Who's behind the political ads launched by Detroit-based BarWest in California this week and what's their true motivation?

Billionaire Detroit Casino Syndicators with ties to Las Vegas have launched CA Ad Campaign against Established Gaming Tribes

The Times Standard
Time is Running Out for Barstow Compact by Jessie Faulkner

The San Bernardino Sun
Tribes launch TV campaign for Barstow Casinos

BarWest/ Los Coyotes Commercial
on YouTube, and select TV markets

The Desert Dispatch story of 9.5,7

Casino backers try last minute effort to pass compacts

By JASON SMITH, staff writer With about a week left in the 2007 legislative session, supporters of one proposed off-reservation Indian casino in Barstow are trying one final push to get the state legislature’s approval before the agreements expire.

State senators, Mayor Lawrence Dale, and representatives of the Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes Indian tribes met in Sacramento on Wednesday to announce a renewed effort to lobby legislators to pass the compacts with the tribes to build a casino in Barstow. The compacts, signed by the governor on Sept. 9, 2005, will expire if not passed by Sept. 17.

The supporters have created a 30-second television commercial that will air in the districts of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, and state Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, and in Sacramento. The commercial features Francine Kupsch of the Los Coyotes tribe, who originally starred in a 1998 ad used to support Proposition 5, which expanded Indian gaming in California. The ad blames “rich tribes who own casinos” for the stalling the compacts in the legislature and urges viewers to call the offices of Nuñez and Perata.

“We’ll be taking the issue directly to the public,” said Tom Shields, spokesman for the casino’s developer, BarWest LLC. The tribes and BarWest will pay for the commercial, which will be broadcast during the next week. “It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this,” he said.

Alicia Tross, spokeswoman for Senator Perata’s office, said she doesn’t think the efforts will be successful. “There is just no time left in this session to move the compact,” she said. She said that the senate has a rule that compacts must sit at the senate desk before being taken up for a vote.

Steven Maziglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez’s office, said that the speaker has not decided whether or not to support the compact because the compacts have not reached the Assembly floor.

Shields said that although the deadline will be tight, there is still hope to pass the compacts this year. He said last year at this time the compacts for the TASIN tribes, the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations tribes, passed in one afternoon at the end of the legislative session.

“In Sacramento, where there’s a will there’s a way,” he said.

Nick Medeiros, a lobbyist hired by the city of Barstow, recently wrote a letter to the city of Barstow calling passage of the compacts “doubtful this year. In order for the Barstow casino development to proceed the compacts would have to be approved by Sept. 17 and land for the project would have to be put into federal trust, a lengthy process that is still underway.

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

Business Wire Press Release of 9.5.07

PRESS RELEASE Tribes Fronting for Detroit Billionaires Launch Media Campaign to Urge Passage of Barstow Compacts

Legislators, Environmental & Tribal Leaders Appeal to Legislative Leadership

DETROIT, Michigan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tribal leaders from the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians and Big Lagoon Rancheria today unveiled a media campaign, funded by Detroit billionaires, urging legislative leaders to ratify the Barstow compacts. (Note: the television advertisement unveiled to the news media may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvipfS9MVPo)
Last Fall, the California Fair Political Practices Commission fined the promoters behind this advertising campaign for two counts of violating California's Political Reform Laws when they failed to report a $26,6000 contribution they made to the San Joaquin County GOP Committee in 2004. While compacts for the richest California tribes have been passed by the State Assembly and Senate, there have been no hearings or any consideration of the Barstow compacts. With compacts set to expire on September 17th and only days remaining in the legislative session, the Tribes were left with no option but to make their case directly to Californians.

"My family was used as the face of Indian poverty in the campaign to pass Proposition 5," said Francine Kupsch, Los Coyotes tribal member. "But a decade later, the wealthy tribes are using their gambling dollars to keep poor tribes like the Los Coyotes from having the same opportunity to succeed." [Prop 5 did not approve of off-reservation casinos like those promoted by Detroit billioaire Marian Ilitch].

Opposition from the state’s richest gaming tribes has been a roadblock to the legislature’s timely consideration of the Barstow compacts, preventing even an informational hearing on this issue from occurring. Given the upcoming deadlines, direct action is needed from Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.

"Now is the time for our state’s legislative leadership to stand up and fight for all Indian tribes," said Virgil Moorehead, Chairman of Big Lagoon Rancheria. "The future of our people is truly in the hands of Speaker Nuñez and President Pro Tem Perata. Without your leadership, the environment at Big Lagoon will be jeopardized."

Big Lagoon Rancheria’s homeland is located along the environmentally sensitive Big Lagoon and is one of two remaining naturally functioning coastal lagoons left in California. The lagoon has long been recognized as an important natural habitat area, and the State of California has asserted it has a legitimate interest in protecting it. It was the State of California who asked the Tribe to consider moving its proposed gaming facility elsewhere. As part of the compact agreement, Big Lagoon Rancheria agreed to forgo commercial development at the lagoon.

"This is the last opportunity we have to avoid development on an environmentally sensitive habitat in Humboldt County," said Senator Wiggins." If the legislature doesn’t ratify these compacts, the Big Lagoon Rancheria will have the sovereign right to negotiate for gaming rights on their tribal land."

Signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2005, the Barstow compacts are a model for tribal-state gaming agreements in California. The agreements include: significant revenue sharing for the State of California; provisions for labor unions to organize and bargain collectively; mechanisms for independent audits of casino revenues; and systems to enforcement payments of child support. These provisions have been hailed by legislators, labor unions and good government advocates as positive benefits for the State of California.

The City of Barstow has approved Municipal Services Agreements with both tribes that are expected to generate millions of dollars of revenue for the desert community. The compacts will also generate hundreds of good-paying permanent jobs.

"The compacts represent a tremendous partnership that meets the needs of the Tribes, the community of Barstow and the State of California and we hope legislative leaders will do the right thing to pass the compacts immediately," said Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale.

The Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon have submitted land-into-trust applications to the federal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs is currently preparing a draft environmental impact statement to identify potential environmental impacts of the project. California lawmakers must pass legislation to approve the compacts, the final state step in proceeding with jointly developing the casino resort.

(Note to news media: High Definition versions of the commercial are available. Please contact Toby Allen at 517-372-4400 or tobya@mrgmi.com to request a copy.)
Last Fall, the California Fair Political Practices Commission fined the promoters behind this advertising campaign for two counts of violating California's Political Reform Laws when they failed to report a $26,6000 contribution they made to the San Joaquin County GOP Committee in 2004.
The Barstow Casinos and Resort are designed to capture some of the market of an estimated 60 million cars that travel through the community on their way to and from Las Vegas each year. The projects will support approximately 900 construction jobs and 1,700 full time positions at the casinos. It is expected that the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon tribes will contribute to the local community government yearly and generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the Barstow economy. The Barstow community has lagged behind the state in economic development with more than 35 percent of the residents on public assistance. More than 2,000 local residents signed postcards addressed to the Governor asking him to negotiate the compacts. More information is available at www.barstowcasinosandresort.com.
Posted by Verifiable at 4:37 PM
Labels: Barstow, Barwest, Big Lagoon, California, Compacts Rejected, Lawrence Dale, Los Coyotes, Marian Ilitch

TheVerifiableTruth.com Editorial of 9.5.07

Who's behind the political ads launched by Detroit-based Barwest in California this week and what's their true motivation?

Given the lobbyist representing both the Big Lagoon Rancheria and the City of Barstow reported the last week of August that the Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes gaming compacts were officially dead, it begs the question, who's funding the advertising campaign that was launched on Wednesday seemingly to push for approvals of the two gaming compacts and what's their real motivation.

Is this purely a way for Detroit gambling interests and their Las Vegas partners to help lay the ground work for signature gathering by Labor Unions and Race Track owners to referenda the four gaming compacts that were approved by the legislature this year without having to report the expense as a campaign contribution?

The Detroit Gambling syndicators (Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.) behind the Barstow gaming compacts were fined on two counts in 2006 for earlier violations of California's political reform laws when they failed to report a $26,600 contribution they made late in the 2004 Presidential Election to then Congressman Richard Pombo's County GOP Committee. It is rumored that the same individuals are under investigation yet again by the FPPC for similar charges.

Billionaire Detroit Casino Syndicators with ties to Las Vegas have launched California ad campaign against established gaming tribes


This advertisement is funded by Billionaire Detroit Casino Syndicators who are exploiting Native American interests and trying to get a foot in the lucrative California gaming market.

Last Fall, the California Fair Political Practices Commission fined the promoters behind this advertising campaign for two counts of violating California's Political Reform Laws when they failed to report a $26,6000 contribution they made to the San Joaquin County GOP Committee in 2004.

Mrs. Marian Ilitch (founder of Little Caesars Pizza; family also owns Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings) has previously partnered with Mandalay Resort Group and MGM Mirage. Her casino syndicate partner Michael Malik has partnered with Harrah's. The Michigan Gaming Control Board refused to grant her partner Michael Malik a gaming license in Michigan so now they're trying to break into the California market.


Together they're trying to push an unorthodox proposal to relocate two tribes from opposite ends of the state to a location in Barstow where they plan to develop and manage side-by-side off-reservation Indian Casinos for tribes that have no ancestral ties to the Barstow area.

Ilitch, Malik and their Las Vegas friends have spent millions trying to convince the California legislature to approve their Barstow scheme. They failed the last two years to win any legisaltive support so now they're joining with Labor Unions and Horse Racing Tracks in an attempt to beat up California's homegrown gaming tribes.
Several weeks ago their own lobbyist has already reported that their plans for Barstow casinos are dead in this year's legislature (the second year in a row Ilitch's team has failed to win support).

Time is running out for Barstow compact
Jessie Faulkner/The Times-Standard

Patience and extensive lobbying have not moved the Big Lagoon Rancheria's gaming compact any closer to ratification.

On Wednesday, Rancheria Chairman Virgil Moorehead, representatives from the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, state Sen. Patricia Wiggins, city of Barstow officials and others gathered in Sacramento to launch a media campaign designed to get the attention of legislative leaders.

Under the gaming compact, signed by the governor on Sept. 9, 2005, both the Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes would be allowed to open casinos in Barstow. The arrangement, the first to allow construction of an Indian casino away from tribal lands, would prevent construction of a casino along the shores of Big Lagoon.

Both tribal entities have applications before the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to bring the Barstow land into trust.

The gaming compact is the settlement agreement of Big Lagoon's bad-faith negotiating lawsuit against the state. If the gaming compact is not ratified by Sept. 17, Big Lagoon's chairman has pledged to go back to court.

The campaign will begin today with television ads airing on cable television in Sacramento, Oakland and Los Angeles, according to Big Lagoon spokesman Jason Barnett.

Organizers are hoping the campaign will prompt residents to urge Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata to bring the gaming compact -- Wiggins' Senate Bill 157 -- to the legislative floor for action.

"This is a legislative leadership issue," Barnett said. "If (they) wanted it on floor, they could make it happen."

To date, the bill has not made it out of the rules committee.

"This is the last opportunity we have to avoid development on an environmentally sensitive habitat in Humboldt County,” said Wiggins, who represents the North Coast, in a release. “If the Legislature doesn't ratify these compacts, the Big Lagoon Rancheria will have the sovereign right to negotiate for gaming rights on their tribal land."

During the 2006 legislative session, a bill to ratify the gaming compact -- then sponsored by former state Sen. Wesley Chesbro -- was voted down in the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization, but with the proviso that the item could be brought back.

The primary stumbling block both during both legislative sessions has been opposition from other gaming tribes opposed to the compact's more liberal labor language and the higher-percentage of casino revenues earmarked for the state.

"We're running out of time,” Barnett said, “we're running out of options."

If the gaming compact is not ratified, Moorehead has pledged to build a casino on the tribal land at Big Lagoon. The first step in that process may be alleging that the state negotiated in bad faith.

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

Tribes Launch TV Campaign for Barstow Casinos

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Two California Indian tribes launched an 11th-hour media campaign Wednesday with a televised ad they hope will prompt state Legislators to ratify their gaming compacts so they could build casinos in Barstow.

Big Lagoon Rancheria of Humboldt County and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians in San Diego County negotiated gaming compacts with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2005, but the compacts have remained in limbo ever since.

No hearings on the compacts have been scheduled in Sacramento.

"My family was used as the face of Indian poverty in the campaign to pass Proposition 5," said Los Coyotes tribal member Francine Kupsch, referring to a 1998 televised ad that featured her and her children sitting in their trailer on the reservation, reading a book by oil lamp light. "But a decade later, the wealthy tribes are using their gambling dollars to keep poor tribes like Los Coyotes from having the same opportunity to succeed."

With only a week to go before the 2007 Legislative session ends, the clock is ticking.

Both tribes are hoping a public rallying cry will draw attention to their cause.

If not, the tribes are likely to go their separate ways, with Big Lagoon considering a casino or hotel somewhere on their 20-acre reservation off the Pacific Coast and Los Coyotes continuing its push for a Barstow casino.

Both tribes want to open a joint casino - the Barstow Casinos and Resort - that could pull an estimated 60 million cars traveling to and from Las Vegas to the casino, a venture that could mean millions of dollars in new revenue to Barstow and about 1,700 full-time jobs.

An ad posted on YouTube on Wednesday and expected to run on cable television in the next several days in Sacramento, the Bay Area and in Los Angeles shows a snippet of the 1998 televised ad featuring Kupsch and the message for California voters to "Stand up to the greedy tribes" and to "Call your legislative leaders" to support the tribal fairness bill.

Some gaming tribes including the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians are fighting the move by Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes to build casinos in Barstow, calling it an encroachment on Serrano ancestral lands.

But Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon believe San Manuel and other gaming tribes are more concerned about competition.

San Manuel spokesman Jacob Coin said that while he had not yet seen the YouTube ad or was aware of the news conference the tribes held at the state Capitol, San Manuel's position was still status quo.

Moving so they can have a better market location is just not what we promised the voters would happen," Coin said, referring to Big Lagoon Rancheria, whose reservation lies more than 700 miles northwest of Barstow.

San Manuel also hit a roadblock getting its amended compact ratified this year when the tribe refused to sign a side agreement that would make the compact more palatable to some Assemblymembers.

The compact would allow the tribe to add 7,500 more slot machines to its casino near Highland and would generate $45 million a year in state revenue to start.

Big Lagoon spokesman Jason Barnett said the lack of progress Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes have made in Sacramento in the last two years is an "unfortunate commentary on how much power the big tribes have in Sacramento."

"We've been locked out of the game for months. We can't even get an informational hearing, let alone an up or down vote," Barnett said.

Contact staff writer Joe Nelson at (909) 386-3874 or via e-mail at joe.nelson@sbsun.com

Letter to the Editor, Desert Dispatch - August 30

Letter to the Editor
Desert Dispatch
August 30, 2007

Citizen Oversight and Public Participation

If you read the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, or any of the writings of our founding fathers, the over-riding philosophy was about freedom. Their directive to all future generations of Americans was that freedom isn’t free and the price of freedom is eternal vigilance in protecting those freedoms. Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and all of those freedoms guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, must be preserved through public participation and oversight of their governments at all levels.

Thomas Jefferson said that: “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism!” Ben Franklin urged the people to be protective of your rights at all cost and added that: “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security, deserve neither!” Our founding fathers even advocated a violent revolution to take back the government from tyrannical leaders, which is the motivation for the Second Amendment with the right to bear arms.

Public Participation is the friend of any politician that is trying to do the people’s business. However, when special interest groups like Barwest start buying up influence, politicians like Mayor Dale start viewing public participation as a nuisance and those that disagree with their agenda as the enemy. Thomas Jefferson addressed this issue when he said: "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."

I have had strong differences of opinions with Mayor Dale and his three vote coalition. Top of that list would be Indian Gaming as I am 100% convinced that the Barwest project will never ever succeed. And yet Barwest has bought influence and had some of our local leaders compromise the institutions in the process. They have corrupted our political process and violated our elections.

Whether the issue is economic development, community planning, green energy, youth activities, or environmental concerns such as the Hinkley human sludge threat, I do my research and speak the best educated truth that I can. But those who don’t like what I may have to say have chosen to make personal attacks on me and my family instead of sticking with the facts of the issues involved.

The BarWest Kool-Aid Club is now engaged in an all out campaign to smear me with lies, false accusations, and name calling. Tom Shields is actively involving his local groupies, to spread these lies at City Council meetings and in this forum. Space does not allow me to delve into my response to each and every one of their vicious attacks. But when you see the lies from Robert Vassuer, Charlie Moore, Julie Clemmer, and those that are certain to follow, please know that they are doing the bidding of this outside Detroit developer. You should also know that the truth will be revealed soon enough and the credibility of these attackers will be lost forever in the process.

My definition of treason definitely includes those that would suppress public participation and dissent with financially motivated smear attacks filled with lies. Martin Luther King used to say that: “The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. I would encourage all citizens, Republican and Democrat alike, to become more involved in citizen oversight at all levels of government.

It is imperative that we heed the warning of Thomas Jefferson when he cautioned that: "Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms (of government) those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

Larry D. Halstead, Barstow

Note - Letters to the Editor are available on the paper's website starting the night before they appear in the paper. I have been reading them early there for awhile now. This piece did not show up the night before and as of this post is still not available online. Normally I might consider this a simple oversight but back during the campaign, the paper screwed up all of my advertising and my 'Candidate Responses' to their questions that they posed to all the candidates. The screw ups were so blatant and frequent that it was laughable. What makes this all highly suspect is that the paper has received tens of thousands of dollars from BarWest and their PAC not to mention a small fortune from the City of Barstow. Worse yet, Bea Lint, the Advertising Director for the paper, participated in the BarWest election of Tim Silva and Julie Hackbarth McIntire by secretly serving as their Media Adviser. When I confronted her on this, she claimed that she was dispatched by her editor to do so. The fact that this is a right wing oriented paper only reinforces their motives in always seeming to screw on on anything I submit.