Here is the unpublished opinion in Rohnert Part Citizens to Enforce CEQA v. U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
The tribe at issue is the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. News coverage of this case here, via Pechanga.
gaming
California Valley Miwok Tribe v. Cal. Gaming Commission Petition for Review
Here: California Miwok Petition for Review
Lower court materials here.
Photos and Captions from Hearing in Muskegon on LRBOI Compact
From the Muskegon Chronicle. Click through for the slideshow and captions.
Also, live blogging coverage of the event, also from the Chronicle. Not sure why the updates end before the hearing did.
Video excerpt, starting with Rep. Johnson and Ogema Romenelli.
MI Reg Reform Committee Meeting Now in Muskegon
Supporters of the LRBOI Fruitport casino are testifying now in front of the MI Legislature’s Regulatory Reform Committee at Muskegon Community College. From the site:
9:30 AM
Regulatory Reform
Muskegon Community College James L. Stevenson Center for Higher Education – Room 1100 221 South Quarterline Road Muskegon, MI 49442
Will the Poor Economy Assist Tribes in Fighting National Labor Relations Board Jurisdiction?
Perhaps, given this information, via Indianz:
Foxwoods and the tribe, in their brief, claim that because only a “fraction” of the revenue from Foxwoods is available to the tribe after lenders are paid, a strike at Foxwoods would severely impact the tribe’s ability “to operate a tribal government and function as a sovereign entity.”
The record, however, does not support the claim, Kreisberg writes:
“In this regard, it is undisputed that the Employer (Foxwoods) has annual gross revenues in excess of $1 billion. … Therefore, even if the employer were to face a protracted strike, there is insufficient evidence to establish that it would lack sufficient revenues and/or capital to provide the Tribe’s 900 members, as well as employees and other visitors to the reservation, with any ‘essential’ public services.”
Didn’t Foxwoods just note concern about being able to pay its creditors? What’s in this record?
One Michigan Racino Ballot Proposal Fails to Acquire Enough Signatures
From the Muskegon Chronicle, via Pechanga:
LANSING — A ballot initiative that would have allowed for seven more corporate casinos in Michigan, including one in Muskegon, has failed.
A coalition called Michigan Is Yours, which pushed the casino-expansion proposal, did not turn in the voter signatures needed — more than 380,000 — to make the Nov. 2 ballot by Monday’s deadline, according to state election officials.
The proposal, if approved by voters, would have put in the state Constitution the ability of a company called My-Casino Inc. to establish corporate casinos in seven specific locations — the cities of Muskegon, Lansing, Detroit, Benton Harbor, Flint and Port Huron, along with the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
This failed ballot initiative is not connected to the proposed American Indian casino in Fruitport Township. A tribal casino does not require a vote of the people, but the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians needs several approvals of state and federal officials before the tribe’s proposed casino development can be built at the former Great Lakes Downs racetrack site.
Continue reading
Testimony in Mich. House Committee Hearing on Little River Band Off-Rez Gaming Proposal
Intertribal Fight in Michigan over Little River Off-Rez Casino Proposal
From the K’zoo Gazette via Pechanga:
FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP — A top official of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is lashing back at other Indian tribes, accusing them of delaying a proposed Fruitport Township casino to choke off potential competition for their casinos.
“We understand other casino interests do not want competition, but don’t delay jobs for the Muskegon region. Don’t delay revenues to the state School Aid Fund,” said Robert Memberto, commerce director for the Little River Band, which wants to build a casino at the former Great Lakes Downs race track.
He accused the other tribes of “throwing all kinds of minutiae to delay, delay and delay this project.”
Memberto delivered his plea last week to the House Regulatory Reform Committee in Lansing, which is deciding on a resolution that would pave the way for a Fruitport Township casino.
Leaders from three other tribes — the Gun Lake Tribe, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi — testified against the Little River Band proposal. They claimed that state approval of a casino in Fruitport Township would break an agreement that tribes in Michigan would not pursue off-reservation gambling unless all the tribes agreed. They also suggested that the authority of taking land into trust for off-reservation casinos rests with the U.S. Department of Interior, not state leadership.
Oklahoma State Trial Court Has Honored Federal Injunction in Eastern Shawnee Case
Yesterday, July 2, according to Michael McBride. Here is the federal injunction at issue:
Judgment Confirming Arbitration Award in Favor of ESTOO 07-01.
Federal Court Squarely Enjoins Oklahoma Courts from Exercising Jurisdiction over Tort Claims under Compact
Here is Tuesday’s judgment in the Chickasaw/Choctaw case: 2010-06-29 (38) Judgment.
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