The Cowlitz gambling syndicate—Seattle developer David Barnett and the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, together with their legal and public relations team—has dropped its effort to stuff the contents of the Cowlitz Tribe’s now-invalid Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Clark County into a federal gaming ordinance.
The announcement last Friday came just three days before the National Indian Gaming Commission was scheduled to release a decision on the proposal.
Top officials with the U.S. Department of the Interior had asked the tribe to find a better solution, because that plan would have taken enforcement of local provisions out of local hands and placed it under federal control.
According to a front-page story in the Oct. 7 Columbian, the tribe plans to “submit ‘a refined and strengthened’ plan but offered no specifics as to what form that plan would take” or when it would appear.
The Cowlitz gambling syndicate needs the contents of the MOU for three reasons: The MOU contained the county’s pledge to provide services, such as water and law enforcement, to the proposed casino site; the MOU was an integral part of the casino-resort’s Environmental Impact Statement, which is under review; and federal decision-makers look to the existence of MOUs as an important indicator of local support.
Reporter Jeff Mize’s story, which is based entirely on the statement released Friday and the contents of earlier stories, included a dig at the casino’s opposition, saying, “Wealthy business interests, the Grand Ronde Tribe of Oregon and the La Center cardrooms are spending millions of dollars to create bureaucratic and litigation roadblocks for the Cowlitz Tribe and the people of Clark County.”
Had Mize sought reaction from another source, such as an opposition group, he might have added that groups such as CARS are striving to block this project but not to cause harm to the Cowlitz Tribe or to Clark County. The goal of CARS is to protect the quality of life in this area. (See "Why you should care" on our Web site.)
The biggest roadblock the Cowlitz Tribe is experiencing is the gambling syndicate’s insistence on pursuing a reservation and casino at the La Center junction—close to the lucrative Portland market—rather than in the tribe’s aboriginal homeland in Lewis County.
>> Read about the alternate site idea.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
For more information, check out the CARS Web site:
Who’s behind the proposed casino project?
Many of CARS’ stories about this casino proposal describe it as the work of “the Cowlitz Tribe.” But every time we attribute it to “the Tribe,” we wince.
The casino project is being driven by the Salishan-Mohegan partnership, which includes:
+ the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (49.15 percent)
+ David Barnett (Salishan Co.), son of the late tribal Chairman John Barnett (sharing 43 percent with the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians)
+ the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, California (sharing 43 percent with David Barnett)
+ the Mohegan Tribe, Connecticut (7.85 percent)
According to the development agreement, the partnership would receive fees equal to 3 percent of total project costs. The management agreement states that Salishan-Mohegan would manage, operate and maintain the casino-resort for seven years and earn 24 percent of annual net revenues.
We want to be clear: CARS is critical of the casino proposal and the way it has been pursued. Beyond its involvement in the casino, we have no issue with the Cowlitz Tribe.
The casino project is being driven by the Salishan-Mohegan partnership, which includes:
+ the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (49.15 percent)
+ David Barnett (Salishan Co.), son of the late tribal Chairman John Barnett (sharing 43 percent with the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians)
+ the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, California (sharing 43 percent with David Barnett)
+ the Mohegan Tribe, Connecticut (7.85 percent)
According to the development agreement, the partnership would receive fees equal to 3 percent of total project costs. The management agreement states that Salishan-Mohegan would manage, operate and maintain the casino-resort for seven years and earn 24 percent of annual net revenues.
We want to be clear: CARS is critical of the casino proposal and the way it has been pursued. Beyond its involvement in the casino, we have no issue with the Cowlitz Tribe.
About CARS
Citizens Against Reservation Shopping (CARS) is a group of Clark County, Wash., citizens formed in June 2005 and led by longtime Vancouver businessman and civic leader Edward Lynch.
CARS opposes the Cowlitz Tribe's plan to build a casino in Clark County in part because it objects to the practice of "reservation shopping." This is the practice of selecting an ideal casino site and then working to have it given reservation status.