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California Band Goes to Washington

CALIFORNIA – As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle: "The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians will come before Congress today hoping to keep alive the best chance of building a slot-machine casino in the heart of the East Bay, even as the same political body which lifted the tribe's fortunes long ago now sits poised to deal it a devastating blow.

"The appearance of tribal chairwoman Marjie Mejia before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs this morning -- which will unfold under the skeptical gazes of some of America's most powerful politicians -- will cap five halting, tumultuous years in which the tribe has moved ever closer to creating the first truly urban gambling emporium in California, only to come up just shy each time.

"…Today, the unusual underpinnings of the gambling deal made last year between the tribe and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to bring a 2,500-slot machine casino a mile from Interstate 80 in San Pablo will fall under direct attack from U.S Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is looking to advance a bill that would essentially dismantle it.

"At an informational hearing on her bill, U.S. Rep. George Miller, D- Martinez -- who five years ago helped the tribe secure land and the casino bargaining rights that came with it -- will find himself defending the intent of his long-ago legislation. Miller's bill restored land to the Lyttons -- who decades ago were stripped of a federally recognized patch in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley -- by turning a modest card club in San Pablo owned by the tribe into federally recognized Indian land.

"…Far more is at stake today than congressional egos. The Senate committee may only be weighing whether to advance Feinstein's bill, which would look to only affect the legal standing of the Lyttons' San Pablo land. But the bill's fate will determine whether truly urban casino gambling will be allowed to take root in California, likely for years to come.

"….The deal also includes unprecedented pledges to share up to 25 percent of the casino's revenue with the state, and address local impacts -- including traffic -- to the extent possible. But despite a lengthy lobbying push backed by organized labor, the pact has long sat hamstrung in Sacramento, with efforts to downsize the casino to 2,500 slots failing to dislodge it.

"Schwarzenegger has continued to back the compact, even while stipulating that he fashioned a compact only because Miller's legislation required him to do so and calling the congressional act a mistake…"

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