"The Battle of Jamul, probably the fiercest fight ever involving an Indian casino proposed for rural San Diego County, is on again. Encouragingly, it began with what might be considered a peace offering. But it probably won’t bring peace.

Representatives of the Jamul Indian Village turned up at a meeting of the Jamul-Dulzura Community Planning Group last week, announcing that the tribe is resurrecting plans to build a casino on its 6-acre “so-called reservation” – as county Supervisor Dianne Jacob referred to it in an interview – just off state Route 94 in East County.

That announcement officially reignited a fight that dates to 1999, when the tribe proposed a 12-story, $350 million casino/hotel project, setting off a firestorm in the community of roughly 6,100 people, most of whom feared the casino would pose a threat to groundwater supplies, would produce more traffic on that narrow, winding and dangerous stretch of Route 94 and, most importantly, would mean the loss of their rural lifestyle."

Get the Story:
Editorial: THE CHARACTER OF A COMMUNITY AT STAKE (UT San Diego 2/20)

Related Stories:
Jamul Band to scale back plans for casino on the reservation (2/16)