Newspaper calls on California lawmakers to reject compacts for the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Enterprise Rancheria:
Indian gambling in California has exploded well beyond the "modest increase" voters were promised when they approved casino gambling just 13 years ago. While most casinos are still in remote locations, a new push by tribes to purchase additional land at lucrative freeway locations threatens to kick off a whole new Indian casino land rush. The Legislature should reduce that threat by rejecting a pair of ill-conceived gambling compacts. As The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall reported on Sunday, two tribes, the Enterprise Rancheria near Marysville and the North Fork Rancheria near Fresno, won approval from President Barack Obama's interior secretary last year to acquire land more than 30 miles from their original reservations. Gov. Jerry Brown unwisely concurred in that decision and has negotiated gambling compacts with the tribes. The Enterprise Indians seek to build their new gambling hall just off Highway 65 in Yuba County next to the Sleep Train Amphitheatre. The North Fork Indians want to build a casino on Highway 99, about 25 miles north of downtown Fresno.Get the Story:
Editorial: Obama, Brown allow tribes to engage in reservation shopping (The Sacramento Bee 4/18)
Related Stories
California tribes lobby lawmakers on
off-reservation casinos (4/15)
Join the Conversation
