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Gold/Mining/Energy : Int'l Thunderbird Gaming (INB) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lwk who wrote (558)	8/17/1999 9:33:00 AM
From: lwk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 603

Indians renew efforts to get wagering pacts The tribes are also considering a new gambling initiative By Onell R. Soto The Press-Enterprise Mark Macarro, the tribal chairman who embodied the Indian gambling ballot initiative on TV, is back on the air, and he's not happy. "Sadly, the dream of Indian self-reliance is still being blocked by big Nevada casinos," the Pechanga leader says in a television ad that started airing statewide this week. Macarro, of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians near Temecula, and fellow tribal leaders are trying to get Gov. Davis to sign off on casino agreements in the next 2 « weeks, before the state Supreme Court rules on a pair of lawsuits challenging gambling initiative Prop. 5, approved by state voters last November. "If we could arrive at a compact prior to the Supreme Court ruling we could preserve as much of Prop. 5 as possible," Macarro said Wednesday. "That was our incentive, that remains our incentive." That's putting the cart before the horse, said Cheryl Schmit, of Stand up for California, a coalition of groups opposed to unregulated gambling. "Prop. 5 should be decided and then the governor should negotiate a fair compact," she said. Davis' office would not provide an update on negotiations nor comment on the ad campaign. Prop. 5 has been blocked since Dec. 2. If found constitutional, it would enact a tribal-state agreement authorizing continued operation of more than 40 Indian casinos in California. Without it, the U.S. Department of Justice will seek to shut down the casinos, saying they are operating without permission. In arguments before the state Supreme Court, opponents of Prop. 5 say it would deny local communities the right to deal with casino-related problems, such as traffic congestion and pollution. Prop. 5 supporters say voters knew what they were doing and agreed to protect sovereignty over tribal lands. A decision is due by Aug. 30. In the meantime, tribes are negotiating with retired federal Judge William A. Norris, who is working on behalf of Davis. "We've had some fruitful discussions," Macarro said. Gambling tribes are also taking another step in their efforts to keep their video machines, bingo parlors and card games going: They are going to the voters again. Thursday, California Secretary of State Bill Jones approved the language of a ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution by exempting tribal casinos from a ban on gambling in the state. It would also reinstate Prop. 5 if it is thrown out by the state Supreme Court. The tribes must collect 670,816 signatures in its support to put it on the March 7 ballot. They have shown they have the power -- and money -- to do that in getting Prop. 5 on last March's ballot. Cathy Christian, a lawyer for the No on 5 campaign, said the new ads could be the beginning of the campaign for the March elections. "They spent record amounts of money to ensure gambling casinos for a very small number of tribal members," she said. "They obviously didn't spend it all." Nine tribes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have gambling operations. Onell R. Soto can be reached by e-mail at onellsoto@aol.com, by fax at (202) 478-0462, or by phone at (202) 246-9249. Published 8/12/1999