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11/28/08

JIV sues Caltrans

The JIV decided that they did not want to comply with environmental standards and instead opted to go with a Class II facility. Recently they have also decided that they are unwilling to comply with CEQA standards and are suing Caltrans. The suit alleges that Caltrans is meddling since they are requiring that the JIV comply with the regulations that apply to any entity that attempts to connect to a state highway. View a copy of the suit submitted here.

SDG&E steps into the fray

SDG&E has been working to develop a substation in Jamul - near Simpson's nursery. SDG&E claims that this is necessary to reduce the power outages in Jamul. Simultaneously they are seeking to develop a power line from Rancho San Diego to Jamul to address the power needs of the proposed JIV casino. Of course once the substation gets built in Jamul they will then "re-evaluate" the situation to determine if the power line is warranted. Sounds like a situation where they are going to foist an unneeded substation to cover the needs for the proposed casino and charge us for the unneeded facility. Read more about SDG&E here.

Other new things to look at:

  • New articles and references in the "In the News" area. Check under "Other" for some new sources
  • LACO SEC filings since 2005. Check Stakeholders > LACO > SEC Filings
  • Updated crime statistics. Check Issues > Crime

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A Quick History - The Jamul Indian Village became a recognized tribe in 1982 with 23 members. The Village site of 4 acres was given in deed by the Daley family, owners of Rancho Jamul, to five families living on the site in 1978.  The Jamul Indian Village is not, nor ever was given reservation status. In 1992 the tribe and Stations Casinos proposed a ten story casino on the four acre site. Several tribal members opposed the casino project and were dis-enrolled from the tribe and lost their voting rights. The old tribal hall was burned down by angry members who wanted the casino.

The Jamul Action Committee called public meetings and began a lengthy fight in opposition to the Stations Casinos project. Stations Casinos spent $1,000,000 in a land swap with Otay Water District to obtain the land adjacent to the Village, where the fire station sits, for ingress and egress. In 1996, following continued opposition to the project, Stations Casinos withdrew. In 1998, the Stations Casinos organization deeded the parcel to the Jamul Indian Village. This parcel is not in Trust but held fee simple and subject to the County’s zoning. In 1999, the Jamul Indian Village and Lakes Gaming announced an aggressive plan to acquire and put into trust 101 acres adjacent to the four acre Jamul Indian Village. With the acquisition of the 101 acres, the proposed 30 story casino/hotel complex was to incorporate the entire property.

The Jamul Action Committee met and formed a sub-committee called Jamulians Against the Casino and organized community opposition to the proposal. To date, the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs has not approved the taking of the 101 acres into trust.

In 2002, Jamulians Against the Casino took a vote of the community to determine the opposition to a casino in Jamul. Ballots were sent to all the registered voters in Jamul. The ballots were opened and counted by an independent accounting firm. The count showed that 97% of the Jamul residents were opposed to the casino project. A public hearing was held in 2003 in El Cajon for the environmental impacts of the proposal and acquisition of the 101 acres drew over 1000 people opposed to the casino.

New Game Plan - In early 2006, the Jamul Indian Village and Lakes Gaming announced that they would move forward and develop the existing 4.66 acre site with the planned casino/hotel in two phases. The adjacent 1.54 acres held by the tribe has an easement granted to the Roman Catholic Bishop for access to the .84 acres which is the Indian Cemetery still held in deed to the Roman Catholic Bishop.

JAC/Community of Jamul Reaction - If the tribe/Lakes Gaming decides to go forward, than the community will begin the appropriate steps to stop any proposed construction.

Where we are today - Even though the current tribal faction has begun drilling and grading the site, JAC will continue to fight.

It has been over a year since the Jamul Tribe evicted Walter Rosales and Karen Toggery. The overriding reason for the evictions was for the construction of their long awaited casino. Looking back we see no progress towards a casino - only increased disharmony in the community. Since that time we've experienced the following:

  • Deceit by the San Diego County Sheriff's department and a subsequent whitewashing of the incident.
  • Lack of support by the San Diego County District Attorney
  • Leon Acebedo removed as the tribal chairman and is now an Executive Director of California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
  • Bill Mesa being selected as the new tribal chairman
  • Passage of Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97
  • Bill Mesa tragically dies in a motorcycle accident
  • Kenny Meza named chairman

Despite all of these negatives there has been NO meaningful movement on the development of a casino. During that same period we've also experienced:

  • The transition to a Class II facility due to their inability to provide an adequate EIR
  • The inability of the tribe to obtain an Encroachment Permit from Caltrans.
    • Any Encroachment Permit will require a completed Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which requires public commentary as well as taking one to three years for review.
    • This has led to the "road to nowhere" - the driveway the tribe has built that Caltrans has already stated cannot be used for patron traffic. This was developed with the intent of telling stockholders that construction had "begun".
  • The collapse of the stock price of the corporate backer Lakes Entertainment (LACO).
    • 1/1/07 LACO stock was at $10.85
    • 1/1/08 LACO stock was at $6.92 (a drop of 36.2%)
    • 3/11/08 LACO stock was at $4.10 (a drop of 62.2%)
  • Continuing litigation involving:
    • The beneficial owners of the parcels associated with the Indian Village
    • The legitimacy of the current Tribal government
    • Violations of NAGPRA

Other recent posts include the following: