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Gorge Casino Plan
Dealt Blow by Interior Department May 20, 2005 Interior Department Deals Blow To Casino Plan By BRAD CAIN Associated Press Writer SALEM, Ore. - The federal Interior Department on Friday temporarily blocked a proposal by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to build a casino in Cascade Locks, but left open the possibility that it will approve the deal later. The agency's decision comes more than a month after the tribes and Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed an agreement setting out the terms for a casino in the community located in the scenic Columbia River Gorge. What do you think? The department said granting approval now would be premature because the tribes have not yet purchased the property where the casino would be built. "Only after the tribes have acquired the Cascade Locks land into trust, will the department consider the terms and conditions of a timely submitted compact," the department said in a letter to Kulongoski. However, the department left open the possibility it would approve the casino proposal in the future. "The department is encouraged by the prospects that there is a foundation for mutual agreement on these issues at some point in the future," the letter said. If the deal goes through, it will be the first tribal casino on nontribal land in Oregon. Residents of the fading Columbia River town hope the casino will reverse an outgoing tide of businesses, people, money and services. And the tribes say they need the revenues that a casino only 45 minutes from Portland would give them. Their present casino is located well off the beaten path on their reservation in Central Oregon. But there has been vocal opposition to the proposal. Environmentalists say they fear that the 3 million tourists a year the casino could generate will pollute the air and cause traffic problems. Opponents of the casino have also argued that it would encourage other tribes to seek to build their own casinos on nontribal land. Article: http://www.katu.com/stories/77281.html Video: http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/050520casino_halted_630pm.wvx DOI Letter: DOI-050520.pdf Also see: 5/5/05 - Gorge and Florence Groups to File New Lawsuits against Casino Compacts - Representatives of two citizen's groups, one from Florence and one from Cascade Locks, along with their attorney, Kelly Clark, of O'Donnell & Clark LLP in Portland, announced new legal strategies and actions they are taking concerning the planned casinos in their respective communities. (Background) |
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