Proposed Casino, courtesy of Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Capeno
Barstow may have a ritzy new casino opened up, operated by the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Capeno Indians, from San Diego County! The U.S. Department of the Interior released a draft Environmental Impact Report for the casino earlier in July.
The tribe’s reservation is located 160 miles away, nestled on remote, rocky terrain near Warner Springs in San Diego’s North County. The 328-member tribe is one of the poorest reservations in the country, and less than 20 percent of its members live on the reservation because of low employment opportunities. Their fortunes may change with the hopes of the new casino, a casino which they’ve been planning for at least 10 years!
One of the hardest obstacles for the tribe was to have the federal government agree to hold the land in trust for the tribe. In 2008, the Department of Interior denied the tribe’s application, saying that the plot was too far from the tribe’s home reservation and that it too many tribal members would have to move off the reservation to work at the casino. Their luck seems to be changing, but they still have to prove to the federal government that the project is in the best interest of the reservation.
The City of Barstow is endorsing to the project, being that it will be receiving about 4.3 percent of the casino’s revenue.
The proposed $160 million casino would include about 57,000 square feet of gaming space and 1,325 slot machines, according to the tribe. It would have a 100-room hotel, conference space and other amenities. The project would create over 1,000 construction jobs and about 820 permanent jobs at the casino, according to the tribe.
An article in the Desert Dispatch highlighted a message from the Assistant Fire Sal Carrao, who said “fireworks are dangerous because they hurt people, cause fires, and hurt people’s property … we also don’t want to see children get hurt and that’s the bottom line.” Carrao also reported that about 20 pounds of illegal fireworks [...]
Investigators from the Environmental Protection Agency have zeroed in on the source of the perchlorate water contamination that plagued Barstow a few months ago. The substance, used often in pyrotechnics (i.e. fireworks) was traced to a residence at 30433 Poplar Lane, right off Old Highway 58.
The property belongs to the now deceased former owner of [...]
