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"Stop the Casino 101 Coalition is an incredibly impressive
grass-roots group. Their ability to research the complex legal and technical issues presented by the proposed casino,
to communicate clearly the implications of the casino if it were to be built, and to develop strategies to oppose the casino,
make them indispensible to the fight to stop the casino." Michael Healy, Attorney & Petaluma Councilmember-elect
We'll fight the fight, but we need your support! Fighting the Rohnert Park casino proposed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria will require TWO seperate legal actions: one to challenge the land to trust decision, and one to challenge the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) due to be released in approximately late Summer.
The land to trust lawsuit was filed on June
6, 2008, in the Ninth District Federal Court, against Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
and individual BIA officials. The challenge to the EIS cannot be filed until the Final EIS is approved by the National
Indian Gaming Commission.
STC101'S LAWSUIT STOPPED
LAND TO TRUST DECISION IN ITS TRACKS!! The decision by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to place 254 acres outside Rohnert Park into trust for the Federated Indians
of Graton Rancheria was put hold for two and half years by the lawsuit we filed in the federal court on June 6,
2008. Ultimately, the courts ruled that we had brought our lawsuit too early, and would have to come back after the
land was taken into trust and the management contract between Station Casinos and the FIGR was approved by the National
Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). The site placed into trust
on October 1, 2010. The Record of Decision by the NIGC was issued, we believe, on or about October 5, 2010, cleared
the way for the approval of the management contract. Our contention is that Our core argument is that when
California was admitted to the Union, the United States government transferred its sovereignty over all the land within the
state's borders to the new State of California. We contend, and the Supreme Court of the United States agrees, that the federal
government cannot now remove land from the state's sovereign control. This can only be done if our state cedes sovereignty
over the land through due process.
So even though the Rohnert Park casino site has been taken into trust, we contend
that the land remains under California jurisdiction and California law and is also subject to local land use laws. Under California
law, Class III gambling is not allowed. Under local land use laws, the casino project is non-conforming.
We intend to try to stop this federal land grab and assert California's sovereignty over the land within its borders. We'll
be back in court in the near future to make that happen, and we'll also be in court on the fatally flawed Environmental Impact
Statement, including the threat to the critical habitat of Sonoma County's endangered California Tiger Salamander.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Take Action! Call, write or fax Boxer, Feinstein and Woolsey! Start a letter writing campaign with your friends - go viral with
your email lists.
Support the Litigation!
DONATE to our Legal Fund, 'cause the casino cartel has lots of meny, and attorneys ain't free, folks!! We
have to raise money for this lawsuit and for the upcoming challenge to the environmental impact statement due to be released
this Summer.
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Hold a Fund Raiser!
Host a B-B-Q
for ten or twenty of your friends, co-workers and family. Tell them that it will be a FUNd raiser (emphasis on
FUN), and ask that they donate $10 to $20 or more either per person, per couple or per family. You'll have fun while
you're raising money to keep the casino out of our community.
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Hold a Garage Sale! Get a few of your neighbors and family together and hold
a multi-family garage sale. A great way to raise funds, and all it takes is one morning and a bunch of stuff you
really needed to get rid of!
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Hold a Bake Sale! Who doesn't like homemade goodies? Break out that Snickerdoodle
recipe, and get your family together to bake and have fun! Local merchants will usually let you place a table outside
their stores If you'd like to hold bake sale, but don't know where to locate it, contact us and we'll try to help.
Spread the Word!
Talk to your friends ad co-workers about this monstrous casino that the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria want to build
in our community, and tell them what we're doing to stop it.. Let them know that it's never been a done deal.
Tell them about our web site, and encourage them to sign up for our emails. It's free, there's no obligation, and their privacy is is 100% guaranteed.
WHO IS STEPHAN VOLKER? Here's a sampling of just some of our attorney's wins.
2004 - "Environmental Groups Victorious as Department of Energy Withdraws Approval of Contested Bio-Warfare
Agent Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory" Attorney: Stephan Volker 2005 - "Court
Overturns Coastal Commission Approval of Luers Project in Davenport" Attorney: Stephan Volker 2006
- "Environmental Group Settles Suit to Stop Point Molate Casino" Attorney: Stephan Volker 2007-
"Supreme Court Rules Against EPA's Refusal to Regulate Global Warming" Attorney: Stephan Volker 2008
- "Richmond Casino Pact Ruled Illegal" Attorney: Stephan Volker From
www.volkerlaw.com: "Our clients include Sierra Club, Golden Gate Audubon Society, Friends of the Russian
River, Save Medicine Lake Coalition, Sierra Buttes/Lakes Basin Coalition, League to Save Sierra Lakes, Friends of the Santa
Clara River, Friends of the River, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Northcoast Environmental Center,
Marin Audubon Society, Desert Protection Council, North Cascades Conservation Council, California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance, Tri-Valley CARES, and various local governments and citizens' groups throughout California. "Our
lawyers argue before state and federal courts in California and other Western states. Mr. Volker is certified to practice
before the United States Supreme Court. Suits brought by Volker Law Offices have led to the promulgation by the EPA of urgently
needed water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ecosystem, preparation of comprehensive
management plans to protect the six Wild and Scenic Rivers within the Ozark National Forest, development of a comprehensive
management plan for the North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, protection of Puget Sound waters
from salmon farm pollution, prevention of new water diversions in the Sierra Nevada that would dewater High Sierra lakes and
harm downstream fish habitat, and comprehensive revision of the General Plans of El Dorado and Riverside Counties.
"
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Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA
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