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WE'RE GOING TO COURT!! HELP US REACH OUR
GOAL OF $10,000 BY DECEMBER 31, 2011! DONATE TODAY!
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DONATE TO OUR LEGAL FUND TODAY!! This casino can be stopped with our strategic litigation (read more below), but we can't do it without your
help!
Click on the PayPal "Donate" button to donate using PayPal's Secure Server and get an instant
receipt. PLEASE GIVE AS GENEROUSLY AS YOU CAN! You can use your PayPal account
or your debit or credit card. It's safe, fast and easy!
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To donate with a check or money
order, make checks payable to "Stop the Casino 101 Legal Fund", and mail them to
Stop the Casino 101 Coalition
979 Golf Course Drive, Box 170
Rohnert Park CA 94928
"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
| Courtesy of Steve Rustad |
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| http://steve-rustad.petaluma360.com |
NOW WE MOVE ON TO THE SECOND PHASE OF
OUR LEGAL STRATEGY - A DOUBLE WHAMMY! Just like our lawsuit delayed the land to trust decision for
two and half years, we once again can bring this project to a complete stop - and
ultimately, this time, defeat it once and for all!!
Whammy #1: The Land
to Trust Case: Neither the lower court nor the appeals court ruled on the substantive issue of
who controls Indian land in California. All the courts said was that we had brought our lawsuit too early, and had to wait
until the Department of the Interior had actually taken the land into trust and the management contract had been approved.
At that point, we could come back to the court, and that is what we now plan to do. 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.
WHAMMY #2: The Environmental Challenge:
A lawsuit to challenge the casino's Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) upon the issuance of the Record
of Decision (ROD) by the NIGC. Because the FEIS is fatally flawed in several major issue areas, including critical habitat
for an endangered species and sewer and wastewater issues, a legal challenge to this FEIS is not only a good thing to do,
it's the right thing to do. We cannot allow a Las Vegas developer to come into our beautiful Sonoma County and rape the environment.
A well-mounted legal
challenge to the FEIS will take years to resolve in the courts, and most likely will prevent the federal government from approving
the management contract between the FIGR and their money-men, Station Casinos, Inc. of Las Vegas. No contract would mean that
Station Casinos cannot do business with the FIGR to build and manage a casino. That's a good thing!
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Please Give to Our Legal Fund Today! |
Whether or not we'll become a gambling destination or keep all that
we love about Sonoma County is going to play out in the courtroom. And you can be a Player! You can stop the mammoth
casino planned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and their Las Vegas partner, Station Casinos. Don't give till
it hurts, but please give as much as you can. Every little bit helps! We're a grassroots group, not a corporation. If you would rather give cash, please contact us, and
we'll arrange to pick it up and give you a receipt. Can't give money? Give your time!
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Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA
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