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BREAKING NEWS!!
New York State, Madison County, NY and Oneida County, NY, and the towns of Vernon and Verona have all filed lawsuits challenging the right of the Secretary of the Interior to remove land from the state's sovereign control
in order to place the land into trust for a Native American tribe. The language in the NY lawsuits are often identical
to the language in our lawsuit. Our lawsuit against Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and various BIA officials, was filed in federal court on Friday, June 6, 2007, in the matter
of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria land to trust decision. The Plaintiffs to date are Stop the Casino 101 Coalition and a number of private
citizens. Attorney for the Petitioners is Stephan C. Volker. The lawsuit essentially challenges the right of the federal government to remove land from California's sovereign
control, and cites California's unique history with regard to Native American federal trust lands. Read more..... What you can do....Press coverage....
| Satellite View of Casino Site (in Green) |
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| Sonoma Sunshine |
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| Photo by Grace Emery |
| CLICK PIC TO JOIN! |
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Opposition to the Graton casino is increasing
daily. Every day, more people sign up on our web site, and every day, a new group steps
forward. Among those who have joined our efforts and have voiced their opposition are homeowner organizations,
medical professionals, teachers of all grade levels, high school students, college professors and college students, people
of all political persuasions from Conservatives to Progressives to Greens and everything in between, Labor, elected officials
from both sides of the aisle, LGBTand straight, people of every conceivable religious persuasion and every ethnic group.
Opposition to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria casino is truly a cross-section of Sonoma County. JOIN US NOW!
| CLICK ON PIC for GREEN INFO |
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| Artwork by Molly Eckler www.mollyeckler.com |
READ
THE FACTS BEHIND THE GRATON RANCHERIA! Discover
the history of the Graton Rancheria and review actual historical documents dating back almost 100 years! |
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| Large Vernal Pool on Casino Site |
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Who We Are...
STOP THE
CASINO 101 COALITION (STC101) is a non-sectarian,
multi-cultural group founded in in August, 2003, by long-time Rohnert Park resident Chip Worthington and hundreds (now
thousands) of concerned Sonoma County citizens, in response to plans by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to build a massive, 760,000 square foot Las Vegas-style urban casino on the outskirts of town, in one of the most environmentally-sensitive
areas possible - what is arguably one of the last, large continuous pieces of vernal wetlands in Sonoma County.
The proposed casino would be located midway between the two largest urbanized areas in Sonoma County: Santa Rosa and Petaluma.
The sensitive vernal wetlands habitat which forms the headwaters of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, a rare vernal lake, and includes 180 acres of Community Separator
which pass out of the control of Sonoma County residents if the land is placed into trust for the tribe. A large
sewage treatment plant is planned for this Community Separator land, one that would be adjacent to over 300 homes.
The newly-configured "Wilfred Site" is zoned Rural Residential and Agricultural, not Commercial, as FIGR Chairman Greg Sarris claims. In fact, within several dozen yards of the site,
there are over 600 residential units, and another approximately 500 only a few blocks away, with thousands in the
town of Rohnert Park..
Federal policy allows Indian casinos to ignore all local zoning and planning. These
neighborhood casinos are outside the jurisdiction of state and local government and law enforcement. They create "islands
of non-jurisdiction", making it virtually impossible for communities to address the changes - and problems - casinos
create.
Although it once seemed that there was little a town could do to protect itself from these huge casinos,
the tide has begun to turn and now, everyday people, along with local, state and federal officials, are taking a stand to
stop the spread of Las Vegas gambling into their hometowns. In city after city and county after county, people are standing
up to demand an end to urban casinos. STC101, working in conjunction with other pro-community groups in the area, has successfully mounted a vigorous campaign of protest and public education. STC101 has been able to expand
its efforts to the regional, state and national level, and we will continue our efforts to stop the construction of a "monster
casino" on the outskirts of Rohnert Park.
We're in it for the long run.
| New Casino Site Looking North from Labath Avenue |
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| Non-Stop Casino Traffic? Click on Photo for More Info |
| Casino Site |
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| Vernal Pool |
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| Click Pic for Green Info |
| Sonoma Mountain |
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| CLICK ON PICTURE FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS |
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Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA
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