|
Opposition to casino in Wilsonville, Oregon
- 8/25/08 - Is there a big casino in
French Prairie's future?
A megacasino just south of the Willamette River on Oregon's historic
French Prairie is either in the works or completely off the table,
depending on who is doing the talking. A series of letters and
meetings regarding potential commercial and industrial development in
the area has land-use advocates concerned that the rural landscape
stretching from Wilsonville south to Salem could, sooner rather than
later, be altered forever.
- 5/7/08 - Casino initiative
delay welcomed - Two Lake Oswego businessmen confirmed on
Friday something that has been obvious to political observers for
several weeks now: They will not proceed with an initiative drive this
year to establish Oregon’s first non-tribal casino at the old Multnomah
Kennel Club in Wood Village.
<>Oregon
already is saturated with gambling opportunities and there is little to
be gained – and a lot to be lost – by continuing to expand gambling in
this state.
- 6/15/07
- Bill
gives residents say on casino plan - Residents of a city slated
for a private casino would gain the right to
vote on the idea, under a bill headed to the governor's desk. The
Senate voted 24-5 Thursday to grant final legislative approval to Senate Bill 1042-B. The bill is
aimed at giving residents of Wood Village a say on a proposed private
casino planned there.
- 6/30/06 - Tribe
wants casino south of Wilsonville - The Klamath Tribes of
Oregon have asked the federal government for the right to build an
off-reservation casino on an unspecified 153-acre site just south of
Wilsonville, in rural Aurora. A tribal representative said the Klamaths
were prompted to file due to pending federal legislation seeking to
curtail off-reservation gaming. Local leaders believe
the application
is an attempt to revive a “mega casino” proposal circulated
late last year by Eugene developer Wayne Johnson. That plan proposed to
combine a 200,000 square foot casino, hotel and convention center with
an expanded Langdon Farms Golf Club to create a world-class
“destination resort.” An accompanying map superimposed on aerial
photos shows that the
resort would take up most of a triangular area bounded by Interstate 5,
Airport Road and Arndt Road.
- 05/23/06 - Casino
plan still hung up - Supporters
of the state’s first nontribal casino must now jump a new hurdle to
qualify their proposal for the November general election. The
titles of their two ballot measures to build a casino in Wood Village
were challenged before the Oregon Supreme Court last week. The appeal
could drag on into early June, giving supporters less than a month to
collect slightly more than 100,000 voter signatures for the Oregon
constitutional amendment they need to build the casino. The supporters
must also collect slightly more than 75,000 signatures to site the
casino at the former Multnomah Kennel Club dog racing track. “It’s
going to be very tight, but we’re still hopeful the Supreme
Court will approve the titles in time for us to make it,” said Matt
Rossman, a Lake Oswego lawyer who is sponsoring the measures with his
neighbor, financial consultant Bruce Studer. The appeal was
filed by the chiefs of the Siletz, Coquille and Klamath Indian tribes.
The Siletz and Coquille tribes already operate casinos on reservation
lands, and the Klamath tribe recently applied to build one on
nonreservation land near Wilsonville. (5/23/06, PDX Update,
Portland Tribune)
- 05/10/06 - Casino tribes rush to the betting
window - In the end, the more than 20 tribes around the nation
that raced to beat an April 15 deadline to apply for off-reservation
casinos will succeed only in proving the point that it's time to rein
in the $19 billion tribal gaming industry. It is all but
impossible to imagine the federal government or any
Oregon governor approving, for example, the Klamath Tribe's
out-of-nowhere request to build a casino near an existing golf course
south of Wilsonville.
(Wednesday, 5/10/2006, The
Oregonian)
- 05/09/06 - Oregon casino developers want
to change state constitution - The Klamath Tribe also is
considering an
off-reservation casino, to be built in the Wilsonville area. That
project would have to be approved by the governor. “It’s a
battle for benefits,” Studer said. “Whoever establishes their facility
first and starts getting the loyal customers is going to create what
goes on there.”
- 05/06/06 - OR
Tribes hope for two off-reservation casinos - The Klamath
Tribes have applied to build a casino and golf course south of
Wilsonville. The
applications meet an April 15 deadline set by Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which
approved legislation March 29 to eliminate off-reservation gambling for
tribes with their own reservation land. But applications filed before
April 15 would be grandfathered into current law. Klamath Tribes
officials said they had not planned to apply now but did so to beat the
deadline.
- 05/05/06 - OR casino tribes stake their claims
to casinos - The KlamathTribes, like more than 20 other tribes
nationwide racing to get a jump on proposed federal rules, has filed an
application to build a casino near a golf course south of Wilsonville.
(Friday, 5/05/2006, The Oregonian)
|