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Les Miller, a tribal member and former Scotts Valley chairman, said the group will gather at the Courthouse Museum on Main Street from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Their goal is to gather backing for a proposal to purchase Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa – which closed last November – and open a casino there, said Miller.
The resort was reported to be under a sales contract late last year, but resort officials have not returned repeated calls seeking an update on the situation.
For several years the Scotts Valley tribe – which has no trust land – has been working to get approval for its Sugar Bowl Casino plan in north Richmond, where tribal officials say they have ancestral ties.
The plan calls for a 225,000-square-foot facility with 2,000 gaming machines and 50 gaming tables, which the tribe's Web site said will create thousands of jobs.
But some tribal members, like Miller, would rather see the casino here, in the tribe's home area.
They're also hoping to see jobs created in Lake County, where Miller said the community is hurting. He said so far they're receiving broad-based support from community and business leaders who have heard about their plans.
“This is not just a tribal issue anymore, it's a community issue,” Miller said.
However, the current tribal government isn't supporting the plan.
“We're not going to be able to respond immediately,” said Bennett Wright, tribal administrator for the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, adding that the tribal government would issue a full response next week.
Wright said that certain members of the tribe like Miller have opposed the tribal government before, and that there is nothing factual about their statements.
In turn, Miller said he and other tribal members who have disagreed with the tribal leadership have been intimidated and threatened with disenrollment, and that internal disagreements have deepened over the last 10 years, as the casino plans have been under way.
Miller and his family also have attempted in recent years to vote out Tribal Chair Don Arnold from office and have disputed the results of recent elections.
At the rally Miller said community members will be able to sign a letter asking US Sen. Dianne Feinstein to take action to limit off-reservation casinos. Miller said it would “open up the floodgates” if Scotts Valley's goal for a Richmond casino were allowed to move forward.
However, those plans appear to have hit some significant obstacles.
Last September, the National Indian Gaming Commission issued a decision disapproving a gaming management contract between the tribe and Richmond Gaming Ltd. – which is the group of investors backing the project and the entity which also owns the land for the proposed casino facility.
The reasons for the decision included the commission's finding that Richmond Gaming provided false information about the partners and their financial interests.
“The actions of Richmond are quite serious,” stated then-National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Philip N. Hogen in a September letter, a copy of which was obtained by Lake County News.
Hogen explained that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act – or IGRA – “specifically identifies protecting tribes from organized crime and corrupting influences and ensuring that tribes are the primary beneficiary of the gaming as the objectives of IGRA.”
Hogen also faulted Richmond for not answering his questions. He had requested a list of all persons and entities with a financial interest in, or management responsibility for, the contract, which Richmond failed to provide. Many of those names are redacted in the letter available through public records sources.
Miller alleged that the tribal council “were just basically selling the farm to these investors,” and that the plan unraveled.
Richmond Gaming later appealed, and in December the National Indian Gaming Commission and Richmond Gaming – represented by Florida investor Alan H. Ginsburg, a real estate mogul who a San Francisco Weekly article from 2004 identified as also being involved in the Lower Lake Rancheria-Koi Nation's plans for a Bay Area casino – signed a settlement agreement.
In that agreement, Richmond Gaming agreed that it wasn't in compliance with National Indian Gaming Commission regulations regarding submission of management agreements, and as part of the settlement Richmond Gaming withdrew its appeal and the commission withdrew its letter disapproving the management agreement.
Richmond must form a new entity to take over its responsibilities. That company must then resubmit the previous management agreement or submit a new one by the end of May.
If Richmond fails to follow the terms of the settlement, Scotts Valley will have the chance to purchase from the company the casino land at the appraised value, the agreement states. If the company fails to sell the land in that circumstance, Hogen's previous letter voiding the contract will become the agency's final action.
Miller said members of the tribe who want a casino in Lake County know that they're in for a battle.
He said Lake County is where he was raised, and that's where the tribe's efforts should be focused.
“I'm not going to sell my history,” Miller said.
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Lake One-Stop Inc., Lake County Department of Social Services and Arbor Education will present information on the programs during two separate sessions – one designed for employers and another specifically for job seekers.
The employers' session will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Lake One-Stop's Lakeport office, located at 55 First St.
Employers will learn what services are available and understand their liabilities for unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation when utilizing Department of Social Services and Lake One-Stop’s work experience programs.
The workshop for job seekers will take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, also at the One-Stop's Lakeport office.
Prospective employees can learn about services such as resume writing workshops, computer literacy labs, paid work experience and on-the-job-training.
Space is limited. To serve a seat, call 707-262-3400.
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Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the burglary investigation by the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit and the U.S. Forest Service recovered $47,000 in Forest Service property taken during the Nov. 27 burglary at the ranger station compound, located on Elk Mountain Road.
On Thursday, authorities served a search warrant at the Manzanita Drive home of 50-year-old Thomas Glenn Meyer, according to Bauman's report.
Bauman said investigators allegedly discovered several items of government property believed to have been stolen from the ranger station.
The Mendocino National Forest reported in December that the items stolen included several laptop computers, a desktop computer, an assortment of electronic equipment, and wildland firefighting equipment and gear, as Lake County News has reported.
Some of the ranger station's buildings also were ransacked and damaged, according to forest officials.
Also allegedly found at Meyer's home was a large amount of narcotics paraphernalia, which Bauman said deputies seized during the search.
Meyer and two other people at the home were all suspected to be under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the warrant service and all three were arrested for various charges, Bauman said.
Meyer was booked for felony charges of possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance. Bauman said Meyer also was charged with misdemeanor being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is held on $10,000 bail.
The other two subjects arrested at the scene were 43-year-old Cathi Larae Larson and 33-year-old Angel Dusty Spring, both of Lakeport.
Larson was booked on misdemeanor charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics paraphernalia with a $3,500 bail. Spring was booked for misdemeanor being under the influence of a controlled substance with a $3,000 bail, Bauman reported.
Bauman said the investigation into the November burglary continues and other arrests are anticipated.
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CLEARLAKE – Local veterans are encouraged to attend a special outreach event planned for this coming Sunday, Feb. 21.
Staff from the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center will host the veterans outreach event from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Elks Lodge, located at 6039 Crawford Ave. in Clearlake.
Veterans will have the opportunity to learn about and enroll for VA health care benefits, and learn about the new Clearlake community-based outpatient clinic that is scheduled to open this fall at 15145 Lakeshore Drive, as Lake County News has reported.
In late 2008 the VA announced that it would open the Clearlake clinic, which was the focus of more than a decade of lobbying by local and federal officials. It is one of 31 such clinics set to be open in 16 states.
The San Francisco VA Medical Center will manage and staff the Clearlake facility, officials previously reported. It will offer general health care and some other procedures for which local veterans previously were required to travel out-of-county.
On Sunday representatives also will be on hand to talk about VA volunteer opportunities.
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour VA’s new Mobile Veterans Center, a mobile counseling center that travels the state providing PTSD counseling and other outreach services to rural veterans.
In addition to the veterans outreach, a barbecue will be provided by DAV Chapter 83 Clearlake.
For more information about the outreach event, contact Jim McDermott, voluntary service specialist, 415-221-4810, Extension 2144.
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LAKEPORT – A Southern California man has been arrested for allegedly shooting a north Lakeport man earlier this year.
Raymundo Catalan, 31, a painter from North Hollywood, was arrested Feb. 9 for attempted murder, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Catalan was booked into the Lake County Jail on Tuesday, according to jail records. His bail is set at $750,000.
He was arrested for the Jan. 4 shooting of 35-year-old Marshall Wisterman, Bauman said.
Deputies found Wisterman – who had been shot in the abdomen – lying in the hallway of his home in the Lakeside Village Estates mobile home park in north Lakeport, as Lake County News has reported.
Bauman said witness statements and evidence at the scene revealed at the time that an unidentified man had come to Wisterman’s home to talk to him. When an argument ensued between the men outside of the home, the man shot Wisterman at close range before fleeing the scene.
Wisterman was flown by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of the gunshot wound and later released, Bauman said.
The reason for the argument that apparently led to Jan. 4 shooting is still under investigation, Bauman said.
However, he added that detectives have determined that a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol was used in the attempted murder of Wisterman.
He said the weapon is still outstanding but a slug was recovered from the scene.
The Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, which led the investigation into the shooter's identity and the motive for the apparent attempt on Wisterman’s life, focused in on Catalan as the suspect not long after the incident, Bauman said.
Within days of the incident Lake County Superior Court Judge Richard Martin signed a $750,000 warrant for Catalan's arrest. Although he's from North Hollywood, Catalan was determined to have ties in Lake, Sonoma and Marin counties, according to Bauman.
For the past month, sheriff’s detectives have coordinated with the California Department of Justice and the U.S. Marshal’s Service in determining Catalan’s whereabouts, Bauman said.
On Feb. 9 Catalan was located at a restaurant in North Hollywood by a team of U.S. Marshals. Bauman said he was arrested without incident.
When the U.S. Marshal's Service apprehended Catalan, he allegedly had a large quantity of methamphetamine in his vehicle, Bauman said.
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Robert G. Roe, 58, died at the scene of the crash, which took place just before 8 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 20 west of Witter Springs Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Roe was hit head-on by Tracy resident Daren K. Norman, 44, as Norman was attempting to pass a big rig, the CHP reported.
CHP officers later arrested Norman for driving under the influence.
Norman was driving a 2005 Nissan Altima westbound on Highway 20 just west of Witter Springs Road, while Roe was traveling eastbound in a 1990 Honda Civic hatchback, the report explained.
Rodney J. Lucero, 59, of Red Bluff was driving a 2005 International truck westbound ahead of Norman, who the CHP investigation concluded crossed over double yellow lines and attempted to pass Lucero on a blind curve at a high rate of speed.
Norman hit Roe's Honda head-on and sideswiped Lucero's truck, killing Roe and resulting in major injuries for Norman, CHP officials said. Lucero was uninjured.
REACH air ambulance landed a mile and a half to the east of the crash at the Half Diamond Ranch, and Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown transported medical personnel to the scene, as Lake County News has reported.
Later, a Northshore Fire ambulance transported Norman back to the ranch, where he was picked up by REACH and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment. At that time he also was placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, the CHP reported.
The CHP said all of the drivers were using their safety belts.
CHP Officer Kory Reynolds is leading the investigation.
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