Much to celebrate at Long island Shinnecock Pow Wow
September 5, 2009 By MARK HARRINGTON mark.harrington@newsday.com
2009 Shinnecock Pow Wow
Midday sun lit the silk and feather-festooned costumes to a height of brilliance on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, as the unrelenting drums and building howl of traditional song opened the tribe's 63rd annual Pow Wow Saturday.
In the shade of giant oaks, families in T-shirts and shorts mingled with tribal members in clanging dance wear. Scores of booths hawking Indian jewelry, moccasins, and traditional food ringed the outer perimeter of the Pow Wow grounds, where the scent of wood smoke mingled with that of fry-bread and buffalo burgers. Tens of thousands crowded the raised dance platform for the grand entrance of the dancers.
There was much to celebrate.
On the eve of this weekend's annual Pow Wow, trustees of the Shinnecock Indian Nation met Gov. David A. Paterson in the hope of gaining his support as a decision on the tribe's federal recognition nears. Paterson has previously said he was "monitoring" the tribe's request but remained noncommittal in talks about a tribal casino.
"We're hopeful that the state supports the federal recognition of the tribe and looks forward to working together," said tribal chairman Randy King, who traveled with fellow trustees Fred Bess and Gordell Wright to Albany Thursday. The tribe says recognition would boost access to badly needed housing, education and health care, and allow a casino on the reservation.
Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook Saturday confirmed the meeting but declined to be more specific. Paterson is "supportive of the economic development involved in building some of these casinos. He is looking at multiple locations in the Catskills," for instance, Hook said.
"We're ready to talk," Bess said, noting a Shinnecock casino would provide revenue and jobs needed for the state and the tribe.
Researchers from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs are due on the reservation from Tuesday through Sunday to interview tribal members in preparation for a Dec. 15 ruling on recognition, said Roberta Hunter, chair of the Shinnecock's federal recognition committee. "I'm very positive about where we are," she said.
But federal recognition and casinos were not on the agenda for this year's Pow Wow, a decidedly nonpolitical festival of traditional food and culture.
Tribes from across the nation gathered on the 800-acre Shinnecock reservation to compete in dance and song contests, and to renew old bonds. "It's a place to meet and build extended families," trustee Wright said.
Tribal elder Harry Williams, 85, known as Chief War Hawk, opened the ceremony by recounting the origins of the Pow Wow, revived by the late chief Thunderbird 63 years ago. His daughter, Elizabeth Haile, 79, danced the Lord's Prayer with three of her nieces and a granddaughter. "The tribe has claimed the Pow Wow as our gemstone of the year," she said later, at the family's booth, in the shade nearby Presbyterian church.
Denise Anderson, a tribal member who lives in Australia but returns for Pow Wow when she can, worked a booth of traditional food with her two sisters and mother. The menu: Shinnecock-raised oysters, Samp, a traditional white corn and bean dish, "three-sister stew," and blueberry slump - dumplings covered in blueberry sauce. "We catch up with people we haven't seen," she said.
For visitors it's a rare chance to see the pageantry and pride of the Shinnecocks, whose Algonquin ancestors predate European settlers.
"There's nothing really like it on Long Island," said Todd Grasberg, who drove to the event from Bellerose, Queens.
The three-day fundraising event at the Southampton reservation continues through Monday night.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
GAMBLING IN THE CATSKILLS?
Catskills gaming initiative topic of discussion
By Staff reports
Story Published: Sep 2, 2009
Story Updated: Sep 2, 2009
A government contingent led by Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. met with high-ranking federal officials and Sullivan County representatives Aug. 26 to discuss the nation’s efforts to bring Class III gaming to the Catskills.
The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Assistant Secretary to the Department of Interior Larry EchoHawk about the Seneca’s gaming plan for Sullivan County and urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to lift the Kempthorne restriction to assist in the development of appropriate rules to allow the nation’s fee land in this area to be taken into trust for gaming purposes. The policy, a “Guidance Memorandum” issued Jan. 3, 2008, by former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, restricted Indian tribes from taking off-reservation land into trust for gaming purposes, which is a necessary step for New York’s Indian nations to establish gaming operations in Sullivan County.
“For many months the nation and our development partner Rotate Black have worked vigorously with officials from the state, county, and local governments in Sullivan County so that Class III gaming in the Catskills can become a reality in the near future,” Snyder said. “The Kempthorne policy remains a major obstacle to moving forward. We came today to seek assistance in withdrawing this misguided directive and addressing the ‘commutability’ issue in a fair and just manner for the good of Sullivan County and the economic sovereignty of the Seneca Nation. We are very encouraged by today’s discussion.”
In February, the Seneca Nation purchased 63 acres of land from its exclusive development partner Rotate Black Gaming Inc. of Michigan to begin clearing the way for a Catskills casino. It currently operates three Class III gaming properties in western New York including Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel, Salamanca and Seneca Buffalo Creek, Buffalo. It has also expressed interest in Sullivan County’s Concord Hotel currently owned by Louis Cappelli as another gaming location option.
Currently, the nation and its corporate entities spend more than $90 million with vendors, suppliers and businesses in western New York. In addition to hundreds of union construction jobs that have been created in the last eight years, the nation has paid New York state and local municipalities close to $500 million in fees in exchange for the exclusive right to offer slot-type gaming devices locally. They are the fifth largest employer in western New York with more than 6,300 employees.
With more than 24 million people living within two hours of the proposed gaming site, the Seneca’s Catskill casino will also create a significant economic development infusion into another struggling region of the state. It is estimated that more than $100 million in vendor sales will be directly accessed from Hudson Valley businesses. Governments and taxpayers in the region will also benefit, as there will be indirect sales tax, income tax and property tax benefits paid by non-Native employees, vendors and contractors. In addition, the exclusivity payments to the state and local host communities will provide millions of dollars in new revenues that will help to reduce unemployment, create jobs, bring new business to the area, broaden the current tax base, reduce real property tax burdens and more.
“In many ways, western New York and the Catskills Region are a lot alike,” said Snyder. “Both areas of the state once had thriving economies and through strong leadership, action can be taken to make things happen. Class III gaming has done much to put the Seneca Nation and the western New York region on the road to recovery. We would like the opportunity to do the same in the Catskills region.”
By Staff reports
Story Published: Sep 2, 2009
Story Updated: Sep 2, 2009
A government contingent led by Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. met with high-ranking federal officials and Sullivan County representatives Aug. 26 to discuss the nation’s efforts to bring Class III gaming to the Catskills.
The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Assistant Secretary to the Department of Interior Larry EchoHawk about the Seneca’s gaming plan for Sullivan County and urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to lift the Kempthorne restriction to assist in the development of appropriate rules to allow the nation’s fee land in this area to be taken into trust for gaming purposes. The policy, a “Guidance Memorandum” issued Jan. 3, 2008, by former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, restricted Indian tribes from taking off-reservation land into trust for gaming purposes, which is a necessary step for New York’s Indian nations to establish gaming operations in Sullivan County.
“For many months the nation and our development partner Rotate Black have worked vigorously with officials from the state, county, and local governments in Sullivan County so that Class III gaming in the Catskills can become a reality in the near future,” Snyder said. “The Kempthorne policy remains a major obstacle to moving forward. We came today to seek assistance in withdrawing this misguided directive and addressing the ‘commutability’ issue in a fair and just manner for the good of Sullivan County and the economic sovereignty of the Seneca Nation. We are very encouraged by today’s discussion.”
In February, the Seneca Nation purchased 63 acres of land from its exclusive development partner Rotate Black Gaming Inc. of Michigan to begin clearing the way for a Catskills casino. It currently operates three Class III gaming properties in western New York including Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel, Salamanca and Seneca Buffalo Creek, Buffalo. It has also expressed interest in Sullivan County’s Concord Hotel currently owned by Louis Cappelli as another gaming location option.
Currently, the nation and its corporate entities spend more than $90 million with vendors, suppliers and businesses in western New York. In addition to hundreds of union construction jobs that have been created in the last eight years, the nation has paid New York state and local municipalities close to $500 million in fees in exchange for the exclusive right to offer slot-type gaming devices locally. They are the fifth largest employer in western New York with more than 6,300 employees.
With more than 24 million people living within two hours of the proposed gaming site, the Seneca’s Catskill casino will also create a significant economic development infusion into another struggling region of the state. It is estimated that more than $100 million in vendor sales will be directly accessed from Hudson Valley businesses. Governments and taxpayers in the region will also benefit, as there will be indirect sales tax, income tax and property tax benefits paid by non-Native employees, vendors and contractors. In addition, the exclusivity payments to the state and local host communities will provide millions of dollars in new revenues that will help to reduce unemployment, create jobs, bring new business to the area, broaden the current tax base, reduce real property tax burdens and more.
“In many ways, western New York and the Catskills Region are a lot alike,” said Snyder. “Both areas of the state once had thriving economies and through strong leadership, action can be taken to make things happen. Class III gaming has done much to put the Seneca Nation and the western New York region on the road to recovery. We would like the opportunity to do the same in the Catskills region.”
IS IT EASY MONEY?
Pequots Find That Easy Money Is Hard To Give Up
Rick Green
September 8, 2009
But you wouldn't know it from the 800 or so members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who can't give up the gambling money and their regular "per capita" cash payments to tribal members paid for by all those slots and table games.
They even plan to use borrowed money to keep the lucre flowing.
If there's a lesson in how the Pequots got here, it starts with the "per cap" that began shortly after the casino opened in 1992. It's the opposite of what Congress intended with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, in which gambling was intended to be an engine for economic development — not welfare for tribal members.
For years Mashantuckets have received regular six-figure paychecks for doing little more than being a tribal member.
Certainly, the fact that gamblers don't want to throw as much money away during a recession is a big part of the reason why the Mashantucket Pequots are struggling to pay off the $2.3 billion debt they owe on the world's largest casino complex.
Still, this cash cow is far from dead. In June, Foxwoods patrons poured just under $1 million per hour into the mega-casino's 8,000 or so slot machines. But with fierce competition on the horizon in neighboring states, even when the economy revives, it all might never again be like it was.
What I learned during five years writing about gambling is that it's always about more — more slots, bigger casinos, taller hotels and more money for investors. Throughout their adventure as Casino Indians, the solution for the Pequots has always been more gambling to keep their free money flowing.
The Vegas reply to newly flush Connecticut tribes — thanks to a state compact that allows this and greedy investors willing to bankroll it — has always been more slots and to hell with planning for a future beyond gambling games.
It's no surprise that tribal Chairman Michael Thomas, now on forced "administrative leave" and locked out of his office, adamantly stood by the per capita payments in an e-mail obtained by Brian Hallenbeck, who has aggressively followed the story for The New London Day.
The money is always too good to give up. The next roll of the dice will pay off. It's an old story.
A few years ago I spent a couple mornings in the Norwich courthouse, looking at financial affidavits in the case files of Mashantucket tribal members getting divorced. There were dozens of Mashantucket cases detailing, precisely, just how generous the tribe was.
The seemingly large number of divorces was revealing. The fantastic incomes more so.
I found one tribal member taking home a $4,804 weekly paycheck and dozens of other cases in which Mashantuckets "earned" anywhere from high five figures to six-figure per capita incomes. So much for paying your bills before buying the big car.
It's no coincidence that the neighboring Mohegans' per capita is about $28,000 annually and that their debt is half of what the Mashantuckets owe.
Only about a third of casino tribes engage in the controversial practice of per capita payments to tribal members. I have visited casino reservations where tribes choose instead to pay off their debts and build non-gambling industries, tribal health clinics, roads and schools.
"It's created a lack of ambition to do anything more," said Tim Giago, an outspoken Oglala Lakota journalist on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota and a fierce critic of Connecticut's Indian tribes. "It's created a lack of ambition to do anything more."
"My main point was that the golden goose isn't going to keep laying these eggs. There is going to come a time when people are backing off gaming. What is happening right now with the Mashantuckets could be the forerunner of what will happen in a lot of areas of the United States."
In an ironic twist to their remarkable story of revival, the Mashantucket Pequots now have an addiction of their own. It's not the gambling, but the cash.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could this also be happening to members of the Mohegan Tribe? Will the Mohegan Tribe borrow money, to give money to its tribal members? Has the Mohegan Tribe borrowed money to give money to Mohegan Tribal members? will this happen to the Mohegan Tribe? What do you think?
Rick Green
September 8, 2009
But you wouldn't know it from the 800 or so members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who can't give up the gambling money and their regular "per capita" cash payments to tribal members paid for by all those slots and table games.
They even plan to use borrowed money to keep the lucre flowing.
If there's a lesson in how the Pequots got here, it starts with the "per cap" that began shortly after the casino opened in 1992. It's the opposite of what Congress intended with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, in which gambling was intended to be an engine for economic development — not welfare for tribal members.
For years Mashantuckets have received regular six-figure paychecks for doing little more than being a tribal member.
Certainly, the fact that gamblers don't want to throw as much money away during a recession is a big part of the reason why the Mashantucket Pequots are struggling to pay off the $2.3 billion debt they owe on the world's largest casino complex.
Still, this cash cow is far from dead. In June, Foxwoods patrons poured just under $1 million per hour into the mega-casino's 8,000 or so slot machines. But with fierce competition on the horizon in neighboring states, even when the economy revives, it all might never again be like it was.
What I learned during five years writing about gambling is that it's always about more — more slots, bigger casinos, taller hotels and more money for investors. Throughout their adventure as Casino Indians, the solution for the Pequots has always been more gambling to keep their free money flowing.
The Vegas reply to newly flush Connecticut tribes — thanks to a state compact that allows this and greedy investors willing to bankroll it — has always been more slots and to hell with planning for a future beyond gambling games.
It's no surprise that tribal Chairman Michael Thomas, now on forced "administrative leave" and locked out of his office, adamantly stood by the per capita payments in an e-mail obtained by Brian Hallenbeck, who has aggressively followed the story for The New London Day.
The money is always too good to give up. The next roll of the dice will pay off. It's an old story.
A few years ago I spent a couple mornings in the Norwich courthouse, looking at financial affidavits in the case files of Mashantucket tribal members getting divorced. There were dozens of Mashantucket cases detailing, precisely, just how generous the tribe was.
The seemingly large number of divorces was revealing. The fantastic incomes more so.
I found one tribal member taking home a $4,804 weekly paycheck and dozens of other cases in which Mashantuckets "earned" anywhere from high five figures to six-figure per capita incomes. So much for paying your bills before buying the big car.
It's no coincidence that the neighboring Mohegans' per capita is about $28,000 annually and that their debt is half of what the Mashantuckets owe.
Only about a third of casino tribes engage in the controversial practice of per capita payments to tribal members. I have visited casino reservations where tribes choose instead to pay off their debts and build non-gambling industries, tribal health clinics, roads and schools.
"It's created a lack of ambition to do anything more," said Tim Giago, an outspoken Oglala Lakota journalist on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota and a fierce critic of Connecticut's Indian tribes. "It's created a lack of ambition to do anything more."
"My main point was that the golden goose isn't going to keep laying these eggs. There is going to come a time when people are backing off gaming. What is happening right now with the Mashantuckets could be the forerunner of what will happen in a lot of areas of the United States."
In an ironic twist to their remarkable story of revival, the Mashantucket Pequots now have an addiction of their own. It's not the gambling, but the cash.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could this also be happening to members of the Mohegan Tribe? Will the Mohegan Tribe borrow money, to give money to its tribal members? Has the Mohegan Tribe borrowed money to give money to Mohegan Tribal members? will this happen to the Mohegan Tribe? What do you think?
BARTHA V. MOHEGAN TRIBE OF INDIANS OF CONNECTICUT
Uncasville, Connecticut, September 11, 2009..........Bartha V. Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. Where? Mohegan Tribal Court, Mohegan Tribal Government Building, 5 Crow Hill Road, Uncasville, Connecticut. When? Friday, September 11, 2009, at 2:30 P.M.. The Honorable Judge Jane Freeman is presiding.
What is the case about? Mike Bartha (as one of the three sponsors) Petitioned to ENACT an ordinance, which he believes he is entitled to do under the Mohegan Constitution.
The Mohegan Constitution, ARTICLE XII--RIGHT TO PETITION
Section 1 "The members of The Tribe reserve to themselves the power to propose ordinances and resolutions and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the Tribal council on petition of thirty-five (35) of the registered voters within seven (7) days of such action."
Mr. Bartha, as a sponsor in previous petitions, acted to reject ordinances passed by the Tribal Council and they were accepted by the Election Committee.
After the Tribal Council canceled Freedom of Information Ordinance 2009-24, Mr. Bartha and two (2) other tribal members petitioned to replace the vacant law by petitioning to bring up for a referendum (vote) on the ordinance they were proposing. Notice in the Constitution words to ENACT OR REJECT. The ENACT definitely means something.
The petition had more than thirty five (35) signatures within the seven (7) days, which the Constitution requires. Is it a legal petition?
The Election Committee, based on the Election Ordinance, could not accept the petition, because the law calls for forty (40%) percent of the registered voters to sign A petition TO ENACT an ordinance. A direct conflict exists between the Mohegan Constitution and the Election Ordinance.
This is a very important case to the Mohegan People. It is about the Freedom to Petition, which is guaranteed by the Mohegan Constitution.
The lawyers, representing the tribe (the Mohegan Tribal Council), have filed a Motion to Strike. They want the case stopped. We (the Mohegan Tribe) need this case to be decided by judicial process.
Please come and watch your government in action? What do you think?
What is the case about? Mike Bartha (as one of the three sponsors) Petitioned to ENACT an ordinance, which he believes he is entitled to do under the Mohegan Constitution.
The Mohegan Constitution, ARTICLE XII--RIGHT TO PETITION
Section 1 "The members of The Tribe reserve to themselves the power to propose ordinances and resolutions and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the Tribal council on petition of thirty-five (35) of the registered voters within seven (7) days of such action."
Mr. Bartha, as a sponsor in previous petitions, acted to reject ordinances passed by the Tribal Council and they were accepted by the Election Committee.
After the Tribal Council canceled Freedom of Information Ordinance 2009-24, Mr. Bartha and two (2) other tribal members petitioned to replace the vacant law by petitioning to bring up for a referendum (vote) on the ordinance they were proposing. Notice in the Constitution words to ENACT OR REJECT. The ENACT definitely means something.
The petition had more than thirty five (35) signatures within the seven (7) days, which the Constitution requires. Is it a legal petition?
The Election Committee, based on the Election Ordinance, could not accept the petition, because the law calls for forty (40%) percent of the registered voters to sign A petition TO ENACT an ordinance. A direct conflict exists between the Mohegan Constitution and the Election Ordinance.
This is a very important case to the Mohegan People. It is about the Freedom to Petition, which is guaranteed by the Mohegan Constitution.
The lawyers, representing the tribe (the Mohegan Tribal Council), have filed a Motion to Strike. They want the case stopped. We (the Mohegan Tribe) need this case to be decided by judicial process.
Please come and watch your government in action? What do you think?
MASHANTUCKET PEQUOTS CAN'T HIDE 1% SALES TAX
Blumenthal says tribe can't hide its sales tax
AG: Mashantuckets must clearly identify 1 percent surcharge
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/10/2009
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called Wednesday on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to inform patrons that the retail shops at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods are charging a 1 percent “tribal tax” in addition to the 6 percent state sales tax.
”We are taking action today to demand that the tribe clearly identify this surcharge separately and distinctly from the state tax on all customer receipts and signage,” Blumenthal told reporters at a press conference in Hartford.
Blumenthal notified the tribe of the demand in a letter to Richard Sebastian, acting chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.
”Specifically,” the attorney general wrote, “I request that the Tribe take appropriate immediate steps to clearly identify on all customer receipts that an additional 1 percent sales tax recently added by the Tribe is a Tribal levy, not imposed or received by the State.”
In a statement, the tribal council did not directly respond to the attorney general's demand, saying only that it was “in ongoing discussions on this matter with appropriate agencies and departments.”
The council said there is “no legal basis” for Blumenthal's claims.
The tribe imposed the new tax Sept. 1, adding it to the state sales tax. Since then, receipts have listed a 7 percent “tax” on the price of merchandise but have not identified the elements of the tax or otherwise mentioned a tribal tax.
Blumenthal said the tribe's failure to provide a breakdown of the 7 percent tax was “misleading and misinforming” consumers who believe that the entire amount collected is being remitted to the state.
At tribe-owned stores that are not required to collect state sales taxes, “the tribe is charging a 7 percent sales tax without identifying it as such,” Blumenthal said. “This practice easily and falsely leads patrons to assume that most or all of the tax goes to the state.” Instead, the tribe keeps all of the tax collected.
Blumenthal said the general rule is that the state charges no sales tax on items to which the tribe adds value, such as meals prepared on the tribe's reservation, including the casinos, or on goods and services manufactured or provided there.
While the tribe's authority to impose taxes has never been fully defined, he said, “by history and by law, the tribe can impose taxes on goods and services when it adds value (to those goods and services).”
Blumenthal called on the Foxwoods casinos to revise their receipts and to post signs at checkout counters explaining the 1 percent surcharge. He noted that the tribe's hotel-room bills already identify a 12 percent tribal occupancy tax as a tribal levy.
If the tribe fails to abandon the “potentially misleading or deceptive practices” he will “consider other measures” to force compliance, Blumenthal said, without elaborating.
”My sincere hope is that we can work cooperatively and remedy this important consumer issue to benefit the interests of the State, the Tribe and the public,” the attorney general concludes in his letter to Sebastian, who is acting as tribal council chairman pending a possible vote today to oust Chairman Michael Thomas from the council.
Thomas was placed on administrative leave Aug. 31 over a letter he e-mailed to tribal members outlining his plan for dealing with the tribe's financial difficulties. Tribe and Foxwoods officials have said the council approved the imposition of the tribal tax in January and that the move was unrelated to the tribe's finances.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
AG: Mashantuckets must clearly identify 1 percent surcharge
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/10/2009
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called Wednesday on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to inform patrons that the retail shops at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods are charging a 1 percent “tribal tax” in addition to the 6 percent state sales tax.
”We are taking action today to demand that the tribe clearly identify this surcharge separately and distinctly from the state tax on all customer receipts and signage,” Blumenthal told reporters at a press conference in Hartford.
Blumenthal notified the tribe of the demand in a letter to Richard Sebastian, acting chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.
”Specifically,” the attorney general wrote, “I request that the Tribe take appropriate immediate steps to clearly identify on all customer receipts that an additional 1 percent sales tax recently added by the Tribe is a Tribal levy, not imposed or received by the State.”
In a statement, the tribal council did not directly respond to the attorney general's demand, saying only that it was “in ongoing discussions on this matter with appropriate agencies and departments.”
The council said there is “no legal basis” for Blumenthal's claims.
The tribe imposed the new tax Sept. 1, adding it to the state sales tax. Since then, receipts have listed a 7 percent “tax” on the price of merchandise but have not identified the elements of the tax or otherwise mentioned a tribal tax.
Blumenthal said the tribe's failure to provide a breakdown of the 7 percent tax was “misleading and misinforming” consumers who believe that the entire amount collected is being remitted to the state.
At tribe-owned stores that are not required to collect state sales taxes, “the tribe is charging a 7 percent sales tax without identifying it as such,” Blumenthal said. “This practice easily and falsely leads patrons to assume that most or all of the tax goes to the state.” Instead, the tribe keeps all of the tax collected.
Blumenthal said the general rule is that the state charges no sales tax on items to which the tribe adds value, such as meals prepared on the tribe's reservation, including the casinos, or on goods and services manufactured or provided there.
While the tribe's authority to impose taxes has never been fully defined, he said, “by history and by law, the tribe can impose taxes on goods and services when it adds value (to those goods and services).”
Blumenthal called on the Foxwoods casinos to revise their receipts and to post signs at checkout counters explaining the 1 percent surcharge. He noted that the tribe's hotel-room bills already identify a 12 percent tribal occupancy tax as a tribal levy.
If the tribe fails to abandon the “potentially misleading or deceptive practices” he will “consider other measures” to force compliance, Blumenthal said, without elaborating.
”My sincere hope is that we can work cooperatively and remedy this important consumer issue to benefit the interests of the State, the Tribe and the public,” the attorney general concludes in his letter to Sebastian, who is acting as tribal council chairman pending a possible vote today to oust Chairman Michael Thomas from the council.
Thomas was placed on administrative leave Aug. 31 over a letter he e-mailed to tribal members outlining his plan for dealing with the tribe's financial difficulties. Tribe and Foxwoods officials have said the council approved the imposition of the tribal tax in January and that the move was unrelated to the tribe's finances.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
Thursday, September 10, 2009
TURNING STONE AND ALCOHOL
No liquor license? No problem for Turning Stone
by Glenn Coin / The Post-Standard
Sunday September 06, 2009, 10:37 AM
For a place that can't get a liquor license, Turning Stone Resort and Casino serves a lot of booze.
Since the state Liquor Authority denied liquor licenses at the resort in late 2007, Turning Stone has found a way to offer drinks to up to 400,000 customers.
Starting Monday, the resort will expand those numbers by about 90,000 per year by letting hotel guests and casual visitors belly up to the bar or have a glass of wine with dinner at restaurants and lounges.
Without a liquor license, Turning Stone has struck a deal with a private caterer -- Beeches Restaurant, of Rome -- to provide alcohol at weddings, conventions, and the resort's own private membership club and nightclub. Since January 2008, Beeches has obtained permits from the liquor authority to serve alcohol at more than 1,600 events at venues at Turning Stone.
The state and the Oneida Indian Nation, which owns Turning Stone, say it's perfectly legal.
"Alcohol is going to be served here under a regulatory scheme that the state of New York has found fit to apply elsewhere," said Turning Stone's general manager, Peter Carmen.
Assemblyman David Townsend, whose district includes Turning Stone, disagrees. Last week he wrote letters to the governor and the liquor authority chairman to protest the permits.
"They're using the permit system to circumvent the law," Townsend said.
In his letter to authority Chairman Dennis Rosen, Townsend called for a halt to Beeches' permits at Turning Stone until the authority does a complete review.
Authority spokesman Bill Crowley said the permits are issued according to the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control law.
"The ABC law authorizes the agency to issue catering permits for 'use at a particular function, occasion or event in a hotel, restaurant, club, ballroom or other premises,' " Crowley wrote in an e-mail. "When we receive permit applications that are approvable, they are approved."
The authority has for years approved permits for Beeches and several other caterers to serve alcohol at Turning Stone. Under state law, a restaurant like Beeches that has a liquor license can serve alcohol and food at an event away from the restaurant through special, one-time caterer permits. The event must be at specific place for a specific time period and limited to a certain group of people, rather than open to the general public.
When catering started at the casino several years ago, drinks were served only to guests at specific functions, such as weddings. After the liquor authority shot down the Oneida nation's liquor license applications in late 2007, however, the resort ramped up and expanded its use of catering permits to include standing alcohol service.
Because a caterer's permit limits alcohol service to a private group, Turning Stone devised a plan to turn the Lava nightclub into a private club. For a one-time, $25 membership -- about the price of a cover charge -- anyone who walks through the door at Lava can become a lifetime member. Beeches serves alcohol every Friday and Saturday night to up to 950 people per night.
The private-club plan opened access to alcohol to far more people. From January to July 2008, Beeches catered nearly 400 events to serve alcohol to up to 93,000 people. During the same period this year, those numbers rose to 571 events and 167,000 potential drinkers.
Catered events have been as small as a 10-person private box at the REO Speedwagon concert in July to the 3,000-person golf exhibition last month featuring Tiger Woods.
Come Monday, the nation will further expand the notion of a private club at Turning Stone.
Every hotel guest, most people who attend concerts or get spa treatments, golfers at the resort's premier courses, and anyone who opts to pay a $25 fee will become lifetime members of the Diamond Explorer Club. That membership will entitle them to buy drinks at the resort's five fine-dining restaurants and three lounges.
Turning Stone is at a competitive disadvantage with other resorts that serve alcohol, Carmen said.
"This is Turning Stone's way of trying to improve the situation in a way that is respectful of what this community and the state Liquor Authority feel comfortable with," he said.
The liquor authority has approved the latest expansion of alcohol service, granting the Beeches 75 permits in August to serve alcohol at the restaurants and lounges. Carmen said those were only tests, however; no alcohol has been served in any of those venues and won't be until Monday.
Even after the expansion of alcohol at Turning Stone, no drinks will be served on the gaming floor. According to Liquor Authority regulations, alcohol can't be served where "Bingo or other game of chance" is played.
Beeches is co-owned by Chris Destito, the husband of Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito.
Nation officials and Chris Destito say the Beeches contracts at Turning Stone have nothing to do with politics.
"We do our job extremely well," Chris Destito said. "It's a very large operation at the casino, and it's not something you can just give somebody who doesn't know what they're doing."
Under the terms of the permits, caterers must provide food as well as alcohol, and not just chips and pretzels. Beeches contracts with Turning Stone for the food, Destito said, eliminating the need for Beeches to bring food in and out.
The permits also require that all alcohol be removed from the premises after the permit time expires, Destito said.
"Every single day, we bring everything in and everything out," he said.
Beeches must obtain permits for each bar and each day at Turning Stone. In August, Beeches obtained 246 permits for 174 events. The restaurant paid the standard $48 fee for each permit, for a total of $11,808.
The caterer permits are issued to Beeches, so the Liquor Authority has the authority to conduct inspections to make sure alcohol isn't being served to minors.
As a sovereign Indian tribe, the Oneida nation is exempt from following most state laws.
Alcohol permits are a separate matter, however, largely because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that states have control over the way alcohol is served and distributed on Indian lands.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: New York State not granting a liquor license to Turning Stone, doesn't seem fair to me. If a patron goes to other casinos and slot parlors at race tracks in New York can they drink? Why shouldn't people who go to casinos not be allowed to drink? Would you want to join a club to drink? Why did the state do this? Is it fair? Could it have anything to do with it's a Native American casino? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
`
by Glenn Coin / The Post-Standard
Sunday September 06, 2009, 10:37 AM
For a place that can't get a liquor license, Turning Stone Resort and Casino serves a lot of booze.
Since the state Liquor Authority denied liquor licenses at the resort in late 2007, Turning Stone has found a way to offer drinks to up to 400,000 customers.
Starting Monday, the resort will expand those numbers by about 90,000 per year by letting hotel guests and casual visitors belly up to the bar or have a glass of wine with dinner at restaurants and lounges.
Without a liquor license, Turning Stone has struck a deal with a private caterer -- Beeches Restaurant, of Rome -- to provide alcohol at weddings, conventions, and the resort's own private membership club and nightclub. Since January 2008, Beeches has obtained permits from the liquor authority to serve alcohol at more than 1,600 events at venues at Turning Stone.
The state and the Oneida Indian Nation, which owns Turning Stone, say it's perfectly legal.
"Alcohol is going to be served here under a regulatory scheme that the state of New York has found fit to apply elsewhere," said Turning Stone's general manager, Peter Carmen.
Assemblyman David Townsend, whose district includes Turning Stone, disagrees. Last week he wrote letters to the governor and the liquor authority chairman to protest the permits.
"They're using the permit system to circumvent the law," Townsend said.
In his letter to authority Chairman Dennis Rosen, Townsend called for a halt to Beeches' permits at Turning Stone until the authority does a complete review.
Authority spokesman Bill Crowley said the permits are issued according to the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control law.
"The ABC law authorizes the agency to issue catering permits for 'use at a particular function, occasion or event in a hotel, restaurant, club, ballroom or other premises,' " Crowley wrote in an e-mail. "When we receive permit applications that are approvable, they are approved."
The authority has for years approved permits for Beeches and several other caterers to serve alcohol at Turning Stone. Under state law, a restaurant like Beeches that has a liquor license can serve alcohol and food at an event away from the restaurant through special, one-time caterer permits. The event must be at specific place for a specific time period and limited to a certain group of people, rather than open to the general public.
When catering started at the casino several years ago, drinks were served only to guests at specific functions, such as weddings. After the liquor authority shot down the Oneida nation's liquor license applications in late 2007, however, the resort ramped up and expanded its use of catering permits to include standing alcohol service.
Because a caterer's permit limits alcohol service to a private group, Turning Stone devised a plan to turn the Lava nightclub into a private club. For a one-time, $25 membership -- about the price of a cover charge -- anyone who walks through the door at Lava can become a lifetime member. Beeches serves alcohol every Friday and Saturday night to up to 950 people per night.
The private-club plan opened access to alcohol to far more people. From January to July 2008, Beeches catered nearly 400 events to serve alcohol to up to 93,000 people. During the same period this year, those numbers rose to 571 events and 167,000 potential drinkers.
Catered events have been as small as a 10-person private box at the REO Speedwagon concert in July to the 3,000-person golf exhibition last month featuring Tiger Woods.
Come Monday, the nation will further expand the notion of a private club at Turning Stone.
Every hotel guest, most people who attend concerts or get spa treatments, golfers at the resort's premier courses, and anyone who opts to pay a $25 fee will become lifetime members of the Diamond Explorer Club. That membership will entitle them to buy drinks at the resort's five fine-dining restaurants and three lounges.
Turning Stone is at a competitive disadvantage with other resorts that serve alcohol, Carmen said.
"This is Turning Stone's way of trying to improve the situation in a way that is respectful of what this community and the state Liquor Authority feel comfortable with," he said.
The liquor authority has approved the latest expansion of alcohol service, granting the Beeches 75 permits in August to serve alcohol at the restaurants and lounges. Carmen said those were only tests, however; no alcohol has been served in any of those venues and won't be until Monday.
Even after the expansion of alcohol at Turning Stone, no drinks will be served on the gaming floor. According to Liquor Authority regulations, alcohol can't be served where "Bingo or other game of chance" is played.
Beeches is co-owned by Chris Destito, the husband of Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito.
Nation officials and Chris Destito say the Beeches contracts at Turning Stone have nothing to do with politics.
"We do our job extremely well," Chris Destito said. "It's a very large operation at the casino, and it's not something you can just give somebody who doesn't know what they're doing."
Under the terms of the permits, caterers must provide food as well as alcohol, and not just chips and pretzels. Beeches contracts with Turning Stone for the food, Destito said, eliminating the need for Beeches to bring food in and out.
The permits also require that all alcohol be removed from the premises after the permit time expires, Destito said.
"Every single day, we bring everything in and everything out," he said.
Beeches must obtain permits for each bar and each day at Turning Stone. In August, Beeches obtained 246 permits for 174 events. The restaurant paid the standard $48 fee for each permit, for a total of $11,808.
The caterer permits are issued to Beeches, so the Liquor Authority has the authority to conduct inspections to make sure alcohol isn't being served to minors.
As a sovereign Indian tribe, the Oneida nation is exempt from following most state laws.
Alcohol permits are a separate matter, however, largely because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that states have control over the way alcohol is served and distributed on Indian lands.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: New York State not granting a liquor license to Turning Stone, doesn't seem fair to me. If a patron goes to other casinos and slot parlors at race tracks in New York can they drink? Why shouldn't people who go to casinos not be allowed to drink? Would you want to join a club to drink? Why did the state do this? Is it fair? Could it have anything to do with it's a Native American casino? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
`
ARGUMENTS IN APPEAL OF NARRAGANSETT JURY VERDICT BEGINS
Arguments begin in appeal of dismissal of jury verdict in R.I. smoke shop raid.
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 10, 2009
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer
BOSTON — A lawyer argued Wednesday that retired Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres overstepped his bounds in throwing out a jury’s verdict that a Rhode Island state trooper used excessive force when he twisted a Narragansett Indian’s leg during a raid on a tribal smokeshop in 2003.
But an attorney for the state countered that Torres based that decision on the rightful conclusion that testimony in the case was confusing and rife with misstatements and “padded” recollections.
It was the second time a three-judge panel from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard an appeal in the long-traveled dispute stemming from the hold Trooper Kenneth Jones used to subdue Adam Jennings during the police raid on the tobacco shop the Narragansetts opened on tribal land in Charlestown, in July 2003.
Jennings contends that Jones violated his civil rights by twisting his ankle until it broke during a scuffle that erupted as officers moved in to stop the tribe from selling tax-free cigarettes. Jones said he maintained his grip because Jennings continued to resist, but did not elevate his force.
A federal jury in Rhode Island concluded in 2005 that Jones used excessive force when he twisted Jennings’ ankle while placing him under arrest. The jurors dismissed claims against two other troopers, but awarded $301,000 to Jennings.
Torres overturned the verdict, finding that Jones was protected by qualified immunity, which shields officers from liability when they act reasonably while doing their jobs.
A three-judge appeals panel reinstated the jury’s verdict. The full court affirmed the panel’s ruling, but sent the case back to Torres to consider motions for a new trial.
Torres ordered a new trial in 2008, saying state police testimony proved more credible than that of Jennings or other defense witnesses at trial. A federal jury ruled in Jones’ favor after the second trial in U.S. District Court in July 2008. Jennings, again, appealed.
Charles M. Bradley, Jennings’ lawyer, argued Wednesday that jury verdicts should be overturned only in exceptional cases in which a miscarriage of justice occurred.
Wouldn’t a judge have strong grounds to overturn a verdict if he believed two key witnesses could not have seen the events they testified to, as Torres wrote, asked Chief Circuit Judge Sandra L. Lynch.
Torres based his decision on a flawed understanding of where one of the witnesses stood during the raid, Bradley said. “In this instance, [the first jury] got it right and [Torres] got it wrong.”
Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Tedford Partington asserted that Torres assessed witnesses based on firsthand knowledge of the case and careful study of their trial testimony. There was no credible evidence to support the jury’s finding in the first trial, she said.
Isn’t the fact that the ankle was broken evidence that Jones increased his force, Circuit Judge Arthur J. Garjarsa asked. It remains unclear, Partington said, when Jennings’ ankle broke.
What about screaming on video footage of the encounter, Circuit Judge Kermit V. Lipez inquired. “He screams a lot,” Partington said.
Lipez observed that existing case law provided little guidance to the court about how to rule in a manner that doesn’t give a judge carte blanche to overrule jury verdicts or abuse their discretion. The panel is expected to issue a decision in the coming months.
kmulvane@projo.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; Judge Torres who overturned the first decision stated that Officer Kenneth Jones was protected under "Qualified Immunity" which shields police officers from liability when they ACT reasonably while doing their jobs.
Since when is grabbing a person's ankle to the point of twisting and breaking it not EXCESSIVE force? I think (i am not a lawyer) that the first jury got it right and the judge got it wrong. Hopefully Adam Jennings will get justice. Hopefully an alleged wrong will be corrected.
What do you think?
THE PERSONS IN THIS STORY ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW.
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 10, 2009
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer
BOSTON — A lawyer argued Wednesday that retired Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres overstepped his bounds in throwing out a jury’s verdict that a Rhode Island state trooper used excessive force when he twisted a Narragansett Indian’s leg during a raid on a tribal smokeshop in 2003.
But an attorney for the state countered that Torres based that decision on the rightful conclusion that testimony in the case was confusing and rife with misstatements and “padded” recollections.
It was the second time a three-judge panel from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard an appeal in the long-traveled dispute stemming from the hold Trooper Kenneth Jones used to subdue Adam Jennings during the police raid on the tobacco shop the Narragansetts opened on tribal land in Charlestown, in July 2003.
Jennings contends that Jones violated his civil rights by twisting his ankle until it broke during a scuffle that erupted as officers moved in to stop the tribe from selling tax-free cigarettes. Jones said he maintained his grip because Jennings continued to resist, but did not elevate his force.
A federal jury in Rhode Island concluded in 2005 that Jones used excessive force when he twisted Jennings’ ankle while placing him under arrest. The jurors dismissed claims against two other troopers, but awarded $301,000 to Jennings.
Torres overturned the verdict, finding that Jones was protected by qualified immunity, which shields officers from liability when they act reasonably while doing their jobs.
A three-judge appeals panel reinstated the jury’s verdict. The full court affirmed the panel’s ruling, but sent the case back to Torres to consider motions for a new trial.
Torres ordered a new trial in 2008, saying state police testimony proved more credible than that of Jennings or other defense witnesses at trial. A federal jury ruled in Jones’ favor after the second trial in U.S. District Court in July 2008. Jennings, again, appealed.
Charles M. Bradley, Jennings’ lawyer, argued Wednesday that jury verdicts should be overturned only in exceptional cases in which a miscarriage of justice occurred.
Wouldn’t a judge have strong grounds to overturn a verdict if he believed two key witnesses could not have seen the events they testified to, as Torres wrote, asked Chief Circuit Judge Sandra L. Lynch.
Torres based his decision on a flawed understanding of where one of the witnesses stood during the raid, Bradley said. “In this instance, [the first jury] got it right and [Torres] got it wrong.”
Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Tedford Partington asserted that Torres assessed witnesses based on firsthand knowledge of the case and careful study of their trial testimony. There was no credible evidence to support the jury’s finding in the first trial, she said.
Isn’t the fact that the ankle was broken evidence that Jones increased his force, Circuit Judge Arthur J. Garjarsa asked. It remains unclear, Partington said, when Jennings’ ankle broke.
What about screaming on video footage of the encounter, Circuit Judge Kermit V. Lipez inquired. “He screams a lot,” Partington said.
Lipez observed that existing case law provided little guidance to the court about how to rule in a manner that doesn’t give a judge carte blanche to overrule jury verdicts or abuse their discretion. The panel is expected to issue a decision in the coming months.
kmulvane@projo.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; Judge Torres who overturned the first decision stated that Officer Kenneth Jones was protected under "Qualified Immunity" which shields police officers from liability when they ACT reasonably while doing their jobs.
Since when is grabbing a person's ankle to the point of twisting and breaking it not EXCESSIVE force? I think (i am not a lawyer) that the first jury got it right and the judge got it wrong. Hopefully Adam Jennings will get justice. Hopefully an alleged wrong will be corrected.
What do you think?
THE PERSONS IN THIS STORY ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW.
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
MORE PR FROM THE MOHEGAN SUN
Mohegan Sun Weathering the Corporate Storm, Looks to Bulk Up Association Business
September 08, 2009
By William Ng
On a late-August weekend in Uncasville, Conn., the slots and tables at Mohegan Sun's three casinos were brimming, as were the numerous restaurants and retail shops in the resort's centrally located arcade, jam-packed with patrons hard at play. Also, attendees from a major stationery manufacturer's meeting were chatting away as they filed out of a session. By the looks, it was hard to believe that there was a recession.
"We're at 94 percent occupancy right now," says Chris Perry, Mohegan Sun's vice president of hotel sales and marketing, of the 1,200-room hotel, as we walked through the lobby during a property tour. Leisure business remains brisk for the 240-acre southeastern Connecticut gaming resort, which is getting a steady stream of day-trippers and weekenders from around the region, but Perry acknowledges that with the recent troubles in the corporate world, group business is down 40 percent so far in 2009, with a flat fourth quarter projected.
Of course, Mohegan Sun is not alone in a year where not only gaming meccas like Las Vegas, but destinations from the East to Hawaii have seen marked declines in meetings and incentives business. With a still-flickering economy, the resort is working hard to market its value/post-AIG perception proposition.
"Being between Boston and New York, the value here is tremendous," says Perry. "A gallon of coffee here costs $42; in New York, it's $100," Perry cites. And though the resort recently began charging a $7.50 daily group facility fee per guest, Perry says it is lower than competitors and notes it includes in-room Wi-Fi, health club access, and generous in-room amenities. Plus, parking and public Wi-Fi on the site are both complimentary.
Mohegan Sun collateral states that its meetings can be up to 60 percent less expensive compared with meetings in those cities.
Still, luring groups here has not been easy because of the perception that the resort is not easily reachable, and Las Vegas is viewed as the pinnacle of meetings destinations, Perry explains. However, what may work in Mohegan Sun's favor is that in the post-AIG era, groups may be reluctant to go to Las Vegas, and Perry challenges that for most East Coast businesses, getting here is any more difficult.
Says the 20-year Northeast hospitality veteran: "There are 300 flights a day going into Hartford and Providence. The airports are not necessarily close, but you have to factor in traffic and the time from door to door. I bet we'll beat Dulles, Chicago, and New York. And Uncasville is low-profile—we're the low-key alternative to Las Vegas. You'll get a five-star experience here at a three-star budget."
Perry says transfers from either Hartford or Providence take about an hour. And to aid planners with logistics and the soup to nuts, Mohegan Sun has an on-site transportation and destination services team, which provides coach buses, books entertainment, and organizes off-site excursions to nearby Mystic.
Upon the addition of the Casino of the Wind in fall 2008, there are now three casinos (Wind, Earth, and Sky) at the resort totaling 360,000 square feet of gaming area. The latest casino has a 42-table poker room, which can conduct private group tournaments and lessons (dubbed Casino 101). Perry stresses that although Mohegan Sun is a gaming resort by definition, it has evolved beyond that, saying planners appreciate that the convention facility and hotel, located next to each other, are isolated from the gaming areas. "Gaming here is not in your face. The casinos are an 'amenity,' not a 'feature' at the resort," he notes.
In establishing itself as a complete destination and not merely a gaming paradise, Mohegan Sun has built a diverse entertainment lineup over its 13-year history. More and more, the resort provides a Vegas-like experience.
Its near-10,000-seat arena has a consistent schedule of top-act concerts and sporting events and is the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun (the team is owned by the Mohegan Tribe). The third floor of the hotel is occupied by a 22,000-square-foot Elemis Spa with 22 treatment rooms and a salon, in addition to a separate 27,500-square-foot solarium pool. Aside from nearly a dozen bars, a nightlife concept called Mohegan After Dark features Lucky's Lounge (a Vegas-style venue), Irish pub the Dubliner, and Ultra 88 Night Club.
The food and beverage roster is now led by such heavy hitters as Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville; Todd English's Tuscany; Michael Jordan's Steak House, 23.sportcafe, and Soltoro Tequila Grill; and Bobby's Burger Palace from Bobby Flay, who in November will debut Bar Americain at the resort. There is a total of 30 F&B outlets, ranging from quick-service food courts, to buffets and casual eateries, to upscale establishments.
On-site shopping similarly spans the price and demographics spectrum, ranging from discount and arts and crafts stores, to the Discovery Channel Store, to high-end shops like Tiffany & Co. and Tommy Bahama. Other brand-name retailers include Citizen Watch, Brookstone, Coach, Godiva Chocolatier, Puma, and Swarovski.
Corporate business, especially from around the Northeast, still dominates Mohegan Sun's group profile, but Perry notes that it has been slowly building association business, including national groups. Its clients have been the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Air Movement & Control Association International.
At any one time, Mohegan Sun can have five or six groups utilizing its 100,000-plus square feet of meeting space, typically financial, retail, and pharmaceutical assemblages of 75 attendees or fewer. Up to 750 guest rooms can be blocked out for meetings and other groups.
The 37,391-square-foot Uncas Ballroom, with 11,000 square feet of prefunction area and a banquet kitchen, is the Northeast's second-largest, Perry notes, while the Mohegan Sun Arena's floor provides 30,000 square feet of exhibition space. There are 29 meeting rooms accommodating 10 to 100 attendees, and also additional venue spaces like the Wolf Den, the 450-seat Cabaret Theatre, and a 17,500-square-foot terrace at the solarium pool. F&B buyout possibilities include Margaritaville and Leffingwells, a martini bar.
Behind the food court at Casino of the Earth, we gaze at the completed entrance of a still-planned 925-room hotel, part of Mohegan Sun's multi-phase Project Horizon expansion plan, now on hold because of the recession. The plan has already brought to bear the Casino of the Wind, which in turn brought back poker to Mohegan Sun after a five-year absence. Now on hiatus are additional shops and restaurants, as well as a House of Blues concert venue and up to 300 House of Blues-themed hotel rooms.
Perry says the current hotel was envisioned to be renamed the Sky Hotel, and the new hotel tower was to be called the Earth Hotel. With the new property, the current hotel "was aiming to be more the hotel for groups" for more privacy, he explains. Now, without a definitive timetable for Project Horizon, the more pressing concern is continuing to generate group business and keeping the current infrastructure filled.
"We are committed to blowing away the customer," says Perry. "And now, we are also committed to fiscally responsible groups."
September 08, 2009
By William Ng
On a late-August weekend in Uncasville, Conn., the slots and tables at Mohegan Sun's three casinos were brimming, as were the numerous restaurants and retail shops in the resort's centrally located arcade, jam-packed with patrons hard at play. Also, attendees from a major stationery manufacturer's meeting were chatting away as they filed out of a session. By the looks, it was hard to believe that there was a recession.
"We're at 94 percent occupancy right now," says Chris Perry, Mohegan Sun's vice president of hotel sales and marketing, of the 1,200-room hotel, as we walked through the lobby during a property tour. Leisure business remains brisk for the 240-acre southeastern Connecticut gaming resort, which is getting a steady stream of day-trippers and weekenders from around the region, but Perry acknowledges that with the recent troubles in the corporate world, group business is down 40 percent so far in 2009, with a flat fourth quarter projected.
Of course, Mohegan Sun is not alone in a year where not only gaming meccas like Las Vegas, but destinations from the East to Hawaii have seen marked declines in meetings and incentives business. With a still-flickering economy, the resort is working hard to market its value/post-AIG perception proposition.
"Being between Boston and New York, the value here is tremendous," says Perry. "A gallon of coffee here costs $42; in New York, it's $100," Perry cites. And though the resort recently began charging a $7.50 daily group facility fee per guest, Perry says it is lower than competitors and notes it includes in-room Wi-Fi, health club access, and generous in-room amenities. Plus, parking and public Wi-Fi on the site are both complimentary.
Mohegan Sun collateral states that its meetings can be up to 60 percent less expensive compared with meetings in those cities.
Still, luring groups here has not been easy because of the perception that the resort is not easily reachable, and Las Vegas is viewed as the pinnacle of meetings destinations, Perry explains. However, what may work in Mohegan Sun's favor is that in the post-AIG era, groups may be reluctant to go to Las Vegas, and Perry challenges that for most East Coast businesses, getting here is any more difficult.
Says the 20-year Northeast hospitality veteran: "There are 300 flights a day going into Hartford and Providence. The airports are not necessarily close, but you have to factor in traffic and the time from door to door. I bet we'll beat Dulles, Chicago, and New York. And Uncasville is low-profile—we're the low-key alternative to Las Vegas. You'll get a five-star experience here at a three-star budget."
Perry says transfers from either Hartford or Providence take about an hour. And to aid planners with logistics and the soup to nuts, Mohegan Sun has an on-site transportation and destination services team, which provides coach buses, books entertainment, and organizes off-site excursions to nearby Mystic.
Upon the addition of the Casino of the Wind in fall 2008, there are now three casinos (Wind, Earth, and Sky) at the resort totaling 360,000 square feet of gaming area. The latest casino has a 42-table poker room, which can conduct private group tournaments and lessons (dubbed Casino 101). Perry stresses that although Mohegan Sun is a gaming resort by definition, it has evolved beyond that, saying planners appreciate that the convention facility and hotel, located next to each other, are isolated from the gaming areas. "Gaming here is not in your face. The casinos are an 'amenity,' not a 'feature' at the resort," he notes.
In establishing itself as a complete destination and not merely a gaming paradise, Mohegan Sun has built a diverse entertainment lineup over its 13-year history. More and more, the resort provides a Vegas-like experience.
Its near-10,000-seat arena has a consistent schedule of top-act concerts and sporting events and is the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun (the team is owned by the Mohegan Tribe). The third floor of the hotel is occupied by a 22,000-square-foot Elemis Spa with 22 treatment rooms and a salon, in addition to a separate 27,500-square-foot solarium pool. Aside from nearly a dozen bars, a nightlife concept called Mohegan After Dark features Lucky's Lounge (a Vegas-style venue), Irish pub the Dubliner, and Ultra 88 Night Club.
The food and beverage roster is now led by such heavy hitters as Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville; Todd English's Tuscany; Michael Jordan's Steak House, 23.sportcafe, and Soltoro Tequila Grill; and Bobby's Burger Palace from Bobby Flay, who in November will debut Bar Americain at the resort. There is a total of 30 F&B outlets, ranging from quick-service food courts, to buffets and casual eateries, to upscale establishments.
On-site shopping similarly spans the price and demographics spectrum, ranging from discount and arts and crafts stores, to the Discovery Channel Store, to high-end shops like Tiffany & Co. and Tommy Bahama. Other brand-name retailers include Citizen Watch, Brookstone, Coach, Godiva Chocolatier, Puma, and Swarovski.
Corporate business, especially from around the Northeast, still dominates Mohegan Sun's group profile, but Perry notes that it has been slowly building association business, including national groups. Its clients have been the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Air Movement & Control Association International.
At any one time, Mohegan Sun can have five or six groups utilizing its 100,000-plus square feet of meeting space, typically financial, retail, and pharmaceutical assemblages of 75 attendees or fewer. Up to 750 guest rooms can be blocked out for meetings and other groups.
The 37,391-square-foot Uncas Ballroom, with 11,000 square feet of prefunction area and a banquet kitchen, is the Northeast's second-largest, Perry notes, while the Mohegan Sun Arena's floor provides 30,000 square feet of exhibition space. There are 29 meeting rooms accommodating 10 to 100 attendees, and also additional venue spaces like the Wolf Den, the 450-seat Cabaret Theatre, and a 17,500-square-foot terrace at the solarium pool. F&B buyout possibilities include Margaritaville and Leffingwells, a martini bar.
Behind the food court at Casino of the Earth, we gaze at the completed entrance of a still-planned 925-room hotel, part of Mohegan Sun's multi-phase Project Horizon expansion plan, now on hold because of the recession. The plan has already brought to bear the Casino of the Wind, which in turn brought back poker to Mohegan Sun after a five-year absence. Now on hiatus are additional shops and restaurants, as well as a House of Blues concert venue and up to 300 House of Blues-themed hotel rooms.
Perry says the current hotel was envisioned to be renamed the Sky Hotel, and the new hotel tower was to be called the Earth Hotel. With the new property, the current hotel "was aiming to be more the hotel for groups" for more privacy, he explains. Now, without a definitive timetable for Project Horizon, the more pressing concern is continuing to generate group business and keeping the current infrastructure filled.
"We are committed to blowing away the customer," says Perry. "And now, we are also committed to fiscally responsible groups."
WILL CHAIRMAN THOMAS OF THE MASHANTUCKETS SURVIVE?
Thomas Looking For Support In Effort To Avoid Ouster
Mashantucket tribal chairman could be dismissed Thursday
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/9/2009
Michael Thomas
Mashantucket - Down to perhaps his last 48 hours as tribal chairman, Michael Thomas hosted members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe at his home on the tribe's reservation Tuesday night, hoping to garner support for his bid to avoid an ouster.
Thomas declined a Day reporter's request to cover the meeting, saying he was intent on addressing only tribal members. Dozens of tribal members had arrived at Thomas' Ann Wampey Drive home by 5 p.m.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council could vote Thursday to expel Thomas from the council for unilaterally communicating to tribal members his plan to deal with the tribe's dire financial circumstances. Under the tribe's constitution and by-laws, the council may, by a three-fifths vote, expel any council member “for neglect of duty or gross misconduct after due notice and opportunity to be heard.”
Six members of the seven-member council - Thomas being the seventh member - placed him on administrative leave Aug. 31 “pending the outcome of an internal review.” They informed Thomas they were “appalled” by his Aug. 19 letter to tribal members.
The councilors charged Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by sending the letter, in which he pledged to preserve tribal government and incentive payments to tribal members before paying creditors.
The Day reported on Thomas' letter in an Aug. 26 story that also reported the tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, was nearing default and seeking to restructure $2.3 billion worth of debt.
Following Thomas' appearance before the council Thursday, the councilors could vote to expel him. If that occurs, a special election would have to be held within 30 days to fill the council vacancy.
Thomas, elected to the council in 1994 and to the chairmanship in 2002, would face re-election in November if he survives the attempt to oust him.
On another tribal front, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office made no announcement Tuesday regarding its review of the Mashantuckets' imposition of a 1 percent “tribal tax” on retail sales and hotel charges at the Foxwoods casinos.
The attorney general is looking into whether the tribe has the authority to impose such a tax. He also has said the tax - tacked onto the 6 percent state sales tax - “could be problematic” if receipts fail to break it out and identify it.
Receipts at the casinos last week showed a 7 percent “tax” listed on a single line. The additional tax was imposed Sept. 1.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could something like this happen to other tribes? Should Tribal Council members be held accountable by the tribal members? Should the Mashantucket Pequot's remove Thomas? Couldn't they just vote him out in November? Could something like this happen in the Mohegan Tribe? Critical times are coming for the Mohegans and hardship may occur because of the Mohegan Tribal Council. Will it happen? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
Mashantucket tribal chairman could be dismissed Thursday
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/9/2009
Michael Thomas
Mashantucket - Down to perhaps his last 48 hours as tribal chairman, Michael Thomas hosted members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe at his home on the tribe's reservation Tuesday night, hoping to garner support for his bid to avoid an ouster.
Thomas declined a Day reporter's request to cover the meeting, saying he was intent on addressing only tribal members. Dozens of tribal members had arrived at Thomas' Ann Wampey Drive home by 5 p.m.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council could vote Thursday to expel Thomas from the council for unilaterally communicating to tribal members his plan to deal with the tribe's dire financial circumstances. Under the tribe's constitution and by-laws, the council may, by a three-fifths vote, expel any council member “for neglect of duty or gross misconduct after due notice and opportunity to be heard.”
Six members of the seven-member council - Thomas being the seventh member - placed him on administrative leave Aug. 31 “pending the outcome of an internal review.” They informed Thomas they were “appalled” by his Aug. 19 letter to tribal members.
The councilors charged Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by sending the letter, in which he pledged to preserve tribal government and incentive payments to tribal members before paying creditors.
The Day reported on Thomas' letter in an Aug. 26 story that also reported the tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, was nearing default and seeking to restructure $2.3 billion worth of debt.
Following Thomas' appearance before the council Thursday, the councilors could vote to expel him. If that occurs, a special election would have to be held within 30 days to fill the council vacancy.
Thomas, elected to the council in 1994 and to the chairmanship in 2002, would face re-election in November if he survives the attempt to oust him.
On another tribal front, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office made no announcement Tuesday regarding its review of the Mashantuckets' imposition of a 1 percent “tribal tax” on retail sales and hotel charges at the Foxwoods casinos.
The attorney general is looking into whether the tribe has the authority to impose such a tax. He also has said the tax - tacked onto the 6 percent state sales tax - “could be problematic” if receipts fail to break it out and identify it.
Receipts at the casinos last week showed a 7 percent “tax” listed on a single line. The additional tax was imposed Sept. 1.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could something like this happen to other tribes? Should Tribal Council members be held accountable by the tribal members? Should the Mashantucket Pequot's remove Thomas? Couldn't they just vote him out in November? Could something like this happen in the Mohegan Tribe? Critical times are coming for the Mohegans and hardship may occur because of the Mohegan Tribal Council. Will it happen? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
BOSTON RED SOX CLOSER FINED FOR SLOWING DOWN THE GAME
0 Red Sox closer Papelbon fined again for taking too long to pitch
AP September 4th, 2009
Red Sox closer Papelbon fined for slow pace
CHICAGO — Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has been fined again for slowing down games.
Papelbon was fined $5,000 by Major League Baseball for taking too long to throw his first pitch. A new rule allows pitchers 2 minutes, 20 seconds from the final out of the previous inning to the first pitch. They get 12 seconds to throw once the batter steps into the box.
The fine was first reported by the Boston Herald. Papelbon was fined previously this season.
“After this, I don’t know, man,” Papelbon told the paper. “I think they’re going to call my parole officer and put me away.”
Papelbon has 34 saves in 37 opportunities this season, with a 1.84 ERA.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It seems, Major League Baseball wants to complete the ball games between two and half and three hours per game.
The way baseball was originally written to be played it allowed the pitcher to take as much time as he needed. The same applies to the hitter, also. Baseball is a game of inches. Baseball is a game of fractions of seconds. Baseball is a game of mind games. A pitcher or hitter trying to out wit each other. A game of strategy.
It is like the bases being 90 feet apart. Years ago, players were slower, and threw slower and the plays were close. (example throwing from third base to first base) Today, the players are faster, bigger and stronger. The plays are still close. The 90 feet still works. A game over one hundred (100) years that still works, the way it drawn up from the start.. Should baseball fool around with distances between bases? Absolutely, NO.
Yes, there are considerations for the fans, the media, television,etc., however should they be allowed to change the way the game should be played? Is what major league baseball doing good for the game? Is the old way, the best way? What do you think?
THESE ARE BROKENWINGS OPINIONS.
AP September 4th, 2009
Red Sox closer Papelbon fined for slow pace
CHICAGO — Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has been fined again for slowing down games.
Papelbon was fined $5,000 by Major League Baseball for taking too long to throw his first pitch. A new rule allows pitchers 2 minutes, 20 seconds from the final out of the previous inning to the first pitch. They get 12 seconds to throw once the batter steps into the box.
The fine was first reported by the Boston Herald. Papelbon was fined previously this season.
“After this, I don’t know, man,” Papelbon told the paper. “I think they’re going to call my parole officer and put me away.”
Papelbon has 34 saves in 37 opportunities this season, with a 1.84 ERA.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It seems, Major League Baseball wants to complete the ball games between two and half and three hours per game.
The way baseball was originally written to be played it allowed the pitcher to take as much time as he needed. The same applies to the hitter, also. Baseball is a game of inches. Baseball is a game of fractions of seconds. Baseball is a game of mind games. A pitcher or hitter trying to out wit each other. A game of strategy.
It is like the bases being 90 feet apart. Years ago, players were slower, and threw slower and the plays were close. (example throwing from third base to first base) Today, the players are faster, bigger and stronger. The plays are still close. The 90 feet still works. A game over one hundred (100) years that still works, the way it drawn up from the start.. Should baseball fool around with distances between bases? Absolutely, NO.
Yes, there are considerations for the fans, the media, television,etc., however should they be allowed to change the way the game should be played? Is what major league baseball doing good for the game? Is the old way, the best way? What do you think?
THESE ARE BROKENWINGS OPINIONS.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO FOXWOODS NEXT?
Pequots Have Come Too Far To Fail Now
Beset by financial and political problems, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is at a crossroads. Regaining its early sense of purpose and community would benefit the tribe now.
By The Day Published on 9/6/2009
The next chapter of the rags-to-riches story of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe - the precipitous fall from near the top of the gaming world's pinnacle - won't be written for months, if not years, to come.
But when it is, undoubtedly the Pequot's insatiable appetite to be the biggest - at whatever the cost - will surely be cited as a significant contributor to the bad times.
The recent disclosure that the tribe owes more than it has the ability to pay shouldn't surprise anyone who has followed the Pequot's story since former chairman Richard “Skip” Hayward led the effort in the 1970s to return the Mashantucket Pequots to their reservation on the edge of a cedar swamp in the Ledyard woods.
While the tribe's current embattled chairman, Michael Thomas, has tried to pin much of the Pequot's present financial fiasco on Mr. Hayward, who led the tribe from 1975 to 1998, that's clearly not the case.
But what may have caused the tribe's downfall is the Pequot's apparent inability to foresee the possibility of economic hard times and to save for a rainy day. Since the tribe first opened its casino in 1992, it has never stopped expanding, and gone out of its way to add more gaming space and slot machines in an obvious effort to be “bigger” than its rival across the Thames River, the Mohegan Sun.
And during much of that expansion, the economy was seemingly healthy and business was thriving. But the obsession to be the biggest - as evidenced by the tribe's decision to build the billion-dollar MGM Grand at Foxwoods as clear signs of the recession were emerging in 2007 - didn't stop them.
When “the fall from the pinnacle chapter” is written, it should probably say the Pequots shoulder much of the responsibility for financial troubles. The recession is certainly hurting them, but some of their investments over the last decade have been ill-advised and its focus on super-sizing Foxwoods has hurt it.
But the chapter could also say that the downfall of 2009 led the Pequots to not only better business decisions, but better political decisions, too. Rank-and-file Pequots have been agitating for a long time now to have more of a say in the tribe's decision-making, including its spending. And they deserve it.
Since their early success, the Mashantucket Pequots have gotten off track. When Mr. Hayward repatriated Pequots to the reservation in the 1970s, there was not only a sense of community among tribal members, but a sense of purpose. They've misplaced that.
In many ways, the tribe has become a victim of its own success. While Mr. Thomas is currently fighting to keep his seat as tribal chairman, each new day brings new disclosures of the Pequot's troubled finances and political upheaval.
In one of his last public comments made in 2002, Mr. Hayward described the Pequot's reincarnation as “an incredible story.”
”And I believe that each generation that grows here will be more powerful, will be stronger, and will be more educated and be able to make a larger contribution to the community,” he said.
The Pequots have come too far to fail, but they must reorder their priorities. It's not only in the tribe's best interest, but also the interest of the state and region, that they succeed.
This chapter is going to be incredible, too.
"Regional
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Notice the words "some of their investments have been ill advised."
Could this also be said of the Mohegans at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut? You bet, you can. The Mohegans also over built and over spent.
In my opinion, the Mohegans didn't look to the future. They got caught up in their so called success. Paying only the interest on your loans will eventually get you.
I believe, in time it will come out that the leadership of the Mohegan Tribe messed up. They had no foresight. They blew it. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING
Beset by financial and political problems, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is at a crossroads. Regaining its early sense of purpose and community would benefit the tribe now.
By The Day Published on 9/6/2009
The next chapter of the rags-to-riches story of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe - the precipitous fall from near the top of the gaming world's pinnacle - won't be written for months, if not years, to come.
But when it is, undoubtedly the Pequot's insatiable appetite to be the biggest - at whatever the cost - will surely be cited as a significant contributor to the bad times.
The recent disclosure that the tribe owes more than it has the ability to pay shouldn't surprise anyone who has followed the Pequot's story since former chairman Richard “Skip” Hayward led the effort in the 1970s to return the Mashantucket Pequots to their reservation on the edge of a cedar swamp in the Ledyard woods.
While the tribe's current embattled chairman, Michael Thomas, has tried to pin much of the Pequot's present financial fiasco on Mr. Hayward, who led the tribe from 1975 to 1998, that's clearly not the case.
But what may have caused the tribe's downfall is the Pequot's apparent inability to foresee the possibility of economic hard times and to save for a rainy day. Since the tribe first opened its casino in 1992, it has never stopped expanding, and gone out of its way to add more gaming space and slot machines in an obvious effort to be “bigger” than its rival across the Thames River, the Mohegan Sun.
And during much of that expansion, the economy was seemingly healthy and business was thriving. But the obsession to be the biggest - as evidenced by the tribe's decision to build the billion-dollar MGM Grand at Foxwoods as clear signs of the recession were emerging in 2007 - didn't stop them.
When “the fall from the pinnacle chapter” is written, it should probably say the Pequots shoulder much of the responsibility for financial troubles. The recession is certainly hurting them, but some of their investments over the last decade have been ill-advised and its focus on super-sizing Foxwoods has hurt it.
But the chapter could also say that the downfall of 2009 led the Pequots to not only better business decisions, but better political decisions, too. Rank-and-file Pequots have been agitating for a long time now to have more of a say in the tribe's decision-making, including its spending. And they deserve it.
Since their early success, the Mashantucket Pequots have gotten off track. When Mr. Hayward repatriated Pequots to the reservation in the 1970s, there was not only a sense of community among tribal members, but a sense of purpose. They've misplaced that.
In many ways, the tribe has become a victim of its own success. While Mr. Thomas is currently fighting to keep his seat as tribal chairman, each new day brings new disclosures of the Pequot's troubled finances and political upheaval.
In one of his last public comments made in 2002, Mr. Hayward described the Pequot's reincarnation as “an incredible story.”
”And I believe that each generation that grows here will be more powerful, will be stronger, and will be more educated and be able to make a larger contribution to the community,” he said.
The Pequots have come too far to fail, but they must reorder their priorities. It's not only in the tribe's best interest, but also the interest of the state and region, that they succeed.
This chapter is going to be incredible, too.
"Regional
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Notice the words "some of their investments have been ill advised."
Could this also be said of the Mohegans at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut? You bet, you can. The Mohegans also over built and over spent.
In my opinion, the Mohegans didn't look to the future. They got caught up in their so called success. Paying only the interest on your loans will eventually get you.
I believe, in time it will come out that the leadership of the Mohegan Tribe messed up. They had no foresight. They blew it. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING
PARENTS VIEW OF SHOOTING
.
Shooting shocks Norwich victim's parents
Couple say son a good boy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By DEBORAH STRASZHEIM
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 06, 2009 @ 11:32 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich, Conn. — .Manuel and Diolinda Canuto knew their son, Elson, went out at night. They didn’t know where he went, but they said he was a good boy. They never thought he’d get shot.
On Saturday, Elson Canuto, 19, was shot several times with a handgun at close range during a private party at a home on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation. His condition was upgraded from critical to guarded at Hartford Hospital on Sunday, after two surgeries. Manuel Canuto said Elson was shot in the abdomen and the arm.
“He goes out like every teenager does. He does things like every teenager does,” Manuel Canuto said. But he said his son earned good marks in school, worked and was a good boy.
Diolinda said it’s awful to see her son in a hospital bed, and worse to think someone hurt him on purpose.
“It hurts. But there’s nothing you can do. You have to hold on and pray, and wait for the day he stands up. ...” she said.
Elson Canuto graduated from Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School last year, and learned how to be a plumber. As a boy, he played basketball and learned karate. The family has lived in Norwich for 29 years and moved here from Cape Verde. They did not want their street address or their son’s photo published.
After he graduated, Elson Canuto worked for two cousins with plumbing businesses, and some for his father. Work had been slow lately, and he had been living at home.
Party on reservation
He went out as teenagers do, though his parents didn’t know where he was the night he was shot. Police said he was attending a party at 3 Ann Wampey Drive on the reservation, and was approached outside by a man who shot him. The shooter immediately fled. No arrests had been made as of Sunday evening.
Police said they found a large party going on at the house when they arrived, and several friends of Canuto had already taken him by car to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, where he was transferred to Hartford.
Diolinda Canuto said their older son, who is 26, called them at about 12:30 or 1 a.m. and told them Elson had been shot and was at Backus. By the time she got to the hospital, her son was already on his way to Hartford.
“It was awful. It was awful. I didn’t know what to do,” Diolinda Canuto said.
They saw him later Saturday and Sunday morning. Diolinda Canuto said she can sit at his bedside for about two seconds, then starts crying.
“It’s not easy to see your kid lay in the bed like that,” she said.
Manuel Canuto said he’s grateful to the people who drove Elson to Backus, though he believes they should have called an ambulance. Now he just wants them to come forward, because they must know something.
“I want police to do their job, and I want justice to be done,” he said. “Because this is a nice country.”
Shooting shocks Norwich victim's parents
Couple say son a good boy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By DEBORAH STRASZHEIM
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 06, 2009 @ 11:32 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich, Conn. — .Manuel and Diolinda Canuto knew their son, Elson, went out at night. They didn’t know where he went, but they said he was a good boy. They never thought he’d get shot.
On Saturday, Elson Canuto, 19, was shot several times with a handgun at close range during a private party at a home on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation. His condition was upgraded from critical to guarded at Hartford Hospital on Sunday, after two surgeries. Manuel Canuto said Elson was shot in the abdomen and the arm.
“He goes out like every teenager does. He does things like every teenager does,” Manuel Canuto said. But he said his son earned good marks in school, worked and was a good boy.
Diolinda said it’s awful to see her son in a hospital bed, and worse to think someone hurt him on purpose.
“It hurts. But there’s nothing you can do. You have to hold on and pray, and wait for the day he stands up. ...” she said.
Elson Canuto graduated from Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School last year, and learned how to be a plumber. As a boy, he played basketball and learned karate. The family has lived in Norwich for 29 years and moved here from Cape Verde. They did not want their street address or their son’s photo published.
After he graduated, Elson Canuto worked for two cousins with plumbing businesses, and some for his father. Work had been slow lately, and he had been living at home.
Party on reservation
He went out as teenagers do, though his parents didn’t know where he was the night he was shot. Police said he was attending a party at 3 Ann Wampey Drive on the reservation, and was approached outside by a man who shot him. The shooter immediately fled. No arrests had been made as of Sunday evening.
Police said they found a large party going on at the house when they arrived, and several friends of Canuto had already taken him by car to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, where he was transferred to Hartford.
Diolinda Canuto said their older son, who is 26, called them at about 12:30 or 1 a.m. and told them Elson had been shot and was at Backus. By the time she got to the hospital, her son was already on his way to Hartford.
“It was awful. It was awful. I didn’t know what to do,” Diolinda Canuto said.
They saw him later Saturday and Sunday morning. Diolinda Canuto said she can sit at his bedside for about two seconds, then starts crying.
“It’s not easy to see your kid lay in the bed like that,” she said.
Manuel Canuto said he’s grateful to the people who drove Elson to Backus, though he believes they should have called an ambulance. Now he just wants them to come forward, because they must know something.
“I want police to do their job, and I want justice to be done,” he said. “Because this is a nice country.”
Sunday, September 6, 2009
NORWICH MAN SHOT AT PARTY AT MASHANTUCKET
Victim in critical condition after shooting in Mashantucket.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JAMES MOSHER
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 05, 2009 @ 11:48 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mashantucket, Conn. — .A Norwich man was in critical condition Saturday night at Hartford Hospital, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds he suffered at a private party at a home on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation.
State police said Elison Canuto of Norwich was attending a party at 3 Ann Wampey Drive. During the party, Canuto was approached outside by a man who shot him several times with a handgun at close range, police said. The shooter immediately fled the scene, police said.
State police said they received a call about the incident at 12:43 a.m. and responded immediately, finding a large party going on at the residence.
Several friends of Canuto already had taken him by car to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, police said. He later was transferred to Hartford Hospital for emergency surgery and remains hospitalized there.
Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime Squad are investigating the shooting. They searched the area for the suspect without success. Troopers found a handgun they believe was used in the shooting a short distance away, police said.
Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call police at 1-800-953-7747 or (860) 848-6548. Calls will be kept confidential.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Did this happen on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation? The people were still partying after the man was shot? Nobody saw anything? How safe is it on the reservation? How safe is it on the Mohegan Reservation? Could this happen on the Mohegan Reservation? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JAMES MOSHER
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 05, 2009 @ 11:48 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mashantucket, Conn. — .A Norwich man was in critical condition Saturday night at Hartford Hospital, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds he suffered at a private party at a home on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation.
State police said Elison Canuto of Norwich was attending a party at 3 Ann Wampey Drive. During the party, Canuto was approached outside by a man who shot him several times with a handgun at close range, police said. The shooter immediately fled the scene, police said.
State police said they received a call about the incident at 12:43 a.m. and responded immediately, finding a large party going on at the residence.
Several friends of Canuto already had taken him by car to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, police said. He later was transferred to Hartford Hospital for emergency surgery and remains hospitalized there.
Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime Squad are investigating the shooting. They searched the area for the suspect without success. Troopers found a handgun they believe was used in the shooting a short distance away, police said.
Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call police at 1-800-953-7747 or (860) 848-6548. Calls will be kept confidential.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Did this happen on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation? The people were still partying after the man was shot? Nobody saw anything? How safe is it on the reservation? How safe is it on the Mohegan Reservation? Could this happen on the Mohegan Reservation? What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
MATT GUIDERA SUSPENDED BY NHRA
NHRA Hands Out 1st Suspension for Drug Test Violation
Posted Sep 06, 2009 9:28AM By Holly Cain (RSS feed)
The National Hot Rod Association has suspended Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Guidera, 39, for one year after ruling he violated drug testing procedure this weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park outside Indianapolis.
The 39-year old didn't test positive for a banned substance, but rather did not follow rules to take the test. He is the first competitor in one of the four professional classes -- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle -- to be suspended under the 10-year old policy.
Under the NHRA's random drug testing format, once a racer is notified of the test, he/she has 24 hours to show up at a designated independent testing facility set-up on the grounds of that week's racing venue. According to a NHRA news release on Saturday, Guidera "failed to comply with the NHRA's drug testing policy within the required 24-hour time period."
Guidera, a four-time winner in five full time seasons, has been disqualified from this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals -- drag racing's version of the Indy 500 -- but will retain his current championship points and can appeal the suspension. He was ranked seventh in the standings entering the weekend and had qualified for the Countdown to the Championship playoff format.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Matt Guidea of California, drives the Mohegan Sun Motorcycle in the Pro Motorcycle division.
He claimed in an interview, that he waited to the twenty third (23) hour to go for the test. He claimed, he just couldn't perform enough for the test. Since when, if you show up, doesn't someone give you enough time to allegedly urinate? For this you get suspended for one (1) year?
Why did he wait to twenty third hour? He said he passed all his drug tests in the past, and he was willing to complete this one. Matt said he has always played by the rules and played fairly.
It seems like it was a bad day for his sponsor, the Mohegan Sun. It seems like it was a bad day for Matt Guidera. Matt Guidera intends to appeal his suspension. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING
Posted Sep 06, 2009 9:28AM By Holly Cain (RSS feed)
The National Hot Rod Association has suspended Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Guidera, 39, for one year after ruling he violated drug testing procedure this weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park outside Indianapolis.
The 39-year old didn't test positive for a banned substance, but rather did not follow rules to take the test. He is the first competitor in one of the four professional classes -- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle -- to be suspended under the 10-year old policy.
Under the NHRA's random drug testing format, once a racer is notified of the test, he/she has 24 hours to show up at a designated independent testing facility set-up on the grounds of that week's racing venue. According to a NHRA news release on Saturday, Guidera "failed to comply with the NHRA's drug testing policy within the required 24-hour time period."
Guidera, a four-time winner in five full time seasons, has been disqualified from this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals -- drag racing's version of the Indy 500 -- but will retain his current championship points and can appeal the suspension. He was ranked seventh in the standings entering the weekend and had qualified for the Countdown to the Championship playoff format.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Matt Guidea of California, drives the Mohegan Sun Motorcycle in the Pro Motorcycle division.
He claimed in an interview, that he waited to the twenty third (23) hour to go for the test. He claimed, he just couldn't perform enough for the test. Since when, if you show up, doesn't someone give you enough time to allegedly urinate? For this you get suspended for one (1) year?
Why did he wait to twenty third hour? He said he passed all his drug tests in the past, and he was willing to complete this one. Matt said he has always played by the rules and played fairly.
It seems like it was a bad day for his sponsor, the Mohegan Sun. It seems like it was a bad day for Matt Guidera. Matt Guidera intends to appeal his suspension. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING
NARRAGANSETT'S POW WOW 2009
It was a beautiful, warm, sunny, Saturday morning, this last summer. I called the Editor of the Feather News and said, "Let's go to the Narragansett Pow Wow." He agreed. So off we went to Charlestown, Rhode Island, about a one (1) hour drive from Uncasville, Connecticut.
We knew that the Pow Wow was at the Old Indian Church, in Charlestown, Rhode Island. We couldn't find it, so we stopped and asked directions. We end up parking at the Narragansett Tribes' Community Center. There was a long line for the ten (10) passenger vans to take people to the pow wow.
We decided to walk to the Pow Wow, I mean how far could it be? We walk down a narrow paved road. As we walked down the road, beautiful trees (woods) surrounded us. About a half mile down the road, we meet up with a pow wow volunteer, who told us to walk down this dirt road to the pow wow. Off we go down the dirt road continuing to be enveloped by the forest. About a mile down the road we make it to the pow wow.
The tribe was in their regalia waiting to march in for the Grand Entry. We paid the $5.00 entrance fee. We gladly paid, because we wanted to help the Narragansett Tribe.
There sitting on top of a stone wall was our friend, Charlene Harris, who was there to take pictures of the event for the Narragansetts. She is a very accomplished, professional photographer.
Behind the stone wall was the pow wow. In front of us stood the arbor, under which sat the drummers, and Narragansett Elders and other tribal members. A large clearing in a forest. Around the circle where the dancing took place, were white tents where the vendors were selling their wares and food.
There on the side of the dirt road was the Old Indian Church. It is a beautiful old quaint field stone building. If you didn't know it was there you could never find it. It is a wonderful historical and spiritual place. If you go and see it, you will love it. Behind the church is a burial ground. It was humbling to walk amongst the grave markers. It seemed like the departed were one with Mother Earth. A good place to be.
The Tribe marched into the center of the circle to start the activities (Grand Entry). One of the best parts, was watching the Medicine man and his assistant John Brown, blessing the circle where the dancing was going to take place. This took place after John Brown had started the Sacred Fire. The various Narragansett officials, partook in a smudge. It was quite moving.
One Narragansett Elder sang a welcome song and beat a small drum. He did a terrific job. The dancing and drumming were terrific. The food and the company were terrific. The visitors of the Pow Wow enjoyed themselves. I believe the visitors went away more knowledgable and understanding of the Culture of Native Americans.
I wondered, how come it doesn't feel like this at the Mohegan Wigwam? Maybe it is the simple things. One person said, "Ours is Commercial." Maybe she was right. Do we (the Mohegan Tribe) need to get back to our roots, back to what is truly important?
As we drove away, I thought it was a great day for the Narragansett Tribe, and a great day for three Mohegans who went to the Pow Wow. The Narragansetts did all Native Americans proud. Good Job.
If next year you get the opportunity, go and enjoy the Pow Wow. What do you think?
these are the opinions of brokenwing.
We knew that the Pow Wow was at the Old Indian Church, in Charlestown, Rhode Island. We couldn't find it, so we stopped and asked directions. We end up parking at the Narragansett Tribes' Community Center. There was a long line for the ten (10) passenger vans to take people to the pow wow.
We decided to walk to the Pow Wow, I mean how far could it be? We walk down a narrow paved road. As we walked down the road, beautiful trees (woods) surrounded us. About a half mile down the road, we meet up with a pow wow volunteer, who told us to walk down this dirt road to the pow wow. Off we go down the dirt road continuing to be enveloped by the forest. About a mile down the road we make it to the pow wow.
The tribe was in their regalia waiting to march in for the Grand Entry. We paid the $5.00 entrance fee. We gladly paid, because we wanted to help the Narragansett Tribe.
There sitting on top of a stone wall was our friend, Charlene Harris, who was there to take pictures of the event for the Narragansetts. She is a very accomplished, professional photographer.
Behind the stone wall was the pow wow. In front of us stood the arbor, under which sat the drummers, and Narragansett Elders and other tribal members. A large clearing in a forest. Around the circle where the dancing took place, were white tents where the vendors were selling their wares and food.
There on the side of the dirt road was the Old Indian Church. It is a beautiful old quaint field stone building. If you didn't know it was there you could never find it. It is a wonderful historical and spiritual place. If you go and see it, you will love it. Behind the church is a burial ground. It was humbling to walk amongst the grave markers. It seemed like the departed were one with Mother Earth. A good place to be.
The Tribe marched into the center of the circle to start the activities (Grand Entry). One of the best parts, was watching the Medicine man and his assistant John Brown, blessing the circle where the dancing was going to take place. This took place after John Brown had started the Sacred Fire. The various Narragansett officials, partook in a smudge. It was quite moving.
One Narragansett Elder sang a welcome song and beat a small drum. He did a terrific job. The dancing and drumming were terrific. The food and the company were terrific. The visitors of the Pow Wow enjoyed themselves. I believe the visitors went away more knowledgable and understanding of the Culture of Native Americans.
I wondered, how come it doesn't feel like this at the Mohegan Wigwam? Maybe it is the simple things. One person said, "Ours is Commercial." Maybe she was right. Do we (the Mohegan Tribe) need to get back to our roots, back to what is truly important?
As we drove away, I thought it was a great day for the Narragansett Tribe, and a great day for three Mohegans who went to the Pow Wow. The Narragansetts did all Native Americans proud. Good Job.
If next year you get the opportunity, go and enjoy the Pow Wow. What do you think?
these are the opinions of brokenwing.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL LOOKING AT MASHANTUCKET TAX
Blumenthal has Mashantucket tax under review
Thomas preparing for tribal meeting next week
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/4/2009
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will continue to review the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's imposition of a 1 percent “tribal tax” on retail sales and hotel charges at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
”I can't say that anything is new,” the attorney general said late Thursday afternoon, having begun the review earlier in the day. “We're reviewing both the law and the actual issues involved. We haven't reached a conclusion.
”I'm not going to comment as to whom we've contacted,” he said.
Calls and e-mails directed to tribal and casino officials were not returned Thursday.
Blumenthal, informed Wednesday that the casinos' retail outlets were charging 7 percent tax, said his office would “review and possibly investigate” the matter. Robert Victoria, a Foxwoods senior vice president, said the 7 percent included the 6 percent state sales tax and a 1 percent “tribal tax,” which was implemented Tuesday.
The tribal tax “could be problematic,” Blumenthal said, if receipts failed to break it out and identify it. A receipt for merchandise purchased at a Foxwoods shop Wednesday showed the 7 percent “tax” listed on a single line, with no indication that it reflected the state sales tax and a tribal tax.
Blumenthal also said Wednesday that he would review the tribe's gaming compact with the state to determine whether the tribe has the authority to impose a tax.
Asked if the 7 percent levy remained in place, Blumenthal said Thursday that he believed it did. He would not speculate on whether money collected under the tax would be escrowed pending the outcome of his review.
”If we find that there is overcharging of the state or anyone else we will consider taking steps to recover the money,” he said.
Victoria said Wednesday that the tribal tax had nothing to do with the Mashantuckets' dire financial circumstances, which have been attributed to diminishing revenues at the casinos.
On Monday, the Mashantuckets' tribal council began a process that could lead to Chairman Michael Thomas' expulsion. The six other members of the seven-member panel placed Thomas on administrative leave pending a Sept. 10 council meeting at which the council could vote to expel him.
The councilors charged Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by e-mailing a letter to tribal members that outlined his plan for dealing with the financial crisis. Thomas pledged to preserve tribal government and distributions to tribal members before paying creditors.
In recent days, Thomas has been working on the “political stuff,” meeting with family members and preparing for a tribal meeting he plans to hold at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the tribe's community center, “or in the parking lot,” a source told The Day.
In a letter announcing the Tuesday meeting, Thomas writes that it is being “duly called” in accordance with Article IX of the tribe's constitution and by-laws.
However, Thomas' status raises a question about his authority to call a special meeting of the council. The Day has repeatedly posed the question to tribal officials in recent days but has not gotten a response.
Thomas has also circulated petitions among tribal members calling for a referendum on his status and for a special election to recall the six other councilors.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
"Regional"
Thomas preparing for tribal meeting next week
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/4/2009
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will continue to review the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's imposition of a 1 percent “tribal tax” on retail sales and hotel charges at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
”I can't say that anything is new,” the attorney general said late Thursday afternoon, having begun the review earlier in the day. “We're reviewing both the law and the actual issues involved. We haven't reached a conclusion.
”I'm not going to comment as to whom we've contacted,” he said.
Calls and e-mails directed to tribal and casino officials were not returned Thursday.
Blumenthal, informed Wednesday that the casinos' retail outlets were charging 7 percent tax, said his office would “review and possibly investigate” the matter. Robert Victoria, a Foxwoods senior vice president, said the 7 percent included the 6 percent state sales tax and a 1 percent “tribal tax,” which was implemented Tuesday.
The tribal tax “could be problematic,” Blumenthal said, if receipts failed to break it out and identify it. A receipt for merchandise purchased at a Foxwoods shop Wednesday showed the 7 percent “tax” listed on a single line, with no indication that it reflected the state sales tax and a tribal tax.
Blumenthal also said Wednesday that he would review the tribe's gaming compact with the state to determine whether the tribe has the authority to impose a tax.
Asked if the 7 percent levy remained in place, Blumenthal said Thursday that he believed it did. He would not speculate on whether money collected under the tax would be escrowed pending the outcome of his review.
”If we find that there is overcharging of the state or anyone else we will consider taking steps to recover the money,” he said.
Victoria said Wednesday that the tribal tax had nothing to do with the Mashantuckets' dire financial circumstances, which have been attributed to diminishing revenues at the casinos.
On Monday, the Mashantuckets' tribal council began a process that could lead to Chairman Michael Thomas' expulsion. The six other members of the seven-member panel placed Thomas on administrative leave pending a Sept. 10 council meeting at which the council could vote to expel him.
The councilors charged Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by e-mailing a letter to tribal members that outlined his plan for dealing with the financial crisis. Thomas pledged to preserve tribal government and distributions to tribal members before paying creditors.
In recent days, Thomas has been working on the “political stuff,” meeting with family members and preparing for a tribal meeting he plans to hold at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the tribe's community center, “or in the parking lot,” a source told The Day.
In a letter announcing the Tuesday meeting, Thomas writes that it is being “duly called” in accordance with Article IX of the tribe's constitution and by-laws.
However, Thomas' status raises a question about his authority to call a special meeting of the council. The Day has repeatedly posed the question to tribal officials in recent days but has not gotten a response.
Thomas has also circulated petitions among tribal members calling for a referendum on his status and for a special election to recall the six other councilors.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
"Regional"
SEVEN PERCENT SALES TAX AT MASHANTUCKET PEQUOTS?
Foxwoods charging customers 7 percent sales tax
Mashantuckets pocket extra 1 percent at hotels, stores.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By ADAM BOWLES
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 02, 2009 @ 10:57 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.For the first time since it opened in 1992, Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods have begun collecting a 1 percent sales tax on goods sold at all retail outlets and on hotel room bookings in addition to the required state sales tax.
The increase went into effect Tuesday.
The change has prompted the promise of an immediate review by state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who also said the new policy may lead to an investigation by his office.
“So far as we know, this new practice has never been cleared or approved by the state,” he said. “It may be problematic if it seems to represent the tax as being a state levy. Most people seeing the word ‘tax’ would assume it’s imposed by the state, but obviously they’ve added a surcharge that has gone to the tribe. We want to know how it is represented and how the tribe justifies calling it a tax.”
Also under review is whether the reservation can impose a tax at all. While there’s no limit to how much a vendor can charge for goods and services, only the state is allowed to collect a sales tax outside the reservation.
The tax change at Foxwoods means the total price on an item purchased at a store would include the existing state sales tax of 6 percent and an additional 1 percent sales tax that goes directly to the tribal enterprise.
Spokesman Lori Potter stressed that the tax change was not a reaction to recent news of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s financial troubles. The tribe operates the casino.
“This was decided about nine months ago,” she said.
Potter said it depends on the vendor whether the sales tax is specifically noted in the receipt.
Sarah Kaufman, spokesman for the state Department of Revenue Services, said her department did not have enough details about the situation to directly answer legal issues connected to the increased tax.
Kaufman said the department’s legal counsel is reviewing the change.
At Mohegan Sun, businesses collect state sales tax only, which complies with the terms of the casino’s bank and bond agreements, said Jeff Hartmann, chief operating officer.
“We mirror the state’s tax laws in terms of sales tax rates,” Hartmann said.
The increased sales tax comes as Foxwoods is seeking to stabilize its crumbling financial situation with a restructuring of $2.3 billion in debt.
Amid the turmoil, Tribal Council Chairman Michael Thomas has been put on administrative leave pending an internal review of personnel matters of which the tribe has declined comment.
Thomas had notified tribal members that earnings are “down considerably” in the recession with no signs of immediate improvement and with further pressure from the threat of increased competition in Massachusetts and New York.
Mashantuckets pocket extra 1 percent at hotels, stores.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By ADAM BOWLES
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Sep 02, 2009 @ 10:57 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.For the first time since it opened in 1992, Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods have begun collecting a 1 percent sales tax on goods sold at all retail outlets and on hotel room bookings in addition to the required state sales tax.
The increase went into effect Tuesday.
The change has prompted the promise of an immediate review by state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who also said the new policy may lead to an investigation by his office.
“So far as we know, this new practice has never been cleared or approved by the state,” he said. “It may be problematic if it seems to represent the tax as being a state levy. Most people seeing the word ‘tax’ would assume it’s imposed by the state, but obviously they’ve added a surcharge that has gone to the tribe. We want to know how it is represented and how the tribe justifies calling it a tax.”
Also under review is whether the reservation can impose a tax at all. While there’s no limit to how much a vendor can charge for goods and services, only the state is allowed to collect a sales tax outside the reservation.
The tax change at Foxwoods means the total price on an item purchased at a store would include the existing state sales tax of 6 percent and an additional 1 percent sales tax that goes directly to the tribal enterprise.
Spokesman Lori Potter stressed that the tax change was not a reaction to recent news of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s financial troubles. The tribe operates the casino.
“This was decided about nine months ago,” she said.
Potter said it depends on the vendor whether the sales tax is specifically noted in the receipt.
Sarah Kaufman, spokesman for the state Department of Revenue Services, said her department did not have enough details about the situation to directly answer legal issues connected to the increased tax.
Kaufman said the department’s legal counsel is reviewing the change.
At Mohegan Sun, businesses collect state sales tax only, which complies with the terms of the casino’s bank and bond agreements, said Jeff Hartmann, chief operating officer.
“We mirror the state’s tax laws in terms of sales tax rates,” Hartmann said.
The increased sales tax comes as Foxwoods is seeking to stabilize its crumbling financial situation with a restructuring of $2.3 billion in debt.
Amid the turmoil, Tribal Council Chairman Michael Thomas has been put on administrative leave pending an internal review of personnel matters of which the tribe has declined comment.
Thomas had notified tribal members that earnings are “down considerably” in the recession with no signs of immediate improvement and with further pressure from the threat of increased competition in Massachusetts and New York.
SUN BEAT LIBERTY IN OVERTIME
Sun Defeat Liberty In OT To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
Connecticut Sun
By JOHN ALTAVILLA
The Hartford Courant
9:31 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2009
UNCASVILLE - The Connecticut Sun stayed alive in the WNBA playoff race Friday night with an 88-85 overtime victory over the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun (15-17) snapped a five-game losing streak behind 23 points from Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and 19 from Amber Holt.
The Liberty (12-19), who knocked the Sun from the playoffs in the first round last season, were officially eliminated from this year's postseason with the loss.
The Liberty blew a 73-64 lead with 4:50 to play in regulation. Their leading scorer, Shameka Christon (22), made a 60-foot shot just after the buzzer that would have ended the game.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: 15 wins and 17 losses is not a very good record. The Sun are barely alive with their record. It is not even .500 basketball. It is a losing record.
Could it be that the Connecticut Sun really doesn't deserve to make the playoffs? Yes, any team can beat any team on any given night in professional sports, but does Sun have what it takes to win it all?
Can the coach turn this around? Has the Sun turned the corner? Did they barely win this one? What do you think?
Connecticut Sun
By JOHN ALTAVILLA
The Hartford Courant
9:31 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2009
UNCASVILLE - The Connecticut Sun stayed alive in the WNBA playoff race Friday night with an 88-85 overtime victory over the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun (15-17) snapped a five-game losing streak behind 23 points from Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and 19 from Amber Holt.
The Liberty (12-19), who knocked the Sun from the playoffs in the first round last season, were officially eliminated from this year's postseason with the loss.
The Liberty blew a 73-64 lead with 4:50 to play in regulation. Their leading scorer, Shameka Christon (22), made a 60-foot shot just after the buzzer that would have ended the game.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: 15 wins and 17 losses is not a very good record. The Sun are barely alive with their record. It is not even .500 basketball. It is a losing record.
Could it be that the Connecticut Sun really doesn't deserve to make the playoffs? Yes, any team can beat any team on any given night in professional sports, but does Sun have what it takes to win it all?
Can the coach turn this around? Has the Sun turned the corner? Did they barely win this one? What do you think?
GOVERNOR PATERSON TO PUSH FOR CASINOS
Amid budget woes, Paterson to renew push for Catskills casinos
By Joseph Spector[0x07]and Cara Matthews • Albany Bureau • August 28, 2009
ALBANY - With the state's fiscal problems, Gov. David Paterson is renewing a push to allow Indian casinos in the Catskills, a long-stalled plan that would boost revenue for the state and the region.
Paterson's aides and federal officials, including Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, Ulster County, met Wednesday with Larry EchoHawk, head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, in Sullivan County with hopes of getting federal approval to build three casinos in the Catskills.
"There will be a renewed effort to rally stakeholders and make the case publicly that this is in the best interest of the state's economy and specifically for economic-development efforts in the region," Paterson spokesman Peter Kauffmann said.
The effort comes as Paterson indicated in Albany that he would call lawmakers back into session in late September to close the state's $2.1 billion budget gap. He said he hopes to reach an agreement with legislative leaders around Labor Day and hold session Sept. 23 or Sept. 29.
"The danger," Paterson said, "is that the later we go into the year, the less effective the cuts are because you've now exhausted calendar days, so I am hoping that right after Labor Day, we will try to get some preliminary agreements with the leaders so that we can come right in and get this done as soon as possible."
The state is struggling to increase revenue in the face of the economic downturn, and Paterson indicated he will not propose any new taxes or fees. In the current budget, Paterson and lawmakers approved more than 100 new taxes and fees to close a $17 billion budget gap.
Casinos in the Catskills have long been viewed as an economic remedy for the once-booming tourist area about 90 miles north of New York City, and as a way to fill the state's coffers with additional gambling revenue.
A memo prepared by Paterson's budget office estimates the casinos would produce thousands of jobs and about $150 million a year in new state revenue from the operation of slot machines.
In the wake of the economic downturn after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the state Legislature approved six Indian casinos - three in the Catskills and three in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area.
But the Catskills casino proposals have been beset with problems. In January 2008, then-Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne rejected proposals by about 20 tribes nationally, including two in the Catskills, to take off-reservation land into trust to build casinos.
But under the Obama administration, Democratic officials are renewing efforts to have the ruling overturned. Paterson sent a letter in May to current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to toss the ruling.
In a statement, Schumer, a Democrat, said, "I am confident that with a new administration we have a new way of thinking about applications that are finite, focused, appropriate for the region and have strong community support."
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe had sought to build a $600 million casino in Monticello, Sullivan County, and the Stockbridge Munsee of Wisconsin and the Seneca Nation of Indians, which owns the western New York casinos, also are seeking to build casinos in the Catskills.
State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, was among lawmakers who toured the proposed casino sites with EchoHawk. He said EchoHawk didn't make any promises but said he would review Kempthorne's decision.
White Plains developer Louis Cappelli, meanwhile, plans to redevelop the former Concord Hotel property in Sullivan County with a new Monticello Raceway and a resort with video-lottery terminals. The state Legislature recently increased incentives for the project.
Environmental groups spoke against the casino plans Wednesday.
Rather than casinos, "we should instead focus on forging a sustainable economic vision for the region that will create green jobs and preserve the unique resources of the Catskills," Mark Izeman, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: More gambling in New York. You got it. It will happen. The Governor of New York wants it.
It will have an economic effect on Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.
What are our (the Mohegan Tribe) leaders doing about this situation? Are they just throwing up the hands over their heads and saying WHAT CAN WE DO? I believe the leadership that was re-elected will continue to fail us.
What benefits, will disapear or be cut back, for Mohegan Tribal members because of these leaders? How much will the tribe suffer because of them? Do you know? Do you care?
Our economic woes will continue to grow. They are hoping the economy will somehow turn around which according to economic forecasters will not happen in the near future. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
By Joseph Spector[0x07]and Cara Matthews • Albany Bureau • August 28, 2009
ALBANY - With the state's fiscal problems, Gov. David Paterson is renewing a push to allow Indian casinos in the Catskills, a long-stalled plan that would boost revenue for the state and the region.
Paterson's aides and federal officials, including Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, Ulster County, met Wednesday with Larry EchoHawk, head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, in Sullivan County with hopes of getting federal approval to build three casinos in the Catskills.
"There will be a renewed effort to rally stakeholders and make the case publicly that this is in the best interest of the state's economy and specifically for economic-development efforts in the region," Paterson spokesman Peter Kauffmann said.
The effort comes as Paterson indicated in Albany that he would call lawmakers back into session in late September to close the state's $2.1 billion budget gap. He said he hopes to reach an agreement with legislative leaders around Labor Day and hold session Sept. 23 or Sept. 29.
"The danger," Paterson said, "is that the later we go into the year, the less effective the cuts are because you've now exhausted calendar days, so I am hoping that right after Labor Day, we will try to get some preliminary agreements with the leaders so that we can come right in and get this done as soon as possible."
The state is struggling to increase revenue in the face of the economic downturn, and Paterson indicated he will not propose any new taxes or fees. In the current budget, Paterson and lawmakers approved more than 100 new taxes and fees to close a $17 billion budget gap.
Casinos in the Catskills have long been viewed as an economic remedy for the once-booming tourist area about 90 miles north of New York City, and as a way to fill the state's coffers with additional gambling revenue.
A memo prepared by Paterson's budget office estimates the casinos would produce thousands of jobs and about $150 million a year in new state revenue from the operation of slot machines.
In the wake of the economic downturn after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the state Legislature approved six Indian casinos - three in the Catskills and three in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area.
But the Catskills casino proposals have been beset with problems. In January 2008, then-Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne rejected proposals by about 20 tribes nationally, including two in the Catskills, to take off-reservation land into trust to build casinos.
But under the Obama administration, Democratic officials are renewing efforts to have the ruling overturned. Paterson sent a letter in May to current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to toss the ruling.
In a statement, Schumer, a Democrat, said, "I am confident that with a new administration we have a new way of thinking about applications that are finite, focused, appropriate for the region and have strong community support."
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe had sought to build a $600 million casino in Monticello, Sullivan County, and the Stockbridge Munsee of Wisconsin and the Seneca Nation of Indians, which owns the western New York casinos, also are seeking to build casinos in the Catskills.
State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, was among lawmakers who toured the proposed casino sites with EchoHawk. He said EchoHawk didn't make any promises but said he would review Kempthorne's decision.
White Plains developer Louis Cappelli, meanwhile, plans to redevelop the former Concord Hotel property in Sullivan County with a new Monticello Raceway and a resort with video-lottery terminals. The state Legislature recently increased incentives for the project.
Environmental groups spoke against the casino plans Wednesday.
Rather than casinos, "we should instead focus on forging a sustainable economic vision for the region that will create green jobs and preserve the unique resources of the Catskills," Mark Izeman, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: More gambling in New York. You got it. It will happen. The Governor of New York wants it.
It will have an economic effect on Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.
What are our (the Mohegan Tribe) leaders doing about this situation? Are they just throwing up the hands over their heads and saying WHAT CAN WE DO? I believe the leadership that was re-elected will continue to fail us.
What benefits, will disapear or be cut back, for Mohegan Tribal members because of these leaders? How much will the tribe suffer because of them? Do you know? Do you care?
Our economic woes will continue to grow. They are hoping the economy will somehow turn around which according to economic forecasters will not happen in the near future. What do you think?
THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF BROKENWING.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT PROBLEMS IN PHILADELPHIA?
Tribe's money troubles cloud casino effort
By Jennifer Lin
Inquirer Staff Writer
Three years ago, when the Mashantucket Pequot tribe put up $30 million to operate a slots parlor on the Delaware River, its name was synonymous with megaprofits from gaming.
Today, it means megaproblems.
The tribe, which has run the Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Conn., since 1992, is struggling with $2.3 billion in debt and facing such a bleak future that tribal leaders ousted their chairman on Tuesday.
For the Philadelphia venture, the Pequots' unraveling finances will, at the least, complicate an investor group's efforts to build their new casino.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania State Gaming Control Board ordered the partners to keep the project at the original waterfront site and abandon a less costly plan to relocate to the old Strawbridge & Clothier department store. The board gave them two years to have 1,500 slots operating at a casino on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia.
The partners - including charitable trusts for the families of developer Ron Rubin, New Jersey Nets co-owner Lewis Katz, and Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider - have to come up with new money for the more expensive waterfront gaming hall.
If the tribe were a strong partner - it holds a 30 percent stake - it could step up to the plate. But industry observers say that if the Pequots cannot chip in more capital, the other partners may have to seek another gaming company as investor and operator.
Others question the tribe's ability to successfully manage a casino here.
"Will the tribe be able to run the operation, especially if their dollars continue to sink up in Connecticut?" Rep. Paul Clymer, a Bucks County Republican member of the state House Gaming Oversight Committee, asked in an interview yesterday.
Gary Armentrout, president of the tribe's Foxwoods development business, said the Pequots' money troubles in New England would have no effect on Philadelphia. The tribe's capital contribution to the project, he said, was fully funded, meaning it had already been paid.
Local investors, minus the tribe, were prepared to cover the undisclosed cost of renovating the Strawbridge store, according to testimony in April before the gaming board.
By blocking that plan, regulators are forcing the investor group back to square one.
The developers will have to pay for the South Philadelphia project with a mix of borrowed money and cash from equity partners. In Philadelphia's other casino project - SugarHouse on North Delaware Avenue in Fishtown/Northern Liberties - equity investors have put up almost half of the $340 million cost of an interim facility.
The Foxwoods investors have committed $160 million to the project, including the cost of a license, $50 million; and 16 acres on Columbus Boulevard, $65 million.
State regulators have ordered the Foxwoods investors to come up with a plan by Oct. 16 on how they will have 1,500 slot machines operating at the Columbus Boulevard site.
In an order signed Tuesday, the board also said it wanted to know by Dec. 1 what the project will look like and by March 1 how the partners will pay for it.
A person familiar with the project called the deadlines "nearly impossible to meet."
Maureen Garrity, a spokeswoman for the Foxwoods project, said, "We have a team of professionals working to meet that timeline."
"We've been assured by [the Pequots] that their issues in Connecticut won't be a distraction here," Garrity said. "At this point we'll take them at their word that will continue to be the case."
Brian Ford, an executive with a partnership representing major local investors, likened the tribe's problems to "difficulty in a family."
"It creates a distraction," he said.
Regulators in Harrisburg, meanwhile, are keeping close tabs on the situation.
We do have an interest in developments with the Mashantucket Pequot tribe," said Kevin O'Toole, executive director of the gaming board. "We're asking for monthly updates on various aspects of their project."
O'Toole said it was "too early to draw any conclusions from news clippings" on what the impact of recent events for the tribe would have on the project.
Asked what would happen if Foxwoods partners miss their first deadline, O'Toole said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
By Jennifer Lin
Inquirer Staff Writer
Three years ago, when the Mashantucket Pequot tribe put up $30 million to operate a slots parlor on the Delaware River, its name was synonymous with megaprofits from gaming.
Today, it means megaproblems.
The tribe, which has run the Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Conn., since 1992, is struggling with $2.3 billion in debt and facing such a bleak future that tribal leaders ousted their chairman on Tuesday.
For the Philadelphia venture, the Pequots' unraveling finances will, at the least, complicate an investor group's efforts to build their new casino.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania State Gaming Control Board ordered the partners to keep the project at the original waterfront site and abandon a less costly plan to relocate to the old Strawbridge & Clothier department store. The board gave them two years to have 1,500 slots operating at a casino on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia.
The partners - including charitable trusts for the families of developer Ron Rubin, New Jersey Nets co-owner Lewis Katz, and Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider - have to come up with new money for the more expensive waterfront gaming hall.
If the tribe were a strong partner - it holds a 30 percent stake - it could step up to the plate. But industry observers say that if the Pequots cannot chip in more capital, the other partners may have to seek another gaming company as investor and operator.
Others question the tribe's ability to successfully manage a casino here.
"Will the tribe be able to run the operation, especially if their dollars continue to sink up in Connecticut?" Rep. Paul Clymer, a Bucks County Republican member of the state House Gaming Oversight Committee, asked in an interview yesterday.
Gary Armentrout, president of the tribe's Foxwoods development business, said the Pequots' money troubles in New England would have no effect on Philadelphia. The tribe's capital contribution to the project, he said, was fully funded, meaning it had already been paid.
Local investors, minus the tribe, were prepared to cover the undisclosed cost of renovating the Strawbridge store, according to testimony in April before the gaming board.
By blocking that plan, regulators are forcing the investor group back to square one.
The developers will have to pay for the South Philadelphia project with a mix of borrowed money and cash from equity partners. In Philadelphia's other casino project - SugarHouse on North Delaware Avenue in Fishtown/Northern Liberties - equity investors have put up almost half of the $340 million cost of an interim facility.
The Foxwoods investors have committed $160 million to the project, including the cost of a license, $50 million; and 16 acres on Columbus Boulevard, $65 million.
State regulators have ordered the Foxwoods investors to come up with a plan by Oct. 16 on how they will have 1,500 slot machines operating at the Columbus Boulevard site.
In an order signed Tuesday, the board also said it wanted to know by Dec. 1 what the project will look like and by March 1 how the partners will pay for it.
A person familiar with the project called the deadlines "nearly impossible to meet."
Maureen Garrity, a spokeswoman for the Foxwoods project, said, "We have a team of professionals working to meet that timeline."
"We've been assured by [the Pequots] that their issues in Connecticut won't be a distraction here," Garrity said. "At this point we'll take them at their word that will continue to be the case."
Brian Ford, an executive with a partnership representing major local investors, likened the tribe's problems to "difficulty in a family."
"It creates a distraction," he said.
Regulators in Harrisburg, meanwhile, are keeping close tabs on the situation.
We do have an interest in developments with the Mashantucket Pequot tribe," said Kevin O'Toole, executive director of the gaming board. "We're asking for monthly updates on various aspects of their project."
O'Toole said it was "too early to draw any conclusions from news clippings" on what the impact of recent events for the tribe would have on the project.
Asked what would happen if Foxwoods partners miss their first deadline, O'Toole said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
1 % TAX ON MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT RESERVATION?
Mashantuckets' new 1 percent 'tribal tax' is news to Connecticut officials
Blumenthal to investigate legality of charge, which is added onto 6% sales tax
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/3/2009
Every little bit helps.
The Mashantucket Pequots, wrestling with a hefty debt load, have started charging a 1 percent “tribal tax” on merchandise sold in the shops at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, tacking it onto the 6 percent state sales tax.
The problem might be, though, that they didn't tell the state about it first.
”My office will have to review and possibly investigate this apparent new practice,” Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday when The Day asked whether he was aware of the tribe's new tax, which debuted Tuesday.
”It certainly has never been cleared with us,” Blumenthal said. “This surcharge could be problematic, depending on what it is represented to be. If there is no demarcation or identification of the different elements of the tax, that could imply that the state is charging the 7 percent tax — which it is not.”
A receipt for merchandise purchased Wednesday at the Hard Rock Café Store at Foxwoods shows the 7 percent “Tax” listed on a single line, with no breakdown.
”That could well misrepresent and mislead the nature of the tax,” Blumenthal said upon having the receipt described to him. The introduction of the tax has “no connection” with the tribe's financial woes, according to Robert Victoria, Foxwoods' senior vice president of consumer marketing.
”It's bad timing,” Victoria said. “The (tribal) council actually approved it in January. It's just taken this long to get the computers up to speed to implement it.”
The tribal tax applies to merchandise sold in the casinos' retail outlets and to its hotel room charges, Victoria said. It does not apply to food and beverage charges. In the case of a tribally owned outlet, the tribe would keep the entire 7 percent, he said. Six percent of the price of merchandise sold at vendor-owned outlets would be remitted to the state, while 1 percent would be kept by the tribe, he said.
It could not be determined how much the tribal tax would generate in additional revenue for the tribe.
”It's not that much,” Victoria said.
Law prohibits the state Department of Revenue Services from disclosing how much the casinos pay in taxes, Sarah Kaufman, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
At Mohegan Sun, Connecticut's other tribally owned casino, the 6 percent state sales tax is levied on merchandise sold at all retail outlets, according to Jeffrey Hartmann, Mohegan Sun's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
”We're just like everybody else,” he said. “Our covenants require us to mirror whatever is allowed in the state.”
The 6 percent sales tax collected at Mohegan Sun is remitted to the state regardless of whether it comes from a tribally owned or nontribally owned outlet, Hartmann said.
“We would want to carefully review how it's depicted and how the tribe could justify this practice. We will act promptly to begin that review.”
The attorney general said his office would also look into the legality of the tribe's levy.
”Part of our review will be to examine the compact for applicable provisions,” he said, referring to the state's gaming agreement with the tribe.
The Mashantuckets introduced the tribal tax on the same day they averted default by making a loan payment. The payment, including principal, amortization and interest, totaled $74.1 million, a source with knowledge of the transaction said Wednesday.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; In the Constitution of the Mohegan Tribe,
ARTICLE IX---POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TRIBAL COUNCIL
Section 2---(S) "To levy and collect taxes and a raise revenue to meet with needs of The Tribe or to support tribal government operations";
Was this Constitution approved by the B.I.A.? Does the State of Connecticut know of this part of the Mohegan Constitution? Is this legal, since the Mohegan Tribe is a Sovereign nation?
Will the Mohegan Tribal Government levy taxes of its own on the reservation (the Mohegan Sun Casino)? What do you think?
Blumenthal to investigate legality of charge, which is added onto 6% sales tax
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/3/2009
Every little bit helps.
The Mashantucket Pequots, wrestling with a hefty debt load, have started charging a 1 percent “tribal tax” on merchandise sold in the shops at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, tacking it onto the 6 percent state sales tax.
The problem might be, though, that they didn't tell the state about it first.
”My office will have to review and possibly investigate this apparent new practice,” Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday when The Day asked whether he was aware of the tribe's new tax, which debuted Tuesday.
”It certainly has never been cleared with us,” Blumenthal said. “This surcharge could be problematic, depending on what it is represented to be. If there is no demarcation or identification of the different elements of the tax, that could imply that the state is charging the 7 percent tax — which it is not.”
A receipt for merchandise purchased Wednesday at the Hard Rock Café Store at Foxwoods shows the 7 percent “Tax” listed on a single line, with no breakdown.
”That could well misrepresent and mislead the nature of the tax,” Blumenthal said upon having the receipt described to him. The introduction of the tax has “no connection” with the tribe's financial woes, according to Robert Victoria, Foxwoods' senior vice president of consumer marketing.
”It's bad timing,” Victoria said. “The (tribal) council actually approved it in January. It's just taken this long to get the computers up to speed to implement it.”
The tribal tax applies to merchandise sold in the casinos' retail outlets and to its hotel room charges, Victoria said. It does not apply to food and beverage charges. In the case of a tribally owned outlet, the tribe would keep the entire 7 percent, he said. Six percent of the price of merchandise sold at vendor-owned outlets would be remitted to the state, while 1 percent would be kept by the tribe, he said.
It could not be determined how much the tribal tax would generate in additional revenue for the tribe.
”It's not that much,” Victoria said.
Law prohibits the state Department of Revenue Services from disclosing how much the casinos pay in taxes, Sarah Kaufman, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
At Mohegan Sun, Connecticut's other tribally owned casino, the 6 percent state sales tax is levied on merchandise sold at all retail outlets, according to Jeffrey Hartmann, Mohegan Sun's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
”We're just like everybody else,” he said. “Our covenants require us to mirror whatever is allowed in the state.”
The 6 percent sales tax collected at Mohegan Sun is remitted to the state regardless of whether it comes from a tribally owned or nontribally owned outlet, Hartmann said.
“We would want to carefully review how it's depicted and how the tribe could justify this practice. We will act promptly to begin that review.”
The attorney general said his office would also look into the legality of the tribe's levy.
”Part of our review will be to examine the compact for applicable provisions,” he said, referring to the state's gaming agreement with the tribe.
The Mashantuckets introduced the tribal tax on the same day they averted default by making a loan payment. The payment, including principal, amortization and interest, totaled $74.1 million, a source with knowledge of the transaction said Wednesday.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; In the Constitution of the Mohegan Tribe,
ARTICLE IX---POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TRIBAL COUNCIL
Section 2---(S) "To levy and collect taxes and a raise revenue to meet with needs of The Tribe or to support tribal government operations";
Was this Constitution approved by the B.I.A.? Does the State of Connecticut know of this part of the Mohegan Constitution? Is this legal, since the Mohegan Tribe is a Sovereign nation?
Will the Mohegan Tribal Government levy taxes of its own on the reservation (the Mohegan Sun Casino)? What do you think?
NARRAGANSETTS COMPLAIN ABOUT TWIN RIVER 'CASINO'
Narragansetts File Complaint Against Twin River 'Casino'
By Associated Press Published on 9/2/2009
Providence, R.I. - A member of the Narragansett tribal council has filed a complaint with the state Attorney General's office over the Twin River slot parlor's use of the term “casino.”
Randy Noka says in his complaint filed Monday that UTGR Inc. engaged in “false advertising” by calling the Lincoln facility a “casino,” according to the Providence Journal newspaper.
UTGR Inc. is the parent company of Twin River. The entertainment facility offers slot machines, or video display terminals. It also used to offer dog racing for its patrons, and had been known as a “racino.”
Noka says Rhode Island law does not allow a casino unless strict conditions are met and the state's citizens vote to approve it.The Narragansetts effort to build a casino in West Warwick was voted down in 2006.
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch says his office is reviewing the complaint.
"Regional"
By Associated Press Published on 9/2/2009
Providence, R.I. - A member of the Narragansett tribal council has filed a complaint with the state Attorney General's office over the Twin River slot parlor's use of the term “casino.”
Randy Noka says in his complaint filed Monday that UTGR Inc. engaged in “false advertising” by calling the Lincoln facility a “casino,” according to the Providence Journal newspaper.
UTGR Inc. is the parent company of Twin River. The entertainment facility offers slot machines, or video display terminals. It also used to offer dog racing for its patrons, and had been known as a “racino.”
Noka says Rhode Island law does not allow a casino unless strict conditions are met and the state's citizens vote to approve it.The Narragansetts effort to build a casino in West Warwick was voted down in 2006.
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch says his office is reviewing the complaint.
"Regional"
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
MASHANTUCKETS MAKE INTEREST PAYMENT
Mashantuckets Hold Off Default For Now
Tribe makes loan interest payment on schedule
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/2/2009
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe made a loan interest payment that was due Tuesday, enabling it to temporarily stave off default.
The tribe paid a bond “coupon” as scheduled, according to Jane Pedreira of Clear Sights Research, a financial analyst with knowledge of the transaction. Clear Sights advises mutual and hedge funds that invest in the gaming and leisure industries.
The amount of the payment was not readily available.
”We remain in compliance with our covenants and are current with regard to our debt obligations,” a tribal spokesman said in a statement. “As we continue through this process, the Tribe will be pursuing a mutually beneficial resolution with its banks and bondholders.”
The tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, is seeking to restructure its debt in the face of declining revenues.
Tribal officials did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking information Tuesday in the wake of the previous day's ouster of Chairman Michael Thomas.
Six members of the seven-member council relieved Thomas, the seventh member, of his duties and called for him to resign. The councilors charged that Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by communicating directly with tribal members in describing his plan for dealing with the tribe's financial crisis.
Councilors informed Thomas that they were “appalled” by his Aug. 19 letter to tribal members in which he pledged to avoid cutting tribal government and to continue payments to members before paying creditors.
The council placed Thomas on administrative leave “pending the outcome of an internal review.” If Thomas fails to step down by Sept. 10, the council could remove him by a three-fifths vote.
Thomas, in turn, indicated he would circulate petitions for a referendum on his fate and to have a special election to recall the other six councilors.
Meanwhile, the tribe could face default in the next several weeks if it cannot come to new terms with its lenders, sources have said.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; Evidently, it looks like, the Mashantucket Pequots are doing the same things that the Mohegans seem to be doing, that is they are paying only interest on their loans. How come? Is it poor management? Is this going to happen to the Mohegans?
Is this situation already happening to the Mohegan Tribal Government and our (the Mohegan Tribe) government isn't telling us. What is the true condition of the Mohegan Tribal Government and the Mohegan Sun Casino's finances?
Are Mohegan Tribal members thinking like the Mashantucket Pequots, that our leadership has "Betrayed Our Trust?" What do you think?
Tribe makes loan interest payment on schedule
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/2/2009
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe made a loan interest payment that was due Tuesday, enabling it to temporarily stave off default.
The tribe paid a bond “coupon” as scheduled, according to Jane Pedreira of Clear Sights Research, a financial analyst with knowledge of the transaction. Clear Sights advises mutual and hedge funds that invest in the gaming and leisure industries.
The amount of the payment was not readily available.
”We remain in compliance with our covenants and are current with regard to our debt obligations,” a tribal spokesman said in a statement. “As we continue through this process, the Tribe will be pursuing a mutually beneficial resolution with its banks and bondholders.”
The tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, is seeking to restructure its debt in the face of declining revenues.
Tribal officials did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking information Tuesday in the wake of the previous day's ouster of Chairman Michael Thomas.
Six members of the seven-member council relieved Thomas, the seventh member, of his duties and called for him to resign. The councilors charged that Thomas had “betrayed our trust” by communicating directly with tribal members in describing his plan for dealing with the tribe's financial crisis.
Councilors informed Thomas that they were “appalled” by his Aug. 19 letter to tribal members in which he pledged to avoid cutting tribal government and to continue payments to members before paying creditors.
The council placed Thomas on administrative leave “pending the outcome of an internal review.” If Thomas fails to step down by Sept. 10, the council could remove him by a three-fifths vote.
Thomas, in turn, indicated he would circulate petitions for a referendum on his fate and to have a special election to recall the other six councilors.
Meanwhile, the tribe could face default in the next several weeks if it cannot come to new terms with its lenders, sources have said.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE; Evidently, it looks like, the Mashantucket Pequots are doing the same things that the Mohegans seem to be doing, that is they are paying only interest on their loans. How come? Is it poor management? Is this going to happen to the Mohegans?
Is this situation already happening to the Mohegan Tribal Government and our (the Mohegan Tribe) government isn't telling us. What is the true condition of the Mohegan Tribal Government and the Mohegan Sun Casino's finances?
Are Mohegan Tribal members thinking like the Mashantucket Pequots, that our leadership has "Betrayed Our Trust?" What do you think?
FOXWOODS HIRE FINANCIAL SPECIALISTS
Crisis Specialists Help Mashantuckets
Tribe enlists aid from professionals to cope with fiscal emergency
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 8/31/2009
Mashantucket - When their massive debt-restructuring was reported last week, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe sought to allay alarm among its casino employees, distributing a letter prepared by a New York firm that specializes in “crisis communications.”
”First, we want to be clear that we do not anticipate that the Tribe's financial restructuring will affect our employees, customers, vendors or business partners,” reads the letter, a copy of which The Day obtained.
The council will address the tribal membership at a meeting this afternoon.
Addressed to “Dear Valued Team Members,” the letter to employees was prepared by the New York firm Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, according to a source who asked not to be named. It was signed “Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.”
The tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, confirmed that it hired Joele Frank in addition to Miller Buckfire, an independent investment bank, and the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges to help it deal with its fiscal crisis.
”We have engaged financial, legal and communications counsel to ensure we have the benefit of the best and most seasoned thinking as we pursue a mutually beneficial resolution with our banks and bondholders,” a tribal spokesman said in a statement issued in response to a question from The Day. “This is a fluid process and Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, an experienced financial communications firm, is assisting the Tribe in communicating with its many constituencies.”
According to its Web site, Joele Frank's “Crisis Communications practice assists clients when unforeseen or unplanned events threaten to disrupt their businesses or organizations.”
The firm's work in crisis communications has included “class-action litigation, earnings surprises, shareholder lawsuits, regulatory actions, downsizings, restructurings, bankruptcies, union campaigns, employee strikes, other labor actions and consumer boycotts,” the Web site says.
Today's meeting of the tribal membership is expected to include discussion of debt-restructuring options and the tribe's possible default on the terms of a $700 million credit line.
In an Aug. 19 communication with members, Michael Thomas, chairman of the tribal council, said he has introduced a resolution “to take our last borrowed dollars and put them in a lock box only to be used for Government and Incentive,” a reference to tribal government and monthly payments to tribal members.
The Day reported last week that the tribe withdrew the $91.9 million balance on its credit line to help fund tribal operations during debt-restructuring, as advised by Miller Buckfire.
Word of the restructuring prompted both Standard & Poor's and Moody's to downgrade the Mashantuckets' credit ratings.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: should the Mohegan Tribal Councilors take a page out of the Mashantucket Pequot's book, and hire sepcialist do deal with the economic situation of the Mohegan Tribe? Are the Mohegans in a bad economic situation, like the Mashantucket Pequots? Is it only a matter of time before the shoe drops? What do you think?
Tribe enlists aid from professionals to cope with fiscal emergency
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 8/31/2009
Mashantucket - When their massive debt-restructuring was reported last week, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe sought to allay alarm among its casino employees, distributing a letter prepared by a New York firm that specializes in “crisis communications.”
”First, we want to be clear that we do not anticipate that the Tribe's financial restructuring will affect our employees, customers, vendors or business partners,” reads the letter, a copy of which The Day obtained.
The council will address the tribal membership at a meeting this afternoon.
Addressed to “Dear Valued Team Members,” the letter to employees was prepared by the New York firm Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, according to a source who asked not to be named. It was signed “Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.”
The tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, confirmed that it hired Joele Frank in addition to Miller Buckfire, an independent investment bank, and the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges to help it deal with its fiscal crisis.
”We have engaged financial, legal and communications counsel to ensure we have the benefit of the best and most seasoned thinking as we pursue a mutually beneficial resolution with our banks and bondholders,” a tribal spokesman said in a statement issued in response to a question from The Day. “This is a fluid process and Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, an experienced financial communications firm, is assisting the Tribe in communicating with its many constituencies.”
According to its Web site, Joele Frank's “Crisis Communications practice assists clients when unforeseen or unplanned events threaten to disrupt their businesses or organizations.”
The firm's work in crisis communications has included “class-action litigation, earnings surprises, shareholder lawsuits, regulatory actions, downsizings, restructurings, bankruptcies, union campaigns, employee strikes, other labor actions and consumer boycotts,” the Web site says.
Today's meeting of the tribal membership is expected to include discussion of debt-restructuring options and the tribe's possible default on the terms of a $700 million credit line.
In an Aug. 19 communication with members, Michael Thomas, chairman of the tribal council, said he has introduced a resolution “to take our last borrowed dollars and put them in a lock box only to be used for Government and Incentive,” a reference to tribal government and monthly payments to tribal members.
The Day reported last week that the tribe withdrew the $91.9 million balance on its credit line to help fund tribal operations during debt-restructuring, as advised by Miller Buckfire.
Word of the restructuring prompted both Standard & Poor's and Moody's to downgrade the Mashantuckets' credit ratings.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: should the Mohegan Tribal Councilors take a page out of the Mashantucket Pequot's book, and hire sepcialist do deal with the economic situation of the Mohegan Tribe? Are the Mohegans in a bad economic situation, like the Mashantucket Pequots? Is it only a matter of time before the shoe drops? What do you think?
ATLANIC CITY TO UNIFY ON ADVERTISING?
Atlantic City dismisses Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun marketing campaign
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Aug 28, 2009 @ 11:13 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier this month, Atlantic City’s casino industry proposed establishing a $20 million annual marketing fund to promote the city as a destination rather than a place to play slots for the day.
In part, it was a response to a joint marketing campaign launched this summer by Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods to go after Atlantic City’s customers.
As part of the Connecticut effort, a series of billboards have been placed along key roads from New York to New Jersey — one two miles from the Atlantic City — proclaiming “Two worlds beat one City.”
At least one Atlantic City executive doesn’t think the campaign will make much of a dent in consumers’ minds.
“They can say what they want, but we still have the beaches and boardwalk. Connecticut is in the middle of nowhere. Customers are not stupid,” said Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts.
With its 11 casino hotels, Atlantic City has a critical mass far surpassing Connecticut, New Jersey boosters say. That’s part of the reason they want their own marketing campaign to tout their city.
“We believe this type of campaign would boost tourism revenues, which will in turn have positive economic impact on the entire state’s economy,” said Joseph Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess said a $20 million campaign would have little impact on Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods.
“Connecticut is only one of the issues facing Atlantic City,” Etess said. “Marketing the city is more pressing. It’s great if they’ve taken the tack to push Atlantic City as an overall destination.”
He said the joint marketing effort is aimed at doing just that in Connecticut.
Atlantic City should take a deep breath and understand how Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun characterize it, said Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment, which is building a $1.5 billion resort on the Boardwalk.
“This should be a wake-up call to Atlantic City on what its strengths are,” he said. “The Connecticut campaign is more of a compliment. This is a great time for everyone to sit down and say stop competing against each other, but sell Atlantic City as a destination.”
Still, Juliano expects his casinos and others in town to respond formally to the gauntlet thrown down by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. “We hope to do something a little classier. More positive in our message pointing out the great things we have here in Atlantic City.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: On a recent trip to Atlantic City, from Uncasville, Connecticut, I never saw the bill boards in question.
I reported that the garages, board walk, and casinos look worn. Atlantic City does in fact have a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, however anyone could experience the same thing at places like Coney Islanc, JOnes Beach, Long Beach, Fire Island National Sea shore, Smiths Point Beach,etc. in New York.
People who gamble, really don't look at the ocean when they are in Atlantic city, they don't come to swim and sun bath, they come to gamble.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Aug 28, 2009 @ 11:13 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier this month, Atlantic City’s casino industry proposed establishing a $20 million annual marketing fund to promote the city as a destination rather than a place to play slots for the day.
In part, it was a response to a joint marketing campaign launched this summer by Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods to go after Atlantic City’s customers.
As part of the Connecticut effort, a series of billboards have been placed along key roads from New York to New Jersey — one two miles from the Atlantic City — proclaiming “Two worlds beat one City.”
At least one Atlantic City executive doesn’t think the campaign will make much of a dent in consumers’ minds.
“They can say what they want, but we still have the beaches and boardwalk. Connecticut is in the middle of nowhere. Customers are not stupid,” said Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts.
With its 11 casino hotels, Atlantic City has a critical mass far surpassing Connecticut, New Jersey boosters say. That’s part of the reason they want their own marketing campaign to tout their city.
“We believe this type of campaign would boost tourism revenues, which will in turn have positive economic impact on the entire state’s economy,” said Joseph Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess said a $20 million campaign would have little impact on Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods.
“Connecticut is only one of the issues facing Atlantic City,” Etess said. “Marketing the city is more pressing. It’s great if they’ve taken the tack to push Atlantic City as an overall destination.”
He said the joint marketing effort is aimed at doing just that in Connecticut.
Atlantic City should take a deep breath and understand how Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun characterize it, said Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment, which is building a $1.5 billion resort on the Boardwalk.
“This should be a wake-up call to Atlantic City on what its strengths are,” he said. “The Connecticut campaign is more of a compliment. This is a great time for everyone to sit down and say stop competing against each other, but sell Atlantic City as a destination.”
Still, Juliano expects his casinos and others in town to respond formally to the gauntlet thrown down by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. “We hope to do something a little classier. More positive in our message pointing out the great things we have here in Atlantic City.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: On a recent trip to Atlantic City, from Uncasville, Connecticut, I never saw the bill boards in question.
I reported that the garages, board walk, and casinos look worn. Atlantic City does in fact have a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, however anyone could experience the same thing at places like Coney Islanc, JOnes Beach, Long Beach, Fire Island National Sea shore, Smiths Point Beach,etc. in New York.
People who gamble, really don't look at the ocean when they are in Atlantic city, they don't come to swim and sun bath, they come to gamble.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
PRESIDENT OBAMA RUNS PAST A SIGN ABOUT WIND GENERATORS
Monday August 31, 2009 Cape Cod
A Clean Power Now sign sprouts up along the presidential motorcade route near Alley's General Store about a mile from the president's rental vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.
Cape Cod Times/Steve HeaslipBy Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
August 30, 2009As President Barack Obama and his family flew from Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard earlier this week, he may have looked to the east upon the water above Horseshoe Shoal. Depending on Marine One's flight path, he might have even glimpsed the data collection tower installed there by Cape Wind Associates.
For Obama, the island visit will have been the closest he has come since being elected to one of the most ferocious debates to rage across the Cape and Islands in the past decade.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to issue a "Record of Decision" approving or rejecting the projectCape Wind must secure financial backing and likely a long-term contract to sell electricity from the wind farmPending and expected lawsuits
As the man likely to decide the fate of the proposed wind farm, and having championed a new era of environmentally friendly energy production, the 44th president would have been hard-pressed during his week-long vacation to escape some inkling of the argument over Cape Wind.
While the death Tuesday of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose nearly half century of service in the U.S. Senate included vocal opposition to the project planned for his favorite sailing grounds, certainly eliminates one of the most powerful voices in the fracas, other pressures on the president were evident during his stay.
"President Obama, welcome to the beautiful waters of Cape Cod and the Islands!" began a radio advertisement sponsored by the anti-Cape Wind group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
The ad, which was aired on WMVY throughout the week and on Cape stations over the weekend, praised the president for federal ocean zoning efforts and called on him to deny Cape Wind's proposal.
"We appreciate the opportunity that he can experience firsthand why Nantucket Sound deserves to be protected," alliance executive director and chief operating officer Audra Parker said this week.
Obama took office only days after the previous administration issued a largely favorable environmental report on Cape Wind. Since that time Obama has called for sweeping changes in the production of renewable energy, including offshore projects, but has held off on final federal approval of the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
The largest remaining federal regulatory hurdle is a historic review of the project that has become bogged down amid strenuous objections by the Wampanoag Indian tribes on the Cape and the Vineyard.
Beyond the radio ad, Cape Wind opponents on the island requested more signs, flyers and bumper stickers to visually prod the president, Parker said. Although she did not know anyone likely to get a face-to-face chat with the president about the project, the first family would likely "encounter a great deal of opposition to Cape Wind," in their daily interactions with islanders, Parker said.
Cape Wind did not attempt to sway Obama between tee times, company spokesman Mark Rodgers said.
The release before the Obamas' arrival of data showing the amount of energy the wind farm would have generated at the peak of New England's electricity demand — 300 megawatts or 71 percent of the project's total capacity, according to Cape Wind — was coincidental to their visit, Rodgers said.
If he had run into Obama on the links or while buying salt water taffy, Rodgers said he would ask the president to imagine the day when the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. could provide 75 percent of all the electricity needs of the Cape and islands.
The pro-Cape Wind group, Clean Power Now, focused its efforts on the national press corps visiting with the president.
In a release sent to news organizations, the group offers to provide background, experts, local perspective and a tour of Horseshoe Shoal where the wind turbines would be built.
"It is a local issue with national significance," Clean Power Now executive director Barbara Hill said.
Hill traveled to the Vineyard Wednesday to meet with members of the press interested in the Cape Wind story, she said.
Otherwise the organization relied on members on the island to sport pro-Cape Wind buttons and let the president know how they feel about the project if they interacted with him, Hill said.
As the president made his way to Aquinnah for a bike ride and tour of the Gay Head Lighthouse, he could not have missed the opinion of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. Posted on State Road at the entrance to the tribe's headquarters are two large signs protesting Cape Wind, said Bettina Washington, historic preservation officer for the Aquinnah tribe.
"He had to ride by it twice," she said.
The tribe extended an invitation to the president to visit, but it was declined, Washington said.
While she understood that he was on vacation, the country's first black president missed a great opportunity to learn about the first people to inhabit the country, especially for his two young daughters, she said.
Hopefully the visit will have given the president a better understanding of why the tribe believes the sound is not the right location for a wind farm, Washington said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The President of the United States was on vacation.
He couldn't take time out to talk to the Wampanoags? Why not?
He could have scheduled an appointment to in Washington, D. C. to discuss the tribe's concerns. Is that asking too much?
Is this the way he is going to treat issues of Native Americans? Hopefully he just didn't think. Mayve it was a mistake, on his part. What do you think?
A Clean Power Now sign sprouts up along the presidential motorcade route near Alley's General Store about a mile from the president's rental vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.
Cape Cod Times/Steve HeaslipBy Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
August 30, 2009As President Barack Obama and his family flew from Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard earlier this week, he may have looked to the east upon the water above Horseshoe Shoal. Depending on Marine One's flight path, he might have even glimpsed the data collection tower installed there by Cape Wind Associates.
For Obama, the island visit will have been the closest he has come since being elected to one of the most ferocious debates to rage across the Cape and Islands in the past decade.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to issue a "Record of Decision" approving or rejecting the projectCape Wind must secure financial backing and likely a long-term contract to sell electricity from the wind farmPending and expected lawsuits
As the man likely to decide the fate of the proposed wind farm, and having championed a new era of environmentally friendly energy production, the 44th president would have been hard-pressed during his week-long vacation to escape some inkling of the argument over Cape Wind.
While the death Tuesday of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose nearly half century of service in the U.S. Senate included vocal opposition to the project planned for his favorite sailing grounds, certainly eliminates one of the most powerful voices in the fracas, other pressures on the president were evident during his stay.
"President Obama, welcome to the beautiful waters of Cape Cod and the Islands!" began a radio advertisement sponsored by the anti-Cape Wind group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
The ad, which was aired on WMVY throughout the week and on Cape stations over the weekend, praised the president for federal ocean zoning efforts and called on him to deny Cape Wind's proposal.
"We appreciate the opportunity that he can experience firsthand why Nantucket Sound deserves to be protected," alliance executive director and chief operating officer Audra Parker said this week.
Obama took office only days after the previous administration issued a largely favorable environmental report on Cape Wind. Since that time Obama has called for sweeping changes in the production of renewable energy, including offshore projects, but has held off on final federal approval of the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
The largest remaining federal regulatory hurdle is a historic review of the project that has become bogged down amid strenuous objections by the Wampanoag Indian tribes on the Cape and the Vineyard.
Beyond the radio ad, Cape Wind opponents on the island requested more signs, flyers and bumper stickers to visually prod the president, Parker said. Although she did not know anyone likely to get a face-to-face chat with the president about the project, the first family would likely "encounter a great deal of opposition to Cape Wind," in their daily interactions with islanders, Parker said.
Cape Wind did not attempt to sway Obama between tee times, company spokesman Mark Rodgers said.
The release before the Obamas' arrival of data showing the amount of energy the wind farm would have generated at the peak of New England's electricity demand — 300 megawatts or 71 percent of the project's total capacity, according to Cape Wind — was coincidental to their visit, Rodgers said.
If he had run into Obama on the links or while buying salt water taffy, Rodgers said he would ask the president to imagine the day when the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. could provide 75 percent of all the electricity needs of the Cape and islands.
The pro-Cape Wind group, Clean Power Now, focused its efforts on the national press corps visiting with the president.
In a release sent to news organizations, the group offers to provide background, experts, local perspective and a tour of Horseshoe Shoal where the wind turbines would be built.
"It is a local issue with national significance," Clean Power Now executive director Barbara Hill said.
Hill traveled to the Vineyard Wednesday to meet with members of the press interested in the Cape Wind story, she said.
Otherwise the organization relied on members on the island to sport pro-Cape Wind buttons and let the president know how they feel about the project if they interacted with him, Hill said.
As the president made his way to Aquinnah for a bike ride and tour of the Gay Head Lighthouse, he could not have missed the opinion of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. Posted on State Road at the entrance to the tribe's headquarters are two large signs protesting Cape Wind, said Bettina Washington, historic preservation officer for the Aquinnah tribe.
"He had to ride by it twice," she said.
The tribe extended an invitation to the president to visit, but it was declined, Washington said.
While she understood that he was on vacation, the country's first black president missed a great opportunity to learn about the first people to inhabit the country, especially for his two young daughters, she said.
Hopefully the visit will have given the president a better understanding of why the tribe believes the sound is not the right location for a wind farm, Washington said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The President of the United States was on vacation.
He couldn't take time out to talk to the Wampanoags? Why not?
He could have scheduled an appointment to in Washington, D. C. to discuss the tribe's concerns. Is that asking too much?
Is this the way he is going to treat issues of Native Americans? Hopefully he just didn't think. Mayve it was a mistake, on his part. What do you think?
MOHEGAN SUN AT POCONO DOWNS FINED FOR UNDERAGE GAMBLERS
Mohegan Sun fined $97K for underage cases
INQUIRER STAFF
The operators of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs have been fined $97,500 for 15 separate cases of underage gambling and underage access to the gaming floor, the state has announced.
The fines, levied on Friday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board under two consent agreements, were for acts that occurred between August 2008 and March 2009.
People under 21 are not allowed to gamble, and those under 18 may not even be on the gaming floor of a licensed facility.
In some cases, those who were underage at the Wyomissing casino entered the floor near an unmanned security post.
And in two separate cases, two 15-year-olds were accompanied by their mothers.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Who is minding the casino? How does this happen? Maybe some people in management should be let go. Who paid the fines, the casino or the management? Not a good thing. What do you think?
THE COMMENT IS THE OPINION OF BROKENWING EDITORIALS.
INQUIRER STAFF
The operators of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs have been fined $97,500 for 15 separate cases of underage gambling and underage access to the gaming floor, the state has announced.
The fines, levied on Friday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board under two consent agreements, were for acts that occurred between August 2008 and March 2009.
People under 21 are not allowed to gamble, and those under 18 may not even be on the gaming floor of a licensed facility.
In some cases, those who were underage at the Wyomissing casino entered the floor near an unmanned security post.
And in two separate cases, two 15-year-olds were accompanied by their mothers.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Who is minding the casino? How does this happen? Maybe some people in management should be let go. Who paid the fines, the casino or the management? Not a good thing. What do you think?
THE COMMENT IS THE OPINION OF BROKENWING EDITORIALS.
MASHANTUCKET PEQOUT TRIBAL COUNCIL IS MOVING TO OUST ITS CHAIRMAN?
Tribal Council Moves To Oust Thomas
Leaders charge chairman acted unilaterally on financial crisis; he calls for referendum
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/1/2009
By Associated Press
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council has placed Chairman Michael Thomas on administrative leave“pending the outcome of an internal review.”
Mashantucket Pequot tribal councilors relieved Chairman Michael Thomas of his duties Monday, charging that he “betrayed our trust” by issuing a letter to tribal members describing his plan to deal with the tribe's dire financial circumstances.
The councilors sent an e-mail to Thomas in which they called for his resignation, closed his office and placed him on administrative leave, according to a tribal official who asked not to be named. The e-mail was sent by six members of the seven-member council. Thomas is the seventh member.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could the Mohegan Tribal Council do something like this, too?
The question is, what is the Mohegan Tribal council going to do about the debt of the Mohegan Tribe?
Is the situation of the Mohegan Tribal Government as bad as the Mashantucket Pequots?
Should our (the Mohegan Tribes) leaders do something about the enormous debt, the tribe now finds itself in?
In my opinion, the New London Day article, seems to be hinting that maybe there was either wrong doing or just bad decisions, made by the Mashantucket Pequot leaders. What do you think?
Leaders charge chairman acted unilaterally on financial crisis; he calls for referendum
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 9/1/2009
By Associated Press
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council has placed Chairman Michael Thomas on administrative leave“pending the outcome of an internal review.”
Mashantucket Pequot tribal councilors relieved Chairman Michael Thomas of his duties Monday, charging that he “betrayed our trust” by issuing a letter to tribal members describing his plan to deal with the tribe's dire financial circumstances.
The councilors sent an e-mail to Thomas in which they called for his resignation, closed his office and placed him on administrative leave, according to a tribal official who asked not to be named. The e-mail was sent by six members of the seven-member council. Thomas is the seventh member.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could the Mohegan Tribal Council do something like this, too?
The question is, what is the Mohegan Tribal council going to do about the debt of the Mohegan Tribe?
Is the situation of the Mohegan Tribal Government as bad as the Mashantucket Pequots?
Should our (the Mohegan Tribes) leaders do something about the enormous debt, the tribe now finds itself in?
In my opinion, the New London Day article, seems to be hinting that maybe there was either wrong doing or just bad decisions, made by the Mashantucket Pequot leaders. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)