The owner of a troubled trailer park on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Reservation in California wants the Bureau of Indian Affairs to leave him alone so he can fix up the place. Harvey Duro, 60, says the BIA's complaints about inadequate conditions at his trailer park are unfounded. "If the BIA thought this place was so dangerous they would be in here tomorrow with an order to shut it down," he tells The Los Angeles Times. Duro says he is making improvements at the Desert Mobile Home Park, also known as Duroville. He admits he has had some issues in the past but only because he is new to the business. "It won't look like Palm Springs, but it will be adequate," he says. The BIA isn't having any of it. Palm Springs superintendent Jim Fletcher wants to shut down the trailer park, a move that could put up to 4,000 people out of a home, unless changes are made. "We offered him technical assistance and help through a guaranteed Indian loan program. We have given him three years to pull it together, and he blew us off. Now that he sees the writing on the wall, he is interested in talking," Fletcher, who is Pechanga, tells the paper. Get the Story:
Desert trailer park owner promises a cleanup (The Los Angeles Times 11/12)
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Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians - http://www.torresmartinez.org Related Stories:
Reservation trailer park is overcrowded (10/22)
BIA sues owner of troubled mobile home park (10/10)
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Owner of troubled mobile home park sues BIA (09/07)
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Editorial: Little help for tribes with illegal dumps (12/19)
Illegal dumping a big problem on reservation (12/13)
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