Casino Stalker

City council members against Mashpee Wampanoag casino

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Four of the nine members of the city council in Fall River, Massachusetts, have filed a resolution against the proposed Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe casino.

The casino deal involves the tribe buying a 300-acre site that was slated for a biotechnology park. The council members don't want to lose the project.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has indicated it will look for a new site for the BioPark if the casino goes through. The BioPark comes with $50 million in state funds and infrastructure projects.

The tribe already started the land-into-trust process for 539 acres in Middleboro. The tribe would have to file a new application for the site in Fall River.

The application faces questions under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Mashpees didn't gain formal recognition until May 2007.

Members of Congress introduced legislation to fix the decision but the bills have stalled. The Obama administration plans to issue regulations to address the ruling internally.

Get the Story:
Fall River city councilors sign resolution against casino deal (The Fall River Herald News 5/19)
State gets tough on tribal casino (The Boston Globe 5/19)

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