"The Spokane Tribe is but two signatures away from approval of its decadelong effort to build a casino in Airway Heights. May those pens run dry.
Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs said it would support the tribe’s plan for a casino, hotel, spa and associated retail outlets despite vociferous objections from local government and business officials worried primarily about the project’s impact on Fairchild Air Force Base. Alternative proposals included a scaled-down casino, or none at all, and one version without the 300-room hotel. Alternative 4 – no action/no development, would be our preferred option. The preliminary BIA decision could not have come at a worse time for Fairchild. The base is among four finalists for receiving the first new-generation air-refueling tankers based on the Boeing 767. And just over the horizon is another likely Pentagon base-closure review in 2015." Get the Story: