Critics of the Spokane Tribe off-reservation casino are still trying to use the Fairchild Air Force Base to stir up opposition.
The Air Force has said the West Plains Mixed-Use Development won't affect its operations. The tribe commissioned a study that also downplayed any impacts. But casino opponents say the study is flawed. They brought in Jim McDevitt, a former U.S. attorney and a retired Washington Air National Guard chief of staff, to bolster their case, even though he acknowledged the Air Force has taken a "neutral" stance on the project. “The Air Force has been instructed not to take a stance, because this is about relations with a sovereign entity," McDevitt said at a press conference organized by casino opponents, The Spokesman Review reported. Get the Story: