Column: After the Chumash Highway, what next?

Thursday, October 4, 2007  

"Perhaps you were as surprised as I that Highway 154 will soon be called "Chumash Highway." Even the pro-tribe SB News-Press reported that there was virtually no local public notice ahead of time. For a local highway to be re-named, shouldn't the locals have some say in the process?

Instead, a San Jose assemblyman introduced the bill into the state's legislature. This is another example of how Chumash casino money has influenced politicians far beyond county borders to impose the tribe's will upon us—just as hundreds of thousands of Chumash dollars were sent to state legislators in the past election to influence them to further the gambling agenda.

What's next? Renaming Highway 246 "Vince Armenta Highway?" It's not that far-fetched anymore. Why not name the road for war veterans, firefighters, or even Jake Copass [cowboy poet]? Any of the above names would have had my vote, but I wasn't asked, and neither were you."

Get the Story:
Rolf Richter: Over Your Head (The Santa Barbara Independent 10/4)

Relevant Links:
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians - http://www.santaynezchumash.org

Chumash Tribe cheers naming of state highway (09/19)