Connect the dots

Who's job is it anyway, to schedule and meet with CALTRANS to determine matters of public access on private property? About my LAST guess would be the the County Sheriffs Department. But in Santa Barbara County that is exactly what is going on. A certain unnamed lieutenant of the sheriffs department called a meeting with the road people (CALTRANS) "to provide public access to the river through their easement". I would call this a huge WTF moment. Can someone enlighten me as to how this falls on the shoulders of the SB County Sheriff? An organization which up until now, like all local constabulary, had my deepest respect. Under whos orders did this lieutenant undertake this 'assignment'. One may immediately wonder why this would be of any concern to begin with. Read on, gentle readers, and connect the dots for yourselves. From the SYV Journal:

ON THE RANCH
By Nancy Crawford-Hall


Ranch happenings

Life is never boring on a ranch. There is always something happening somewhere; sometimes good, sometimes bad. We had a little of both last week. First, I got a call that we had trespassers down by Lower Windmill Field near our bridge that crosses the river, a bridge that was given to us by CALTRANS when they built the new one a number of years ago. Instead of destroying the old bridge, they gave it to us, which is very helpful in getting cattle across the river bed, which is treacherous even when dry — which it is most of the time. A couple of ranch employees went down to see who these folks were and why they thought it was OK to trespass. It turns out that it was three Audubon Society members doing a winter bird count who left when they were told the sheriff had already been called to cite them.

Before the ranch employees left, however, an odd thing happened. Across Highway 154, at Lower Armour Ranch Road, two CALTRANS vehicles appeared with another unmarked sheriff’s car. Apparently a meeting had been called, and when I inquired of the one CALTRANS official who didn’t speed off upon seeing my car just what the meeting was about, since I was the property owner there, I was told that it had to do with fences and property lines. We had a cordial conversation, introducing ourselves and exchanging pertinent contact information, and we each went on about the rest of our day.

What I found out later that day rocked me to my very soul. Apparently, a lieutenant of the sheriff’s department in Solvang had called the meeting to ask CALTRANS to provide public access to the river through their easement. CALTRANS properly declined, stating that their easement was with a private property owner and that they could not make it public. This officer had also been in contact, from what I hear, with someone in the County Counsel’s office who opined that the river was public property, which it is not. None of these people had ever contacted me or any of my employees on this topic, and I am wondering what this secret effort to open my property to the public is all about.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why this would be happening, although it has been suggested that a possible reason could be the recent citations for Raul Armenta Jr. and two friends for hunter trespass and hunting after hours for ducks which could only be ‘nol-prossed’ – the charges dropped – if it occurred on public property. According to witnesses, the young men protested being cited and said they would talk to Sacramento to see if it was ‘legal’ to cite them. (ed~Sacramento? or perhaps just a favorite uncle with good 'ole buddies at the Sheriff's Dept.??) This could only be deemed public property if the county entered into a condemnation process on the entire Santa Ynez River properties, owned by hundreds of residents, and paid for it, which it can’t begin to afford; it would take many years in court to settle on prices with each owner.

So, be aware, fences keep animals in, but are also meant to keep the public out. You may ask for permission to enter private property from the owner or a representative, but you may not enter until after you have received permission. Otherwise, you risk being cited for trespass and you risk possible injury from objects or animals.

(ed.~ Raul Armenta is the nephew of Vincent Armenta, Chumash Tribal Chairman. Vincent is a longtime NON fan of the Valley Journal and Nancy Crawford-Hall, because the Journal prints the real story of all things casino and it's real effects in the the once lovely SY Valley.)

This time it was the "wine" not the "whine"..

...for Mr. Sammy Sockpuppet, Sam Cohen. Maybe he just wanted to join the club and acquire a criminal record? Maybe it's a status thing on the reservation? After all, how many people can say they have an attorney that beat his wife out in front of the Chumash Casino. There was also ex-Chumash Chairman - Gilbert Cash, who tried to strangle his wife, so maybe it is the water? What a great group of role models these folks are for youngsters in the Santa Ynez Valley eh? These are the people the governor of California chooses to do business with. And Sam Cohen is the guy that shook his finger and lectured James Lynch about the Chumash, and attempted to lampoon Lynch's credentials. From the Santa Ynez Valley Journal:

Chumash attorney arrested for domestic violence
Archive » December 14, 2007

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ attorney, Sam Cohen, and his wife were arrested at the Chumash Casino Dec. 12 after police responded to a domestic disturbance call. According to the county Sheriff’s department, Trina Cohen was arrested for being drunk in public, while Sam was arrested for domestic violence. Trina was taken to the Santa Barbara County Jail and Sam to an alternate holding facility. The couple was believed to have been attending an anniversary party for Chumash Magazine when they clashed over a social issue. Witnesses said they believed at least one of the Cohens was taken to a hospital for examination before being transported to jail.

(ed. - Bet you don't see THAT little tidbit of news in the Santa Barbara News Press)

It's about the casino, stupid!

In rebuttal to Vincent Armenta's article in Capitol Weekly, a Santa Ynez resident says it clearly enough that even Mr. Armenta should understand. It's not about race hatred. (How can it be about "race" when most people have potted plants that are more "Indian" than the "Chumash"?) According to Vincent however people like Ms. Bowen here are full of hatred and jealousy, and have no business stating their opinion, she's just another whacko, gonzo, hater.

“Hate groups” or average citizens?
By Kathryn Bowen (published Thursday, November 08, 2007)

I am a 43-year-old mother of two. I have a family, a job, a home, I vote and I pay my taxes.

In the year 2000, a 260,000 square foot casino gets built in the heart of our rural community in Santa Ynez Valley (Population 22,000) less than a mile from four elementary schools and our high school with little to no input from the public. In fact, the mere questioning of the size and scope of the project brought immediate and brutal allegations of racism among other epithets from tribal Chairman, Vincent Armenta and tribal spokeswoman Frances Snyder.

Fast forward 7 years. Not much has changed. Screaming racism or “hate” as Chairman Armenta did in his November 1 “Gonzo journalism gone wild” commentary in Capitol Weekly is far easier than to address the real issues of land use, regulatory paralysis, the loss of representative government and the outright abuse of federal law.

Slowly our rights as a community have disappeared as elected officials continue to turn their backs on the people that elected them to office and open their pocket books to big gambling interests. Unlike much of the legalized gambling spreading like a cancer across this country, our casino along with 390 other tribal casinos nationwide are non-transparent, government sponsored, cash printing machines. Casino tribes are allowed to rely on services and infrastructure provided by the hosting community, but the community in turn cannot impose its regulatory system or property taxes for reimbursement because it is perceived as impeding on their sovereignty.

Let’s just be very clear. Casino tribes are not subject to the same laws or taxes as any other business in this country, are not accountable to host communities, not accountable to their own tribal members and if four casino tribes have their way come February, not accountable to the California taxpayer either. Yet, taxpayers are expected to subsidize a $27 billion and growing industry. Shall we dump the tea in the harbor one more time?

These issues are serious enough but just the tip of the iceberg. The more global issues are still submerged under the surface and considering the exhaustive list of related cases before our federal courts, is about to erupt.

Bottom Line: The American taxpayer and the growing number of disenrolled tribal members have become collateral damage to our government in a disastrous experiment that began with a train called the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and given “run away status” when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was passed in 1988. Promoting inequality and separatism through granting gambling monopolies and allowing tens of thousands of acres to be placed into federal trust status to expand “sovereign” tribal territories within our borders because of past persecution is misguided at best and at worst will undue the constitutional protections secured to all people, tribal and non-tribal.

All we have requested from the press is to report the facts without bowing down to intimidation methods or multi-millions of dollars of casino advertising revenue. Nancy Crawford-Hall of the Santa Ynez Valley Journal has done both for our community. Giving Chairman Armenta space to spew such hateful and divisive remarks without having to address the real issues illustrates the kind of intimidation host communities have put up with for years.

Since when did taxpaying, law-abiding citizens exercising their constitutional right to question what our government is doing become the enemy and labeled “hate groups” for challenging flawed federal laws that are weakening a democratic form of government?

Worldwide, casinos are being shut down by the thousands due to the economic and social strain they produce. So why is it considered “hate” when we challenge tribes and our government in their partnered effort to promote gambling as “easy money” when taxpayers are going to be the ones footing a very expensive bill when the party is over and the hangover begins? Why can we not question the Governor for signing every taxpaying citizen on to this lie of free money when he can privately negotiate deals excluding the host communities that are affected the most?

We challenge the Governor and the legislators on the false promise of growing revenue for the state. Where is the close to $1 billion Governor Schwarzenegger promised from his renegotiated 2004 compacts? He has collected an anemic $27 million with costs to the state continuing to grow. Just one example: Governor Schwarzenegger recently took away $1.3 million our community was suppose to receive from the Special Distribution Fund (SDF) intended to minimally mitigate the impacts of the casino. Who is going to pay for this?

The myriad of constitutional issues along with the fallacy that gambling revenue with solve budgetary shortfalls and stimulate economic vitality in our state must be questioned. Hate isn’t the issue.


RELATED ARTICLES:
Gonzo! Whacko! Holy Bingo Batman!!
SY Valley's Journal

Gonzo! Whacko! Holy Bingo Batman!!

Mr. Armenta of the Chumash casino of Santa Ynez submitted this rebuttal to Capitol Weekly in response to their original article. Though he criticizes Ms. Halls's journalistic skills, I myself wonder why he would knock off the title of a soft porn movie to launch his diatribe. Perhaps he needs to look elsewhere for inspiration. Or maybe just pay better attention. It is not 'hate' to dislike having a casino in one's backyard Mr. Armenta. Nor is it 'hate' to want to limit casino expansion. The only ad hominem attacks I see in any of these articles are in your rebuttal Mr. Armenta. As for drama? This editorial is a splendid example! Congrats!

Gonzo Journalism gone wild
By Vincent Armenta (published Thursday, November 01, 2007)
Capitol Weekly's October 18, 2007, article, "Santa Ynez woman buys paper, covers tribal casino," painted a rosy picture of a local woman purchasing a newspaper. But like the Santa Ynez Valley Journal itself, the article didn't tell the whole story.

It's no secret that Nancy Crawford-Hall, the new owner of the Santa Ynez Valley Journal, is a longtime foe of our tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She has attended Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meetings to speak out against our tribe, participated with anti-Chumash hate groups in the community and has written many angry columns in her publication accusing the tribe of everything from paying off politicians to being parasites.

Since Crawford-Hall took over ownership of the Valley Journal, we have had the displeasure of seeing multiple rants against our tribe in her "newspaper" on a weekly basis. Clearly, she doesn't follow the principles of good journalism by bringing quality news reporting to the public. In fact, there's no pretense of journalism at all. If journalism's first obligation is to the truth, the Valley Journal's obligation is to sensationalism and propaganda.

The Valley Journal goes back in time to the media climate prior to the 20th Century where the media market was dominated by smaller newspapers and pamphleteers who usually had an overt and often radical agenda, with no presumption of balance or objectivity.

From our perspective, it appears that the Valley Journal is a publication that is designed for the sole purpose of promoting hate against the tribe by criticizing the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in every issue. The publication's motto might very well be: "All the Gossip That's Not Fit To Print."

Take, for example, Crawford-Hall's "expose" on the tribe's so-called plans to bring 5,000 more slot machines to our facility. She obtained copies of minutes of a tribal council meeting and printed excerpts, but didn't bother to paint the entire picture. We weren't planning to bring 5,000 more machines to our facility, and we haven't. Facts, apparently, aren't important to Crawford-Hall.

Instead, readers were treated to weekly updates of the "No More Slots" campaign in an attempt to cause panic and hysteria by predicting that the sky was falling. The tribal opponents established a Web site, collected signatures, had a town meeting, donned T-shirts with "No More Slots" slogans and marched around Sacramento carrying a Tupperware container filled with scraps of paper. Their campaign fizzled after much fanfare and, as we said all along, we didn't bring 5,000 more slots to the Valley.

Ex-employees of the Valley Journal, of which there are many, tell us of Crawford-Hall's tirades against any editor or reporter who tries to include anything that remotely resembles balanced reporting when it comes to matters concerning the tribe. [if you think those stories are bad you should hear what ex-casino employees have to say about YOU Vincent. I would invite them to post here but our 'family' rating would go right out the window.- ed] She recently fired a columnist who wrote an op-ed that was non-biased. Evidently, an opinion that didn't condemn the tribe didn't have a place in her paper.

Crawford-Hall claims that her paper is the only one printing the truth about the community. The reality is that the local media--print, television and radio--all uphold journalistic standards and run fair, balanced and truthful news on the community, including news on the tribe and our Chumash Casino Resort. Because the coverage is objective, the way journalism should be, Crawford-Hall doesn't like it.

We have battled the Crawford-Halls of our community for nearly a decade. It seems that the more successful our business enterprise, the angrier they become. They hold town hall meetings that a casual observer described as one long gripe session against the tribe. They circulate petitions that go nowhere. They become incensed by virtually everything our tribe does--including making donations to the community.

Crawford-Hall's purchase of the Valley Journal is not a testament to a community member buying a paper to create a community voice. It's a demonstration of what happens when a group of elitists have too much time and too much money.

In Capitol Weekly's article, Crawford-Hall says, "We are telling the stories that no one else will tell." One example might be the front page article she ran stating that Mars will be the brightest object in the night sky when it comes within 34,649,589 miles of Earth. Of course, the story, an urban legend, was a false chain e-mail and passed off as the truth. Like everything else in her paper, the article failed miserably when it comes to meeting basic journalistic standards.

At the end of the day, Crawford-Hall's publication is just another chapter to add to the legacy of the local extreme groups. More drama, more hate, and more fish wrap.

SY Valley's Journal

A few weeks ago at Capitol Weekly, this article appeared covering Nancy Crawford Hall's purchase of the local Santa Ynez paper, 'The Journal'. I am reposting it here along with the responses that have cropped up on the web regarding the original article.

Santa Ynez woman buys paper, covers tribal casino
By Malcolm Maclachlan (published Thursday, October 18, 2007)

Nancy Crawford Hall didn't like how her local newspapers were covering the nearby Chumash tribe and casino. So she did something that people have fantasized about for centuries: She bought her own newspaper.

Last October, she purchased a small monthly, the Santa Ynez Valley Journal. She turned it into a weekly and quickly began having her staff crank out stories that a spokeswoman for the Chumash has labeled "propaganda" and "conspiracy theory of the month."

"It's an interesting paper," said Frances Snyder, and tribal member and spokeswoman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. "Frankly, every week I dread looking at it. All of the stories are inaccurate. All of the stories are biased."

Hall claimed that hers is the only paper printing the truth about the casino--and that the community has responded. The Journal had a circulation of 6,000 when she bought it, she said, but has since grown to 22,000. She said she started looking into buying a paper after years of the other local papers refusing to print anything critical about the tribe or the casino--even in their "letters to the editor" sections.

"I can't go anywhere in town without people saying 'thank you for the paper,'" Hall said. She added, "I think we've really hit a chord. We're telling the stories no one else will tell."

Hall pens a column each week called "On the Ranch." About every third or fourth column deals with the Chumash, she said. But the paper regularly covers the group, including printing numerous letters to the editor--including one by a disgruntled tribal member, Hall said, who asked that their name be withheld.

For many in Sacramento, the first they heard about the dispute between the Chumash and local activists came in the last few weeks when Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, successfully carried a bill to rename a section of Highway 154 as the "Chumash Highway." This angered local anti-casino activists with groups such as No More Slots and Preservation of Santa Ynez. Hall said she has never belonged to any of the local anti-casino groups.

Snyder had harsh words for the activists who oppose the renaming of Highway 154. The route had long been used by the tribe, she said, and the naming followed all legal and Caltrans rules, she said.

"Is it named the Chumash Casino Highway? No," Snyder said. Nowhere in the regulations around naming a highway, she added, does it "say you need the permission of [anti] tribal hate groups."

While the Journal has weighed in on the Highway 154 renaming, the paper has focused more squarely on what they allege are the tribes plans to expand the casino. This past spring, the Journal printed that the tribe was in negotiations for 5,000 new slot machines, along with tribes such as Pechanga and Agua Caliente, that got amended compacts in August.

The Chumash responded by saying the article was inaccurate--a point they sought to emphasize with full-page ads in several competing papers. On April 18, the Journal responded by reprinted the minutes of Chumash Tribal meeting, along with a 4,000 word story titled "Tribal Chairman Claims 'Whackos,' Tribal Government Minutes Say Otherwise." This included a quote from tribal chairman, Vincent Armenta stating: "We met with the Governor's Office but there has been no progress yet. We are asking for 5,000 machines."

Jim Marino, a local attorney who sued the Chumash twice on behalf of former casino employees but got caught in the "catch 22" of trying to sue a sovereign tribal government, said the tribe got caught with their pants down. Many tribal members themselves are angry about the way the tribe is being run by chairman Vincent Armenta, he said, which explains the regular stream of internal tribal information that has been fed to the Journal.

"They said they weren't going to expand," Marino said. "We had the blueprints of exactly where they were going to put the slot machines."

"They quit calling us liars," Hall said of the exchange.

Not quite. Snyder said the minutes were used out of context. The same quote goes on to state than new slots would be 10 years off. The Chumash were invited to talks, she said, because they are a gaming member of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, but declined to pursue expansion. Other tribal minutes would show this to be true, she said, but added that these documents are confidential.

The dispute between the tribe and locals goes back to the beginning of the tribal-gaming era. The Chumash were one of the first tribes to gain a gaming compact under then-Gov. Gray Davis.

The Chumash face something other largely rural tribes have not: an extremely well-funded opposition. The town of Santa Ynez, located 30 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, has median household income of $96,300, according to the 2000 census--a figure that precedes that advent of the casino. The statewide median income at the time was $53,600.

Some have far greater wealth than that, as well as long-term ties to the land. Hall declines to state how much she paid for the Journal, or how many horses and cows she has on the ranch her family has owned for four generations. But she owns a horse-show arena. Her great grandfather, John Vickers, was co-owner of one of the Channel Islands, Santa Rosa Island; the U.S. government bought it for $30 million in 1978.

"The other tribal opponents don't have these type of resources," Synder said. "They try really hard to look like they're not elitist. They don't represent the community."

Marino said that charges of elitism don't mean much when they're coming from a tribe that hands out $40,000 (Snyder refused to confirm this figure) in gaming money to each member every month--not to mention nearly $1 million in political donations since 2001, including $16,200 to Coto. He went on to say the tribe has used this power--and the tens of thousands they regularly spend on newspaper and television advertising--to crush any criticism in other newspapers in the area.
"It's the millions of dollars they spend plus the fear of being labeled a racist," Marino said.

Many of the comments about the tribe do have racial overtones, Synder said, especially those posted on blogs. The tribe is criticized essentially no matter what they do, she said, including when they gave $1 million to the local Cottage Hospital and $3 million to refurbish the athletic fields at Santa Ynez Valley High School.

As an entertainment venue, they do regularly advertise in the local press, she said, though not in the Journal. The real reason the opponents don't get coverage elsewhere, she said, is because their claims are inaccurate. Many writers in the area, such as Santa Barbara News-Press columnist Travis Armstrong and local blogger Rick Lee, have frequently written positive stories about the tribe.

In any case, Hall said the Journal is going to keep after the Chumash. All she ever wanted was a part in the debate, she said, and the paper has given her that in spades. She's looking at adding new staff and shining light elsewhere, as well.

"The phrase 'the power of the press' is really true," Hall said, then added, "There's a lot of sneaky stuff the county does."

Excuse me, how do I get back to America?

When our elected officials start harassing constituents who question them, it is time to ask just what country we are living in. If this were Iran, or Venezuela, I would understand, but last time I checked it was still the United States of America. Perhaps a recall of Mr, Nava is in order if he can't remember that he is supposed to represent ALL of the people. Also note Mr. Nava has received at least $6,400 from the Chumash Casino in donations. My guess is that these gentlemen who had the audacity to question Nava, did not give him any money. From The Editor's News Files at the Santa Ynez Valley Journal:


Two valley men said their efforts to let Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, know how they felt about the way Hwy. 154 was named the Chumash Highway led to an investigation by the threat assessment unit of the California Highway Patrol.

One of the men said that he received a telephone call from a CHP officer who grilled him about his offer to meet with Nava at home to discuss what he felt were legislative shenanigans, while the other man said a uniformed officer knocked at his door at 9 a.m. to inquire about a telephone message he had left for Nava.

Both men denied that they had threatened Nava, and CHP Lt. Andy Menard, who heads the threat assessment unit in Sacramento, agreed that there had been no credible threat against the assemblyman by either of the men.

Nava, for his part, said nothing. The assemblyman was reportedly out of town and did not return calls after a request for a statement was made of his press spokesman. The spokesman declined to make a statement on the record on Nava’s behalf.

“It bothered me that no one in our county knew anything about it when the legislature voted to name the highway,” said Steven Siegel.

“Pedro Nava is aware that naming Hwy. 154 after the Chumash would be very controversial in our county, and to claim that he knew nothing about it until it was a fait accompli stinks. Nobody’s that out of touch,” Siegel said.

“Maybe he really likes the Chumash – I don’t know what his motive was, and I don’t care,” he said. “But Nava is supposed to represent the whole district, and he had an obligation to his constituents to know about it and to tell us about it before it happened.”

Siegel called Nava’s office repeatedly, asking for an opportunity to tell Nava how he felt. Each time, he said, he was rebuffed.

Finally, Siegel said, he told the assemblyman’s chief of staff that he would be in Santa Barbara on Oct. 12 and that he’d like to stop by Nava’s house to talk to him about the issue. The call from the CHP came that evening.

Similarly, Trace Eubanks called Nava to express his feelings about what he considered a sneaky political maneuver to get the highway naming approved by pushing it through the legislature as one of a number of measures bundled together for an all-or-nothing vote.

“I personally don’t care what they call that road,” Eubanks said.

“My main complaint is about renegotiating the size of casinos and the number of machines that they can have,” he said.

“I’ve been to Pedro Nava’s office, because I dropped off a petition with signatures of people opposed to casino expansion. I’ve met Mr. Nava, and he knows that I oppose casino expansion,” he said.

“But I heard 1st District Supervisor Brooks Firestone on the radio talking about the whole community being up in arms about the Chumash Highway things, and how everybody ought to be up in arms about how it was done,” Eubanks said.

“Nava had to know about it in advance,” he said, mentioning Nava’s chairmanship of the committee that reviewed the measure before it went to the floor of the assembly.

“I heard everybody in the valley going off about it, so I called Nava’s office and I left a voice message. I said, ‘I cannot believe you did this without any public notice or debate,’” he said.

“’You have everybody upset and nobody likes it, and believe me you’re going to pay for this,’” he said he told the assemblyman’s voice mail recorder.

Bright and early the next morning, Eubanks said, a local CHP officer came to his door conducting a threat assessment.

“He said that Nava took it as a personal threat and shut down his office and sent everybody home,” Eubanks said.

“I call it a lot of drama; at the CHP’s request I sent him a letter telling him that my message was not meant as a personal threat, but I added that he shouldn’t have run and hid under his bed sheets and called the CHP,” Eubanks said.

Menard, the CHP lieutenant, said the incidents were not so petty that his office would decline to make contact with the men.

“But we determined that there wasn’t a threat,” Menard said. “We understood there wasn’t a threat, but it wasn’t received that way.”

Menard said that his office, which took over responsibility for threat assessment in cases involving the governor, members of the state supreme court and members of the legislature from the California State Police when that department was merged with the CHP in 1995, is called upon to look into possible threats at assembly district offices “a couple of times a month.”

Both men said they were appalled that Nava would resort to accusing them of threatening him and send police to investigate because they believed they were exercising their constitutional right as voters to share their opinions with their elected representative. His use of police investigators, they said, surely was intended to have a chilling effect on constituent dissent.

Recalling some "family" history

This story ran in the LA Times, in October of 2004. It seems worthy of a re-posting and link here, noting how some members of the tribe were condemned by others for letting this story 'leak'. Kind of makes you wonder what else they would like to cover up....


Free Chips Flowed at Blackjack Table
By Glenn F. Bunting, Times Staff Writer
October 19, 2004

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. — Vincent Armenta kept a promise to take his son to the Chumash Casino on his 18th birthday.

A losing streak at a card table quickly emptied Armenta's wallet. As his losses approached $2,000, Armenta resorted to a strategy not found in "Beat the Dealer" or other blackjack bibles.

"Let's put some green ones out there," he recalled telling the dealer.

The dealer placed free $25 chips in front of each player at the table. At Armenta's urging, the dealer continued to give away chips, valued at $5 to $100 each, for more than an hour.

The game caught the attention of an undercover security officer, who asked a card room supervisor what was going on. The supervisor nodded toward Armenta.

"That's the tribal chairman," he said, according to a report filed by the officer.

As play continued that evening — Dec. 7, 2002 — a casino manager contacted the director of card room operations at home. The director was Anthony Armenta, the chairman's brother, who said he ordered a halt to the game.

In a series of interviews, Vincent Armenta said he never intended to break any laws or pocket any winnings.

"I wasn't there to win any money," Armenta said. "I was trying to create excitement for people at the table."

A welder by trade, Armenta, 41, was elected chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians in 1999. Under his leadership, a new casino resort has brought great wealth to his once-impoverished tribe.

At a special meeting on Dec. 19, 2002, tribal members were shown excerpts from nearly three hours of surveillance videotape of the incident.

Armenta described his actions as "a gross error in judgment" and apologized to the tribe, according to a transcript.

A casino compliance officer told the tribe that Armenta's conduct probably would have violated state gambling laws in Nevada.

An incident report said Armenta committed 11 violations of tribal gaming policy. The loss to the casino was put at $1,400.

At the meeting, two of the tribe's gaming commissioners — chairman Gilbert Cash and longtime member Rudolph Romero — called for Armenta's resignation.

A former tribal chairman spoke out against Armenta's removal, saying it would give the Chumash "another black eye," the transcript shows. "California is in the process of trying to regulate these casinos and shut them down," David Dominguez said. "After so many violations, they will do it."

Armenta refused to step down.

The Chumash gaming commission, a panel of five tribal members responsible for regulating the casino, fined Armenta the maximum $500 per violation and ordered him to reimburse the casino for the lost revenue. The total: approximately $7,000.

The Chumash tribe passed a resolution prohibiting members of the business council and the gaming commission from betting at the casino.

"This incident, if anything, demonstrates that the gaming commission does in fact take its responsibilities seriously," said Glenn Feldman, the Chumash gaming attorney.

A Jan. 3, 2003, letter signed by 14 Chumash Indians condemned members for telling outsiders about the case.

"We are all related here on the reservation," the letter stated. "It does not give anyone the right to send such information that makes us all look bad. It is imperative we find a way to stop these members before they destroy us."

In March 2003, Armenta was elected to a third two-year term as tribal chairman.

More on the Chumash Buy-Way

From a comprehensive article by William Etling at Trust and Consequences:

CA - Tombstone Trouble On The Chumash Highway

by William Etling - October 5, 2007

Last Sunday afternoon (September 30), a mock tombstone appeared by the roadside on the newly anointed Chumash Highway, near the intersection with Mission Drive.

A mock tombstone appeared by the roadside on the newly anointed Chumash Highway, near the intersection with Mission Drive.

It read "RIP - Community's Voice, Sept. 2007. Killed on the Chumash 'Buy-way' by government, recklessly driving under the influence of power and money."

By Monday afternoon, it was flat in the dirt, and the flower pots formerly at its base were scattered in all directions.

It's just the latest mini-round in an old sparring match. For the Chumash people, the new name was a long overdue tribute to their ancient culture.

Chairman Armenta said, "The news was met with a round of applause from our tribal membership. The smiles in the room could have lit up all of Santa Ynez Valley. The Chumash Highway represents the respect and recognition that members of the California Legislature have for Native Americans. It demonstrates that they understand the tribe's historical significance in the area."

For Casino opponents who have long believed that state and federal legislators are in the pocket of gambling interests, it was proof once again that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't plotting against you.

"Our outrage is about the pattern of a broken representative process favoring big gambling interests," said Kathryn Bowen of Preservation of Los Olivos (POLO). "This is about how an out of area San Jose assemblyman, Joe Coto, can get a bill passed that has long reaching ramifications for a community that he has nothing to do with. This is about an appalling pattern of circumvention of the local community to create a Casino Company Town."

Chairman Armenta countered, "It is truly sad that our tribal opponents cannot accept history and appreciate, respect and revere the fact that the Chumash lived on this land for thousands of years. Instead, they prefer to hurl accusations and scream foul play."

Jon Bowen, President of Preservation of Santa Ynez (POSY) said, "Our elected officials are promoting the use of a state highway as a marketing tool for a two hundred and fifty million dollar a year tax-exempt gambling enterprise...Re-naming Highway 154 has nothing to do with honoring the Chumash culture. This is about hijacking a name for marketing purposes."

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