News from the Northeast
News from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts
News Reports 2005-2006
PLEASE NOTE: Effective with the next update, I will no longer be listing links here. All news reports can be found in each monthly news section and searching this site can be done easily using the Google Search box for this website which is located on the Contents Page. Due to time constraints and with me doing all the work, I've had to cut back on the extras. Thank you for your understanding. April 16, 2006
News from Massachusetts
News from New Hampshire
News from Vermont
MAINE TRIBAL NEWS
April 2006
High court mulls BDN Case on access to tribal meetings
Educational Pow Wow - Gathering of Tribes - June 2006
Maine's Chief Big Thunder Survived via Showbiz
March 2006
Loring to move, resigns as Richmond, Maine's Selectman
Eagle Lands in Calais, Maine for her 16th summer
February 2006
Sockalexis first Indian in MLB - Maine
Tribal-State Partnership - Maine
Maliseets plan bio-diesel plan on tribal land
January 2006
Celebrating life of a true Leader
Passamaquoddy Governor Melvin Francis Killed in Traffic Accident
House Speaker Defending deal to Bring Oil to Maine
Targeted Naval Station has Potential-Maine
Penobscots enter mail-order drug business
House Speaker Defends Deal to bring Oil to Maine
Targeted Naval Air Station has Potential
Venezuela deal with Indians Could be Prelude to Big Announcement
December 2005
Maine's Indians Want Role in Redevelopment
Tribe Helps Old Friends with Pharmacy Project
October 2005
Mail Order Prescription Drug Program Read More
BALDACCI VETOS RACINO-BREAKING NEWS
Baldacci vetoes racino bill
AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci Thursday vetoed a bill supported by the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe that would allow slot machines at a harness racing facility in eastern Maine.
But rather than bringing the debate over the issue to an end, the governor's action will likely move the controversy to a new stage.
Racino proponents are expected to push for legislative endorsement of a statewide referendum vote on the proposal. And Baldacci, emphasizing that his opposition to expanded gaming in Maine is personal, said any change in current law should be up to the people.
Associated Press/WMTW
Link to Report
Baldacci delays racino veto
By Victoria Wallack
Statehouse News Service
AUGUSTA (June 9): While Gov. John Baldacci has promised to veto a bill that would allow racino gambling in Washington County, the bipartisan vote by the Legislature to allow another venue for slot machines in the state has opponents worried about the future.
Baldacci and representatives of the state’s Indian tribes met for close to two hours late Tuesday afternoon. The governor’s office said putting the racino out to referendum was one of many possibilities discussed, but “the governor has not wavered” in his plan to veto the racino bill, according to spokesman, Lynn Kippax.
Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Fred Moore characterized the discussions as “positive,” likening them to the change in the weather Tuesday, which was sunny.
“We have been discussing our respective positions … and will continue discussion,” Moore said.
The bill to allow the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe to set up a gambling parlor in Calais as a form of economic development for the state’s poorest county, passed through the Legislature with stunning speed last week.
The desire to give Washington County a chance to try and boost tourism with slot machines was the reason most often cited. But so too were the notions that slots were no worse than lottery tickets and if they were alright for Bangor – Baldacci’s hometown -- why not somewhere else.
“For the life of me, I can’t understand why it’s OK to have a racino in Bangor but not in Washington County and for our tribes,” said Sen. Libby Mitchell, D-Kennebec, a former speaker of the house.
Such comments have made Baldacci a bad guy in the eyes of some since the vote – which he apparently did not expect – is forcing him to make good on a promised veto that will alienate some Washington County voters and further strain his relations with the state’s Indian tribes, damaged when he came out against an Indian-run casino at the start of his first term.
Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Washington, said Monday there was “stunned disbelief back home that the governor, who co-sponsored the casino bill 10 years ago, would veto this golden opportunity.” Baldacci supported a bill to build a full-blown casino in Calais 10 years ago when he was a state senator, but has since changed his mind on gambling. He is expected to veto the racino bill this week after meeting with tribal leaders on Tuesday.
Fred Kilfoil is one of the leaders of a group out of Scarborough and Westbrook that wants to repeal the 2003 referendum that allowed slots at racetracks in Maine. He estimates he has about 30,000 signatures so far and needs just over 50,000 to get the refrendum on next year's ballot.
Kilfoil, owner of the Millbrook Motel in Scarborough, said he was "a bit amazed at the number of legislators who seem to buy the company line that this would be a form of 'economic development.'"
He was pleased, however, the governor is now saying racinos are not good economic development.
"For someone who, 10 years or so earlier, supported a similar plan when he was in the state Legislature, to now proclaim that it does not make sense economically, is a quantum shift," Kilfoil said.
A last-minute rally in the Senate on Friday that was supposed to turn the vote around never materialized and instead initial support was reconfirmed with a 19 to 15 vote with one member absent. The final House vote was 87-46 on Thursday, following a 94-53 vote on Tuesday.
Among those voting in favor of the bill was Rep. Larry Bliss, D-South Portland. Voting against were Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-South Portland and Cape Elizabeth; Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Scarborough and Westbrook; Rep. Harold Clough, R-Scarborough; Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough; Rep. Jane Eberle, D-South Portland; and Rep. Connie Goldman, D-Cape Elizabeth.
The bill would allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe, in cooperation with the state’s other tribes, to operate up to 1,500 slot machines at a yet to be built harness racing track in Calais, providing voters there approved them in a local referendum. In a statewide referendum two years ago, voters approved slots only at the state’s two existing tracks – Bangor and Scarborough Downs – but only Bangor residents opted to support the deal.
Sen. Raye made an impassioned speech in favor of the slots on the Senate floor Friday. He said Washington County has the highest unemployment rate of Maine’s 16 counties and less than half the state’s average household income. The state's efforts to improve the economy there simply haven't worked because the area is remote.
“With this bill, at long last, we are presented with an opportunity to take advantage of our geography,” Raye said, and attract Canadian tourists to stop in Calais and spend money, instead of just passing through.
He said store owners watch “tour bus, after tour bus, after tour bus pass us by…A racino will help transform our area into a destination.”
As for concerns that it would threaten the quality of life in Southern Maine, Raye pointed out that “Foxwoods is a half an hour closer to Portland,” than Calais, and no one has tried to argue the Connecticut casino has had any effect on Maine.
Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Cumberland, led the fight against the racino on the Senate floor, saying as the director of a program that serves the poor he doesn’t want to see more people impoverished because of a gambling habit.
“Slot machines are called video crack for a reason,” he said. “I do not need more clients, and I don’t know of another social service agency in the state that needs more clients.”
Saying real economic development was investment in schools, roads and research, Strimling said, “we don’t need more facilities in Maine that can suck money from poor people.”
Sen. Peter Mills, R-Somerset, also spoke against the racino on the Senate floor. Mills said his county too was among the state’s poorest, but gambling wasn’t the answer.
“It is the dumbest of human activities,” Mills said of gambling on slots. “It causes bankruptcy, divorce, criminal activities and drug abuse.”
He said the racino in Bangor – “approved with a thin public margin” – wasn’t even built yet, and the state was considering allowing another racino.
“How on earth are we going to turn down the other tribes?” he asked, when they say, “they got one; why don’t we get one?”
Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Cumberland, who represents part of Scarborough and Westbrook where residents turned down a racino proposal for Scarborough Downs, voted against the bill because of the people he represents.
“I don’t have the moral opposition some do,” Bartlett said, but “there’s a lot of concern,” in his district over another racino being built in the state.
Sen. William Diamond, D-Cumberland, who before being elected to the Senate served as a lobbyist for Scarborough Downs, also voted against the Washington County racino.
Diamond said he wouldn’t approve another racino until Bangor was up and running.
“If Bangor goes well – and all the kinks get worked out and it doesn’t do all the bad things people have predicted,” Diamond said he “wouldn’t have a problem” with another racino in the state, as long as local voters approved it for their community.
Sen. Dana Dow, R-Lincoln, voted against the racino because he doesn’t like gambling.
“It is not an income producer, it’s an income shifter. It comes out of somebody’s pocket and goes to somebody else’s.”
Dow said more lottery tickets already are sold in Washington County than any other place in the state. “This would be more income relocated to some other pocket,” he said of the proposed racino. At the very least, he said, it should be put out to a statewide referendum, not decided by the Legislature.
Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Hancock and Penobscot, voted for the bill, saying he was impressed by the coalition of Washington County people in support of it – including the tribes, all the legislators from that region and the local businesses.
“It was the strong desire by the people of Washington County…to have this project go forward,” that swayed him, he said.
Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Hancock, also voted in favor.
Damon said people tried to get him to change his vote, but the argument in favor of a racino was “too compelling.”
“We have been for some time promising to do economic development in Washington County…The fact is they need something now. This is the best alternative available to us. It’s the best we can offer and it’s a poor choice,” Damon said.
Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland, grew up in Washington County and said, “I didn’t realize I was a low-income person,” until he applied for college aid. “Washington County was in trouble when I was a child,” he said, and still is, despite state and federal economic development programs that have “poured money in.”
He voted in favor of the racino, he said, because it was a way for Washington County people “to try and lift themselves up.”
Sen. Arthur Mayo, D-Sagadahoc, said he voted for the racino because of the Indian tribe involvement.
“Growing up in Old Town, I have a different philosophy with regard to the tribes than do some people,” he said. Indian Island – the Penobscot reservation – is in Old Town. “I do not think this is opening the door to further Indian racinos.”
Sen. John Martin, D-Aroostook, said he decided just two weeks ago to change his mind and support the Washington County racino. “It’s worth a shot. Nothing else has worked,” to stimulate the economy there, he said.
As for the argument the state should not support gambling, Martin said, “If we are so concerned, we would repeal scratch tickets.”
Racino races through Legislature
By Victoria Wallack
Statehouse Reporter
AUGUSTA (June 8): While Gov. John Baldacci has promised to veto a bill that would allow racino gambling in Washington County, the bipartisan vote by the Legislature to allow another venue for slot machines in the state has opponents worried about the future.
The bill to allow the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe to set up a gambling parlor in Calais as a form of economic development for the state’s poorest county passed through the Legislature with stunning speed last week.
The desire to give Washington County a chance to try to boost tourism with slot machines was the reason most often cited. But so too were the notions that slots were no worse than lottery tickets and if they were all right for Bangor –- Baldacci’s hometown -- why not somewhere else.
“For the life of me, I can’t understand why it’s OK to have a racino in Bangor but not in Washington County and for our tribes,” said Sen. Libby Mitchell (D, Kennebec), a former speaker of the House.
Such comments have made Baldacci a bad guy in the eyes of some since the vote -- which he apparently did not expect -- is forcing him to make good on a promised veto that will alienate some Washington County voters and further strain his relations with the state’s Indian tribes, damaged when he came out against an Indian-run casino at the start of his first term.
Sen. Kevin Raye (R, Washington) said Monday there was “stunned disbelief back home that the governor, who co-sponsored the casino bill 10 years ago, would veto this golden opportunity.”
Baldacci supported a bill to build a full-blown casino in Calais 10 years ago when he was a state senator, but has since changed his mind on gambling.
A last-minute rally in the Senate on Friday that was supposed to turn the vote around never materialized and instead initial support was reconfirmed with a 19 to 15 vote with one member absent. State Sen. Carol Weston (R, Montville) voted in favor. The final House vote was 87-46 on Thursday, following a 94-53 vote Tuesday.
The bill would allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe, in cooperation with the state’s other tribes, to operate up to 1,500 slots machines at a yet-to-be-built harness racing track in Calais, providing voters there approved them in a local referendum.
In a statewide referendum two years ago, voters approved slots only at the state’s two existing tracks -- Bangor and Scarborough Downs -- but only Bangor residents opted to support the deal.
Raye made an impassioned speech in favor of the slots on the Senate floor Friday. He said Washington County has the highest unemployment rate of Maine’s 16 counties and less than half the state’s average household income. The state’s efforts to improve the economy there simply haven’t worked because the area is remote.
“With this bill, at long last, we are presented with an opportunity to take advantage of our geography,” Raye said, and attract Canadian tourists to stop in Calais and spend money, instead of just passing through.
He said store owners watch “tour bus, after tour bus, after tour bus pass us by…A racino will help transform our area into a destination.”
As for concerns that it would threaten the quality of life in Southern Maine, Raye said Foxwoods is a half an hour closer to Portland than Calais and no one has tried to argue the Connecticut casino has had any effect on Maine.
Sen. Ethan Strimling (D, Cumberland) led the fight against the racino on the Senate floor, saying as the director of a program that serves the poor he doesn’t want to see more people impoverished because of a gambling habit.
“Slot machines are called video crack for a reason,” he said. “I do not need more clients, and I don’t know of another social service agency in the state that needs more clients.”
Saying real economic development was investment in schools, roads and research, Strimling said, “We don’t need more facilities in Maine that can suck money from poor people.”
Sen. Peter Mills (R, Somerset) also spoke against the racino on the Senate floor. Mills said his county too was among the state’s poorest, but gambling wasn’t the answer. “It is the dumbest of human activities,” Mills said of gambling on slots. “It causes bankruptcy, divorce, criminal activities and drug abuse.”
He said the racino in Bangor – “approved with a thin public margin” -- wasn’t even built yet, and the state was considering allowing another eacino. “How on earth are we going to turn down the other tribes?” he asked, when they say, “They got one; why don’t we get one?”
Sen. Phil Bartlett (D, Cumberland), who represents part of Scarborough and Westbrook where residents turned down a racino proposal for Scarborough Downs, voted against the bill because of the people he represents.
“I don’t have the moral opposition some do,” Bartlett said, but there’s a lot of concern in his district over another racino being built in the state.
Sen. William Diamond (D, Cumberland), who before being elected to the Senate served as a lobbyist for Scarborough Downs, also voted against the Washington County racino.
Diamond said he wouldn’t approve another racino until Bangor was up and running. If Bangor goes well –- and all the kinks get worked out and it doesn’t do all the bad things people have predicted, he said he wouldn’t have a problem with another racino in the state, as long as local voters approved it for their community.
Sen. Dana Dow (R, Lincoln) voted against the racino because he doesn’t like gambling. “It is not an income producer, it’s an income shifter. It comes out of somebody’s pocket and goes to somebody else’s.”
Dow said more lottery tickets already are sold in Washington County than any other place in the state. “This would be more income relocated to some other pocket,” he said. At the very least, he said, it should be put out to a statewide referendum, not decided by the Legislature.
Sen. Richard Rosen (R, Hancock and Penobscot) voted for the bill, saying he was impressed by the coalition of Washington County people in support of it -- including the tribes, all the legislators from that region and the local businesses. It was the strong desire by the people of Washington County to have this project go forward that swayed him, he said.
Sen. John Martin (D, Aroostook) said he decided just two weeks ago to change his mind and support the Washington County racino. “It’s worth a shotm" he said. Nothing else has worked to stimulate the economy there, he said.
As for the argument the state should not support gambling, Martin said, “If we are so concerned, we would repeal scratch tickets.”
Link to Report
Racino talks yield no deal
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
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AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci began talks Tuesday with Passamaquoddy and Penobscot leaders to try to break an impasse over plans for a tribal racino in Washington County. Baldacci told tribal leaders during a two-hour meeting at the Blaine House that he continues to oppose plans for a racetrack Down East with as many as 1,500 slot machines. The tribes responded by saying they need new ways to attract jobs and outside investment.
The two sides reached no agreement, and Baldacci did not back off his promise to veto a bill to allow the racino. But both sides said they plan to meet again in the coming days to continue their discussions.
"I am hopeful the dialogue today will lead to something everyone can live with," said Passamaquoddy Rep. Frederick Moore.
Lee Umphrey, an aide to the governor, said a possible compromise is holding a referendum on the proposed racino. Legislators predicted that the two sides may look at ways beyond gambling to boost economic development for the tribes and Washington County.
Moore and aides to Baldacci described the talks as fruitful and positive. Although at odds over tribal gambling, Baldacci and tribal leaders talked about a variety of economic development options, Moore said. He declined to give specifics.
"We are not in the position to identify anything in the way of alternatives," Moore said.
Lawmakers, who approved the racino bill last week, viewed the negotiations as way for Baldacci to try to address economic problems highlighted by the debate over gambling Down East.
Support in the Legislature for the expansion of gambling to Washington County was driven by concerns over high unemployment and the lack of economic opportunities for the tribes and the state's easternmost county.
"You always have the question: 'You don't like this. Then what are you going to do?' That is the dialogue that I guess is taking place," said state Rep. Randy Hotham, R-Dixfield, a supporter of the racino.
Rep. Edward Dugay, D-Cherryfield, said he talked with Baldacci in recent days about other ways to bring jobs and investment to Washington County, in light of the governor's opposition to gambling.
"This is about alternative methods of economic development," Dugay said.
The tribes' meeting came as racino supporters stepped up efforts to pressure Baldacci to support the racino proposal. Without Baldacci's backing, the latest bid by the tribes to expand gambling in Maine likely will fall short. There is not enough support in the Senate or the House right now to override a veto.
Washington County business owners are running local radio spots encouraging residents to e-mail or call the governor's office and tell him not to veto the racino bill. Some communities are trying to get Baldacci to change his mind.
An e-mail from Scott Harriman, manager of the Canadian border town of Baileyville, described a racino as a first step to revitalizing Washington County. Attached was a resolution passed by the town council in favor of it.
"We would be . . . pleased if he signs it and shows some ability to get Washington County out of the doldrums," said Louis Bernardini, chairman of the St. Croix Valley Chamber of Commerce, who owns a shoe and clothing store in Calais.
Bernardini and others say a racino could make the Calais area a tourist stop for people coming from Canada, bringing further development like a hotel and conference center.
But Baldacci is hearing from opponents as well. E-mails have come into his office from people who agree with governor's statement that gambling is the wrong way to develop the state's economy. They also dispute claims by supporters that a majority of Mainers favor an expansion of gambling.
Casinos No!, a Portland-based anti-gambling group, has lobbied Baldacci to veto the bill, saying that a Washington County racino would bring more crime, bankruptcy and other social problems.
"Hopefully the governor will keep the door to casino expansion closed," said Valerie Landry, a member of Casinos No! executive committee.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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BALDACCI COULD VETO BILL AS EARLY AS TODAY.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- A spokesman says Baldacci could veto the bill as early as today because a racetrack casino does not represent "sustainable development." The Passamaquoddy tribe would operate the horse-racing track and slot machines in Washington County under the proposal. The Passamaquoddies would distribute some of the wealth to Maine's three other tribes as well as to other funds.
The Bangor Daily News reports that Baldacci supported a bill in 1993 that would have allowed a casino in Calais. Spokesman Lynn Kippax says the governor now believes there are better ways to grow the economy than through gambling.
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Tribal leaders ask to meet with governor before veto
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Saturday, June 4, 2005
AUGUSTA — Minutes after the Maine Senate gave final approval to a Washington County racino Friday, leaders of the state's American Indian tribes requested a meeting with Gov. John Baldacci. With passage of the bill to allow a tribal-run harness racetrack with up to 1,500 slot machines, the tribes are as close as they have ever been in their pursuit to expand American Indian gaming in Maine. But Baldacci's pledge to veto the racino bill could end months of work by the tribes at the State House.
Tribal leaders plan to make a final appeal to the governor, but concede it will be difficult. And there is not enough support in the Senate and House of Representatives at this point to overturn a Baldacci veto.
"We are a proud people," said Bill Nicholas, a Passamaquoddy leader. "We are not about bashing the governor for his position. We would just like to have some understanding."
In the past month, tribal leaders have spent their days at the State House lobbying lawmakers, and their nights sharing rooms at the Comfort Inn. Others have made daily commutes from the state's three reservations.
In past bids to get permission for tribal gaming, the tribes have hired lobbyists and formed partnerships with private groups, said Joseph Socobasin, a Passamaquoddy and lieutenant governor of Indian Township reservation.
But this spring, they allied themselves with Washington County leaders and the harness racing community. And at the State House, the tribes, led by Passamaquoddy Rep. Frederick Moore, did their own lobbying.
"I think we have been more effective than any lobbyist in the past," Socobasin said. "Nobody can tell our story better than we can."
But Baldacci presents the final and most difficult challenge for the tribes.
They have sold the racino in the Senate and House as an issue of fairness and a chance to turn around the high unemployment among the tribes and the struggling economy of Washington County.
Maine's four tribes would split millions of dollars in annual slot machine revenues. Tribal leaders say the proceeds would go to develop other industries and create jobs. The slot revenues also would go to health care, schools, roads and other needs on their reservations.
Penobscot Nation Chief James Sappier said his members need better medical care for diabetes, cancer and other health problems. He has buried 21 members of his tribe in the past 15 months. The average age was 57.
"We put this data out. No one pays attention," Sappier said.
But Baldacci and lawmakers who oppose the racino do not see it providing a sustainable economic benefit for Washington County. During Friday's Senate debate, opponents said slot machines would bring new problems to the Down East region.
Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, said areas of the country with slots gambling have had increases in bankruptcy, divorce rates and crime.
"Washington County has enough of all of the above already," Mills said.
He and other Senate opponents predicted a racino in Washington County would make one of the state's poorest regions even worse off, increasing the need for social services and other state-funded assistance programs.
Baldacci so far has made the case that gambling is the wrong way to develop the state's economy. His spokesman, Lynn Kippax, said the governor plans to veto the bill, but held off Friday. Baldacci wanted to speak with various interested parties and put together a detailed veto message so the public would understand his decision.
"The governor wants to make sure he listens to those who want to talk with him about his position," Kippax said.
It was unclear Friday whether this would include the tribes. The governor was unable to meet with them before the weekend. Kippax said he was unsure whether a meeting would be set up for next week.
Socobasin, the Passamaquoddy lieutenant governor, fears Baldacci is thinking about his bid for re-election next year as he makes this decision. He says a veto may help the governor get votes in southern Maine, where opposition to gambling has been the strongest. Back in Indian Township, he will lose many supporters.
"If he vetoes it, we will not give up," Socobasin said.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:
Mark Peters
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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MAINE VOICES: Donna Loring
Paper has been unfair to racino backers
Friday, June 3, 2005
In the past few days the Portland Press Herald has written three pieces that are blatantly unfair and one-sided. They are "Governor is leaning right way on racino veto" (May 25 editorial), "Accusations fly as tribes pursue racino" (May 26 news article), and, most recently, "Racism is a word better left to define true bias" (May 30 editorial).
Your paper has made no secret of the fact that it is against gaming. You manage to spin every article to that end and in doing so you take away our voices. In this case it is tribal and Washington County voices.
In your May 25 editorial you say, "It's true that eastern Maine's economy is far from being the state's most prosperous, but there are several reasons why the idea of creating what would become the state's second 1,500-slot casino is a bad one."
Here I take issue with the term "slot casino." The project being proposed in Washington County (emphasis added) is a racino that features harness racing as well as slot machines. It is not simply a "slot casino."
It seems it is easier to argue against this particular project if you concentrate only on slot machines. This is not about slot machines, but rather this is about people trying to make a living and people trying to provide for their families, people fighting to stay in their homes and on their land.
You say "those who argue that a racino would boost the economy of Washington County ignore several relevant facts. The county is a long way from population centers . . . so it is likely that most patrons would come from the surrounding area . . .and would not bring new money into the area."
This is another wrong assumption. The purpose of the racino is to attract people from New Brunswick. Residents of Calais tell us that over 1 million cars cross the border in a year. The racino would provide a hotel, restaurants, shopping opportunities, as well as a convention center.
The racino would provide a kindling to ignite the economic fires of Washington County.
You mention a social cost again and, yes, there is a social cost, one that Washington County is paying as you read this. It is the social cost of families being torn apart by drug abuse, alcoholism and family violence, and there is not one slot machine or racetrack in that county. It is the social cost of no jobs and no hope for the future.
Finally, let me address the May 26 front-page news article and the May 30 editorial.
The front-page headline promised some hot debate on "accusations," but the only thing it delivered was a quote by me saying, "On it's face it does smack a bit of racism."
You mention my quote again on May 30. You have put your spin on my words now in two of your editions. I hope you will allow me to respond without your spin.
I am very disappointed in your newspaper and your reporting tactics. I have been a tribal representative in the Maine State Legislature for almost nine years and I have said many, many things during those years.
But never were my words used to create a front-page headline in your paper and never have you used one of my sentences for fuel to write two prominent pieces in the space of four days in your newspaper.
I am not denying I said it, but let me surround my infamous statement by what I believe and others have supported. On April 11, Jim Brunelle wrote a column titled, "If a racetrack can have slot machines, why can't Indian tribes?"
He wrote how voters came to accept former Gov. Angus King's view that our image as a state would drastically change.. " the racino initiative was promoted as more wholesomely aimed at rescuing a foundering harness racing industry the racino question passed with a close 53 percent margin. . . . How can we say yes to a racino sponsored by outside gambling interests but say no to essentially the same idea by Maine's Indian Tribes? More to the point, how can we say no this time without the answer coming off as arbitrary, unfair and even a bit racist?"
Did Brunelle's words get blown up and made headlines by your paper? I was just echoing what was in Brunelle's thoughts and the thoughts of many others. I made no accusations. As the old saying goes, "Me thinks thou dost protest too much."
Special to the Press Herald
About the Author
About the Author
Donna Loring is a lobbyist for The Penobscot Nation.
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Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Racino passes, but veto awaits
June 3, 2005
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
AUGUSTA — The Maine Legislature has approved a tribal racino in Washington County, but a promised veto by Gov. John Baldacci could end the bid by the state's American Indian tribes to expand gambling in Maine.
The state Senate on Thursday gave initial approval to a bill that would allow the tribes to operate a harness racing track Down East with up to 1,500 slot machines. The House of Representatives had voted in favor of the American Indian-run facility on Tuesday, 94-53, and reaffirmed its stance Thursday, 87-46. Approval by the House and Senate capped weeks of work by the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes and Washington County leaders, organized labor and the harness racing community. The parties say revenue from a racino will help the tribes and the economy of one of the state's poorest regions.
But lawmakers face a challenge in the veto promised by Baldacci. Neither the House nor the Senate, which voted 19 to 15 in favor, has the two-thirds majority right now to override the governor.
"If he vetoes it, it's all over," said Senate Minority Leader Paul Davis, R-Sangerville.
Baldacci said Thursday he will veto the bill because gambling would hurt long-term efforts to bring businesses and jobs to Washington County.
"It is not sustainable economic development," Baldacci said.
More than a decade ago the tribes lost a bid in the Legislature to put a casino in Calais, and in 2003 their plans for a casino in Sanford were rejected in a statewide vote.
But lawmakers have rallied around the latest plan. Those who support the tribal racino say they want to find a way to help Washington County, where some communities have double-digit unemployment rates.
"I think it's time something happens Down East. If it was anywhere else in the state, I would have voted against it," said Sen. Joseph Perry, D-Bangor.
Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry, said lawmakers also want to help Maine's American Indian tribes after seeing other economic development projects fall through. And approving slot machines seemed to be less controversial because Mainers in 2003 voted to put the state's first slots at Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs, contingent on local approval.
"We . . . had really done the leg work on this issue," Raye said.
That work held off a late challenge by the anti-gambling group Casinos No! before the Senate vote. Leaders of the organization - including Leon Gorman, chairman of the board of L.L. Bean - met with Republican senators and lobbied lawmakers in the halls of the State House.
Racino opponents echoed earlier concerns about loopholes in the bill that they said could result in more than one racino, a racino outside of Washington County or an outside developer profiting from the project.
Gorman told lawmakers that gambling threatens the character and tourist draw of Maine. He talked about the social problems, such as addiction and theft, that slot machines have brought to other states.
"Slot machines are insidious. They are a virus. They will spread through the state of Maine," Gorman said.
Baldacci has sided in the past with anti-gambling groups. Before Thursday, he said he opposed the expansion of gambling in the state, and he had people on his staff lobby lawmakers to vote against the racino bill.
After Baldacci told reporters he would veto the bill, his staff circulated a list of economic projects happening in Washington County. They included a biomass power generation plant in Deblois, a gourmet canning company in Whiting and a $200,000 grant for tribal manufacturing.
Passamaquoddy and Penobscot leaders declined to comment on Baldacci's planned veto, saying they will wait to see if it happens. But other racino supporters questioned whether the governor had a better plan to turn around Washington County's economy. They asked how he could take such a strong stand on slot machines after supporting the addition of the Powerball lottery in Maine.
"I think it is a huge blow to Washington County. He has offered nothing," said Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden.
But other lawmakers said the issue of tribal gambling is difficult and agreed with Baldacci's plan to veto the racino bill.
"It would be hurtful to the state of Maine, and I think (the governor) is putting the state of Maine first," said Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:
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House backs tribal racino
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
THE DOWN EAST RACINO PROPOSAL
THE PLAN for a tribal-run harness-racing track with slot machines needs legislative approval because slots are illegal in Maine except at Bangor Raceway. A legislative committee backed the bill by a 12-1 vote on May 4.
THE RACINO would have 1,500 slots and an all-weather track for harness racing. It could include a high-stakes bingo hall. There is also talk about developing a hotel, resort or other amenities along with the track.
THE PASSAMAQUODDY Tribe would build the racino in Washington County, possibly either Calais or Machias. The tribe would operate the track and slots, sharing slot revenues with Maine's three other tribes. The rest would go to funds for harness racing, college scholarships and Washington County.
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives overwhelmingly backed the expansion of gambling into Washington County, passing a bill Tuesday that would allow the state's Indian tribes to open a harness racing track with slot machines there. The 94-53 vote is an initial victory for the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes, Down East business leaders and the harness racing industry in their fight to start a Washington County racino.
The bill still needs the approval of the state Senate and Gov. John Baldacci, who opposes an expansion of gambling in Maine. Baldacci reiterated Tuesday that he is "strongly considering a veto" if the bill passes the Senate.
But the focus of tribal leaders and other racino supporters on Tuesday was not Baldacci, but legislators. They spent the day outside the House chamber, making sure the racino bill had strong support when the evening vote happened.
Right now, state law only allows Bangor Raceway to have slot machines. The pending bill would allow the tribes to build and operate a second racino with up to 1,500 slots.
The House debate focused on what a racino would mean to Washington County and the future of gambling in Maine.
Supporters of the bill pitched a racetrack and slots as an economic boon for a county where some communities struggle with a double-digit unemployment rate. The racino would draw tourists to Washington County, and a percentage of the bets would go to other economic development projects there.
"I am asking you to pass this and give us an opportunity to pull ourselves out of this quagmire we have been in for years," said state Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais.
Supporters say the slots would help give Maine's tribes a deserved financial boost, while preserving and expanding horse farms in the state. They also cast the proposed slots in Washington County as a fair and logical expansion of gambling in the state.
"Let's be honest. We continue to expand lottery games, but we should stifle racinos?" asked Rep. Rosaire "Ross" Paradis, D-Frenchville.
But opponents of the racino proposal called it a problematic bill that is missing a number of key details. They said it is unclear who is the racino's financial backer, whether it limits the tribes to one facility, and if they could put slots outside of Washington County.
"Do you know what you are being asked to vote for?" asked Rep. Patricia Blanchette, D-Bangor.
Other opponents asked why lawmakers were deciding on the issue after voters in 2003 backed slots only at the state's two existing commercial tracks, contingent on local approval. They also questioned whether gambling would boost Washington County's economy or just exacerbate existing problems.
"The only money made is when someone loses. This can't be a win-win situation," said Rep. Robert Daigle, R-Arundel.
But after more than an hour of debate, the bill won strong backing from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Passamaquoddy Rep. Frederick Moore said lawmakers responded to the hard work of the tribes and the people of Washington County who are pushing for the bill.
The issue now moves to the Senate, where it is less clear whether the racino bill will win approval. Leaders of both parties in the Senate said their members are divided on the bill, which could come up for a vote as early as today.
Meanwhile, Baldacci spokesman Lynn Kippax said the governor continues to strongly consider a veto. Baldacci has said he opposes expanding slot machine gambling past Bangor.
When asked about a possible veto, Moore, the Passamaquoddy representative, said: "We will cross that bridge when we get to it."
To override a veto, the bill would have to have two-thirds support in the House and Senate. Even Tuesday's strong vote in the House fell short of that.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:
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Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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Outcome of Micmac Tribe Election Being Contested
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) -- Chief William Phillips and Vice Chief Steven Phillips were elected to unprecedented fourth terms last week. But tribal clerk Julia Miller said 61 petitioners have submitted a document contesting the election.
Miller is not commenting on the nature of the challenge, but says tribal elections have been contested in the past. Miller says the matter's been forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
If the election results stand, the chief and vice chief will be sworn in with the nine tribal councilors who also were elected last week.
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Penobscot Nation chief named to national post
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
By Misty Edgecomb and Aimee Dolloff, Of the NEWS STAFF
INDIAN ISLAND — Penobscot Indian Nation Chief Jim Sappier has been unanimously elected to the chairmanship of the National Tribal Environmental Council, where he will lobby for protection of tribal lands and tribal health nationwide. Ensuring funding for environmental efforts by tribes will be a focus of the job, Sappier said Wednesday, speaking by telephone from Florida, where he was attending the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ annual budget meeting.
“The tribal budgets for environmental protection have really been taking a shellacking from federal agencies,” Sappier said. Penobscot efforts to monitor the water quality in rivers, and to restore natural fisheries through the cooperative Penobscot River Restoration Project, are examples of the key projects nationwide that need federal support. With the world’s population growing, clean and fresh water will be “more valuable than precious minerals” in coming decades, Sappier predicted.
Sappier’s other major goal is improving communication among tribes and between native, state and federal government leaders. It makes little sense to duplicate research efforts when scientists could be sharing data and technology, he said. “There are so many tribes working on the same issues,” Sappier said. Global warming, mercury contamination, solid waste management and water quality were among the topics discussed at the annual NTEC conference in Oneida, Wis., last week, where Sappier was elected.
The environmental problems faced by tribal governments are those of American society as a whole, said the chief, who served as the tribal liaison for the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 1 office in Boston before his re-election to Penobscot leadership last year.
“When you talk about the environment, it means people,” Sappier said. “Whatever tribes’ members are dying of, so are their neighbors.”
During his previous term as Penobscot governor, Sappier was among the leaders from seven tribes who created the council in 1991 to help preserve and protect Native American homelands.
Today, the council counts 182 tribes among its members, including the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Passamaquoddy Tribes at Indian Township and Pleasant Point, as well as the Penobscot Nation.
The national attention that Sappier’s new position will bring to Maine’s tribes “can’t hurt,” the chief said.
In fact, all of the eastern and northeastern tribes will have a higher profile under Sappier’s leadership, said John Banks, Penobscot natural resources director.
“This is considered an honor for both the Penobscot Nation and for [Sappier],” Banks said.
The National Tribal Environmental Council’s central office is located in Albuquerque, N.M., and many of the key decisions are made in Washington D.C., but Sappier intends to take advantage of e-mail and teleconferencing technology to perform his duties from his Indian Island office as much as possible, he said.
For more information, visit the council’s Web site at Council's Website
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Quoddy Bay floats 2nd site for LNG
Saturday, May 14, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
By Katherine Cassidy, Of the NEWS Staff
PLEASANT POINT — The Passamaquoddy Tribe’s exclusive and controversial contract with an Oklahoma developer to bring a liquefied natural gas terminal to the Pleasant Point reservation expires at midnight tonight.
But tribal members are questioning if the developer, Donald Smith of Quoddy Bay LLC, has made a new land-lease agreement with the tribal governor to site the terminal at a new location on the reservation.
The former proposed site, Gleason Cove, was rejected by Perry voters in March.
Split Rock, the easternmost point on the reservation that is considered sacred land, is reportedly the new site now eyed by the Oklahoma firm and the tribal council, but those reports were batted down by both parties on Friday. Split Rock had been discussed at a marathon council meeting on May 5.
Despite the yearlong exclusivity agreement coming to an end at midnight, the tribe’s attorney said the two parties will be talking again in public as soon as Thursday, May 19.
“Quoddy Bay put a lot of time, money and effort into this project, and the tribe recognizes that,” Craig Francis said Friday afternoon. “I don’t think that because there is no longer an agreement, that there’s not some sort of knowledge. If the tribe does move forward [with LNG], it will be with Quoddy Bay.”
The announcement that the LNG facility is being revived after Perry voters in March rejected it comes at a jarring moment for proponents of a tribal-owned horseracing track and casino proposed in the state Legislature. Perry had an interest in the LNG project because a provision in a 1986 land transfer agreement with the Passamaquoddy gives the town control over commercial development on the land at Gleason Cove.
Rep. Fred Moore, the Passamaquoddy representative, has been fostering support for the racino as an economic development strategy for all the state’s Native American tribes.
“If Pleasant Point is forced to make a choice between the racino and LNG, then that’s unfair,” Moore said. “It’s reminiscent of the stories we’ve heard about the displacement of Indian children and families in the interest of economic development. That’s been the distress to Native communities all across the country.”
Split Rock is located on Pessikapskiyak Road, which translates to “people of the dawn.” It is located within 300 yards of the tribe’s elementary school and 400 yards of the tribe’s elderly housing.
Reached in Oklahoma on Friday, Donald Smith refused all questions about the Split Rock plan. He referred questions to Emily Francis, the spokesman for Savvy Inc., the Portland public relations firm that represents Quoddy Bay.
She clarified that, “There is no agreement yet [on a Split Rock site].”
She said even the public relations firm and the tribe’s attorney working on the LNG issue were caught off-guard by Smith talking out of turn about Split Rock on Thursday.
“Donald always does this to us,” Emily Francis said. “We had a press release about this all ready to go, because we wanted to be fair to all the reporters. We were waiting until there was a decision before we let this news out, but then he talked about it first.”
Gov. Melvin Francis was found Friday working on the roof of the house he is building near Gleason Cove. He declined to comment, other than to say, “People are saying things they shouldn’t be saying.”
The Split Rock option had been discussed during the tribal council’s marathon meeting on Thursday, May 5. The meeting lasted 12 hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It ended with the council’s 6-1 vote to delay further consideration of a possible land-lease agreement, partially out of consideration for Moore’s pending racino bill.
Emily Francis said that the idea to site an LNG terminal at Split Rock originated with “a couple of tribal members” who went to Smith with it.
One of the tribe’s opponents to an LNG facility anywhere near tribal land, Madonna Soctomah, said Friday tribal members would likely not care for an LNG terminal at Split Rock.
“Donald Smith is afraid that because the agreement expires and there is nothing else in place, that we [the tribe] might get a better offer ... I think we ought to take Donald Smith to court for jeopardizing the racino bill, which is one thing that really might give us some economic development infrastructure.”
The spokeswoman for the most vocal opposition to the LNG project, the Save Passamaquoddy Bay group, found Smith’s talk of Split Rock objectionable.
“Our understanding was that at [the May 5] meeting, the tribal leadership and community members agreed there would be no vote taken on the land-lease request from Quoddy Bay,” Linda Godfrey said.
“They would have two weeks to explore, and hopefully see this 110-page document [for a land-lease agreement] that could take away the tribal lands for a couple generations. To hear today that Donald Smith and Craig Francis have offended that agreement should be yet another huge red flag to the tribal leadership and members that their land is at great risk.”
LNG is a natural gas that has been cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, forming a liquid that is easier to transport.
Bangornews.com Staff
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LNG vote brings regret, relief
By SETH HARKNESS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Gary Guisinger of Perry opposed the proposed LNG terminal. In voting down the project 279-214, the town joined nearly half a dozen Maine coastal communities that have declined to host an LNG facility in the past year.
PLEASANT POINT — With little moving but the rising tide and some off-season traffic on Route 1, the small town of Perry and the neighboring Pleasant Point Reservation were quiet Tuesday, the day after Perry residents decided to keep it that way by rejecting a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. Reflecting on a vote that had the potential to reconfigure the region's economic and natural landscape, several people said they were pleased with the decision on the $400 million project, but wary of whether the matter had really been put to rest.
"I'm really happy. I'm just wondering what their next plan of attack is," said Charlie Earley as he bought gas at Sipayik Corner Store, the town's only filling station.
The LNG project was to be built by an Oklahoma City-based developer, Quoddy Bay LLC, on land owned by Pleasant Point Reservation, where residents voted in favor of the project last year. But Perry residents had veto power because of a clause included in the contract when the reservation annexed the land from the town 19 years ago.
In voting down the project 279-214, Perry joined nearly half a dozen Maine coastal communities that have declined to host an LNG facility in the past year. With each rejection, developers have generally moved eastward, a progression that might continue, said Dennis Bailey of Savvy Inc., a Portland public relations firm that does work for Quoddy Bay LLC.
Bailey said the developer was considering many options after the vote in Perry, including the possibility of finding another site on the reservation, requesting another vote, or looking at other sites in the region.
"Other towns in nearby locations said they would welcome the plant," Bailey said, although he declined to identify them. "The developer is not ready to throw in the towel."
Even if Quoddy Bay LLC pursues the project, the lawyer and spokesman for the Passamaquoddies, Craig Francis, said Monday's vote meant there is little chance the terminal would be at Gleason Cove.
Francis said Perry voters' decision was both disappointing and decisive.
"The likelihood of reversing . . . this vote (is) going to be extremely difficult," he said. "It's not completely dead, but we just don't know if it's worth going through again because the vote was so overwhelmingly against the project."
Linda Godfrey of Eastport, a leader of Save Passamaquoddy Bay - the citizens group that arose to fight the LNG terminal - said members would now seek other forms of economic development while continuing to safeguard the bay. She said the experience of opposing the LNG terminal had given many people a new appreciation for the natural resource that lies in their own back yards.
"Sometimes you have to be threatened to realize what you really have," she said.
Many of those on the losing end of the vote, of course, would have welcomed an LNG terminal for the jobs and revenue it would have brought.
Pleasant Point resident Marla Farrell said she hoped the tribe would continue looking for ways to bring the project to the reservation, where unemployment averages 45 percent. In her view, Perry voters passed up a great opportunity that could have benefited everyone in the area.
"We were giving Perry an opportunity to come out and work," she said. "I have two adult children that could use a good-paying job."
Other Pleasant Point residents said they were grateful to Perry voters for stopping a project that would have harmed the land and water that the Passamaquoddies traditionally consider sacred.
Gracie Davis, who teaches the Passamaquoddy language at the elementary school on the reservation, said she would have difficulty imparting these lessons to children with an LNG terminal in view of the school.
Similar divisions were found in Perry leading up to the vote, and residents on both sides of the vote said they were glad it was over so rifts could heal.
"This really polarized this little town," said Bill Kendall, a former town selectman and project opponent who Tuesday was taking down some of the many road signs posted during the LNG debate.
Kendall, who lives on a farm that has been in his family for four generations, said he was pleased with the vote because Perry residents showed they would rather continue getting by with a little less than earn more at the expense of their environment.
In that same spirit of thrift, Kendall was saving the red-and-white anti-LNG signs in case there was another vote.
"I think it'll probably happen again," he said.
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Teaching native culture
By KEITH EDWARDS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- About a year ago, Rebecca Sockbeson's daughter came home from elementary school and described her day. Her classmates had played a game called "kill the Indians." The girl -- like her mother a member of the Penobscot tribe -- knew enough not to play along. She even had an explanation for her classmates' game, in which students designated as pirates pretended to chase and then kill students designated as Indians. "'Momma, they just don't know enough about us. That's why they want to kill us,' " Sockbeson said her daughter, Julia, told her that day.
Sockbeson, director of multicultural affairs at the University of Southern Maine, related her daughter's story to a gathering of Maine social-studies teachers Monday in a workshop meant to convey the importance of the state's new requirement that schools teach students about the Wabanaki people and the history of Native Americans.
Their history includes a time when the governing white people issued bounties on scalps of Penobscot men, women and children. "When this happened at my daughter's school, I explained to her: One time, this was a real game," Sockbeson told the gathering of teachers, many of whom reacted with surprise when told of government-sponsored bounties on Indians. LD 291, "An Act to Require Teaching Maine Native American History and Culture in Maine's Schools," was passed in 2001 and a special commission, The Wabanaki Studies Commission, recently issued a report in an effort to help schools begin complying with the act.
The Wabanaki people include the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac tribes. The state Department of Education will make exceptions to the new requirement if schools can show they do not have enough funding to bring such lessons to their classrooms. In a February letter to Maine schools, Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron said Wabanaki studies is not a course itself, but should be integrated into other courses at multiple grade levels.
Richmond resident Donna Loring -- former representative for the tribes in the Maine Legislature and the driving force behind LD 291 -- said the bill is the nation's most innovative and comprehensive legislation on the teaching of native American history. Maureen Smith -- director of Native American Studies at the University of Maine and chairwoman of the Wabanaki Studies Commission -- said some lesson plans are available now and others are being developed.
Teachers at the annual Maine Council for the Social Studies conference, held at the Augusta Civic Center, received a thick packet of suggested lesson plans. Smith encouraged teachers to be bold as the curriculum develops, even though it may be new to many of them. "As educators, I know you're struggling with this," she said. "We're so fearful of saying the wrong thing, we're almost driven to paralysis. It's hard. I find it difficult to explain to my own grandson what it means to be Indian today. But as we all learn, we convey it to our students. That's what teaching is all about."
Keith Edwards -- 621-5647 Keith Edwards
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Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Thursday, April 7, 2005
EDITORIAL:
Another racino won't be good for the state
For anybody out there who's surprised by a new proposal for a harness racing track and casino Down East: You should have expected this.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe and Washington County are jointly developing the plan for a new racino, which would include up to 1,500 slot machines at a new track. The revenue would be shared by the Passamaquoddies with Maine's other Indian tribes, the Penobscots, Micmacs and Maliseets. Supporters also want some of the money to go to Washington County for economic development projects.
The Penobscots have offered their own proposal to allow federally recognized tribes to operate slot machines at high-stakes bingo halls.
This is one reason why the approval of racino gambling in Maine was a bad idea - it set a precedent that's hard to argue with.
Who can blame the tribe for pursuing this venture? How can such gambling for the harness racing industry be justified, but not justified for Indians? How can the proliferation of such facilities be avoided?
The tribes are seeking approval for their proposals through state legislation, and some lawmakers - as well as Gov. Baldacci - have wisely said they don't support the expansion of gambling.
In 2003, Maine voters rejected a plan for a $650 million casino to be built in southern Maine by the Passamaquoddies and the Penobscot Nation. At the same time, voters approved legalized slot machine gambling at racetracks. The split embittered tribal officials.
Under the racino law approved by voters that year, only Bangor Raceway garnered the necessary local approval to add slot machines. The raceway plans to add the slots next year.
Voters who approved the November 2003 referendum were told that the new law would allow a limited number of slot machines to be installed at existing racetracks. Supporters of the new racino plan say they'll argue that voters approved the idea of racinos, not just the Bangor racino.
It quickly became clear after the passage of the racino law that voters got more than they bargained for - the law was extensive and loosely worded to allow racino operators much leeway. The state has since closed some of those gaps.
Gambling in any form is bad for Maine and lawmakers should reject proposals for expanding it in the state.
The racino law by its very presence, however, now makes it far more difficult to say no.
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Micmac win sovereignty case
Posted: May 05, 2005
by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today
BOSTON - After a string of court setbacks unique to Indian country, New England tribes have finally won a big one.
An April 13 decision in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trend that was tying the hands of tribal governments in resisting state encroachments. The ruling in the case Aroostook Band of Micmacs v. Patricia Ryan, executive director, Maine Human Rights Commission; [et al.]preserves the right of the northern Maine tribe to defend its sovereignty before a federal judge instead of a possibly biased state judiciary.
''I think it's an excellent decision on a number of different levels,'' said attorney Douglas J. Luckerman, a specialist in tribal sovereignty cases who represented the Micmac. ''It changes the entire momentum of the case law in the 1st Circuit, which was going in a direction that was limiting tribal access to federal courts.''
In most of Indian country, this access would be a matter of course; but the 1st Circuit had adopted a unique (some would say perverse) reading of a technicality that had the effect of turning the tribes back to state courts when they were seeking protection from what they considered state infringements. The problem was especially severe since many tribes in New England won recognition under state and federal settlement acts from the early 1980s with more or less ambiguous limits on their sovereignty.
Although the technicality, called the ''well-pleaded complaint rule,'' was a tangential issue in several recent cases, it laid at the center of the Micmac suit.
The band was seeking a lower court injunction against the Maine Human Rights Commission, which was claiming the right to investigate complaints by three former tribal employees under the state's anti-discrimination law. The Micmac said such investigations would ''impermissibly encroach upon the band's inherent tribal sovereignty.''
The federal District Court said it lacked jurisdiction because the Micmac hadn't satisfied ''the well-pleaded complaint rule.'' It said that even though they invoked sovereignty, they hadn't proven that it was exclusively a federal issue.
The three-judge Appeals Court panel decisively rejected that position in a closely argued 23-page opinion. Although it only dealt with the question of jurisdiction, it clearly said that federal courts in Maine and elsewhere in the 1st Circuit were on the wrong course in refusing tribal cases. ''In short,'' wrote Circuit Judge Kermit V. Lipez, ''inherent tribal sovereignty is a federal common law right that preempts contrary state law, and is therefore a proper basis for an Ex parte Young action.''
(Lipez invoked the famous Ex parte Young ruling to set his decision apart from a contrary 1st Circuit case three years earlier pitting the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes of Maine against a consortium led by large paper companies. The U.S. Supreme Court in the Young case gave federal judges jurisdiction to hear suits against state officials over possible violations of federal rights. Lipez said the Micmac were clearly suing state officials, where the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy were seeking protection against private parties.)
Although the argument might seem like hair-splitting, Luckerman was delighted that the judges went into such detail. ''I could not have asked for a stronger opinion,'' he said. ''They could have handled it in three paragraphs.''
The court didn't reach the tribe's major argument: that unlike the three other federally recognized tribes in the state, the Micmac have undiminished sovereignty because its state settlement act was never properly ratified. That issue will now go to federal District Court.
He said the decision might be a good omen for another major case, the Narragansett Indian Tribe appeal in its suit over the Rhode Island State Police raid on its smoke shop in July 2003. A federal judge in Rhode Island said the raid was justified, but a decision from the Court of Appeals is expected imminently.
The Micmac ruling could also weigh on a third sovereignty case also argued by Luckerman. The Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts ruled against the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) in its fight against regulation by a neighboring town. The tribe has not yet decided whether to seek a review from the U.S. Supreme Court, the only avenue of appeal from a state Supreme Court ruling.
Luckerman argued all three cases within the span of one month in 2004. He recalled that he asked for a postponement of the Micmac hearing but was denied and later learned that it was scheduled as the centerpiece of a historic occasion: the first sitting of a Circuit Court panel in Maine in the Court's two-century existence. All three judges on the panel were from Maine.
Luckerman said that although his research showed they would be sympathetic, he grew nervous as he sat through an opening ceremony in which they gave speeches effusively praising their home state. ''I thought we were dead as a doornail,'' he said.
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Micmacs' case sent to federal court
Friday, April 15, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
A three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled on Wednesday that the Aroostook Band of Micmacs' lawsuit against the Maine Human Rights Commission should be heard in federal, not state, court. While lawyers for both sides said Thursday that the ruling does not address the merits of the case and its long-term impact remains unclear, the language in the 50-page opinion strongly suggested that the tribe is not subject to state law.
"The band's alleged rights to self-governance and tribal sovereignty mean, in essence, that it is not subject to state laws (at least those that purport to regulate the internal governance affairs of the band itself) at all," wrote Judge Kermit Lipez for the panel. "By contrast, tribal sovereign immunity means that the band is not amenable to state judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings to enforce those laws."
The civil suit stems from the tribe's 2001 firing of three Aroostook County women who complained to the commission that their terminations violated the Maine Whistleblower Protection Act. The commission found in the women's favor, but the tribe filed the lawsuit in federal court claiming that because the band is a sovereign nation, the MHRC, a state agency, does not have jurisdiction over its affairs.
The 1st Circuit's decision reversed a ruling issued in February 2004 by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk that dismissed the case in U.S. District Court in Bangor. She found that the case belonged in state court rather than federal court, and the tribe appealed.
Lipez, 63, of Portland, along with Senior Judges Frank Coffin, 85, of Portland and Conrad Cyr, 73, of Bangor, heard oral arguments in the appeal in October when the three judges from Maine convened together for the first time in Portland.
"It's beautiful to have the appeals court agree with us," Micmac Chief Bill Phillips said of the decision. "It's something that we've always believed from day one."
The central issue in the case, which still must be decided, is whether the band is subject to the MHRC and its investigations or not, according to Assistant Attorney General Christopher Taub, who represented the commission.
"We're ready to go back to the [U.S.] District Court to discuss the merits of the case," he said Thursday. "It's a narrow decision that didn't say anything about the merits. ... Clearly, the issue over jurisdiction is a complicated one."
In deciding the case, the judges considered two competing settlement acts - one with the Legislature, approved in 1989, but never certified by the tribe, and the other with the U.S. Congress, approved in 1991.
"In short, inherent tribal sovereignty is a federal common law right that preempts contrary state law," Lipez wrote.
The judges found that the federal 1991 Micmac Settlement Act:
. Provides for tribal self-governance.
. Does not subject the band to Maine law but does subject it to federal law on the same terms as other tribes.
. Made federal law govern when conflicts arise between state and federal law.
The decision states that the Micmacs' "interest in governing themselves is not ephemeral, it's real," the tribe's attorney Douglas Luckerman of Lexington, Mass., said Thursday. "I think they set the parameters for Judge Kravchuk and how she should look at the language of the settlement act. The court went out of its way to say the 1991 act does not apply to state law."
The appeals panel also hinted that the investigation of a tribe's internal affairs by a state agency, such as the commission could be intrusive and harmful.
"An Indian tribe that is unlawfully called to answer before a state agency may suffer both practical harms and intrusions on its sovereignty," Lipez wrote. "As a more symbolic matter, simply being called to appear and defend its internal employment practices before a state agency may be an insult to a tribe's sovereignty and right to self-governance."
The impact the ruling could have on the interaction between Indian tribes in Maine and state government agencies won't be clear until Kravchuk rules on the merits of the case, Luckerman said. Even after that, more court cases will have to be decided before it will be clear when and how the state can get involved in tribal decisions such as whether a casino can be constructed on tribal land.
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Article published Apr 25, 2005
Bill would allow 3,000 slots at Indian track
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A legislative panel began its review Monday of a proposal to allow a Maine Indian tribe to operate a casino with as many as 3,000 slot machines at a Down East race track.
The bill before the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee is sponsored by Rep. Frederick Moore III of Calais, the Passamaquoddy Tribal representative in the Legislature.
Moore touts the bill as an economic development measure for Washington County. Portions of the income from the slots would go to county community college scholarships and a development authority.
The group Casinos No!, which has fought off past casino proposals, opposes Moore’s bill. Spokesman Dennis Bailey said Mainers already spoke on the issue when they voted in 2003 to limit slot machines to existing harness-racing facilities. A license is pending for a racino at Bangor’s harness-racing track.
Also in 2003, voters overwhelmingly rejected plans for an large Indian-run casino in southern Maine.
Separate legislation submitted this session seeks to let federally recognized tribes operate as many as 1,500 machines at high-stakes bingo halls, and require slot machine facilities to limit their hours of operation to 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., the same time restrictions currently observed by bars and taverns.
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Panel backs tribal racino
Thursday, May 5, 2005
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
AUGUSTA — A legislative committee overwhelmingly backed a plan Wednesday to allow slot machines and a harness racing track in Washington County, a significant expansion of legalized gambling in the state. The 9-1 vote by the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee signaled growing support for the Passamaquoddy Tribe's racino proposal. Lawmakers who favor the plan see it as a way to help one of the state's poorest counties, Maine's Indian tribes and the struggling harness racing industry.
"That is a vote that will bring great hope to the people of Washington County," said state Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry.
The racino plan still faces votes in the House and Senate, where the anti-gambling group Casinos No! plans to fight the tribe's proposal through e-mails, phone calls and lobbying.
Gov. John Baldacci opposes the expansion of gambling, but he declined through his spokesman to say whether he would veto the bill the committee backed.
Slot machines are illegal everywhere in Maine except Bangor Raceway. The bill that Passamaquoddy tribal Rep. Frederick Moore proposed would allow the tribe to operate a racetrack with 1,500 slot machines in Washington County. The likeliest location is Calais or Machias.
Under the bill, the Passamaquoddies would operate the track and split their share of the slot revenues with Maine's three other tribes. The remaining money would be divided in a variety of ways, including harness-racing purses, an off-track betting parlor subsidy, and funds for economic development and scholarships in Washington County.
The bill mimics legislation passed last year after voters approved slots at Maine's two commercial racetracks. Bangor Raceway won local approval to move ahead with the venture, but Scarborough Downs did not.
Several lawmakers applauded Moore for putting together a plan that would benefit Washington County and harness racing, as well as the tribes.
House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, said through an aide that he supports the Washington County racino and believes it is only fair to give the tribes the same opportunity that Bangor Raceway has.
Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, has opposed a casino in southern Maine, but said the Washington County proposal seems different.
And House Minority Leader David Bowles, R-Sanford, said members of his party are warm to the idea. "I think there is a fair amount of sentiment in my caucus for wanting to help people in Washington County."
But opponents of gambling will make a case that a racino will not help the tribes or the Down East region. Dennis Bailey, executive director of Casinos No!, said studies show that slots do not bring good jobs or develop the economy.
"Today's vote represents the absolute failure and incompetence of state government to provide meaningful jobs and economic development," Bailey said.
He also pointed out that a majority in Washington County voted against the expansion of gambling in Maine in referendums in 2000 and 2003. The current bill does not require a local or statewide vote.
The one committee member to vote against the tribe's proposal was Rep. Linda Valentino, D-Saco. She said that ever since a gambling company proposed putting a racino in Saco in 2003, her constituents have strongly opposed the idea anywhere in the state.
Members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe who gathered after Wednesday's vote to prepare for the next lobbying push said they believe support is building for the racino proposal.
But they also are cautious. The tribe has had proposals that seemed promising but ended up being rejected. Lawmakers rejected plans for a casino in Calais in the 1990s, and voters overwhelming rejected casino gambling in 2003, killing plans for a $650 million casino in Sanford.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:
Mark Peters
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Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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Last updated on April 16, 2006
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