Page 24 - June 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Pechanga Donates $350,000 to Local High Schools
On May 16th the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and Pechanga Resort & Casino gave seven local high schools a total of $350,000. Patrick Murphy, president of the Pechanga Development Corporation,
said during a ceremony at the casino,“By supporting our youth, we planted the seeds of hope for future generations.”
School administrators indicated the money will be used for athletics, scholarships and academics. ey said the donations were very important for their schools.
At Murrieta Valley High School, the donation will help fund scholarships for student athletes and other projects. e school also set aside money for a weight room.
Temecula’s Great Oak High School and Murrieta’s Vista Murrieta High School received funds for the rst time this year. Great Oak High School will use the funds for athletics, activities, grants for classroom projects, two academic programs and a trust account for scholarships.
e following high schools received $50,000 each: Chaparral High School, Great Oak High School, Temecula Valley High School, Murrieta Valley High School, Vista Murrieta High School, Elsinore High School and Temescal Canyon High School.
Agua Caliente Tribe Announces Partnership for Coachella Valley Clean Buses
On May 2nd Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Chairman Richard M. Milanovich announced that a partnership between the Agua Caliente Tribe, Ford Motor Company and the
Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region could bring a small eet of hydrogen-powered shuttle buses to the Coachella Valley next year. e announcement coincided with the start of the 11th Annual Clean Cities Conference at the Palm Springs Convention Center, attended by the Tribal Chairman, Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden and Sen. Barbara Boxer.
e e ort will place up to ve of the environmentally friendly shuttles in the Coachella Valley for three years, where they will likely be used as transport for various attractions in the resort
community, o cials said.
Chairman Milanovich said the Agua Caliente band’s participation represents the rst non-industry partnership with the national Clean Cities program.
“We’re serving our community the best that we can,” he said. “ e long history of the Agua Caliente people in the valley has been a record of environmental stewardship.”
Developed by Ford, the V-10, E-450 shuttle is powered by a hydrogen internal combustion engine.
e 12-passenger vehicle delivers up to a 99.7 percent reduction in harmful emissions compared with gasoline engines and has a range of up to 150 miles, according to a company news release.
fuel cells, down the road, Vance Zanardelli, Ford’s chief engineer for hydrogen engines, said at the conference Monday.
Clean Cities’ Coachella Valley Region will manage the E-450 demonstration program and the Agua Caliente Tribe might operate the vehicles. Although routes and possible destinations in the valley have not yet been determined, more agencies will be recruited to help fund the $250,000 cost per vehicle, said Bert Kronmiller, coordinator of the Clean Cities Coachella
Valley Region.
e newly formed partnership could serve as a
national model for cooperation between American ehydrogenengineisabout10percentmorefuel- Indian tribes, Clean Cities coalitions and the
e cient than a regular gasoline engine, but will serve advanced transportation industry, Kronmiller said. as a bridge to even more advanced technology, such as
Page 24 June 2005
Tribes in the News (Continued)