Page 27 - August 2009 • Southern California Gaming Guide

August 2009 Tribes in the News
TSycuan Tribe Celebrates Marina Gateway Completion with Donation
he Marina Gateway in the San Diego area DanielJ.Tucker,ChairmanoftheSycuanBandofthe beoperatedbyCHMasaBestWesternhotel.Aloha took several years of planning and months of Kumeyaay Nation. Restaurants, which operates a number of ne dining construction, but the end result is a fantastic e Marina Gateway will have an annual scal impact establishments throughout California, has opened a
facility. e Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation and hundreds of invited guests celebrated the completion of this unique project with a formal dedication and ribbon- cutting ceremony on ursday, July 16th.
“We’re very pleased with the end result and we’re happy it will have a lasting impression in National City and the entire South Bay region of San Diego,” said
COampo Tribe to Develop Wind Energy Project
of $700,000 in property, hotel and sales taxes for the city of National City, which is located about 5 minutes south of Downtown San Diego.
It created 1,000 jobs during the construction phase. And more than 200 permanent jobs have been generated since the completion of the project. It was developed by the Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation at a cost of $35 million. A state of the art hotel with 173 rooms will
Busters Beach House Restaurant on the site.
During the inaugural celebration, Sycuan presented the Boys and Girls Clubs of National City with a $15,000 donation. e Marina Gateway holds particular signi cance for all Kumeyaay Tribes. For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay traveled between the mountains
and the coast along the Sweetwater River to the site, where they thrived during the cold winter months.
n June 11th, the Campo Band of Mission Indians of the Kumeyaay Nation, e project will help create a more diverse, sustainable economy and contribute Invenergy and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) jointly announced a plan revenue to essential governmental services for the Campo Band. During construction, the to build a wind energy project on tribal land capable of generating up to 160 project will employ approximately 150 workers from various construction trades. Upon
megawatts of renewable power.
e three parties signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a
wind project on Tribal land that could o set as much as 57.6 million pounds of carbon- dioxide emissions annually. e project will be the Tribe’s second wind generation facility, further establishing the Campo Band as a leading tribal developer of renewable energy in the country and the East County San Diego region as a national model for harnessing renewable resources.
“Development of this project will expand the Campo tribe’s leadership as the largest producer of clean, renewable wind energy on Indian lands in the United States,” said Monique La Chappa, Campo Chairwoman. “We are excited to be working with Invenergy and San Diego Gas & Electric to bring this project to reality for the bene t of our tribal members and residents of San Diego County.”
completion, 10–12 full time sta will be needed to operate and maintain the wind farm. e National Renewable Energy Laboratory has identi ed portions of eastern San Diego County, Imperial County and the northern Baja California region as some of the top locations in the country to generate electricity from renewable resources including
the sun, wind and geothermal steam heat.
Over the next year, Muht-Hei, Inc., the Campo development corporation, in
conjunction with the Campo Band Executive Committee, Campo Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Indian A airs, will nalize the terms of the agreements with Invenergy and SDG&E. Project developers will complete pre- development siting analyses, placement of testing towers to evaluate wind potential and ful ll environmental clearances prior to construction. e project is expected to
August 2009 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE Page 27
Tribes in the News