Page 25 - February 2016 • Southern California Gaming Guide

TBarona Band of Mission Indians Awards Education Grant
he Barona Band of Mission Indians continued to give to schools statewide by awarding a $5,000 e program is the rst of its kind in California Barona Education Grant to Excelsior Academy in the Allied Gardens area of San Diego on created and administered by a Tribal Government.
th
December 17 . e school’s mission is to make a di erence in the lives of children with learning e goal of the program is to create strong
disabilities by building con dence and character in e grant, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, will be used to purchase a desktop computer and a number of items to assist occupational therapy instructors
in teaching ne motor skills to their students. e tools, which will include scissors, putty and handwriting licenses for occupational therapy
students, will help students develop better hand- eye coordination by completing smaller movements. “A quality education for all has always been one
of the top priorities for the Barona Tribe, which
ASoboba Band Solar Project to Meet 35% of Energy Needs
Tribe's total energy needs.
e groundbreaking on January 11th was for the
rst of three solar power arrays. e rst 1-megawatt facility will be built on the undeveloped eastern side of the Soboba Reservation, powering the administrative center, schools and other community buildings. Construction will begin on phase two later this year, near the rst facility.
“Native people have long been‘Keepers of the Earth,’ and with that, the Tribe takes tremendous pride in this new environmentally safe development that is taking Soboba one step closer to becoming a self- sustaining tribe,” said Tribal Council Chairwoman Rosemary Morillo.“Each year brings both challenge and opportunity for growth. e experience we gain
Casino Player Tax Tips (continued)
I set up my log each year with eight column headers: Date Played, Time, Casino, Casino Address, Game Played, Winnings, Losses, Proof. And I update my log after each and every casino visit.
Learning from Your Gambling Log
I also include two other columns in my gambling log. One for the amount of money I gambled each time I went to the casino, and the other for the amount I left the casino with. ese two columns are not for the IRS or tax relief, but so I can be aware of how I play. When I added the two columns several years ago, I was surprised to notice that sometimes I won jackpots and played them all back. So while keeping
GroupPresidentAliSahabi.“Wewerehonoredto help connect the Soboba Tribe with the resources, programs and analysis necessary to make this project happen.”
Soboba began a comprehensive land-use master- planning e ort in 2013 with assistance from Optimum Group, leading to the idea of a solar project that is consistent with the values and traditions of Soboba culture.
“ ese solar arrays will give our community energy independence, free us from rising energy costs and reduce our overall carbon footprint on the environment,” Chairwoman Morillo said. “We are happy to be moving forward with this as a part of our new master plan.”
even just played. You just need your id to receive your statements from the casino's players club.
If you don’t already have an annual gambling log, start one for 2016. It may prove to be an invaluable tool and save you some taxing payments. Coupled with your casino win/loss statements, both can help to make sure you keep as much as possible of your jackpot winnings.
Good luck in 2016. As one of my casino friends says,“May you have many W2-Gs this year!”
Gail Anders writes for online magazines and blogs and lives in Laguna Beach and New York.
a supportive learning environment.
is why it is with great pleasure that we award Excelsior Academy with this education grant,” said Cli ord LaChappa, Chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians. “ e teaching sta will be able to better instruct their students using the materials they need to succeed, which is what the Barona Education Grant is all about.”
Since 2006, the Barona Band of Mission Indians has awarded over $2.5 million to 494 schools statewide to help bridge school budget gaps and share resources through its Barona Education Grant Program.
educational opportunities for the children of California building upon the success of the Barona Indian Charter School, which operates under a continuous improvement model.
Schools throughout California can apply for educational grants from Barona to purchase much needed supplies and materials that promote academic improvement. Each grant awarded by the Barona Education Grant Program is $5,000. Applications can be downloaded at barona-nsn.gov/education.
s reported by Indian Country Today in January, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians broke ground “Native American cultures have always understood on the rst solar project on tribal land within Southern California Edison territory. e Tribe’s the importance of sustainability in their quest to community-scale solar project will generate up to 3 megawatts of power—nearly 35% of the live in harmony with all things,” said Optimum
from past years can be applied as wisdom to serve us better in years to come. Taking the lead on bringing solar to our reservation will bene t all of us.”
Optimum Group LLC, the project developer, secured permitting, metering agreements and a copy million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the 3-megawatt solar plan. Optimum Group negotiated the aggregate net-energy metering agreement with Southern California Edison following Rule 21 of the California Public Utility Commission. Rule 21 allows for nancial credit for power fed back to the local utility and for even distribution of energy credits in multi-user developments. Coldwell Solar is the contractor installing the system.
a log is a necessity for tax relief, it is also a great tool for being aware of how much and how you gamble, so you can potentially change your playing habits.
Casino Win/Loss Statements
Coupled with your annual gambling log, casino win/loss statements are essential tools for tax preparation. Win/loss statements, issued by casinos, are estimates of what a casino guest has lost and won during a calendar year based on players club tracking information. e statements can assist players with their tax lings, and must be requested from the casino at the beginning of each year.
Be sure to get your win/loss statement from every casino in which you won a reported jackpot—or
FEBRUARY 2016
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
PAGE 25
February 2016 Tribes in the News