Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Construction begins on Jamul casino despite controversy

Lawsuit challenging project still alive, more forthcoming

Artist's rendering of proposed casino
Artist's rendering of proposed casino

Jamul Indian Village and Penn National Gaming on January 10 announced that ground is being broken on a $360-million casino in Jamul even though ongoing controversy culminated in a lawsuit challenging the tribe's existence.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The project is moving forward after the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) approved a Transportation Management Plan and issued an Encroachment Permit to allow construction traffic on State Route 94, the primary access road for many of the rural community's 6300 residents.

"We specifically planned for our hauling operations to travel to the southeast and away from the businesses and neighborhoods in Jamul to minimize any potential impact on the community," said tribe chairman Raymond Hunter in a release, which goes on to tout a "commitment to working with all public agencies to minimize any off-reservation impacts related to the facility."

That does little to reassure the Jamul Action Committee, which prominently states the goal of "No casino, not now, not ever!" on its home page. The group has expressed concerns over the size of the development and the impact it would have on the character of the community, noise and light pollution…but the most prominent concern pertains to the expected spike in traffic on SR-94 that the casino would bring.

"SR-94 is rated an ‘F’ in Caltrans classification, the worst. [There are] too many accidents and deaths to be ignored," Jamul Action Committee member Lisa Darroch said in an interview, though "that is exactly what Caltrans did by approving the [Transportation Management Plan] and Encroachment Permit."

Darroch also says that a committee lawsuit against Caltrans alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act is forthcoming. Meanwhile, the suit filed last year challenging tribal status, the latest in a series dating back to at least 1995, is still in the discovery phase. The first hearing is scheduled for January 23.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Artist's rendering of proposed casino
Artist's rendering of proposed casino

Jamul Indian Village and Penn National Gaming on January 10 announced that ground is being broken on a $360-million casino in Jamul even though ongoing controversy culminated in a lawsuit challenging the tribe's existence.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The project is moving forward after the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) approved a Transportation Management Plan and issued an Encroachment Permit to allow construction traffic on State Route 94, the primary access road for many of the rural community's 6300 residents.

"We specifically planned for our hauling operations to travel to the southeast and away from the businesses and neighborhoods in Jamul to minimize any potential impact on the community," said tribe chairman Raymond Hunter in a release, which goes on to tout a "commitment to working with all public agencies to minimize any off-reservation impacts related to the facility."

That does little to reassure the Jamul Action Committee, which prominently states the goal of "No casino, not now, not ever!" on its home page. The group has expressed concerns over the size of the development and the impact it would have on the character of the community, noise and light pollution…but the most prominent concern pertains to the expected spike in traffic on SR-94 that the casino would bring.

"SR-94 is rated an ‘F’ in Caltrans classification, the worst. [There are] too many accidents and deaths to be ignored," Jamul Action Committee member Lisa Darroch said in an interview, though "that is exactly what Caltrans did by approving the [Transportation Management Plan] and Encroachment Permit."

Darroch also says that a committee lawsuit against Caltrans alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act is forthcoming. Meanwhile, the suit filed last year challenging tribal status, the latest in a series dating back to at least 1995, is still in the discovery phase. The first hearing is scheduled for January 23.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Why did Harrah's VP commit suicide last summer?

Did the fight the Rincon casino had with San Diego County over Covid play a part?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader