October 14 -- 20, 2005

Web Exclusive!: Agran on the Warpath

Indians are the new bogeyman in the war against an already defeated airport

by STEPHEN C. SMITH

With all the cultural sensitivity of a John Ford western, Irvine City Council members Larry Agran and Beth Krom appear intent on resurrecting the 19th century doctrine of Manifest Destiny.
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"The Indian gaming interests, which started in the remote areas of the state, are salivating at the opportunity to bring large-scale, commercial gambling into the highly populated areas," Agran claimed. "We have to have a strategy to deal with tribal claims in Washington, D.C. We have to have a strategy to deal with claims and negotiations for compacts that may be coming by way of Sacramento. The Indian gaming interests are hard at work in Sacramento all the time."
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Agran alleged, "There are Indian tribes seeking to establish certain claims to tribal lands in the City of Irvine and throughout Orange County. We see what's going on in Garden Grove. This is a relentless effort on the part of gaming interests to prevail."

But no one has contacted Garden Grove since the restriction was lifted, either "salivating" Indian tribes or "relentless" gaming interests.