Porcine Pala Chairman Robert Smith's tribe, wants to tell a sovereign nation what to do, but remember when HE didn't need to produce evidence on disenrollment because PALA was sovereign?
Late this summer, a proposal to build 780 homes just north of state Route 76 and across the highway from the Pala Casino Resort & Spa will go before county planners and ultimately the Board of Supervisors or approval.
The developer, Ali Shapouri, has been working on the plans for his Warner Ranch project for 13 years and bases almost everything on a single concept — that thousands of casino and resort workers in North County (Pala, Pauma, Rincon, Valley View) drive great distances between their work and their homes.
But Pala is an Indian reservation and is technically a sovereign nation.
Lawyers for the tribe, in filings with the planning department, say Pala cannot be used to justify the project.
“As the numerous comments provided by the Pala Band to the County concerning this issue have made clear, the County has no regulatory jurisdiction over activities on the Pala Reservation and the Pala Band has no obligation to allow residents of the Project access to areas of the Reservation except on public roads,” they wrote last year.
Shapouri said that while technically Pala is its own country, the county needs to use common sense. The community exists, he said, and it’s right next door to where Warner Ranch would be built.
One example of how things are different when reservations are involved is the Pala tribe has a state-of-the art, fully staffed fire station less than a mile from where Warner Ranch would be built.
But the plans for the development include construction of a new fire station next to its entrance which will be handed over to the county.
The tribe also says Shapouri’s basic concept that workers in the area could buy homes at Warner Ranch is inaccurate. OP: Casino workers aren't paid enough? RAISE WAGES!
Ninety percent of casino/resort employees make $55,000 a year or less and simply couldn’t afford to buy a Warner Ranch home, even a condo, they say in comments to the planning department.
READ THE FULL PALA ARTICLE HERE
You can not believe a single word that the Chairman of the Pala Reservation says.
ReplyDeleteHe is a natural born liar and does not know what the word TRUTH means.
He is so EVIL and CORRUPT that the DEVIL himself is ashamed of him.
The real reason he is against this project is because he plans to build some homes/rentals near the Casino himself and he hates competition of any kind so he uses the forbidden word to get his way, SOVERNITY.
That's his way of saying "FUCK YOU".
This "JERK" seems to be running there Reservation like Donald Trump
ReplyDeleteis running the United States.
We fear that all of Pala's corruption will end up closing their casino
and the Members of the Tribe will be so far in debt that they all will file for BK.
Why aren't the Federal Authorities taking any action against this man?
Or call animal control and tell them that there is a "MAD PIG" on the loose and needs to be killed or have it's legs removed.
Or call them after he is shot.
It is a waist of time waiting for the Feds to take action because their pockets get lined just like the BIA employees do.
ReplyDeleteHe has he board of supervisors in his pocket so we know who will win this battle.
ReplyDeletePlus one of his ancestors is probably buried there.
Like his uncle buffalo .
The County of San Diego nor the Board of Supervisors are a sovereign nation. The tribe is against this development for numerous reasons, and I believe it will be bad for the community. The tribe is a sovereign nation, but cannot tell the County or State how to develop private land. Lets hope that the Board of Supervisors votes this stupid development down. And, if the Casino does shut down and the tribe does lose the Casino, everybody will be taken care of, the tribe has enough investments to keep its citizens happy for several years. But, people will just have to continue working, its not like everybody sits on there ass all day and collect revenue checks, people have jobs, education, and lives. If the tribe does lose the Casino, what would any of you care anyway, it is not like anybody cared what happened out here prior to the Casino, so just but out and never mind now! Lol.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't be more wrong. So what other investments does the tribe have?
ReplyDeleteThey don't have any. But Robert sure does have a lot of investments for himself. Not the tribe
ReplyDeleteThe only reason pala would lose the casino is because of the corruption of the chairman. Nobody wants the casino to fail. It's just a shame because your chairman is running into the ground. Pala residents have lost all control of there Rez. Robert has manipulated all of you. Tricked you into putting him in control of everything. He has turned you on your own relatives. You desperately need a new chairman. Before he destroys your whole Rez.
ReplyDeleteThe tribe has a lot of investments and other streams of income besides the Casino. I know the Casino is not going to be shut down, but some a@#$#@e suggested that if the Casino did eventually lose money and needed to be shutdown, the tribe is well off, and its tribal citizens are set for life. The Casio is operated by professionals, the Chairman does not have any say in how to run the Casino, that is just stupid. As far as everybody being manipulated, what exactly do you mean. Robert was elected into tribal office just like any other person that sits on any other tribal committee. AS far as giving him power, that was a decision that the general counsel made, whether it is a wrong decision or a good decision is the consequences that the tribe will have to live with, that is what governance is all about. No political body and governmental committee is perfect, the thing with politics is that you have to take from some and give to others, there never is a process that will please everybody. IN other words, rights and political decisions are created to help others, but those decisions take away form others, that is how politics works. Not everybody is satisfied, and you can never please everyone. My point is, tribal governments and their decisions are going to be filled with problems, that is inevitable. Good leaders and bad leaders come and go, its up to the tribal citizens to change how that process works, but eventually it works itself out. Governance is the idea that government decisions, whether they are good or bad, have consequences that the people have to live with, but the people also have the ability to change. Tribal government issues are tribal community issues and unless you are a tribal member that attends meetings, non-tribal outsiders will never know the total truth of what is happening, regardless if its bad or good!
ReplyDeletethe tribal members cant change anything for fear of retaliation from Robert. So it is not democratic. It is a dictatorship. You say pala has other investments but you fail to name any. What are these investments? Also I did not mean Robert runs the casino, I meant he controls the money. Like the expansion he got funding for. Then decided to put a hold on it. I wonder where all that money went? Any leader that has to walk on the backs of there own people is a bad leader. You think the general council wanted to give all the power to Robert? They were manipulated to do so. And let's not forget the dissenrollment of legitimate tribal members. Where did all those minor accounts money go? It didn't go to us. Robert is corrupt. His corruption is ruining the casino. He has turned his own people against each other. Pala has never bean so divided. But it is nothing that a new chairman couldn't fix. There use to be tirmlimits on the chairman seat until Robert did away with them. He only does things that Benefit him not the people.
ReplyDeleteThat's is very true 10:26 AM
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the main reason that Smith and Nieto will NEVER EVER AGREE
TO AN AUDIT OF ALL THE TRIBES FINANCES.
One of his ways of covering his ass is he buys his way into being Chairman of any boards that he sits on so he can hide money and not have to answer to anyone, especially the Tribal Members that he is screwing over.
He can fool some people sometimes but he can't fool all the people all of the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's because most of the people are beginning to see Mr. Smith for what he really is.
And that is a corrupt lowlife little man that cries like a little bitch when he doesn't get his way.
And the only way he gets even is to hurt others because it makes him feel powerful.
There will come a time when the ones that he has hurt will get revenge on him one way or another.
ReplyDeleteWho knows maybe someone that does not like him will be the chairman and give him or his kids a taste of his medicine and see how they like it.
I did not mention tribal investments because they are nobodys business. All I hear is hearsay and rumors, opinions that people have around the rez, they are not facts. Are you a tribal member at Pala, if so you are being manipulated to hate Robert Smith. How woukd anybody logically think that Robert Smith controls ever dollar in the Casino...lol. Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds. The disenrollments are now 7 years old, so that means 11 year olds have been listening to people bullshit, speak on conjecture, rumors, and opinions concerning Robert Smith, the people against him, the economic livelyhood of the reservation government, and the Casino. Sounds like bullshit.
ReplyDeleteSo once again I am hearing " we really do have other investments but we don't have to show them to you" I AM a tribal member and there are no other investments. Robert dissenrolled legitimate members. These are his own people that lived on the Rez there whole lives. Women and children. The pain that he inflicted on people because of his own personal vendettas. That is not something a true leader does. And if you think Robert isn't corrupt well then I have a online gameing business I would like to sell you
ReplyDeleteHe is so CORRUPT that if you google the word corrupt his picture will
ReplyDeletepopup.
And if you think for one second that he is not corrupt then you are probably one of the people that will appear with him in a family photo.
Tribal members are being manipulated to hate Robert Smith? Really? First time I have heard that. I guess Robert needs to do some public relations work. Maybe he should check the surveillance feeds, find out who is manipulatingredients the tribal members and take them down. I mean that is how he deals with opposition, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteBe sure to check palawatch. They are calling together all cupeno
ReplyDeleteThe people that Smith and Nieto have hurt should outnumber the one that they protect so the hurt ones should start voting against everything that the EC wants passed.
ReplyDeleteIt's time that you need to start standing up for yourself and stop depending on someone else to do it for you.
If you don't it's just a matter of time that all that was good will be gone and you will lose everything.
Smith and Nieto are only two people how can you lose.
Smith has collected compromising info against members, retaliates against family bers, uses bribes, extortion, and enticements to get members to cooperate with his agenda. He has also enrolled people who do not qualify for membership in exchange for support. The power structure has been built over decades. It is difficult to to challenge from within when the voting is rigged and the meeting agenda controlled.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing that could happen is to watch him fall along with Nieto and see them lose every thing, and I mean every thing.
ReplyDeleteThey have had ample time to correct what they did wrong and nothing has changed except the balances in there bank accounts.