May 22, 2014 (Dehesa)—Visitors to the Sycuan Casino on Saturday, May 24 will have an opportunity to meet San Diego Padres’ 1984 World Series players-- and have a chance to win the grand prize:  a road trip for two to Chicago to watch the Padres take on the Cubs.

The event takes place Saturday from 12:30 to 2 p.m.  Tickets will be distributed starting at 10 a.m. in the casino’s front lobby. The first 200 people are guaranteed to meet the players.

A free commemorative signed photo plus Padres baseball caps will also be given away, while supplies last.

By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2014 (Jamul) – Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager heard arguments today in a lawsuit by family members alleging that a contractor for Jamul Indians removed and dumped human remains.  The families seek an injunction to halt construction of a casino that the  tribe is building at the Jamul Indian Village site.

Plaintiffs contend that a contractor for the tribe, C.W. Driver, dug up the families’ remains from the historical cemetery at the casino site and dumped the human remains, with Caltrans permission on the state’s construction site for a new freeway interchange in Otay.

April 14, 2014 (Lakeside)-- The Barona Cultural Center & Museum and Ancient Spirits Speak will host master basket weaver Eva Salazar for a Basic Juncus Basket Making class on Saturday May 3, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. This introductory class will teach the basic principles of a fine art which yielded products both beautiful and useful. Traditionally, coiled juncus baskets were used by the Kumeyaay/Diegueno people to cook acorn meal, process various flours, collect and roast seeds and to wear as hats.

Source: Pala Rez Radio 91.3 KOPA

April 1, 2014 (Pala) – “Tuesday is here!  And newly appointed Rez Radio Program Director Olaf Prilos is proud to announce our new format ... Rez Radio LOL.  All comedy, all day long,” reads an announcement issued today by  John Fox, station manager at Rez Radio 91.3 KOPA at the Pala Indian reservation..

The release continues, “In addition to every novelty song you've ever heard and some you probably haven't, Rez Radio LOL will feature standup and comedy bits.  And sprinkled throughout the day, you'll hear not one, but two classic comedy radio series featuring Native American characters ... "The Adventures of the O.B. Ranger" written and performed by Gary Allyn and Neil Ross, and Arigon Starr's creation, "Super Indian" will air in sequence throughout the day.”

By Jessica Richmond

March 13, 2014 (Santa Ysabel)—Iipay tribal member June Sortore has refused a request from tribal chairman Virgil Perez  to take down  a  statue of a hand with the middle finger raised.

 In a letter delivered to Sortore by tribal law enforcement, Chairman Perez called the hand-made statue ““indecent and offensive,” noting that it can be viewed by children on a school bus. Though the Iipay Tribal Chairman says the middle finger is an “obscene gesture,” Sortore says she erected the statute as a symbol of defiance against former Tribal Chairman Johnny Hernandez.

 “I built the statue to show him we had not lost nor have we given up hope,” she says.  She claims her form of expression is protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution and further, that the symbol has historical significance.

March 3, 2014 (Pala) – Today, the Pala Band of Mission Indians hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to announce the grand opening of the new Deli & More at the Pala Mini-Mart, located at 11152 Hwy 76 in Pala.

By Miriam Raftery

February 24, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- It’s official:  The Bureau of Indian Affairs has formally terminated the final Environmental Impact Statement for Shu’luuk Wind on the Campo Indian reservation in East County. The move comes after the Campo tribe’s General Council down the project and cancelled the tribe’s contract with Invenergy.

The BIA alo approved the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indian’s plan to lease Cuyapaipe Reservation lands  for a portion of Iberdrola’s massive Tule Wind project.  The Bureau of Land Management and County of San Diego previously approved portions of the project on federal and county lands.

By Miriam Raftery

February 8, 2014 (Santa Ysabel) – One day after the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel’s  tribal council met and voted to shut down its financially troubled casino in Santa Ysabel, employees arrived at work to find the facility closed last week. Patrons found a “closed for business” message on the casino’s website. 

Now, a tribal business enterprise,  Biostar Solar, offers a potentially brighter future.

February 6, 2014 (San Diego)--The Native American Flute Players will present an event at Mission Trails Regional Park at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 9.

The San Diego Native American Flute Players honor Native American music, and on the second Sunday of each month (except in June), they hold a "Flute Circle" in the Visitor Center's outdoor amphitheater from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Photo: site of planned casino

By Nadin Abbott

January 11, 2014 (Jamul)-- Penn National Gaming announced yesterday that construction of a Hollywood-themed $360 million Casino at the Jamul Indian Village is ready to commence.

“We are very excited that our long-time dream will finally become a reality,” said Raymond Hunter, Chairman of the Jamul Indian Village. “We have worked tirelessly for well over a decade listening to the voices of the community, addressing concerns, and ultimately developing a project that blends seamlessly into the region, while creating approximately 2,500 much needed construction and permanent jobs in our region.”

 Link to video from Toy Drive “Big Reveal”: http://youtu.be/Wt6i9YqPrHM

December 12, 2013 (Alpine) – When the curtain went up on stage at the DreamCatcher Lounge last night at Viejas Casino and Resort, it revealed 12,017 toys to benefit local children this holiday season. 

Representatives of Viejas Tribal Council also presented a $15,000 check to  East County Salvation Army Captain Terry Masango on behalf of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, along with the largest donation of toys ever received by the local Salvation Army chapter.

December 10, 2013 (Boulevard) – Clover Flat Elementary School in Boulevard, CA was awarded $5,000 from the Barona Education Grant Program this morning.  Representatives from the Barona Band of Mission Indians and Assemblyman Brian Jones will be presented the grant to Clover Flat School, which is comprised of students from the Boulevard and Jacumba communities. The grant was written by Alpine resident, Donna Burton. Mrs. Burton is a second grade teacher and assistant principal at Clover Flat Elementary School in the Mountain Empire Unified School District.

November 27, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Viejas Casino & Resort officially opened their new 4-story parking structure on Friday, with a Native American Blessing and traditional Birdsongs.

After the ribbon was cut and the parking structure opened to the public, KUSI’s David Davis was among those who drove a brand new Porsche into the parking structure.

By Leon Thompson

November is the 2013 American Indian heritage month and Union Bank and KPBS have honored two very special Native American women with Local Heroes awards: Jane Dumas, an elder with the Jamul band of Kumeyaay Indians, and San Diego State University's Rose Margaret Orrantia.

Production Details Kumeyaay History and Sycuan’s Evolution in the Region

November 6, 2013 (El Cajon)-- On Friday morning, Sycuan will debut a historical documentary that chronicles its 12,000-year existence in the present-day San Diego/Northern Baja region. It’s taken 16 months to produce and features local Native American anthropologists, historians and curators who help weave and trace the Kumeyaay ancestry. It also contains biographical accounts that make it an even more compelling and thought provoking piece.

“It really shows our history from a perspective that most people have never heard of, it goes beyond anything in textbooks and accounts ever written or told about the Kumeyaay and Sycuan,” said Daniel Tucker, Chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.