But Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that the unusual circumstances brought about by the transition of power gave Roberts authority to issue the decision.<\/p>\n
This case involves a uniquely Washingtonian question: when can a federal employee act in the place of an absent agency or unit head?” McFadden wrote. “This issue becomes acute during presidential transitions, when thousands of senior political appointees exit the government, often leaving their positions vacant for months or even years.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe ruling represents a major milestone for the tribe, among which the unemployment rate is more than 60 percent and the average income falls well below the poverty line. With financial partner Boyd Gaming, the tribe plans to build the casino resort on 36 acres within the site of an unfinished shopping mall at the south end of Elk Grove.<\/p>\n
It would boast a 110,000 square feet of gaming floor, a 302-room hotel tower, restaurants, a spa, and the area\u2019s largest convention space outside of downtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Not Over Yet<\/strong><\/h2>\n“We are grateful to the United States government for defending and upholding their federal trust responsibility to our tribe and for protecting our inherent right to have tribal trust lands, not only for now, but for generations to come,” Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond “Chuckie” Hitchcock said in an official statement.<\/p>\n
But SUFC is not done yet. The group plans to refile their complaint later this month, claiming the project breaches other federal laws, including the Indian Reorganization Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.<\/p>\n
“There are a multitude of federal laws that apply to one project,” SUFC director Carol Schmidt told the Sacramento Bee<\/em>. “There’s some really serious issues yet.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge on Wednesday tossed a lawsuit that sought to challenge the Wilton Rancheria tribe\u2019s long quest to build a casino in Elk Grove, California. The suit had questioned the legitimacy of a decision to restore the tribe\u2019s lands in Wilton in the dying moments of the Obama administration, just hours before Trump\u2019s inauguration. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":71740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Wilton Rancheria Tribe Survives Elk Grove Casino Legal Challenge<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n