skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Shinnecock Casino on Long Island – A Step Closer?

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 28, 2009   

Albany, NY – Long Island's Shinnecock Indian Nation has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior that puts it closer to federal recognition of their tribal status and could bring them nearer their goal of opening a casino on or near their reservation in Southhampton.

With the settlement, the thousand-member tribe is a step closer to ending a 30-year court fight, according to the tribe's communications director, Beverly Deer Jensen.

"It means that, by December, we will know whether or not our petition for federal recognition has been accepted."

The tribe is "guardedly optimistic" it will ultimately be able to open a casino, says Jensen.

"We don't know; we certainly hope so. There are a lot of steps in between opening the door and federal recognition."

The Shinnecock Indian Nation first requested recognition as an Indian nation in 1978, she adds.

"It would bring benefits to the tribe, including assistance for housing, health, education, even some economic development."

The federal government alllows Indian tribes to operate gaming enterprises outside of direct state regulation. The Shinnecocks feel such an enterprise would help ease the imbalance in the economies of the reservation and the ritzy East End communities that surround it.

Opponents of a casino in the Hamptons worry it would increase the traffic that already nears gridlock with summertime visitors to the seaside playground. The Shinnecock Nation is not opposed to opening a casino somewhere else, where it could be larger. If it were built on the 800-acre reservation, it would be limited to slot machines and have no gaming tables such as roulette or craps. Built elsewhere, it could be a full-service casino. Many locations are being considered, says Jensen, as long as it would be within commuting distance for the members of the tribe who would operate it.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021