Pursuits
Landowners Try to Choke Off Casino's Water With 19th-Century Lawsuit
- Neighbors dig up 1897 action to kneecap Indian casino
- Sour grapes alleged in California's valley of `Sideways'
Armour Ranch Road cuts through the heart of Santa Ynez Valley in California.
Photographer: George Rose/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
California’s latest water war is being waged at the edge of wine country against an Indian tribe planning a massive casino expansion as a group of landowners tries to stop them with a lawsuit from 1897.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is spending $170 million to build out its resort, featuring a 12-story tower on a bucolic landscape where only the mountains are higher. The tribe has also snapped up 1,400 more acres to house cramped residents of its reservation.