Torres Martinez Indians

It could be argued that the tattered band of Torres-Martinez Indians living on a dusty pocket in the Coachella Valley has been the unluckiest of the state's 100 Indian tribes. Of their 22,000 acres of reservation land, half lies beneath the Salton Sea, created by a Colorado River flooding accident in 1905.

After hearing numerous reports of substandard and squalid living conditions, a federal judge said Monday that he would visit Desert Mobile Home Park, or Duroville, next week to see whether it poses an imminent danger to the lives of its tenants. "My concern is that there are real safety hazards that need to be addressed now," said U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside. "I want to see for myself.

A bill that would have expanded the reservation of the impoverished Torres-Martinez tribe into the upper reaches of the Coachella Valley died Thursday when the U.S. Senate adjourned without taking action. The bill's death also dashed the tribe's hopes of building a casino away from the existing reservation along the shores of the Salton Sea.

Calling conditions at a Thermal trailer park indecent, offensive and representing an immediate threat to the life of its residents, the U.S. government Tuesday filed a lawsuit against park owner Harvey Duro demanding that he make immediate improvements or be closed down.

After months of negotiations with dozens of Indian tribes, Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday announced the first new gambling agreement with a California tribe that will funnel money directly into the state general fund. The agreement with the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians of Southern California marks a breakthrough in the administration's efforts to increase the state's share of Indian casino revenue and ease the environmental impact of casinos on local communities.

Hours after rival Native American bands worked out a land agreement, the House approved legislation Monday that would grant the Torres-Martinez Indians, whose reservation was flooded almost a century ago, the right to buy more than 11,000 desert acres. The bill, passed by voice vote, is controversial because it would also allow the Torres-Martinezes to build California's first Indian casino off a reservation.

The impoverished Torres-Martinez Native American tribe thought it had finally reached the dawn of a brighter future--the chance to unshackle itself from the putrid Salton Sea and expand its reservation into richer lands. Half of the tribe's reservation is under saltwater, and a novel settlement now before Congress promises to give the tribe new land, farther north into the affluent niches of the Coachella Valley--places like Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta and Palm Desert.

Calling conditions at a Thermal trailer park indecent, offensive and representing an immediate threat to the life of its residents, the U.S. government Tuesday filed a lawsuit against park owner Harvey Duro demanding that he make immediate improvements or be closed down.

Tribal Chairwoman Mary Belardo gazes out over the windblown 40-acre piece of desert in the Coachella Valley, lays out the grandiose plans for the site and intones: "This is our chance at economic gains. Our biggest one by far." She proceeds to talk up not a casino, hotel or retail strip center--all developments common to Indian reservations but unfeasible in this desolate corner of east Riverside County.

At first blush, it seems a rather innocuous attempt to right a century-old wrong. A bill before Congress would expand the reservation of the impoverished Torres-Martinez band of Indians by more than 11,000 desert acres as reparation for flooding that left half their current land under water. But the bill's subplot--gambling--has made it a roll of the dice at best: It also would allow the Torres-Martinez band to build California's first Indian casino off a reservation.

A federal inspection of three large trailer parks on the Torres Martinez reservation in Riverside County has found numerous health and safety violations, including faulty electrical systems and open sewage that threaten the health of park residents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Indian Affairs did the inspections last August at Oasis Mobile Home Park, D & D Mobile Home Park and an unnamed park adjacent to Oasis.

A federal judge in Riverside on Thursday fined the owner of a notorious illegal dump and ordered him to pay $46.9 million to clean up the site, which officials say represents a serious threat to the residents and environment of the Coachella Valley.

After months of negotiations with dozens of Indian tribes, Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday announced the first new gambling agreement with a California tribe that will funnel money directly into the state general fund. The agreement with the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians of Southern California marks a breakthrough in the administration's efforts to increase the state's share of Indian casino revenue and ease the environmental impact of casinos on local communities.

It could be argued that the tattered band of Torres-Martinez Indians living on a dusty pocket in the Coachella Valley has been the unluckiest of the state's 100 Indian tribes. Of their 22,000 acres of reservation land, half lies beneath the Salton Sea, created by a Colorado River flooding accident in 1905.

Tribal Chairwoman Mary Belardo gazes out over the windblown 40-acre piece of desert in the Coachella Valley, lays out the grandiose plans for the site and intones: "This is our chance at economic gains. Our biggest one by far." She proceeds to talk up not a casino, hotel or retail strip center--all developments common to Indian reservations but unfeasible in this desolate corner of east Riverside County.

Hours after rival Native American bands worked out a land agreement, the House approved legislation Monday that would grant the Torres-Martinez Indians, whose reservation was flooded almost a century ago, the right to buy more than 11,000 desert acres. The bill, passed by voice vote, is controversial because it would also allow the Torres-Martinezes to build California's first Indian casino off a reservation.

A federal inspection of three large trailer parks on the Torres Martinez reservation in Riverside County has found numerous health and safety violations, including faulty electrical systems and open sewage that threaten the health of park residents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Indian Affairs did the inspections last August at Oasis Mobile Home Park, D & D Mobile Home Park and an unnamed park adjacent to Oasis.

After hearing numerous reports of substandard and squalid living conditions, a federal judge said Monday that he would visit Desert Mobile Home Park, or Duroville, next week to see whether it poses an imminent danger to the lives of its tenants. "My concern is that there are real safety hazards that need to be addressed now," said U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside. "I want to see for myself.

At first blush, it seems a rather innocuous attempt to right a century-old wrong. A bill before Congress would expand the reservation of the impoverished Torres-Martinez band of Indians by more than 11,000 desert acres as reparation for flooding that left half their current land under water. But the bill's subplot--gambling--has made it a roll of the dice at best: It also would allow the Torres-Martinez band to build California's first Indian casino off a reservation.

A bill that would have expanded the reservation of the impoverished Torres-Martinez tribe into the upper reaches of the Coachella Valley died Thursday when the U.S. Senate adjourned without taking action. The bill's death also dashed the tribe's hopes of building a casino away from the existing reservation along the shores of the Salton Sea.