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The Oxnard Journal

Oxnard Gaming Casino was a done deal

(April 11 - Oxnard, Calif.) During Public Comments at the beginning of Oxnard City Council meeting on April 10th (last Tuesday) Steve Buratti revealed a letter from Oxnard's Economic Development Corporation. (EDC) dated March 14th. The letter was an informational transmittal of development information regarding the PROPOSED Gaming Casino which Oxnard Leadership wants to approve. The March 14th letter had a cc: at the bottom citing: Attached are the documents delivered to the Oxnard City Council last Monday (March 12). The Ventura Red Star Press published an article on the Proposed Casino April 8th. The April 8th article detailed a request from a non-local Native-American tribe, formally delivered on the week on March 12th to the City of Oxnard, requesting a Casino be approved and built.

Not only did the Non-Native Americans request the Casino in March; the City, inclusive of EDC roll-overs and informants in Staff and the Council along with the City's Mayor were also in the know of this grand proposal. Meanwhile, some man named Wilson is fathering a new Prop. 1A to be on the November ballot. 1A is some initiative of some sort and the deadline for finalizing it is this weekend. Who cares, this article is not about A1,1A, or even A1A (a highway along Florida's Atlantic coastline.) Buratti presented his copy of the EDC letter before the Council ........

.........he wanted to bring it to the Council's attention that their earlier March claim of not knowing anything about the Casino was not so when they recently claimed they only conveniently became aware of the Casino by reading the Red Star Press. Ho, Ho, Ho - not so implied Buratti. They knew about the Casino, and he had the paperwork to prove it. According to Buratti, he got "no reaction, just bland expression - they didn't fight back." Summary: all the Council members could do was just sit there. (Bambi in the Head Lights) Buratti nailed them.

As is the given practice of Council, when a member is so derided during public comments, the Councilmen usually retorts or makes some vocal display in response. This time, no one on the Council had anything to say as they were caught in the de-fibulation of the truth.

Alan Wingo was the next Public Comments speaker and he added to Steve B.'s comments. Wingo questioned whether he could trust what he heard the Council say. " I'm very concerned the Oxnard City Council had prior knowledge [of the Casino] and still mislead the public, " referring to questions put to the Council in March during public comment whereafter the vacuous responses they (respondent councilmembers) crafted were not true.

Council, in essence, said it had NO FOREKNOWLEDGE of any Casino project until they read about it in the 'Red' Star Press.

The Mayor, Dr. Manuel Lopez and Mayor Pro-tem Councilman John Zaragoza are the ONLY elected Public Officials to go on record with their opposition to any GAMING facilities placed within Oxnard. Oxnard Journal gives you both a Bravo Zulu for doing the right thing and speaking up. This is not the first time Council has openly sided against Mayor Lopez. In the 1998 Mayoral Race, both Holden and Maulhardt publicly endorsed challenger Herrera a mere two weeks before the election.

Where else can you find the truth? Only in this Cyber-Newspaper.....(soon to be on real non-recycled paper.....