Although I recognize the Chumash tribe's fee-to-trust rights, I do not want another casino in the Valley. However, I also don't believe a second casino here would be a viable venture, and my sense of the business abilities of the Chumash is that they are smart enough to see that.
My wife and I occasionally go to see a show at the casino and, over time, it appears to us that the number of people who do go there has declined in recent years.
It also strikes me that many of the people who don't want another casino also don't want the one that's already here.
Furthermore, many of those people don't want to acknowledge the benefits of having the existing casino, such as providing the sources of a big part of Solvang's income, including the sales tax revenue from visitors' purchases in the city and the bed tax the city derives from the Hotel Corque.
The Chumash are the biggest donors to charities in Santa Barbara County in general and the Valley in particular. Earlier this year, the Chumash Foundation announced $148,000 in grants to a variety of nonprofits.
Since forming their own foundation six years ago, they have made $413,000 in grants. In past years, they gave about $3 million to the local high school to upgrade the football stadium, and made a grant to the city of Buellton to pay for a motorcycle police officer.
Their website has a long list of nonprofits and government organizations they have supported, including:
• A commitment to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department for five years for a firefighter-paramedic position.
• Purchase of a search-and-rescue vehicle for the county Sheriff's Department.
• Purchase of thermal imaging cameras for the Lompoc Fire Department.
• A $50,000 donation to Santa Ynez Cottage Hospital for equipment for the hospital's radiology lab.
• A $10,000 donation to the Santa Barbara County Foodbank to ensure that no needy family in the county was without a turkey during Thanksgiving.
• Nearly $160,000 worth of forensic equipment for law enforcement agencies throughout Santa Barbara County.
For what it's worth, I don't see any of the other groups that are encouraged to come to the Valley, such as the bike riders, providing financial support to any of the nonprofits in the community. If anything, it costs money to bring them here, but we never seem to hear any complaints about that.
Like it or not, without the casino, Solvang probably would not be financially viable.
Throughout my life, I have had to make a variety of tradeoffs, some I liked or wanted, others I didn't, and I suspect it's pretty much the same for most people.
The Chumash may not always be right, but they also cannot always be wrong. If the residents of the Valley want the financial benefits of having the casino here, they must also be willing to accept some of the consequences that they don't like.
Harris Sherline lives in Buellton.