SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – The Sacramento city council took another big step in building a new arena on Tuesday night.

“We’ll take it; we’ll take it. A win is a win,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Many in the packed chambers gave the vote a standing ovation, with Kings fans sporting matching white shirts.

“A week ago we were 5-4, we got the win barely. A 9-0 vote sends a strong message,” said Johnson.

This night’s 9-0 vote did nothing to green-light an arena. It merely kept the planning process from coming to an end.

“It’s been a long time with no figures. We keep moving along on a whim,” said Sheedy.

“What’s being told here is dissension within the ranks. It is a love hate relationship on the city council, no question about it,” said Sacramento political strategist Doug Elmets.

But even those inside the arena negotiations are admitting this deal is nowhere done.

Fans are still a long way from an arena win. But tonight, at least, supporters didn’t lose.

We found out Mayor Johnson texted NBA commissioner David Stern right after the vote with the news.

“There are so many unknowns left,” said Elmets.

On the other hand Elmets said if there is no parking agreement, there will be no arena and without a new arena the Sacramento Kings will be lost.

Elmets says he believes the numbers will fall into place once details are hashed out.

The Sacramento City Council will take another step in privatizing the city’s parking operations Tuesday evening.

It will consider a shorted list of bidders that would take over city parking lots, curb meters and street enforcement.  The contract is intended to raise up to $200 million for the city to help finance a new sports and entertainment complex at the downtown rail yard site.

The proposal narrowly survived a measure that would put the decision in the hands of voters in June, months after an NBA imposed deadline to come up with a viable financing plan.
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Tomorrow’s vote won’t quite be as dramatic and a “No” decision on the bidder’s list won’t kill the deal, but it will provide a forum for those who oppose the plan.

“You have a divided city council,” said Doug Elmets, a political consultant who worked on the failed Q & R campaign to raise funds for an arena.

Elmets said the 5-4 vote that nixed the June vote was a “wake up call” for supporters who face a tough fight to get the parking proposal through. Elmets said much of the opposition on the council was political in the sense that some council members were out to stand up to a mayor they don’t see eye to eye with.

“Opposing council members were partly looking out for the interests of constituents and partly looking out for a way to be divisive with the Mayor,” said Elmets.

Elmets said it also tough for council members to vote on a proposal that is short on details.  The contract would hand over $9 million in revenue each year to the company awarded the contract in exchange for the chance to raise even more revenue through new taxes generated by a revitalized downtown with the new arena as its centerpiece.

Opponents say the new revenue is a big gamble and that parking money is currently used to fund city services, including police and fire budgets.

And there are details that are still being negotiated, like whether city parking employees will retain their jobs and whether there will be special events or Sunday parking fees, which were free.

The city is free to put in stipulations in the contract that deal with rate hikes, city employee retention and the continuation of weekend parking policy, but each demand by the city lessens the value of the  contract.

“There are so many unknowns left,” said Elmets.

On the other hand Elmets said if there is no parking agreement, there will be no arena and without a new arena the Sacramento Kings will be lost.

That’s not all that’s at stake.  With abolition of redevelopment agencies, there is no money to fund the makeover of the downtown rail yard site.

The parking plan is the private sector’s contribution to construction costs.  The city will have to kick in some revenue and so will the Kings’ owners, the Maloofs.  Elmets says he believes the numbers will fall into place once details are hashed out.

The more important vote comes on Feb. 28, when the council will decide whether or not to spend additional cash to flesh out a parking contract.  That would satisfy an NBA deadline for the city to commit to a financing plan that makes sense, and dollars and cents.

Embattled Placer Superior Court Judge Joseph O'Flaherty announced Wednesday that he will not seek a new six-year term in the upcoming June election.

O'Flaherty has the dubious distinction of being one of few California judges to be twice disciplined by the state commission overseeing judicial conduct.

In September, the state state Commission on Judicial Performance issued a public censure of O'Flaherty – the stiffest punishment available, short of removal from office.

"I've decided not to seek a fifth term," O'Flaherty told The Bee.

"It wasn't the key factor," O'Flaherty said of the Judicial Commission's 11-0 ruling. "I don't think anybody could have beat me."

He said after 24 years on the bench his heart wasn't in for another six years of service. As a Superior Court judge, O'Flaherty earns $178,000 annually. He was elected the first time in 1988.

Veteran political consultant Doug Elmets disagreed with O'Flaherty's opinion that he was a shoo-in to win a new term if he had sought one.

"Ultimately, he was going to pay at the ballot box. He served on a silver platter great material for anyone wanting to run against him," Elmets said. "You have to give him props for realizing that he was at the end of his career."

The most recent discipline stems from a 2008 small-claims case between Golden 1 Credit Union and a car dealer. The commission decided that O'Flaherty had overstepped his authority by rebuking the dealer and directing him to find a new branch.

O'Flaherty said his intent was to offer a casual warning. It was not his intent to convey that he was issuing a restraining order, the judge said.

In 2004, the commission publicly admonished O'Flaherty for giving prospective jurors permission to lie to get out of jury duty if they didn't want to publicly admit they had racial biases.

O'Flaherty said Wednesday he would support Placer County prosecutor Garen Horst as his replacement. Horst is the only other candidate to have taken out papers to run for the office, according to county elections officials.

The filing period begins Feb. 13 and, with the incumbent out of the race, ends March 14.

"It's clear that Kevin Johnson is forming a coalition," Elmets said. "Clearly his ability to appeal to a broad cross section of the electorate in this region has had an influence."

The historic transformation of the City Council could mean a shift in the balance of power at City Hall.

With the announcement Monday that Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy would not seek re-election - combined with Councilman Rob Fong's decision to also step down this year - six of the nine seats at the council dais will have different representatives from just four years ago. That's an incredible shift for a City Council that had been a safe haven for incumbents for nearly 20 years.

With so many seats changing hands, it's worth exploring who benefits.

As I reported today, the loss of Sheedy and Fong, coupled with the retirement of influential labor leader Harry Rotz, leaves the city's labor unions at a bit of a crossroads.

Time was, labor unions could count on near unanimous support from the council on just about every topic. Come November, the unions - not including the public safety groups - may only be able to count on two council members, Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell, for unwavering support.

One person who could benefit from the upheaval on the council is Mayor Kevin Johnson - someone who is generally supported by business groups and disliked by big labor unions.

Sheedy in particular has been a vocal opponent of the mayor's on multiple fronts, fighting against his various strong mayor proposals and the attempt to build a new Kings arena. The arena fight comes back to council tonight, when Sheedy will ask her council colleagues to place a measure on the June ballot asking voters if they want to use public assets to help finance an arena.

Fong has also disagreed with Johnson's strong mayor plans, but has been a steady ally to Johnson on the arena work. But because Fong is considered a leader on the council, any rift between he and Johnson is often given added attention.

Political strategist Doug Elmets told me Monday that Johnson is sure to benefit from the changing council. The mayor is expected to campaign heavily for candidates he likes in the upcoming council races.

"It's clear that Kevin Johnson is forming a coalition," Elmets said. "Clearly his ability to appeal to a broad cross section of the electorate in this region has had an influence."

Labor unions, historically a powerful interest group at Sacramento City Hall, are suddenly at a crossroads.

Labor's steadiest ally on the City Council, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, said Monday she is stepping down. Harry Rotz, the most influential leader in local labor – and perhaps city politics – just retired.

Finally, a June ballot measure seeks to bar the city from entering into agreements ensuring union labor will be used on publicly funded construction projects.

All of this is happening as city officials demand employees contribute more toward their pensions, a common theme playing out in cash-strapped locales across the state and country.

"Labor has been under attack for the last several years," said Sacramento public relations consultant Doug Elmets. "They're never to be underestimated, but given the current economic environment, both locally and nationally, they're being forced to come up with a new paradigm to succeed."

At City Hall, labor lost a key friend Monday when three-term Councilwoman Sheedy announced she would not seek re-election in June. Sheedy, 68, said she was stepping down to spend more time with her family. She was facing a campaign against four challengers.

Bill Camp, the head of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, called Sheedy's departure "a huge loss for the city of Sacramento."

Also stepping down from the council this year is Rob Fong, who generally has been supported by unions during his time at City Hall. The departure of Fong and Sheedy could leave as few as two council members on the dais – Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell – who are seen by the city's non-public safety unions as staunch allies.

In contrast, the city's police and fire unions count other supporters on the council, including Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Still, Sheedy said she wasn't concerned about the future of labor at City Hall.

"They're big boys; they're going to figure it out," she said. "They have a celebrated and honorable cause."

Sheedy's announcement follows the retirement of Rotz earlier this month as the business manager of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, the most politically active union at City Hall. While it's unclear whether Rotz will step away completely from the union's political activities, his retirement raises questions about whether the plumbers will remain a force.

Under Rotz's watch, the plumbers union has donated more than $800,000 to local campaigns in the past four years, records show. According to Sheedy, "Harry and his family have always been among the most influential people" at City Hall.

Rotz, who never speaks with the media and declined a request to comment for this article, regularly made his presence known during City Hall campaigns with independent expenditure mailings supporting pro-labor candidates and causes.

This spring, labor will be under pressure to fight back against a measure that likely will be on the June ballot. That measure, sponsored by a group called Fair and Open Competition Sacramento, seeks to outlaw project labor agreements, making it easier for nonunion firms to win contracts on taxpayer-funded projects, such as the planned Kings arena downtown.

Eric Christen, an anti-union activist leading the campaign, said his group filed nearly 50,000 signatures from city voters supporting the measure with the City Clerk's office last month. That is well above the required 32,000 signatures needed to place the proposal on the ballot.

County elections officials are validating the signatures, and a decision on the measure's future is expected this week.

"With the economy the way it is, (taxpayer-funded projects) should be available to all workers," Christen said.

Phil Giarrizzo, a Sacramento political consultant and former union leader, said such measures are "unnecessary political fights." He said business interests should concentrate more on investing in development projects. When it comes to the arena, "they're throwing a hand grenade by launching this kind of assault."

"People are trying to take advantage of the economic climate to kick labor unions," said Giarrizzo, who is running the City Council campaign of developer Allen Warren, one of the candidates seeking to replace Sheedy.

With the deadline for candidates to enter local campaigns just six weeks away, labor groups will now refocus on Sheedy's race. In addition to Warren, other candidates seeking to represent the North Sacramento district include Sondra Betancourt, president of the Ben Ali Community Association; former Councilman Rob Kerth; and Kim Mack, who ran President Barack Obama's local campaign in 2008.

Camp said his organization will re-examine the candidate pool now that Sheedy has exited the race. Sheedy said she has urged labor groups to seek prospects from the Latino community, describing the other candidates as "very weak."

Camp said the pressure being applied to the local labor movement isn't surprising.

"I think people still see the labor movement as a valuable voice," he said. "We're speaking up for the middle-class families of our region and as a result, some people don't like it when we speak up."

 The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians battled for more than a decade to build a casino along Highway 50, a gambling palace that would lift the tribe out of poverty.

It hasn't worked out that way.

Three years after it opened, Red Hawk Casino is performing well below expectations, can't pay all its debts and has failed to enrich its owners.

Despite a sea of slot machines and elegant trimmings worthy of Las Vegas, the $535 million casino continues to be dwarfed by its wildly successful rival, Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln, in the battle for Sacramento-area gamblers.

Some of Red Hawk's woes have been made public before, including the debt problems. Now, testimony in an El Dorado Superior Court lawsuit provides the most vivid picture yet of how badly the Shingle Springs casino is lagging.

Red Hawk took in $214 million in gambling revenue last year, testimony shows. That was 10 percent below 2009, its first full year of operation.

More importantly, that was about $100 million less than what was expected in a forecast the tribe made in 2007, according to court records. Gambling revenue is the amount the house wins, not the amount wagered.

"I think it's strictly the economy," said Nick Fonseca, chairman of the Shingle Springs tribe. "This is a new reality, and tribes are going to have to adjust to it."

Normally kept secret, details of Red Hawk's performance have spilled out in a lawsuit against the tribe by a company that once supplied it with slot machines and contends it is entitled to a cut of the profits.

Executives with the casino and the company that manages it for the tribe, Lakes Entertainment Inc. of Minneapolis, declined to comment further on Red Hawk, citing the ongoing court case.

But in an interview outside the courthouse during a break in the trial, Fonseca said the tribe is getting just $6 million a year in profits – the bare minimum guaranteed by Lakes.

Individual tribal members are receiving $800 a month in profit distributions, he said. Half of his 500 members continue to live below the poverty line.

By comparison, the 300 members of Thunder Valley's owner, the United Auburn Indian Community, reportedly get $30,000 a month apiece in casino profits.

Red Hawk and Thunder Valley are just 40 miles from each other but might as well inhabit different planets.

Thunder Valley opened in a time of relative prosperity, 2003, and quickly became one of the nation's most successful casinos. It has an ideal location, near two upscale Sun City retirement communities. It opened a luxury hotel last year and occasionally brings in high rollers from the Bay Area by helicopter.

Bill Eadington, a gambling expert at the University of Nevada, Reno, recently estimated that Thunder Valley's annual revenue is $400 million to $500 million.

Like all Indian casinos, Thunder Valley pays millions to the state under a gambling compact. But it no longer pays a firm to run the casino, enabling the Auburn tribe to keep more of the profit.

Red Hawk, where glass feathers dangle from the chandeliers, opened in the teeth of the recession and does about half as much business as Thunder Valley. The casino is stuck in rural El Dorado County, although it benefits from the direct link to Highway 50, via an offramp built at the tribe's expense.

It's also the only Indian casino in the region without a hotel, a significant handicap.

"People who stay in a hotel gamble more," said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Thunder Valley.

Slots for locals

Red Hawk is also hemmed in by an array of financial obligations. It pays up to 30 percent of its profits to Lakes Entertainment, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. That's the maximum allowed by federal Indian gambling law under most circumstances.

Under a deal signed with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the tribe also pays the state up to 25 percent of its slot-machine winnings. That's believed to be the most onerous tribal gambling compact in California.

It pays millions to El Dorado County for various services – and is laboring to repay a $450 million construction bond.

"All the profits that we're making are going to the bondholders," Fonseca said.

As for those big-money gamblers, Red Hawk has scaled back on marketing to the Bay Area. Instead, it's opted to become "a more value-oriented locals casino," said Lyle Berman, chief executive of Lakes Entertainment, in a message to his shareholders in May.

Translation: better deals at the casino's restaurants, lots of free slot tournaments and other goodies.

The approach may be helping. Keith Wong, 84, of Stockton used to gamble at Jackson Rancheria but now visits Red Hawk twice a week.

"They give away a lot of prizes, gifts, they have a lot of promotions," said Wong, who came to Red Hawk on a recent weekday afternoon.

Red Hawk's profits and revenue improved during the third quarter, Lakes recently reported. The company declined to disclose details.

Still, the casino has lots of room for improvement.

As previously disclosed by Lakes, at times the casino doesn't make enough to generate the $500,000-a-month minimum distribution to the tribe. In those cases, Lakes loans the tribe money.

Lakes reported in March that the tribe has stopped making principal payments on a separate, $66 million loan from the Minneapolis company, although the tribe is still paying interest on the note.

Red Hawk is caught up in an industry-wide slump. The world's largest casino, Foxwoods in Connecticut, defaulted on a $2 billion debt in 2009. The family that owns the Sacramento Kings lost controlling interest in its Las Vegas casino to creditors in June.

"Everybody has had to renegotiate these loans, nobody can make these payments," said Reno gambling consultant Ken Adams. "Half of Atlantic City has been restructured."

No instant riches

The Shingle Springs tribe got into the business in 1996, in the early days of California Indian gambling, by opening a tent-like structure called Crystal Mountain Casino. It operated sporadically before closing in 1997, amid disagreements with neighbors and uncertainty about the casino's legality.

The tribe's partner in that venture, a slot-machine manufacturer named Sharp Image Gaming, is suing the tribe for breach of contract in El Dorado Superior Court.

Sharp Image says it had the right to supply slot machines to Red Hawk – and is entitled to tens of millions of dollars in profits. The tribe is fighting the suit, which has gone to a jury trial.

The opening of Red Hawk, on Dec. 17, 2008, followed years of negotiations with state and county officials. "We've been well-received by Sacramento," casino general manager Peter Fordham said on opening night.

But Red Hawk quickly turned disappointing. The workforce was trimmed within months. Fordham and much of his management team were replaced.

Gambling revenue came to $237 million the first full year and fell to $214 million in 2010, according to testimony by Gary Howard, an accountant who reviewed Red Hawk's books for Sharp Gaming.

Red Hawk is actually performing well by gambling industry standards. Its slot machines rake in about $235 a day per machine. The average slot in hyper-competitive Las Vegas takes in $149 a day.

Still, it's a far cry from what the tribe anticipated – an expectation formed by watching other tribes around the state get rich with casino profits.

Former Shingle Springs tribal financial officer Steven Garwood, in a written declaration to the court, said a financial forecast submitted to federal officials in 2007 assumed the casino would do at least $300 million a year in gambling revenue.

Back then, that wasn't a pie-in-the-sky prediction.

"Extremely realistic," said Nelson Rose, an expert on Indian gambling law at Whittier College. "That's what they would have been making if the economy hadn't crashed."

As games disappear from the schedule, "the sponsorship becomes questionable," said Doug Elmets, spokesman for Thunder Valley Casino. "We're now reassessing how we want to move forward."

Look at Thunder Valley, whose $1 million deal includes signage at Power Balance Pavilion.

Those signs are barely visible when the arena lights are dimmed for a concert, Elmets said. And because it's a casino, it gets little benefit from having its name displayed at an ice show or some other event geared toward children.

"Clearly, for Thunder Valley, the key sponsorship opportunities are for the people attending Kings games," Elmets said.

It was a vital part of Sacramento's crusade to keep the Kings in town – the $10 million in corporate sponsorships pledged for the 2011-12 season.

Now the Kings might have to give some of that money back.

The NBA player lockout has complicated the Kings' relationship with their corporate patrons, particularly those that responded to Mayor Kevin Johnson's frenzied appeal last spring. Thirty-two companies stepped up to lease arena billboards and luxury suites, buy blocks of tickets and otherwise support the team.

With two weeks of games already canceled, and much of the rest of the season in jeopardy, the team is talking to sponsors about refunds, "make-goods" and other concessions.

So far nobody has asked for their money back, and the discussions "have been positive," said team spokesman Chris Clark. But some sponsors are getting antsy.

As games disappear from the schedule, "the sponsorship becomes questionable," said Doug Elmets, spokesman for Thunder Valley Casino. "We're now reassessing how we want to move forward."

Thunder Valley's sponsorship, at $1 million, is among the team's largest.

In April, with the Kings on the verge of bolting for Anaheim, Johnson and various business leaders quickly rounded up $10 million in sponsorship pledges from banks, law firms and other businesses.

The pledges played a big role in convincing NBA Commissioner David Stern, who cited the "outpouring of support," that Sacramento deserved another shot at keeping the team.

The Kings agreed to stay but have vowed to leave if there's no financing deal in place next spring for a new arena.

Clark said sponsorships are being treated with the same "worry-free guarantee" applied to season ticket purchases.

But while refunds are available, the Kings are trying to persuade corporations to accept other benefits instead, including sponsorships of other events and community outreach programs.

For instance, the Kings offered a meet-and-greet with coach Paul Westphal to Jeff Hallsten of Hallsten Corp., a North Highlands manufacturer that signed on as a sponsor during the spring rush.

"They're really working hard to keep people plugged in," Hallsten said.

And for Western Health Advantage, a $100,000 sponsor, the compensation could include an appearance by the Kings strength and conditioning coach at a wellness program.

"It's a little bit of make-good," said Rick Heron, spokesman for Western Health.

Dale Carlsen, chief executive of Sleep Train Mattress Centers, said the retailer will likely wind up with "a little bit of refund, a little bit of investment in other events."

For many sponsors, the problem is it's hard to replicate the marketing buzz generated by an actual Kings game.

Look at Thunder Valley, whose $1 million deal includes signage at Power Balance Pavilion.

Those signs are barely visible when the arena lights are dimmed for a concert, Elmets said. And because it's a casino, it gets little benefit from having its name displayed at an ice show or some other event geared toward children.

"Clearly, for Thunder Valley, the key sponsorship opportunities are for the people attending Kings games," Elmets said.

Some companies contacted by The Bee said they regard their sponsorships as an act of corporate citizenship at a time when the mayor was desperate to halt the Kings' move to Anaheim.

"The investment was good will, to support and show good faith to the NBA," said Ron Brown of Brown Construction Co. in West Sacramento.

That said, Brown still wants value for his company's sponsorship.

"This was about keeping a professional sports team in the area, not 'Disney on Ice,' " he said. He wouldn't say how much his firm is spending, but he's confident something can be worked out with the Kings.

For some sponsors, much will depend on how much of the NBA season can be salvaged. So far the entire preseason and the first two weeks of the regular season have been canceled, and Stern has warned that more games are likely to be canceled soon.

Heron said Western Health's sponsorship includes recognition on the video board during eight games.

The company also gets ads printed in the program handed out to fans at the arena but only for every other game.

So if the NBA can put together a 50- or 55-game season (out of 82 originally scheduled), it's possible the Kings could satisfy the terms of Western Health's deal, he said.

"The (whole) season gets canceled or something – that's a whole other discussion," said Heron, a former Kings employee. "All bets are off."

With all that free Internet exposure, small businesses might be tempted to forgo a traditional website. But not so fast.

Said Doug Elmets, principal at Elmets Communications in Sacramento: “The questions is, ‘Who doesn’t have a website?’ And if (you don’t), ‘What’s wrong with you?’”

“It really depends on what kind of businesses and it depends on your audience,” Elmets said.

“Websites are becoming more of a calling card,” said Elmets “It is really a snap shot of who you are and how you would define yourself as opposed to how Yelp would define you.”

Social media give businesses a web presence without traditional site

It’s a question that arises as it becomes increasingly easy for a business to have an online presence through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Eventbrite without having to develop a traditional website.

Setting up a Facebook fan page for a business can take just minutes, and by using templates and shortcuts, it is possible to have a custom look. The instructions are simple and do not require the user to have extensive computer skills. Also it’s free.

In many cases, Yelp posts will show up in a Google search before a company’s own website, said Kat Haro, interactive media manager at Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn Inc., a Sacramento marketing and advertising company.

The social sites offer free platforms for businesses,  and many offer upgrades for a price. Most social sites have a place for a company’s information to reside online and be searchable, like a website, without a business incurring the cost of designing and maintaining its own site.

With all that free Internet exposure, small businesses might be tempted to forgo a traditional website. But not so fast.

Said Doug Elmets, principal at Elmets Communications in Sacramento: “The questions is, ‘Who doesn’t have a website?’ And if (you don’t), ‘What’s wrong with you?’”

Some marketing mavens say a website is basic business real estate in the modern landscape. A website and a domain name are things that add legitimacy and depth to a business brand.

“When you start a business these days, you start your website before you even go look for a place to lease,” said Rob Watts, principal with Traction Systems LLC, a website development company in West Sacramento.

“If you don’t have a website, it’s almost like you don’t exist.”

Even worse is having a site that is never updated, he said. That “can even be more detrimental” than no site at all, because it makes the company look dormant or unprofessional, Haro said.

Businesses that change their information constantly or rapidly may find it easier to do so with social media rather than updating a traditional website. And there are companies – especially those that target young professionals – that can survive by just using free web media.

“It really depends on what kind of businesses and it depends on your audience,” Elmets said.

For clubs and restaurants and the like, social media such as Facebook allow the restaurants to broadcast events, specials and changes to their friends and fans, which can be a powerful marketing tool, Watts said.

However, the lack of a website could cause customers to question a company’s legitimacy, and businesses don’t have control of their images on social media sites.

“You will always have to deal with the potential for negative comments on a social media site,” Haro said, adding that it is important to monitor and respond to comments.

Creating a website gives a business control over its online image in a way Facebook and Yelp don’t.

“Websites are becoming more of a calling card,” said Elmets. “It is really a snap shot of who you are and how you would define yourself as opposed to how Yelp would define you.”

Debi Hammond, president at Merlot Marking Inc. in Sacramento agrees.

“I look at a website as what a printed brochure was back in the day. It is a controlled message and it has lots of information,” Hammond said.

“It’s almost like a website today is what bricks and mortar used to be. It means you are real.”

Consumers have become accustomed to looking up websites and doing research, she said.

“They know how to find a website and to find what they are looking for.”

But, social media applications are a vital part of a company’s web presence.

Hammond says she recommends that companies use social media to reach out to the public in addition to having a website. “Websites have become static, where with social media you have the ability to have more dialogue,” she said.

“The email blasts generate the most attention, followed by Facebook and then the website. I think you need them all.”  

Larry Echo Hawk, the department's assistant secretary for Indian affairs, declared today that the Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians meets federal requirements to build a gambling facility.

The tribe has been working for years to win permission to take land into trust to build a casino, hotel and convention center on property between State Highway 65 and Forty Mile Road near the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Wheatland.

In 2002, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors signed an agreement with the Enterprise Rancheria to receive $83 million over 20 years from the casino development. And the city of Marysville stood to receive $4.8 million over 15 years from the project.

But critics blasted the casino plan as "reservation shopping," allowing the Enterprise tribe to develop a gambling resort in a more economically suitable site than its land in Oroville in Butte County, 36 miles away. In 2005, Yuba County voters rejected the casino plan in an advisory measure by a 52 to 48 percent vote.

But Yuba County Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said she believes searing employment in the region has generated renewed local support for a casino and the potential of thousands of new jobs.

"This is the news of the century as far as I'm concerned," Griego said. "This project is going to make a significant difference."

The Yuba County casino, slated for land that was formerly reserved for a failed bid to build an Indy-style racetrack, is still a long way from fruition. Gov. Jerry Brown still must agree with the Department of Interior decision that the tribe can take land into trust for a casino. The governor and the tribe also need to negotiate a gambling agreement that is approved by the Legislature.

Echo Hawk today also approved an application by the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, which is seeking to build a casino along state Highway 99 in Madera County. But he rejected a bid by the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians to construct a Richmond casino overlooking the San Francisco Bay. He said the Richmond project "did not meet the requirements" for federal approval.

However, Echo Hawk said gambling applications by the Enterprise and North Fork tribes "meet the strong standing under the law."

"Both tribes have historical connections to the proposed gaming sites," Echo Hawk said in a statement. "And both proposals have strong support from the local community, which are important factors in our review."

Cheryl Schmit, a gambling watchdog who opposes the Enterprise casino project, said the project should have been rejected by the Department of the Interior because it sets a bad precedent by helping tribes shopping for off-reservation lands to build gambling resorts.

"The community (in Yuba County) voted in opposition to a casino," Schmit said. "They've disenfranchised the voters. The Indian Gaming Regulation did not promise every Indian tribe a Las Vegas casino."

"It's a horrible, flawed policy that is now going to allow tribes to build casinos away from their aboriginal territory simply for economic gain," he said. "And probably more importantly, it opens the floodgates of urban gaming throughout California, if not the nation."

The Obama administration has approved casino proposals from two California Native American tribes under a rarely-granted exception to the federal law that prohibits gaming on reservations established after 1988.

The U.S. Department of Interior on Friday approved the Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians' proposed 1,700-machine casino and 170-room hotel in the Northern California city of Marysville and the North Fork Rancheria's 2,500-machine casino and 200-room hotel in the Central Valley city of Madera.

Both the tribes' proposed gaming sites are dozens of miles away from their current reservations and put them closer to urban centers. The Enterprise Rancheria casino would be 40 miles north of Sacramento. The North Fork proposal would put it 30 miles north of Fresno, according to the Department of Interior.

Federal officials said the projects would benefit the tribes economically without hurting the surrounding community.

"Both tribes have historical connections to the proposed gaming sites, and both proposals have strong support from the local community, which are important factors in our review," Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of the interior for Indian Affairs, said in a statement about the decisions.

But Doug Elmets, who represents half a dozen California tribes that already have casinos, said the decision sets a dangerous precedent.

"It's a horrible, flawed policy that is now going to allow tribes to build casinos away from their aboriginal territory simply for economic gain," he said. "And probably more importantly, it opens the floodgates of urban gaming throughout California, if not the nation."

Under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes can build casinos on reservations that existed before Oct. 17, 1988, but not on lands taken into trust after that date.

The law allows the Secretary of Interior to make an exception in cases where the off-reservation acquisition is in the tribe's best interest and does not hurt the surrounding community.

There have been only a handful of such exceptions granted since 1988, according to Kathryn Rand, co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota.

Rand said Friday's decisions by the Obama administration reflect a change in the federal government's approach to off-reservation gaming from the Bush administration.

The Bush Interior Department in 2008 all but ruled out approval of tribal casinos that are not within commuting distance of reservations. It rejected applications from more than 20 tribes, including one for a casino 1,400 miles from the reservation.

"The Bush administration was leaning in the direction that distance mattered more than anything else," Rand said.

Distance from the reservation remains a factor for the Obama White House, she said. The Interior Department on Friday also rejected a casino proposal from the Pueblo of Jemez, which had proposed a casino on land close to El Paso, Texas, nearly 300 miles from its reservation in New Mexico. Federal officials cited concerns about the tribe's ability to oversee land that was so far away. Tribal officials have said they are reviewing their options.

But Rand said overall, the administration appeared to be taking a more pragmatic, case-by-case approach.

The Enterprise Rancheria and North Fork Rancheria proposals are now before California Gov. Jerry Brown, who has one year to decide whether to approve them. The projects would also need state legislative approval, according to Charles Banks-Altekruse, a spokesman for the tribes.

"We're confident that the governor shares our goal of bringing jobs and business opportunity and community investment to California," Banks-Altekruse said.

Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Brown, said the governor will review the decisions in the months ahead.

"Each proposal will be assessed individually, and our office will continue to engage all stakeholders to ensure the interests of the tribes, local communities and the people of California are all considered," he said.

The Interior Department on Friday also rejected a casino proposal from the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians, which had sought a gaming facility in the San Francisco Bay area city of Richmond, more than 100 miles from its existing tribal lands.

The Guidiville proposal already appeared to have been scuttled earlier this year when the Richmond City Council rejected it.

The Interior Department said in its decision that Guidiville did not have a modern connection or a significant historical connection to the proposed site.

A call to a tribal spokesman on Saturday was not immediately returned.

"The courts have consistently held that membership issues are determined by the tribes," said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Pala.

The tribe ruled June 1 that the eight individuals did not have the minimum 1/16 Pala blood required to be members, Elmets said. They were given 30 days to appeal the decision, but they missed the deadline, Elmets said.

Eight people have been ousted from the Pala Band of Mission Indians in North County because officials say they have determined the individuals did not have strong enough family ties to the tribe.

The eight individuals are members of the Freeman family, including Tony Freeman, the son of King Freeman, former chairman of the tribe and owner of the Pala Store on Highway 76. The former chairman was not among those disenrolled. A spokesman for the tribe said Tuesday that the dispute over the Freemans' membership in the tribe had been ongoing since 1989 and that it was an internal tribal matter.

"The courts have consistently held that membership issues are determined by the tribes," said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Pala.

The tribe ruled June 1 that the eight individuals did not have the minimum 1/16 Pala blood required to be members, Elmets said. They were given 30 days to appeal the decision, but they missed the deadline, Elmets said.

The 900-member tribe owns Pala Casino Resort and Spa, a large gambling resort complex, on Highway 76 about 15 miles north of Escondido.

Many tribes have "blood quantum laws" to determine membership. Those laws, introduced by the federal government in the 1930s, describe the degree of ancestry that is required to belong to a particular tribe.

Tony Freeman could not be reached for comment.

The ouster of the eight individuals from Pala is the latest in a string of disenrollments from local tribes. The Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, which owns a large hotel and casino complex near Temecula, has expelled about 240 members since 2004.

About 60 members of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians in Valley Center, which owns the Valley View Casino and Hotel, were expelled from the tribe earlier this year.

The disenrollments in Pechanga and San Pasqual were over questions of heritage, tribal leaders said. However, members of the ousted families allege they were kicked out for other reasons, including politics and greed.

One of the benefits of belonging to wealthy casino tribes is that members get a share of the gambling profits, which can total thousands of dollars a month. Fewer members can mean more money for individuals.

King Freeman, a lifelong resident of the Pala reservation, served a total of 19 years as chairman of the tribal council and six years as vice chairman. His last term ended in 2001.

"It's aesthetic, for the benefit of the community and the guests," Elmets said, adding that the project is creating more than 100 jobs during construction.

Casino San Pablo is getting an exterior makeover that is supposed to make it more attractive and provide safer and more convenient parking, says a spokesman for the tribe that owns the thriving gambling hall that accounts for more than half the city's general fund.

The fountain in front of the casino has been demolished and will be replaced with a kinetic sculpture. Parking spaces for handicapped customers will be added, and better lighting will make parking safer for everybody, said Doug Elmets, speaking for the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. No work is being done to the interior of the casino.

"The tribe decided that they wanted to create something that was aesthetically more beautiful than what existed there before," Elmets said.

The sculpture, "Poems of the Pond," by San Diego-based artist Jeffrey Laudenslager, features three circles in metal atop an 18-feet-tall, tapered column on a three-foot base; the circles will move in three planes and periodically line up concentrically in one plane. Laudenslager has exhibited widely nationally and internationally, and some of his work can be viewed to musical accompaniment on YouTube.

Construction began this month and should be finished by Thanksgiving, Elmets said.

Max Alper, an organizer with Unite Here Local 2850, said the project is a slap in the face to workers at a time when the casino has told them it cannot afford to give raises and wants them to pay more for their health care coverage. The casino and the union, which represents more than 150 food service, housekeeping and miscellaneous workers at the casino, are locked in a bitter labor stalemate.

Elmets said the casino has been saving several years for the beautification project, which he said would cost about $6.5 million, to be paid out of cash reserves.

"It's aesthetic, for the benefit of the community and the guests," Elmets said, adding that the project is creating more than 100 jobs during construction.

In accordance with a 2003 Municipal Services Agreement between the Lytton Band and the city, the casino will pay San Pablo an estimated $14.25 million this fiscal year in lieu of taxes and a share of gross gambling revenue. That comes out to about 55 percent of San Pablo's $26.3 million 2011-2012 operating budget.

Elmets, a public affairs consultant representing the Thunder Valley Casino, charged that the proposed changes are a result of political influence.

"(City Hall) is about ready to write a blank check to put mega-casinos in the city of Sacramento for well-connected people that have been in elected or appointed office before," he said.

Elmets isn't exactly speaking for the little guy, though. His client, Thunder Valley, with its choice location on busy Highway 65 just outside Lincoln, dominates the region's Indian gambling market.

But, Elmets said, "the voters of California have spoken loud and clear that they want casinos in more remote locations (such as unincorporated Placer County, where Thunder Valley is located)."

"This would certainly lead to the urbanization of gambling," he said.

Another concern, Elmets said, is the proposal to allow a fifth card room license in Sacramento.

It was like the high-roller table of Sacramento politics.

As a City Council subcommittee debated how to regulate card rooms this week, former Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas and his son watched intently from the gallery. By their side was former Sacramento city manager turned political handler Bob Thomas.

Prominent public affairs consultant Doug Elmets sat quietly in the fifth row, watching out for the interests of the region's largest Indian casino. And behind the scenes – his name mentioned by many – was Sacramento's most powerful developer, Angelo K. Tsakopoulos.

Along with enough lawyers to fill a page in the phone book, each of these players has a stake in changes being made to card room laws in the city.

The council's Law and Legislation Committee moved forward Tuesday with a city ordinance allowing poker room operators to hold licenses for two facilities, up from the current limit of one.

Also on the table is the ability of card room operators to "co-locate" two gambling halls next door to each other, essentially doubling the current size limit placed on the shops. Smaller clubs and large Indian casinos oppose that plan.

Beyond that, city officials are considering granting a fifth poker room license by reactivating a permit that has been dormant. While approval of that change is far off, and the potential owner of the license hasn't settled on a location of the club, one site being discussed is a downtown office building that Tsakopoulos owns on L Street a block from Capitol Park.

The City Council must approve the changes and is expected to take up the issue in the coming months in the wake of the Law and Legislation panel's action.

The ownership group of Casino Royale on Auburn Boulevard is lobbying for the co-location and multi-ownership provisions.

That group includes William Blanas, son of the ex-sheriff. Both Blanas men were at City Hall on Tuesday, joined by attorney Jim Kouretas, another Casino Royale partner.

Helping them press their case at City Hall is former Sacramento city manager Thomas, now a public affairs consultant. Thomas also represents the owners of the Limelight card club in east Sacramento, which has discussed selling out to the Casino Royale group.

If the city changes its poker room ordinance, those operations could be combined. Thomas said his clients have no plans to do that right now, but are pushing for the rule change so they can keep their options open.

"The gaming business is so erratic right now, it would be a crazy time to invest the money (to combine the card rooms)," Thomas said in an interview.

Thomas and his group say changes to the city's poker room rules are needed to allow its card rooms to compete with large, out-of-town casinos.

"There are other casinos in the region, other jurisdictions, that would love to have you restrict city card rooms for their benefit," Thomas told the council committee.

Said Kouretas: "Indian casinos are closing in on small card rooms in Sacramento."

The ability to place poker rooms in adjacent addresses, however, worries some other city card room owners.

"Our concern is that this puts the government in a position of picking a winner," said attorney Tracey Buck-Walsh, who represents the Silver Fox/Lotus Casino in south Sacramento. "By allowing the co-ownership and co-location, it puts other businesses at a competitive disadvantage. That's a wholesale departure from city policy."

Buck-Walsh and others said there won't be enough oversight when rooms move. If an operator moves or combines operations, the plans won't go to the city Planning Commission, and will be debated by the City Council only if the council member whose district covers the card room decides to request it.

Elmets, a public affairs consultant representing the Thunder Valley Casino, charged that the proposed changes are a result of political influence.

"(City Hall) is about ready to write a blank check to put mega-casinos in the city of Sacramento for well-connected people that have been in elected or appointed office before," he said.

Elmets isn't exactly speaking for the little guy, though. His client, Thunder Valley, with its choice location on busy Highway 65 just outside Lincoln, dominates the region's Indian gambling market.

But, Elmets said, "the voters of California have spoken loud and clear that they want casinos in more remote locations (such as unincorporated Placer County, where Thunder Valley is located)."

"This would certainly lead to the urbanization of gambling," he said.

Another concern, Elmets said, is the proposal to allow a fifth card room license in Sacramento.

Clark Rosa, who owns Capitol Casino on North 16th Street, is interested in partnering with the previous owner of that fifth license. Rosa said one of his preferred locations for a new poker room would be empty office space in a building on L Street between 15th and 16th streets.

The building, next to de Vere's Irish Pub and within sight of the Capitol dome, is owned by Tsakopoulos and a partnership he controls, records show.

Rosa and his consultants insist that the L Street building is just one they are considering downtown and that zoning code provisions might prevent them from placing a poker room there. Tsakopoulos did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Rosa and his partners said a card room downtown would have a significant economic impact on the area, creating at least 175 jobs.

The thinking is "that they – these people in that demographic – will have discretionary income, presumably extra time on their hands, and may have a higher propensity to want to (wager), in addition to dining at the restaurant," he said.

The entertainment is a lure for potential customers for the casino. "What's music to my ears is not necessarily the band that's playing but the stream of people that are going into the casino rather than going to their cars (afterward)," said Elmets, who has represented the tribe for 15 years and has been with Thunder Valley since the day it opened.

If you take a look at the summer concert series lineup at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, you'll notice something almost immediately: They're all bands likely to appeal to baby boomers.

The Tubes. Chicago. The Doobie Brothers. Peter Frampton. Huey Lewis & the News. The Fixx. Wang Chung. Men Without Hats.

The list goes on.

And it's deliberate, says Doug Elmets, spokesman for Thunder Valley and for the United Auburn Indian Community that owns it. "There's no question that we're looking for groups that appeal to a certain age demographic, primarily 45 to 75," Elmets said.

The thinking is "that they – these people in that demographic – will have discretionary income, presumably extra time on their hands, and may have a higher propensity to want to (wager), in addition to dining at the restaurant," he said.

The entertainment is a lure for potential customers for the casino. "What's music to my ears is not necessarily the band that's playing but the stream of people that are going into the casino rather than going to their cars (afterward)," said Elmets, who has represented the tribe for 15 years and has been with Thunder Valley since the day it opened.

It's a smart strategy to ply them with music to pry open their wallets, according to William R. Eadington, professor of economics and director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"The important role of entertainment for casinos goes back 50 years or so, when Nevada (Reno, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas), had prohibitions against advertising gambling," Eadington said. Basically, these were state laws (not federal prohibitions) that "said you couldn't show slot machines, card tables, etc., so entertainment was very important – something you could advertise – to bring customers to the casino."

About 560,000 of the region's residents, roughly a quarter of the population, are baby boomers between the ages of 45 and 64, according to 2010 census figures. Households led by someone in that age group drew about $26.5 billion in income during 2009, or almost half of the household income earned in the region.

Tribal casinos tend to draw "a relatively local crowd," Eadington said. "What Las Vegas can do that (casinos like Thunder Valley and those in Reno and Lake Tahoe) can't, is that they can bring an entertainer in for an extended period of time.

"There are tourists from all over the country and the world visiting Las Vegas, so you've got a long-term potential audience," he said. In places like Thunder Valley, "You get a lot of one-night stands because it's the entertainment that turns over, not the audience."

Choosing the audience you want to attract is the tricky part.

"For most casino operations, entertainment is a loss leader," the professor said. "You have to factor in how much the audience member is going to spend in other facilities. You're not likely to get back the cost of the (concert) production in ticket sales. So you have to look at restaurant sales and gaming. It really becomes as much a marketing thing as an entertainment thing."

Thunder Valley's decision to go after the Chicago-Doobie-Frampton-era audience makes financial marketing sense.

What Elmets, the casino spokesman, calls the baby boomer generation, Eadington calls the empty-nester demographic. Whether 45 to 75 (Elmets' targeted age group) or 40 to 60 (Eadington's cited demographic), both exhibit the same characteristics: They are financially stable. They've made arrangements for their children's educational needs. And they are getting to the age that they may not be as physically active sports-wise as they once were. Sitting at a gaming table or a slot machine may have more appeal to them.

Elmets said Thunder Valley uses entertainment to introduce people to the property. "There are many people who have never been to Thunder Valley or for that matter to a casino, and to have an act that maybe they've been a follower of or have great memories of, as a way to get them to come to the casino is our goal.

"Thunder Valley is a casino resort," he said, emphasizing "resort." It "has a AAA four-diamond hotel, a spa, restaurants and bars. And an integral part of anything like that – any spa-like operation – is entertainment.

"Candidly, many people come for the entertainment and don't go into the casino," he said. "But it's definitely a benefit for the casino if not only do they come to listen to the music but that they take advantage of everything the casino has to offer.

"If not on that trip, then maybe on another."