Where once there were farms and fields, there are now houses and strip malls. Among the Home Depots and Starbucks of Rohnert Park, north of San Francisco, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria purchased undeveloped land and formed a sovereign nation.
Now they plan to build a casino. It's hard to say which draws more debate ---- plans to build a casino or a Wal-Mart, but "The Rules of the Game" captures the anger that flares in the little town of Rohnert Park. The 30-minute documentary, airing at 10:30 p.m. Monday on KPBS/Channel 15, reflects the controversy of American Indian casinos.
"I know this is something San Diego has dealt with, but with the passage of (proposition) 1A in 2000, many more tribes are looking into casinos," said Garance Burke, co-producer and director of "The Rules of the Game."
Proposition 1A, passed in 2000 by California's voters, solidified American Indian tribes' rights to build casinos in the state. While Southern California had several casinos before that year, Burke said the trend is just now growing in Northern California.
"The Thunder Valley Casino outside Sacramento is one of the biggest casinos with more than 2,000 slots. Many of (the Northern California tribes) are contemplating opening a casino. There are four being considered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a number up in the Napa Valley-Santa Rosa area have been opened in recent years.
"We're all learning from the San Diego region and how things unfolded down there," Burke said.
In Rohnert Park, local residents couldn't prevent the casino from being built, but the Graton Rancheria tribe offered the city council a share of the casino's profits. The debate raged over whether the council should accept the offer. Burke and her co-producer and co-director, Monica Lam, saw in the story bigger issues regarding economic equality.
"It brings up all these issues of race and equality and who gets to have the American dream," Burke said.
In one scene, a member of the tribe talks about how revenues from the casino will let him buy what he sees other men in Rohnert Park driving ñ--- an SUV and a boat on a trailer.
The debate over whether the council should accept the tribe's donation came up last fall, and Burke and Lam were editing the film this spring. It has already aired on the PBS station in Rohnert Park.
"It was really positive," Burke said. "That's been one of the exciting things. It's such a complex issue because it brings up so many emotions."
In other news from KPBS, the station has dropped the "Nightly Business Report." In a statement from the station, KPBS said the show has not "progressed," while business news is available 24 hours on various cable channels.
"The NBR staff and their approach failed to add a uniquely public television perspective on the information," the KPBS statement said.
The new weeknight schedule offers Huell Howser's travels through California at 5:30 p.m. On Jan. 7, Tucker Carlson's "Unfiltered" will air weekly at 5:30 p.m. Fridays.
Longtime KGTV/Channel 10 reporter Leonard Villarreal, who announced two weeks ago he'd been dropped by the station after 27 years, won't be out of work for long. KUSI/Channel 51 announced last week that it has hired Villarreal as its 10 p.m. weekend news anchor. KUSI also recently announced it has hired Michael Tuck away from KFMB/Channel 8 to serve as its prime-time weekday anchor. Filling Tuck's chair at KFMB will be former KUSI morning anchor Stan Miller, who left the station early this year for the ministry but has been lured back to television by the KFMB job ---- Miller spent many happy years at KFMB in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Vista resident Kelly Rand was recently awarded the 10News Leadership Award. A deputy district attorney for San Diego County, Rand had introduced legislation to protect children.
The producers of "Swept Away TV," a music show for teens, are looking for local contributors to their show, which is written, editing and directed by teens. The show will air on KOCT in Oceanside.
Check the show's Web site, sweptawaytv.com, for information on applying to the show.
Highlights for the Christmas weekend include:
"24 Hours of a Christmas Story," beginning at 8 p.m. Friday on TBS. The cult classic about Ralphie and his overwhelming desire for a BB gun will play all the way through Christmas Day.
The 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" will air all day Friday on AMC, beginning at 6 a.m. The black-and-white classic features Edmund Gwenn as a department store Santa Claus, Maureen O'Hara as an overworked mom and Natalie Wood as the most cynical 7-year-old on screen.
Ann Zivotksy writes about television for the North County Times.