Twigs

The narrow country lanes leading to Kathy's home/studio were filled with all manner of enormous trucks, graders, sweepers and earth movers. They are repaving her street, Starr Road, which is narrow and rambles all over the place, skirting fields and vineyards as well as the airport and eventually connecting with the town of Windsor.  As we slowly progressed behind the pilot truck we could see that they are doing more than repaving. they are replacing the entire roadbed. The pilot truck abandoned us before we got to Kathy's house and the traffic control guy told us we had to turn around and go back the way we came and go around the other way, a 20 minute detour. We talked him into letting us go through the melee when we told him we were turning into a driveway just 200 feet ahead, but he wasn't happy about it.  It would be nice, though, if the traffic management people were a little more in control of the situation. It will be worth the inconvenience when it is finished and I admit that I'm a bit envious, as I know our street, which is in even worse shape will never be repaved because it is a dead end and not very long.

When we left, we went the other way, passing a huge construction site that will be a housing development built by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. They own and operate a casino in the East Bay, which we used to drive past all the time.. 

The State of California, following an initiative passed by the voters, granted Native Americans the right to build casinos on tribal land. In this case the Pomo purchased the land with the intent to build a casino, but didn't receive planning permission from the Town of Windsor for yet another casino, so they decided to build a gated community for Pomo only.  

The whole history of Indian gaming is both fascinating and complicated. Native American tribes are sovereign nations with the authority to govern themselves within the borders of their reservations. Only federal and tribal laws apply to members of the tribe. Those tribes who were able to get financial backing to build casinos have become very wealthy. Those who cannot get backing and/or the necessary local permissions feel left behind. There are now 42 tribal casinos and 3 more in development in Northern California, and the non-native population, which voted to give the Indians the right to make money by building casinos are beginning to wonder what kind of can of worms they have opened.