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Oregon Retiree to Testify Before Senate against Indian Casino Game CenterA retired senior executive vice president and Wilsonville, Oregon resident will travel to Washington, D.C. to testify against the plans of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to build a mega casino game center in his town.Al Alexanderson, a one- time Oregon assistant attorney general, will testify Wednesday morning before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and its chairman, Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona. Alexanderson will describe the federal government's approval process for tribal casino game centers as unfair. Alexanderson and his wife Jo will tell the Senate Committee that they purchased five acres in Wilsonville in the summer of 2001 because the property was on agricultural-zoned land. "When I bought the property, I was entitled to rely on the existing zoning," he said. Furthermore, Alexanderson plans to show the Senate why he believes that the casino game center would be detrimental to local businesses. In any event, Alexanderson said, the Cowlitz should not be eligible to build a casino game center in his town because they do not have a legitimate historical connection to the area. Their traditional tribal lands, he said, lay 40 miles to the north.
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