Meanwhile, the draft agreement with Upstream Development for Point Molate is expected to be made public today and voted on by the City Council at a 6:00 PM public meeting on August 31, 2004.

Press coverage follows:

Legislators may quash casino deal / Opposition from Dems, GOP develops -- Bipartisan opposition spread among lawmakers Thursday to a pending agreement by an Indian tribe and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to create a six- to eight-story gaming palace in the heart of San Pablo, threatening to derail the deal in the Legislature. As more details of about the casino emerged, Bay Area Democrats, already appalled at its size, suddenly found themselves aligned with Republicans who were angered to find that labor organizing provisions they objected to in Schwarzenegger's earlier deals with Indian tribes have remained in the new contract framework. John M. Hubbell in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/04

Governor stands by game plan -- Going on the defensive Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he would sign a deal Monday for a controversial Indian gambling mega-casino in the East Bay but said he was required by federal law to forge the agreement. Administration officials conceded, however, that nothing required the governor to allow up to 5,000 slot machines, making the site in San Pablo, north of Oakland, one of the world's largest casinos. Steve Geissinger in the Oakland Tribune -- 8/20/04

Indian Casino Is Bay Area Backwater's Ace in the Hole -- This gritty little Bay Area city ran short on luck decades ago. Industry declined, jobs disappeared, crime and poverty took hold. Tucked innocuously between the cascading traffic of Interstate 80 and the brine of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo slumped into the 21st century. This week, the blue-collar town of 31,000 saw its fortunes turn. In a big way. Eric Bailey in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/04

Gov. Signs Pacts With 5 Tribes -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday that five new agreements with Indian tribes were expected to bring the state at least $200 million in annual revenue — most of it from a planned Bay Area casino that would be California's first major urban gambling hall. Peter Nicholas in the Los Angeles Times Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee David M. Drucker in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 8/20/04