Mayor of Lansing, Michigan – Virg Bernero – was under fire earlier today from two of the state’s Indian tribes and a tribe lobbyist after he allegedly made “racially insensitive” remarks about Native Americans at a fundraiser last Thursday.
In a report by the Detroit Free Press, The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians and Saginaw Chippewa Indians said Bernero “repeatedly used profanity and racial slurs” when they were debating the Indian casino in Lansing.
More specifically, the tribes said Bernero referred to a bull’s eye on his back and that he was the target of “bows and arrows” for championing the casino proposal. Cringe.
Lobbyist, James Nye, added that several attendees of the meeting noticed Bernero singled him out as “Chief Chicken Little,” and added the remarks were “inexcusable.”
“I’ve been in a lot of debates but never been personally attacked,” he said. “This is embarrassing…pretty disgusting. I am deeply offended.”
The tribes called on Bernero to apologize, undergo sensitivity training and “refrain from racially charged language in the public discourse,” but he is yet to respond.
The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway is gearing up for its invitation-only VIP event which will see it open for the first time for just nine hours today.
A report by WJB Morning Call states that the trail run opening is to prove to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission that the new state-owned, privately-managed casino is ready to open as scheduled on Friday. Not only that but the proceeds of the event will go to charity.
Federal judge Myron Thompson has temporarily suspended jury selection in the Alabama gambling corruption case due to the death of one of the defendants.
The news that the former legislative employee Ray Crosby died on Sunday comes just after Thompson refused to throw out two bribery charges against casino owner Milton McGregor last week. Jury selection was supposed to begin this morning but the orrder does not state when it will begin.
