July 14, 2001

 By Lisa Friedman, WASHINGTON BUREAU

 WASHINGTON -- A U.S. senator from Hawaii may try to help a California Indian tribe hang on to a swatch of
 Bay Area land so the tribe can build a casino.

 Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Democrat, is questioning the backdoor approach of a Nevada lawmaker who is trying to
 block the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians from acquiring 10 acres in San Pablo. The tribe intends to convert a
 card room on the land into a Las Vegas-style casino.

 The deal has drawn fire from Nevada officials who fear casinos will soon pop up in urban areas throughout
 California. Recently Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, tucked a sentence into a sprawling spending bill that puts the
 breaks on the Lytton Band's plans. But making policy in a funding bill is a technical no-no, according to arcane Senate rules. It's only a problem, of course, if another senator mounts a challenge -- as Inouye, who chairs the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee, did on Thursday.  Arguing that his committee should oversee the Lytton issue, Inouye announced he will work with colleagues to have the provision repealed and brought to a hearing.

 Just when that will be is unclear, since the Senate passed the $18.6 billion Interior Department spending bill,
 into which the Lytton provision was tucked, Thursday afternoon. The bill passed on a voice vote.
In the meantime, Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor said a hearing would be just fine -- and, in fact, long
overdue.

 "If the supporters of this would want to start from scratch and have it go through the proper channels, we
 would be glad to sit through the committee hearings and have it out in the open where it should have been last
 year," Naylor said.

 The Lytton Band, whose 220 members are scattered throughout Sonoma County, were disbanded in the 1960s
 and re-recognized in 1991. In their quest to acquire land -- and thereby the ability to run a casino -- they
 appealed last year to Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez.  Miller slipped a short amendment into the Indian Omnibus Act last year granting the tribe 10 acres of land just off Interstate 80. Days later President Bill Clinton signed the bill. Opponents of the move have accused Millerof working "in the dead of night" for the tribe.

 Sen. Dianne Feinstein, an opponent of expanding Native American casinos into urban areas, has pledged not to fight Reid, a fellow member of the influential Appropriations Committee. The issue will likely be worked out
 when Senate and House members merge the final versions of their spending bills.