VALLEY GROUPS HIRE EX-SOLICITOR GENERAL
Nora K. Wallace

February 18, 2006 12:00 AM

Two community groups in the Santa Ynez Valley have hired Theodore Olson -- a former U.S. solicitor general and adviser to presidents -- to help challenge in federal court a proposed land annexation by the Chumash Indians.

Preservation of Los Olivos and Preservation of Santa Ynez, or POLO and POSY, hired Mr. Olson, now a partner in the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to pursue a judicial review of a recent Board of Indian Appeals decision about 6.9 acres the Chumash want to annex into their tribal boundaries.

The Board of Indian Appeals rejected an appeal filed by POLO, POSY, Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens and Women's Environmental Watch of the Santa Ynez Valley.

The tribe hopes to build a museum, cultural center and office complex on the property across Highway 246 from its casino and resort complex.