The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will be visiting Middleborough to hold a hearing regarding a Massachusetts tribe’s plans for a casino. The visit is part of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s application to take into trust 540 acres on which they want to build a $1 billion resort casino. The Middleborough site would contain a casino, hotel, restaurants, entertainment venues, convention facilities, a golf course and a water park. A BIA hearing scheduled for March 4, 2008 in Middleborough will be limited to testimony about environmental concerns. If the land is put in a federal trust, the tribe becomes exempt from state law, meaning it could open a casino and wouldn’t have to pay state taxes. (January 16, 2008, Associated Press Newswires)