Florence or Wedding

Florence is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. One tradition states the city was named for state senator A.B. Florence, who represented Lane County from 1858-1860; another is that Florence was named for a French vessel that was wrecked at the mouth of the Siuslaw River February 17, 1875. The population was 7,263 at the 2000 census.

Following the 1987 United States Supreme Court ruling in California v. Cabazon band of Mission Indians, which opened the door for Native American-owned casinos, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians sought to build one to improve their economic resources, and in 1998 purchased a 98 acre (397,000 m) lot one mile (1.6 km) to the east of Florence as the site of their casino. At first the U.S. Department of the Interior ruled that this land was not tribal property, which would prohibit the construction of the casino, but a subsequent court ruling overturned that decision. Then for a number of years, the state of Oregon fought the construction of casino. A local group, People Against a Casino Town (PACT) http://www.pactoregon.org, announced that they would file a lawsuit on September 15, 2003 to block the construction of the casino. PACT draws its support from the retirees who have settled in Florence over the last two decades.