Flying Lark Updates

In this editorial and community update article, Sean takes another swing at Boersma's establishment, The Flying Lark, and the new situations it has faced in the past few months.

Boersma V. Morality

By Sean Glover

Photo Credit: Amber Medina-Montoya

Intro

Since Fall of 2021, Travis Boersma, Founder and CEO of Dutch Bros. Coffee, has been pushing and advocating for the opening of The Flying Lark: a restaurant and entertainment venue with a planned 225 HHR (Historic Horse Racing) machines implemented as the centerpiece. Certain controversial issues have arisen from this, like the legality of a racino on indigenous land while not in association with indigenous people. Previously, The Scroll released an article that discussed the legality surrounding the HHR machines (that can be found here), and now, here is the update of the situations revolving around The Flying Lark.

Governor Kate Brown

First of all, Governor Kate Brown led some seemingly counterintuitive decisions that both harmed and supported Oregon’s indigenous tribes, such as allowing the construction of the Flying Lark while making Indigenous People’s Day a state holiday. As of Nov. 2021, Kate Brown asked for a pause of further consideration for the opening of the venue. This led to the “Coming Fall 2021” on theflyinglark.com to “Coming Winter” (which has now been changed even further, due to the even more recent decisions regarding its constitutionality). “We've dotted every 'i,' we've crossed every 't' — we've had numerous conversations with Tribe, with state and political figures, soup-to-nuts, top-to-bottom over the course of the last three years and there has not once been the mention, the idea that we would not be able to open our doors,” said Boersma in an interview with Newswatch 12 on KDRV.

Official interview provided by kdrv.com

“[Portland Meadows] not only had HHR machines, 150 of them on the floor, they had a poker room, they had Oregon Lottery and Keno… All we want to do is historic racing machines — and the purpose, the reason that they exist is to help keep horse racing alive.” He claimed that he could not continue to support the number of employees he had taken on for this establishment and would eventually have to let them go without the “green light” from the Oregon Racing Commission. Despite the controversies and potentiality of closure into Jan. and Feb. 2022, he continued construction that could be tracked on their website with northern and southern cameras. He also implemented vanities like large, neon-fluorescent signs and the “F” emblem at the top and on the outside of the venue.

HOUSE BILLS TAKING AIM

Photo Credit: Original image sourced from oregonlottery.org/games

While construction for the Flying Lark continued, two bills were passed by the Oregon legislature in Jan. 2022 that were requested by the Oregon tribes. These two bills took direct aim at the situations surrounding Boersma’s venue. House Bill 4046 established a Special Joint Committee on State Gambling to examine modern gambling and deliver a report of policy recommendations regarding the existing regulations. This practically meant that this committee in the Oregon House was responsible for finding what was and what was not legal in Boersma’s endeavor. The most important part of this bill is that it actually puts a halt on all new non-casino gambling projects and even the Oregon State Lottery games, which attributes to, according to the Oregon Lottery website, $2.3 million of Grants Pass School District’s funding. This bill could have lasting dramatic effects on not only gambling in Oregon, but also everything that is associated with the radius it covers.

House Bill 4047, however, explicitly stated the allowability of HHR machines. The house bill directly stated strict parameters, such as “(a) After a wager is placed on a race, the device must show at least the final eight seconds of the race. (b) The device may have only one video display and video of the race, when shown, must occupy at least 70 percent of the area of the display. (c) The display may not use casino graphics, themes or titles, including depictions of playing cards, dice, craps, roulette, lotto, bingo or traditional slot machine symbols.” Even if Boersma were allowed to implement the HHR machines into the Flying Lark, these rules would make these hurdles extremely difficult to jump over in an attempt to function for entertainment value.

PUBLIC SUPPORT

Jan. 14, 2022: @theflyinglark on Instagram

With so much moral controversy surrounding the Flying Lark, the public has rallied support for Boersma’s project through social media and other general publicization. On Jan. 14, 2022, when the Flying Lark was hit with its legal issues, the official accounts on Twitter and Instagram posted a picture simply stating “Save The Flying Lark + Grants Pass Downs.” Hashtags on these posts include, “#wewanttowork,” “#savehorseracing,” “#letusopen,” and “#rallyfortheflyinglark.” The post also outlined the steps to writing letters in support of their cause and sending them to Governor Kate Brown’s office. The public immediately spiraled and shared the post on their platforms; many were in support of the cause and many were against it. One of the biggest factors for supporting the Flying Lark is the recurring observation amongst Josephine County citizens that it provides work to people looking for employment. It is true that the establishment has provided almost 200 jobs, as claimed by KOBI-5 Medford and Newswatch 12’s articles, and the closing of the Flying Lark would cause a loss of all of those jobs. However, some consideration entails that the venue could remain open without the implementation and interference of the HHR machines; therefore, employment at the establishment could remain constant.

OREGON d.o.j. decision

Something that supersedes public opinion, however, is the opinion of Oregon’s Department of Justice that was made on Feb. 15, 2022. According to the official document released by the Oregon Department of Justice, “After reviewing the features and design of the HHRs proposed by TMB Racing, we determine that the machines are games of chance that do not afford players any meaningful opportunity to exercise skill. As a result, we conclude that they are lotteries. Lotteries are constitutionally prohibited in Oregon, unless they are run by the State Lottery. Thus, the HHRs cannot be authorized by the Commission.”

This officially deemed the HHR machines unconstitutional, and as such, led to the Oregon Racing Commission denying Boersma’s request for the implementation of said machines into the Flying Lark. Since then, theflyinglark.com has been updated in content: “On Feb. 17, 2022, the Oregon Racing Commission denied The Flying Lark’s license to operate based on a wrong and deeply flawed Department of Justice opinion. The Flying Lark team has worked diligently within the bounds of the law to save horse racing and provide jobs to hundreds of southern Oregonians. We will continue to work toward those goals. Thank you for supporting us.”

OP-2022-1.pdf

The full text of the Oregon D.O.J. opinion

While much of the public of Grants Pass still continues to rally in support of Boersma’s visions, it is undeniable that the entertainment venue will not see the same quixotic future as many had hoped.

Wrap-uP

Not only was Boersma jumping over the hurdles that the Oregon legislature dished at him regarding the legality of his desired HHR machines, but now he is to face the genuine constitutionality of the machines that expose the true morality of his dreams. While harming the most important source of funding for indigenous tribes and attempting to save an immoral and irrelevant sport, the coffee-chain superpower makes it clear that he is willing to search through the rules which confine him in an attempt to bend them to his benefit.