Indian Wells Ca

We don't get out much. We have a 2-year-old. When I recently proposed an overnight trip to Indian Wells, half an hour east of Palm Springs, my husband arched his eyebrows. But he was game. Our idea was to pamper ourselves with a one-night splurge at a luxury resort. Mark and I immediately started fantasizing: We'd lounge poolside. We'd get kneaded by masseuses. And, oh yes, we'd have a great toddler-friendly adventure for our daughter, Zia. Friends mentioned romantic bed-and-breakfasts.

This year's prestigious event in Indian Wells is not so much a tennis tournament as a tightrope walk. Some things will be the same. The sun will mostly shine and the sky will remain mostly cloudless. People will come from Indio and India to soak up the ambience and lounge on Charlie Pasarell's plush lawn amid shade trees in the middle of the complex.

This year's prestigious event in Indian Wells is not so much a tennis tournament as a tightrope walk. Some things will be the same. The sun will mostly shine and the sky will remain mostly cloudless. People will come from Indio and India to soak up the ambience and lounge on Charlie Pasarell's plush lawn amid shade trees in the middle of the complex.

The prestigious Indian Wells tennis event, struggling financially the last few years and on the verge of being purchased and moved out of the country, is alive and well and expecting a long stay in the desert, tournament officials said Tuesday.

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. team and individual tennis tournament will move to the West Coast next year. It has been held at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., since 1977. A bid by Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells has been approved, Carl Benson, NCAA assistant director of championships, said Wednesday. UCLA, host school for this year's NCAA women's team and individual event next week, also submitted a bid for the tournament.

The prestigious Indian Wells tennis event, struggling financially the last few years and on the verge of being purchased and moved out of the country, is alive and well and expecting a long stay in the desert, tournament officials said Tuesday.

One sizable obstacle has been removed in an effort to keep the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. The city reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday with PM Sports Management, which owns 50% of the tournament and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, to keep the event in the area for the next 20 years.

Besides the $1.9-million Newport Beach estate and the oceanfront home in Laguna Beach--disclosure of which has fueled outrage on Capitol Hill--Denver developer Bill L. Walters has a $1-million desert retreat in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, according to records reviewed Thursday. This home, like the others, is in the name of Jacqueline Walters, his wife.

The future of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament seems to be changing on a daily basis. One thing appears clear: Even if the event remains at Indian Wells, there apparently will be an altered ownership structure. Now, the tournament's ownership is split evenly between PM Sports (Charlie Pasarell and Ray Moore) and the Cleveland-based International Management Group.

In a surprise move, city leaders in this modest farming community have rejected an offer by wealthy Indian Wells to spend $1.5 million for low-income housing here. Indian Wells is obligated by state law to spend the money on such housing, and sought to fulfill the commitment by spending the money away from the gated desert town where Lee Iacocca, Bill Gates and John Elway own homes.

One sizable obstacle has been removed in an effort to keep the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. The city reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday with PM Sports Management, which owns 50% of the tournament and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, to keep the event in the area for the next 20 years.

The future of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament seems to be changing on a daily basis. One thing appears clear: Even if the event remains at Indian Wells, there apparently will be an altered ownership structure. Now, the tournament's ownership is split evenly between PM Sports (Charlie Pasarell and Ray Moore) and the Cleveland-based International Management Group.

The Dreamer in the Desert is breathing easier these days. Charlie Pasarell's occasional sleepless nights the last few years over the future of his tennis event in Indian Wells, either the fifth or sixth most important in the sport depending on your East or West Coast bias, are over for now. The Pacific Life Open is not only alive, but doing quite nicely. Not that this event was ever on life-support. It is too crucial a tour stop for tennis to let it go bust.

We don't get out much. We have a 2-year-old. When I recently proposed an overnight trip to Indian Wells, half an hour east of Palm Springs, my husband arched his eyebrows. But he was game. Our idea was to pamper ourselves with a one-night splurge at a luxury resort. Mark and I immediately started fantasizing: We'd lounge poolside. We'd get kneaded by masseuses. And, oh yes, we'd have a great toddler-friendly adventure for our daughter, Zia. Friends mentioned romantic bed-and-breakfasts.

In a surprise move, city leaders in this modest farming community have rejected an offer by wealthy Indian Wells to spend $1.5 million for low-income housing here. Indian Wells is obligated by state law to spend the money on such housing, and sought to fulfill the commitment by spending the money away from the gated desert town where Lee Iacocca, Bill Gates and John Elway own homes.

Besides the $1.9-million Newport Beach estate and the oceanfront home in Laguna Beach--disclosure of which has fueled outrage on Capitol Hill--Denver developer Bill L. Walters has a $1-million desert retreat in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, according to records reviewed Thursday. This home, like the others, is in the name of Jacqueline Walters, his wife.

The Dreamer in the Desert is breathing easier these days. Charlie Pasarell's occasional sleepless nights the last few years over the future of his tennis event in Indian Wells, either the fifth or sixth most important in the sport depending on your East or West Coast bias, are over for now. The Pacific Life Open is not only alive, but doing quite nicely. Not that this event was ever on life-support. It is too crucial a tour stop for tennis to let it go bust.

California Highway Patrol Officer Saul Martinez remained on life support Friday as investigators continued their inquiry into how a motorist drifted off a roadway and struck him during a traffic stop. Martinez, 39, sustained serious head trauma early Thursday when he was struck and dragged beneath the car after he shoved his partner, Donovan Rice, out of the way. Desert Hospital spokesman Randy Bevilacqua said Martinez remained in critical condition with unstable vital signs.

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. team and individual tennis tournament will move to the West Coast next year. It has been held at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., since 1977. A bid by Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells has been approved, Carl Benson, NCAA assistant director of championships, said Wednesday. UCLA, host school for this year's NCAA women's team and individual event next week, also submitted a bid for the tournament.