Free Republic

Spotlight 29, Tortoise Rock and the Morongo casinos this week will become the first to reopen in the Coachella Valley. Others will join next week, including the Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula, Soboba Casino near San Jacinto and Cahuilla Casino Hotel near Anza. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom last week sent tribal leaders a letter, urging them to align their reopening plans with local and state orders. But as sovereign nations, tribal groups are not required to follow the guidance. The resorts had voluntarily shut their doors in March. Since then, Riverside County’s coronavirus outbreak has grown to...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Setting up a likely court battle, one of two Southern California tribes accused by the state of illegally operating machines that look and feel like slot machines on Wednesday refused to remove them from its casino floor. Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, said the tribe will sue Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration if it attempts to restrict the tribe from operating the machines. He said they are permitted under the current gambling agreements. "The governor's office will have to realize they're in error and back off or we're continue to fight...