La Costa Hotel Spa

Nestled behind tranquil Batiquitos Lagoon, the community of La Costa fills the valley floor of San Marcos Creek and clings to its lush canyon walls. Newer sections perch atop the rolling hills that surround the canyon, 38 miles north of San Diego. Born as a vacation condo development that merely accompanied the glamorous, occasionally-notorious La Costa Hotel and Spa of 1970, the 'nice-place-to-visit-but' has bloomed into a nice place to put down roots for more than 16,000 permanent residents.

Skirts twirling. Heads bobbing. Slippers gliding. Whether it's square, rock or ballroom dancing, people are moving to the music at bars, clubs, hotels and restaurants throughout North County. Some establishments offer a different kind of music and dance for every night of the week. Big dance floors are at a premium in North County, though.

A federal judge Monday delayed until next week his decision on whether to dismiss lawyer Michael Aguirre's lawsuit against San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy and San Diego City Councilman Bob Filner that stems from a "hit piece" in last fall's council campaign. Saying his ruling will be "a close call," U.S.

Spectators and contestants at the $500,000 Chrysler Women's Team Tennis Championships at La Costa Hotel and Spa got to sample several of the major elements Saturday--cold, wind, rain and, eventually, hail. They also managed to get in some tennis, although not enough to determine who is going to participate in today's championship final. We know for a fact that the doubles tandem of Hana Mandlikova and Rosalyn Fairbank is in.

Saying that a controversial campaign mailer in last fall's San Diego City Council race did not violate lawyer Michael Aguirre's constitutional rights, a federal judge has dismissed Aguirre's lawsuit against San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy and City Councilman Bob Filner. In a 10-page decision released Tuesday, U. S.

Surfing's current world tour points leader, Brad Gerlach of Encinitas, will go up against sixth-seeded Richie Collins of Newport Beach in one of this morning's semifinals of the Huntington Beach Op Pro. Gerlach, seeded seventh, defeated unseeded Pat O'Connell of Laguna Niguel, 89.5 to 67.5, in Saturday's quarterfinals. Top-seeded Barton Lynch of Manly, Australia, will meet 12th-seeded and defending Op champion Todd Holland of Cocoa Beach, Fla., in the other semifinal.

For six months last year, at the height of the golf season, a pinched nerve in his neck caused Chi Chi Rodriguez pain every time he swung a golf club. Then the pain left as quickly as it appeared, and now the popular Puerto Rican wants to be No. 1 on the Senior PGA Tour again. He opens his bid for the rating he last earned in 1987 in the senior division of the MONY Tournament of Champions, which begins today at the La Costa Hotel and Spa.

It has not been a good month for Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy's U.S. Senate campaign, and McCarthy's chief media strategist, Robert Shrum, reacting to a gloomy batch of poll results, told reporters Wednesday that the campaign is looking forward to "a second beginning." "The first beginning was created by Wilson," Shrum said of the Republican senator. "But I think the race has a second starting point." For McCarthy, springtime will surely come by autumn, Shrum said.

The lush Ojai Valley, about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles and 14 miles inland from Ventura, has been a favored spot of the Hollywood community for many years. Filmmaker Frank Capra used Ojai as the setting of the mythical paradise Shangri-La for his 1937 film "Lost Horizon." In 1952, when Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn sparred over golf shots in the movie "Pat and Mike," they were standing on the terrace of the Ojai Valley Inn & Country Club, the centerpiece of the mountain-rimmed valley.