La Quinta Ca

Like a lot of houses here, the Spanish-style five-bedroom Gary and Debra Magsam bought three years ago has a sparkling pool, a designer kitchen and a nearby golf course. Now it has one other feature common to the area: a foreclosure notice. Barring a last-minute reprieve, the Magsams' house will be auctioned June 27. They've begun to pack. "We've accepted the fact that it's going to have to take place," Gary, 48, said of their impending departure.

Ageda Camargo was sitting in her shady frontyard, wondering aloud if jail is as bad as it sounds. "I'm thinking of writing Martha Stewart to ask what it's like," said the soft-spoken 83-year-old. "Do they put you in a cell? I wouldn't want to be in a cell." These weren't idle worries. Camargo, a grandmother of six, has run afoul of La Quinta's code enforcement in a big way, big enough to put her behind bars.

It was 113 degrees when I staggered to the fifth tee of La Quinta Resort & Club's Mountain Course. The rubber grip of my seven-iron melted in my hands, my glove felt as if I had worn it in a hot tub and the desert wind hit me like a blow dryer. I had never been more sure of my credentials as a golf nut. Then James and Louis walked up. "Mind if we join you?" asked James, dust clinging to his sweat-soaked white shirt. "We'd like to get our third round in before dark."