Redondo Beach

Joshua Tree boasts fabulous authentic Indian food in a small family-run restaurant called, believe it or not, Sam's Pizza. It also serves pizza and offers carry-out service. Open Mondays-Saturdays 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays 3-8 p.m. Sam's Pizza, 61380 Twentynine Palms Highway; (760) 366-9511, no website. Cheryl Kohr Redondo Beach

I met him at a Persian New Year celebration in Irvine four years ago. His goatee lay perfectly around his lips, as if it had been painted by an artist. His eyes were kind. There was a story behind them I wanted to know. But I could glance at him only when he wasn't looking. I felt shy - unusual for me, but the feeling persisted even as time went by. He's Persian. I'm Egyptian. Persian men don't usually go for Arab girls. I didn't really think he would be that shallow, but I was aware of the possibility, and I wasn't about to risk finding out. I admired him from afar.

Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival Where : Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach When : 8 p.m. Sat.; 7 p.m. Sun. Price : $35-$125 Info : (800) 595-4849; http://www.laflamencofestival.com Forever Flamenco Where : Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., L.A. When : 8 p.m. Sun. Price : $40 Info : (323) 663-1525; http://fountaintheatre.com/perform.html#Flamenco 'Kumpanía : Flamenco Los Angeles' Info : http://kumpaniamovie.com

In the last two decades, there's been a tremendous surge in production of artisanal olive oil in California as consumers have developed an appreciation for the freshness, high quality and distinctive flavors that good locally produced oil can provide. This boom has carried over into farmers markets, where there has been a rush of new vendors, although many of them are not certified producers who are required to grow what they sell. Of the olive growers who are, one of the most intriguingly local is Joyce Lukon of Robinson Road Olive Ranch, who harvested her small crop last Sunday from a hillside next to her home in Topanga.

For half a century, the sprawling 110-acre aerospace complex in Redondo Beach has played host to the development of the nation's most advanced and secret spacecraft. Known as Space Park, the site was built at the height of the Cold War after the launch of Sputnik for engineers to develop a high-powered rocket that could deliver a nuclear warhead 6,000 miles away in less than an hour to virtually wipe out an entire city: the intercontinental ballistic missile. The complex's 47 buildings have served as a nerve center for the development and construction of high-powered lasers, cutting-edge electronics and sophisticated spacecraft.

Madison Elementary formed a "walking school bus" to get children - and their parents - to exercise. Good Stuff Restaurants started promoting to-go boxes so customers don't overeat. Crowne Plaza Hotel on Harbor Drive began opening some meetings with music and dancing. The cities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are embarking on an ambitious experiment: improve the health of the entire region over a three-year period by transforming homes, workplaces and schools.

Redondo Beach has spent nearly a decade defending a misguided 1986 city ordinance that bans day laborers from soliciting work from public sidewalks, alleys, medians or highways. Lawyers for the city say the law is designed to stop individuals from spilling out into traffic while looking for work and jeopardizing public safety. A district court tossed out the ordinance as an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. City officials persisted with a legal appeal, ignoring previous trial court decisions overturning similar laws, and instead arguing that the measure doesn't seek to limit what people say on public sidewalks, just how they behave.

In a decision that could have a wide-ranging effect on other cities with similar laws, a federal appeals court ruled that a Redondo Beach ordinance aimed at cracking down on day laborers is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. The anti-solicitation ordinance, which has been in place for more than two decades, drew attention in 2004 after police arrested nearly 60 day laborers over about four weeks. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Comite de Jornaleros de Redondo Beach later sued the city.

Bodyboarding pro Jason Bitzer and Redondo Beach watersport company Body Glove International are entangled in a nasty legal battle. Bitzer, a 30-year-old New Jersey native, contends in a lawsuit that Body Glove and marketing company Sport Dimensions Inc. used his name and likeness to sell bodyboards without his permission. The lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages. "He's one of the top-known bodyboarders in the country," said Bitzer's attorney, Dan A. Druz of Manasquan, N.J. "He's like any celebrity — he wants to be paid for the use of his name.

Hermosa Cyclery, 20 13th St., Hermosa Beach; (310) 374-7816, www.hermosacyclery.com . Good Stuff, 1286 the Strand, Hermosa Beach; (310) 374-2334, www.eatgoodstuff.com . $ The Rockefeller, 418 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach; (310) 372-8467, www.eatrockefeller.com . $-$$. Redondo Beach Pier, 100 Fisherman's Wharf, Redondo Beach; www.redondopier.com . Brixton South Bay, 100 W. Torrance Blvd., Redondo Beach; (310) 406-1931, www.brixtonsouthbay.com . Portofino Hotel, 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach; (310)