Santa Catalina Island

Centennial Events Avalon will celebrate its 100th birthday throughout the year, but many events are taking place June 20-26 (www.catalinachamber.com/avalon100/) June 20 – Centennial Festival / Fair June 21 – Community Fish Fry June 22 – Xceptional Music Concert June 23 – Catalina Movie Night on the Beach (movies filmed in Catalina) June 24 – Community Picnic at Joe Machado Field June 25 – Local Band Night June 26 – Community Gala Dinner at the Casino A multimedia program showcasing Catalina's history will play at the Casino at specific times throughout the week.

A shallow magnitude 4.6 earthquake was reported Tuesday evening 152 miles from Avalon, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor off Santa Catalina Island occurred at 6:24 p.m. Pacific time. The depth was recorded at 8.1 miles. ALSO: Disney 'very forthright' on cutting Boy Scouts funding over gay policy O.C. gets more than 1,000 concealed gun applications in just weeks Jimmy Kimmel pits Toronto Mayor Rob Ford against L.A.'s Eric Garcetti  

If you go THE BEST WAY TO CATALINA By sea: Catalina Express offers frequent daily trips of about one hour from Long Beach and San Pedro to Avalon and less frequently from Dana Point to Avalon and from San Pedro to Two Harbors. Round-trip adult fare is $72.50, $2 more for the Dana Point trip. (800) 481-3470, http://www.catalinaexpress.com. Catalina Flyer (out of service until May 8) makes one round trip daily between Newport Beach and Avalon, departing at 9 a.m. from Balboa Pavilion and returning at 4:30 p.m. It's 75 minutes each way. Adult round-trip fare is $70. (800)

Three people were injured when their 22-foot power boat crashed near Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Monday night. Two of the victims were listed in critical condition. One was flown by a Fire Department helicopter to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the other was taken by the U.S. Coast Guard to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, a fire dispatch supervisor said. The other victim appeared to have minor injuries after the accident, which was reported shortly after 7 p.m, the Fire Department said.

If you would like to be under the sea, perhaps in an octopus' garden, head to Sea Trek, Santa Catalina Island's newest attraction. No yellow submarine required. Intrepid wanderers need only don a wetsuit and a diving helmet before walking off the beach of the Southern California resort island onto the ocean floor. The guided excursion meanders among forests of kelp, where schools of anchovies, mackerels and other underwater denizens lurk. The brightly colored garibaldi, California's state marine fish, frequents the waters off the coast of Catalina.

Three people were injured when their 22-foot power boat crashed near Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Monday night. Two of the victims were listed in critical condition. One was flown by a Fire Department helicopter to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the other was taken by the U.S. Coast Guard to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, a fire dispatch supervisor said. The other victim appeared to have minor injuries after the accident, which was reported shortly after 7 p.m, the Fire Department said.

Did you know that the nasty little cowbird has invaded Santa Catalina Island, where they feed in association with the bison herd there? I didn't until just the other day when I was informed of this by Dr. Allan A. Schoenherr, professor of ecology at Fullerton College and currently teaching coastal ecology at UC Irvine. In fact, I didn't even know there was a cowbird, although I used to milk cows when I was lots younger. All of my cows were earthbound creatures.

The summer invasion is on as visitors swarm ashore to this island town that resembles a picturesque port in the Mediterranean. Every day a flotilla of ferryboats sails into the horseshoe-shaped harbor that seems worlds away from the Los Angeles megalopolis. This season it's easier than ever to escape the mainland for a salt-air sojourn to Santa Catalina Island.

The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department will begin constructing a center next month to house information and objects reflecting the island's history, geology and wildlife. The $1-million, 3,200-square-foot building will be built on a half-acre parcel in Avalon Canyon, which the county will lease from the Santa Catalina Island Co., said Sandra J. Fiorenza, the department's capital projects manager.

In the dry summer heat on Santa Catalina Island, wild buffalo roll in the dust and munch on clumps of grass. Spotted baby boar scurry along the edge of a trickling canyon stream, digging up roots under the soil. Goats meander on a hillside and feed on green tree seedlings. To tourists rambling through the hills of the 65-square-mile nature preserve, owned and managed by the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy, these scenes might appear idyllic.

Engine failure forced a single-engine plane into the water near Santa Catalina Island on Saturday afternoon, but the two people on board were unharmed and rescued by a nearby boat, authorities said. The plane went down about 1:15 p.m. about six miles northeast of the island, said Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers. A recreational boat that was nearby responded and rescued the two people in the water, Eggers said. Neither was injured. The two passengers were taken to Catalina Island.

Extensive restoration and expansion work by the owners has reinvigorated this 1920s Spanish Colonial-style house set in a wooded canyon area. A rotunda entry tower with an arched front door, carved and stenciled ceiling beams and tile wainscoting are among the home's details. Location: 5237 Alta Canyada Road, La Cañada Flintridge 91011 Asking price: $3,499,995 Year built: 1925 Architect: Arthur Kelly House size: Five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, 4,512 square feet Lot size: 17,300 square feet Features: Piano nook and fireplace in living room, formal dining room, study with fireplace, family room/library with loft and fireplace, media/playroom, lap pool, spa, views to Los Angeles and Santa Catalina Island.

If you go THE BEST WAY TO CATALINA By sea: Catalina Express offers frequent daily trips of about one hour from Long Beach and San Pedro to Avalon and less frequently from Dana Point to Avalon and from San Pedro to Two Harbors. Round-trip adult fare is $72.50, $2 more for the Dana Point trip. (800) 481-3470, http://www.catalinaexpress.com. Catalina Flyer (out of service until May 8) makes one round trip daily between Newport Beach and Avalon, departing at 9 a.m. from Balboa Pavilion and returning at 4:30 p.m. It's 75 minutes each way. Adult round-trip fare is $70. (800)

Centennial Events Avalon will celebrate its 100th birthday throughout the year, but many events are taking place June 20-26 (www.catalinachamber.com/avalon100/) June 20 – Centennial Festival / Fair June 21 – Community Fish Fry June 22 – Xceptional Music Concert June 23 – Catalina Movie Night on the Beach (movies filmed in Catalina) June 24 – Community Picnic at Joe Machado Field June 25 – Local Band Night June 26 – Community Gala Dinner at the Casino A multimedia program showcasing Catalina's history will play at the Casino at specific times throughout the week.

AVALON - I'm standing at the railing, the late-morning sun warm on my face and hands, when the ship turns slightly and I see it, a rugged jumble of mountains jutting from the sea. We slow and enter the harbor, where a village clings to the hillside and colorfully painted speedboats flash by pulling water skiers. As we draw close to land, children swim out to our vessel yelling, "Throw a coin, throw a coin. " When I do, a boy dives, popping back to the surface clutching it and laughing.

“Grey's Anatomy” producer Linda Klein has become a first-time homeowner with the purchase of Marina del Rey penthouse for $1.35 million. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit has 3,200 square feet of living space and three parking spots. There are views of the marina, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Malibu and Santa Catalina Island through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The two-story remodeled unit features an open floor plan, limestone flooring, a fireplace, a circular staircase, balcony space, a kitchen island and a 170-bottle temperature-controlled wine cellar.

An unidentified woman believed to be in her 20s was discovered in a canyon on Santa Catalina Island on Thursday after apparently plunging off an 800-foot cliff in the van she was driving, authorities said. The van, belonging to the Catalina Conservancy, was found seven miles north of Avalon below a stretch of Airport Road that runs between that city and the island's airport, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Mead said. The accident was still under investigation, he said.

SANTA CATALINA ISLAND Slide show Learn about Santa Catalina Island, including the Trans-Catalina Island Trail and the best kayaking and camping spots. When, where: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Adventure 16 store, 11161 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission, info: Free. (310) 473-4574. WORLD Slide show Mort Loveman will present "Scenes Around the World: Hong Kong, Quebec, Copper Canyon." When, where: 1 p.m. Wednesday at Roxbury Park Community Center, 471 S. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills.

Ferrying to Santa Catalina Island - just you, that special someone and an upper deck brimming with buoyant kids, chiding parents and assorted Jimmy Buffett look-alikes - isn't exactly a secret on any summer Friday. L.A.'s fabled leisure isle hosts more than 1 million visitors each year, and by the looks of those lines at the waffle-cone place, the throngs at the Green Pleasure Pier and the buzzing golf carts in downtown Avalon, many of them are hitting it right now. Should that deter you?

Residents of the quaint Santa Catalina Island community of Avalon say it was bad enough that Southern California Edison Co. has increased their water rates by 300% over the last five years. Now, the utility wants to raise them an additional 83% in order to pay for infrastructure improvements that could make its aging utility here more attractive to prospective buyers. The proposal, if approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, will hike average bills of $25.43 per 100 cubic feet of water to $55.67 - roughly nine times higher than is paid in Los Angeles.