May 2011

Editor's Letter May 2011

BY STEVEN BILLER

We talk quite a bit in the desert about quality of life, luxury, and what it all means in a real estate market that’s beginning to show some muscle.

A Course for Speed

Tortoise-slow golf carts need to make friends with lightning-quick race cars. The latter could soon join the former as an icon-on-wheels for the Coachella Valley region.

Location, Location, Location

The best place to live may not be New York, Monte Carlo, or Dubai, but rather and Dubai.

Barbara Keller Keeps on Going

BY KIMBERLY NICHOLS

Rather than retire, the Kellers became proud owners of Acqua Pazza California Bistro Their prolific community involvement earned them a recent RAMMY Award for Distinguished Citizens in Rancho Mirage.

Family Guy

BY KATHY STRONG

Michael Meldman follows the sun. As CEO and founder of Discovery Land Co., he enjoys golfing, fishing, and spa treatments in some of the most appealing and exclusive destinations in the United States, Caribbean, and Mexico.

From Sand to Sea

BY ELLEN PARIS

Ted Lennon follows luxury living from the desert to the ocean

Wealth - Luxury & Value

BY ELLEN PARIS

Bill Scheffler and Ann Sheffer of Westport, Conn., bought three luxury properties in Palm Springs over the last 18 months.

Home Is Where The Art Is

BY STEVEN BILLER

The depth and sophistication of the Annenbergs’ art collection became ever clear in the 1990s, when its heart and soul — the Impressionist and post-Impressionist works — departed Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Respite for 2,650-Mile Trekkers

BY ANN JAPENGA

Every year around Easter, Tracy Albrecht looks out her window to see lights flickering on the mountainside behind her Snow Creek home. She alerts her husband: “The hikers are coming.”

A Bright, Sun-Shiny Day

BY ERIN WEINGER

“OH, I LOVE PALM SPRINGS,” Trina Turk beams as guests arrive at the iconic, hillside Ship of the Desert, the house in The Mesa neighborhood of south Palm Springs owned Trina Turk and her husband, Jonathan Skow.

‘Murder’ to Help Martha’s

A murder-mystery dinner June 3 at The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage to raise money for Martha’s Village & Kitchen

The Passionate Collectors and the Billion-Dollar Gift

BY TIM KANE

The Annenbergs bought what they loved, assembling a world-class collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art — and then giving it away for all to see

Acting on a Crush

BY JANICE KLEINSCHMIDT

Kurt Russell stands in the narrow space between rows of stacked oak barrels, holding a wine glass to the light, sniffing and then sipping.