By Hank Stokes. Photography by Ethan Kaminsky. From time to time someone clever suggests that all nine desert cities merge into one, saving a mint on services and personnel salaries. Two of the desert’s civic leaders, Jean Benson and Rob Parkins, sit down with contributing editor Stokes and discuss how such a merger might work. And why it will happen only when hell freezes over.

By Virginia Waring.
Orchestra leader Fred Waring (maybe you’ve driven on the street named for him?) took his group, the Pennsylvanians, all over the known world to perform. But he really entered unknown territory when he brought them into the medium of radio.

Photography by Charles William Bush. Behind the scenes at a recent Palm Springs Life photo shoot.

By Jean Penn. Photography by Doug Park. In the 1960s, the Alexander brothers built some of the most interesting homes in Palm Springs. Today, Dennis Cunningham is developing communities using many of the same techniques.

By Rita Rudner. Photography by Jon Edwards and Rich Kee. The famed comedienne – and Palm Desert resident – proves one needn’t be Martha Stewart to amuse your guests.

By Jean Penn. Photography by Scott Van Dyke. A few spirited desert interior designers strut their stuff.

Food Styling by Roland Bieri. Photography by Ethan Kaminsky. Worried about what to serve your finicky guests? Here are some delicious ideas cooked up by one of our favorite stylists.

Fiction by Barbara Seranella. Illustration by Stuart Funk. In this first installment of La Quinta resident Seranella’s novel, we witness a disappearance and meet a young Native American Marine officer, assigned to crack the case.

By Valerie Bizier. Plein air has become the hot rage in art circles; artists capturing beauty in one sitting. Meet some of the better practictioners and learn their techniques.

The retail center of the desert laid bare – every shopping center, every store, every place to drop a bundle is listed in this ambitious undertaking, compiled by Sally LaPorte and Bernadette Unden.