You never have to fear anything here. That's a nice feeling. Catalina Island hasn't had a murder in more than a decade, says Joetta Webb, at the local sheriffs office. Our main business is responding to medical emergencies. People fall down.
Hikers break their legs.
At night, we get complaints of dogs barking. This isn't Mayberry, but it's close. Despite the proximity, surprisingly few Los Angelinos have visited this peaceful island that was discovered 450 years ago by Portuguese navigator Don Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who pioneered countless Pacific passageways for the Spanish crown. Little development occured until the 1850s, when stories circulated of Catalina being used as a refuge for slave traders. By then, Catalina belonged to American Thomas Robbins, who received the entire island from Governor Pio Pico, in the final days of Mexican rule.