Preserving the night

Newcomers who put up street lights in Cold Creek in the 1970s got a quick lesson in lighting etiquette, according to local legend. The bulbs were immediately shot out by old-timers - a message that a dark sky was preferred over a lit one in this rural Los Angeles County community.Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Decades later, darkness is still preferred.

"Darkness just speaks of tranquility," said Mary Ellen Strote, whose Cold Creek home overlooks the wilderness of Malibu Creek State Park. "It just feels protective and calming."