Barbara's Lake

The Laguna Woods shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on May 15, 2022, at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, United States. The church in Orange County was hosting a congregation of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church for Sunday services. The shooter killed one person and wounded five others. A suspect, 68-year-old David Chou of Las Vegas, was arrested at the scene. Authorities allege that the crime was committed out of a political hatred of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people. Chou has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, all with hate crime enhancements, and four counts of possessing an explosive device.

Laguna Woods (Laguna, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 16,192 at the 2010 census, down from 16,507 at the 2000 census with a median age of 78. About ninety percent of the city consists of Laguna Woods Village, a private gated retirement community, formerly known as Leisure World. The other ten percent consists of businesses and the city hall, which are available to the public. Incorporation efforts in the late 1990s were largely driven by the need for residents to have a stronger voice against the prospective construction of an international airport at the nearby decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. The airport proposal was defeated and the land in question has been tabbed for development as the Orange County Great Park.

Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre (formerly known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre) was an amphitheatre located in Irvine, California. The establishment was built in 1980 by Irvine Meadows Partnership (with 4 local investors) and it opened in 1981. In 2016 the amphitheatre was closed and demolished. It was the largest amphitheatre in Orange County, with 10,418 reserved seats and 5,667 on the lawn. The architect was Gin Wong Associates of Los Angeles. The unique design of this venue is that it was built on a hillside so the seats have a steep slope toward the stage.

Allied American University (AAU) was a for-profit university located in Laguna Hills, California, that offers online learning degree and certificate programs. Allied American University was founded in 2008 and received national accreditation by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) in that same year. The university offered bachelor's and associate degree programs in business administration, criminal justice, general studies, and allied health. Allied American University offers seven undergraduate degree programs and 10 certificate programs for career or skill enhancement. G.I. Jobs magazine had ranked Allied American University as one of the top Military Friendly Schools, along with other top-tier universities, trade schools, and colleges across the country. Allied American University was also named a Top School in Military Advanced Education's Guide to Colleges and Universities for three consecutive years.

Lion Country Safari was a drive-through safari park located outside Irvine, California, which opened in 1970. Allowing guests to drive their own vehicles through open enclosures, it was the first cageless safari park of its kind to open in southern California.

WaterHealth International is a private, American multinational corporation headquartered in Irvine, California. The company operates as a social business that provides drinking water to communities in primarily rural areas. WaterHealth purifies and retails water through decentralized plants termed "WaterHealth Center," which serve an average consumer base of 10000. The company has installed around 500 WaterHealth Centers primarily in India, but also in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia. Daily output of purified water across all of the WaterHealth Centers falls around 1.4 million liters.The company was founded in 1995 as a market development firm that operated primarily in Mexico and the Philippines. By 2002 and 2003, however, the company reoriented its focus to water retailing services and began to center more heavily in Asia and Africa. The company currently operates through wholly owned subsidiaries like WaterHealth India and WaterHealth Ghana.

Pretend City Children’s Museum is a nonprofit children’s museum in Irvine, CA. The museum features 17 interactive exhibits designed as a small, interconnected city. Pretend City aims to “build better brains” through purposeful play, hands-on learning experiences, role playing, and educational programming. In addition, the museum offers community resources such as developmental screenings and tools for families, educators and community agencies.

Laguna Woods Village is an age-restricted community for persons aged 55 and over in Laguna Woods, California. The development, formerly known as Leisure World, was developed by Ross Cortese, a former fruit stand owner turned retirement community developer.

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is a 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) wilderness area in the San Joaquin Hills surrounding Laguna Beach, California. This park features coastal canyons, ridgeline views and the only natural lakes in Orange County, California. Trails are maintained for hiking and mountain biking with a wide range of difficulty, from beginner to expert. Most trails gain in height, reaching a maximum of 1,000 feet (300 m) in elevation. Several trails lead to downtown Laguna Beach. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park has some of the last remaining undeveloped coastal canyons in Southern California. The park is dominated by coastal sage scrub, cactus and native grasses. Over 40 endangered and sensitive species call Laguna Coast home including California gnatcatcher, cactus wren and the endemic Dudleya stolonifera. Both Laguna Coast, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park are also home to mule deer, long-tailed weasel, healthy bobcat populations, and raptors like red-tailed hawk and the ground-nesting northern harrier.

The El Toro "Y" is a freeway interchange in southern Orange County, California where the Santa Ana Freeway, Interstate 5 (I-5), and the San Diego Freeway (at that point the I-405) merge. South of the El Toro Y, the highway is named the "San Diego Freeway" with the highway designation "I-5." Located in south Orange County where the cities of Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, and Irvine converge, the interchange was named after the nearby city (El Toro - now Lake Forest) and the now-closed Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, located northeast of the interchange. The "Y" is one of the busiest interchanges in the world; from 1975 to 2002, daily traffic surged from 102,000 to 356,000 vehicles a day.The "Y" was where American broadcast reporter Zoey Tur of KCBS-TV, via news helicopter, first located and broadcast O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco slow-speed police chase exclusively for 22 minutes on June 17, 1994.

The Irvine Spectrum Center is an outdoor shopping center developed by the Irvine Company, located in the Irvine Spectrum district on the southeast edge of Irvine, California. The mall features Nordstrom and Target department stores, a ferris wheel, and an Edwards 21-screen movie theater. Built over a 10-year period, the first phase of the center opened in 1995 and the second phase followed in 1998. The third phase was completed in 2002. The fourth and fifth phases were built and completed between 2005 and 2006. The mall was used for establishing shots of the fictional "Mall of Miami" in the Disney Channel television series Austin and Ally.

Quail Hill is a village in the southern part of Irvine, Orange County, California. It is one of the seven communities that belong to the University area of the City of Irvine. The village is named for the characteristic rock formation that adjoins 600 acres (2.4 km2) of permanent open space. Located next to the 405 freeway, Quail Hill is close to major employment, entertainment and dining areas of the city. At the foot of Quail Hill there is the Quail Hill Loop Trail that provides public access to a natural surface trail.