URBAN DOGGIES: Coto de Caza, now dotted...

URBAN DOGGIES: Coto de Caza, now dotted with modern homes, was once the site of one of the largest cattle ranches in Southern California. With the cattle business shrinking here as development grows, most cowboys are like Tom Patten of the Coto de Caza/Trabuco Canyon Rotary. “Weekend cowboys,” Patten says with a laugh. . . . Friday its men and women riders helped real cowboys move a herd of 150 cattle across Antonio Parkway to the site of this weekend’s Rancho Santa Margarita Rodeo. (B1)

STAMPEDE? How well is that Richard Nixon stamp doing? About 2.5 million were sold the first day of issue--April 26--and postal authorities report brisk sales continue for its 80 million Nixon stamps. The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda has had to add a special phone line for those seeking Nixon stamps and memorabilia. . . . But there are detractors, such as Stephanie Allinson of West Hartford, Conn.: “I hate to see him glorified in any way.”

ATOMIC ART: If you don’t remember Dutch Van Kirk and Richard H. Nelson from your history books. . . . They were part of the flight crew of the Enola Gay, which dropped an atomic bomb in Japan that helped end World War II. Both will be at Art Works Etc. in Fountain Valley today for the unveiling of two aviation artists’ works--commemorating the flight 50 years ago of the Enola Gay and Bock’s Car, the second atomic bomber.

HELPING DOROTHY: Even Broadway would find it tough to match the cast numbers for “The Wizard of Oz” production tonight by the Musical Youth Artists Repertory Theater of Huntington Beach. More than 200 young people--4 through 19--will sing and dance down the yellow brick road in nine productions the next two weekends at Long Beach’s Millikan High School. . . . The biggest wonder may be that artistic director Dana Hanstein somehow manages a cast that size. “I just love kids,” she says. “They give so much more than they take.”

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Bum Steer

Beef cattle are an increasingly rare sight on the Orange County range. Number produced:

1990: 2,520

1991: 1,761

1992: 3,591

1993: 3,022

1994: 2,171

Source: Orange County Agricultural Commissioner