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5G Free California Strategy Meeting
5G Free California Strategy Meeting
On November 5, at their first in-person meeting since the pandemic began, 5G Free California presented members with local strategies to stop the roll ...
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5G Equipment Upgrades Poses Risks
5G Equipment Upgrades Poses Risks
Dear Fellow Resident,
The 5G Free California Team wants to bring your attention to the rollout of technology infrastructure that is happening ...
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A Gift from the Pandemic
A Gift from the Pandemic
An evening with John Waters and Jim Jarmusch
Amidst all the bad right now, there are a few good things that have come out o...
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A Sweet and Sacred Sound
A Sweet and Sacred Sound
Just up the road from the center of town and Old Topanga Canyon Road, people can hear the Topanga Christian Fellowship church bell ring. Since the pan...
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A Time to Plant…
A Time to Plant…
Planting time is here! After a long wet winter, there’s never been a better time to get your garden growing. Planning a garden can be a daunting...
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Aliso Canyon Plan ‘Unwise and Unsafe’
Aliso Canyon Plan ‘Unwise and Unsafe’
State Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles), representing the district containing the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles, wrote to...
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Spotlight On... America's Got Talent
Spotlight On... America's Got Talent
Tune in to America’s Got Talent (AGT) on July 28 to watch Topanga brothers, Alex and Brody Gage, perform in their second-round audition.
...
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Atmospheric Rivers and Other Meterological Misconceptions
Atmospheric Rivers and Other Meterological Misconceptions
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the popular media often sacrifices scientific accuracy on the altar of enticing clickbait entertainment. ...
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Back to the Beach Cleanup
Back to the Beach Cleanup
By The TECS News Team
It’s been a busy month at Elementary Charter School (TECS). As construction continues on campus and students are able to go mask-free for outdoor ac...
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Backup Batteries for Blackouts
Backup Batteries for Blackouts
Home batteries don’t need solar…but it helps!
The recent winter storms in Texas brought home the serious problems created when the power...
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Barbara Lee Campbell—1936-2022
Barbara Lee Campbell—1936-2022
Barbara Lee Campbell, born August 13th, 1936, passed away on October 3rd, 2022, at home with her family surrounding her in all their love. Barbara mov...
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Bookshelf of Nightmares: Readings for the Age of Trump
Bookshelf of Nightmares: Readings for the Age of Trump
As a journalist friend of mine said recently, Trump has been good for one thing at least: the book business.
What I call “my bookshelf of nightma...
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But, Seriously...
But, Seriously...
The staff of The Canyon Chronicle are no fools.
Well maybe we are... once in a while. Like today, April 1, 2022. We do like to have fun, but we ta...
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California’s Dream of a Carbon Neutral Future
California’s Dream of a Carbon Neutral Future
The California dream of achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity and economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045 might be on its way to becoming a rea...
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Cannabis Cultivation Culture Evolves
Cannabis Cultivation Culture Evolves
Long before it was sold openly in highly regulated stores, cannabis was used for thousands of years by cultures all over the world and has evolved dif...
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The Canyon Chronicle. Why Now?
The Canyon Chronicle. Why Now?
June 17 2020 - When the Topanga Messenger was conceived and born in 1976, we were a mix of wannabe hippies and solid citizens, who said, “Hey, this ...
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Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories
Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories
International Women’s Day (IWD) arrives on March 8 and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of wom...
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Coping With COVID-19 (part 1)
Coping With COVID-19 (part 1)
A Covid Diary
These are snippets where I’ve naturally created something modular so you can step into...
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Creativity Blooms Under the Oaks
Creativity Blooms Under the Oaks
Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) students showcased their blossoming talents under the magnificent oaks at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum ...
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Days of April
Days of April
With April Fools Day kicking off the month, how are the final 29 days of April supposed to compete? Not to worry! Days 2-30 rose to the challenge agai...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
For the first time in 4 years, I wake up with trust in the government and in President, Joseph R. Biden and VicePresident, Kamala Harris who will no l...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
In this column I asked contributors to write 2-3 sentences about historic moments that stood out for them. I bow to their offerings.
Ottawa, Canad...
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Decentralization…! Here We Come! On to Web 3.0!
Decentralization…! Here We Come! On to Web 3.0!
By Paula LaBrot
E
nglish philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in the mid-1800s, “The fraud is the pretense that the welfare of ordinary people matters to the el...
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Dia de los Muertos—A day to Celebrate the Lives of Departed Loved Ones
Dia de los Muertos—A day to Celebrate the Lives of Departed Loved Ones
skullpexels-thirdman-1918290 Face painting and decorated skulls are traditions honoring the departed as are favorite foods, drink, music, and dancing...
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Endocrine Disruptors Are Everywhere
Endocrine Disruptors Are Everywhere
There are many chemicals in the environment that affect our bodies, and especially our hormones. These are found in the air, soil, water supply, food ...
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Eve of Destruction
Eve of Destruction
The Eastern world, it is explodin’
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in...
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February is Valentine’s Day and More
February is Valentine’s Day and More
Of course, most of us love Valentine’s Day, but February is a month of holidays.
We have Chinese New Year opening the shortest month of the year, ...
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Fire Alerts on Nextdoor Not Always Accurate
Fire Alerts on Nextdoor Not Always Accurate
The “Shirley Fire” in Chatsworth set off a firestorm of postings and comments on Nextdoor after hikers in Topanga reported sightings of...
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For the Love of Dogs, Part III
For the Love of Dogs, Part III
In Memoriam Remembering those went before and were dearly loved.
Suki “I am Suki,” a princess but a very sweet princess. I never do anything wrong. I am always a pleasure to be around. When I meet anyone I li...
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Francis Villaseñor Sorentino, 31, culminated TECS in 2000
Francis Villaseñor Sorentino, 31, culminated TECS in 2000
It is always interesting to learn about our TECS alumni and the various paths they are taking, the careers they are pursuing and to learn how their...
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Gallery Surpasses Expectations
Gallery Surpasses Expectations
On October 23, the opening reception at the Topanga Canyon Gallery and its show, “When Pigs Fly,” was a delightful surprise to behold in its new ...
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Helping Hearts of Topanga Goes Public
Helping Hearts of Topanga Goes Public
For the past five years and especially during COVID, Helping Hearts of Topanga has been assisting Canyon residents with food, living assistance and te...
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HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
Saturday, December 10, 4-7 p.m. Topanga Canyon Gallery’s Artists reception with food, drinks and a new collection of contemporary fine art. The seco...
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Homeschool Options
Homeschool Options
I want to homeschool my children…but how? These past few months, many parents were forced to learn how to homeschool, virtually (pun intended) over...
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It’s Biden, and It’s War
It’s Biden, and It’s War
“As the November election draws closer, progressives unhappy with Joe Biden and conservatives disappointed in Donald Trump may feel tempted to cast ...
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JUNE EVENTS
JUNE EVENTS
5G Free California Fundraising Gala, Monday, June 13, 7-10 p.m.—Are you sensitive to wireless radiation emanating from 5G cell towers? Do you know 5...
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Larry Coulson—1945-2020
Larry Coulson—1945-2020
Topanga has lost an original.
Larry Coulson passed away suddenly but peacefully on August 31 after complications from cancer. In his final moments,...
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Latest Confirmed Dates and Timeline for North Area Plan
Latest Confirmed Dates and Timeline for North Area Plan
The final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which identifies changes to the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan (SMMNAP) and Community Standards D...
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LETTERS
LETTERS
Kim Lamorie, president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation (LVHF), forwarded this letter from David W. Pedersen, P.E., General Manager, Las Virg...
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Lindsey Horvath
Lindsey Horvath
Endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood, and the Los Angeles Times, Third District Candidate Lindsey Horvath says she...
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Lori Precious was Born to Draw
Lori Precious was Born to Draw
Artist Lori Precious creates art that is in veneration of the fragile side of life.
Perhaps no one knows better that endings are also beginnings than Lori Precious. Before she was the Lori Precious we’ve come to know—the Topang...
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‘1776: The Musical’ and ‘Secret Conversations’
‘1776: The Musical’ and ‘Secret Conversations’
‘1776: The Musical’ and ‘Secret Conversations’
1776: The Musical, now onstage
at the Ahmanson Theatre at the
Music Center through May 7, ...
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‘Bill and Pablo Return to Brookside’
‘Bill and Pablo Return to Brookside’
Having written the book “Topanga Beach: A History,” I’ve become an expert on the area; but one part I still know little about is Brookside, a ne...
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‘Mindwalk: The Screenplay’
‘Mindwalk: The Screenplay’
By Floyd Byars, Bernt Capra & Fritjof Capra with Scientific Commentary by Fritjof Capra, a Director’s Note by Bernt Capra, and behind-the-scenes pho...
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‘On the Road to the Past,’ March 6, 3 p.m.
‘On the Road to the Past,’ March 6, 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 6, 3 p.m., “On the Road to the Past.” The Topanga Historical Society (THS) presents a virtual Zoom presentation by Suzanne Guldimann...
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‘Studio 666’ is a Devilish Delight
‘Studio 666’ is a Devilish Delight
Foo Fighters’ feature film highlights group dynamic in comedy-horror flick.
Never mind the rock doc, it’s the feature film where rock bands rev...
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MAY EVENTS
MAY EVENTS
Ongoing every Sunday, Bible Study with Michelle Klein, 10 a.m. Topanga Christian Fellowship.
Service with Pastor John Klein follows at 11 a.m. infor...
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MAY-June EVENTS
MAY-June EVENTS
Ongoing every Sunday, Bible Study with Michelle Klein, 10 a.m. Topanga Christian Fellowship. Service with Pastor John Klein follows at 11 a.m. info@to...
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Mimi Turns 100... Vamos a Ver!
Mimi Turns 100... Vamos a Ver!
On the warm, sunny Sunday of January 30, Mimi Jaffe turned 100 in the beautiful Topanga orchard of Dr. Ben LaBrot and Karine Tchkarian. Surrounded...
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Moira Talan Dwyer
Moira Talan Dwyer
“Topanga,” Moira Talan told a New York Times reporter last fall, “is kind of a crystal place.” Ms. Talan — who taught at Wilbur Avenue Ele...
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MOMentum Place Dazzles the Senses
MOMentum Place Dazzles the Senses
Spring is in the air as MOMentum Place returns triumphantly to the Theatricum Botanicum for a special Mother’s Day tribute on Sunday, May 8, at 2 p....
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Evident Truths
Evident Truths
Fireworks can be heard in our hills. A random, surprising boom off in the distance, somewhere. Even though the Fourth of July has come and gone, it is...
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Non-Holiday Gifts, Maybe for Yourself
Non-Holiday Gifts, Maybe for Yourself
A play, an Academy Award press screening, and a film festival at MOMA are all good escapes from the holiday frenzy.
What happens when a former pris...
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Of Monoliths and Mangers
Of Monoliths and Mangers
By Kathie Gibboney
T
his year it took much longer to put up our Christmas decorations, four days alone to mount the house lights and yard display. Usually, that wa...
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Of Topanga
Of Topanga
There was a magical place, a meadow, lush and otherworldly. I didn’t understand exactly where it was located but it certainly wasn’t the Valley. I...
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Parent Volunteers—More Than a Fly on The Wall
Parent Volunteers—More Than a Fly on The Wall
Assisting in a classroom provides an experience that enables parent volunteers to be more than just a fly on the wall. “Topanga Elementary is a gr...
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Perspective on the Housing Market
Perspective on the Housing Market
Because you may be getting your information from the news or limited sources, it’s time to look at the stats over the last five years: We are in the...
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Pesach (Passover) 2022 April 15 to April 23
Pesach (Passover) 2022 April 15 to April 23
Egypt is not only a geographical location
but also a state of mind.
Passover is celebrated by Jews every year, commemorating the anniversary of o...
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Poetry
Poetry
Practical Love Poem #33 Summer in the backyard is sitting on the Sears Porch swing, with a fringe On top and you can move By touching the grou...
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Ready? Set? GO! Buy Your Tickets Now (online)!
Ready? Set? GO! Buy Your Tickets Now (online)!
Topanga Days is right around the corner and it’s going to be well worth the price of admission to support your local community center. As usual,...
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Real Life Dr. Dolittles
Real Life Dr. Dolittles
Have you ever wished you could just ask your pet what’s going on? You can, according to animal communicators like Michele Novembre who claims she ca...
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Resilient AF!
Resilient AF!
Kamakshi Hart, solo theatre artist, trauma-informed coach, and award-winning creator of Wild At Hart: A Tale of Trauma & Triumph, presents her newest ...
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Richard Sherman—A Man for All Septics
Richard Sherman—A Man for All Septics
Richard Newton Sherman, aka “Dick Sherman” was a well-known contractor in Malibu and Topanga for more than 60 years, specializing in underground u...
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R.I.P. Tony Morris
R.I.P. Tony Morris
By Flavia Potenza
We, at the Canyon Chronicle mourn, along with many others in the canyon, whether we knew him well or superficially, the passing of Tony Morris. We hav...
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Rocco’s Cucina to the Rescue!
Rocco’s Cucina to the Rescue!
After selling their legendary pizza restaurant in 2004, the Rocco’s family business is still going strong as Rocco’s Cucina in the Palisades and...
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Roz’s Christmas Wonderland or, Position Available: Discontented Matriarch
Roz’s Christmas Wonderland or, Position Available: Discontented Matriarch
A Los Angeles and California legend, Rosalind Wyman, died in October at the age of 92. Roz Wyman was the youngest person ever elected to Los Angeles C...
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Saints and Poets
Saints and Poets
The following contains the description of a psychedelic experience. Let it be known that I do not condone teen drug use especially in these dangerous ...
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See the Art, Feel the Energy
See the Art, Feel the Energy
Kate Browning and Lisa Baldwin each transport viewers to another state of mind with their paintings. Presenting the first solo show in Topanga Ca...
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Spiritual Topanga
Spiritual Topanga
Joseph Campbell said, “The seat of the soul is where the inner world and the outer world meet.” Here in Topanga Canyon there is an eclectic varie...
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Plague Punk: Steam Punk Goes Viral
Plague Punk: Steam Punk Goes Viral
Topanga Canyon Gallery is pleased to present “Plague Punk: Steampunk Goes Viral by Kitonius V Plumii,” aka Kit Plumridge, that opened August 1...
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The Cat And Mouse Days Of Summer
The Cat And Mouse Days Of Summer
The cat lies on the cool marble
of the fireplace hearth, snoring.
I’m hoping the last mouse has been caught. It seems that for the entir...
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The Difference Between Gray, Blue, And Green Hydrogen
The Difference Between Gray, Blue, And Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen has potential as a clean fuel, depending on how it’s produced.
Hydrogen fuel burns clean, so it has potential as a low-carbon energy sou...
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The Joy of Purim
The Joy of Purim
A few years ago I volunteered with friends to read the Megillah and celebrate Purim in the federal prison of North Carolina. It was an emotional exper...
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The Loneliness Epidemic
The Loneliness Epidemic
A major curiosity of our times is the co-existence of the world’s greatest-of-all-times connectivity on one hand and the deep isolation manifesting ...
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The Many Gifts of…
The Many Gifts of…
Sometimes production week comes easily and sometimes it doesn’t.
When it doesn’t and the Muse has gone on vacation and nothing springs to mind ...
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The Many Gifts of Gio
The Many Gifts of Gio
Eight-year-old Gio opened his art exhibit at Artists Matter Gallery in the Topanga Creek Courtyard to a Cinco de Mayo celebration featuring the electr...
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The Return of Elephant Rock*
The Return of Elephant Rock*
The tall sandstone cliffs of Eagle Rock are one of Topanga’s most popular hiking destinations. If you’re planning a hike in Topanga, Eagle Rock is...
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The Scottish Play
The Scottish Play
Joel Bellman
Even if it weren’t adapted and directed by the Joel half of the Coen Brothers filmmaking team, I’d run out to see the upcoming Tragedy of Macbeth,...
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The Stone House, Part 3: ‘John Bonnell and the Palmaymesa Family’
The Stone House, Part 3: ‘John Bonnell and the Palmaymesa Family’
In 1918, the man who would have the biggest impact on Old Topanga Canyon arrived, John H. Bonnell (1864–1938). “He was a cultured man and the ...
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The Stone House, Part 8: ‘Ingrid Lindquist and Dede Potvin’
The Stone House, Part 8: ‘Ingrid Lindquist and Dede Potvin’
The Stone House, Part 8: ‘Ingrid Lindquist and Dede Potvin’ By Pablo Capra In the early 1970s, Marvin and Judy Zeidler rented the stone house ...
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The Stone House, Part 9: ‘A President of Heart and History’
The Stone House, Part 9: ‘A President of Heart and History’
“When I was 12 years old, I saw a remote house in the hills in Coldwater Canyon and thought, ‘That’s the ideal life!’” Ed O’Neill remember...
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The Stone House, Part Two: ‘Mail Carrier Jack Wood’
The Stone House, Part Two: ‘Mail Carrier Jack Wood’
Horace Waller (b.1881) married schoolteacher Maud E. Wood (b.1881) in July 1905. That same month, they bought the Mazet ranch and stone house with her...
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The YouTube War
The YouTube War
“All of us individuals are the targets of these wars—whether it’s a marketing war or a real-world war. We’re the ones whose clicks decide whos...
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Then and Now in Colorado with Isabella Bird
Then and Now in Colorado with Isabella Bird
Our travel writer Linda Ballou was chosen as the Isabella Bird expert to be interviewed for ‘Trailblazers,” a three-part BBC documentary about th...
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This is Who We Are
This is Who We Are
Saturday, November 7, Topangans awoke to a light rain that brought in a cold snap and a Double Rainbow (above) that Eric Fitzgerald captured from his ...
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Topanga Before Today
Topanga Before Today
Compiled by Pablo Capra
Topanga Historical Archivist When Pablo Capra, The Canyon Chronicle’s (and Topanga Historical Society’s) intrepi...
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Thank you for bringing your vital paper to our community! What a great team you are! The design and graphics are so tasty making it such a pleasure to...
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Topanga Symphony Free Concert
Topanga Symphony Free Concert
The Topanga Symphony will be performing at the Topanga Community Center on Sunday April 2nd at 3 p.m., a free classical music concert featuring Music ...
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Tracing the Path of Isabella Bird
Tracing the Path of Isabella Bird
BBC chose Travel writer Linda Ballou as the Isabella Bird expert for a documentary on the Victorian Age adventurer to air this fall. By Linda Ballou ...
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Verdugo Moon ft. Mina Bloom!
Verdugo Moon ft. Mina Bloom!
Thursday, Sept. 2, 5pm-8pm, Topanga Center...
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Water Restrictions Affect Everyone
Water Restrictions Affect Everyone
It’s time for Topangans to
cut back on water use.
California is now in the throes of a 1,200-year drought emergency and climate change has take...
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What Is Rosh Hashanah?
What Is Rosh Hashanah?
The Jewish New Year, anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, a day of judgment and coronation and sounding of the shofar . . .
What: Rosh H...
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When is it appropriate to lie?
When is it appropriate to lie?
“Rabbi, my child goes to school, where there are various influences with beliefs that are different from my religion. When would it be appropriate f...
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World Premiere of ‘The Last, Best Small Town’ is World Class Theater
World Premiere of ‘The Last, Best Small Town’ is World Class Theater
Opening night at Theatricum Botanicum of
The Last, Best Small Town
by Latinx playwright John Guerra introduces us to a pair of neighboring fami...
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40 Years of Free Concerts
40 Years of Free Concerts
Andrea Ehrgott
Topanga Symphony musicians are tuning their instruments, rosining their bow hairs, adjusting reeds, and inviting you to the next free concert at the T...
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A DOZEN POEMS ONE FOR EVERY MONTH
A DOZEN POEMS ONE FOR EVERY MONTH
Why War When Beauty Abounds? So now let’s let the poetry of our days drift Into May, June, July, August Into the revels of holidays galore ...
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A Dream Come True
A Dream Come True
What magical place had I stumbled into, here in Topanga Canyon? IRL couples, families, friends, milling about with drinks in their hands, smiling from...
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A Lot of Existential ‘Whys’A Lot of Existential ‘Whys’
A Lot of Existential ‘Whys’A Lot of Existential ‘Whys’
Americans killing Americans? Mass murder in our streets? Children gunned down in schools? Unbridled hate spewing forth on every line of communication ...
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Elusive Truths
Elusive Truths
Last November I told G that I dreaded 2020. “Why?” he asked. Because this election year is going to be so ugly, so divisive, so intellectually be...
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An Evening of Song, Storytelling, and Inspiration
An Evening of Song, Storytelling, and Inspiration
This winter, Rabbi Mendy Piekarski of Chabad of Topanga will offer ”Judaism: The Soundtrack,” for an evening of immersive musical experience, feat...
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APRIL-MAY Events
APRIL-MAY Events
Sunday, April 16, 10:00 a.m. ongoing Bible Study. Every Sunday with Michelle Klein at
Topanga Christian Fellowship, 269 Old Topanga Canyon Road. Ser...
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APRIL-MAY EVENTS
APRIL-MAY EVENTS
Ongoing Bible Study every Sunday with Michelle Klein, 10:00 a.m.
Topanga Christian Fellowship, 269 Old Topanga Canyon Road. Service with Pastor John ...
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Art Show Debuts TECS Students’ Talents
Art Show Debuts TECS Students’ Talents
Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) students proudly showcased their creativity in a chic art show in the heart of the community, with every sing...
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Ban, Baby, Ban
Ban, Baby, Ban
Today’s conservatives have done a masterful job creating a fake media narrative casting themselves as stalwart defenders of free speech against the ...
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Bob Hertzberg
Bob Hertzberg
“Los Angeles County’s canyon communities and the Santa Monica Mountains are national treasures that must be protected,” retiring State Sen.Rober...
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Butterfly Day is Every Day
Butterfly Day is Every Day
Topanga’s Fourth Annual Butterfly Day on May 7th was a family-oriented festival celebrating pollinators and environmental stewardship with live musi...
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California as a World Leader in the Climate Challenge
California as a World Leader in the Climate Challenge
As California takes bold steps to address climate change, which Governor Newsom called one of the “greatest existential threats” we’re facing, i...
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COVID Through the Artist’s Eye
COVID Through the Artist’s Eye
Artist/Sculptor Megan Rice, like many of us, adapted as best she could to the COVID -19 lockdown. Faced with unscheduled hours at home, time turned to...
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Creating Clean Water with Solar Stills
Creating Clean Water with Solar Stills
As droughts make water more scarce, every drop counts.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world lack easy access to safe drinking water. An...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
by Jean Colonomos
J
anuary 6, 2021 will live in infamy when armed mobs threatening death to Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, broke into t...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
By Jean Colonomos
Wanting some fun, I asked my contributors to write one to two sentences about what’s on their minds. There was no content agenda and I enjoyed the s...
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Excerpts from
Dogs in Topanga 2000-2018
Excerpts from
Dogs in Topanga 2000-2018
Dogs In Topanga
These spirits, these fakers, adventurers out to filch a bone, a bowl of water, treats, can charm you to dea...
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Electric cars vs. gasoline cars: Which is better for climate change?
Electric cars vs. gasoline cars: Which is better for climate change?
Electric cars already have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline vehicles, and the grid is getting cleaner all the time.
Electric vehicle...
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Everyday Hugs
Everyday Hugs
What people yearn for the most in this extended lockdown, they say, are hugs, so here are some Everyday Hugs that might prompt you to find your own.
...
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For the Love of Dogs, Part II
For the Love of Dogs, Part II
Max It’s true what they say. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like with a dog before one finds you, but it’s even harder to imagine wh...
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Fresh Breeze Out Of Tennessee
Fresh Breeze Out Of Tennessee
Fresh Breeze Out Of Tennessee*
In the dark gulch of the great divide do yo...
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Good Times! No Troubles!
Good Times! No Troubles!
The first hint was the signs were back! After two COVID years, like mushrooms springing up overnight, those familiar, handmade signs, the Cowboy, the ...
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Has Anything Changed?
Has Anything Changed?
I never thought that a solo act by one of the most extraordinary theatrical documentarian/performers of our time, Anna Deavere Smith, could be success...
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Hemp for Health
Hemp for Health
When American Farmers learned they could plant hemp thanks to changes in the 2018 farm bill, many of them were just discovering the nature of the plan...
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How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated?
How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated?
Rosh Hashanah’s Traditions
and Customs
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday marking the first and second days of the Jewish year. (In 2022, Rosh H...
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In March Celebrate ‘Dadgum That’s a Good Day!’
In March Celebrate ‘Dadgum That’s a Good Day!’
With Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras making March sizzle, it’s hard to imagine that anyone’s feeling short on celebration. But if you do need more part...
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Indian Sikhs Save Italy’s Parmesan Cheese Industry
Indian Sikhs Save Italy’s Parmesan Cheese Industry
Why Parmigiano Reggiano still lands on your dinner plate.
From pasta to pizza, from fine cuisine to comfort food, the mention...
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Julian is 3!
Julian is 3!
Julian Himmel celebrated his third birthday on Sunday, January 30, in Bonnell Park with friends and neighbors, donuts from the donut truck, and Spider...
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June to July Events
June to July Events
Special Reception, Saturday, June 25, 12:30-7 p.m.—
Steampunk artist Kit Plumridge invites you to a unique solo exhibit on the Isle of Plumii...
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Kidiwische Connections
Kidiwische Connections
Exciting times are gathering together for workshops at Kat High’s Kidiwische Corner, the Theodore Payne Foundation, Chumash Museum, and more, Sch...
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Kinfolk (Dedicated to Uncle Bud)
Kinfolk (Dedicated to Uncle Bud)
“I’ve already got six grandchildren and y’all don’t have any? What’s wrong with you California people?” asks my Cousin Sandy from Texas. ...
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LAUSD Update
LAUSD Update
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) agreed to distance learning as the model for opening the...
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Los Angeles County Waterwork Drought Conservation Guidelines
Los Angeles County Waterwork Drought Conservation Guidelines
The Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts (LACWD) has issued the following mandatory water use restrictions effective immediately:
Outdoor yard a...
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‘Buy Nothing Topanga Helps Save the Planet’
‘Buy Nothing Topanga Helps Save the Planet’
How do you gift unwanted items to friends and neighbors, get cool stuff, spend no money and help the planet? Easy! Just join your local “Buy Nothing...
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Neowise Comet at Dawn
Neowise Comet at Dawn
The interplanetary interloper dubbed Comet NEOWISE has brightened surprisingly in the pre-dawn skies in the northwest. Officially designated Comet C/2...
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No ‘Third Way’ for this Presidential Election
No ‘Third Way’ for this Presidential Election
Why this year’s presidential election, especially, is not the one for voters to play around with third-party candidates.
...
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Optimism & Joy Mark Festival Despite Pandemic
Optimism & Joy Mark Festival Despite Pandemic
Reimagining the Indian Festival of the Chariots required protective masks, drive-through worship, and to-go boxes as the Hare Krishnas hono...
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Preventing the Next Digital Divide
Preventing the Next Digital Divide
FIBER OPTICS WATCH: Like many municipalities across the country, Los Angeles is in the throes of trying to figure out the best way to close the digit...
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At 91, Professor Charles Quigley Celebrates with a Hike
At 91, Professor Charles Quigley Celebrates with a Hike
Early morning hikers in Topanga State Pa rk at Trippet Ranch probably have met Chuck Quigley on the East Topanga Fire Road. Quigley starts every day w...
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Reflections and Deflections
Reflections and Deflections
“The cliché is the handrail of the crippled mind,” the British comic actor and writer Spike Milligan has said. That may be true, but clichés—l...
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Riding in the Hoof Prints of Isabella Bird
Riding in the Hoof Prints of Isabella Bird
Fired by the rapturous descriptions of Estes Park and surrounds by Isabella Bird, a plucky Englishwoman who rode 800-miles solo in the Rockies in 1873...
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Sen. Henry Stern Takes On Climate Emergency Bills
Sen. Henry Stern Takes On Climate Emergency Bills
Fires, Extreme Heat, and Grid Resilience are coming to a critical vote, plus bills on wildlife corridors, oil & gas reform, and an electric vehicl...
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Social Distance and Mental Health
Social Distance and Mental Health
Mental health issues may be the next-wave threat associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
According to research, loneliness is as physically harmf...
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Soothsayers and Charlatans—How to Choose a Psychic
Soothsayers and Charlatans—How to Choose a Psychic
Choosing carefully before booking a session with a psychic could save you a cauldron-full of disappointment, not to mention time and money.
It’s...
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Speeding Accident on Highway 27
Speeding Accident on Highway 27
On September 18, local photographer Brian Kaufman happened upon this motorcycle accident on Topanga Canyon Boulevard (State Highway 27) and gave The C...
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Spotlight On... Jamie Mazur
Spotlight On... Jamie Mazur
Jamie Mazur grew up in Topanga and attended Topanga Elementary Charter School, Paul Revere Middle School, and Palisades Charter High School. I first m...
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Supervisor Lindsey Horvath Celebrates Her First 100 Days!
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath Celebrates Her First 100 Days!
Young, bright and full of fresh ideas, Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath was sworn in on Dec. 5, 2022, promising to fulfill her obligations to the constit...
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June 26 issue is here!
June 26 issue is here!
Thanksgiving Recipes
Thanksgiving Recipes
by Beverly Cox & Martin Jacobs
Here are a couple of Thanksgiving recipes for our Southern California table, and a bibliography of Native stories and activities for Thanksgiving and ...
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The Angel from Auschwitz
The Angel from Auschwitz
Here is a meaningful story that I recently heard about a man who was considered an angel for so many people. His name was Sol Teichman. He was a succe...
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The Mysterious History of the April Fool
The Mysterious History of the April Fool
April Fools’ Day—the only day of the year when we’re encouraged to take jokes to levels that boarder on cruelty and spin yarns that verge on dow...
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The P-22 Legacy Lives On
The P-22 Legacy Lives On
On Tuesday, February 28, L.A. County Supervisors proposed honoring the legacy of Mountain Lion P-22 by promoting wildlife corridors and banning anti-c...
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THE PHANTASMAGORIL FURY OF HALLOWEEN CONTINUES TO RISE
THE PHANTASMAGORIL FURY OF HALLOWEEN CONTINUES TO RISE
Halloween season is off to a phantasmagoric fury, and it’s not over yet. Though ghosts, goblins, and quite a few pumpkins have already claimed da...
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The Promise of Spring on the Farm
The Promise of Spring on the Farm
Antony Bartlett, who lived in Topanga for 17 years, and is known for creating Topanga’s Littlest Theatre, moved to an 86-acre farm in Oregon last...
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The Stone House, Part 7: ‘The Zeidlers and Buffalo Springfield’
The Stone House, Part 7: ‘The Zeidlers and Buffalo Springfield’
Mazet’s vineyard may have drawn the next owners to the stone house because they were wine connoisseurs. Marvin (b.1928) and Judy Zeidler (b.1930) ha...
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The Verdi Chorus Returns Triumphant to Live Performance
The Verdi Chorus Returns Triumphant to Live Performance
Opera lovers rejoice! The Verdi Chorus, now in its 38th season, celebrates the return to live performance with their Fall concert, Ritorna Vincit...
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To AI or Not to AI
To AI or Not to AI
Not even their creators, can understand, predict, or reliably control Artificial Intelligence (AI).
On March 29, while I was teaching the brighte...
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Necessities of Life
Necessities of Life
While maintaining as much distance as possible, people are lined up on a downtown sidewalk, waiting. Some read newspapers, others engage in small talk...
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Aycil Yeltan-The Artist and the Art
Aycil Yeltan-The Artist and the Art
I last touched based with filmmaker, actress, and artist, Aycil Yeltan, in May of 2020. I had the privilege of meeting her in her Topanga Canyon home,...
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Topanga Christian Fellowship Church
Topanga Christian Fellowship Church
Because of a conflict with Labor Day weekend (September 4-6), Topanga Christian Fellowship will hold the September “First Sunday” service on Augus...
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Topanga HAMS Participate in Radio Field Day
Topanga HAMS Participate in Radio Field Day
Natural disasters can disrupt the internet and cell phone service, making it nearly impossible to communicate using conventional methods. If the “Ba...
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Topanga Whimsy for the Holidays and Every Day
Topanga Whimsy for the Holidays and Every Day
Compiled by Flavia Potenza
No one ever said Topangans don’t have a sense of humor. Much of it manifests in surprisingly whimsical ways where you can’t help but smile and won...
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This is a letter Brian Planas sent to Sheila Kuehl when he observed illegal installation of wireless telecommunications equipment being installed on T...
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Tu Bishvat, a New Year for Trees
Tu Bishvat, a New Year for Trees
Once there was a man who was traveling through the desert, hungry, thirsty, and tired. He had been walking for days, with no food or water in sight. J...
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Welcome 2023 with ‘DAYLIGHT’
Welcome 2023 with ‘DAYLIGHT’
Kiss your partner and toast the New Year with Jules’ & Disco Fuchsia’s new single & music video, “Daylight,” when it debuts on YouTube January...
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Zoe Mack Invited to Train at Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow
Zoe Mack Invited to Train at Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow
By Flavia Potenza
When COVID-19 closed down the Westside School of Ballet where 16-year-old Zoe Mack had been training since she was seven, she switched to the Russian ...
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A Prayer For Turkey and Syria
A Prayer For Turkey and Syria
Our hearts are heavy as we send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Turkey and Syria, who have been affected by a devastating earthquake. The tr...
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A Truly Lived Life
A Truly Lived Life
By Kait Leonard
The life and work of local poet and author Philip Daughtry, who “left no part of myself unlived.” Dressed in western duds that would do his anc...
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April Events
April Events
April 1-2 at 2 p.m., Third by Wendy Wasserstein. Topanga Actors Company (TAC) invites you to attend their next staged reading of Third, a drama-comedy...
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Butterfly School
Butterfly School
Monarchs are arguably the most well-known and best loved butterfly in the world.
A while back, I took a two-day monarch butterfly teaching intensive...
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Can’t Help but Smile
Can’t Help but Smile
This may be one of the happiest issues of The Canyon Chronicle with events popping up like popcorn in a pot, the pot being, of course, Topanga.
We ...
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Catching Up with Topanga Actors Company
Catching Up with Topanga Actors Company
Starting July 23, Topanga Actors Company (TAC) begins streaming six plays from its 2020-21 season on Facebook beginning with Mary Shelley’s
Frank...
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Celebrate and Discover Women’s History
Celebrate and Discover Women’s History
Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is c...
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Criss-Cross Brown Sugar Cookies
Criss-Cross Brown Sugar Cookies
I woke up one Saturday morning when I was five or six and decided to bake Criss-Cross Brown Sugar cookies for our neighbor Mrs. King. She’d always b...
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Exploring LA’s Cultural Landscape
Exploring LA’s Cultural Landscape
I like to think that culturally speaking, LA and I grew up together. I moved to California at the age of 12 as the Music Center was nearing completion...
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For the Love of Dogs & the Dogs we Love
For the Love of Dogs & the Dogs we Love
In the ’70s, we used to call Topanga “Dog Town” because everyone had dogs, usually in multiples. While Topanga’s residents have changed over t...
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How I Became A Volunteer
How I Became A Volunteer
By Stacy Sledge
As an unincorporated mountain community, in order to meet its needs where the County can’t or doesn’t, Topanga has always been a community of volu...
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How I Became A Volunteer
How I Became A Volunteer
As an unincorporated mountain community, in order to meet its needs where the County can’t or doesn’t, Topanga has always been a community of volu...
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India is Leaping into the Future
India is Leaping into the Future
Dear Neighbors,
I was asked to teach a media literacy class at IIT Mandi in India. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a group of autonomo...
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Interactive Art Events from Topanga Canyon Gallery
Interactive Art Events from Topanga Canyon Gallery
Fun With Drawing,” Saturday, March 5, 3-5 p.m. Enjoy an interactive art experience on the patio with Debbi Green, whose paintings in the north gall...
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Introducing 2023, the Year of Change
Introducing 2023, the Year of Change
It’s hard to say whether 2023 will be better than 2022, but there’s no doubt that it’s going to be different. With the Nodes of the Moon slippin...
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Kidiwische Bibliography for Thanksgiving
Kidiwische Bibliography for Thanksgiving
*Giving Thanks. Chief Jake Swamp. Lee & Low Books. (kids) 1621. A New Look at Thanksgiving. Catherine O’Neill Grace & Margaret M. Bruchac. National...
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LACoFD Sees Sharp Decline of Internal Covid-19 Cases
LACoFD Sees Sharp Decline of Internal Covid-19 Cases
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) has experienced a drastic decline in the test positivity rate and number of individuals out sick with ...
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Let’s Go to Drive-In Movies in the Mountains!
Let’s Go to Drive-In Movies in the Mountains!
Enjoy classic movies at King Gillette Ranch as you sit comfy and cozy in your car.
Street Food Cinema has partnered with th...
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Mandatory Organic Waste Recycling Begins Oct. 1
Mandatory Organic Waste Recycling Begins Oct. 1
California Senate Bill 1383 mandates that businesses must begin to receive organic waste recycling service by October 1, while residents will begin pa...
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MARCH Events
MARCH Events
March 4-May 21 (Spring Sports BBQ), Sundays, 5-7:30 p.m., Adult Sports. Another season of fun is on tap at the TCC ballfield Sunday afternoons. Choos...
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Of Tarot Cards And Crows
Of Tarot Cards And Crows
Ah, the Tarot cards. That mystical channel to lifting the veil, tapping into hidden answers, future possibilities, maybe meeting your own doom or high...
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Pandemic in the Year 2022
Pandemic in the Year 2022
I’ve been thinking about Brady Sluder lately.
You may not remember his name, but you know who he is: early on in the pandemic, he was the face and ...
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Plant Walks with Lola Babalon
Plant Walks with Lola Babalon
More than a dozen people showed up at Pine Tree Circle on Jan. 24 for the first session of this new weekly event led by Lola Babalon (right).
“We e...
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Topanga Gets a Portable Toilet
Topanga Gets a Portable Toilet
A portable toilet was installed in June on Old Topanga Canyon Road, just north of Topanga Canyon Blvd., just past the Inn of the Seventh Ray. A hand...
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Protected Oaks Cut Down at Topanga Elementary
Protected Oaks Cut Down at Topanga Elementary
In the spring of 2020, the LAUSD ordered brush clearance and tree cutting that removed mature, protected oaks and native pollinator habitats from the ...
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Put Down the Worm, Put Down the Gun...
Put Down the Worm, Put Down the Gun...
I once pulled a gun on a man. He followed me home from the second grade in that awful Bakersfield heat of 1960, where my parents had moved us from Ohi...
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Register Now For Free ‘Water Lab’
Register Now For Free ‘Water Lab’
What West Basin is doing to meet future water needs, and how residents can get involved.
West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) announc...
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Return of the Raptors
Return of the Raptors
By TECS News Team
November 19th marked the return of the raptors at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS). Raptor Day has become a tradition where education and expo...
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Richard Newton Sherman, 1937-2021
Richard Newton Sherman, 1937-2021
Richard Newton Sherman, aka “Dick Sherman” died peacefully on December 30, 2021, in Canoga Park with his wife and her bloodhound by his side. He i...
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TECS Students Spring Into Art Season
TECS Students Spring Into Art Season
The budding artists of Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) have an exciting Spring season ahead, with work from every student to be showcased in ...
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THE BRAID: No Jewish Story Untold
THE BRAID: No Jewish Story Untold
Female, male, gay, non-binary, trans, black, Latino, Chinese, Persian: what do they have in common? At The Braid (formerly Jewish Women’s Theatre—...
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The Double Standard of War
The Double Standard of War
In war, truth is the first casualty. —Aeschylus
Aeschylus’ dictum should perhaps be added “perspective.” What we believe in and put our ene...
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The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair
Our first cars, like our first serious romance, sometimes just seem destined to break our hearts. We lavish money and attention on them, depend on the...
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The Poetry of Samuel Irving Bellman
The Poetry of Samuel Irving Bellman
It was a surprise when Joel Bellman and his brother, Jonathan, discovered that his father not only wrote but published poems in his lifetime that t...
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The Stone House, Part 4: ‘An Artist in the Family’
The Stone House, Part 4: ‘An Artist in the Family’
The stone house was next purchased by Dutch immigrant Antonius “Anthony” Bonaventura Heinsbergen (1894-1981) for his parents Chrisosthomas “Chri...
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The Stone House, Part 6: ‘John Heron Lives to 100’
The Stone House, Part 6: ‘John Heron Lives to 100’
Pablo Capra
John Heron (1861-1961) was born in San Francisco, and worked for Wells Fargo & Company Express when it was a stagecoach mail carrier. In 1893, he marr...
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The Topanga Surf Rats: Remembering Tim Regan
The Topanga Surf Rats: Remembering Tim Regan
January 28, 2021 There is a cold wind blowing through the silent night, as the owl hoots in the dark skies. It is snowing in Topanga and the Corona...
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Tonga Tsunami Space Image
Tonga Tsunami Space Image
This satellite image, taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday...
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Topanga Before Today
Topanga Before Today
Compiled by Pablo Capra, Topanga Historical Society Archivist
When Pablo Capra, The Canyon Chronicle’s (and Topanga’s) intrepid researcher of Topanga history, began reading newspapers, he discovered numerous ...
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Topanga Days Logistics
Topanga Days Logistics
It’s good to know the perks as well as the rules while negotiating your way around Topanga Days, the largest annual fundraiser for the Topanga Commu...
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Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
Come to a summer workshop at Kidiwische Corner or schedule one for your group.
Sunday, June 13, 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.—
Return of the round ...
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Virtual Evacuation Drill
Virtual Evacuation Drill
About 500 Topangans participated in the Topanga Canyon/Sunset Mesa Online Virtual Evacuation Drill on Thursday, August 12 to educate residents abou...
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Which Way District 3?
Which Way District 3?
With Third District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl opting out of a third term on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, Topanga voters will decide who will be...
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Wildfire Smoke More Toxic Than We thought
Wildfire Smoke More Toxic Than We thought
During a wildfire, hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses in Southern California increase, according to a recent study.
Wildfires are...
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Wildlife Jamboree on the Central Coast
Wildlife Jamboree on the Central Coast
By Linda Ballou
Winter on the Central Coasts means fewer tourists and plentiful wildlife. Birds and marine mammals gather there in chaotic profusion from December to ...
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10 Signs You’re Computer Illiterate
10 Signs You’re Computer Illiterate
(Technopedia: Last updated: May 13, 2021)
1. Multifactor authentication sounds like something vaguely related to math courses.
...
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A Ghoulishly Good Time
A Ghoulishly Good Time
Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) held their annual Halloween Festival at the Topanga Community Center on Saturday, October 25, for the first t...
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A Little bit of Sugar Goes a Long Way
A Little bit of Sugar Goes a Long Way
Dear Editor,
I just read our paper... what a great issue!
Kathy [Gibboney], your article resonated deeply. I was autumn-born on Oct. 3, and grew u...
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Art for Art’s Sake
Art for Art’s Sake
By Joel Bellman
For some 15 years, I lived a short and pleasant walk from the La Brea Tar Pits, the Page Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Almost ever...
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Cameras Capture Thriving Wildlife at TECS
Cameras Capture Thriving Wildlife at TECS
With the kids away, it was the wildlife’s turn to play at the Topanga Elementary campus during winter break. Science teacher Jeffrey Esparza and ...
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Cory Taylor (1965-2022)
Cory Taylor (1965-2022)
Cory Taylor passed away from complications of cancer on March 4th at the age of 56. An award-winning documentary filmmaker & author, Cory had been a ...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
I honor the humming bird, this tiny, fast, exquisite avian that weighs as little as a penny, a symbol of irrepressible life. The Aztecs called them, ...
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February Events
February Events
Friday, February 24, 10 a.m. -4 p.m., TCC Blood Drive. The Topanga Community Center has become the biggest donation site in Los Angeles. TCC is loca...
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Fernwood Rain Report 2021-2022 Season
Fernwood Rain Report 2021-2022 Season
Rain has returned to Topanga and the southland in a big way this last December. Over 10 inches of rain pelted the Canyon, including one storm that dro...
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Fixing A Hole
Fixing A Hole
It’s not that I expected a lot from the new year. After all, I didn’t even stay up until midnight to usher her in but so far, 2023 has given me a ...
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Forward, Into the Past?
Forward, Into the Past?
Of all the unlikely new trends, I would not have expected to see the digital native generation—especially the younger Gen Z end of it—proudly embr...
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Good Theater but One is Sublime
Good Theater but One is Sublime
Sublime is the only word I can use to describe the revival of the beloved musical, The Secret Garden onstage now through March 26 at the Ahmanson Thea...
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Harris Beach Park is one of the few swimable sandy beaches with facilities in the area.
Harris Beach Park is one of the few swimable sandy beaches with facilities in the area.
On my first post-pandemic outing steaming temps in the inland valleys of Southern Oregon sent me to the coast to cool off. The Redwood Hwy (199) out o...
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Lifelong Learners, TECS Teachers Walk the Walk
Lifelong Learners, TECS Teachers Walk the Walk
As teachers, we are tasked with teaching students to become lifelong learners, to develop the love of learning, to give students a variety of experien...
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‘Embrace of the Wild’
‘Embrace of the Wild’
A dozen people showed up in the Canyon Sages Room at the Topanga Community Center on May 10 to hear local adventure travel writer Linda Ballou talk ab...
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‘Trouble the Water’ Triumphs at the Theatricum
‘Trouble the Water’ Triumphs at the Theatricum
By Annemarie Donkin
Robert Henry Smalls—a name that should stand in history alongside Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman—was an American politician, publisher, bus...
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MOMentum Place
MOMentum Place
A Mother’s Day spectacular like no other! Join us for MOMentum Place on Zoom Mother’s Day, May 9, 2 p.m. PST as Lexi Pearl hosts an afternoon of a...
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PHILIP DAUGHTRY
PHILIP DAUGHTRY
Visiting Alaska, 2015
In Case Alaska Dies Before I Do
(for Ulli Steltzer*)
I wake in a hunter’s dream
swimming against it
until resistance
surrenders
to some und...
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FRS Radio Giveaway
FRS Radio Giveaway
The TCEP Neighborhood Network (NN) team gave away 24 pairs of FRS radios to each NN coordinator who came by the booth at Pine Tree Circle on Saturday,...
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Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California Part 3, April 30
Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California Part 3, April 30
Dress Pink in Drama
Never use pink in a poem was a loving teacher’s only rule. What’s uncool about
mauve sunsets often modulate to...
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Smooth Operator
Smooth Operator
Practical Etiquette for Successful Communication with your Family Radio (FRS) on the Neighborhood Networks
Recently, we had...
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SPRING Events
SPRING Events
Sunday, March 19 through June 3, Kat High’s Kiddiwische Corner Spring-into-Summer Workshops. Mark your calendars to revive your connection with natu...
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Superchunk find each other on Wild Loneliness
Superchunk find each other on Wild Loneliness
Twelve albums in, and the indie-rockers are still finding out what makes them tick.
I’ve always resisted the concept of a “grown-up” or “la...
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Supervisors Pass Motion to Close Homeless Encampments in High Fire Zones
Supervisors Pass Motion to Close Homeless Encampments in High Fire Zones
On Aug. 10, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors moved to address the critical issues of cooking/camp fires in homeless encampments in very high fi...
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The Giving Season
The Giving Season
Think Love, Joy, Peace, and end-of-year tax-deductible Donations.
Save Topanga Pet Resort—For 15 years, owners Pat and Keith Tomlinson’s Topanga Pet Resort has provided long-term boarding, training, and day care ...
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The Heart of Giving
The Heart of Giving
For end-of-year tax-deductible and year-round giving, these are a few worthy volunteer non-profits that deserve year-round sustenance.
Canyon Sages...
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The Moon and Mars Flex Muscles in November
The Moon and Mars Flex Muscles in November
November competes with October for the spookiest month award.
Mars retrograde fans the flames of conflict all month. The Total Lunar Eclipse on th...
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The Spirit that Drives Us
The Spirit that Drives Us
It’s not just a Topanga thing, but a human calling to step into the breach when times are hard or something is wrong. We, here, probably have more c...
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The Stone House, Part 5: ‘Lee Conger and the Topanga Riders’
The Stone House, Part 5: ‘Lee Conger and the Topanga Riders’
Pablo Capra
In 1946, the stone house and ranch comprised 30 acres, with four acres for apple trees and a quarter acre for tomatoes. The “huge kerosene chandelie...
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The Way of the Bear Henry Smith, Jr., 1932-2022
The Way of the Bear Henry Smith, Jr., 1932-2022
Henry Smith Jr., of Topanga, CA, age 90, beloved elder of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, passed away July 21, 2022, in Tarzana, CA. Henry ...
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Theatricum Reopens with Julius Caesar
Theatricum Reopens with Julius Caesar
Topanga’s Theatricum Botanicum triumphantly returns with a chilling production of the Bard’s timeless tragedy of blood, murder, death, war, and...
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TikTok and the Info Wars
TikTok and the Info Wars
TikTok, like its Chinese counterpart Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted vid...
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TPA Resumes In-person Meetings
TPA Resumes In-person Meetings
The Topanga Peace Alliance (TPA)is returning to the Inn of the Seventh Ray at 7 p.m., for monthly 5G Free California meetings on the second Monday of ...
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Undergrounding in Town Center to Begins
Undergrounding in Town Center to Begins
Southern California Edison (SCE), has announced that undergrounding work to make improvements to the electrical grid in Topanga’s business center, i...
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Update on Greta Thunberg with Latest Appeal, ‘The Climate Book’
Update on Greta Thunberg with Latest Appeal, ‘The Climate Book’
“[Greta Thunberg], the 20-year-old climate activist put tgether a reading list for determined citizens willing to mobilize for a just and sustainabl...
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What’s Happened to Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall?
What’s Happened to Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall?
A series of phenomena such as early flowering of plants and early migratory birds are suggesting that the traditional four seasons may have changed. A...
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Women Athletes Beat the Bain of Urinary Incontinence
Women Athletes Beat the Bain of Urinary Incontinence
Kim Pierpoint, is a retired healthcare administrator and avid sprint triathlete. She did her first sprint at age 54 and was immediately hooked but out...
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2020 Year-End Reflections
2020 Year-End Reflections
By Jean Colonomos
5/29/20
“Playtime Bewitches the Day”
I vacuum to the Beatles’ “White Album”
swagger...
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A FAMILY AFFAIR
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Jane Hammond, founder and formulator of Orovana, is a Physician Assistant specializing in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy for men and women....
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Bing Unhinged!
Bing Unhinged!
People holding secrets, personal or state, have been manipulated or tortured to reveal information since the beginning of the human experience. Many h...
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Brushfire at Topanga School Road Extinguished Quickly
Brushfire at Topanga School Road Extinguished Quickly
A small brush fire, named The School Fire, was reported at Topanga School Road and Old Topanga Canyon Road on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at about
12:30 p.m....
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Burrowing Owls
Burrowing Owls
Most unusually, we currently have two Burrowing Owls in care. They are now migrating to Southern California for the winter and these two came in just ...
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Catalyst Muse Awarded $10,000 Grant to Make Documentary Film
Catalyst Muse Awarded $10,000 Grant to Make Documentary Film
Community Engagement of Orange County, CA, has awarded Topangan Kim Zanti of Catalyst Muse a $10,000 grant to make a short, documentary film about the...
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Catching Up with Café on 27
Catching Up with Café on 27
Café on 27 is a unique and delightful restaurant in the heart of Topanga where one can enjoy breakfast and lunch or simply relax with a Caffé Latte ...
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Ceramic Artist Mervat Elias
Ceramic Artist Mervat Elias
It was a privilege to meet ceramicist Mervat Elias last month and view her exhibit in a modest gallery named Artist Matters in the Topanga Creek Cour...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
This is for you; in gratitude.
May 1, 2021
It has been
my longtime interest to understand algorithms. Strange that I find a comprehe...
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EVENTS
EVENTS
Thursday, November 17, 9:00 a.m to 4 p.m.—“Exploring Water Quality Impacts of Creek Restoration.” Part 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Watershed...
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February Events
February Events
Saturday, February 4-26, Topanga Canyon Gallery. Topanga Canyon Gallery is pleased to present two new solo exhibitions from artists John Couch and Jun...
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Fire Updates
Fire Updates
A few more details came in from 69 Bravo for both the Tuna and Las Flores fires after
The Canyon Chronicle
went to press for the July 23 issue....
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FREE Theatricum Jazz Brunch
FREE Theatricum Jazz Brunch
Theatricum Jazz Brunch is coming up May 22, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. PST on Zoom. Bring your own brunch and enjoy an afternoon of improvisational jazz music fea...
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Late Summer Orphans
Late Summer Orphans
There is a vehement outcry against squirrels this year that are razing local gardens from fruit trees to home-grown veggies. The California Wildlif...
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Lessons from Miss Rumphius
Lessons from Miss Rumphius
Amy Weisberg, M.Ed., NBCT
“Miss Rumphius,” story and pictures by Barbara Cooney, was one of my daughters’ favorite books. They never tired of the story of a little girl n...
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New face and familiar friends
New face and familiar friends
Fall is in full gear at Topanga Elementary. On campus, we have many returning students and teachers as well as some new faces.
Welcome Ms. Garza! The...
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October 2022 Delivers the Treats and the Tricks
October 2022 Delivers the Treats and the Tricks
Spooky Season starts off more treat than trick with Venus and Jupiter bestowing blessings and Mercury turning direct. We’ll also get some relief fro...
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Old Wisdom For a New Year
Old Wisdom For a New Year
Since my Christmastime column was a bit less than festive, I want to try and begin 2023 on a positive and upbeat note. Most of us are by nature eterna...
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On Homelessness, Will Crisis Bring Change?
On Homelessness, Will Crisis Bring Change?
President Kennedy famously claimed that the Chinese word weiji includes two characters meaning “crisis” and “opportunity.” But linguists tell ...
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Poet Millicent Borges-Accardi Nominated for 2022 PEN Award
Poet Millicent Borges-Accardi Nominated for 2022 PEN Award
Look for the latest collection, “Through a Grainy Landscape,” by one of Topanga’s own, acclaim
Congratulations to Topanga poet Millicent Borges-Accardi, whose body of works has earned her a nomination for a 2022 PEN award.
Her latest poetry ...
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Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California, Part 2, April 16
Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California, Part 2, April 16
Under the Capsized Boat We Fly
New & Selected Poems by Gail Wronsky | In conversation with Flavia Potenza
Forty years is a milest...
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So Much Art to See, So Little Time, So Good!
So Much Art to See, So Little Time, So Good!
Sometimes I will report on events after they’ve happened, due to production schedules, but they’re worth knowing about for the next time around. ...
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Spirit Abounds
Spirit Abounds
I’ve been exploring my religious roots of late. The Topanga Christian Fellowship Church is conveniently close, just two miles down the road, and the...
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Taylor Hawkins Was There
Taylor Hawkins Was There
I remember asking my dad when I first started hunting albums at record stores, “What’s YOUR favorite band?” And before I could even finish askin...
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TECS Gives the Gift of Gratitude
TECS Gives the Gift of Gratitude
The season of gratitude is in full swing at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS), with parents, students and teachers all being acknowledged for t...
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TECS Teacher Kelly Welch Receives Grant
TECS Teacher Kelly Welch Receives Grant
Kelly Welch, a fourth-grade teacher at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS), was recently awarded a grant by Donors Choose to support the social a...
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The Extraordinary Ordinary
The Extraordinary Ordinary
During the lockdown, the Bonnell neighborhood and its delightful denizens have become a microcosmic view of the world as seen through a pandemic-prope...
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The Owl You Probably Never Heard Of
The Owl You Probably Never Heard Of
Around this time each year, the California Wildlife Center (CWC) begins to get calls from the public about orphaned baby owls. It is not the season fo...
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The Truck Bomb Election
The Truck Bomb Election
By Joel Bellman
O
n February 26, 1993, shortly after noon, a Ryder rental truck pulled into the parking garage of the North Tower at New York’s World Trade Ce...
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The Vernal Equinox
The Vernal Equinox
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’”
—Robin Williams
Once again, on March 21st the length of the days and night...
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The West Side Waltz Plays the Right Notes
The West Side Waltz Plays the Right Notes
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum presents a spirited revival of The West Side Waltz by Academy Award-winning writer Ernest Thompson (On Golden Pond)...
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Theatricum’s Third Offering, The Last, Best Small Town, Opens July 31
Theatricum’s Third Offering, The Last, Best Small Town, Opens July 31
In addition to
Julius Caesar
and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
, a third production—the world premiere of
The Last, Best Small TownRead more
Topanga Cares Meal Distribution Launch
Topanga Cares Meal Distribution Launch
On Monday, July 13, 2020, Topanga Cares successfully launched the new meal program to help Topanga neighbors facing food insecurities. The program ...
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Topanga Town Council November Meeting
Topanga Town Council November Meeting
By Annemarie Donkin
The health and safety of the Topanga Community was the top issue when Council President Carrie Carrier and Vice President Alisa Land Hill co-hosted th...
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Topanga’s Annual Snow Night Warms the Holiday Season!
Topanga’s Annual Snow Night Warms the Holiday Season!
By Annemarie Donkin
It was truly a “White Christmas” when about 20 tons of snow was blown onto the parking lot at Pine Tree Circle for the Annual Snow Night and dinne...
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Watch Us Grow at TECS!
Watch Us Grow at TECS!
Children are a lot like gardens. When they are nourished, they grow and though the growth may be imperceptible and may seem slow, but when they are re...
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Women’s Retreat into Self-Discovery and Healing
Women’s Retreat into Self-Discovery and Healing
Three “Ladies of the Canyon,” have created a one-day women’s retreat on Thursday, September 19, for a day of reflection, community, bonding, and...
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A ‘Ho-Ho Humbug’ Christmas Carol 2022
A ‘Ho-Ho Humbug’ Christmas Carol 2022
Last year at this time, the Beleaguered Husband, knowing my deep and abiding love for Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” purchased tickets for us to ...
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A Time of Elves
A Time of Elves
We may like to think that the world’s elves are busy at the North Pole making lots of toys for children to enjoy during holiday season. But there is...
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Volunteers Organize Community Outreach During Pandemic
Volunteers Organize Community Outreach During Pandemic
In the true spirit of community, an extraordinary group founded the Topanga Covid Coalition to provide necessary assistance during the pandemic. P...
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Contrasts in Style
Contrasts in Style
Monochrome Realism and Colorful Expressionism juxtapose at the Topanga Canyon Gallery when visitors have a unique opportunity to see two very differe...
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Curtains Rising: Theatre Roundup
Curtains Rising: Theatre Roundup
Live theatre is back, big time, on stages large and small. Here’s a roundup of just a few of the many productions taking place this month and beyond...
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Dangerous Game
Dangerous Game
There was a time when I thought nothing of driving nearly 100 miles round-trip several nights a week to catch a double-bill at one of LA’s then-flou...
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Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
“On May 1 the Druids celebrated Beltane. It marked the beginning of summer when cattle were sent out to pasture from their winter confinement. Bonfi...
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Education Evolving
Education Evolving
My magical grand-daughter Sidney comes to my house when she is too sick to go to school and her folks have to be at work. I can’t lie... I love thos...
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Embrace Your Inner Earth Mother
Embrace Your Inner Earth Mother
Throughout most of September, six planets will be retrograding. What could go wrong? In spite of the possible retrograde-related delays, this month gi...
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Finding ‘Health’ in Mental Illness
Finding ‘Health’ in Mental Illness
Last year during Covid, a project came across my desk that I decided to take on because the issue touched my life personally, and I am pretty well con...
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FOR THE RECORD
FOR THE RECORD
We apologize for misspelling eight-year-old Dashiel King Biehn’s last name when we spotlighted him as one of Topanga Elementary’s student performe...
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Healing with the Horse Retreat
Healing with the Horse Retreat
Healing with the Horse will hold an all-inclusive retreat on the weekend of May 15-16 at Rituel Nature Refuge in Topanga, an opportunity for you to pu...
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Historic Rain Report and Fernwood’s 2020-2021 Season
Historic Rain Report and Fernwood’s 2020-2021 Season
The water year, or rain year runs from October 1 to September 30 every year. This last rain year was the second driest that I have recorded in 25 year...
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International ShakeOut Day, Oct. 21
International ShakeOut Day, Oct. 21
International ShakeOut Day is always the third Thursday of October (this year: October 21). While COVID-19 has brought many uncertainties and challe...
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James William McCutchen, Jr.—1945-2022
James William McCutchen, Jr.—1945-2022
Bill, my dear dad, passed away on January 28th, 2022, at 3 p.m. PST, at the VA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was much loved and cheris...
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Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream Open Theatricum’s 2021 Season
Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream Open Theatricum’s 2021 Season
Two beloved plays by William Shakespeareare are set to welcome audiences back to Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum. The 2021 summer repertory season,...
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Kathie Gibboney
Kathie Gibboney
My daughter has done me in. I’m gone, departed, shipped out, bit the dust, shuffled off this mortal coil, joined the heavenly choir (singing off key...
Read more
NOVEMBER EVENTS
NOVEMBER EVENTS
October 28-November 20, “Color by Numbers.”Topanga Canyon Gallery. A solo exhibition by gallery member and Malibu artist Mark Estes, an engineer, ...
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Events
Events
Thursday, Oct. 6 at 6 P.M., New Criteria for Parks Measure A—Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation (LVHF) general ZOOM meeting revisits new criteria to...
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Out of the Past
Out of the Past
The following column contains graphic descriptions of a disturbing nature.
It was about half an hour before sunset when two boys, out for an evenin...
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Scoundrels be Wary of The Merry Wives of Windsor
Scoundrels be Wary of The Merry Wives of Windsor
A rollicking good time was had by all at the opening night of The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum on June 11. The perform...
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Sen. Henry Stern to Chair Holocaust & Genocide Education Council
Sen. Henry Stern to Chair Holocaust & Genocide Education Council
On October 6, Governor Newsom announced a historic $40 million investment to combat rising anti-Semitism and other acts of hate, with a particular emp...
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Sotheby’s Reopening Included Fundraiser for TCEP
Sotheby’s Reopening Included Fundraiser for TCEP
It is one thing for the Topanga office of Sotheby’s International to hold a party to announce their reopening but another to turn it into a fundrais...
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That Was the Year That Was…the Worst
That Was the Year That Was…the Worst
By Joel Bellman
In 2020, Americans have reaped what they sowed in the 2016 presidential election.
If 2020 was…” a Google search term, it already has more than ...
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The Flying Pig is Back!
The Flying Pig is Back!
In case you didn’t notice—but many people did—Topanga’s iconic flying pig overhanging Topanga Canyon Blvd. in the area of Robinson Road, disap...
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The Greening of Topanga
The Greening of Topanga
Some folks are celebratin’ “the Wearin’ of the Green,” but here in Topanga, Irish or not, we’re all “Livin’ in the Green” with the rai...
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There’s No Place Like Home: The Big Blue
There’s No Place Like Home: The Big Blue
Whether it is the deep swells of azure blue in Hawai’i, the teasing turquoise of a tropical lagoon, or the curling blue waves that crash in foamy wh...
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Three Queens, a King & Valentines Day
Three Queens, a King & Valentines Day
After Chef/restaurateur Kim Vu shuttered her West LA Vietnamese restaurant Khong Ten, a diner called to say it had been her favorite, and why was she ...
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Taggers Vandalize Pine Tree Circle
Taggers Vandalize Pine Tree Circle
The Topanga Women’s Circle storage bin and two other locations at Pine Tree Circle were vandalized between Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12. ...
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Topanga Symphony Resumes Nov. 20
Topanga Symphony Resumes Nov. 20
Still feeling the warm embrace from the Topanga Symphony’s 40th Anniversary celebration sponsored by the Topanga Historical Society and a supportive...
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Welcome Back!
Welcome Back!
After two years of quiet streets and an empty stage on Memorial Day Weekend, Topanga Days will return to the Topanga Community Center May 29th and 30t...
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What Women Aren’t talking About... But Should
What Women Aren’t talking About... But Should
Longtime Topanga resident Jane Hammond, Physician Assistant (PA-C) recognized a need in women’s lives and created a solution. NOTE: Adult content re...
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Wildfire Resilience Australian Style
Wildfire Resilience Australian Style
A unique invitation to participate in a series of Australian webinars (Bushfire Resilience, Inc.) about wildfire resilience for households in rural ar...
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All Eyes on Taurus
All Eyes on Taurus
August brings fiery love when Venus enters Leo, and some very good luck when the goddess of love and Jupiter join in conversation. But Taurus holds th...
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Arson Watch
Arson Watch
Over the coming weeks, Arson Watch will be replacing its signs that are seen throughout Topanga and Malibu. The current signs are either sun damaged o...
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Art in Service of the Spiritual
Art in Service of the Spiritual
The rain closed down the gallery last weekend but you still have time to see works by local artists celebrating nature’s gifts at Topanga Canyon Gal...
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Arthur H. Nissman—May 11, 1938-November 28, 2021
Arthur H. Nissman—May 11, 1938-November 28, 2021
Arthur Nissman, longtime Topanga resident, passed away peacefully on November 28, at age 83. An only child, Arthur was born was born to Max L. and Mi...
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Black Bear Found and Tagged
Black Bear Found and Tagged
The National Park Service announced that biologists captured and radio-collared a 210-pound black bear in a natural area of the western Santa Monica M...
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Bob Dylan’s Jukebox
Bob Dylan’s Jukebox
“The Philosophy of Modern Song,” the title of Bob Dylan’s new book, may sound like a tendentious academic tract or undercooked master’s thesis...
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ChatGPT
ChatGPT
Brace yourself. I have to catch you up on some rapid changes (are there any other kind these days?).
ChatGPT is important for you to understand. I...
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Court Rules FCC was ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’
Court Rules FCC was ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’
In the global battle against runaway technology, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and the Environmental Health Trust (EHT) proclaimed victory in an A...
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COVID-19 Diary: ‘Everything is Possible’
COVID-19 Diary: ‘Everything is Possible’
By Jean Colonomos
Dear Reader,
I align with quantum physics and its vision of multi-universes operating simultaneously. The challenge is how to incorporate them all. ...
Read more
Dear Reader,
Dear Reader,
The Spring equinox arrived on March 20. The Druids, whose belief system is based on the four solstices and the four equinoxes, call this period, “Al...
Read more
Glamour
Glamour
There is a tree that grows aslant the creek over on Valley Drive just off Old Canyon. I frequently park beside it, yet never truly saw it until a frie...
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Invisibility
Invisibility
One of the jobs I had when I started to make my way in L.A. was as an “assistant” in one of Hollywood’s literary agencies. Occasionally, I was a...
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‘The Drone Music Festival’
‘The Drone Music Festival’
By Pablo Capra
Artist James Mathers has been making Topanga ridiculously wonderful for decades. He was one of the ten “Idlers of the Bamboo Grove” (2002) who pub...
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‘When Pigs Fly’ Introduces New Gallery Space, New Artists
‘When Pigs Fly’ Introduces New Gallery Space, New Artists
Artists from Topanga and neighboring communities have come together to create a new venue for art in Topanga. The new location of Topanga Canyon Galle...
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Mom’s Meadow
Mom’s Meadow
After eleven years, I decided it was time to deliver the fruitcake my mother had sent me in 2009 just before she passed away. I would take it to the m...
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New Program Rewards Topanga Students
New Program Rewards Topanga Students
The first winners of a new program to encourage good citizenship and respectful behavior have been celebrated at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TE...
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Starting Oct. 13, Canyon Sages Chair Yoga 2022. Lola Babalon will teach six weekly, one-hour classes, beginning Oct.13 to Nov. 17, on Thursday morning...
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Performing Arts Conservatory Celebrates 25 Years
Performing Arts Conservatory Celebrates 25 Years
The Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory (LAPAC) and Promenade Playhouse have served thousands of international students who come to L.A. to pu...
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Peter Alsop’s Kids Koncert, First & Last of the Year
Peter Alsop’s Kids Koncert, First & Last of the Year
Save the Date! November 7,
10-11 a.m.
Peter Alsop says, “Hi! to all you formerly house-bound Topangans and families with children and grandpare...
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Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California Part 1, April 2
Selected Poems 2021, Topanga, California Part 1, April 2
Sponsored by an Act of Love
You could say National Poetry Month is just an excuse to___fill in the blank___and you’d be right. Official...
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Senior Dinners Return to the TCC
Senior Dinners Return to the TCC
First Friday Dinners are back!
After a long 18 months during the pandemic, First Friday Senior Dinners have resumed at the Topanga Community Center ...
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September Events
September Events
Artfully Autistic Molly Rose—Friday Friday night, September 9, was blessed with rain after a long pandemic drought when Lloyd Sax, founder of Artist...
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Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour
Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour
APRIL 16-18, 2021)
A Journey Through Place and Time
The Theodore Payne Foundation presents its annual Native Plant Garden Tour, a virtual, ...
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Topanga Town Council’s October Meeting
Topanga Town Council’s October Meeting
It was a spirited gathering when Council President Carrie Carrier and Vice President Alisa Land Hill co-hosted the Oct. 13 Zoom meeting of the Topanga...
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Town Council July Zoom Meeting
Town Council July Zoom Meeting
Topanga Canyon Town Council members and Topanga residents discussed many issues, including a new County financial relief program; fire safety and ...
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Turtle Emergency Water Delivery
Turtle Emergency Water Delivery
By Rosi Dagit, Sr. Conservation Biologist, RCDSMM
The drought and extreme heat have been tough on many critters, but you can help save one of our last remaining reproducing populations of southwestern...
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What Is Transitional Kindergarten?
What Is Transitional Kindergarten?
California’s Universal TK is Set to Roll Out!
We are in the second month of school and my class is settling into a comfortable routine and friendships are forming. I am learning the personalities ...
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Who’s a Journalist? Who Says?
Who’s a Journalist? Who Says?
Author’s Note: As this issue was going to press, Sen. Mike McGuire and Sen. Anthony Portantino, the bill’s sponsor and co-sponsor respectively,...
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A Cornucopia of Digital Wonders
A Cornucopia of Digital Wonders
The Computer Electronics Show (CES) was back, live, in full force in Las Vegas for 2023. This year, the event, which had been virtual during COVID...
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Anthony Marrone Named FD Acting Chief
Anthony Marrone Named FD Acting Chief
Following the retirement of Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby, the LA Board of Supervisors has appointed Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone to serve as Acting Fire ...
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Back to School!
Back to School!
By TECS News Team
Kids, parents, and teachers were geared up and ready for the start of the school year at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) when the front gates...
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Beyond The Pumpkin Patch
Beyond The Pumpkin Patch
Ah, the October Country. If you’re lucky you discover it when you’re young.
Maybe you’re living in the wilds of Illinois as did Ray Bradbur...
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Calling All Young Filmmakers
Calling All Young Filmmakers
The Topanga Film Institute & Festival Young Filmmakers Showcase wants to hear what youth from around the world have to say and elevate their voices.
...
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Classes Begin at Community Center
Classes Be