Flavia Potenza

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..Read more Gallery Surpasses Expectations Gallery Surpasses Expectations On October 23, the opening reception at the Topanga Canyon Gallery and its show, “When Pigs Fly,â€� was a delightful surprise to behold in its new ..Read more Lights in the Dark Lights in the Dark The Canyon Chronicle pages have been full of children of late. What a rich education they receive at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS). Its par..Read more   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..Read more 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..Read more 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..Read more   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. ..Read more QUIPS & TIPS TO FACE 2024 QUIPS & TIPS TO FACE 2024 2023 was a personal brain-drain, so I raided the internet for some New Year’s encouragement or maybe just a good laugh or two to share. I did none o..Read more Surviving in Suburbia… The Move, Part 2 Surviving in Suburbia… The Move, Part 2 While not exactly homeless, almost as soon as I was heartily welcomed in the new place, I was, putting it kindly, asked, to leave. What to do…? W..Read more   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..Read more 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 ..Read more Final Farewells Final Farewells As if global chaos, murder and heartbreak weren’t enough, all the while seeping into our bucolic little village and casting a pall over many of us, ..Read more   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..Read more I love Wikipedia! And Google! I love Wikipedia! And Google! October 27, 2023 “The Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-winâ€�), a pagan..Read more Brags & Blessings Brags & Blessings October 13, 2023 While we are acutely aware of Global chaos—the surprise attack on Israel, now called the Israel-Hamas war; earthquakes in Afghan..Read more   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..Read more 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..Read more The Act of Gifting The Act of Gifting People like to give. It feels good. The Chronicle crew has come up with some interesting choices to start off the holiday season, not all store-bought..Read more   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..Read more TRANSITIONS TRANSITIONS I love my job but even more so when a heartwarming story like the one in the photo above and on the facing pa ge 3 surprises us. It really is our reas..Read more 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..Read more   Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future October 27, 2023 It was a festive occasion in October as church members of Topanga Christian Fellowship celebrated the first project of a Beautific..Read more Planning Ahead… Or Not Planning Ahead… Or Not When you read the newspaper, do you ever wonder why that photo or that article is on that page? Of course not! You read it for the real estate ads an..Read more Equine Leadership Program Equine Leadership Program “When a human and a horse enter a journey together, two inner worlds unite and both hearts awaken.â€� —Sabine Niederberghaus, Founder S..Read more   From the Sublime to the Downright Cranky From the Sublime to the Downright Cranky SCE’s Undergrounding project that came to a halt in 2015, just as the crossover was about to complete it, is now scheduled to begin in the Topanga T..Read more ‘I’m Not Single, I Have a Dog’ ‘I’m Not Single, I Have a Dog’ ‘I’m Not Single, I Have a Dog’ By Susan Hartzler Commentary by Flavia Potenza Once, marriage was the norm for adults. But ..Read more Embrace of the Wild by Linda Ballou Embrace of the Wild by Linda Ballou Reviewed by Flavia Potenza Thank you, Linda Ballou, for “Embrace of the Wild,â€� and introducing us to the extraordinary equestrian explor..Read more   The Dog Days of Summer The Dog Days of Summer Dog Days bright and clear Indicate a happy year; But when accompanied by rain, For better times, our hopes are vain. Topangans love their dogs!..Read more Celebrating the Magic Celebrating the Magic “Good times, bum times, we’ve seen them all, but we’re here!â€� Anyone who lives in Topanga for any period of time finds it a mysteriously magi..Read more Mitigating Safety Concerns on Mulholland Highway Mitigating Safety Concerns on Mulholland Highway County efforts to enhance traffic safety on Mulholland Highway may benefit Topangan’s concerns about road racing and other traffic safety measures h..Read more   ‘The Cat That Changed America’ by Tony Lee Moral ‘The Cat That Changed America’ by Tony Lee Moral Reviewed by Flavia Potenza The young mountain lion, P22, became a media sensation when he showed up in Griffith Park, an oasis in the middle of urban Los Angeles. As if that wer..Read more Nurturing Nature Nurturing Nature The question of ground squirrels came up the other day talking to my neighbor, Allison, who huffed, rolled her eyes and glanced at her house. The crit..Read more Aurora Behrman, Junior Lifeguard Aurora Behrman, Junior Lifeguard Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Junior Lifeguard Program, open to children ages 9 through 17, was founded in 1963, to teach children the basic ..Read more   Bad Days, Good Days, Mostly Good Bad Days, Good Days, Mostly Good Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea). What a way to start the summer. Who knew or even remembers this old-fashioned, actually ancient flower? It’s thought to ha..Read more Patricia Colvig—1949-2021 Patricia Colvig—1949-2021 By Flavia Potenza Patricia Colvig, talented researcher for films and movies, was a big-hearted, fiercely independent, rambunctious, and witty woman with an eye for beau..Read more Put Your Hands Together... Put Your Hands Together... I’m calling this our “Comic Bookâ€� edition because it’s loaded with picww tures telling the stories of Topanga Days 2023. We are also celebrati..Read more   Hugelkultur: Learning to Love Carbon Hugelkultur: Learning to Love Carbon By Flavia Potenza Carbon sequestration in the most sustainable sense of the word. A pile of native soil with four shovels standing like sentinels, flattened cardbo..Read more Roslyn ‘Roz’ Harris—1944-2021 Roslyn ‘Roz’ Harris—1944-2021 With a heavy heart and an overwhelming appreciation for the joy of knowing our beloved friend, devoted mother, loving wife, and trusted sister, we inf..Read more 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 ..Read more   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 ..Read more The Will Geer Memorial The Will Geer Memorial Theatricum Botanicum’s gardens around the theater this year are exceptionally lush and beautiful following the winter rains. But we were there to se..Read more 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 ..Read more   Some Guidlines for a Consequential Mid-Term Election Year Some Guidlines for a Consequential Mid-Term Election Year This is the year to vote, to do your due diligence of down-ballot candidates and offices you may have never heard of. The warm-up act is the Calif..Read more Sometimes We are Simply Asked to Endure and Persist Sometimes We are Simply Asked to Endure and Persist By Flavia Potenza As if a greater surge of the pandemic weren’t enough, our erstwhile president, who has abandoned the country for the golf course, is also wreaking h..Read more 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..Read more   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..Read more Hansel and Gretel By Coco Blignaut aka Coco Mary Hansel and Gretel By Coco Blignaut aka Coco Mary Reviewed by Flavia Potenza In case you haven’t noticed, much of the content in this issue verges on the whimsical. Coco Blignaut’s latest literary effort takes whimsy and f..Read more The Greening of Topanga The Greening of Topanga Some folks are celebratin’ “the Wearin’ of the Green,â€� but here in Topanga, Irish or not, we’re all “Livin’ in the Greenâ€� with the rai..Read more   Invisibility Invisibility One of the jobs I had when I started to make my way in L.A. was as an “assistantâ€� in one of Hollywood’s literary agencies. Occasionally, I was a..Read more Transitions Transitions My little guy, Tippy, a Parti Poodle, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Thursday, January 9, after a long bout of metastatic cancer with ugly tumors erupt..Read more January 2023 Has Been a Kick in the Pants January 2023 Has Been a Kick in the Pants Has anyone else had problems easing into 2023? It better get better than this month was. Kathie Gibboney lets us know from her Corner of the Canyon..Read more   Making a List… Making a List… Last issue we observed, with reverence, the spirit of the holiday season. Production week rolled around and my list for the lineup was pretty skimpy...Read more It’s Official! The Winter Holidays are Upon Us! It’s Official! The Winter Holidays are Upon Us! Nothing could have been more festive than this year’s Sages Holiday Dinner to officially begin the many ways for us to celebrate the season of light..Read more The Little Free Library The Little Free Library   Cinder Finds A Home Cinder Finds A Home The adorable story of Cinder, the kitten whose arrival we published in our “Thinking Out Loudâ€� Halloween montage (“Halloween on Bonnell Drive,â€..Read more Halloween on Bonnell Drive Halloween on Bonnell Drive Kris Lilliedahl (left) never thought that he would be on call every two or four hours feeding a newborn kitten, but here he was on Halloween not handi..Read more Frogs in a Political Pot of Hot Water Frogs in a Political Pot of Hot Water Hey, Mama Frog, look here! This looks like a great place to raise our pollywogs.â€� “Yes, dear, but look over there. It looks like the neighbors ar..Read more   To Every Thing There is a Season To Every Thing There is a Season ...A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted… (Ecclesiastes 3, King James Version) In 2020, somebody thought it was time t..Read more Of Life and Labor Of Life and Labor Our cover and center pages honor the passing of Henry Smith, Jr., Beloved Elder of the Lac Court Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, born into the Bear Clan at d..Read more Butterflies & Dogs. Life is Good! Butterflies & Dogs. Life is Good! That’s pretty much what this edition of The Canyon Chronicle is about, except for Tom Cat’s point of view (above). Butterflies because Butterfl..Read more   A Happy Memorial Full of Laughter A Happy Memorial Full of Laughter Dick Sherman’s memorial on Sunday July 24, was carefully planned, a labor of love especially for Serena Wiley, who went to work for him when she was..Read more FIRE! FIRE! THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION! FIRE! FIRE! THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION! What would you do if you had five minutes to pack up and get out of the canyon? Every year around this time, The Canyon Chronicle publishes the voi..Read more Eclectic Topanga Eclectic Topanga It’s true. The reason we can have a newspaper at all (let alone two) is because there is so much going on in our mountain hamlet and the community i..Read more   The Art of Receiving The Art of Receiving Lunch, dinner, chicken soup, groceries, dog food, cat food, laundry, dog walking, errands, trips to the doctor, advocates who know how to work the med..Read more Wishing that the week that was...wasn’t... but then again... Wishing that the week that was...wasn’t... but then again... A tree falls, a beloved friend dies, you total your car. Sadness, grief, and a body slam, all in a close time frame. The 300-year-old oak tree falling..Read more Topanga’s Rich History Topanga’s Rich History Art collector John Brewer’s Zoom presentation for the Topanga Historical Society (THS) on May 18, tapped into an obscure gem of Topanga’s history...Read more   Fun, Frolic and Intimations of 2022 Political Season Fun, Frolic and Intimations of 2022 Political Season Mothers Day has come and gone but we can’t help but mention the annual spectacle that is Lexi Pearl’s MOMentum Place. To watch her warm up the aud..Read more APRIL FOOL LETTERS! APRIL FOOL LETTERS! Starbucks and the Topanga Library! What fool endorsed this one? Who is getting paid off? I hope we Topangans get to vote on this crap!!! –Joe F..Read more Better to Light a Candle Better to Light a Candle The last time The Canyon Chronicle referred to the adage, “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,â€� was during the dark days of the C..Read more   Caught in the Web of the Unpredictable COVID Caught in the Web of the Unpredictable COVID Ugh! Despite two vaxxes and a booster, I think a tribe of variants has found its personal petri dish in my body. I say a tribe because it feels like ..Read more Let’s Create Sweet Memories for 2022 Let’s Create Sweet Memories for 2022 Let’s Create Sweet Memories for 2022 What sort of year do you think we’ll be looking at this time next year? It’s bound to be a rowdy year w..Read more Right as Rain Right as Rain Our stalwart Fernwood Rain reporter, Eric Fitzgerald is happy to be back in the game again with this photo he captured in Dix Canyon. “You should ha..Read more   Happy Christmas and Good Tidings to All for 2022! Happy Christmas and Good Tidings to All for 2022! The Canyon Chronicle sends a heartfelt thank you to the Topanga community for seeing it through its infancy and wherever we are on the growth scale a ..Read more Arthur Nissman—1939-2021 Arthur Nissman—1939-2021 Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the d..Read more The Sacrifice of Thankfulness The Sacrifice of Thankfulness Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances... —Thessalonians 5:16-18 It's nice having a little country church just a couple of miles down the road. It's also nice that the Chabad of Topanga is just up the street and I c..Read more   Veterans’ Day—A Time to Honor the Warriors, Not War Veterans’ Day—A Time to Honor the Warriors, Not War Flavia Potenza Yesterday was Veterans Day, a day to honor those who went to war because their country called. On page 5, we have a heartwarming report on the commu..Read more Finding Home Finding Home It’s been almost three months since the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan amidst chaos and criticism. It has fallen out of the 24-hour news cycl..Read more Responsibility Responsibility After days of observing and reliving the horrors of 9-11 20 years later, I vividly recall seeing the smoke billowing out of the north side of the Nort..Read more   Remembering Mary Remembering Mary The day seemed full of itself, a fiesta of California sunshine and gentle breezes that set the scene for Mary Colvig’s memorial on Saturday, Septemb..Read more Investing in Loss Investing in Loss Topanga has lost so many good souls this year. So has the country with more than half a million deaths from COVID-19. To be precise, as of this writin..Read more Ups & Downs Ups & Downs Since our last issue, we’ve had some excitement, some good, some not so much. For those who follow those things, space flight took off—Sir Rich..Read more   Fire Storm at Berry Creek Fire Storm at Berry Creek Two former Topangans survived the Bear Fire but lost their home. They also “lost a lifetime of stuff,â€� but not their lives. They are gr..Read more Hypervigilance Hypervigilance Hypervigilance. A state where you are constantly scanning your environment for any signs of danger. The pit bull running in and out of traff..Read more https://vm.tiktok.com/ ZMdf8Pbs4/ https://vm.tiktok.com/ ZMdf8Pbs4/ Monday, June 21, was the solstice, the first day of summer, and Topanga opened its doors to 44 bands and musicians throughout the canyon from 11 a.m. ..Read more   Night Blooming Cereus and the Computer Night Blooming Cereus and the Computer The brilliant pink Night Blooming Cereus blossomed the day my computer crashed. This plant, has moved and lived with me for a long time and I nev..Read more There Are Wars and There Are Wars There Are Wars and There Are Wars Welcome to Memorial Day weekend where, with full hearts we pause to honor and remember those who have fallen in the Great Wars, as well as those who f..Read more Escape to the Farm Escape to the Farm As long as I’ve lived in Topanga (45 years) and as much as I love it and the community it inspires, once I was fully vaccinated and received an invi..Read more   ‘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..Read more 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..Read more Families and Friends Families and Friends This is the last, but not least of our month-long poetry slam, to which we’ve dedicated three pages. The response from our local poets was so prolif..Read more   Earth Day Earth Day Topanga celebrates Earth Day year-round, don’t we! It is nice, and likely necessary that we get a jolt once a year to take stock of how we’re doin..Read more Stating the Obvious and the Marvelous Mundane Stating the Obvious and the Marvelous Mundane Spring came in hot on the heels of autumn, stepping over winter as if it never happened, and teased us with early blooms and glorious days. Winter did..Read more Life Goes On Life Goes On Residents on Bonnell Drive are fortunate to have a little park with its own weather. Nature is a bit off kilter these days, like us. It drives the sea..Read more   Mary Colvig 1949-2021 Mary Colvig 1949-2021 Flavia Potenza A leading light in Topanga has gone out. Mary Colvig passed on January 26, 2021, of cancer. Hers was a gentle but steadfast light that brought a hea..Read more Harbingers of Spring Harbingers of Spring When the daffodils along my neighbor’s fence popped out overnight, It suddenly changed everything that is changing anyway. It feels as if the COVID ..Read more Joy in the Shadow of the Virus Joy in the Shadow of the Virus Flavia Potenza Days before Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order in response to the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases in California, I admit I ventured out of ..Read more   Topanga Canyon Gallery Closes its Doors Topanga Canyon Gallery Closes its Doors Just as it was gaining momentum as a contemporary art gallery worthy of note, Topanga Canyon Gallery (TCG) will close out its all-too-brief run at 137..Read more SAGES Thank Tessa Charnofsky! SAGES Thank Tessa Charnofsky! The November Senior Dinner at the Topanga Community Center was delicious and included one little surprise: a thank-you presentation of native plants ..Read more Topangans Propose Traffic Solution Topangans Propose Traffic Solution When Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) sold the 34-acre site of the defunct Warner Center Promenade Mall to the L.A. RAMS for $150 million, Topangans he..Read more   Eagle Scout Plaque Rededicated Eagle Scout Plaque Rededicated On Tuesday, November 9, a group of Eagle Scouts and Eagle Scout dads showed up at the Topanga post office to view and rededicate the replacement plaqu..Read more Community Steps Up to Replace Eagle Scout Plaque at P. O. Community Steps Up to Replace Eagle Scout Plaque at P. O. No one seems to have noticed when the original plaque honoring Topanga’s Eagle Scouts from as early as 1955 went missing from the Post Office lobby...Read more Earthquake Awareness Earthquake Awareness With our hypervigilant attention to wildfires over the past several years, a 3.5 magnitude earthquake that jolted the Los Angeles area on Inauguration..Read more   Bonnell Drive Cancels Halloween Festivities Bonnell Drive Cancels Halloween Festivities Residents of Bonnell Drive and the Bonnell Park Homeowners Association have cancelled the popular Halloween party this year because of the risk of spr..Read more 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 ...Read more Kindness is Everything Kindness is Everything Oppressive news. Oppressive heat wave. August’s end was not kind. In hopes of lifting the oppressive cloud in my head, with Tippy (dog) and Tom (..Read more   Vote! “...Eternity is in itâ€� Vote! “...Eternity is in itâ€� Thinking Out Loud Notice something different about The Canyon Chronicle’s look? That’s because Nira Lichten agreed to sign on as our Creative Director, smoot..Read more How Fragile We Are... How Fragile We Are... Gabrielle Lamirand and her husband, Roy, have lost their home in the Berry Creek fire. They were long-time Topangans, great friends to all, and dedica..Read more Newspaper Launch Newspaper Launch Flavia Potenza is organizing this fundraiser. May 2020 - The Canyon Chronicle, a new community newspaper serving Topanga Canyon and areas of the Santa Monica Mountains, will launch its first editi..Read more   Sadness, Solace, Solitude and Spirit Sadness, Solace, Solitude and Spirit We wanted her to live forever, even those of us who barely knew her. We especially didn’t want Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to leave us now, in the m..Read more Topanga Peace Alliance on the Move Topanga Peace Alliance on the Move On Monday, June 1, noticing the growing protests over the outrage of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police, Julie Levine rallied Topanga Peace..Read more The Simple Life. If Only... The Simple Life. If Only... Well, we launched the first issue of The Canyon Chronicle, warts and all, i.e., low-resolution photos, hard-to-read font for articles, and a publisher...Read more   Topanga’s Independent Voice Since 1976 Topanga’s Independent Voice Since 1976 “WE’RE CONFUSED!â€� Our community has given us feedback and, in the way it’s supposed to work, we’re listening. It seems readers can’t wrap..Read more Unbridled Generosity Unbridled Generosity The coronavirus surges again, grateful to humans for being such generous hosts. Thwarting the attack, we are hunkering down yet again in our microc..Read more