The Canyon Chronicle-September 16, 2022 (Volume 3, No. 18) - www.thecanyonchronicle.com

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Thinking Out Loud

IN REMEMBRANCE. While America shook off the British monarchy decades ago, it’s fitting to acknowledge that the two countries eventually became staunch allies when the world became embroiled in two world wars and to this day, much of it under Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign. This hilarious video of teatime with Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear commenced her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in July 2022 and went viral on a global scale. It was reported that Buckingham Palace suggested it. (variety.com)

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 to pluck up that which was planted, as well as that which planted themselves a hundred years or so ago. The Canyon chronicle has learned that a number of mature protected live oak trees, part of the oak woodland in the upper area of Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) that is used for environmental programs, had been rooted out sometime in the spring of 2020. We followed the lead of parents Alisa Land Hill and husband, Kent Hill, who along with other outraged parents discovered the damage to see if we could find some answers, or at least a commitment to mitigation, but no one is talking. (Pages 8-9)

Consider Fiber Optics. Do you worry about the effects of the highly touted universal installation of wireless 5G that Julie Levine and members of 5GFree California have been warning about? We have reprinted a sensible argument for fiber optics in an article, “Preventing the Digital Divide,” published in CityWatch. (Page 6)

Thank You! Alisa Land Hill and Bill Buerge share a big Thank You! To those who made the Third Annual Butterfly Day the success that it was. (Page 4)

September Events: Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 25-27, at Chabad of Topanga. Yom Kippur follows soon after on October 4-5 (Page 7). Kamakshi Hart brings her new one-woman show, “Resilient AF,” to Corazon Performing Arts in Topanga on Oct. 2. (Page 10). On Page 14, Topanga Actors Company returns to the Topanga Library on Sept. 24 & 25 with The Watsons The McDaniel Brothers in Concert Thursday Sept. 29, present “Homecoming” for an evening Under the Oaks at Theatricum Botanicum. The art of autistic artist Molly Rose at the re-opened Artists Matter gallery at the Topanga Creek Courtyard runs through September.

—Flavia Potenza Kirby—1930-2022

Dan Kirby Memorial Birthday Bash, Wed. Sept.28, 2022, 4 p.m. to Sunset

On August 8 Dan Kirby went on his last big adventure and joined Roberta on the other side. You are invited to celebrate him on his 92nd birthday at his favorite spot along the coast: Nicholas Beach. It’s where he surfed and partied in his youth and returned whenever he could in later years. Also Invited: Anyone who knew him. Let’s get together for a potluck picnic in his honor. Dan wasn’t a big fan of cake, so bring a few of his favorite things: fish, salad; Optional: b**r with V8 and ice cream. Along with a few good Kirby stories to share. We’ll be in the picnic area by the lifeguard tower. There is a $10 parking fee, so feel encouraged to carpool or park along PCH. See you there!

Info: Lola Babalon, lola4babalon@yahoo.com.

Publisher / Editor

Flavia Potenza

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Annemarie Donkin

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Ellie Carroll

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The Canyon Chronicle is an independent community newspaper published bi-weekly by Canyon Media, Inc.©2020. All rights reserved. thecanyonchronicle.com

In the spring of 2020,

It Takes a Village to Create the Beauty of Butterfly Day

By Alisa Land Hill and Bill Buerge

On Sunday August 28th, Topanga and surrounding communities joined in celebration and support of the butterflies. This, the Third Annual Butterfly Day event at the Mountain Mermaid welcomed more than 800 participants and community partners, who attended, organized it and made it possible. The highlight of the day was the magical live butterfly house, but there were many environmental partners who provided children’s activities, live exhibits, food and drink, and all-day musical performances. The event would never have been possible without them and the work of many essential, if less visible partners who played a vital role in the success of the day.

Thank you!

Thank you! For use of their property to hang Butterfly Day banners, Michael Greene, Lance Roberts of Froggy’s, Chris Kelly and Eric of Topanga Creek Outpost, Peter Norwood of Topanga Hauling, Tauni Brustin and Martine, and Michael Klock and Antonia Bath at the Cheney Ranch.

Thank you! Ellen Geer and Peter Alsop at Theatricum Botanicum, Mermaid neighbor Clare Brown for the use of their properties for parking, and our

Thank you!

Volunteer Topanga Canyon Docents who were at the entrance and inside the butterfly house keeping our butterflies safe and educating our guests.

Thank you! Flavia Potenza of The Canyon Chronicle and Bonnie Morgan at Topanga New Times for their generous coverage of the Butterfly Day event.

Thank you! To the environmental organizations and musicians who donated their time, knowledge, and talents. To Patrick O’Connor for running sound. To all those in the community and from Topanga Elementary who helped staff stations at the event throughout the day.

Thank you! We are grateful for the efforts of Sergio and Yaotl Jimenez and daughters, Luna and Coyolli, for so much hard work and loving care of the native nursery and the butterfly house and for personally rearing many of the 300 butterflies that graced the event.

Thank you! Beyond our many human partners, we are grateful to the countless butterflies, moths, birds, and other pollinators that inhabit our biosphere, for showering us with their timeless beauty and grace, while supporting our flowers, food, and the fertility and conservation of the natural world.

We hope this event will continue to inspire our community to plant native landscapes, build habitats, remember to vote, and take positive actions to support conservation of these precious animals.

Thank you!

(From top clockwise) Butterfly Day metamorphosis; Mother and daughter loved the music; A butterfly on the hand is worth…; The magic of the butterfly house; Eli’s Bees hive fascinates this youngster so long as it’s behind glass; The Mountain Mermaid is a certified Butterfly habitat and Waystation.

PARADISOMARTINABYPHOTOS

Brenda Martinez and Doug Wood

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 digital divide and provide unserved and underserved communities in the County with high-speed broadband connections to internet.It’satough and complex problem with no simple answers, although one thing is certain: no one would intentionally create another digital divide. But that’s exactly what could happen if the County rushes ahead with current plans to fast-track the deployment of community wireless networks.First,the basics. There are two types of broadband connections: wired and wireless. Wired (in this case, we are speaking of fiber optic connections) offer blazing speed (up to 10 gigabits per second, symmetrical), superior reliability, low maintenance costs, and come without the proven and serious fire and safety risks associated with wireless networks and transmissions. Fiber is ready for the future, unlike wireless networks which will need constant upgrades and costly improvements as they struggle to keep up with future innovations.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently issued an

announcement regarding the availability of $42.5 billion in federal funding for projects intended to address the digital divide. In the announcement, the NTIA stated that priority funding will be given to projects that provide “end-to-end fiber optic facilities to each enduser premises.” The government only wants to invest in fiber, not wireless—a preference also articulated by the non-profit Benton Institute for Broadband and Society.

A study commissioned last year by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors (“Free Broadband for the Residents of the County of Los Angeles: An action plan for community wireless networks to build digital equity”) went the other direction, suggesting that the way to

fix the digital divide problem is for the County to create a patchwork of community wireless networks, covering a few of the most needy neighborhoods in the County with the slowest, least efficient level of broadband connections. A bandaid, essentially, but one that could stick for years, creating another digital divide as this temporary fix alleviates at least some of the suffering and reduces pressure on politicians to finish the job.

To be fair, the study, which asserts that building out a fiber optic network will take years and cost “billions of dollars,” was written before the NTIA announcement of funding. But there’s another part of this story that no one seems to acknowledge: tens of thousands of miles of “dark” fiber optic cable already exist in the streets of Los Angeles County. Instead of using that fiber to connect to slow, inefficient, unreliable and dangerous wireless antennas, why not use it to connect directly to families that need it most?

How did the cable get here and why isn’t it being used? Beginning in about 1991, across the country, telephone companies, the grandparents of today’s wireless giants, sought rate increases from state public utility commissions for the express purpose of replacing their old copper lines with fiber optic connections. For two decades, telephone consumers paid higher rates for their landline phone service

to finance the build-out of the fiber optic network. Unknown to most people, the fiber optic lines were part of a state-regulated utility.

Somewhere around 2010, with the advent of the iPhone and apps, the telecoms realized they were shooting themselves in the foot: they could make a lot more money with their unregulated wireless business than they could as a utility. So, they began claiming the fiber optic cables were their private property, and instead of connecting the cables to their telephone customers as they had promised, they used the money from the rate increases to build their wireless business and used the fiber optic cables to connect to their wireless

Chancesantennas!aregood that people living in some of the poorest neighborhoods in LA—and the ones which the second-rate wireless network is supposed to help—are the same people who paid these rate increases on their phone bills, month after month and year after year, to the tune of...well, certainly enough to run the fiber optic cable from the street into their homes or apartments.Theunserved and underserved people of Los Angeles County don’t need a temporary halfway solution that just might end up sticking around for years to come, depriving them of the education, employment and entertainment opportunities readily available to others. It’s time for a public/private partnership that can light up the dark fiber, and the first people who should be connected are those who have been stuck on the other side of the digital divide for too many years.

Call it payback or call it what it is: equity.

Brenda Martinez is a mother, educator and community organizer in East Los Angeles. Doug Wood is the national Director of nonprofit Americans for Responsible Technology. Both are founding members of the Fiber First LA County Coalition, on the web at ReprintedFiberFirstLA.org.withpermission of CityWatch, August 25, 2022

Lisa

How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated? HOLIDAYS

By Rabbi Dovid Weiss

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 Hashanah begins at sundown on Sunday, September 25, and continues through nightfall on Tuesday, September 27). It’s the day G-d created Adam and Eve, and is celebrated as the head of the Jewish year.

Rosh Hashanah Is Celebrated With

• Hearing the sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar) on both mornings

• Lighting candles each evening

• Eating festive meals with sweet delicacies during the night and day, which include: Kiddush, a benediction and prayer recited over a cup of wine immediately before the meal on the eve of the Sabbath or of a festival; the ceremony acknowledges the sanctity of the day that has just begun. ( britannica.com )

Round, raisin challah bread dipped in Appleshoney dipped in honey (on the first Thenight)head of a fish, pomegranates, and other foods symbolizing our wishes for the coming year (on the first night)

A new fruit (on the second night)

Performing Tashlich, a brief prayer said at a body of fresh water

Attending services in synagogue

Desisting from creative work

The Shofar-Blowing

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn. It is a mitzvah (a good deed) to hear the shofar on both mornings of the holiday.

The first 30 blasts of the shofar are blown following the Torah reading during morning services, and as many as 70 are then blown during (and immediately after) the Musaf service. For someone who cannot come to synagogue, the shofar may be blown the rest of the day. If you cannot make it out, please call us to arrange a “house call.”

Chabad of Topanga is located at 1459 Old Topanga Canyon Road, Topanga, CA 90290. (310) 455-1597. chabadoftopanga.com; Facebook.

Marcus Miceli, Broker DRE# 01439068 (310) 741 8342 in the Mountains of Topanga Canyon

This new construction, semi industrial, architectural build awaits with stunning canyon views as far as the eye can see. Designed by renowned architect Bruce Bolander, AIA, this 3 story home features 3 bedrooms, 2 of which include en suite baths, and 3 bathrooms, 12' ceilings with 9' doors throughout create voluminous space inside the home, rivaling the mountains that surround it! Additionally, in an ode to simpler times, this extraordinary home features numerous exterior "sleeping" porches to capture the essence of life up in the mountains of Topanga Canyon.

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Protected Oaks Cut Down at

By Canyon Chronicle Staff

In the spring of 2020, the LAUSD ordered brush clearance and tree cutting that removed mature, protected oaks and native pollinator habitats from the oak woodland trails in the upper outdoor learning area of Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS).

The destruction was discovered by parents and students in May 2020 who have continued to request an explanation to no avail. Now, more than two years later, the Canyon Chronicle staff hiked the trail leading to the upper campus with Alisa J. Land, one of the horrified parents of Topanga Elementary students. Observing the damage, we subsequently learned that it extended into L.A. County lands that are part of the Backbone Trail of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and part of the National Recreational Trails system.

Land and her husband, Kent Hill persisted, writing letters to the LAUSD, asking for an explanation: “It was observed that the action by the LAUSD led to destruction of many mature live oak trees, despite the legal protected status of these oaks and their critical role in supporting regrowth of young oaks and many additional species of flora and fauna native to this region,” they wrote. “Moreover, the action destroyed hundreds of mature native coastal chaparral plants, as well as more than 650 newly planted, native pollinator

the hazard clearing efforts removed some vegetation that was protected by law. L.A. Unified is a firm supporter of environmental stewardship and will work to improve its future coordination of such efforts with the community and regulators.”

After the LAUSD mentioned working with L.A. County Fire, we received the following response from Forestry Division Chief Ron Durbin:

“The references to LACoFD are simply through routine annual brush clearance consultation: provide defensible space to 200 feet from the structures or to the property line, whichever is less. Operations and Forestry always provide caveats to seek permits when performing any work on oaks,” wrote Chief Durbin. “L.A. County personnel were not involved with any clearance. The department does not work on oaks on private property unless there is an immediate life/property threat.”

The only reply the Canyon Chronicle had from the LAUSD regarding the response from County Fire was one email: “At this time, we have nothing further to add beyond the statement provided,” wrote an L.A. Unified Spokesperson.

Lack of Permits

“To our knowledge, no permits were sought or obtained for cutting protected live oaks, or destruction/endangerment of native habitats,” Land and Hill wrote in a letter to the District.

“Note that, according to what we’ve found as LAUSD Board of Education Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) protocols, LAUSD did not even follow their own protocols,” which state:

support plants. These pollinator plants were part of an award received by the TECS Science Committee of 1,600 native plants from the Xerces Society for the Conservation of Invertebrates in 2018, with the aim of supporting habitat building for endangered monarch butterflies and educating students.”

Regional Planning

The Canyon Chronicle also learned that on July 2, 2020, the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning issued a Notice of Violations (NOV) to Topanga Elementary and launched an investigation with the following“Regionalfindings:Planning conducted an inspection at 22075 W. Topanga School Road, Topanga, CA 90290 and disclosed the following violation(s):

• Development (unpermitted vegetation removal and grading) as defined in the Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Program has occurred on the premises without approval from the Department of Regional Planning.

• Development (unpermitted vegetation removal and grading) within protected H1, H1 Buffer, and H3 habitat categories has occurred on the premises without approval from the Department of Regional Planning.

• Damage and/or removal of one or more protected oak trees (multiple oak trees cut and removed) has occurred on the premises without approval from the Department of Regional Planning.

• Encroachment and/or endangerment of one or more oak tree “protected zone(s)” (unpermitted grading) has occurred on the premises without approval from the Department of Regional Planning.”

The Canyon Chronicle contacted Regional Planning and received the following reply: “There is an active zoning enforcement case at the property, and it is currently under investigation,” wrote Lauren De La Cruz, Regional Planner/Zoning Enforcement West Section County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning. “No further details can be disclosed at this time. Thank you.”

LAUSD:

Despite receiving four NOVs from Regional Planning for unpermitted tree removal, the LAUSD has not yet proposed plans for mitigation or oakRegardingreplanting.the

NOVs, neither TECS Principal Kevin Kassebaum nor LAUSD District Superintendent Nick Melvoin returned our emails or phone calls. After many attempts, the Canyon Chronicle received an email from the LAUSD:

“At L.A. Unified, student and staff safety are of paramount importance,” wrote the LAUSD Spokesperson. “Throughout the year, we collaborate with the Fire Department in completing mandated clearing of brush to help reduce the potential risk of forest fires near our schools. Regrettably,

“All tree trimming and removal conducted on District property is required to adhere to the procedures described in the LAUSD OEHS Tree Trimming and Removal Procedure. Compliance with this Procedure will ensure that District activities will not conflict with any tree preservation policies while ensuring the protection of breeding and nesting habitat of protected birds.

Written approval from the Director of OEHS, Director of Maintenance & Operations, Local District Superintendent, and School Principal is required before any protected tree is relocated or removed. For more information, please contact OEHS at (213) 241-3199 or the District Arborist at (213) 745-1422.”

Land and Hill further noted,“To our knowledge, the approval from the TECS principal Kevin Kassebaum was not obtained and we do not know if the other required authorizations were obtained.”

Topanga Elementary History

According to the Topanga Historical Society, there has been an elementary school on School Road in Topanga since the 1950s. When it was inaugurated in 1953 it was known as the “New School” because there had been an “old school” in Topanga Canyon since the 1920s. The “old school” site is part of the building that is now “Froggy’s” on 1105 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., and had been originally built in 1925 as the canyon’s elementary schoolhouse. Before that there was the “Little Red School House,” which was situated at Greenleaf Canyon and Topanga Road, educating canyon kids since way back to 1903.

In 1951, when the eight acres that was to become the site of the new Topanga Elementary School was purchased, about four acres of the land was preserved as a nature reserve that is now the backbone of the science program and an integral part of the Topanga Elementary Charter. There is a wonderful outdoor amphitheater above the upper playground and a formal Nature Trail that was built in the 1980s in collaboration with parents, classes and Eagle Scouts.

Mitigation Opportunities

“After the damage was first discovered, we worked diligently with relevant members of L.A. County Regional Planning Commission, the Coastal Commission, the Fire Department, the U.S. Forestry Service, the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, LAUSD and regional experts from the Topanga Town Council to determine appropriate measures to mitigate the damage and rehabilitate the area,” Land and Hill said. “We also pointed out that with appropriate mitigation, this could be an opportunity to engage school children in the rehabilitation process as a learning experience in environmental stewardship.”

Reaction from Topanga organizations, such as The Topanga Association for a Scenic Community (TASC), is general dismay.

“TASC thinks what the school district did was terrible,” wrote TASC Chair Roger Pugliese. “The wholesale destruction of the Oak Woodland was done without regard to the Topanga community or the school.. LAUSD must be held accountable and commit to mitigating the issue.”

It’s a mystery how mature protected oaks were destroyed in 2020 without permits. Two years later, Topanga is still seeking answers.

at Topanga Elementary BEFORE AFTER

Mature oaks play a critical role in supporting regrowth of young oaks and many additional species of flora and fauna native to this region.

1,600 native pollinator plants was part of an award by the Xerces Society for the Conservation of Invertebrates with the aim of supporting habitat building for endangered monarch butterflies and educating students.”

The butterfly garden attracted many butterflies, among them the endangered monarch butterfly.

Essential chaparral and 650 newly planted native pollinator support plants were also wiped out with the so-called brush clearing.

TECS students, Rebecca Land Hill and Kristian Land Hill, were desolated by the destruction of the habitat they had worked so hard to grow and nurture.

Even the Butterfly Garden was affected. The beautiful wall designed by Topanga Art Tile and the “Under Construction” sign provide the only color until the garden is restored.

Removing trees whose roots help retain soil, now makes this hillside ripe for erosion when the rains come.

Allegedly, the trees were not only cut down but the stumps were rooted out so there was little indication that a tree had been removed.

Resilient

Kamakshi Hart, solo theatre artist, trauma-informed coach, and award-winning creator of Wild At Hart: A Tale of Trauma & Triumph, presents her newest one-woman show, Resilient AF: Rising To The Occasion, at Corazon Performing Arts on Oct. 2nd, 7 p.m. It is a timely call to build our superpower of resilience as we navigate a world in trauma.

During the pandemic, Hart experienced a sense of futility as the lock-down wore on in 2020. Streaming Wild At Hart left her feeling ever more disconnected; a live audience engages an audience through theatre magic that can’t be attained on a screen.

By January 2021, Hart wasn’t sure what she wanted to write but knew she needed to write something. Progress on Resilient was halted with news that her father had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He passed within a few short weeks and soon Hart was flying back and forth to Pennsylvania to help her mother with the transition.

Working through her own grief, she experienced acute physical pain, a by-product of her post-traumatic stress from childhood. She sought help through the traditional medical system but the results were appalling. The lack of trauma-informed care fueled her desire to write a new play that would shine light on how trauma survivors carry wounds that may not be apparent to the eye but generate levels of challenge difficult to explain.

As in her first show, Wild At Hart, Kamakshi began to combine her training in spiritual psychology with her gifts as a playwright and performer and Resilient AF: Rising To The Occasion took shape and form.

“As a result of the pandemic, trauma is centered in our world view in a way we could never have imagined,” says Hart. “I felt compelled to share more of my experiences transforming trauma personally and professionally, and was drawn to write about my abortion experience. The Supreme Court voting to overturn Roe v. Wade was a timely choice that I now see that as a solo artist, I’m also an activist and a superpower that is needed now more than ever. With that realiztion, Resilience, my Super Heroine was born.”

Resilient AF runs 70 minutes and followed by a talk-back discussion. Tickets are available at KamakshiHart.com/resilient-af. For more information: (310) 455-9932, kamakshihart.com.

Content Note: Potentially disturbing material. Mature audience, Mid-teen (accompanied by an adult) and up.

Resilient AF premiered at the inaugural Joshua Tree Solo Festival 2022, and again at the Hollywood Fringe in June. What made this Fringe even more special after two pandemic years was the addition of her debut as a director and developer of a new one-woman show by local actor Kristy Beauvais, The Lion, The Witch & The Walk-In Closet

Both shows enjoyed successful runs and Beauvais will perform at Corazon on Oct. 16th, 7 p.m.

Hart is thrilled to team up with Corazon’s Gio Brandi and bring solo theatre to Topanga. The October performances follow on the illustrious heels of Stacie Burrows and her solo show, Bulletproof Unicorn, that was performed in July. Corizon is located at the Topanga Creek Courtyard, nextdoor to Endless Colors restaurant.

She will also be performing on Oct. 19th at the Hudson Guild Theatre in Hollywood and on Nov. 13th at NAMBA Performing Arts in Ventura.

Find Kamakshi Hart and Kristy Beauvais on Instagram and Facebook. Both shows are listed on Corazon’s Facebook page and Eventbrite.

What They’re Saying about Resilient AF

“A bold and fiercely compassionate performer. I loved this show! I challenge anyone not to!”

—Samantha Simmons-Ronceros,NoHoArts

“A creative genius and master storyteller. A must see!!”—David Harris

“I have never heard the idea that an attack on abortion rights is a continuance of the sexual violence against women but those words were in my mind and later on my lips after your performance. Thank you for your story, and for allowing me to see things closer from your perspective so I can have that expansion in my compassion for others.”

—William Kendig

Faculty Spotlight

Santa Monica College: Making Higher Education Affordable

The three-acre campus—SMC’s first in Malibu— includes a two-story educational building with dedicated science and computer labs, a 100-seat lecture hall with sloped seating for music and film, an art studio, open floor spaces for dance and yoga, general classrooms, a conference room, a community room, outdoor study spaces, and an interpretive center to tie into the rich and varied coastal features nearby. SMC will offer courses in Art, Biology, Creative Writing, Early Childhood Education, Psychology, and more!

SMC will offer four types of classes at the Malibu Campus: Credit – Classes for credit that can be used toward an Associate degree or transfer to a 4-year college.

Noncredit – Short-term vocational and workforce preparation courses and certificates.

Emeritus – Free noncredit and adult education courses specifically oriented to the interests of older adults. Community Education – Low-cost classes, seminars, and workshops.

Visit smc.edu/malibu to learn more.

Carol V. Davis Professor, Creative Writing & Fulbright Scholar

Carol V. Davis is the author of the poetry collections Because I Cannot Leave This Body (Truman State Univ. Press, 2017) and Between Storms (TSUP, 2012). She won the 2007 T.S. Eliot Prize for Into the Arms of Pushkin: Poems of St. Petersburg. Her poetry has been read on National Public Radio, in the Library of Congress, and on Radio Russia. Twice a Fulbright scholar in Russia, she also taught in Siberia during winter 2018. Davis has taught in the English Department at SMC since 2000, and at SMC Emeritus since 2006. She also teaches at Antioch University Los Angeles. She was the 2008 Sandburg-Auden-Stein Poet-inResidence at Olivet College in Michigan. Her new book, Below Zero (Stephen F. Austin State University Press), is forthcoming in 2023.

Kamakshi Hart (center) with Jenni Klemp and husband Matt after a Hollywood Fringe performance. Jenni assisted in crafting the big red cape to serve several character costumes!

Opening scene of Resilient AF. Santa Monica, CA 90405

The Bong Wizard, Part I

By Miles Erickson

It was the summer of 2016. My friend, Spenser, and I had just been let out of school, a Friday night but still about a week or two off from summer break. We were heading back home to the canyon for a party up on Fernwood, behind Mimosa Cafe. The party was at this guy Todd’s house, “Todd, from Topanga,” which was weird because we were all from Todd’sTopanga.house was the sort of place where all the local Topangans congregated, hanging around for days on end. It was sort of like Hotel California but with Mario Party tournaments. It was such a well-known hangout that, if you’ve lived in the canyon for more than a few years, I’m sure you know at least one person who was there on the night in question.

Todd was supplementing his income by letting homeless people sleep under his living room table for five dollars a night. The last couple times I’d been over to Todd’s, the table tenant had been a guy named Russell. He was in his mid-30s with dreadlocks and the words, “ONE LOVE,” tattooed under his eyes. As Spenser and I climbed up the stairs to the front of the house, we could see Todd’s door standing open and Russell in the kitchen grilling“‘Supburgers.bros?”

We were greeted by the voice of John Caltrain, who sat on the stoop leading up to the house. Caltrain was a local musician with a stage name that evoked the thought, “What if instead of being a Jazz musician, John Coltrane had become a...Greyhound bus driver?”

Spenser and I each replied with some variation of “Hey man, how’s it going?’

“Good dudes.” Caltrain started describing a music video he had been shooting and the song that it was paired with. “It’s called Intergalactic Starship…of Love.” He let us know to stick around because he was gonna play it for whoever was in attendance

Caltrainlater.and

Spenser continued with their niceties as I headed inside, through the door, past the two guys sitting on the couch playing Mario Party and drinking craft IPA’s. I approached the kitchen where Russell was patting the backs of several burger patties with a spatula. Standing next to him were Todd and some guy wearing paisley print pants.

Casually, I greeted them. “Hey, Todd, hey Russell.” Russell didn’t acknowledge me, just kept grilling, leaving Todd to fill the silence.

“’Sup, Miles? Have you met the Bong Wizard?” Todd gestured to the man in paisley. “He’s the protector of our reality.”

“Hey brotha,” spoke the wizard. He was zen and contemplative, in a “My body is here but my mind is on the astral plain 500 million light years away,” smoking a blue glass corn cob pipe, like“WhyGandolf.do they call you the Bong Wizard,” I asked. “Are you like a drug dealer or something?”

“No brother. They call me that because I’m a sorcerer, vibe mage (magician) and master incantationist. Also ‘cuz I have this sick bong in the back of my van.”

“Oh, cool,” I replied.

“Ayo everybody, burgers r’ up!” Russell turned around, holding up a plate balancing a pyramid of the absolute rarest hamburger meat that has ever been introduced to the inside of a bun.

“Come on guys! Spenser, John, everybody, grab a burger!”Now,imagine this, there were maybe 15 people in the room by now, all of whom were lovingly served these brain-matter burgers by Russell. Everybody held out their plates, far in front of them as they tried to avoid the bacteria splash zone erupting from the puddle of juices

the burgers had been swimming in. One by one, everybody received a burger, except for me, he passed me by, completely ignored me. I was starving, but I knew Russell was in a tight spot, and honestly, I had no intention of eating a burger anyway, so I didn’t say anything though I was offended. Looking around to see that some had even been served two burgers, this felt like a purposeful slight.

“Why didn’t Russell give me a burger?” I leaned in and whispered to Spenser as I set down my empty plate on a nearby table.

“He doesn’t like you”

“He doesn’t like me? I’ve literally only ever said Hi to “Hehim”says you have no integrity”

“He said what?! He lives under a table!”

At this point people were starting to pour into the house, it was a pretty small place so everyone was situated somewhat awkwardly.

“Okay, guys,” Caltrain spoke up, pulling out his guitar to command the room like an unsheathed katana. He began clearing a space near the kitchen to play his song for everyone. “Can somebody help me move this table?”

“You can’t move that table.” Russell stepped up. “What? Why?”

“It’s where I sleep, that’s my space.” Russell approached, drawing an invisible outline around the“Uh,area. okay, brother, we’ll move it back before yourCaltrainbedtime.”ignored Russell’s casual confrontation and began his song, playing through the tension and trying to avoid Russell’s dagger eyes. I leaned into Spenser’s ear, asking for an elaboration regarding Russell’s feelings about my integrity. Russell must have seen me mouthing something, because he spoke over the music and across the room to confront me.

“Miles, he’s trying to play! God do you even notice other people exist?!” Suddenly aligning himself with Caltrain, Russell spoke with the accusatory fire of an annoyed sibling or a school principle.“WHY DIDN’T YOU GIVE ME A HAMBURGER!?” I snapped back, “Because you have no moral fiber!”

Caltrain looked desperately annoyed. “I didn’t even get to finish my song, dudes!”

“It’s not even your song,” yelled Russell. Tensions were running hot. “I know that song! You didn’t write that song! You just played “Creep” by Radiohead and changed the lyrics to make it about spaceships in love or whatever!”

It was true, he was just playing “Creep” by Radiohead and changing the lyrics.

“ENOUGH!” yelled the wizard. The lights began to flicker as the room trembled under the awesome might of his ancient and mystic voice. “I think this dialogue would be more

productive should it take place on the ancestral plane!” His robe flew open, the Bong Wizard pulled down his paisley parachute pants, revealing some dirty jeans underneath. He dug into his pocket and summoned a wad of tinfoil. He carefully uncrumpled it to display its contents: four pieces of what looked like tiny sheets of paper.

“Its a new drug. Invented it myself. It will curse you with understanding for your fellow man,” the wizard announced. All mouths were hushed and all eyes intensely focused on the wizard. Even the game of Mario Party being played in the background had paused.

“You invented it? Are you a chemist?” I asked, extremely turned off by the idea.

“Yes!” the wizard announced before taking a brief pause. “I mean, not professionally, I work at Chipotle. See this is what I’m talking about.”

Russell sighed.

“He can’t just say thank you and be happy with what he gets,” said the wizard.

Russell grabbed the crumpled foil and began consuming its contents. “Thank you grand wizard.”

“That’s… not my name...it’s Bong Wizard!”

Continued Next Issue in Part 2

This playlist is available on Spotify. Search my username, Mileserickson-354.

Long Distance Listening Party, Vol. 16

• Unemployed in Summertime, Emiliana Torrini

• La Isla Bonita, Large Plants

• Look Me in the Eye Sister, Groove Armada

• Lucky Number 9, The Moldy Peaches

• Gouge Away, Nation of Language

• Synthesizer, Electric Six

• I’m Only Sleeping, R. Stevie Moore

Unemployed in Summertime, Emiliana Torrini. I wasn’t sure if I should start off the playlist with this song. It’s more of an acquired taste than some of the others. It doesn’t have the crowd-pleasing solos of “La Isla Bonita” or the hard-hitting dance beats of “Look Me in the Eye Sister.” And the first time I heard this song I kept waiting for a chorus. It definitely reminds me of MOBY, but I was surprised to see that it came out in the late ’90s because it fits so well with a lot of modern acts like Orion Sun or Angel Olson. It needs a couple of listens before it really hits.

La Isla Bonita, Large Plants. “La Isla Bonita” is a 2022 cover of a 1987 Madonna song. This song takes the “Gary Jules Mad World” approach to covers. By that I mean it completely changes the tone and genre and I’d say vastly approves upon the original by approaching the material from an industrial ’60s early psychedelic rock point of view. Madonna by way of Cream. Large Plants replaces the cheap synths and cheesy pan flutes of the original with crunchy, indulgent electric guitar solos and haunting reverb-ey vocals.

Lucky Number 9, The Moldy Peaches. This song works well on a compilation as one song on a playlist. But it doesn’t stand up all that well on its own. I admire how stripped down it is with only live drums, bass and vocals, no guitar or electronics at all other than maybe the bass. It’s technically a duet, and you can tell both parties wrote their own lyrics because, when combined, they feel super disjointed.

Miles Erickson is a recent graduate of CalArts, published author, and currently enrolled in a prestigious, 4 year, student loan repayment program.Long Distance Listening Party’s vague intention is to discuss topics framed in the context of what I’m currently listening to.

Student Programs

By Paula LaBrot

Baaaack to school, right? But some very good news about education!

There is a movement afoot offering middle and high school students apprenticeship programs. Apprentice programs offer young people realworld experience, a chance to explore and actually activate and test their individual interests and, in my opinion, an opportunity to escape the infantilization the present structures impose on them. Combining academic and technical classroom instruction with work experience “provides the foundation for youth to choose among multiple pathways—to enroll in college, begin full-time employment, or a combination,” according to apprenticeship.gov I love this idea.

A Little History

Back in the day, before a degree in business administration became a popular major in universities, Jr.

Achievement (JA) was a program for kids who were not usually college bound. Since 1919, JA has operated on the principle that the programs would “help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs, which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students

are mentored and encouraged to put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.” In my day, by the time the college bound of us graduated from universities, many of the JA kids were the employers providing the jobs we were looking for.

The JA kids had access to successful business people who volunteered their time and provided real-world, on-the job training and networking for their students that launched many a career. Today, JA is a robust, international organization. In 2022, they were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because “for centuries, unemployment and poverty have led to political instability, violence, and war. By economically empowering youth on all continents, JA serves a conduit for peace,” according to the nominating committee. Wow!

Apprentice programs for middle and high school students are a new

addition to real-world job experience educational tracks. Teaming up with the U.S. Department of Labor, school districts around the country offer students who participate in these programs a high school diploma, college credits, and industry credentials. According to apprenticeship.gov, “HS apprenticeship programs can add value for any student, from those planning to go to a four-year college to those exploring options after high school. For college-bound students, engaging in an apprenticeship can help them clarify their career aspirations and gain real-world work experience. For students who are less certain of their future choices, experiential learning has been shown to increase retention and graduation from high school. For all students, participation in HS apprenticeship offers career exploration, work experience, and a jump start toward post-secondary education and job opportunities.

How it Works

All around the country, state education departments are empowering middle schools and high schools to seek out and create partnerships with the U.S. Department of Labor, the School Superintendents Association and local employers. Programs vary depending on what types of businesses or institutions are available in a community.

To start a program, begin by creating an advisory council composed of key stakeholders: educators, administrators, community college partners and business executives. This group must set criteria for classroom instruction, student scheduling, onthe-job training and measurable credits and credentials earned. This includes, not just high school credits

earned, but college credits as well, giving students a real jump on their higher education pathways, saving them time and money. Usually, the Superintendent of Schools takes the lead in these programs.

The next step is to engage students in the apprentice programs. They may spend part of the day in school and part of the day at their job sites. Or they might spend a summer at the job site, or after-school hours. They may end up missing out on some of the school social aspect, but that’s not always a bad thing.

Students are paid for their work hours under special arrangements with the U.S. Department of Labor, and parts of the curriculum include money management skills that young college students generally lack when they leave home. Being paid to learn, being mentored by skilled employers and being able to try out career interests seem very beneficial for the engaged student. Students can end up with a high school degree, up to 1.5 years of college credit, a marketable skill set, a career pathway and money in the bank.

Many apprenticeships are offered in STEM-related fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is highly motivating to students to find meaning in what they learn in traditional classrooms as they apply this knowledge to the real-world skill sets they learn on the job. The goal is to provide students with access to high quality, industryfocused training that combines classroom and on-the-job learning, and affordable pathways to college and careers in high-demand industries.

Development and Dignity

I love this idea. And I love the idea of starting it in Jr. High School, which I think is the source of adolescent misery and a place we really need to focus on. If you ask students who have been through it, you will hear about the drugs, pornography and sexualization shoved at them from day one. I think the dignity of work and the apprentice opportunity is a pathway, not only to a career, but to the freedom of being allowed to grow up.

Check out apprenticeship.gov/ educators.Vamos a ver!

Back School

Kathie Gibboney

There are occasions when time stands still, or at least slows because the moment is of such glorious importance it begs one to stop and recognize it. Time stood still on a Thursday afternoon in Boardriders Surf Shop on PCH.

For weeks I had watched the Beleaguered Husband scrolling through surfboards for sale. Actually, this is not anything I haven’t seen throughout the course of our marriage, although back in day there was no internet and he’d have to physically hunt down boards up and down the California coast, sometimes answering ads in publications or on bulletin boards leading to encounters with shady, “cash only” guys in back alley garages. Now in pursuit of adding another board to his collection, such as it is, the whole worldwide spectrum of surfboards is at his fingertips. Unfortunately, due to pesky financial constraints, this screen shopping is more of a hobby, just some whimsy to pass the time like looking at threemillion-dollar homes in Santa Cruz, the perfect old Land Cruiser, or a high-end printer that works.

Then something happened to propel fantasy into reality. A birthday was coming, and our son, in a state of dazzled grace, wanted to give his Dad a surfboard.Iwatched as Michael wavered back and forth with the idea, “I can’t

let Riley buy me a surfboard, can I?”

A moment later he is lost in the online sea of offerings from Firewire, Album, Lost, Pyzel, and Procter. This goes on with an admirable dedication and the answer to his question, although humbling, is obviously, “Yes,” or “Hell yes!”

Now and then he solicits my opinion, like I know what a Fish with a displacement hull is. I try to appear as if I’m deeply pondering the choices, finally stating, “I like the green one.”

Evidently the green one was the right choice. Shaper, surfer, and handsome black trailblazer from Oregon, Ry Harris seems a revolution unto himself with the development of his creative company, Earth Technologies. “My company is the leading production facility in the environmentally sustainable surfboard movement. We produce zero waste. I call us the Ecoboard Capital,” he says. His surfboards are created by recycling and breaking down trash, old clothes, straws, plastic debris, which he forms into creative, state-ofthe-art, surfboards that look as if they should be mounted on museum walls as modern art. In the past, surfboards were made with polyurethane, a toxic material, but wanting to leave a lighter footprint from those who walk on water, Mr. Harris has admirably succeeded in bringing surfing, art and eco-attitude together, and it was one of his boards that we went to see at Boardriders one afternoon...and

yes...it was green, vibrant, glowing, swirling, mystical, and alive with movement like water itself.

As we stood there with the young salespeople, who may or may not have bothered listening to us, we proudly shared that our son was buying the board for his father, the magnitude of the moment struck. There we were, now of a certain age, and Riley once known as “The Puddin,” was now grown up and giving his father such a wonderful and perfect present in the impossible year of 2022. We called Riley in Ventura and while he and his dad spoke and our son completed the transaction with the sales guy, I strolled over to the ladies swimming suits pretending to be interested (as if I could ever wear such a thing again), as a tear slipped down my face. But it was not for the loss of my days in the sun, but for a little boy who grew up.

A few days later we went up to

Ventura where Riley and his father surfed together. It was a wonderful thing to Michaelsee.took

“The Riley,” which is what we christened the board, to Mission Beach on a little vacation and as the water warmed and the waves came up in Topanga, he seemed to be going out every day locally. On a Saturday morning I got the call. It was one of those you don’t want to get. After saying hello, the Beleaguered Husband announced, “I’ve had an accident surfing and need stitches.”

I refrained from asking, “But how’s theTheboard?”waiting room at Kaiser Emergency was blessedly air conditioned but the operative word was “waiting.” We took books, The Canyon Chronicle and cell phones, to pass the time. After about three hours we were seen. All agreed it was a gnarly gash, luckily on his leg not his head.

“The Riley” had spared him that when its fin sliced him (or was it a shark?)

All the staff were friendly and efficient although there was the remark from the young MD, sort of adding insult to injury, “I don’t see too many guys in your demographic still surfing.”

So now he sits on the shore or the bench with the locals or others on the DL (Disabled List), staring out to sea, admiring the waves, longing to ride them, stuck on land like an overturned turtle until the healing’s done. “The Riley” waits. Life of a surfer.

KATHIE GIBBONEY

Michael Anapol with “The Riley” and banged-up leg.

nArtfully Autistic Molly Rose—Friday Friday night, September 9, was blessed with rain after a long pandemic drought when Lloyd Sax, founder of Artists Matter gallery, held a post-pandemic reopening event, a blend of mocktails, music by Leftover Cuties. (leftovercuties.com) and art.

Featured artist Molly Rose, a young adult on the autism spectrum, was also back after the pandemic dry spell to display her fanciful, playful paintings. She is a one-of-a-kind artist who connects with others primarily through her love of art, music and humor. At the age of twelve, she showed her art for the first time at the Faulkner Gallery in Santa Barbara, and in 2020, she won first place in The Art of Autism contest for Women’s History Month. Her art shows up on walls of private collectors throughout the world and has been commissioned to design labels for Ozymandias Wines in New York and Shokrian Wines in California. The exhibit runs to September 30.

Artists Matter is located at 129 S. Topanga Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290. Lloyd Sax can be reached at (310) 488.8797; lloyd@artistsmatter.org.

n

Topanga Actors Company (TAC) is back with The Watsons, Sept. 24 & 25, 2 p.m. TAC’s first in-person production since the Covid crisis, resumes at the Topanga Library with a staged reading of The Watsons. Inspired by Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, playwright Laura Wade tells the story of Miss Emma Watson. Since Austen only wrote a fragment of the story, Wade must flesh it out and inserts herself into the story as a character called Laura. Twists and turns ensue as the ‘characters’ of the play start taking control of the story. Who will write

—Pamela Mesaros

Emma’s happy ending now? This sparklingly witty play looks under the bonnet of Jane Austen and asks: what can characters do when their author abandons them? It’s fun and surprising and a grand reopening play for our live reader’s theater experience.

Topanga Library, 122 N. Topanga Canyon Bvd. Free tickets and open seating. Reception to follow. Info: topangaactorscompany.org. This program is not sponsored or endorsed by L.A. County Library.

The McDaniel Brothers in Concert “Homecoming,” Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m. Enjoy an evening Under the Oaks of modern classical fare influenced by progressive rock, jazz fusion and pulsing electronic music with musicians and composers The McDaniel Brothers (Marshall on cello and piano, Kellen on viola) at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum.

Tickets, $25, available at Box Office: (310) 455-3723; theatricum. com/under-the-oaks. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga CA 90290. Audience members are advised to dress warmly and bring cushions for bench seating. Refreshments are available and picnickers are welcome before the performances. Proof of vaccination and ID required for admission (or proof of negative antigen or PCR Covid test taken within three days of the performance); masks recommended.

The McDaniel Brothers play progressive rock, fusion and electronic music.