New Calendar is a Huge Gift to the Community
Thank you so much for the new Calendar! It’s a beautiful listing of happenings in the canyon, including our Sages activities. We advertise our classes to our group via email, but we have about 40 families without email. This will allow those who aren’t members to know what’s available, and connect isolated seniors to the greater community.
The calendar is a huge gift not just for Topanga’s seniors, but for all Topangans who want to stay in the know and support our local organizations. The Messenger Mountain News keeps getting better and better, and this is a great new must-read addition. Thank you!
—Michele Johnson
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Thanks for giving [Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s] thoughts about the homeless count such respectful treatment. This is a problem that we spent 30 years allowing to fester and it’s going to take more than a year or two to get it under control, particularly [considering the] given housing market conditions. I really appreciate your support.
—Barbara Osborn, Director of Communications for Supervisor Kuehl
Editor’s Note: This thank-you goes both ways.
Unplugged Connection Information
The indomitable Jane Terjung says: My StayConnected web page has grown and has lots more than when it first started a month or so ago.It has solutions for folks who do not have solar panels, as well as information about Communication Safety Net pros & cons. Here’s the latest, plus I attached a few sample items: Home Communications in a Blackout; and Gadgets that Help in a Blackout.
http://janeterjung.com/StayConnected.html.
—Jane Terjung
Glyphosate Spraying
On Tuesday afternoon I saw a large pickup truck going up Callon Drive while I was getting my mail. It stopped several times up the street so that the driver could spray along the side of the road. I waited for him to come back and flagged him down. The young man in the truck was a contractor for SoCal Edison. He said that he was spraying for weeds around electrical poles. I asked him what they were spraying and he gave me the safety data sheets for three chemicals: Monsanto’s Ranger Pro Herbicide, Dow Chemical Milestone VM Herbicide,and Bayer Esplanade 200 SC.
Does anyone know how bad this stuff is? It doesn’t seem to be Roundup-level bad but I don’t have much of a chemistry background (nor do I trust the people at Monsanto given their track record). The safety data sheets all claim to be “practically non-toxic” but that seems to leave them some euphemistic wiggle room.
The second question is why the hell are they spraying weed killer at this time of year? The weeds have already browned out. Bad enough that they spray these chemicals when there are actual weeds to kill; it doesn’t make any conceivable sense when the weeds are already dead.
—Justin Oppmann
We Have Been Heard
This is in response to the urgent alert regarding recent Glyphosate spraying [by SCE crews]. I wrote immediately to County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and copied the Messenger Mountain News.
This is Sheila Kuehl’s response: “We inquired right away. Their landscape manager has asked his bosses to halt all use while they review all the regulations. SCE issued a stop order. I will follow up.”
I am issuing this and another alert so that everyone who might be concerned will be aware that we have been heard.
—Deena Metzger