Annemarie Donkin

Annemarie Donkin is a journalist who wrote for The Signal in Valencia, CA and was the Managing Editor for the Topanga Messenger from 2013 to 2016. She is thrilled to write for the Messenger Mountain News to continue the tradition of excellent community newspapers. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel throughout California, read, watch movies and keep bees.

Topangans Speak Out at Fire Listening Session

Among 109 people testifying before a Task Force of Los Angeles and Ventura County department heads, Topangans targeted the power outage on the first day of the Woolsey fire. For 30 hours,…

3

Warner Center 2035 Plan Meeting Turns Rowdy

About 100 residents and union members attending a Woodland Hills–Warner Center Neighborhood Council (WHWCNC) meeting on Feb. 13 became unruly during a heated Q&A session about why City Planning, the Planning Commission,…

Coming Soon: Clean Energy for LA County

Communities within Los Angeles and Ventura Counties are negotiating cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable energy sources and have them delivered using its existing supplier. Rate payers in qualifying areas have received two…

Keeping Love Alive at the Hamburger Habit

About seven years ago, my sweetie, Jim, and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day by making reservations at one of our favorite restaurants—Anarbagh Indian Cuisine in Woodland Hills. We dressed up! I…

5

Celebrating Family Life with Hir

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble opens its 50th anniversary season with the Los Angeles premiere of Hir, a darkly funny, shockingly absurd and endlessly surprising vision of a world in transition by MacArthur genius Taylor Mac.  Confidently directed by Bart…

Rain or Shine, Teachers Unite

An estimated 50,000 teachers walked off the job on Monday, January 14, as representatives of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) failed to reach an agreement over the weekend.  …

Kidpower Safety Workshop

  Kidpower’s age-appropriate, effective and empowering approach to teaching child protection, positive communication and interpersonal safety skills could save their lives.  In these stressful times, it’s nice to know there is an…

The Woolsey Wildfire—Paying for the Cleanup

“It will be a three-to five-year recovery process. Basically, we live in the hillsides and we can’t let our guard down,” says Philippe Eskandar, City Administrative Analyst for Westlake Village. “People lose…

6

Firefighters Save Las Virgenes Water District Headquarters

IN SPITE OF SITTING DIRECTLY IN THE PATH OF THE WOOLSEY FIRE THAT ROARED DOWN LAS VIRGENES CANYON ROAD ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, THE LAS VIRGENES MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT (LVMWD) BUILDINGS WERE SAVED…