Features

Birds and Butterflies

In the past few months, the Science Committee at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) has been engaging our school and community in support of our local wildlife. On December 6th, the school…

A 2020 Primer on the US Constitution: Origins & Compromise

Jimmy Morgan will continue with Part II of this 2020 Primer on the United States Constitution in the February 21 issue of the Messenger Mountain News. Our re-acquaintance with the country’s founding…

92nd Academy Awards

Bringing you the best talking points and predictions from our resident critic with an attitude. This is the best time of year. Normally, I would go on about the importance of cinema…

Oscars Criticized For Lack Of Female Nominees

The 2020 Oscars, like all before it, are distinctly male-dominated. While trailblazers like director Greta Gerwig are making strides to prove themselves within the industry, equality is slow-growing.  “I think that there…

6

Rediscovering Hollywood’s Forgotten Women Filmmakers

For as long as there have been movies, there have been women who made them. The silent film era offered women a rare opportunity to forge a career in a new industry,…

Pitango Trotoush—Topanga’s Gem

Pitango Trotoush was born and raised in Tel Aviv. After completing Israel’s compulsory military service thirty years ago, he started traveling the world “to achieve my highest potential.”  First to New York…

4

Spence’s Cabins: The History Behind Topanga’s Original Motel

In 1907, the newly widowed Keturah Catherine Spence (1857-1940) left Brantford, Canada to start over in Los Angeles. Catherine, as she called herself, risked her fortune on an avocado orchard, becoming one…