Local News | Community Calendar | Classifieds | Business Directory | Real Estate | Weather | Home Commercial messages, profane language or allusions, libelous comments, excessive or continuous negative comments about any person or business, racially derogatory remarks, license plate numbers, prominent use of all capital letters, empty message body, use of anothers or similar screen name as your own, reference or clues to another users identity, use of your own real name, consecutive or repetitive messages from the same person, classified ads, and lost/found notices are not permitted. See Guidelines. Messages are removed at the webmasters sole discretion. Correspondence with site administrators may be posted to this forum. ©1995-2010 Sweet Pea Communications. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. http://topangaonline.com/forums/list.php?6 Thu, 17 May 2012 02:39:07 -0700 Phorum 5.2.9a http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6188,6188#msg-6188 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6188,6188#msg-6188
------------------------------------

$100-million pot farm destroyed in Topanga State Park raid
May 14, 2012 | 3:50 pm

Authorities have uncovered a 34,000-plant marijuana farm in Topanga State Park -- the largest such operation found in the Santa Monica Mountains in seven years.

Law enforcement officials raided the site Friday after park rangers found a plastic-lined earthen dam diverting water from a Topanga Creek tributary to a marijuana cultivation site deep in the park’s backcountry, said Craig Sap, Angeles District Supt. for California State Parks.

Officials destroyed an estimated $100-million worth of marijuana, mostly young plants about 1 to 2 feet tall. The raid was carried out by a team of state park rangers, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and officials with the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority.

No arrests were made, Sap said, though three men were seen fleeing the scene.

Authorities also removed more than 500 pounds of trash and supplies left behind by pot farmers, including propane tanks, decaying batteries, fertilizer and pesticides that are banned in California. They said they also found hunting traps and a dead fox.

The growing operation was divided into 13 plots distributed throughout the steep chaparral, Sap said. It caused extensive damage to the soil, watershed, native plants and animals. It could take years for the environment to recover, he said.

“It takes so much effort to catch these guys,” Sap said. “The goal really is to get rid of the drugs and restore the site.”

More pot-growing sites have been cropping up in the Santa Monica Mountains in the last few years as increased enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border has made smuggling more risky, Sap said.

In 2009 authorities discovered a marijuana-growing operation 25 feet behind the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Station.]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Mon, 14 May 2012 20:43:16 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6186,6186#msg-6186 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6186,6186#msg-6186 Wire Services
Posted: 05/10/2012 02:36:29 PM PDT
Updated: 05/10/2012 02:37:52 PM PDT

MALIBU -- A woman was killed today when the car she was driving crashed off the side of Malibu Canyon Road in Malibu.

The crash was reported shortly before 10 a.m. about a mile north of Pacific Coast Highway, said county fire Inspector Quvondo Johnson.

The 46-year-old woman, who was from Topanga, died at the scene, said California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos. Authorities withheld her name pending notification of her relatives.

The woman was driving a Mazda Miata north on Malibu Canyon Road when she lost control of the car, which tumbled off the side of the roadway, ejecting her, Villalobos said. She apparently was alone in the car, he said.

Malibu Canyon Road was closed between PCH and Piuma Road while an investigation was conducted into the circumstances of the crash, the CHP reported.]]> Dogwood Topanga Talk Fri, 11 May 2012 17:06:41 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6182,6182#msg-6182 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6182,6182#msg-6182
The rising full Moon will coincide with it's closest orbital distance to Earth at 8:34 this evening. Skies are especially clear now so there should be a good rising view from the Park.]]> Edenite Topanga Talk Sun, 06 May 2012 11:43:28 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6180,6180#msg-6180 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6180,6180#msg-6180
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20549687/topanga-canyon-at-pch-closed-after-fuel-spill]]> topangamom Topanga Talk Mon, 07 May 2012 14:45:09 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6179,6179#msg-6179 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6179,6179#msg-6179
tia

Tim]]> tpnga Topanga Talk Fri, 04 May 2012 17:19:17 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6178,6178#msg-6178 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6178,6178#msg-6178
---------------------------

TOPANGA (CBS) — A massive multi-agency wildfire drill set for this Saturday will call upon residents in Topanga Canyon to evacuate their homes.

KNX 1070′s Ron Kilgore reports county officials are hoping the exercise will highlight the canyon’s various transportation challenges.

The drill is expected to test residents’ response to an emergency in a neighborhood that has only one major roadway by asking them to actually vacate the canyon.

“Let’s see if we can evacuate that community and simulate a fire that is impinging on that community and we need to protect people by evacuation,” said Anthony Whittle, Assistant Fire Chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department and incident commander for the exercise.

Residents will be asked to drive out to either the Red Cross Evacuation Centers at Taft or Palisades High Schools during the drill, with updates expected to come through ALERT-LA phone lines or by subscribing to the emergency notification service by text messaging the word “EVACUATION” to 888777.

The mock scenario will simulate a fast-moving fire blocking the canyon’s north end — a scenario that Whittle said could potentially be a threat to communities beyond Topanga Canyon.

“The wind-driven fire based on that 2-to-6-hour window can go from the 101 corridor all the way to the ocean,” he noted.

The exercise is scheduled from April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents will be able to hear “evacuation” updates throughout the day on KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO.]]> Julie Topanga Talk Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:22:02 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6176,6176#msg-6176 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6176,6176#msg-6176
----------------------------------------------------------

Vehicle Chase ends in Woodland Hills
Daily News Wire Servicesdailynews.com
Posted: 04/12/2012 07:04:52 AM PDT

WOODLAND HILLS - The southbound lanes of the Ventura (101) Freeway -- one of the region's major arteries -- were reopened today after a nightlong closure prompted by an investigation into the fatal shooting of a 19- year-old Winnetka man by Los Angeles police officers at the end of a car chase. | Video of the pursuit: KCBS/KCAL | NBC4

The shooting occurred on the freeway in Woodland Hills shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday, triggering a probe by investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department's Force Investigation Division and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Until the southbound lanes were re-opened at 8 a.m., motorists were diverted at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and allowed to re-enter the southbound lanes at Winnetka Avenue, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Los Angeles police have not said whether the man who was shot and killed by officers was armed. The man's family identified him as Abdul Arian and said he was unarmed. An uncle said the young man both wanted to be a police officer and feared police, and he wondered aloud if officers could have used non-lethal force. A graduate of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Arian was attending Pierce College.

The man, who was suspected of reckless driving, was shot after exiting his car on the southbound 101 Freeway at the end of a chase, said Officer Gregory Baek of the LAPD's Media Relations office.

Officers from the LAPD's Devonshire Station first stopped the suspect's car around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Plummer Street and Shirley Avenue in Northridge, said Officer Karen Rayner of LAPD Media Relations. The man sped away from the stop and drove recklessly, running red lights, before getting onto the freeway, she said.

He exited the freeway at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and re-entered on the southbound side, LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman said.

The chase ended on the freeway at Canoga Avenue with the suspect fleeing through the passenger side door of his car, which was turned sideways in the middle of lanes. A squad car was driven into the driver's side door.

The suspect could be seen in television footage pointing at officers as he ran, but it was unclear if he had anything in his hand. Either way, the gesture was followed by police fire, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.]]> topangamom Topanga Talk Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:22:12 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6170,6170#msg-6170 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6170,6170#msg-6170 Witnesses told police that a vehicle ran a red light before the crash on Ventura Boulevard at Topanga Canyon
By Jonathan Lloyd and John Cadiz Klemack
NBC4 - Los Angeles

| Wednesday, Apr 4, 2012 | Updated 2:11 PM PDT

Pedestrian in Critical Condition After Crash

Four people were hospitalized after a crash involving two cars and pedestrians Wednesday in Woodland Hills.

One of the pedestrians was hospitalized in critical condition after the crash on Ventura Boulevard near Topanga Canyon. The victim was identified as a 45-year-old man.

The victim was in the crosswalk when he was struck, according to authorities. Witnesses told investigators that the driver of a silver sedan ran a red light.

Aerial video showed a silver Toyota Corolla on a sidewalk and a matte black Porsche Panamera, which was parked, with rear-end damage. The driver of the Porsche also was hospitalized.

The driver of the sedan was identified as an 85-year-old female who was with her daughter. Both were hospitalized.]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:26:43 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6169,6169#msg-6169 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6169,6169#msg-6169 040312_Emily_Wells
Music
Posted April 04th, 2012, 9:04 AM by Brandon Kim

Emily Wells retired to a cabin on a Topanga Canyon horse ranch to record her forthcoming album, “Mama.” And in the same kind of one-woman show spirit, the multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, violin, drums, cello), directed this video of herself for its first single. “Passenger,” Wells told us, “is a collection of short videos taken while touring, moving postcards of light and wind, me banging on drum, and many experiments with stop motion and my homemade buffalo.”

“Mama” is out on Partisan April 10th, and Wells’ alluring collaboration with Dan the Automator, called “Pillowfight” will follow later in the year. Watch the “fleeting nature of all the places encountered” on Wells’ journey. Then give her the keys, she wants to drive.

See the photos at http://www.ifc.com/fix/2012/04/premiere-emily-wells-passenger]]> Julie Topanga Talk Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:03:45 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6167,6167#msg-6167 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6167,6167#msg-6167 By DAVID W. DUNLAP
Published: April 2, 2012

Charles Lockwood, whose 1972 book, “Bricks and Brownstone: The New York Row House, 1783-1929,” both chronicled and furthered the row-house revival that transformed many New York neighborhoods, died on Wednesday at his home in Topanga, Calif. He was 63.

The cause was cancer, said Patrick Ciccone, Mr. Lockwood’s collaborator on a newly revised edition of the book, tentatively scheduled for publication next year.

The architecture critic Paul Goldberger, in his introduction to the revised edition of 2003, said “Bricks and Brownstone” gave the row-house revival “a kind of moral impetus, making it clear how much genuine architectural and urban history lay within these buildings, and how much the row houses of New York are, in fact, the underlying threads of the city’s urban fabric.”

While the book concerned New York, such revivals occurred in many cities. After the Great Depression and World War II, old brownstones had ceased being symbols of middle-class stability and affluence. Often carved into multiple dwellings, they had instead become emblems of decay, desperation and overcrowding.

Mr. Lockwood was not the first to rediscover their beauty and importance, but he and the photographer Robert Mayer documented them in exceptional detail. Mr. Lockwood placed the houses in historical context and sorted them by style and era, explaining how architectural features can give away a building’s provenance. In the Dec. 1, 2003, issue of The New Yorker, Judith Thurman called “Bricks and Brownstone” a “bible for buffs, architects and preservationists.”

Charles Lockwood was born on Aug. 31, 1948, in Washington. His mother, Allison, survives him, as do his brother, John, with whom he wrote “The Siege of Washington: The Untold Story of the 12 Days That Shook the Union” (2011), and his husband, Carlos Boyd, whom he married last September in New York.

“Bricks and Brownstone” was born in the summer of 1969, between Mr. Lockwood’s junior and senior years at Princeton University. At a New York Public Library branch, he asked where he could find a book about brownstones. (The term is often used as a synonym for row houses, even for structures clad in limestone or brick.)

“We don’t have one,” the librarian answered. “It’s never been written.”

That was all he had to hear. Buoyed by “youthful enthusiasm and more than a little naïveté,” Mr. Lockwood said, he decided to write his senior thesis on brownstones, with the hope of publishing it as a book.

While preparing the thesis, he and Mr. Mayer happened to be on West 11th Street on March 6, 1970, photographing a Greek Revival doorway, when a tremendous explosion tore through a nearby house that had been covertly turned into a bomb factory by the radical Weathermen group. They took a picture of the burning building that was published the next day on Page 1 of The New York Times.

That was Mr. Lockwood’s first appearance in The Times, but not the last. He wrote more than two-dozen articles and essays for The Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as Smithsonian magazine and The Atlantic. He moved from New York to California in the late 1970s and wrote several books there, including “Suddenly San Francisco: The Early Years of an Instant City” (1978) and “Dream Palaces: Hollywood at Home” (1981).

But “Bricks and Brownstone” was his favorite, he said in the foreword to the 2003 edition. Working on it again, he wrote, was joyful and exhilarating — “for I will never tire of exploring New York’s historic neighborhoods.”]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:50:29 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6166,6166#msg-6166 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6166,6166#msg-6166
The California State Parks system recently announced a partnership with Stater Bros. Charities and Coca-Cola Refreshments to raise much-needed funds during a time of challenging budget cuts.
01 April 2012 04:41 PM

The California state parks system recently announced a partnership with Stater Bros. Charities and Coca-Cola Refreshments to raise much-needed funds during a time of challenging budget cuts.

These partners team up for a short, intense campaign every spring to help protect local assets important to the community and improve state parks for families that enjoy them for recreation. Called Preserve Our Parks, the program is a six-week campaign with the goal of raising up to $1 million to support Southern California parklands.

The campaign encourages customers to support the region’s state parks while shopping at Stater Bros. Supermarkets. Shoppers can make a $1 or $5 tax-deductible donation to the Preserve Our Parks campaign at Stater Bros. checkout lanes through April 24, or they may donate online at http://www.preserveourparks.info.

Additionally, Coca-Cola Refreshments will donate one dollar when consumers buy $10 worth of participating Coca-Cola products at Stater Bros., including branded soft drinks, vitaminwater, vitaminwater zero, smartwater, Powerade ION4, Powerade Zero, Fuze, Dasani, Gold Peak products, Minute Maid products, Simply juices and Honest Tea products. The Coca-Cola products promotion runs through May 8.

This is the fourth year that Coca-Cola and Stater Bros. have initiated an environmental stewardship program for parks. The previous campaigns combined raised nearly $2 million that was used to plant one million trees in parks damaged by wildfires, support beach cleanup and dune restoration at popular state beaches and provide trail maintenance at Southern California state parks.

“Protecting and preserving our local California state parks is a priority for the Stater Bros. supermarket family,” says Jack H. Brown, Stater Bros. chairman and chief executive officer. “We are proud to be a part of a program that helps safeguard Southern California’s natural assets for local residents and future generations.”

“We are grateful for our partners at Stater Bros. and Coca-Cola for supporting Southern California state parks,” said Ruth Coleman, director of California state parks. “These funds provide critical dollars toward enhancing visitor experiences during challenging budget times.”

All monies raised during the campaign will be donated to the California State Park Foundation. Educational facts, Preserve Our Parks program details and the ability to share the campaign via social media platforms are available on the Preserve Our Parks website and the Facebook cause page.

Preserve Our Parks directly benefits iconic Southern California state parks and that partial list includes: Malibu Creek State Park and Topanga State Park in Los Angeles County; Huntington Beach, San Clemente and Crystal Cove state parks in Orange County; Anza-Borrego, Cuyamaca Rancho and Carlsbad state parks in San Diego County; Silverwood Lake and Chino Hills in San Bernardino County; and Lake Perris and Mount San Jacinto in Riverside County.

Information: www.preserveourparks.info]]> Dogwood Topanga Talk Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:41:47 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6161,6161#msg-6161 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6161,6161#msg-6161 Edenite Topanga Talk Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:36:05 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6159,6159#msg-6159 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6159,6159#msg-6159 TheThinker Topanga Talk Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:40:08 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6157,6157#msg-6157 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6157,6157#msg-6157 The Associated Press
Posted: 03/13/2012 01:31:35 AM PDT
March 13, 2012 8:31 AM GMT Updated: 03/13/2012 01:31:35 AM PDT

MALIBU, Calif.—A 28-year-old man who was kite surfing over the Pacific Ocean off Topanga State Beach has died after being pulled unconscious from the water by a lifeguard.

City News Service reports that rescuers were called to the beach south of Malibu at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Lt. Robert Wiard of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu/Lost Hills Station says a lifeguard who was watching the man and another kite surfer saw the victim hit the water.

Moments later the victim's rig became airborne, but he stayed down.

Wiard says the lifeguard paddled out and found the man face-down in the water.

The lifeguard brought the victim to shore and performed CPR until Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The man's name wasn't immediately released.]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:10:38 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6156,6156#msg-6156 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6156,6156#msg-6156
If you go
What: ‘Tortilla Curtain’ (based on the novel by T.C. Boyle)
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, March 17-April 8
Where: Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown San Diego
Contact: (619) 544-1000 or sdrep.org

By Pat Sherman

Following on the heels of La Jolla Playhouse’s production of “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José,” San Diego Repertory Theatre will further examine the dreams, fears and apprehensions surrounding Southern California’s trans-border experience with a stage adaptation of “The Tortilla Curtain.”

The production, based on T.C. Boyle’s gripping novel of the same name, explores the issue of illegal immigration through the viewpoint of two couples living in close proximity to each other in Topanga Canyon. They include the affluent and idealistic Kyra and Delaney Mossbacher, and Cándido Rincón and his pregnant wife, América, homeless immigrants camping in the canyon below the Mossbacher’s gated community.

As the story unfolds, Cándido and América, who entered the U.S. illegally via the so-called ‘Tortilla Curtain,’ unwittingly and repeatedly collide with the Mossbachers as they search for work and an apartment to raise their child. The resulting miscommunication and misunderstanding between the couples begins to challenge Delaney’s liberal worldview.

“He goes through such a radical transformation,” said playwright Matthew Spangler, who adapted the novel for the stage. “At the beginning of the book he’s a liberal environmentalist and takes all the liberal, progressive lines on almost any issue you can imagine, but by the end of the book he’s sort of the neighborhood vigilante trying to hunt down Cándido with a gun.”

Kinan Valdez and Vivia Font in San Diego Repertory Theatre’s production of the ‘Tortilla Curtain.'

Though each of the characters goes through a psychic shift, the Rep’s artistic director, Sam Woodhouse, said Delaney’s is the most pronounced. “It’s not so much (a shift in) who he his, but what he is capable of doing,” Woodhouse said.

Before paring Boyle’s 355-page novel down to a 90-minute script, Spangler had discussions with Boyle, whose works also include “Drop City,” and “The Road to Wellville,” which became a film staring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Broderick.

“He’s been very generous and supportive,” Spangler said. “When I’ve asked him things like, ‘Is this important to you? Can I cut this or change that?’, his response has always been, ‘Do what you think is right. You’re the playwright; I trust you.’ That’s kind of inspiring to hear the author say.”

In both the novel and the play, immigration is addressed from three distinct viewpoints, that of Mr. and Mrs. Rincón, and of Delaney Mossbacher.

“I found that really exciting, so I’ve written the script as monologues,” Spangler said. “Three main characters speak directly to the audience, so you’re constantly shifting points of view.”

Through the course of the fast-moving “Tortilla Curtain,” the Rep has the challenge of delivering a rape, car accident, forest fire and landslide.

“It’s a tricky piece to adapt,” said Spangler, who teaches playwriting and immigration studies at San Jose State University. ”There are these epic things that happen, but I think that’s kind of the magic of theatre, because so much of that will ultimately happen in the audience’s imaginations.”

Spangler and Woodhouse both said they read the novel shortly after its 1995 release, immediately envisioning it as a play.

“Immigration is a topic that gets a lot of political discourse in our society, but I think there’s relatively little of that in art, and especially in theatre,” Spangler said.

For Woodhouse, one of the most evocative passages in the book (now a scene in the play) involves Boyle’s description of coyotes howling in the canyon.

“It’s an extraordinarily evocative sound,” Woodhouse said. “It’s sensual and scary and seductive and primitive and wise all at the same time. The coyote is a metaphor for a lot of things. … It’s that bugle call of change.”

Spangler, who also adapted T.C. Boyle’s short story, “Killing Babies,” for the stage, said the author’s literary voice and use of dark humor lends itself nicely to the theater.

“Almost all of his works rely on a kind of a satirical, dark and humorous take on his characters,” he said. “He’s like other writers, too, that I think work well on stage, (including) Flannery O’Connor and John Cheever.”

Woodhouse noted the irony of entering 2012 with a production that highlights the struggle of the haves and have-nots, given last year’s deluge of “Occupy” demonstrations.

He said he hopes the audience will walk away questioning how they would react in a situation similar to what unfolds at the conclusion of ‘Tortilla Curtain’s’ 38 scenes.

The production stars Mike Sears (Delaney), Lisel Gorrell-Getz (Kyra), Vivia Font (América) and Kinan Valdez (Cándido), with music by French-Mexican musician and composer Bruno Louchouarn (“A Weekend with Pablo Picasso”).]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:23:40 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6151,6151#msg-6151 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6151,6151#msg-6151
By Bob Fischbach
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

The funniest question Alexander Payne said he was asked Sunday evening, after winning his second Academy Award, was in the press room just after collecting the trophy.

“Somebody asked me, ‘What did you say to your mother in Hawaiian?' ” Payne recalled at lunchtime Monday from his Topanga Canyon home in Los Angeles.

True, “The Descendants,” for which Payne won his adapted-screenplay Oscar, was set in Hawaii.

But his parents are of Greek ancestry. In dedicating his award to his mother, Peggy, who accompanied him to the award show, Payne said, “Se agapao poly,” which in Greek means simply, “I love you very much.” He's not fluent in Greek, but he knew she'd appreciate the gesture. His father stayed in Omaha.

And what is the nicest thing about winning your second Oscar?

“I think I was less freaked out this time,” he said. “I was able to look into the audience and be a little more relaxed and personal in my remarks, I felt. You don't have all that crushing sense of all those people watching on television.”

In fact, he said, unlike at other award shows, the lights are kept up on the audience at the Academy Awards. When he thanked his mother and George Clooney, a best-actor nominee for “The Descendants,” he could look directly into their eyes while delivering his acceptance speech.

Winning, by the way, feels just as great this time as it did the first time, he said.

How did the Academy Award show go from Payne's perspective?

“I don't know how it felt watching it on TV, but we liked the show. We thought it was funny and zipped along at a pretty good pace.”

Payne said he started Oscar Sunday with a long walk, alone, through Topanga State Park near his home.

At midday, longtime Omaha friends joined him and his mother at his home to enjoy the evening together. Dr. Ann Beeder, now of New York City, grew up with Payne. So did Hal Koch, who was accompanied by his wife, Ashlee.

The group arrived at the Academy Awards nearly two hours early, at about 3:45 p.m., in an SUV. (“Better too early than too late,” Payne said, since security and limo lines take time.) Payne, who has avoided the red carpet in the past, strolled it with his mother this time. They took pictures but didn't do interviews.

Was it agony waiting nearly two hours for his category to be called?

“I was surprised it came up so soon,” he said. “The show went by quickly. Really, a part of me wants it to come up quickly and another part hopes it never comes up.”

Afterward, his mother retired for the evening while the Koches and Beeder joined Payne at a parade of after-parties.

First it was the Governors Ball, with fancy eats by chef Wolfgang Puck. Then a party thrown by Fox Searchlight, the studio that produced “The Descendants,” and a separate screening party for the film's crew. The night was capped at the Vanity Fair party and one thrown by Madonna.

Payne said he couldn't recall a single interesting encounter with a celebrity that night, “though everybody says congratulations.” His entourage arrived back home around 5 a.m. Did he have to rise early today for more press or events?

“No, no, no, no, no,” came the instant reply. They slept till 11, then joined his mother for some coffee and the morning papers.

Oscar, he said, was resting on the kitchen table, “and I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.” His first Oscar has been hiding in a drawer. (“In case somebody walks through the house, you don't want them too tempted.”)

Asked if there was more promotional work ahead for “The Descendants,” Payne was quick to say, “I'm finished. I'm now staring into the abyss.”

But the timeline is not quite set for his next film, titled “Nebraska.”

“I'm still trying to cast it,” he said. “I'd be ready to start filming by 4 this afternoon, but I don't know yet when that will happen.”

Maybe a little rest first, after the crush of award season?

“I don't want to. I want to get to work.”]]> Julie Topanga Talk Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:45:11 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6148,6148#msg-6148 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6148,6148#msg-6148 I took an envelope and wrote a message to the Post Office, obviously when they come in tomorrow morning they will see the mess for themselves. I basically told them that I was tired of putting up with the situation and hoped they would do something to end it.
About a month ago there was a few boxes of food on the counter, I assume some nice person might have left for "G", and I was cool with that but this is unacceptable. I've known "G" for years and etc but this needs to stop. What do you think? am writing this here, instead of a letter to the Messenger in hopes that it gives the Post Office an opportunity to do something about it before we all really start complaining.......]]> orphans Topanga Talk Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:32:47 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6147,6147#msg-6147 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6147,6147#msg-6147
Missing Hikers Found During Night-Time Helicopter Search
The aerial units used night-vision and infrared technology to located the couple

By Jonathan Lloyd and John Cadiz Klemack
Monday, Feb 20, 2012 | Updated 7:52 AM PST

Two hikers were found early Monday about four hours after they were reported missing in Topanga State Park.

The 51-year-old man and 50-year-old woman were reported missing at about 8 p.m. Sunday by their daughter. An aerial search unit used night-vision and infrared technology to search during the night.

Two LA Fire Department helicopters and a police helicopter were used in the search. The units searched more than 35 miles of trails and covered about 11,000 acres, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The hikers were found -- tired, but not injured -- at about midnight. They were airlifted to a helicopter and reunited with their daughter.]]> Julie Topanga Talk Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:14:12 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6145,6145#msg-6145 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6145,6145#msg-6145 Feb. 16, 2012 | By Corey Moore | KPCC
International Humanities Center

A letter from the International Humanities Center announcing the organization's closing.

Many of the Southland nonprofits left penniless after an umbrella sponsor abruptly shut down are scrambling to repair their finances. At the same time, the California attorney general's office is investigating.

"When we want money, they write the check. When we get money, we give it to them. And they hold it. And they take a percentage," said Ben Allanoff, discussing how the International Humanities Center — based in Pacific Palisades — handled his environmental group's financial affairs. Allanoff runs the Topanga Creek Watershed Committee.

He says in hindsight, there were red flags. For example, it was hard to reach anyone at the center when he had questions about his group's account. A recent email sent by the fiscal sponsor's executive director, Steve Sugarman, confirmed his suspicions.

The letter said the center had gone out of business.

"I figured our money was gone," Allanoff said. "And in fact I wrote to a friend, 'It's good to be poor when you get ripped off because you didn't lose that much.'"

Allanoff says his group is missing $600. It's one of the luckier ones. The Pasadena-based Afghan Women's Mission reportedly has $400,000 in donations that are unaccounted for.

"Once the money has been deposited in the project's account, the fiscal sponsor should never touch a dime of it," said Paul Vandeventer who directs Community Partners based in downtown Los Angeles. It provides financial management and other investment services to nonprofits. Many of these groups are so small, they need help with basic administration.

Vandeventer says his organization has review systems to guarantee funds that a nonprofit hands over to them are protected.

"It's segregated," said Vandeventer. "It's a restricted account. And it's for the expenses that are related directly to that project and not for the core expenses of the fiscal sponsors themselves."

At least 200 California nonprofits may have lost money managed by the International Humanities Center. They have so far reported losses of about $800,000.

A consultant for the umbrella group says money went to pay off legal fees, back taxes and $12,000 in monthly rent for an office in Pacific Palisades.

The center's executive director Sugarman said in his letter to clients that the organization is soliciting money to restore their funds. Community Partners president Vandeventer wonders if that will happen.

"For a funder to come to me at Community Partners and say 'Oh, we just want to give you a whole bunch of money for general operating purposes to use as you wish and apply to project balances or anything like that,' it would be so unusual as to be implausible," said Vandeventer.

In the wake of this story, Vandeventer says his group is assuring clients their money is safe.

Nonprofits who lost money under the International Humanities Center's management say they now can't afford to pay their own bills or their staffs.

Sugarman has made no comment.]]> Dogwood Topanga Talk Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:58:31 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6123,6123#msg-6123 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6123,6123#msg-6123 Hegoat Topanga Talk Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:00:13 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6120,6120#msg-6120 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6120,6120#msg-6120
Los Angeles County Public Works Department will host a community meeting to provide an overview of the new non-exclusive franchise trash collection system that takes effect on July 1, 2012. The meeting will be held at the Topanga Library, 122 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard, on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.

The new system affects only customers that utilize dumpster/roll-off trash collection services such as commercial and apartment/condo properties that are within County unincorporated areas, but outside of County Garbage Disposal Districts.

The non-exclusive franchise system will replace the current open-market system to enable the Department to meet recent changes in State law and provide enhanced trash collection services. Under the system, all waste haulers will be able to continue service in unincorporated areas provided they meet minimum performance and customer service standards.

The community meeting will provide customers an opportunity to ask questions and comment about the proposal. For further information, please call Pat Proano at (626) 458-3500.]]> Dogwood Topanga Talk Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:48:17 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6115,6115#msg-6115 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6115,6115#msg-6115 budlit Topanga Talk Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:00:10 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6112,6112#msg-6112 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6112,6112#msg-6112
------------------------------------------

http://www.examiner.com

If you've hiked in Los Angeles, chances are you've hiked in the Santa Monica Mountains, and if you've hiked in the Santa Monicas, odds are you've visited the Backbone Trail. The 70-mile route starts at Will Rogers State Historic Park, just past the urban fringe of Los Angeles, and works its way through Topanga Park, Malibu Creek, Zuma Canyon and Sandstone Peak before finally ending at Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County. Along the way, the trail visits waterfalls, canyons, geology, meadows and fields, providing great views of both the ocean and the mountains. These ten trips sample some of the great scenery offered by the Backbone Trail.

Will Rogers State Historic Park - The Backbone Trail begins just north of this popular park that is the former home of the famed cowboy actor. This stretch is steep and rugged, climbing to a bridge that offers great views of the ocean to the south, L.A. to the east and Topanga Canyon to the west.
Advertisement

Saddle Peak - This 2,805-foot summit is one of the taller points in the eastern half of the Santa Monicas. Two different stretches of the Backbone Trail climb to its summit, which provides great views of the ocean. The western approach, described here, also takes in great views of Calabasas Peak and gets close to some of the area's characteristic geology. On clear days, you can see Orange County's Old Saddleback from the summit.

Piuma Road to Stunt Road - This lightly visited 3.5 mile stretch of the Backbone Trail provides a great workout and a nice variety of scenery, including panoramic views of the Malibu Creek area.

Upper Solstice Canyon - This 2.7 mile stretch drops down into the upper reaches of Solstice Canyon before climbing up again to the Castro Motorway. En route, you get great ocean views. It was once possible to create a loop with the Bulldog Motorway but a private property conflict has prevented access. You can, however, see the amusingly near-paranoid signs posted by the land owner to advise hikers against entering his territory.

Latigo Canyon Road to Castro Crest - Another quiet, scenic stretch, which dips down from Kanan Dume Road into a secluded canyon and arrives at the Newton Motorway, where hikers can either continue east (see above) or sit and enjoy some great ocean views.

Newton Canyon (East) - This popular stretch of the trail, from Kanan Dume Road to Latigo Canyon, is pleasantly shaded, and a lot of ascending and descending makes it a good workout.

Newton Canyon (West) - Best known for the small waterfall just below Kanan Road, this is one of the more scenic stretches of the Backbone Trail, extending all the way to the Zuma Motorway. Even if the seasonal upper waterfall isn't flowing, it's still a very enjoyable hike, and if the larger fall does have water, this ranks as one of the best hikes in all of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Encinal Canyon Road to Etz Meloy - One of the newer stretches of the Backbone Trail, this 7.2 mile round trip in the northern end of Malibu visits some of the more secluded areas of the Santa Monica Mountains. Scenery includes ocean vistas and views of Castro Peak, Mitten Mountain and more.

Sandstone Peak - For most hikers, the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains needs no introduction, but for those who have not checked it out, the 6-mile loop is one of the greatest hikes in Southern California. Though challenging, it's a lot easier than Mt. Baldy or San Jacinto Peak, and in addition to being a great hike in its own right, it can also be a good training exercise for higher summits.

Point Mugu State Park - The westernmost end of the Backbone Trail leaves from the Ray Miller Trailhead, located at the La Jolla Valley entrance to Point Mugu State Park. Great ocean views and a good aerobic workout are the highlights of this hike. It is a challenging trip by itself - but it can also serve to access the Overlook Trail which goes deeper into the park.

Whether you are looking for just a short walk or have your sights on doing the whole thing over several days, the Backbone Trail provides great hiking that is conveniently located to Los Angeles. It might not be the Appalachian, but L.A. residents should be proud and grateful to have the Backbone Trail in their yard.]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:04:05 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6111,6111#msg-6111 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6111,6111#msg-6111
--------------------------------------

Calabasas septic tank ordinance down the drain
2012-01-19 / Front Page

Law had polarized the community

By Sylvie Belmond
belmond@theacorn.com

Officials will consider doing away with the law completely during their next regular meeting on Jan. 25.

In 2009, the city passed an ordinance requiring property owners who have on-site wastewater treatment systems to obtain operating permits and make sure their septic tanks operate properly.

In response to complaints about the city’s heavy-handed approach toward enforcement, officials opted last year to offer temporary amnesty to residents who refused to comply with the law.

The council also prohibited city staff from participating in septic system inspections and directed them to organize a workshop on a revised ordinance that the city and its residents could agree on.

Pete Peterson of Pepperdine University’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership conducted the workshop in October. He presented his findings to the council at a meeting on Jan. 11.

Peterson met with several residents and city employees before the workshop.

He then hosted a three-hour event where participants were invited to make recommendations through confidential polling.

“The goal was to give participants as many opportunities as possible to participate and, at the same time, help residents and city employees to communicate about the subject,” Peterson said.

“There are a lot of broken relationships here, particularly between staff and residents,” he said.

Members of the public felt the city was dictating to them without involving them in decisions about their homes. The city, on the other hand, felt opposed at every turn.

According to Peterson, a majority of the 35 workshop attendees concluded that the septic tank law should be clarified and follow state guidelines more closely. They suggested that the city issue a moratorium on enforcement and allow septic tank owners to use any state-licensed inspector to test their systems.

Peterson said some residents are still confused about what the ordinance requires, and they believe that the city uses inconsistent testing practices.

After the presentation, several residents urged the council to rescind the ordinance.

Old Topanga resident Jody Thomas said she’s thankful the city is responding with an open mind.

“We need to be heard and we need to feel our opinions matter,” Thomas said.

“It’s been a nightmare. This city has used this ordinance as a cash cow,” said Gerald Smith, who contends he spent thousands of dollars to comply with the regulations.

After a short debate, the council decided to suspend the ordinance and schedule a hearing Jan. 25 to rescind it.

“The whole goal here is to bring everything to a close and finish with the entire problem this created and bring the community back together,” Mayor James Bozajian told The Acorn.

And speaking at the Jan. 11 meeting, the mayor said, “The council needs to accept the fact that mistakes were made. There are consequences of taking action and interfering with people’s homesteads. This is something that the council should take to heart.”

Rescinding the septic systems ordinance may not absolve the city’s responsibility to address active cases involving property owners who have a failing septic system, he said.

“There is a duty to not ignore the problem,” Bozajian said.]]> topangamom Topanga Talk Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:28:18 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6107,6107#msg-6107 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6107,6107#msg-6107
---------------------------------

Mountain lion numbers decreasing in Santa Monica Mountains
The population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains is on the decline due to loss of habitat. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:53 AM PST

Loss of habitat, and recently, poaching, has led to a decline of the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains.

By McKenzie Jackson / Special to The Malibu Times

The Santa Monica Mountains surrounding Malibu are home to a big cat that has seen its population numbers decrease within the last decade.

The 40-mile mountain range that stretches along the Pacific Coast is the home of mountain lions, the largest predator in the local wilderness. Dr. Seth Riley of the National Park Service, which is in the 10th year of a project studying the mountain lion, said their population in the mountain range has decreased because of urbanization and territorial fights.

“A loss of habitat is probably the biggest issue,” said Riley, who works with the Thousand Oaks-based NPS as a Wildlife Ecologist. Riley said loss of habitat leads to male mountain cats killing each other over “home range,” which is the animal's hunting and mating grounds.

Over the past 10 years, the NPS has tracked 21 mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, which stretches east to west from the Hollywood Hills to Ventura County and north to south from the San Fernando Valley to West-Central Los Angeles. The mountains separate Malibu from the San Fernando Valley.

NPS believes there to be four to eight mountain lions that call the local mountains home.

“We are radio tracking two in the Santa Monicas and we know through remote camera surveys of at least two more,” Riley said. “It could certainly be more than that, maybe twice that. Based on everything we've seen the last 10 years, there is not enough room in the Santa Monica Mountains for more than 10 or 15 mountain lions.”

Riley said the mountain lion, which can be found in areas from South America to Canada, is not endangered as a species, but is having trouble surviving in the urban landscape of Los Angeles.

“They really can use a lot of space,” he said. “One male can use the entire Santa Monicas and that is not a big home range, particularly for a mountain lion if you compare it to other places. Large carnivores like mountain lions are affected detrimentally by roads and development because they need so much space. The population of mountain lions in the Santa Monicas is one that is at risk.”

Mountain lions are one of several carnivores in the Santa Monica Mountains that NPS studies along with bobcats, gray foxes, coyotes, raccoons, badgers and ringtails. However, mountain lions have come to the forefront recently due to some of the large predators being killed.

On September 11, the carcass of a 7-year-old male mountain lion was found mutilated in a canyon between Cal State Channel Islands and Newbury Park in Ventura County. Tissue samples from the animal confirmed that it was a mountain lion that was being tracked by NPS named P-15. The tracking collar was also taken from the creature's body. No suspects have been apprehended in the case.

One month earlier, a 15-month male mountain lion being studied by NPS, named P-18, was hit and killed by a car while trying to cross the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center.

P-18 was the second cougar to be killed in three years on the southbound 405.

At a December meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Riley discussed the plight of mountain lions and the work NPS has been doing with the creatures. He also updated the conservancy's board on a multi-year 405 Freeway project NPS is conducting.

“We are monitoring wildlife crossing in the Sepulveda pass area,” he said. “We are monitoring four crossing points. We are monitoring them for wildlife use and what animals are going across the freeway.”

Riley said interstates and other roadways are somewhat hindering the mountain lions' population growth.

“Major highways that isolate those natural areas from each other,” he said. “That is a major issue with carnivores or mountain lions.”

Riley said the loss of habit also forces more male mountain lions to come in contact with each other and battle over their home range.

“They are pretty territorial animals,” he said. “They are large carnivores, so they kill large prey. They mostly eat deer. So, they need a big enough source of deer in their home range. But it seems like with the males in particular that have these really large home ranges. And they end up having negative interactions with other males.”

Riley said due to being hemmed in by the ocean and roadways, there is a possibility that the animals could begin inbreeding in the future, which could lead to biological defects and abnormalities.

“The lions in the Santa Monicas have less genetic diversity than animals in the rest of the state,” he said.”We haven't seen evidence of inbreeding yet, though.”]]> Julie Topanga Talk Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:14:21 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6095,6095#msg-6095 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6095,6095#msg-6095 Los Angeles County firefighters have added extra staff in case wind-fueled fires kick up in Southern California

By Jason Kandel
Sunday, Jan 8, 2012 | Updated 11:48 AM PST

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/

Firefighters remained on alert for the possibility of brush fires on Sunday as hurricane-force winds and dry hillsides combined for tinderbox conditions in Southern California.

Los Angeles city officials began enforcing a ban on parking in fire-prone areas on hillside roads of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Hollywood Hills and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Cars that are found parked on narrow roads, hairpin turns, and key intersections that could block access and that are marked with a "No Parking" sign could be ticketed or towed, said LA Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott.

Anyone with questions can call the city information line at 311 or visit lafd.org/redflag.

Los Angeles County firefighters added an extra 300 personnel on Sunday to be ready in case a fire breaks out. Los Angeles city firefighters added extra engines, water tenders and brush fire patrols.

The highest-recorded wind gusts were out of the San Gabriel Mountains at 83 mph. In Castaic and Agoura, wind hit 63 mph. The wind, which was blowing out of the north and east, was fueled by a high-pressure system centered over the Great Basin.

The wind knocked down several big rigs on the Interstate 10 in San Bernardino and a communications cable was loosened by the wind above a section of Interstate 15, the California Highway Patrol said.

The winds are expected to calm by sundown, forecasters said.

A wind advisory that signifies sustained winds of 39 mph or more for the coastal plains, the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains and the Santa Clarita Valley are due to expire at 3 p.m.]]> Dogwood Topanga Talk Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:22:08 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6085,6085#msg-6085 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6085,6085#msg-6085 1. I think it is illegal (recycling is required by law?)
2.We pay for three discrete trash services (trash, recycle, yard waste)
3.The newsletter that our garbage service sent out specifically cited 'scavenging' as an illegal activity and 'we' should do what we could to prevent it.

So, I would rather see someone motivated enough to go through the garabge to scavenge some income rather than act as a marshall to prevent that activity; while my hired garbage company simply igonres recycling and dumps everything in one place!

Anyone else notice this?]]> Mr_Skunk Topanga Talk Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:36:52 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6083,6083#msg-6083 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6083,6083#msg-6083
Topangamom: take a look at the photos
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-chris-burden-20120104,0,3456229.story

By Jori Finkel, Los Angeles Times

January 4, 2012
What do billionaire art collectors and train-obsessed 5-year-olds have in common?

They're both drawn to Chris Burden's "Metropolis II," an epic art installation that looks like a toy racetrack or train set on speed.

When Burden briefly opened his studio in Topanga Canyon a year ago to unveil the work, it was an instant hit with contemporary art collectors. One, Nicolas Berggruen, bought the work and promptly loaned it to LACMA for at least 10 years.

Now it's also getting high marks from the preschool and grade-school set.

The artwork does not officially go on display at LACMA until Jan. 14, but the museum organized a series of unannounced trial runs last week to take it through its final testing, and museum visitors of various ages found their way to the car-fueled spectacle.

Granted, it was hard to actually hear every gasp over the din of the traffic — a loud sound effect that the artist has called a "happy accident." But you could see the excitement, with some kids running, jumping, or dragging their parents closer and others staring, mesmerized, like babies watching TV.

The artwork, four years in the making, features about 1,100 Hot Wheels-sized (but custom-made) cars coursing so quickly through 18 lines of traffic that you can see 100,000 cars passing through the system in an hour. There are also about a dozen trains. It resembles a miniature city, complete with a tangle of freeways and pockets of buildings in various styles — a log cabin here, a glittering Art Deco skyscraper there, an Eiffel Tower lookalike in the distance.

Caterina Roiatti from New York said her son Massimo, 5, spotted the exhibition from the Richard Serra sculpture just across the way. Her son was on the move, running in large circles around the piece. He moved too fast for a writer to talk to him.

"He is obsessed," his mother said. "I don't know how we'll get him out of here."

What was her reaction? "We're architects. I'm not so interested in the cars, but I like some of the buildings," Roiatti said. "They are simplified and abstract in interesting ways."

Entertainment lawyer Erik Hyman, 43, was holding one of his 3-year-old twin daughters on his hip. Her reaction was of the silent sort: She reached out as if to grab a car. "You can't touch it because it's delicate," her father said.

Then Hyman put his own reaction in words: "I am not a sophisticated art person," he said. "But I think this will be a gargantuan hit for the museum. Who wouldn't love it?"

Nearby a group of twentysomething hair stylists, dressed in black shirts and black jeans or leggings, looked mesmerized. Rafael Mercado, Aaron Reid, and Alyssa Elliott said they were students at the Toni and Guy hair academy who just happened to follow the crowds to the gallery.

All had smartphones out to take pictures. "I want this at my house. I want to live with it, or inside it. I don't really have the space for it, maybe I'd put it in the garage," said Mercado, who said it reminded him of how much he loved trains as a kid. "I still have a Thomas the Tank Engine pillow somewhere."

Otherwise, the main point of reference for visitors seemed to be futuristic visions from television or movies. Zachary Feldman, 12, who was visiting L.A. with his family from Portland, Ore., said, "It's like something from the movies because you've never seen so many elevated highways in real life. It kind of reminds you of the Jetsons."

Zachary's cousin Jed Cohen, 55, saw the resemblance to Fritz Lang's classic 1927 movie "Metropolis." "It's updated and sped up, but there is still this vibrating, humming machinery on the bottom," he said. (Burden called the work "Metropolis II" after giving the name Metropolis to a much smaller racetrack he sold to a Japanese museum.) Cohen also made a comparison to Ridley Scott's 1982 movie "Blade Runner" because of the city density.

"Have you seen the movie 'The Fifth Element'?" Mercado asked of his friends, referring to the 1997 Luc Besson movie starring Bruce Willis. "These cars aren't flying but it has that kind of sci-fi thing."

"I feel like this is the future," he added later. "We will see this in China in 10 years."

"Ten years? They're more advanced than we are," said Elliott.

"I mean we'll see this become reality," he replied.

They were both surprised to learn that Burden is the same artist behind the Urban Light installation, the cluster of Art Deco lampposts located on Wilshire Boulevard that has become something of a public face of the museum. And they didn't know about his history as a performance artist who tested his own physical limits in works like "5-Day Locker Piece," in which he lived in a small school locker for that period.

But those performances took place in the early '70s. Since then, he has also made urban planning and modern technology part of his work with sprawling model cities like his 1996 "Pizza City," which one critic described as a fantastic blend of a Swiss mountain village and lower Manhattan.

Some LACMA visitors also compared the new work, rather vertical in thrust, to Manhattan. "This side looks like New York because of all the skyscrapers," said Fernando Murillo, 11, standing on the imaginary city's east side before a particularly spiky stretch of skyline.

But Murillo also recognized a connection to L.A. "It feels like the city during happy hour — I mean rush hour," he said, quickly correcting himself.

Right about then, the project's lead engineer, Zak Cook, who had been standing quietly inside the racetrack, pushed a button that brought all traffic to a stop. A few people applauded. He climbed out of the city and was greeted by a handful of visitors asking questions about how the cars moved downhill (gravity) or what kept them from crashing into each other on the ramps (magnets).

Cook said the trial run had gone well. "As you can imagine, this is a precision machine. These cars are going approximately 240 miles per hour to scale. If you're going 240 miles per hour in a Ferrari and hit a speed bump, you would be flying."

"It's exciting in a way when there is a crash, and that did happen once in the studio, but now this is doing exactly what it's supposed to do," said Cook. "There were no major traffic jams."]]> topangamom Topanga Talk Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:29:41 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6082,6082#msg-6082 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6082,6082#msg-6082 one lane of Topanga Canyon Boulevard (SR-27) to remove weeds and brush to
create firebreaks along slopes, beginning Wednesday, January 4, 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. for the next two weeks. Work will occur one to four miles north of
Pacific Coast Highway (SR-1).

Motorists should expect one to five minute delays and consider alternate
routes. Traffic control will be in place. Closures are subject to change.

Caltrans reminds motorists to “Slow For The Cone Zone.”]]> TimBuk2 Topanga Talk Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:23:28 -0700 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6081,6081#msg-6081 http://topangaonline.com/forums/read.php?6,6081,6081#msg-6081 budlit Topanga Talk Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:24:13 -0700