Horses have been part of life in the Santa Monica Mountains since the arrival of the first ranchers and homesteaders. Horses and mules provided the muscle and stamina that enable homesteaders to clear land, plow fields, and transport goods. They even helped build Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Later generations grew up riding for pleasure not out of necessity. Horses are less common now in the local mountains, but Topanga continues to value its horse culture. Join TNT editor Suzanne Guldimann ( shown here in the early 1970s with her brother Christopher and her brother’s horse, Apple), for a look at horse history, just in time to usher in the official start of the year of the horse, on February 17. Photo courtesy Suzanne Guldimann. Cover design by Urs Baur
There’s a shift in mood and tone this month. It feels like the national tide may be on the turn. It feels different from last year, as if the miasma of hopelessness is lifting and being replaced by anger and energy. Part of that is fueled by the upcoming midterm elections, but mostly the horrors in the news cycle have reached such a magnitude and frequency that the stories can no longer be ignored.
Protests continue to be fueled by anger over reports of children ripped from their families; immigrants dying in custody; American citizens—including Native Americans—being detained and denied their rights; the brutal shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of federal agents; and the government’s response—or lack of response—to those acts.
The first nationwide “No Kings” protest of 2026 is planned for March 28, but those who are disgusted and horrified by an out-of-control administration waging war on the American people aren’t waiting. People took to the streets across the United States last week in continued protest of the Trump administration’s assault on immigrants and protesters. Many marched in snow and freezing weather. They have been undeterred by the threat of physical violence, including federal agents deploying chemical weapons on peaceful protestors.
Thousands gathered to protest in Downtown Los Angeles over the weekend. Thousands more gathered in Portland, Oregon, where the mayor has demanded that ICE leave the city after incidents involving the use of tear gas on children at a peaceful protest.
Some of the nation’s most popular musicians used the recent Grammy Awards to protest Trump’s immigration. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out,” Bad Bunny stated during his acceptance speech. The Puerto Rican rapper who won Album of the Year will be performing at the Super Bowl this weekend, despite President Donald Trump’s personal attempts to strong arm the event’s organizers into replacing him.
Celebrated composer Philip Glass was the most recent musician to withdraw from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, following Trump’s hostile takeover of this storied institution’s board, building, and name. Glass pulled the debut of his newest major work Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln”, announcing that the current values of the center are “in direct conflict with the message of the symphony.”
Glass joins opera legend Renée Fleming; the Washington National Opera; the Martha Graham Dance Company; the Seattle Children’s Theater; the comedy show Asian as F***; Grammy-nominated Mexican American singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos; the Brentano Quartet with violinist Hsin-Yun Huang; folk and country singer Kristy Lee; Brooklyn jazz musician Wayne Tucker; the American folk music duo Magpie; and the entire cast of Hamilton.
Glass’ denouncement came shortly before Trump announced that the center will be closed for the next two years, ostensibly for “reconstruction.”
Before Trump’s takeover and subversion of the institution, the Kennedy Center’s mission statement included “cultivating a culture of inclusiveness, in which our art and our audiences are as rich, diverse, and ever-changing as America itself.”
The performers who are standing in solidarity against what Trump’s center stands for are a living embodiment of exactly the values the Kennedy Center formerly embraced. These artists represent the diversity present in the growing opposition to this administration’s increasing over-reach.
“No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment,” writes AP reporter Steve Peoples, describing it as “growing cultural revolution.”
Here in the Topanga community, we know many who are an active part of that cultural revolution, who are protesting, reaching out to elected officials, and sharing their concerns with friends, family, neighbors, and the community. We urge everyone to be proactive and to take the time to know their rights, rights that are under threat but that still remain the bedrock of the Constitution and the American judiciary, especially now that the administration is making a concerted effort to criminalize the First Amendment right to protest.
At this turbulent, disorienting, and increasingly alarming time we are remembering Grateful Dead musician and lifelong environmental and social justice activist Bob Weir. The last song in his last show before his death last month was “Touch of Grey,” with its anthem of resilience: “We will get by, we will survive.” We will.
Stay safe, be well.
