Topanga’s beloved Open Studios tour is back, better than ever. This year’s event includes artists and art in almost every medium. It’s a great opportunity to connect with the canyon’s art community, explore studios and meet artists, and shop for treasures. In a world where everything is increasingly outsourced and artificial, Open Studio’s Topanga is an inspiration—creative, original, and one-of-a-kind! Topanga artists will open their studios to the public October 3- 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets include a two-day self-guided tour with a studio map. We have all the details. Cover Art & Design by Urs Baur
The November 3 General Election is coming up fast! Elections officials will begin mailing ballots on October 5. The last day to register to vote is October 19. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. Election officials recommend mailing at least 7 days in advance.
The Trump Administration’s repeated attacks on mail-in voting have left many concerned about whether their ballots will be counted, but California offers several other options. Ballots can be dropped off at any of the county’s secure drop-off locations beginning October 5. Early in-person voting is available at select locations throughout Los Angeles County beginning October 24. In-person early voting will be available at all polling places October 31, through November 3.
In Topanga, all of those options will be available at the Topanga Library.
Californians have a long and complicated ballot to negotiate—there are 14 statewide ballot measures, and several of them are deliberately contradictory—but there are many good voter resources available.
The Secretary of State’s official election and voter information site can be accessed at: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections. The official Los Angeles County voter information website offers a look at local issues and ballot races: lavote.gov
The League of Women Voters offers non-partisan information on the election: lwvlacounty.org Cal Matters is another good source of ballot information: calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026
The audience-funded nonprofit news organization LAist offers election news: LAist.com
The news these days can feel overwhelming: war in Iran, gas prices soaring, environmental and civil rights laws disregarded or discarded, attacks on the election process. It’s easy to feel disenfranchised, but the American people still have the power to vote, and those who exercise that power are the ones who determine the course of events, or in the words of the organizers of the upcoming No Kings 4 Rally, “We decide who represents us. We decide what comes next.”
This No Kings Rally, scheduled for October 17, is different from the first three. It’s not strictly a protest. Instead, it’s a day of “nonpartisan voter participation.”
“We are bringing our community together to make a plan to vote early and ensuring every eligible voter understands their options for how to vote and has the opportunity to make their voice heard,” is the message. “No one person gets to decide our leaders before voters do.”
The Los Angeles rally takes place in Downtown LA on October 17. The rally is at 1 pm, the march at 2 pm.
For more information on the rally, visit indivisible.org/events/no-kings-vote-early-los-angeles/
Topangans are no strangers to activism, and whether or not we all agree on the same issues, voting is a right, one that should never be threatened, or obstructed, or corrupted, no matter who occupies the White House.
Bad news increasingly seems to dominate the news cycle, but activists haven’t given up. More than seven hundred lawsuits have been filed against the Trump Administration so far this year.
There are challenges to the Trump administration’s move to gut Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, eliminate key environmental protections in the Endangered Species Act, rollback clean air and water provisions overseen by the U.S. and the Environmental Protection Agency, and sell of public lands, including part of Yosemite National Park.
There are lawsuits seeking to restore funding to libraries, museums, and research grants, and a major pushback against challenges to voter rights, birthright citizenship, and LGBQT rights.
Anyone who feels discouraged by current events may take some comfort in a visit to the Associated Press lawsuit tracker: apnews.com/projects/trump-executive-order-lawsuit-tracker. There are people all over the country and the world who are standing up for civil and environmental justice.
Not everyone has the resources to support the work of nonprofit advocacy organizations, or the time to participate in rallies or volunteer, but whatever one’s political affiliation, no matter how much time or money or resources one may or may not have, voting is something we can all do. Every vote counts.
Stay safe, be well. Vote.
Open Studios of Topanga
