The TNT crew wishes our wonderful readers, advertisers, contributors, and community all the joys of the season. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all. Cover illustration, concept and design by Urs Baur.
A season of hope and light. That’s the theme chosen by First Lady Jill Biden for the White House’s holiday message:
“At the holidays, Americans come together every year in fellowship and faith, reminding us that we are stronger as a community than we are apart. The strength of our country, and the soul of our Nation, come from you. May the promise of this ‘Season of Peace and Light’ guide your path forward.”
Hope was the word that ushered Joe Biden into the White House as vice president to President Barak Obama in 2008. For many, it doesn’t feel like there’s much of it left, but hope was the last thing in Pandora’s box, the one gift of the gods among all the ills of mankind, and it always remains present, even in dark times. Light doesn’t have to come from a physical source. It can come from the heart. These are things we can all carry with us, no matter what that future holds.
If everything goes well, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will be receiving a big gift this holiday season: negotiations appear to be wrapping up for two hotly contested parcels of important habitat in the Malibu area. The 140.76-acre Sweetwater property was the subject of a multiyear legal battle between a U2 band member turned real estate developer and a coalition of conservation organizations including the Sierra Club. Now, land once destined for a housing tract is on track to become permanent open space by the end of the year.
The second parcel, known as the Primrose property or Solstice Hill, consists of 125.63 acres located adjacent to Solstice Canyon Park. This land was also the subject of controversial development plans. The view from the top of the hill is worth fighting for. During WWII, this hill was home to an Army anti-aircraft installation because it commanded an impressive view of the coast. That view will soon be preserved for future generations. The MRCA—Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority—expects to conclude both negotiations by the end of the year. These are conservation victories that have been the work of decades of effort, including multiple lawsuits, and complex negotiations. The Santa Monica Mountains NRA is often described as a patchwork of open space. These are two storied, beautiful, and critically important pieces of the quilt.
Time is running out for President Biden to create a trio of new California national monuments, but he did create an important one in Pennsylvania. The monument will be located in Carlisle, PA, at what was once the campus of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School—a place where thousands of Native American children were forcibly sent for “assimilation.” This new national monument preserves a dark and ugly part of American history, but it is something that needs to be preserved so we don’t forget.
As we head into what some are describing as uncharted territory in 2024, it’s worth taking a backward glance, and remembering that the history of the United States is checkered with good and bad, prosperity and poverty, democracy and despotism, cruelty and kindness. Building a nation is a continual process, not a fixed point in time. In that spirit, we are traveling back in time to spend Christmas in Topanga in 1942, one of the darkest times in world history, a year when the entire world was engulfed in flames and darkness. President Franklin Delinor Roosevelt’s Christmas Eve address that year was also about hope in uncertain times.
Christmas 1942 marks the end of TNT’s long-running original fiction series, The Coastwatchers. We want to thank all of our readers for joining us on the adventures of James Ellis and his friends. It’s been a great joy to share this story with all of you.
This holiday season offers many joys in Topanga. Don’t miss the Theatricum Botanicum’s Family Holiday Faire on December 15. Pine Tree Circle Snow Night has been rescheduled to December 22. Both events offer family fun and a great opportunity to do some local holiday shopping. The Topanga Farmers Market every Friday this month also offers holiday cheer and wonderful gift ideas. Topanga Actors Company is presenting an entirely delightful fantasy Christmas program at the Topanga Library on Saturday and Sunday, December 14 & 15, at 2 pm. Whatever holidays or traditions we embrace, we are truly blessed to live in a place so full of joy and creativity.
The unifying theme of the winter holidays is light: Christmas, Hanukkah and the Winter Solstice all celebrate a light in the dark. They all bring a message of hope.
We wish all of our readers a joyful holiday season, one that is filled with light and hope.
Stay safe, be well.
Editor’s Note: As we go to print, the Franklin Fire has burned more than 2800 acres in Malibu, from the top of Piuma, to the beach near the Malibu Pier. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate, and an unspecified number of homes have burned, although no serious injuries have been reported at this time. It’s a reminder of how fragile life is in the Santa Monica Mountains, and how quickly a disaster can unfold. We will cover more of this in our next issue. Stay safe.
MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH
