Months earlier, as we were building the lineup for the first issue of 2023, we had hope and some indication that we’d get rain this winter but not quite like this. We write this as the first storms passed through last weekend. On Monday enough sunshine held its own giving Birdie and me time for a walk with Tom Cat. What Birdie sees in Tom or he in her is beyond my comprehension. Obviously, like every other media outlet, we were deluged with photos taken by locals that lead our News section with a two-page photo montage and Eric Fitzgerld’s return of the Fernwood Rain Report. (Pages 4-5). Our cover photo is by our newest Bonnell neighbor, Amber Lincoln. She and her family visited the Old Canyon mudslide while Jimmy Wylie revved up his backhoe and joined forces with the L.A. Dept. Of Public Works to clear the road... kudos to those heroes who quietly live their lives until it comes to helping out their community in an emergency. Other folks who captured the rain were Jane Terjung, Roger Pugliese, Joeseph Rosendo and Caltrans who also take pretty good photos while blowing up boulders. There are also reports on sinkholes in the Topanga area, School Road for one. Are you as confused as we were about local government? It is complicated but Annemarie Donkin gives us a brief primer about the difference between City and County government and how they both affect us. (Page 6) In it, she also highlights the all-volunteer Topanga Canyon Town Council (TCTC) (onetopanga.com) that facilitates communication between us and our government. It’s an easy civics lesson you’ll be glad you read and will maybe inspire you to explore all of the resources the county offers. Our feature story is by Karen Moran, who grew up among the “Nature Boys� here in Topanga and gives her take on what it was really like as a child growing up among them. (Pages 8-9). Paula LaBrot recently came back from the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to find that the future commuter will be flying above the freeways sooner than we thought. (Page 13) In the arts scene, we are so lucky to have the Topanga Canyon Gallery (TCG) but, sadly, we hear they may be looking for a new space at a price they can afford; the space next to Topanga Creek Market has been sold. TCG’s current exhibit runs until Jan. 29, but who knows after that? Can you imagine no more Gallery? No more Studio Tour in June? It would be a major loss to the community. Once the rains subside, Sarah Spitz, our newly arrived Out & About arts columnist, suggests you visit the current LACMA exhibits, Another World: The Transcendental Painting Group, 1938-1945, and Afro-Atlantic Histories, charting the transatlantic slave trade and its legacies in the African diaspora across the “Black Atlantic.� (Page 10) Speaking of impressive: the Topanga Actors Company (TAC) has officially contracted with the Los Angeles County Library system to produce four plays within 12 months at the Topanga Library. Their next staged reading, Heroes, is scheduled for Jan. 28-29, 2 p.m. at the library. Finally, this is Miles Erickson’s retirement of The Long Distance Listening Party. As we knew he would, he got a real job writing comedy. We’re sorry to see him go but look forward to Miles landing that Ween interview for us. Thanks Miles.