April 2008 – Murder On The Beach; Killers Still At Large

By Karl Abrams

The body of brutally beaten 25-year old Nathan Alan Morgan was discovered on March 9. The victim’s body was found partially buried in the sand on the beach near Ocean Front Walk and Breeze Avenue.

Some sources told the Beachhead that the murder was followed by what was described as a Satanic ritual. Police officials said that Morgan had been beaten to death and then dragged to the burial site. 

Nathan Morgan was much loved by his family back in Toledo, Ohio. He was a free spirited young man who had many friends who admired his love of adventure and travel. His favorite places were the west coast mountain trails and the lingering beauty of a Venice beach sunset. 

He loved the outdoors and especially loved to ride three and four wheeler vehicles. According to his parents, Nathan used to say that “life is what you make of it” and that a person’s attitude to life “can make or break you.”

His funeral services were held on March 21, at the Swan Creek Community Church in Toledo. 

The Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help in this murder investigation. 

Councilperson Bill Rosendahl has asked the L.A. City Council to offer a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the “identification, apprehension, and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Morgan’s death.” 

According to Rosendahl’s council motion, the LAPD determined that Morgan was “sexually assaulted and beaten to death by several men.” The Motion goes on to state that such murderers must be apprehended as they could “terrorize and present a continuing and immediate menace” to the community. 

Information about the case may be directed to LAPD Pacific Area Homicide, 310-482-6316 or Pacific Area Detectives, 310-482-6313. 

Morgan, who was wanted in Indiana for parole violation, came to Venice for a vacation and the fun of sleeping on the beach. It was there that he apparently interacted with some dangerous people who ended his life.

Detective Joe Lumbreras, LAPD homicide division, told the Beachhead that Morgan was considered homeless. Lumbreras said that he suspected Morgan may have had a drug problem and that a suspect is at the center of intense investigation.

Lumbreras claimed that he was unaware of a video tape. Sources told the Beachhead that there is a video tape of the murder.

According to one source who said he viewed the video, more than one person was involved in the slaying and there were six witnesses who did nothing to stop the murder. 

The video is also said to show that Morgan’s neck was possibly broken and that some of the bystanders were cheering on the murder. Morgan’s dog was killed by cutting its throat and the blood was then used in a Satanic ritual.

April 2008 – How Do You Define Safe And Secure?

* Murder on the Beach – The cold-blooded murder of Nathan Alan Morgan and his dog was captured on video. Page 1

* LAPD Raids in Oakwood – Are Venetians safe in their own homes? See Letters, page 2 and Racial Dreams and Nightmares. Page 5

* Unsolved Murders – How many more people have been murdered in Venice? Locals say lots, police say one.

* Eviction of Renters – The ongoing saga of Lincoln Place. Page 3

* No Tsunami Preparedness – Bill Rosendahl, where’s our evacuation route and warning signs?

* Sleepers Harassed in their RVs – That knock on the camper door in the middle of the night might be the LAPD or an irate homeowner with a club. Page 2.

* Adverse Control by Another City – Will Los Angeles’ misrule of Venice never stop? How about Venice police to protect us?

* Serial Killing of Trees – Global warming and shade be damned, we’re cutting down these trees because we can. Page 4

April 2008 – Letters

• The RV Controversy – Brett Pikey
• Mary Getlein – Kitty Bratton
• Operation Oakwood – 1 – Lydia Poncé
• Operation Oakwood – 2 – Nancy Kolocotronis
• Operation Oakwood – 3 – Ingrid Boon
• Operation Oakwood – 4 – C. Grant
• Rest Rooms on Ocean Front Walk – Gina Michel
• RV Parking – Michael Millman

The RV Controversy

I am concerned about all of the negative comments that seem to appear in the local press on a regular basis in regards to the motor home community in Venice. Many of them are upright citizens who can no longer afford to live in the city they call home.

Venice used to a cool place to live. It was the last bastion for artists to live and work in southern California. It seems that over the past few years all that has happened is that the wealthy have come into Venice, bought up all the real estate, thus pushing all of the true Venetians out and in effect turning Venice into another Santa Monica. The newly relocated do nothing but complain about the real people of Venice who can no longer afford the astronomical rents that even studio apartments rent for.

It seems the yuppies that now inhabit Venice love having the artists and street vendors here because that is what draws millions of dollars to Venice annually. They just don’t want them living here. It seems as if they would prefer them be bused in from downtown Los Angeles each morning and then sent back at night.

Many of the motor homes are fully compliant with the law, insured and registered. Implementing laws that discriminate against someone’s vehicle and lifestyle is simply not constitutional or legal. Per the law: a motor home is a fully self-contained vehicle with a toilet, shower, cooking facilities, etc. Why is that any different from an apartment?

Having said that, the police knocked on my door this morning to tell me I had to move and that I was not allowed to sleep overnight in a motor home. I promptly informed them that my vehicle is completely legal and that I have the legal right to park for 72 hours just like anyone else. I was told that if they had to come back again I would be cited for a misdemeanor. What for? I did an enormous amount of research regarding this choice before I made it and this simply is not constitutional or legal.

As for the belief the streets of Venice are lined with motor homes is completely false. There are probably 50 at the very most. It seems though that the streets can have all the SUV’s and other expensive vehicles and that is not a problem. What happened to the VW bus and the woody?

As for parking problems, home owners or apartment renters knew beforehand if their property had a garage or whether they would have to street park. A family of 4 could all have a car each therefore taking up 4 parking spaces. Who is taking up more space?

I know that some RV dwellers are not responsible and cause a nuisance, just like any other group in society; I therefore fully sympathize with home owners who have to put up with this crass behavior. This is when law officers should step in and cite these individuals for any laws broken. However, to blanket all motor home occupants as though they are all the scum of the earth is ignorant, offensive and quite frankly an abomination of civil rights.

I really hope that Bill Rosendahl can implement a plan like that of Santa Barbara rather than getting laws passed where they just get tickets they can’t afford to pay and have their homes towed and impounded. Bullying law abiding citizens is not acceptable.

Venice isn’t just for the rich and if they cannot co-exist with the true Venetians, then maybe they should move to Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Manhattan Beach or Malibu. It is the rich that want to work in their corporate jobs all week, then come the weekend, dress in a tie-dye shirt and flip flops and pretend they are all cool and down with the scene, while at the same time drinking a 6 dollar cup of coffee and displaying contempt towards the very people that keep this community true to its identity in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Enough of this snobbery in Venice and lets all try to live together and respect each other. Remember, when you move to a community, it is up to you to adapt to it, not the other way around. 

Brett Pikey

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Mary Getlein

Dear Beachhead,

I just want to applaud the letter/rant from Mary Getlein in the March issue [of the Beachhead]. I am in agreement with her and feel her pain, as they say…Perhaps because I have known her for 32 years. 

We met in Venice. became good friends, left to live in Berkeley for awhile along with other locals. She made it back to Venice, I did not. I’m glad she has your paper to write to and express herself freely. Of course I envy any one who lives there , as I feel I still belong there too.

Mary’s Best Friend,

Kitty Bratton

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Operation Oakwood – 1

Dear Beachhead,

Why do we not hear about the arrests of the white collar criminals driving through Venice in the early morning hours searching to make a purchase of their drug of choice? Why do we not have record setting arrests of the people who own the planes and ships that bring drugs into this country? Let alone Los Angeles? 

The recent Operation Oakwood hurt the community. There is such a disconnect to the community! In this situation, ‘to serve’ would have been to knock on the door and ‘to protect’ would have meant protecting the children and elderly living at the various places in question. To serve and protect everyone…

Have we have reached the point of no return? The entire Venice community need to realize how people are being treated. We need to specifically get back to our hearts’ challenge of finding a way to treat others with respect and to empower everyone with a sense of their civil liberties and rights, as human beings. If we do not then we are perpetuating apathy and hate. To me, that is the biggest crime of all. 

We all come with a story and we all have life challenges. Some people’s lives are not neatly packaged like others that includes a pretty ribbon or bow. That does not mean that we set a blind eye or a deaf ear to anyone’s sorrow and pain. That means that we need to step up and help by listening to their heart. None of the authorities – not one regulation or law that was executed during Operation Oakwood was recognized as law breaking of its own accord. Isn’t what happened child abuse, child neglect and child endangerment? 

Let’s call it what it really is, hyper-gentrification. The government agencies are failing the communities at an all time high. Like it or not, we are all responsible for each other. There are some Venice residents that will deny their neighbors – those people will continue to live in fear and hate.

Beachhead, there have been homicides on the Ocean Front Walk and not one TV station has covered these crimes. I know murder is not good for the real estate market and Venice homes continue to sell for over $1,000,000. Why is that? Could it possibly be because the people killed have been homeless?

Venice’s problems and blame can not be simply cast on the disenfranchised or poor or on the families who fortunately purchased their homes 4 or 5 generations ago where someone’s retired grand parents live. The problems and blame are on those who fail their neighbors and community.

We need to put our representatives in check; they are continuously failing at representing us. There are Council Members in other districts busy dumping people from their area – dumping people here in Venice by the bus loads. Not one person is disposable including our veterans and elderly! 

So who are we Venice community? People who listen with our hearts and rise to assist? Or are we a cog in the wheel that perpetuates apathy and hate?

Lydia Poncé

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Operation Oakwood – 2

Dear Beachhead,

I happened to pick up a copy of the Beachhead last night and read your account of the LAPD raid in Oakwood. An internet search for more information about the raid did not lead me to an online version of your article. Instead, a google search produced nothing but references and repostings of the LAPD-loving LA Times article and similarly slanted reports. The perspectives you presented in your article were unrepresented in my cursory search. Unfortunately, the raid may be remembered by most as a successful LAPD incursion into a gang-ridden area, not as a scummy, intrusive, and offensive attempt to speed gentrification through intimidation and by playing to the public’s willingness to condone any law enforcement measure that makes mention of the word “gang.”

You seem to have been the only publication to paint the raid as anything by a successful and worthwhile LAPD mission, and that unfairly places on you a burden to spread your story as widely as possible. I’ve visited your website, and I know you have an online presence, but I wish that presence were more immediately visible. I don’t know much about the technology involved, but I’m wondering if you’ve considered working with the Venice Neighborhood Council or the Venice Forum, both of which have visible online manifestations, to have your articles reprinted on their pages. 

Thank you. Nancy Kolocotronis

(From the Collective: Any non-profit paper or website is free to use articles, with attribution, in the Beachhead. For profit media, please contact us first.)

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Operation Oakwood – 3

Dear Beachhead,

“LAPD, Feds kick down doors,terrorize seniors in early morning “Iraq-style”para-military operation 

Feb.19. The 300-plus invasion force said they were looking for gang members but found mostly elderly women, children and babies in the homes after kicking down the front doors.” 

Pretty inflammatory sub-head, for your headline. As far as I’m concerned, “A new broom sweeps clean”, but then, everyone has a “right” to know when the LAPD is conducting a raid, correct? WRONG!!! That’s why they call it a “raid”! Granted, whenever these type of “raids” occur, no matter where you live in the world, there are always innocent people who are hurt. Not like the “innocent” that continue to get shot in drive-by’s and those who are miss-identified by the “gang bangers.” It is interesting how the police are always such “monsters”, but then you bitch about them for not being around when YOU need them. 

Let’s be honest and admit that many of you know some of the “grand mothers” and “mothers” who accept “cash” from their children or grandchildren who deal in drugs. They turn a blind eye because it behooves them. If you live in Venice, you have seen what some of these crack heads and metha-drones, who walk around in this neighborhood, look like. Still, there are those who continue to pretend it is O.K. to sell this “garbage”. But then, some parents have never recovered from their own addictions, let alone make decisions with the brain cells they have left! To me it is analogues to some of the men and women of Islam who want their children to be suicide bombers. Worshiping death and not life. 

In all the years I have lived in Venice it continues to vex me as to how many people continue to be “victims”. It is always someone else’s fault or responsibility. The government will take care of it, but stay out of business! 

There are many wonderful people who live in this “multi-cultural” environment and over-all this is a pretty great community. But why is it necessary for someone to make the statement “The gentrification that started back in the 1980′s still continues to perpetuate ethnic cleansing”, as stated under “Two anonymous Comments from the Community?”. This person is either brain dead or just plain stupid. It didn’t really start to change around here until the mid nineties. There were still kids being shot in the street by their peers, in 1999. I hate to say it, but I can’t recall a “white kid” being shot by another “white kid” in the street. The person who made this statement probably prefers to live a hovel with trash all around them. Personally, I am sick and tired of individuals who “reside” in the alley behind my house, smoking crack, defecating any where they please and leaving trash everywhere they go and all the brainless little gang bangers who paint their unreadable monikers all over the Venice. All of sudden everyone is innocent – their hypocrisy is sickening. They all know their rights and none of them, their responsibilities!

Consider me sick of hypocrisy and the “victocrats” of Venice!

Ingrid Boon

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Operation Oakwood – 4

Dear Beachhead,

Your OPERATION OAKWOOD article quite bothered me in your March issue of the newspaper. I find your seemingly liberal and feministic newspaper harder and harder to read each month. The only real reason I guess I pick the newspaper up is for torture. I like torturing myself into finding all the ways you can justify your idealistic thought process. 

I assume you live in the Oakwood area: north of California, east of Abbot Kinney, south of Rose and west of Lincoln. I guess it is safe to say that you never hear of any criminal mischief taking place within those boundaries. You never see drug addicts come in from La Brea and Venice to the Oakwood area looking to by meth, rock cocaine, heroin and marijuana. I guess you can say that you have never heard the gunshots that ring out between rival gangs in the area and gang members shooting at police officers. I guess you personally know the lady who’s niece had a “gun pointed at her head” because she is “African American” and know that her son is not on parole or selling drugs. How about the same citizen that tries to play at the park but can’t because it is overrun with gang members, transients and drug addicts passed out on the grass.

Well I am a resident. I do see the crack heads riding their bikes into my neighborhood to look for drugs. But before that I see them break into my neighbors car, take her GPS and then give it to the drug dealers for a 20. How about those rival gangs coming into Venice looking for their next victim, whether gang affiliated or not. How about those terrorists that live with their poor auntie or grandmother that has been grandfathered into the Venice neighborhood and hasn’t paid rent for 50 years. This shit happens here in Venice. 

Here you blame it on the police. We whine and cry when the police do do anything because they are so over worked, overrun and understaffed. We cry and complain when the police do things like issue citations to transients for possessing a shopping cart that is not theirs and in fact stole. It’s all the LAPD’s fault and you let these residents believe that by encouraging them to go into the police department and fill out a criminal complaint on an officer because he/she is doing their best job to keep this community drug, gun and gangbanger free. The officer points their gun at people because these people have guns. 

Tell the whole story. Your newspaper is so one sided that I torture myself trying understand the world these story tellers live in. 

You have to use violence to fight violence. That is the biggest, hardest thing for people to grasp. You are not going to solve the problems created by these savages unless you grasp them by the throat. There is no reasoning, pleading or begging. There is no ignoring the problem, hoping it will go away. Go out and get at it. 

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Personally, I love what the LAPD and the FEDS did. Maybe this is just the first of many to come. And if you think they are going to stop because of one little meaningless, one-sided newspaper–come again.

C. Grant

(From the Collective: Normally we would not print a letter that calls fellow human beings – and neighbors – “savages.” But the rant against this newspaper just made our day. We are happy to be associated with the hard-working and community-minded residents of Oakwood who this letter writer should get to know.)

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31-Story Building
Dear Beachhead:
As debate continues on the proposed 31 story condo tower on Lincoln, one extremely important fact seems to have been overlooked. The Marina Pointe Drive and neighboring areas have been hit by more than a dozen power outages and dramatic fluctuations (brown outs) over the past two months. LADWP has admitted off the record that they do not fully understand the reason why but speculate that the volume of new construction in the area (especially the Del Rey Arts district) has overburdened the power grid for this neighborhood with little likelihood this can be easily remedied short term.

If there is ANY truth to this concern, then the 31 story condo tower should not only be opposed by all area residents (these outages are damaging appliances and electronics in many homes and businesses) but also denied by the local review board for practicality reasons alone. If LADWP cannot consistently supply power to this area now (its not winter or summer) how could it possibly handle another oversized condo building? We haven’t even seen what the newly occupied Del Rey Arts district influx of residents will do to the local power grid come summer. Be prepared for more outages.

Sincerely, J. Elias

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Rest Rooms on Ocean Front Walk

Dear Beachhead,

The artists, performers, business owners and general public would like bring to your attention the existence of a public health hazard currently existing adjacent to the large Rose Avenue public lot at Venice Beach. If you would please read the enclosed petition, this should give you the information you ned to consider a course of action.

I obtained 300 signatures in support of this petition,and could have gotten many, many more. However, I felt it was more important to bring this matter to your attention as quickly as possible, since the spring and summer season is rapidly approaching. As you know, the advent of good weather brings thousands of people to Venice Beach on a daily basis.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion concerning all the public rest room facilities along the Boardwalk. In the case of the Rose Avenue facilities, they have been locked for over a year now. Other facilities are partially open at what seem to be inconsistent intervals. Thee have been rumors about plumbing problems, money problems, and contractor problems. I don’t know what the truth is, and it seems nobody else does either.

Please take action on this matter as soon as possible and provide acknowledgment of this letter and enclosed petition.

Respectfully, Gina Michel

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RV Parking

Dear Beachhead,

I believe that the beach parking lots should be dedicated to campers and RVs. They should either be allowed to park free or, perhaps, pay an incredibly low or nominal amount each day.

I agree that it is inappropriate and wrong for campers and RVs to simply drive to a street in Venice and park their vehicle as a permanent “fixture” adjacent to someone’s home or apartment. This is wrong.

I wish to compliment your newspaper for addressing this very important issue. Throughout Venice, there appear to be hundreds of campers and RVs illegally parked. From time to time, these streets are going to apply to the Council office for a permit for restrictive overnight parking. This seems ridiculous.

Michael Millman

April 2008 – Venice LCP Redeux: The Missing Coastal Plan For Venice

By John Davis

What the hell is an LCP, is it like a BLT? And what is the Coastal Zone, a place where those near the coast get zoned? In 1972 when many other environmental laws were being passed like the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, another very important piece of legislation appeared to protect valuable coastal resources and strike a balance with proposed development but focusing more on protection of the environment.

The U.S. Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 called on States to voluntarily participate in the enforcement of the federal act by producing their own state acts to implement the national law. In exchange participating states are entitled to obtain grants from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coastal Zone 

Resource Management. The agreement between the state and federal government is called the Coastal Zone Management Plan for California and the state law that implements it is the California Coastal Act passed in 1978. A Local Coastal Program (LCP) is a plan allowing the City of Los Angeles to issue Coastal Development Permits without appeal to the State Coastal Commission which has that jurisdiction today. 

A grant was awarded to the state to complete the Venice LCP in the late 90s. Two components are necessary to complete an LCP, a Land Use Plan and an Implementation Plan. Until it is approved by the state the Implementation Plan is called a Specific Plan. After extensive local public meetings the city documents were submitted to the State Commission. The Land Use Plan (LUP) was approved in the late ‘90s, but the Implementation Plan (Specific Plan) was not. The Coastal Commission rejected the city submission outright for being incomplete and inconsistent with the already approved LUP.

Now here is the scam. The prior city councilperson allowed the Specific Plan to go unfinished. The City Planner at that time Con Howe failed to respond to the Coastal Commissions’ letter stating the requirements to complete the Specific Plan. What this absence of planning has led to is the ruin of Venice. The same density calculations used by the City and Coastal Commission to justify the Land Use Plan in the late ‘90s are no longer valid because of development that has occurred since that time and that adversely affected the public infrastructures such as Lincoln Blvd. and neighborhood streets. 

Pretending that past figures can be valid years later contributes to practices such as the demolition of single family homes and placement of four condos on the same site effectively quadrupling density piece meal. Development of the regional area also must be considered regarding its direct impact on Venice infrastructure, such as parking.

If this negligence were not insult enough to Venetians, the city engineer continues to issue coastal development permits without empowerment of state law, the Brown Act and the City Zoning Administrator follow suit in a false process. What that means is due process is removed from the picture and substitute practices similar to the legal ones are illegally employed. 

The bad news is the public has been frozen out of its right to upcoming process in regard to due coastal planning in Venice. The good news is the process seems ready to be started again. 

The current Councilmember, Bill Rosendahl, has sent a letter to the City Director of Planning expressing his wish to complete the Venice LCP within his term. This would place the public in the important role of helping plan their communities. Venice is a very special place and deserves a good LCP. Perhaps we could reclaim some of our beach area for habitat and exercise the cities jurisdiction over its beaches and the entrance to Marina del Rey as it rightfully should. Councilman Rosendahl in my opinion should be commended for understanding that planning is a long term process with lasting consequences.

April 2008 – 191 Lincoln Place Tenants, Evictees Sue Landlord; AIMCO Files Counter-Suit

On March 14, Lincoln Place Garden Apartments attorneys John Murdock and David Lefkowitz went to court to add more tenants and former tenants to their lawsuit against AIMCO, Apartment Investment & Management Co. The suit is designed to make AIMCO pay for on-going disruption to the lives of 191 tenants and evictees at the largest apartment complex in Venice.

AIMCO returned the favor, March 25, with a suit in federal court against the city of Los Angeles. The city had granted AIMCO a track map for redevelopment several years ago with the provision that the tenants not be evicted. The Denver-based corporation apparently believes that if it can persuade a court to agree that the track map was not in force, then AIMCO cannot be held legally at fault for the evictions.

Tenant leaders insist that AIMCO should restore the illegally terminated tenancies of 450 households, which included many seniors and families with children. Eviction threats persuaded many families to abandon their rent-controlled apartments. Payments they received rapidly disappeared in the local housing crisis. The lawsuit for damages demands that AIMCO compensate these households for the higher rents they’ve had to pay since leaving Lincoln Place, as well as for the destruction of their community and the harm caused to the lives of these people. Most of the plaintiffs are also asking to be restored to their former apartments. 

On December 6, 2005, AIMCO had the LA County Sheriffs lock out 52 households, including 21 children and 65 adults. This was the largest single-day sheriff lockout in the history of Los Angeles. 

In its 2007 annual report, AIMCO acknowledged to shareholders that “Plans to develop Lincoln Place have been the subject of controversy and litigation, which reduces its market value and may result in a future impairment (financial loss).” AIMCO’s idea of development apparently is to kick out the tenants, tear down the apartments and build hi-rise condos.

“AIMCO took a bad business gamble. They broke the law and hurt a lot of people. They threw families out of their homes, little children, frail elderly ladies, and people with life-threatening illnesses. You bet it’s going to cost them,” said Sheila Bernard, the feisty president of the Lincoln Place Tenants Association.

Laura Burns, a locked-out tenant observed that this is the first acknowledgment AIMCO has made to its shareholders that its plans to demolish and redevelop Lincoln Place have run aground. “AIMCO thought they could extort more height and density from the city of L.A. They used the tenants as hostages during a protracted period of eviction threats and tense negotiations spanning the last five years. But this Goliath has met its match,” said Burns. 

According to lead attorney John Murdock, who shepherded LPTA’s case against AIMCO to a stunning victory, Superior Court Judge David Yaffe has issued an injunction preventing further evictions at Lincoln Place. Attorneys for the tenants will be using this injunction to obtain dismissals for the 48 households who are currently fighting their 2005 eviction orders in court. 

“AIMCO abused its power,” added Amanda Seward, an entertainment and intellectual property rights attorney who won historical status for Lincoln Place and has learned landlord-tenant law on the job as she successfully held off the eviction of the last group of senior and disabled households who are still anchoring the complex. “The company underestimated the tenants at Lincoln Place and they are not going away.”

April 2008 – Martians Steal Ray Bradbury House

The house at 662 S. Venice Blvd. where Ray Bradbury wrote the The Martian Chronicles is missing. The plaque on the house telling the story of the writing of the classic book is missing also.

An alternative theory is that it wasn’t Martians who stole the house, but a developer intent on making money by tearing down the cultural heritage.

A sign on the adjoining old power station says Howard Robinson of 875 Venice Blvd. is planning to build an addition to the station.

April 2008 – Jane Harman Denied L.A. Labor Endorsement

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor turned thumbs down on U.S. Representative Jane Harman, who represents Venice, even though she has no opposition in the June primary.

A committee of the Federation, which represents 300,000 union members in L.A. County had recommended endorsing Harman, but the union delegates voted not to endorse by more than a two-thirds margin.

Harman’s support for NAFTA, the Iraq war, her sponsorship of HR 1955 on domestic terrorism and her opposition to Universal Heathcare led the delegates to oppose endorsing her.

April 2008 – NAFTA Is Sucking Immigrants Over The Border

By Karl Abrams 

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began on New Year’s Day 1994, a new age of free trade prosperity was expected to begin. Hundreds of thousands of US jobs would be created, immigration from Mexico would slow to a trickle and the living standards on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border would rise to new heights of economic abundance. Unfortunately, this never happened.

Originally pushed through by corporate interest, NAFTA remains a complex trilateral trade agreement which has eliminated most tariffs on traded products between Mexico, Canada, and the US.

The U.S. has already lost 3 million manufacturing jobs and six million Mexican peasant farmers have been driven off their ancestral land. They have had no choice but to migrate into Mexican cities or find their sad way north into the U.S. as slave-wage migrant workers. 

Mexico was once proud and self-sufficient in terms of indigenous food supply. Now it has to import 40% of its food for survival. Mexican corn (maize), for example, can no longer compete with imported U.S. subsidized corn. The Mexican farm industry has nearly been destroyed. As a result, the standard of living in Mexico has gone down and undocumented immigration has risen by at least 60%.

It was Mexico’s former President Carlos Salinas who signed the NAFTA agreement in 1994. What was he thinking? Salinas was aware at the time that NAFTA would destroy the livelihood of 10-13 million farmers and drive them off their land. He knew they would not be able to compete with US and Canadian untariffed grain imports. 

Salinas had hoped and assumed that fruit and vegetable exports would offset the loss to grain farmers. He was so wrong. Millions of farmers and their families have since gone broke, while fruit and vegetable exports have only marginally increased. 

NAFTA wrongly assumed that thousands of Mexican farmers who cultivated corn for hundreds of years would smoothly switch over to growing fruit (e.g. strawberries) and vegetables.

According to agriculture economist Professor Philip Martin of UC Davis, NAFTA proponents didn’t realize the difficulties farmers would have making a smooth transition. Without the Mexican government spending money on crop-change education and efficient roads, the switch-over will continue to be doomed.

Perhaps we should learn from the European Union. They have already implemented their plans to subsidize the infrastructure for poor countries like Portugal, Spain, and Greece to enter the EU. In this way, European countries can better “converge economically” and prevent mass migration of economically displaced people. 

Salinas believed that foreign manufacturers would hire low cost Mexican labor at fair wages. He knew that industrial jobs in Mexico would be created by eager US investors. General Electric, for example, has sent thousands of US jobs to Mexico. Today, the GE conglomerate and its partners employ 30,000 Mexicans at 35 factories. 

But, Mexican workers are only being offered wages half of what they were in the past. And, as the products of Mexican labor, from refrigerators to washing machines, are shipped back to the US, the people of Mexico will find they’ve become poorer than ever. 

In the last several months, tariffs on US corn, beans, sugar and powdered milk coming into Mexico have also been eliminated. This is going to further wipe out the livelihoods of a million more rural Mexicans. 

Farmers from across the country gathered in Mexico City last February to protest NAFTA, demanding renegotiation of NAFTA, restoration of grain self-sufficiency, and wage increases. 

US factories in Mexico can now take advantage of cheap Mexican labor to produce cheaper cars. US companies such as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler can now ship cars and car parts anywhere in the US in just a few days. By some estimates, 60,000 US car related jobs have been lost since the NAFTA agreement began.

We must continue to challenge NAFTA as the root cause of Mexican immigration even as the Bush administration refuses to renegotiate the treaty.

It should be understood by all how NAFTA has forced millions of rural farmers off their land, decreased Mexican manufacturing job income and increased general unemployment. According to Harvard trade-economist Dani Rodrik, as the wages of Mexican workers continue to fall, they will continue to migrate northward.

The resulting migration into the US has yet to be understood by the average person in the US. Instead of understanding the bigger picture, there has been a dramatic rise in xenophobic hate groups that turn a blind eye to NAFTA as the true cause behind the erosion of worker’s rights on both sides of the border.

If American investment has flooded into Mexico to finance such factories and provide new jobs, why has the number of illegal immigrants continued to rise?

According to Robert A. Blecker, an American University economist, the actual number of manufacturing jobs has actually been decreasing (by almost 40%) since a high of 4.1 million was reached in 2000.

According to the latest annual report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups in the US has increased almost 50% over the last eight years.

Groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which claim more than 250,000 members, continue to have strong connections to underground white supremacist groups that have emphasized racist conspiracy theories about immigrants poised to “take over America”. 

At the same time however, a recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows that “immigrants are far less likely than the average US native to commit crimes” showing clearly that “long standing fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified.”

In fact, the PPIC has shown that while the the number of “illegal” immigrants has doubled since the 1994 enactment of NAFTA, violent crime have actually declined by nearly 35%. Last month, Time Magazine has also verified that there is “no correlation between immigrants and crime.” 

But immigrant hate groups like FAIR, hiding under the usual flag-draped guise of patriotism and main stream pundits like Lou Dobbs, continue to misrepresent these facts through propaganda and disinformation on TV and radio. So far, it has been a rare occurrence for our politicians and law makers to make any connection whatsoever to the flawed policies of NAFTA and its connection to increased immigration.

As usual, the biggest economic benefits are going to major transnational corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, General Electric and Wal-Mart.

Let us demand from our political leaders a complete review and renegotiation of NAFTA (including labor and environmental provisions) and a freeze on new trade pacts. 

Let us put pressure on US corporations doing business in Mexico to contribute generously towards the billions of dollars needed to stimulate new job growth in Mexico just as the European Union is doing for members of its union.

Let us welcome our newly immigrated Latino brothers and sisters with love and respect.

April 2008 – Whole Foods Chops Down Whole Trees

By Michael Zeno

Fourteen trees have been cut down at the soon-to-be Whole Foods Market parking lot in Venice to make way for ‘new’ trees.

It’s disconcerting to return to a place you know well and sense that eerie feeling that something is not right, like coming home to find your door slightly ajar when you know you locked it tight. That’s exactly what happened on Feb. 27 when I pulled into the strip mall parking lot off Lincoln Boulevard at Rose Avenue; something was missing, I thought. Then it hit me…the trees! 

The trees were gone! Fourteen trees that encircled the lot had been unceremoniously cut down by the contractor hired to begin remodeling the former Big Lots site for the new Whole Foods Market. Only the mutilated stumps remained, festooned with yellow caution tape, appropriately reminiscent of a crime scene. 

Four of those felled were large trees, with leafy green canopies that softened that asphalt nightmare like only trees can. I’m not a tree-hugger, but I’m a tree-lover, and it’s painful to witness the indifference with which we destroy these living, breathing organisms that oftentimes have been around for generations and add untold value to a space. We already live in such a diminished natural environment, here in Venice, and particularly at that intersection, – which makes incidents like this all the more egregious. 

Granted, sometimes you have compelling reasons for tree removal, but it appears that Whole Foods plans only to ‘re-landscape’ the parking lot, which seems a little less than compelling. Equally disturbing is the fact that this type of behavior stands in direct opposition to the Whole Foods Market philosophy as environmental stewards: “We see the necessity of active environmental stewardship so that the earth continues to flourish for generations to come,” they boldly assert in their Declaration of Interdependence on their website. 

It’s also a very curious way to say hello to a neighborhood where you expect to do business for the next 50 years; or perhaps that particular part of Venice is not in their target demographic of upscale shoppers paying upscale prices for upscale produce, so local residents with an opinion were not consulted. Some of us will be senior citizens before we see trees there the same size as some of the ones that were cut down.

I attempted to contact Whole Foods Market for an explanation, but couldn’t get past a public relations consultant who basically told me that the trees were removed to make room for the new trees: “The tree removal was actually a step in the process of re-landscaping the site,” said Shawn Glasser of Mirror Mirror Public Relations in an e-mail response to my questions; “At the completion of this project, the site will have an abundance of trees, shrubs, and vines.” 

As a regular visitor to that strip mall I can tell you first hand that I consider this an aggressive act of ignorance and hypocrisy of the highest order from a company that boasts of itself as environmental stewards. Despite their best ‘re-landscaping’ intentions, they deserve to be taken to task for their anti-environmental actions.

April 2008 – Prop. 98′s Hidden Agenda: Abolish Rent Control

By Paul Hogarth

To learn about Proposition 98′s agenda, look no further than Dan Faller, President and Founder of the American Owner’s Association (AOA) – the largest landlord group in California. In a nine-page essay published in the association’s magazine, Faller complains heatedly about rent control, calls pro-tenant elected officials “terrorists” and “suicide bombers,” compares the effort to pass Prop. 98 with World War II, says that renters “choose not to provide for themselves,” and – with rhetoric that channels George Bush – tells landlords: “you are either for us or against us in this fight for your freedom and property rights.”

We cannot dismiss Faller as just another right-wing kook, for his organization has already contributed $325,000 to the “Yes on 98″ cause – and the AOA has plans to raise even more money in the coming weeks. With voter turnout in June expected to be very low, Faller’s fringe beliefs might actually become public policy in California – if we don’t act now.

While proponents want voters to think it’s about eminent domain reform, Prop 98 is the most dangerous right-wing initiative to hit the California ballot in years. It would abolish rent control, gut the most basic tenant protections, repeal sensible environmental laws and endanger public water projects. 

In the post-9/11 world, calling someone a “terrorist” is a serious accusation – but Faller refers to pro-tenant elected officials who oppose Prop 98 as “terrorists” or “suicide bombers” at least seven times. “The bombs and explosives they are throwing at us,” he writes, “are rent control, eminent domain, inspection laws, building codes, requiring 60-day notices so tenants can steal more time from you, eviction laws that allow tenants to live rent-free for several months, relocation fees, inclusionary zoning that drives up the price of housing so they have another excuse to justify even more laws. These elected officials are dangerous.”

Urging his fellow landlords to fight this “war” on the “terrorists,” Faller says the solution is to hit them with the “big bomb”: Proposition 98, which would invalidate all these existing laws and then some. “Help to permanently take away their weapons that allow unfair eminent domain and rent control,” he writes before asking for campaign contributions. 

But it’s not just the “terrorist” politicians that Faller has a bone to pick with. He demeans people who can’t afford to buy California real estate as lazy and ineffectual. As he urges landlords to “join this war” to pass Prop 98, Faller says “you’ve worked hard providing housing for others who chose not to provide for themselves. You gave up a lot of weekends to make it possible – something others were not willing to do.” Apparently, it’s okay to berate the state’s 14 million tenants because they “obviously” did not work hard enough to buy property themselves.

Does the fight over Prop 98 match the battle against Nazis and fascists in World War II? Dan Faller seems to think that it does. “There were big signs and advertisements that read ‘Uncle Sam Needs You!’ during WWII,” he writes. “There’s a big AOA sign today that says ‘Freedom Loving Americans Need You!’ We need your support to win this War to protect your property rights!”

Dan Faller is the president and founder of the American Owners Association – a national trade association of landlords that boasts more members in California than any other group. The AOA’s monthly newsletter – which printed his “Yes on 98″ screed – is the most widely read landlord publication in the country.

Under Faller’s watch, the AOA has provided crucial seed money for Prop 98 to get on the ballot. The group has already put $325,000 towards the effort – and Faller has urged members to give even more. 

With such a fundraising appeal, the “Yes on 98″ campaign should have plenty of funds to hoodwink voters into thinking that their extreme ballot measure is about eminent domain. Opponents of Prop. 98 must be vigilant, fundraise and get out the message to expose it as the Hidden Agendas Scheme that it really is. Only by doing so can we save such essential programs in California that 14 million renters rely on. 

Was Faller joking when he called pro-tenant elected officials “suicide bombers,” accused tenants of being lazy, and compared the fight to pass Prop. 98 with fighting the Axis in World War II? Apparently not. That should give us all pause about how dangerous Prop. 98 really is.

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron – http://www.beyondchron.org – an alternative online daily newspaper.

For more information, contact Coalition for Economic Survival: 213-252-4411 or POWER: 310-392-9700.