VENICE WOMAN TOSSING TERRA COTTA PLANTER, HITS GUNMAN

Venice Couple Lives Happily Ever After
–Thanks to Fawn Walenski

VENICE WOMAN TOSSING TERRA COTTA PLANTER, HITS GUNMAN

By Philomene Long

Fawn Walenski’s aim is as true as her love.
–Evening Outlook

“Mind my bullet wound.”
I’ve just finished hugging Fawn Walenski because I love her
It is the first time I have ever heard those words—
“Mind my bullet wound.”
Before she would explain she needed one more word
To complete her acrostic puzzle
“What is a four-letter word for Zen paradox?” she asked
“Koan,” I answered
Now, this is her story as I understand it:
At the door of their basement apartment in Thornton Tower
The gunman hollers
“GIMME ALL YOU GOT! I AX YOU GIMME ALL YOU GOT!”
Jonathon Thayes replies
“I’ve got a dollar.”
In the narrow basement hall
Gray white walls, one bald light bulb
Fawn watches from the door—
Jonathon, his cold cheek against the cold cement floor
His eyes become blank as the beginning of time
The only color, the blue of Fawn’s t-shirt
With REO SPEED WAGON written in bold print
“Go inside,” Jonathon tells Fawn, thinking only of her
The barrel of the gun now at his head, execution style
Fawn goes inside. She closes the door
The image of his face is before her
“Like a lamb led to the slaughter,” she thinks
“Gentle innocence.”

Then she sees a planter of terra cotta
The one she had been trying to give away to everyone
Even to me, the last time I saw her

She picks up the terra cotta planter
Feels the silky smooth cast of the pot
Knowing it could cut like a knife
She has never felt such peace
Not even when she cleaned the church until it crackled
“I can do this,” she says. “I can do this.”

She opens the door
She sees the gunman’s foot against the small of Jonathon’s back
The finger tense around the trigger
Her fingers loose around the terra cotta
She has never felt a cast so smooth
Her balance is perfect
She has no fear
‘I’m not going to let you hurt him,” she says

The gunman turns, aims at Fawn’s heart
Again, she says, “I’m not going to let you hurt him.”
Her hair is the color of terra cotta
Through her throat a tawny river of lions flows.
The gunman’s eyes are like startled mice
The terra cotta released becomes a stampede of red hot horses
Becomes a thousand lilies on fire
A long thin wind of flame
Which follows her gaze, its blade, a ruby red
On her fingertips the light is solid
In her right eye she sees the graceful terra cotta
Hit the gunman’s shoulder
In her left eye she sees the flash of his gun

The bullet which pierces her chest
Moves like a skipping stone through her flesh
As if unwilling to harm her
Avoids even the smallest of her bones
Darts past her heart, her lungs
Vaults out of her back to shatter
Only the plaster behind her

Later she will suspend an empty picture frame
Around the bullet hole in the wall
Receive the Carnegie Medal for Heroism
(That year only eight would receive it in America),
And with the award money buy exercise equipment
And she will give me a fragment (this time I will take it)
Of that clay planter which now happily sits
On my altar upon the Buddha’s lap

But what happened to the gunman?
And what did he do with his dollar?
He picked the wrong immortal couple
The wrong terra cotta

Celebrate International Women’s Day with Beachhead Women Writers and Poets

Celebrate International Women’s Day
with Beachhead Women Writers and Poets

at Beyond Baroque

7pm, Sunday, March 8 • 681 Venice Blvd. – $10 donation

Including: Krista Schwimmer, Jessica Aden, Lynne Bronstein, Amy Dewhurst, Susan Hayden, Hillary Kaye, Peggy Lee Kennedy, Erica Snowlake, Suzanne Thompson, Suzy Williams, Emily Winters and Antonieta Villamil

Letters

• I Say No to Permit Parking - Cristina Rojas
• Anti, anti-OPD - Ty Allison

___________

I Say No to Permit Parking

Dear Beachhead,

On purpose, at almost Midnight, I am listening to Scott Joplin’s Rags…”Solace”…

On purpose, because it is what I used to listen to during long nights typing as a translator

( being a piano and accordion player, and absolutely hating the old noisy typewriters, I fantasized…).

That was back in the heady days of the late 70’s, when I lived in the Chicago Mexican American neighborhood of Pilsen.

Now I live between our Venice, and, as tonight, in the Swiss mountain valleys of my childhood.

Snug as a bug in a rug in the studio I rent on the ground floor of a Swiss peasant home, facing the snowy fields for their cows in Summer, at the foot of pristine mountains crowned with grey rocks out of which I watched the yellow almost full moon rise into the dark clouds late last night…

So, what does any of this have to do with the Permit Parking debate in our Venice?

It has to do with why I have the point of view that I do.

And, as I see it, “Pilsen and Venice are Culturally, Politically, and Humanly, Soul Neighborhoods”.

In Venice I rent, as was the case in Pilsen. I have no assigned parking…no Permit Parking!

Most of the time, I walk about 4 blocks home, across the beautiful canals, often finding some happy surfer parking right in front of my house, or at other times, some beachgoers, or late at night, who knows who…

Now, as I consider the possibility of buying a place in Venice, I started to think that this was not such a cool arrangement…I mean, what is this BS? I would be paying taxes and yet have no assigned parking?

And then there is the really uncool aspect of the late night vandals I have written about in these pages a while back. Hummmm….maybe this Permit Parking starts to make sense….

And then, the experience and example of Pilsen hit me full force !!!

While I lived in Pilsen, we started hearing of nearby neighborhoods “suddenly” having a wave of drugs and firearms raids, and watched news reports of homes burning down and residents shivering outside…followed by urban renewal, and the creation of lovely new safe neighborhoods to replace the ever so old and dangerous ones.

At the time we called it “Urban Removal”: where did all those original residents have to go?…

I moved from Pilsen, for reasons out of my control, much to my regret, as I really liked living there, and then heard that the “Urban Renewal/Removal” scenario was beginning in Pilsen.

I went back on purpose this last Spring, back to see the house we lived in on Leavitt, a half a block from the El which made the entire house shake every time an El passed !!! and it was all still there as when we lived there ! Holes in the sidewalk, potholes in the street, and all !

You see, Pilsen stood up !

Because Pilsen is not just holed side walks and pot holed streets.

Pilsen is a vibrant self respecting Mexican American community, with a notable Mexican American Cultural Center, and many related and independent cultural artistic centers blooming !If one moves into Pilsen, you take it as it is, and that is why you move there !

If you want to change it, then maybe you should move elsewhere !

I feel that the same goes for our Venice.

Yes, there are multi-million dollar houses, and the Beach.

However, there are many miles of Beach along the Coastline of California, but only one Venice !

Like Pilsen, Venice has a rich History Culturally and Politically, a vibrant Cultural and Political Present. But also like Pilsen, it is not in its essence, a rich people’s community.

Beach Front and Marina del Rey not withstanding.

While Pilsen is a basically stable community, Venice has ever been an ultimate haven for social outcasts, be they outcasts politically, socially, intellectually, artistically, financially…THAT has been Venice’s Mother Lode.

The people who can afford to come into Venice and want to change it, can afford to go elsewhere, and not change a thing!

It will not even cost them more in the long run!

Because, by the time they would change/upgrade Venice, the tax basis and all the services would skyrocket, and they would suddenly wonder: what happened? as they found themselves paying as in any more expensive neighborhood, having destroyed “the charm” which attracted them to Venice.

“The charm”…the Mother Lode….blown away like Autumn Leaves…

At this time, it is only talk and plans of Permit Parking, but on the heels of the Oakwood “drug”raids last year !

It is yet another step in changing that very Character and Spirit of Venice that people all over the world come to experience…. 

Just like similar drug and weapons raids and fires were the prelude to Urban Renewal/Urban Removal in some Chicago neighborhoods whose longtime residents were blown away like Autumn leaves…

Pilsen was/is unique, and, as a community, it stood up ! 

Pilsen not only survived quietly, (the streets have not changed since I lived there in 1978, potholes and all !) it thrives Culturally and Humanly !

My Swiss Alps sense of neatness and order leaned heavily towards Permit Parking and keeping Venice clean and safe.

I would still like Venice to be clean and safe, but not at the expense of its Character and Soul !

So, I say no to Permit Parking.

–Cristina Rojas

___________

Anti, anti-OPD

Dear Beachhead,

I live on a street that has an OPD. I’m certain that all the neighbors for our number of blocks that got this in the last couple of years are wildly in favor of them, frankly it has been a godsend. Prior to having our OPD, we had numerous serious problems with people living in vehicles on our street.

Since we have the OPD, there have been none. Yet the Venice Beachhead only seems to represent the voice of those in Venice who are opposed to OPD’s.

Would you give voice in the Beachhead to those of us who not only are in favor of the ODP’s but in favor of a democratic process for neighborhoods such as ours to be able to go through a legal process given to all legal residents in Los Angeles to achieve this?

Sincerely, Ty Allison

Beachhead responds: Au contraire, Ty Allison. Last month the Beachhead published Casey Bowen’s views which were decidedly in favor of permit parking. Problem is, most proponents have not been interested in a debate, whether in print or in public.

Coastal Commission Agrees with OPD opponents – Will Hold Hearing in June

By Jim Smith

It only took the Coastal Commission a couple of minutes, Feb. 4, to derail the city’s rush to implement parking permits in Venice. The 12-person Board sided with appeals of the OPDs (Overnight Parking Districts) by Peggy Lee Kennedy & Coastal Commission Executive Director, Peter Douglas et al, in determining that the permits constitute a substantial issue for coastal access. In all, 33 appeals were received by the Commission.

Because of this determination, a hearing will be held on the matter, during the regularly scheduled Commission meeting on June 10-12. According to Charles Posner, the South Coast Manager, a location has not been selected. Possible venues include Marina del Rey, Long Beach and Orange County. 

It was after 4pm before the Commission got to item 22, Venice permit parking, on its agenda. Most of us had been waiting since 9am at the Huntington Beach City Hall. Joining two van loads and several cars of opponents were a handful of permit parking supporters and their high-priced lawyer, Sherman Stacey (who has appeared before the Commission more times than any other attorney). 

Bill Rosendahl, our peripatetic city council person, tried to do his usual ploy of getting the meeting to rearrange its schedule so he can talk and leave. The Commission was having none of it, having hosted Mayors, Senators and Governors in the past. So Bill and his staff had to cool their heels until 4pm. 

Also spending the day in Huntington Beach were LAPD Captain Joseph Hiltner, Officer Theresa Skinner and an unidentified detective. Presumably they were present to testify in favor of OPDs. This reporter wondered how they were able to spend the day waiting to testify on a policy decision, when their mission is law enforcement. However, a few days later, Chief Billy Bratton popped up on TV campaign for city political candidates. A definition of a police state is where a political police force secretly supervises the citizens’ activities. Apparently in Venice and Los Angeles, it’s not a police state since the supervision is done in the open. 

At 4pm the Chair, Bonnie Neely moved to the Venice OPDs. Two of the Commissioners copped to having talked with Attorney Stacey, and one, vice-chair William Burke said he had been contacted by Rosendahl. Nevertheless, a motion to regard the OPDs as a substantial issue was passed without objection. Because there were no objections, no speakers were permitted to the regret of many of those who had spent the day in the arena. When the hearing is held, there will be speakers, but they will be limited to those who filed appeals and those who had filled out speaker cards at this meeting. But a big turnout of those who want unrestricted coastal access will certainly help.

Irregularities Charged in Venice Neighborhood Council Vote

By Peggy Lee Kennedy

If you didn’t already know, the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) held an election Saturday, February 21 at the Venice Abbot Kinney library. The election and the ballot counts consisted of more irregularities ever seen before in Venice and maybe the world.

The VNC web site claims that the vote is now certified, but exactly when do the two people who conduct an election – unseal the ballot box at the polling place to start the vote count, then put ballots in three smaller flimsy boxes, take these boxes full of ballots to their home, actually be the only two people who conduct the final ballot count the next day, and also be the same people who officially certify the election results? 

The election stimulus (no federal money involved) for this Venice Neighborhood Council vote was an initiative petition, a provision of the VNC bylaws, submitted by Mark Lipman on December 16. The language of his initiative was meant to rescind the Neighborhood Council’s support of Overnight Permit Parking Districts (OPDs) in Venice, but some people felt that it was hard to understand.

 

The Overnight Permit Parking District law or OPD law, LAMC 80.54, is a law put through City Council in 2005 by Councilperson Bill Rosendahl and it is being used to remove those living in vehicles from affluent areas, including Venice. The Venice Neighborhood Council, whose president, Mike Newhouse, is a real estate attorney and whose board is mostly white homeowners, support the OPDs.

Subsequent to Lipman’s initiative petition, Mark Ryavec and Stewart Oscars, both well known for Venice Neighborhood Council involvement and for supporting criminialzation of homeless people, submitted an equally confusing opposing initiative petition the following month stating that permit parking is a right.

Overnight permit parking is in neither the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights nor the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. Nonetheless, the Ryavec/Oscars initiative states that it is a right to have permit parking. What followed was a well-funded campaign based on fear, hate, and the pretense that permit parking is a public safety issue, an ideology which ensued up through the election day.

A group calling itself the Venice Stakeholders Association, which Mark Ryavec admits to be part of, paid almost $4,000 for Argonaut newspaper ads in favor of overnight permit parking. First, a 3/4 page advertisement appeared on February 12, which “was filled with unproven allegations, inaccuracies, and misleading statements.” (An exact quote of the portion deleted from a letter to the Editor printed the following week.) And it contained hate speech against homeless people, according to local human rights activist Calvin Moss, such as “ What is scarier than finding syringes, condoms and pornographic material in your yard, hoping it won’t be your children finding it next time?”

This advertisement was written as if an open letter to Venice residents and signed by Georgann Abraham, co-chair of the [pro] OPD committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council.

Two more three-quarter page ads appeared in the February 19 paper; one stating that “Those who live in RVs and vans have proposed an initiative to deprive [the real Venice residents of] their right…” and also a reprint of the previous week’s ad.

The Venice Stakeholders Association spread fear with flyers that went through Venice neighborhoods and which were also passed out in the election line! The flyers said permit parking is a safety issue and “LAPD says parking restrictions help keep burglars, muggers, and child predators out of our neighborhoods.”

The election process, itself, was poorly planned. Only three hours were provided to vote? The person apparently running the election was unable to maintain any real decorum. People were given multiple ballots to vote with. The ballot box was opened and the ballots went home with someone prior to any vote count.

The complaints so far are: 

The LAPD blocked the entrance to the election location by parking their vehicles in front of the entrance of the library and people thought they could go into the lot. No sign was put up telling people to pull around the police car to drop off disabled or seniors.

LAPD officers milled around the election entrance throughout most of the election. Some people felt intimidated by the police presence and did not go vote at all.

The line was so long that people who knew they could not physically stand in line for hours simply did not try to vote.

There was no absentee voting process.

Ivan Spiegel, the person running the election, was yelling at people and some left without voting.

A polling volunteer inside the election witnessed people voting multiple times (they were given more than one ballot.)

A person voting, who qualified as a Venice stakeholder under VNC bylaws, had his or her registration form marked as “Non-Resident” by a polling volunteer.

The place voters marked their ballots during the election, was a small table where groups of people were allowed to mark their ballots together, talk among themselves, and consult each other how to vote.

Someone honest reported being given 3 ballots inside the polling place.

A VNC board officer harassed someone talking to friends in line, accusing him or her of electioneering, while a man was passing out a bright purple pro-OPD flyer to most of the election line right in front of him.

A VNC walking man flyer stating the actual ballot initiatives should have been distributed to Venice addresses. Most people who voted were informed by flyers or emails distributed by the initiative proponents or advertisements.

The VNC election committee decided the votes would be counted on the same day as the election and the count took place in a meeting the following day that was not given sufficient public notice.

No one should have taken the ballots home, especially after unsealing the ballot box.

The vote count and certification is not legal by any standards.

At the polling place, a decision was made by Ivan Spiegel, election chairperson, to begin the count at the library – even though the actual voting ended around 5pm and the library closed at 6pm. (If you were in the line to vote by 3:30, you could still vote and that is how long it took to finish.) There were multiple witnesses in the room. An initial one-time count of the total ballots was made and a number of 1504 total ballots was announced.

Spiegel then decided that there was not enough time to count the vote around 5:45 pm. Most of the witnesses demanded that the votes be counted and people started to yell and fight. One person, who made some sense, suggested that the ballots be picked up by a Brinks document service. After a very crazy exchange of screaming and arguing back and forth, a decision was made by Spiegel to meet at the Extra Space Storage on Venice Blvd. at 11am the next morning and Elizabeth Wright, the other person on the VNC election committee and the person who was supposed to be working with Spiegel to manage the election, took the ballots home – flimsy boxes an all – in her minivan!

On Sunday, February 22, the Wright minivan pulled up to Extra Space Storage with the overnight ballot guests. The count took place in a small, extremely hot room with people who want to remove the poor people from Venice. Someone described it as Hell. There were three tables of two counters and one witness each. Two of tables had witnesses that participated fully in the tally process of the counts. They did not maintain their witness status at all.

After hours of unreasonable temperatures in the Extra Space Storage room and many confusing recounts of tallies, each table provided Spiegel with their tally sheets. Then most of the counters and the so-called witnesses left. Spiegel added up the tally sheets (by hand), but found out that they were more than 300 ballots shy of the 1504 count from the night before.

Spiegel and Wright then decided to count the votes themselves! They are the people who ran the election and then counted the votes, tallied the votes by hand (no calculator), found the more than 300 missing votes plus 6 more, and, finally, Spiegel announced that he certified the election. Wow! All in all a deeply flawed election 

Despite all of the alleged cheating, the misconduct, the police blocking the entrance of the polling place, the fear campaign waged by homeless haters, confusing ballot initiatives, and the lines that no working or disabled person could possibly wait in – the vote in favor of the anti-homeless Overnight Parking Districts still only came out to a 57 percent lead. Considering that Rosendahl insists each block will require a 66 percent approval to get the permit parking put in, then OPDs lost.

Permit Parking Vote Targets Venice Homeless

By Michael Linder

“Best fledgling democracy this side of Baghdad” quipped a resident after his first voting encounter with the 5 year-old Venice Neighborhood Council. “We’ve got long lines, confusing ballots, screaming matches. Now, someone’s taking the uncounted ballots home for the night. We’ve got everything but purple ink on our fingers.”

No sectarian violence either as stakeholders turned out in record numbers Saturday, approving initiatives that would expel the motorized homeless from their ‘hood. Voters refused to overturn an earlier neighborhood council endorsement of overnight permit parking districts.

Some Venetians said they were driven solely by parking frustrations and reluctant to impact the already hard-hit homeless. Still, the measures they approved would drive homeless vehicle-dwellers from Venice streets under threat of heavy fines — without offering parking alternatives. Voters also affirmed the rights of residents to set parking restrictions for individual blocks.

 

Voting Results – Initiative A: 868 NO; 634 YES; 9 ABSTAIN

Text: To Fairly Represent Venice, the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) Must Rescind any VNC Board Approval of Overnight Parking Districts in Venice and Transmit a Letter Stating Such to the Los Angeles City Council Office, the Bureau of Engineering, the Department of Transportation, and the California Coastal Commission.

 

Initiative B: 891 YES; 608 NO; 13 ABSTAIN

Text: Venice Stakeholders re-affirm that Venice residents have the same democratic right as other L.A. residents to establish, by 2/3rds petition signatures, OPDs for their blocks to preserve parking for residents and for night-time security, and call upon the VNC to communicate affirmation of this right to pertinent governmental bodies.

Lines of voters stretched for blocks on three sides of the Los Angeles Public Library’s Venice branch for much of the afternoon, some waiting 90 minutes or longer to weigh in on the issue.

Council president Mike Newhouse defended the narrow three-hour voting window that began at 12:30 p.m. saying it created a low-impact day that encouraged volunteer participation. Volunteers we spoke with, however, said they were fully prepared to stay as long as necessary. Some said they had earlier urged the council to lengthen the voting. Critics dismissed the vote as flawed, failing to accommodate absentees and working Venetians.

Many voters said they were flummoxed by the wording of the initiatives. “Nearly half looked at the ballot and wanted to know what the referendums meant,” said one volunteer. “The way the issues were written was really hard to figure. I had no choice but to tell voters that we were not permitted by law to explain anything. I’m not sure how many knew what they were voting for.”

Then came a ballot shortage followed by an emergency Xerox run to print more. At 3:30 p.m., voters were no longer allowed to join the still blocks-long line. But as voting dragged on, prospects for a same-day tally looked doubtful. The council descended into apparent hysteria as it debated its options. President Mike Newhouse was nowhere to be found.

“They were screaming at each other!” said an eyewitness. “They were saying, ‘Take the ballots home uncounted? You can’t do that!’ It got very angry. There were threats — people wanting to throw others out, people threatening to call the police. It was bad.”

Ultimately, the council acquiesced to member Ivan Spiegel’s suggestion that completed ballots spend the night in signed, sealed boxes at a council member’s home. Blank ballots would be sent home with a second member. Sunday morning, three boxes each containing some 500 completed ballots arrived at council headquarters still wrapped in tape with signatures intact. Results were tallied, certified and released late Sunday afternoon.

So who will control parking on Venice’s parking-poor streets? If these referendums stick, it’s folks able to pay for permits for themselves, visitors and guests. Apart from the homeless, the issue has also pitted block against block, neighbor against neighbor, in a battle over preferential parking.

Those living on Venice’s walk streets and Boardwalk are pissed at having been disqualified from any say on where they might find street parking. Permits along Pacific Avenue, for instance, will likely be sold to those whose residences front the street, not to those living on adjacent walk streets.

For City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, the sale of permits and visitor passes along with fines generated by the new parking rules mean a new source of revenue for City Hall, fees that “may soon go up” according to L.A.’s Department of Engineering which says the yearly tab will more than double:

• Resident Permit (3 max per dwelling) $34/each, per year
• Visitor Pass (2 max) $67.50/each, per year
• One-use Guest Pass $2.50/each

Bottom line: A residence with three permitted vehicles and two visitor passes buys 50 one-time guest permits over the course of 12 months. That’s $338 for on-street parking the year. Rosendahl, who has spent his first term monetizing virtually every available parking spot in Venice, successfully urged L.A.’s Bureau of Engineering to dismiss more than 100 appeals filed by Venice residents challenging OPD approval.

And the homeless? Rosendahl talks vaguely of parking zones in industrial and sparsely populated areas, though no such facilities exist now or are planned for the foreseeable future. Currently up for reelection, Rosendahl seems unlikely to side with homeless over homeowners on this emotional issue, especially residents claiming syringes, urine and feces are routinely dumped in their yards by the vehicular homeless. (None have yet offered proof of the alleged points and poo.)

In-vehicle living is illegal in L.A., though difficult to to enforce effectively despite accounts of cops rousting the sleeping homeless. Overnight parking zones would require homeless RVs, vans and cars to leave Venice streets — by 2am each morning or face stiff fines — an anywhere-but-here solution.

Regardless of voters’ individual motives, Saturday’s vote was a wake-up call for a neighborhood council ill-prepared to handle large scale elections and community involvement. Some Venetians are calling for a new vote, though Saturday’s balloting is largely symbolic.

The final decision will be made by the California Coastal Commission following hearings in Marina Del Rey in March. CCC has for decades rejected permit parking in Venice, fearful of limiting beach access by the general public. Inside observers feel that position is unlikely to change.

All of this has had me looking into L.A.’s past for historical perspective.

What do you suppose Ma Joad might think of the campaign to boot homeless car and RV-dwellers out of Los Angeles neighborhoods?

After all, the matriarch of John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath knew a thing or two about hard times, and how foreclosure — then and now — can force a family into a life on the streets in a rolling, run-down wreck like the Joads’ old Hudson truck.

Ma might say not much has changed in 70 years for folks struggling to find a home and steady job. In 1936, 136 LAPD officers were dispatched to sixteen locations along California’s borders where they erected legally-questionable “bum blockades” and shooed away homeless dustbowl Okies — anywhere but here.

What’s so different today? Chasing away the homeless is no longer a pricey law enforcement budget item. Now, the City of Los Angeles has figured out how to turn homeless-rousting into a municipal profit center. That’s progress for ya.

Lucy Parsons – A Life Dedicated to Justice

By Caeli Thibeault

History has a way of forgetting to mention common people when great discoveries or revolutions are discussed. Only the elite tend to be mentioned, but history was forced to remember one woman who would not be ignored, one woman who fought with an intense passion for what she believed in, justice for the working class. Lucy Gonzalez Parsons was not only a member of the working class, she was a woman of African American, Native American, and Mexican ancestry. It was through her powerful speeches, radical pamphlets, and brave marches that she will forever be remembered as one of the most committed and dedicated women to her cause.

Not much is known of Lucy’s younger years; she was a very private person. However, it is known that she spent time in Waco, Texas, with her husband, Albert Parsons, a white radical Republican. The circumstances surrounding their marriage have been questioned. It is said that they may not have been officially married. Still, they were ostracized by Texans because of their interracial marriage. Waco was the scene of intense racial brutality. Perhaps watching this kind of injustice lighted the spark of fire that eventually raged in Lucy.

Lucy and Albert moved to Chicago in 1873. They lived in a number of small, poor working-class apartments with their two children, Albert Jr. and Lulu. Albert worked as a printer and became actively involved in the Social Democratic Party of North America, the Knights of Labor, and the Working-men’s Party. The Chicago group of the Working-men’s Party met at the Parsons’ home. It was here that Lucy became intimately involved with socialist politics and began the long and demanding road to justice for the working class. She became a writer for the Alarm, a radical workers’ paper edited by her husband. The paper addressed such issues as the eight-hour work day and racial persecutions. Lucy also led a series of revolutionary marches, the most popular being the May 1st march in 1886, when the whole city of Chicago was shut down for a strike in support of the eight-hour work day. Lucy and Albert led the masses of peaceful singing demonstrators down Michigan Avenue. Three days later this peace was disrupted at Haymarket Square by a riot that ultimately resulted in the death of her husband. Lucy’s whole world was turned upside down.

Lucy Parsons is probably best remembered for her involvement in the Haymarket tragedy. Her husband and with six others were hanged for starting the riot, and became affectionately known as the “Haymarket Martyrs” by supporters. They were blamed for the bomb that was thrown at the policemen on the scene. As Albert sat in prison waiting for his execution, Lucy was busy writing and selling pamphlets titled, “Was It a Fair Trial?” After looking at all the options, both Lucy and Albert agreed that he must die as a martyr, rather than sign any letters asking for mercy, as some of the other Haymarket Martyrs had done. Knowing this, Lucy still continued to maintain a good attitude and even joked with reporters: “If it is true, I know how [the bomb] got there. They were placed there by the jail officials, who would do anything to stem the tide of public opinion which is now in favor of commuting the sentences of the Anarchists. Why didn’t they do a better job to make the conspiracy complete? They should have put a bomb in Lingg’s cell, a fuse in Fischer’s, dynamite in Parsons’ and percussion caps in Engel’s. That would have been a good job and would have made a complete conspiracy.”

Lucy could still joke about the antics of the police on November 6, five days before the scheduled executions. On November 11, before a crowd of two hundred, Albert Parsons was silenced forever. But Albert’s death did not stop Lucy. After an intense period of mourning, she was more determined than ever to fight for freedom for the working class.

Lucy spent most of her life after her husband’s death fighting police over her First Amendment rights. She was known as being “more dangerous than a thousand rioters” by the Chicago police and for good reasons. She was a forceful and articulate radical speaker and writer who spoke and wrote with terrifying intensity when the occasion demanded it. Her speeches on anarchism, industrial unionism, and labor defense were dramatic and persuasive. The police knew the power of her lectures and were eager to break them up. Even thirty years after the Haymarket Riot, the chance to hear Lucy speak was treasured. On one rare occasion Lucy was allowed to speak to thousands of unemployed at Metropolitan Hall in Chicago. She began: “Now is my harvest time. I attempt no concealment of the fact that I, with other true hearted anarchists, will take advantage of your present condition to teach you the principles of the true faith. You are the sole producers; why should you not consume? . . . Your salvation lies in stirring you to desperate action. The present social system is rotten from top to bottom. You must see this and realize the time has come to destroy it.”

Lucy loved being active in anything that had to do with the cause. She wrote, “Owing to a misunderstanding and the slow exit of the large audience, I missed being with the ‘mob’ of marchers. I have been kicking myself about this ever since.” She became a familiar sight at workers’ demonstrations and Chicago street corners selling her publication of The Life of Albert R. Parsons, Famous Speeches of the Chicago Martyrs, and other revolutionary and anarchist papers.

Among other things, Lucy, known as “Queen of the Hoboes”, helped form the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), led the march on the new Chicago Board of Trade (known by some as the Board of Thieves), started two of her own radical papers, Freedom (1891) and The Liberator (1905), and continued to sell pamphlets and papers anywhere she could. And all this while she worked her fingers to the bone sewing to support her two children. With Albert gone, Lucy was now a single parent.

Lucy Parsons’ struggles and accomplishments were evidence of the passion this woman had for justice and what she believed in. The dedication and commitment she had to the working class will not be forgotten. She was the one who gave them pride and encouraged them, the one who told them, “Shoulder to shoulder with one accord you should rise and take what is yours.” Lucy Parsons was a firebrand who knew what it took to get a reaction. As she said in a 1937 issue of The One Big Union Monthly, “Oh, Misery, I have drunk thy cup of sorrow to its dregs, but I am still a rebel!”

Her dedication is to be admired and followed.

Threat to Holiday Venice Sparks Oakwood Vigil

More than 200 low-income families from the Holiday Venice Apartments held a march and rally in Oakwood, Feb. 19, to protest the loss of affordable housing in Venice. 

The vigil was held on the first anniversary of “Operation Oakwood,” when 300 LAPD and federal officers kicked down doors and terrorized seniors in an early morning para-military operation. The police claimed they were looking for gang members but found mostly elderly women, children and babies (see March 2008 Beachhead).

The 246 units at Holiday Venice represent the last multi-family project based Section 8 development within the coastal zone of California. “These buildings have always been for the working-class black and Latino families of Venice,” said longtime Venice resident Pamela Anderson. The project was financed by the federal Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and built in the early 1970s to provide low-income housing to residents in need.

The project’s for-profit owner, Gregory Perlman (GH Capital), has requested to prepay his HUD mortgages and lift the restrictions guaranteeing low-income affordability. HUD has given initial approval to the plan, despite the objections of Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Representatives Jane Harman and Maxine Waters, Councilperson Bill Rosendahl and L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa.

“We were expecting a policy shift at HUD after Obama took office, but we’re not going to just sit around waiting for somebody to save us,” said Holiday Venice Tenant Action Committee (HVTAC) President Kendra Moore. Tenant leaders have developed a plan to buy the project with the help of a non-profit developer. 

“We want to keep the apartments affordable to low-income families forever” said HVTAC member Ollie Jones. If HUD allows the for-profit owner to prepay the mortgages, there will be no guarantee of long-term affordability and the tenants’ leverage to buy the apartments will be severely compromised.

In 1996, the average price for a 2-bedroom apartment in the Oakwood area of Venice was $550. Today, a two-bedroom apartment in Oakwood can rent for around $2,700. Roughly 15 percent of Oakwood residents still live at or below the federal poverty line. The Holiday Venice  Section 8 contracts allow tenants to pay 30% of their income towards rent with HUD offsetting the difference.

Another Election, March 3: Triumvirate set to take over Los Angeles

By Jim Smith

Three closely allied politicians may rule Los Angeles after the March 3 elections. The three amigos are Wendy Greuel, the favorite to win the Controller’s race; Jack Weiss, the leading candidate for City Attorney, and Antonio Villaraigosa, who looks like a shoe-in for a second term as Mayor.

Is this good or bad for Venice, L.A. and the world? It’s bad. These three close friends will be able to wield enormous power in the city. Just suppose that our Councilperson, Bill Rosendahl, takes a position that the Mayor doesn’t like. He can sic the Controller on him to audit his books, or turn the City Attorney lose to investigate his public/private connections. 

Even worse, the LAPD Chief, William Bratton, is starring in commercials for the election of los tres. How peculiar that the head of the police is attempting to say who his civilian bosses will be. When did they stop enforcing laws and ordinances and start making them?

Of course, the election of the three would be very good for Villaraigosa, who has his eye on the Governor’s office in Sacramento. Not only can he put the screws to office holders, city workers and lobbyists to get behind his campaign, but with Greuel and Weiss on the job, he will be able to keep his thumb on them even in far-away Sacramento.

Not since the First Triumvirate of Gaius Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus got together to rule Rome in 60 BCE, have the spoils of a city been so available for legal looting.

What can you do about it? Go to the polls on March 3 and vote for anyone running against these three. It doesn’t matter who you vote for as long as Greuel, Weill and Villaraigosa are kept under 50 percent of the vote. That will force a runoff. If you’re already fed up with the city government, then work for Venice Cityhood. Venetians could be counted on to make sure no one, two or three people gained so much power.

For more recommendations from the Beachhead, see last month’s issue at:

• The March 3 Election – A real snoozer
 Go to: http://tinyurl.com/ccjug3

• Solar Power to the People? What’s Wrong With Measure B Go to: http://tinyurl.com/cs9rjt

BONUS: Parking restrictions to be relaxed within one block of a polling place. No need to plug the meter.

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February: The March 3 Election – A Real Snoozer

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If you ever wanted to miss voting in an election without having a guilty conscious, March 3 may be your day.

How can a civic-minded newspaper say such a thing. Well, you can call it being realistic. There is no serious opposition in most races. There is no “change guy” running to turn things around in L.A. Yes, the Mayor is running for reelection, but there is no well-known opposition, unless you count Zuma Dogg. Bill Rosendahl is running for reelection for city council. His only opponent is on the far rightwing of the political spectrum. 

If you decide to vote, here are the Beachhead recommendations:

For Mayor: Antonio Villaraigosa has blown it, big time. He campaigned four years ago with the support of nearly every progressive in town. He won election and was quickly seduced by the Dark Side. He even rode a corporate jet to Rosa Parks funeral. Rosa Parks, who started the civil rights movement by boycotting the segregated Birmingham, Alabama, buses. She walked, and Antonio flew in style. He could have been a positive role model of thousands of Latino youth. But he blew that one too. When Lincoln Place tenants asked for his help, he denounced them for not giving in to LP’s corporate owner. Don’t reward bad behavior with your vote.

For Council District 11: Bill Rosendahl has stood out in sharp contrast to the Mayor. He has gone to bat for Lincoln Place tenants, and he’s done the right thing on many other issues that affect Venice. Sadly, he has dropped the ball when it comes to helping the weakest among us, the homeless. Bill has talked a good game about finding places to park for those forced to live in RVs. He’s expressed compassion for our Venice neighbors who live on the street. But when it comes to action, we’re still waiting. He’s sided with the homeless haters who would impose a parking permit tax on all of us, in their misguided attempt to force the RVs out of Venice. Sorry Bill, we can’t endorse you and remain true to the homeless at the same time.

For City Attorney: Hooray, Rocky Delgadillo, our worst City Attorney, perhaps in history, is leaving office. He’s been picketed a number of times by angry tenants who resent his biased support of landlords. The favorite to succeed him is Jack Weiss, a city councilmember who has been a target of recall for all the right reasons. Jack Weiss would not be much of an improvement. Also running is Noel Weiss, a Venice resident who represents some of the Lincoln Place tenants. He’s not universally favored by the tenants, but he would be an improvement on Jack Weiss (no relation).

For Controller: Unfortunately, Laura Chick is termed out of office. Her audits kept the rest of the gang at city hall on their toes. Running to replace her are Wendy Greuel, a city councilmember, and Nick Patsaouras, a transportation expert. Greuel has done nothing to shout about during her term at city hall. On the other hand, Patsaouras is intelligent and seems honest. Qualities that might come in handy as Controller.

Other Offices: Angela Reddock, who ran against Bill Rosendahl four years ago on a platform including a moratorium on development, is running for the Community College Board of Trustees. She should be supported. Nancy Pearlman, a candidate for a different Community College seat is a Green who began running for this office in the ‘90s on a very low budget. After building name recognition, she finally won a few years ago. She’s done a good job, and is running for reelection.

The Propositions

Also on the ballot are five propositions (called Measures in Los Angeles). When it comes to propositions from the city of Los Angeles, it’s best just to vote no. Most of them involve some scheme for someone, or some group, to get rich at your expense. Other measures don’t do what the voters think they will. A case in point is the 2006 measure to increase monthly trash fees from $11 to $28 in order to hire 1,000 new LAPD officers. Didn’t happen. According to City Controller Laura Chick, much of the money was used to increase the LAPD budget without hiring new officers.  

One of them is highly controversial, even though it has an innocent sounding title, “Solar Energy and Job Creation Program.” See sidebar for the story (to the left).

Polls will be open at the usual locations on March 3 from 7 AM to 8 PM.

–The Beachhead Collective

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February: Solar Power to the People? – What’s Wrong With Measure B

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By Jim Smith

Most voters in the city of Los Angeles may not be even dimly aware that an election is scheduled to take place on March 3. But to many insiders battle lines have already been drawn on Measure B – Solar Power and Job Creation – that is one of five propositions on the ballot.

Opponents claim that it is a power play by the Dept. of Water and Power (DWP) and by its union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11. They say electric rates will be raised unnecessarily. One of the opponents is former Venice Neighborhood Council President Dede Audet.

Supporters of the measure say it is a straightforward attempt to dramatically increase the installation of solar power in Los Angeles. They say that electric rates will either not increase or will increase by a modest amount. Joining Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in signing the supporting argument on the ballot is Mike Newhouse, the current President of the Venice Neighborhood Council.

Supporters went so far as to sue to block the opponents ballot argument, claiming it contained false and misleading statements. However, Judge David Yaffe, who has been involved in the ongoing Lincoln Place drama, and is no friend of the tenants, threw out the suit, saying that there is little substance to the measure, anyway. Representing the opponents in court was Venice attorney, Noel Weiss.

Newhouse told the Beachhead he signed on to the measure because, “we are finally reaching a point where development of alternative energies and green jobs are backed by significant political will, and have become much more mainstream concepts.”

Aside from Newhouse, most Neighborhood Council leaders around L.A. are strongly opposed to Measure B, seeing it as an end-run around their organizations. In addition, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC), an umbrella group, is fighting the measure.

Soledad Garcia, President of the LANCC’s DWP Committee, told the Beachhead that “the City did not provide voters with the costs analysis, adequate plans, evidence of resources and enough workforce numbers to complete the plan within the time line.” She also believes that the neighborhood councils were not provided with adequate input. “Voters are being asked to pass the solar program without providing them costs until after the elections,” added Garcia. Not so, says Newhouse, “The City Council took a public vote on this matter, and voted unanimously that Measure B go on the ballot.” 

Dede Audet is also concerned that rates will increase drastically if the measure is passed. She says the City is claiming it will receive tax credits and deductions that are not available to the DWP under the solar proposal that will appear on the ballot.

In addition, it seems to this reporter that an undercurrent of anti-unionism runs through the opposition. Not all opponents are anti-union by any means. In fact, one of the activists is a prominent retired union official, Humberto Camacho (He is also President of the Pico-Union Neighborhood Council.). 

However, some of the opponents attack the measure as being union inspired, and that it will create a monopoly for the IBEW. It is true that the measure mandates that all work be done by IBEW members, which could be a good thing, since they will all receive a union apprenticeship training program, good wages and benefits. Some opponents, including Ron Kaye, former managing editor of the L.A. Daily News, see this provision as simply increasing costs which, he says, will be borne by ratepayers. Some other neighborhood council leaders seem to be disposed to opposing unions on general principles and because they view them as a rival, perhaps the chief rival, to neighborhood councils for power in the city of Los Angeles.

In fact, the opponents, mostly from neighborhood councils, are lined up against nearly the entire Los Angeles power structure. The pro and con spending on Measure B is likely to be very lopsided in favor of labor, business and city hall. The outcome will be a landslide for Measure B unless the neighborhood councils surprise most observers and show that they really do represent the “average Joe’s” of L.A. and have the ability to turn them out. The NCs have a lot riding on this election, including their own credibility.

Councilperson Bill Rosendahl has not yet taken a stand on Measure B. He told the Beachhead that he voted for placing it on the ballot, with the understanding that voters would be told how much it will cost. Rosendahl, and the public, may find out the price tag at a town hall he is sponsoring at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Daniel Webster Middle School, 11330 West Graham Place. DWP representatives are expected to speak.

Opponents of Measure B act as if all the problems associated with Measure B are a fluke, and not business as usual for the city. It is hard for this reporter to envision a “clean” solar power proposition where no one is on the take, and where the residents of the city are not taken for a ride. Like most other actions taken by the city, this one will cost much more than it needs to cost, will be inefficient, and will likely result in future scandals that will keep the media busy for years to come. Yet, the question has to be asked: how else will we ever get solar power in this city?

Interview with Rebel Woman Assata Shakur

By Margot Pepper

Assata Shakur, (godmother of Tupac Shakur) is a former convicted Black Panther who fled to Cuba in 1984.  There is a million dollar bounty on her head. I met Assata in 1992, when I was working in Cuba as a journalist and translator along with my partner,  aka “Guillermo.” The following is an excerpt from Through the Wall:  A Year in Havana, a memoir about the post-peak oil Special Period.

The sea, imminent. Even in the weeds growing in the driveway. A house by this sea. Modest. Simple. White Grecian walls, low ceilings, but airy. Guillermo and I marvel at the indoor jungle. Rubber tree, elephant ear, spotted Pothos and red and yellow coleus springing from flower boxes to claim the room. 

“This used to be a carport,” Assata explains, “with bars. I couldn’t stand to look at them.” 

Building her own house Cuba’s hands are clean. It will be a house for all, a beautiful and simple house, a house for bread and water, a house for air and for life, wrote the Mexican poet, Jaime Sabines.

It’s satisfying to see Assata Shakur here in Cuba after what she’s suffered. If only all the other U.S. prisoners of conscience like Mumia Abu Jamal could get the same justice. 

She leads us to the living room. Guillermo takes a seat on the white couch, fumbles for his note pad. Assata smiles. It’s difficult to believe this exquisitely beautiful, high-cheek-boned former Black Panther seated on a throne of white wicker, her crown of flowing braids woven with pooka shells; this calm woman with a college education and the dimpled laughter of a child, has been shot, tortured, forced to give birth in chains, then separated from her daughter, for merely sharing the same ideals as the eight-year-olds I teach. One would think she’d look positively haggard.

The United Nations Commission of Human Rights defines Assata Shakur as a U.S. political prisoner. According to the report, she belongs to a “class of victims of FBI misconduct through the COINTELPRO strategy… who as political activists have been selectively targeted for … false arrests, fabrication of evidence….” 

Assata became the most wanted woman in the States. Officers on T.V. news vowed to “shoot to kill on the spot.” 

New Jersey State troopers pulled her and two other Black Panthers over and fired into her back and under one of her two arms raised in surrender. She was arrested and chained to a hospital bed, where she was repeatedly hit and jabbed with shotgun butts. Once detectives began interrogating her, the torture was confined to things that left no traces, like Nazi slogans and burning substances applied to her eyes. A German nurse took pity and gave Assata a button to ring whenever tormentors appeared. 

 

 “One of the worst cases,” the UN Commission of Human Rights report elaborated, “is that of Assata Shakur, who spent over twenty months in solitary confinement in two separate men’s prisons subject to conditions totally unbefitting any prisoner.” (The report was issued by seven jurists in response to a 1978 petition to The United Nations Commission of Human Rights by Lennox Hinds on behalf of the National Conference of Black Lawyers and other organizations)

When activists made known the abominable conditions of Assata’s confinement, she was moved to a high security women’s prison with Aryan Nation inmates who had an inclination toward setting the cells of minority women ablaze with alcohol. 

One day, Assata’s Grandmother traveled from North Carolina to tell Assata the strange dream she had. “You’re coming home soon,” she told her grandchild. “You’re getting out of here.” Not long after, miraculously, mysteriously, Assata was broken out. Perhaps she was aided by the same white dove that landed on Fidel Castro’s shoulder just after the revolution triumphed, the one the Santeros say indicates Fidel is protected. Assata followed this dove to Cuba primarily because she admired the revolution, as did so many people of color around the world. “Well I’m here,” she laughed. “What you all gonna do about it.” 

As I glance around Assata’s simple, elegant white living room, I recall her words to a Global Exchange tour late last year. “One of the first things the Cubans did when my daughter Kakuya arrived in Cuba was suggest therapy for us both. Until then, I’d never stopped long enough to concentrate on myself. I feel secure, probably for the first time. The Cubans have taken me in and cared for me the way no other society ever has.” 

“Moving here was difficult,” Assata told the group “I had to adjust my expectations. I remember,” she laughed, bringing to life dimples many have probably found irresistible, “when I first arrived, I expected to see everyone walking around in guerrilla uniforms. Like Fidel—” 

 “Now that you’ve lived here a while, how does the racism compare?’ I ask leaning forward on the couch. Racism in Cuba has a unique twist. Because on the surface it appears as though everyone has equal opportunity to education and jobs, any shortcomings in the social standing of Afro-Cubans is sometimes misattributed to genetic inferiority. 

Assata shakes her head vigorously. “At least in Cuba, racism’s not institutionalized.”

She has a melodic way of speaking, her intonations and cadence as compelling as her message.

“How do you feel about armed struggle?” Guillermo’s got to know. 

Armed struggle shouldn’t be stressed over educating and politicizing the population. Guerrilla fighters can also become totalitarian leaders. Armed struggle is not the most important strategy, though it might be necessary, when all else fails. 

She gets up suddenly, uneasily. “Would you like to eat something now?” 

She leads us toward the back of the house, into a small, narrow dining room, green with plants. A seafood medley with squid, fish and vegetables is placed before us. It’s the most sumptuous dinner we’ve eaten since our arrival. Royalties from Assata’s autobiography sales and talks are good, but not enough to pay for this kind of meal often. Like a typical Cuban, she’s offered us, near strangers, the best, perhaps the last, of what she has. 

Suddenly, we’re plunged into darkness. But the blackout’s romantic, Assata says, lighting candles. She begins speaking to us as though to trusted friends. No, the government didn’t educate the population sufficiently. They used to have more open discussions in party cells. They used to precede films with the political and historical context, followed by discussion. There’s not enough debate on TV. With rectification they pointed fingers here and there, but didn’t point them at the Party. Rather, they covered their mistakes up. Nonetheless, mistakes are bound to happen. Non-tribal, industrial socialism’s only been on the planet, what, 80 years? Cuba’s a miracle, really, considering what it has achieved. Isolated revolutions are up against too much. We have to fight back at an international level. That’s why talk of Latin American unity is music to the ears. 

Guillermo is nodding emphatically. There’s something about this visionary woman that renews people’s joie de vivre and inspires thought-crimes. 

Should humanity one day overcome the self-destructive aspects of our present global economic system and global warming, it may wonder how the majority of us consented to fork over most of the wealth on the planet created by our own labor to a handful of colorless men, when our basic needs weren’t even being met. I like to think by then that terms like “colorless” and “of color” will reflect our cultural and class alliances, instead of skin color. “Colorless” could be used to describe those whose primary identification is with corporate culture; “of color” for identifying cultural or working class alliances. Thus it would be possible to have a person of color of European descent, like Howard Zinn or Noam Chomsky, and a colorless person of African descent, like Colin Powell. 

But how do you stop our lemming’s march toward self-annihilation? The effects of a corporate economy is like Frankenstein’s monster, who is not only defecating on all of us “little people,” it’s defecating in its master’s bed. “This is hell,” the founder of Union Carbide admitted, referring to the damage the corporate monster they had created is wreaking on the entire planet, including the monster’s creators. 

“How do you reach people?” Come on Assata, we’ve broken through the blockade to hear your answer.

“It sounds corny but think globally, act locally,” she says. “International strikes. But you can’t talk at people with Marx and all that archaic, boring dry exclusive political rhetoric that is so devoid of humor,” she says, pointing out that she’s had to read plenty of Marx to write her book. “Talk to me in a way I can understand you.”

Margot Pepper is a former Venice poet, now living in Oakland.