Abbot Kinney Merchants Oppose Food Trucks

STATEMENT OF THE ABBOT KINNEY MERCHANTS COMMITEE

First Friday in Venice is where everyone wants to be, and the businesses on Abbot Kinney have taken a bold move.  They have paid the Department of Transportation to post the street for “NO PARKING from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.” with the full understanding that this means that passenger cars are included in the parking ban.  The reason for this action is the excessive number of food trucks that show up.  Valet parking services will be operating, including one at the corner of Navarre Court which is not restaurant-affiliated.

First Friday began in 2007 when a group of merchants on Abbot Kinney banded together in an effort to promote business on the street.  It was slow to start, but attendance gradually increased as more businesses joined in.   For years, Abbot Kinney has hosted a holiday event with great success, and they were trying to expand on that concept.

In June, 2009, there was a sudden increase in traffic, as word spread through social media that Abbot Kinney was ‘the place to be on First Fridays’.  The increase in pedestrians caused some concern for public safety.

The merchants, working with LAPD and the Fire Marshall, agreed to be more mindful of what they could do to stop contributing to sidewalk congestion.   The crowds continued to flock to the street for subsequent First Fridays.  The energy was exciting, and businesses flourished.

In early 2009, food trucks began parking in a private lot on Abbot Kinney. These first few trucks were novel and well-received by patrons. By September 2009, what started out as a handful of food trucks quickly snowballed.  Presently, anywhere between 40 and 50 trucks park along the full length of the Boulevard which has routinely created a public safety hazard.

Pedestrians walk in the street because of the congestion on the sidewalks – congestion created by scores of people trying to navigate the narrow sidewalks made narrower by those waiting in line for the food trucks.

Many merchants have reported that their businesses have been hurt by the presence of this unsustainably large number of food trucks, and the consequent problems associated with their presence.  Many report that ‘scouts’ for the trucks actually park cars on the street early in the day to ensure that a truck will have a space for that evening - one food truck space is roughly equal to two mid-size cars.  Trucks that park in front of businesses effectively shut those businesses down by blocking their signage and window displays. The cooking exhaust fills the stores.  The associated trash and food waste litters the sidewalk.

There is virtually no legislation in place that governs where and when the food trucks can do business.  Most agree that having a few trucks present on First Friday could be an asset, but their attempts to negotiate moderation with the trucks have failed.

The merchants of Abbot Kinney are working together to continue to provide a safe, festive, and welcoming atmosphere on First Fridays.  To that end, they have scheduled their “Holiday Street Walk’ on Sunday, December 5^th, from 3-8 p.m., with Santa and carolers convening at The Brig parking lot.

The ‘no parking’ posting for this Friday, far from being a long-term solution to the food truck issue, is a first step in the merchant community’s ongoing efforts to preserve Abbot Kinney’s unique appeal by restoring a measure of balance and order to Abbot Kinney Blvd.’s First Friday celebration.  Nov. 27, 2010

Lawsuit filed to protect civil rights of RV Residents

By Peggy Lee Kennedy

A civil rights lawsuit has been filed in federal court on November 23 against the City of Los Angeles for violation of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The plaintiffs in this civil rights lawsuit are part of the Venice community. Most are people who have lived in Venice for many years and used to be housed here. They get all their services here, they have been involved in the St. Joseph surveys, they are on housing lists, and they have given their personal information for getting in the “Streets to Homes” program – if it ever happens.

Their disabilities range from congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis, nerve damage, shattered bones, and gout. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is now on antibiotics and complains that she is coughing up blood from a new lung infection. Another plaintiff keeps “NitroQuick” on him at all times in case he feels a heart attack coming on.

The list of civil rights attorneys filing this suit include Attorney Carol Sobel, past president and very active member of the National Lawyers Guild, Attorney Barry Litt, a well respected civil rights lawyer known for working on the Pentagon Papers, Attorney Susan Millman with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and long time Venice resident, and Attorney Scott Rapkin with the Law Offices of Michael Rapkin in Santa Monica.

As Venice folks might already know, a new Venice LAPD Task Force has been placed specifically for banishing homeless people from Venice, especially those people living in vehicles. This task force of LAPD officers has been giving out bogus parking ticket after bogus parking ticket, which is actually the job of Parking Enforcement (not the bogus part).   But maybe this is what some people (like people that care only about their property values) want, the city budget going to highly-paid, well-armed LAPD parking enforcement officers.

These new Venice LAPD Homeless Removal Task Force Officers can be seen wearing black SWAT police outfits, arresting and towing disabled homeless people, or standing around with the many well paid city agents in the new “Dumping Task Force,” while they test the rain water in gutters.

The majority of the towing, ticketing, and arresting people “combos” are for nothing more than being homeless. Although the underlying issue for this whole homeless banishment campaign is living in a vehicle, the tickets vary.

The many bogus tickets being doled out are for violating the 72-hour parking law, posted 2-hour parking signs, existing six-foot height restriction signs, etc. But guess what? Disabled plates are exempt from those parking laws. And, incidentally, the 2-hour parking signs are a violation of the coastal act anyway.

So who knew that these disabled people’s vehicles were exempt from these parking laws? They knew. They issue the bogus parking tickets anyway in order to harass these disabled people as part of their homeless banishment plan. Banish to where? They do not care. It is so cumbersome to fight a parking ticket, and many of the people simply cannot afford to pay one ticket let alone five, that it builds up to an inevitable tow.

The Task Force officers were also found following people just because they were “Driving While Homeless.” After following one plaintiff, who was merely driving through Venice, the officers pulled her over on Lincoln Blvd. near Washington and admitted that they were following her. They told her that she has now been warned and if they see her parked in Venice they will arrest her and tow her vehicle for living in it.

There should be new signs as you enter Venice, like “Get Homeless and Get Arrested.” Kind of like “Click It or Ticket.”

These new LAPD officers were put in Venice specifically to improve so-called “quality of life,” the very words of our LAPD Chief Beck at that hate-filled September 23 Town Hall run by Councilman Bill Rosendahl. This has translated into law enforcement activity that could cause a disabled homeless person to die. That is exactly what might happen to the man with congestive heart failure that now may be living on the cold street. So cruel it is hard to believe – but so true and right here in “Your Venice.”

All this Task Force activity has made the people who nag the city council, call the LAPD, falsely report abandoned vehicles, and work with the LAPD Neighborhood Watch very happy. A few of these happy people actually show up to cheer at the towing and arrests of disabled people living in vehicles. Probably the proudest of this cheering section is Alexandria Thompson, also known as Alex, of a hate-filled blog that spews lies about those trying to actually help homeless people find housing in their own community – without arresting, torturing, towing them or sending their pets to the pound!

No one should cheer when civil rights are being violated or when harm is being done to disabled people.

 

Letters

• Segregation – Ian Dean
• Cell Tower at Extra Space Storage - Nancy McCulloch
• Why More Growth? – DeDe Audet

———–

Segregation

Dear Beachhead,

The day is November 11, 2010. And rumor has it that tonight there is supposed to be a sweep at the Rose parking lot on Ocean Front walk by the Pacific Division Police against the Venice citizens who live and reside in RV’s. If this rumor is true, the intent behind the sweep is to tow, ticket, and overall instill fear and harassment to the RV community. They will no doubt enter RV’s without permission, they will no doubt make arrests and make threats and mock the RV owners.

They will write out tickets that the people cannot afford or will tow away their homes with all their possessions inside.

This of course, is still a rumor. I will be out on OFW tonight with a camera to record everything and anything involving a badge.

There is a great sense of injustice in Venice, people are being forced out due to the selfish and yuppie like mentality that has slowly been usurping the town for the past 10 years. Homeless and Transients are being told they are not wanted, are being forced to leave. Where do they go? Does it even matter to the residents of Venice who push so hard for gentrification? It is a clear agenda by those who own property or demand a cookie cutter image of Venice against those who are the exact opposite in every sense of the word.

THIS is segregation.

I found outside of Beyond Baroque a flyer that someone had placed on the windshield of the RV, it was a flyer that basically added up to one solid message.

“WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE”

The flyer offered numbers of places to get “help”, but these places never have the right kind of help and generally are not in the area, and far away from Venice. The Flyer also provided penal codes and sanctions making it clear that what RV dwellers were doing was against Los Angeles law, and that got me to thinking.

Just because something is a law, does not make it right. And I don’t mean silly little laws based on personal preference. I mean BIG laws that were in place and oppressed people and separated them from society, and it was deemed acceptable both ethically and legally. I am talking of course about Jim Crow laws. Laws that forbade a black man from sharing a water fountain with a white man, laws that demanded that a white person would automatically receive a seat on a public bus if a black man was in it, laws that separated people simply because of what they are. And now, it’s being done again, people being rejected from a town because of where they live, many RV owners can’t afford to find housing in this town as the property values have gone up… Once affordable housing is all but extinct in this town so many RV owners live the next best way they can, but that too is now being stripped away from them. Public streets are off limits to them, The Rose lot put up ILLEGAL sanction codes that pertain to private property when the Rose lot is public that tried to banish any vehicle larger then a van.

How can anyone call it anything other then segregation? You don’t want them here because they are different and because they do not meet up to your expectations, it’s as simple as that. The trash and urine complaints are invalid because I watch tourists do just as much damage and there are a lot more of them then people who live in RV’s… but I don’t see us trying to force out tourism do I? I don’t know what utopia the people who oppose RV’s are aiming for, what I do know is the negative affects it has on the town that is renowned for open minded citizens and gritty and colorful personality. The RV community and homeless ADD that grit and personality, they help make this town what it is just as much as the art, and the music, and the skating, and the performers, and the vendors (mainly because many of the RV community ARE artists and vendors).

The solution that has been found is to segregate a class of people from living and enjoying Venice Beach, the (in my opinion) most beautiful beach on the planet. Why do I think it’s the most beautiful? Because there is no place like it on earth, and all who oppose the RV community are trying to turn Venice in to every other beach community in the world. Boring, dull, separate Why do you want to do that? Why change what the whole world COMES here to see? And for those who moved here, it was never a secret, you HAD to have known what Venice was like before you moved here… why move somewhere and then demand to change it?

The laws that are imposed against people who live out of their vehicle are unconstitutional and elitist, and the way Venice is going it looks like it’s just going to become another beach side community that has a private patrol group to keep “undesirables” out.

Black people were not allowed to live in certain areas, and now people who live in RVs are not allowed to live in certain areas.. go figure. who would have thought a town that was so multicultural and thrived on free speech would go down this way?

Shame on you Venice. Shame on you.

Ian Dean

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Cell Tower at Extra Space Storage

Dear Beachhead,

T-Mobile is planning on installing two panel antennas, three microwave antennas and one GPS antenna on the rooftop of the storage facility at 658 Venice Boulevard, just east of Abbot Kinney. The community objected to this facility a few years ago, and fought against it for three years. After many compromises and concessions, it was built with a 27′ height limitation.

I live within 300 feet of the proposed site and have many concerns. From the research I’ve read, there are many health hazards the World Health Organization admits are “possibly carcinogenic to humans based on studies of childhood leukemia”.

Not only is the proximity to homes alarming, this site is close to schools. I am aware that similar towers were rejected at Palms and Beethoven because of the close proximity to schools, which reinforces my belief that these towers have a negative impact on us, and our environment.

In addition, studies conducted can cause the disappearance of bees and small fragile birds. My friend (in the site radius) has nine fruit trees and a garden that rely on the pollination of bees, along with all the other trees and flowers, and small birds to eradicate pests.

I have T-Mobile cellular service as do many others in the site area (did a survey) and there is not a gap in our reception. I understand that T-Mobile has seven towers in a very small area of Venice (from the ocean to Lincoln – from Rose to Washington Blvd.), and  that’s just T-Mobile. Think of all the other wireless corporations!

Cell towers reduce property values. We know it is reckless to endanger our health and environment for the profit of these giant corporations. Before we put our tax paying community at more risk, we would like to see more environmental studies. We don’t know the long term effects on humans and animals. In my opinion, such towers should not be placed in residential communities until a way is found of defusing the electromagnetic frequencies, and especially the microwave radiation coming from the cell towers.

We sure can use your help by attending the hearing on Thursday, December 2 at 9 a.m. at the West L.A. Municipal Building, 2nd floor.

-Nancy McCulloch

Additional Information:

This is T-Mobile Case No. ZA 2010-0734.

Because of a federal case ruling, we cannot talk about health concerns. The city can only take into account limited considerations when approving or denying these uses:

1. T-Mobile has no “Gap” in service (already 7 or more towers in site Ocean to Lincoln, Rose to Washington);

2. Near schools;

3. Concerns about birds, bees, wildlife;

4. Property values

 

Voice your concerns to:

 

m Whitney Blumenfeld, Senior Planning Deputy

Councilmember Bill Rosendahl District 11

Whitneyblumenfeld@lacity.org • 213-473-7011

Andre Parvenu, City Planning Zoning Administration – Andreparvenu@lacity.org • 213-978-1336

 

Alert!!

T-Mobile has applied for variance as Abbot Kinney and Venice Blvd. on City property to install a 58’5 wooden mono pole with antennas, meter cabinets, vaults and vent stacks. No hearing date has been set – yet!

————

Why More Growth?

There are more poor people in Venice today than yesterday.  These are not good times.  Yet this city, Los Angeles, plans for more growth.

Good evidence of a “Let them eat cake” attitude can be found in the current Blueprint 2010 document from the City of Los Angeles Planning Department.  It begins with a sentence about growth that inspires me to substitute some more appropriate thoughts of my own.

I can think of any number of ways to finish the sentence.  Try these:

“As Los Angeles continues to grow”

. . .more sewer lines will implode

. . .more potholes on busy streets will ruin suspension and tires

. . .more utility poles will lean toward the ground

. . .more blackouts and brownouts will turn TVs off

. . .more traffic jams, more homeless and on and on

This city is not caring for the population it already has.  What kind of wonder world are our elected officials living in that they either do not see or do not wish to see the truth?

Folks inside City Hall seem to have a dream that bigger is better. I often wonder what kind of steroids they’re on.  For far too long, cities relied on growth to solve problems.  City fathers believe that more population is the way to make more revenue.  Most elected officials will tell you the more revenue, the better.  Remember, elected officials without revenue to spend do not entice the folks who bankroll elections.

The current population of Venice is growing, but not in a direction that will bring in revenue.  In other parts of the city almost whole blocks of homes are being foreclosed and  property tax revenue goes down.  Where are those people going?  If they are lucky enough to have an RV, they could end up in Venice.  Current response by the city just moves the RVs to another street.  It is not a solution.  Entrenched city care for the indigent focuses on getting them into housing.  Does the housing industry have a lock on charity?  For heaven’s sake will someone please get it across that a person in an RV is already housed?

Now think about water and its relation to population.  If there is not enough clean water to serve everyone comfortably now, how can less be made into more to serve more people?  There certainly is a disconnect here, although there is talk about converting wastewater.  But making clean, drinkable water from wastewater takes about as much power as desalinating water from the ocean.

The few officials at Los Angeles City Hall who understand the problem are outnumbered by the know-nothings dependent on a power system run from Washington D.C. through Northern California.  But that power system is a pyramid.  Without a base to hold it up, it is worthless.  This city has a Mayor who enjoys a reputation of enjoying the company of glamorous and exciting women.  That does not impress ordinary citizens who are still hanging on to their jobs and who are getting restless.  It does raise thoughts about “Let them eat cake.”  The San Fernando Valley bunch who threatened to secede (and made it stick) are planning to dump all current Councilmembers who will be up for election in 2013.

Even though “Let them eat cake” is falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette when she was told that the people of France had no bread, the concept is valuable. Whether true or not, it did not save her from the guillotine.  Likewise, planning for growth in the City of Los Angeles at this time does not appear to be a recipe for personal political success.

So where are the minds of the people who want to plan for growth?  What city are they living in?  Isn’t it crucial for this city to care for the population already here, to plan better infrastructure, and secure sufficient clean water and power before planning for more population?  I think so.

DeDe Audet

 

Coastal Commission Body Slams City

By John Davis

The same City Attorney that chastised the Coastal Commission and accused it of nefarious
misdeeds just faced them, begging them for approval of what City Councilman Bill Rosendadhl  (CD11)
wanted: private beach parking for Playa del Rey residents and their guests. Who would not want their property value to sky rocket with said approval?

The City Attorney started a long diatribe on the first amendment, like a seasoned tea bagger, nobody listened. He indicated the residents wanted four hundred parking places and the public could have twenty. He indicated that fishermen would not mind walking an extra half mile. He forgot about the elderly and disabled people though. City Attorney Sato said the beach is unattractive and nobody wants to use it, therefore nobody else but residents need parking.

Residents from PDR characterized everyone who parked near the lagoon at night as needle-using, drug- using gangbangers who had automobile orgies, pooped on the rocks, and littered their neighborhood with fish, murdering each other before they left and then ending the celebration by pissing on their flowers.

I testified that approval would discriminate against people, just as whites only drinking fountains once did, and that it would run contrary to Brown vs. Board of Education, which ruled that we are all equal and nobody is superior or inferior. Approval would create a class of demigods which would rule the beach. Bill knows better. He understands parking in West LA is not the same as parking in the Coastal Zone. People are attracted by the beach.

Questions as to why the City did not provide onsite parking came up. Why not unlock the parking lot next door?

Commissioner Sanchez stated she used to go fishing with her family at night and approval might limit access to families with children.

Another Commissioner wondered what about the other 35 million people who pay for the parking and access. Why should they be denied access to the sea?

David Ewing testified that no CEQA study had been done and the traffic study was not CEQA.

Linda Lucks informed the commission that she lived near the beach and has long accepted the fact that visitors come to the beach at night and showed a great spirit of love and tolerance.

In the end, the pathetic City Attorney had no real rebuttal and only jabbered like a turkey on the block. The full weight of the Commission then crashed down on the City Attorney like thundering surf and the ruling was unanimous against the City. Bill Roosendaal’s crazy scheme to shut the public out of Play del Rey for his own private barbecues failed.  The beach belongs to all of us, not just Bills buddies in PDR.

Venetian May Be Pardoned in Florida

Outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist is considering pardoning The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, posthumously, for his 1969 conviction for exposure and profanity during a now infamous concert in Miami. Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, in 1943. He died in Paris in 1971, while his appeal was still pending.

Pardons in Florida must go through the Board of Executive Clemency, which has one final meeting this year on Dec. 9. Besides Crist, the state’s CFO, Attorney General and Agriculture Commissioner, all of whom will be leaving office in January, sit on the board.

Under state law, a pardon must have the consent of Crist and at least two other members. Each of the other board members have let it be known that, should Crist propose it, they would not be opposed to the pardon.

–Roger Linnett

 

How Venice Voted: Venice #2 in Marijuana Support

By Jim Smith

Venice voters nearly topped the state on November 2 in support of legal marijuana. We were beaten out only by Berkeley, and then by a little more than 1 percent.

Venice 90291, north of Washington Blvd., voted by 75.8 percent to support the initiative which would have legalized small quantities of cannabis. Venetians who live south of Washington, in zip code 90292, voted by nearly the same margin, 70.2 percent. This may indicate that those of us living in the tonier districts of the peninsula and “Marina adjacent” are toking nearly as much as their unwashed brethren north of Washington.

In spite of Venice’s best effort, Proposition 19 went down to defeat statewide, gathering slightly more than 46 percent of the vote. However, more Californians voted for pot legalization, 4,534,837, than voted for either Meg Whitman or Carly Florina, the Republican candidates for governor and senator, respectively.

The overall support in Venice for Prop. 19 was 74.8 percent, while Berkeley came in at 76.5 percent. Other local votes for Prop. 19 included the city of Los Angeles – 53 percent; Santa Monica – 65 percent; San Francisco – 64 percent; city of Santa Cruz – 72 percent; and Oakland – 68 percent.

Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, both Mendocino and Humboldt Counties voted against Prop. 19. Illegal production of the weed accounts for about 50 percent of the local economy. Prop. 19 backers promised to take the profit out of illicit marijuana, a campaign slogan that in retrospect may have backfired.

In any case, backers of legal pot promised a new initiative soon that would be better written than Prop. 19. Let’s try to “Beat Berkeley” when that happens.

Local Candidates

Two Venice residents, Debra Bowen and Lisa Green, where on the Nov. 2 ballot. Bowen ran successfully for reelection as state Secretary of State. Bowen received 74 percent of the vote in Venice and 53 percent statewide. Other Big Democrats were not far behind.

Lisa Green ran as the Green Party candidate for state Assembly. Her low-key campaign, which was also supported by the Venice Peace and Freedom Party, captured 7.5 percent of the vote in Venice 90291, where she mainly campaigned. She received more votes than Republican Nathan Mintz in three precincts and came close in several others. However, Democrat Betsy Butler beat the field with 66 percent of the vote in Venice and 50 percent district-wide. She will replace termed-out Ted Lieu who is planning on running for the state senate seat held by the late Jenny Oropeza. A special election for the seat, that includes Venice, likely will be held in March or April.

If you don’t know your precinct number, you can get it on the web at <www.lavote.net/OnlineDistrictmapApp>. Then go to http://bit.ly/fmz4vJ to find out how your neighbors voted.

NOTE about the chart, below: On the left is voter turn out, then our assembly district (53rd AD), Debra Bowen’s vote and percentage, and on the right, Prop. 19 results.

Oversized Vehicles Banned by City Council

By Roger Linnett

On Nov. 17, an Oversized Parking Ordinance passed unanimously in the L. A. City Council, 13-0, banning oversized vehicles — those that are 7 feet high and/or 22 feet long — from parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. within the area bounded by Lincoln Blvd., Washington Blvd., Ocean Front Walk and the border with Santa Monica. In addition, an “urgency clause” was included in the measure, which means that it could go into effect right after being published in the paper of record. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the bill into law on Nov. 24.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who introduced the ordinance, has been hounded like a hare for several years by some Venice homeowners and landlords regarding RVs, parked on residential streets in violation of an L. A. city ordinance.

Rosendahl claims that the new ordinance will not violate previous Coastal Commission edicts, but they still have to consider the measure.

In anticipation of the new ordinance, Rosendahl had petitions available since August for neighborhood residents, 2/3 of whom on any given block need to agree, to sign up for traffic signs indicating the restriction; to date some 40 such blocks have requested the designation. Back when the OVO was first proposed, monies were authorized to have the signage fabricated, which the LADOT can begin posting on Nov. 30.

In contrast to the rabbit-like quickness with which the ordinance scampered through the council (it was only drafted by the City Attorney sometime in early October), Rosendahl’s testudinal “Vehicles to Homes” (nee Streets to Homes) program creeps lethargically along.

In a news release last July Rosendahl announced, “The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the City-County agency charged with administering the program, has prepared a draft Request for Proposals (RFP), a legal document that solicits bids from social service providers to run the program. The RFP provides a broad framework and foundation for the program; more specific details will be worked out with the community once LAHSA selects a service provider.” LAHSA has tapped People Assisting The Homeless (PATH) to help guide the program toward realization.

Also in July, Rosendahl said this about the program: “This proposed program is the result of months of collaborative effort by hundreds of people. This is a smart and cutting-edge program that builds on the successes of similar programs in other cities, and improves and tailors them for our community. I hope to launch the program before the end of the year, concurrently with the implementation of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance.”

This begs the question, “Hey Bill, Why the big rush to pass the OVO?” Let us hope the “urgency” shown in getting the OVO enacted is now applied to  realizing your laudable humanitarian project, as you seem to have intended.

Hard Times Get Harder – Homeless Meals Cancelled

By CJ Gronner

I am absolutely thankful every single day in Venice. I’m grateful to live in a place where our community cares for each other, for our surroundings, and staunchly supports human rights. Which is why I’m so extra bothered that this year’s Feed The Beach, a Thanksgiving feast for the homeless, put on outside at Westminster for the last several years by Nina and James Merced of The Fruit Gallery, and pot-lucked by the entire neighborhood, was cancelled. CANCELLED!

Why? Because red tape and bureaucracy appear to be more important than humanity. The LA Health Department reared its head this year (Why? Neighbor complaints? Silly rules?  General Grinch-ness?), and made it too difficult for the Merceds to overcome, with threats of fines, liability in case of someone getting food poisoning or something, seemingly impossible to get permits, and the usual governmental scare tactics. When James went to the Park & Rec to inquire about the permits, he was actually told, “It’s illegal to feed the homeless”.  Now how anyone can even get their vocal chords to vibrate in such a manner to form those words, I’ll never know.  ILLEGAL to FEED the HOMELESS?!  On THANKS – GIVING?!?  Simply appalling.

There are plenty of opportunities to get out there and share what you have with those less fortunate. I strongly encourage you to do this at all times of the year, not just when these obvious holiday times roll around, but it’s deeply sad that the uniquely Venice Feed The Beach won’t be happening, just because our society has become so scared and litigious that we’ve lost sight of helping the hungry without homes. I keep hearing Einstein’s quote in my mind these days, “Remember your humanity, and forget the rest”.  Perhaps the best advice ever.

All of this had me thinking, just WOW. REALLY?! as I did my daily beach walk the other day. It reminded me of an encounter I had a while back, rocking along the sand, totally immersed in Prince (Controversy), when I saw a Homeless Guy shuffling towards me, and in between us was a weird bird, one I’ve never seen before. It was in some kind of distress as it wasn’t taking off the closer the Guy and I got to it. It had webbed feet like a duck, but normal bird black and white body, but then BRIGHT red eye circles around beady black eyes. The Guy and I nodded at each other, and then passed on by.

A few feet later, we both turned around and looked back at the bird. He saw me turn and said something, that was drowned out by Prince. I took out my headphones and said, “Sorry, what?” He said, “I think he’s hurt”. I said, “I think so too”. We both walked back and looked closer. The bird stayed put. A wave would come and push it along the sand, one time spinning it around so hard it was difficult to watch. The Guy said, “Maybe if I push it up a little bit with my shoe it won’t get washed away?” As I was walking barefoot, I said, “Yeah, try that”. He did, and it worked a little bit, but after some hissing and craning of the neck, the bird was still not moving. “I don’t want it to peck at me if it’s sick”, said the Guy. “Yeah, me neither”, I answered. “Maybe I should go tell the Lifeguard and they can call the Marine Animal people?” We pondered that while watching some more.

The Guy said, “I think he’s exhausted from just trying to survive”. We exchanged a glance that kind of felt like, “I know how he feels”. It was an interesting understanding, and felt pretty heavy. He asked if I had any food to give the bird. I shrugged “Nope”, as I didn’t have much on, and no pockets. We stood silently for a moment, just watching the poor thing. Finally the Guy said, “I think I have a Vitamin E capsule in my backpack”. Kind of random, but it was worth a shot. Energy, maybe? He dug the pill out of his bag, and walked over to place it on the sand in front of the bird.

All of a sudden, the thing went berserk, flapping its wings and squawking like a maniac. It lifted off the ground and flew to the top of a wave, and then duck-dove under it like a surfer and was back in its element, like nothing ever happened! The Guy and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows and frowns, like “Hmm. What do you know about that?” We watched the bird swim along for a moment, making sure he was cool. Once that seemed to be established, I shrugged and said, “Well … Good Luck to us all!” The Guy smiled and said, “Yep, good luck to us all”.

And on we three went. I think about that exchange often, but especially today, as we all prepare to gather and feast for the holidays, and hopefully, to share it all. In times like these, when feeding the homeless is “illegal” … Well, Good luck to us all, indeed.

One more time … Remember your humanity, and forget the rest!

Los Angeles City Council approves Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker motion

By Phyllis Hayashibara

The Los Angeles City Council on November 2, approved 11th District Councilmember Bill Rosendahl’s motion of July 16 that “the Bureau of Street Services, with the assistance of the Planning Department (Office of Historic Resources), the Department of Transportation and the Office of Council District 11 be directed to report with recommendations for the installation of a commemorative marker at the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards to commemorate the start of the internment of hundreds of Japanese and Japanese Americans living in the Venice community on April 25, 1942.”

The Public Works Committee had, on October 20, approved Councilmember Rosendahl’s motion, after it had been referred to the committee for review.

At a November 9 meeting of the VJAMM committee, local artist Yuriko Uematsu Etue shared her drawings and scale model of her sculpture, “9066,” named after the Executive Order signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which authorized the military to designate areas for evacuation.

The sculpture depicts silhouettes of four figures carrying suitcases on a roughly hewn platform of wooden slats.  Etue has exhibited her model in Los Angeles and in Glendale, and has been looking for a locale to build her sculpture for the past eight years.  She looks forward to submitting a Request For Qualifications at the appropriate time.

For further information about the Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker, please go to KCET Departures at http://bit.ly/eBNcZc or visit the VJAMM Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/fyRNXm.  One hundred and seventy-one “friends” have already “liked” this site!

Tax-deductible donations towards the cost of designing, engineering, and building this important and historic memorial marker may be made payable to and sent to the Venice Community Housing Corporation, 720 Rose Avenue, Venice, CA 90291, with memo VJAMM.

The VCHC is the fiscal sponsor of the Venice Arts Council, which has been building support for this symbol of an historical injustice that should never be forgotten or repeated.

 

60 Years Later / After the Internment Camps

They were our neighbors
Torn from our community
How could this happen

How could this happen
Nurseries and barber shops
Sold at bargain rates

Sold at bargain rates
“Please, take the horse and chickens”
And the fields left fallow

And the fields left fallow
Crying for children’s laughter
Young lovers’ meeting

Young lovers meeting
Near barbed wire, guard towers
Boredom and hot dust

Boredom and hot dust
Faded memories.  At last
Soft voices speaking

Soft voices speaking
To those who did not witness
Utter disbelief

Utter disbelief
It will not happen this time
They are our neighbors

– Adelle Foley