Letters

Letters

• Thanks for the Metaphors – Jim Smith
• Inspired – Cory Schumacher
• Response to Patrick Frank’s “Even More POed at the PO – Alan Arch

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Thanks for the Metaphors

Dear Beachhead,

Three months ago I gave notice of leaving the Collective that publishes this paper. Now it’s time to step aside. Working on the Beachhead for the past 10 years has been a labor of love. But I believe each person is more than the job or role he or she performs. So, it is time to put away this mask and just be myself.

Many things in Venice are called unique, but the Free Venice Beachhead truly is. It is the last underground newspaper still alive and kickin’ from the Sixties. It has become the “paper of record” for Venice.

In addition to all the great friends I’ve made while performing my Beachhead duties, I take pride in having contributed in a small way to saving Lincoln Place, stopping lots of development schemes that would have only hurt the community, and lighting a spark of remembrance that will, I’m sure, result in a permanent memorial to the shameful treatment our Japanese neighbors were subjected to during World War II.

My only regret is that there is not a mass movement for cityhood at present. That task will be for those who will follow in the footsteps of John Haag, Rick Davidson, Carol Fondiller and all the others who have heroically stood in the path of Los Angeles bulldozers, both physical and political, and proclaimed Venice a sacred space.

I will now join the exalted ranks of Beachhead readers, who are of course, the most important part of this newspaper. If you’ve enjoyed any of the things I’ve written during these past years, you can best show it by making a donation, or becoming a sustainer, of this unique publication.

Jim Smith

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 Inspired

Dear Beachhead,

I really enjoyed the articles written in the May Beachhead by Vanessa Cabello, Jim Smith, and Marisa Peck. I think you everyone at Beachhead is doing a great service to the community of Venice. You inspire people to help out Venice, and you put pride into every Venetian.

Keep up the good work!

Best Regards,

Cory Shumaker

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Response To Patrick Frank’s
“Even More PO’d at the P.O.”(from Venice Beachhead “Letters” June 2012)

“…I won’t be sad to see that post office go, for several reasons…. It’s ugly in there…. The mural is historic, but it’s also very weird.” – Patrick Frank

I believe we live in a world where people might benefit more from writing with the hope to preserve “weirdness” in public places, rather than writing with aspirations of erasing it.

I for one could use just about as much weirdness as I can get from Monday to Sunday. Seems like these days, I have to practically search for weirdness from the time I roll out of bed in the afternoon. And sometimes I find it close to impossible to find any. Anywhere.

Sure, there’s the human stage of Ocean Front Walk, or the random colorful dispensary parking lot alleyways, but nothing does it for me quite like a good old fashioned giant “weird” mural. And finding one of those weird murals in a federal institution can be a down right staggering experience for the senses.

Weirdness doesn’t taste any sweeter than when it’s helping you zone out of day to day reality…. like staring at Abbot Kinney rising out of the doorway at the “ugly” US Post Office in Venice, CA.

My advice? Embrace the weirdness, Patrick. It may be the only real thing left in this sunshine complacent world.

Peace,
Alan Arch

Inspired – Cory Schumacher
Inspired – Cory Schumacher

Post Office Goes Private?

By Jim Smith

What sort of a country do we live in that allows the government to take an important historic building that is part of the public’s accumulated wealth and turn it over to the super-rich 1 percent for private use?

That is exactly what is happening with the building that has been Venice’s Main Post Office since 1939. And, it is being virtually given away over the loud protests of the organizations and people of Venice.

Our battered but beautiful post office has been closed since June 15. No one has seen Abbot Kinney gazing down on us since then.

I visited the mini-post office that has been carved out of the old Safeway building that is now used to sort mail. The Postal Service must be ashamed of the place since they have given it a fake address, 313 Grand Avenue. Anyone going to 313 Grand will be confronted with a cul-de-sac that does not give access to the mini. Instead, by auto or bike it can only be reached from Riviera Avenue in Central Venice. Walkers can climb over a curb along Windward Avenue and walk through a small parking lot to reach it.

Once inside, I was struck by the contrast with our old post office. In the mini, there is no artwork on the walls, no soaring ceilings, deep varnished wood or expensive tile floors. Instead, we see painted plywood, cheap tiles on the floor and a low ceiling with ugly acoustic tiles. The overall appearance is that of a low-income commercial business in a mini-mall. This is what the Postal Service thinks is good enough for the people of Venice!

Movie mogul Joel Silver, who is now in escrow to buy the Venice Post Office, is reputed to have a net worth of approximately $350,000,000. The Post Office was for sale for $7,500,000. This represents a little more than 2 percent of his wealth. For a person with an annual income of $35,000, 2 percent would be $750. Even if you have an income of $100,000 per year, 2 percent would be just $2,000.

This exercise is to show how skewed income distribution has become and to show that a member of the top 1 percent can buy a major asset with petty cash. Is anything called a public building or public space safe if the government (also owned by the 1 percent) can so willingly bestow our national treasures on them?

If and when Silver moves in, the public will move out. The operation will be private. Visitors who want to look at the historic mural and lobby will be allowed in according to his whim. We will have no recourse if the Edward Biberman mural is visible only once every two weeks. Nor will we be able to object if the lobby is substantially altered. As in the Middle Ages, it’s all up to the good will of the Lord in his castle, in this case Silver.

The Coalition to Save the Venice Post Office is scrambling to get an injunction to stop the sale. At this point, a legal action is about the only thing that can save the post office. But going into court places a severe financial burden on even a group of average income people.

We are forced to resort to legal action because of the failure of our(?) representatives to intervene. Here is the rundown: City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl – supportive but powerless at the federal level; Member of Congress Janice Hahn – supportive, but now campaigning for a seat in Congress from the L.A. Harbor area; Senator Dianne Feinstein – aides were friendly and sympathetic, but no action from the Senator; Senator Barbara Boxer – aides were friendly and sympathetic, but no action from the Senator; Member of Congress Henry Waxman – unwilling to get involved while campaigning to represent us. Waxman was also one of the sponsors of the 2006 bill that forced the USPS to make huge advance payments for future retiree health care, thereby forcing retrenchment by the Postal Service.

The plight of the Venice Post Office is being repeated thousands of times across the country as more and more historic buildings are put on the sell list. There is currently a moratorium for many of these, but not Venice, while Congress deliberates a new postal bill. However, it is unlikely that anything Congress passes will help people across the country to save their post offices. If anything, it will probably make the situation worse, as Congress bows to 1 percents who want to snatch up prime real estate at bargain prices throughout the country.

Only a handful of Democrats and no Republicans seem interested in saving our historic legacy that stems mostly from New Deal days. One of the most vocal supporters of public post offices, Dennis Kucinich, was defeated in his primary election.

In addition, the mass media, also owned by the 1 percent, seems not interested in covering what has become a large movement to save the post offices. If it had not been for our necessary effort in Venice to save our post office, most of us would not have become aware of the extent of government’s actions to unload post offices and lay off hundreds of thousands of postal workers in the middle of a recession/depression. Since our struggle began, we’ve been in contact with people in other parts of the country who are also trying to figure out how to stop this juggernaut. We now have our own information resources, such as www.savethepostoffice.com and http://www.savethevenicepostoffice.facebook.com

What do we need to do about it:

1. We need a good lawyer versed in federal regulations to join our fight at bargain basement rates.

2. We need to spread the word to everyone about the massive looting of public resources now taking place.

3. We need a new Congress that is responsive to protecting the public from the vultures in Wall Street and elsewhere. Our local problems have merged with national issues.

4. We need millions to take to the streets, and stay in the streets, until we have a revolution that turns government priorities right side up.

Lincoln Place Cats Need a Home

By Barbara Eisenberg

For many years a resident at Lincoln Place Apartments has been hoarding cats. Without spaying and neutering the cats, they have been producing kittens and more kittens which have grown up and produced more kittens. The problem in itself has been very disturbing as they were not well cared for, not enough food, no vaccination shots, and/or no medications for those which were ill.

Now AIMCO, the owner of Lincoln Place, has refused to allow any loose cats on the property. They say that all cats which are found outside will be trapped and removed from the property. The fate for these cats is unknown.

With the assistance of wonderful, all volunteer, ladies from the Stray Cat Alliance organization many of the cats have been spayed or neutered and given immunizations. The current kittens have been bathed to remove fleas and been given their first rounds of immunizations, as well.

Most of the adults are very well socialized and love to be petted, brushed, get chin scratching. Some are incredible athletes with leaps that are Olympic worthy.

I have played with many of them and they do not bite or scratch when playing.

These loveable felines all need homes and as quickly as possible due to the previously explained situation.

If you are not able to adopt or foster, perhaps you could make a small donation for the ongoing spay/neuter process, which will continue until all the kitties are accounted for.

Anyone who would love to have a very beautiful cat or kitten or want more information of this effort PLEASE contact: Julie (TCLA08@aol.com), Barbara Eisenberg (barbeebarbvenice@yahoo.com), or Christi Metropole (www.straycatalliance.org)   b

Not Born on the 4th of July

By Ronald McKinley

When I was younger, I celebrated the 4 of July as all good Americans did. I lit strings of firecrackers. I burned sparklers. I ate hot dogs, corn on the cob. In New Orleans, where I was born I would go to the French Market and buy a large watermelon. One hundred years before my birth the same market sold slaves.

I was born eighty-five years after slavery was abolished. Slavery was abolished eighty-nine years after America got its independence. As an African-American, it took me long a time to understand the implications. My ancestors were not freed when America was freed.

In Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Maryland the fear of slaves on one hand, and the military potential of mobilizing slaves on the other, gave a peculiar twist to the logic of war. Virginia’s royal governor John Murry, the Earl of Dunmore, offered freedom to slaves.

“And I do here by further declare all indented servants, negroes, or others, appertaining to rebels, free that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining His Majesty’s troops as soon as maybe, for the most speedily reducing this colony to a proper sense of their duty to His Majesty’s Crown and Dignity.”

Dunmore’s proclamation triggered a mass escape. Lord Dunmore’s “Ethiopian Regiment” went to work pillaging patriot plantations, along the shores of the Chesapeake, to supply British ships with food. Some of the captured were put to death, some were sold up the river to slavers in the West Indies. Some were, at public expense, sent to work in western Virginia’s lead mines.

In Connecticut, the state with the largest slave population in New England, the legislature passed two important acts which paved the way for the recruitment of black soldiers: any men who procured a substitute would be exempt from the draft, and former masters who freed their slaves to serve in the Continental Army would be relieved of any future obligation for support. Any slave who agreed to serve would exempt both a master and his son. Whites who were drafted who did not own slaves often bought one. Some slaves were able to negotiate freedom as the price for their service. Some did not get this promise; however, others failed to get it in writing, and were pressed back into slavery.

The 4th of July is more than barbecue, hot dogs, and fireworks. “The Star Spangled Banner” should mean more than the opening of ball games. I want to be proud to be an American, even eighty-nine years after the fact. I have a higher standard for America. I live here. I give America my best, and want no less in return. Make America the true home of freedom, not more choices at the market, and two on the ballot. Put people before things. Make no man or woman a prisoner for thinking differently than you. Whole sections of America think we should imprison people for doing drugs. Deny adults who are not related the right to marry. Criminalize people without housing. Make corporations citizens. Bomb countries into the stone age. I try to be the America I want.

Make America the true home of freedom. Do no harm in speech or action to any living thing. Celebrate freedom from fear.

I have seen the auction block. I have been in the slave quarters. Do you feel free? Does Congress make you feel free? Does the Supreme Court make you feel free? Yes, we have a black president. Does he make you feel free?  b

Bud Van Osdall, Long Time Venice Resident, Dies in His RV

By Peggy Lee Kennedy

He was discovered deceased in his Sportsman camper behind the Talking Stick Café in Venice around 10:30 am Friday June 15.  The LAPD said he was just a transient, which is not true.  Bud lived in Venice for more than 30 years.  He was no more a transient than anyone else is on this planet and it is wrong to classify people like that – as if they have no worth.

Bud was the name all of his friends knew him by, but he was born Myron Van Osdall Jr. He was aVietnam combat veteran. He graduated from San Diego State and worked with computers when they took up a whole room. He also drove cab for 5 years in Los Angeles.

I was told that he was coughing the night before he died and he had been complaining of stomach pains.  One of the people who employed Bud doing odd jobs had been calling him for days with no answer. Sad that he died like that in his motor home without calling anyone for help or going to the doctor.  May be he was too sick.

 His miniature pincher,named Dog, is now in the pound for 30 days so that some next of kin Bud had not spoken to for twenty years has a chance to claim her before she can be adopted. There is already a taker to adopt her so it seems cruel to poor Dog to make her stay in jail for 30 days after her friend died.

Bud had lots of friends, besides Dog, and I was one of them.  I really got to know him over ten years ago when Bud and his long time friend, Douglas Waters, would park in the Rose Ave parking lot in their Winnebago motor home.  Douglas was a World War II veteran and an accomplished pianist. Sadly, he died of a heart attack a few years ago.  And once upon a time there were three of them:Bud, Douglas, and John. Douglas and John Jenkins met in 1966. Bud came along in the late 70’s or early 80’s. After losing housing in the Venice canals, they lived in an old truck with a tree house and a trailer pulled from behind. Bud was in the tree house, Douglas and John in the trailer.

After John became terminally ill, they all (Douglas, John andBud) moved into Lincoln Place apartments with the help of Carol Tantau and St. Josephs. John passed away six weeks after they moved in, but Douglas and Bud lived there for 12 more years until forced into a buy-out.  That is when they bought Bertram, the Winnebago. Bud and Douglas lived in Bertram for years together.  I believe after Douglas passed away, Bud just never felt right.

Bud did odd jobs in Venice, including at Big Bill’s and Just Tantau. Years ago Bud and Douglas used to make special origami boxes with recycled magazines that Just Tantau used for gift boxes and people still remember those boxes.  Lilly, from JustTantau, recently gave Bud some extra cash so he could buy a remote control helicopter, which he said he always wanted. He flew it at Penmar Park until he got it stuck on a roof. He had to sort of break in so he could climb up to get it, but the helicopter  broke when he was getting down.  Bud said that flying the helicopter at Penmar Park gave him the opportunity to reconnect with some old friends from his past and it was good.

There will be a memorial held for Bud and Douglas at theTalking Stick Sunday, July 8 at 12:30pm. Carol Tantau said she will give box making lessons in memory of Douglas. b

The Life and Death of Mikey

By Ian Dean

With the rising popularity and constant shifting of this tiny beach side community, countless faces drift in and out. Many are forgettable, few are truly memorable, some are people who you  know by face but lose track of the moment they leave eye shot. A grimy little oasis, ever morphing and changing to the trends and flow of time. The pulse of the town is captured in countless movies and TV shows, mentioned in songs and reported through countless art communities. It is where the wealthy and cool come to play, eat and live, where the poor come to create and bargain and where the world comes to see the ever going freak show that is Ocean Front Walk.

Though times have changed and many people have come and gone, there was one man who through it all grew up and saw all these changes, and yet somehow remained unchanged and unaffected by the trappings of local fame.

In an era before Venice was the “hip” place to be, but rather a place many avoided, when surfing was considered the pass time of the lazy and worthless, when punk rock was in its adolescence, and you could see 5 bands for 2 dollars at a vomit soaked venue, there was a young man who did it all, lived it all and loved it all.

This man was Michael Lee Samuelson.

Born on March 8 1963, the details of Mikey’s early years are not the focal point of this story, mainly because with the exception of his adoring mother, and to a degree his over demanding-father, Mikey did not have what one would call the “loving family.”

Mikey was adopted and had very little connection to his extended family. As he got older and his parents passed away, that extended family showed very little interest involving him in their lives.

That is where this story drifts off to Mikey’s true family…. Venice Beach itself. The random assortment of eclectic people that called Venice Beach home were his family, and there were many of them.

The bums, the junkies, the snow birds, the bikers, the punks, the skaters, the gang bangers, the small shop owners, all were his brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. The limitless young homeless kids that came in and out who were runaways and orphans were his children who he was incredibly protective of, and always made sure that they had eaten or that no one was taking advantage of them. The beach itself was his mother, lover, best friend and Achilles heel all in one.

Venice was more than just a place to hang out for Mikey, it was a beacon of comfort even in adverse times of alcoholism and drug addiction, severe loneliness and depression. It was a place of safety and where the saying “where everybody knows your name” could not apply any more so than if Mikey were Abbot Kinney himself. To meet Mikey was an experience all on its own and to KNOW him was always an adventure, seeing how his penchant for trouble making and overall patriotic anarchism (yes, there IS such a thing) took hold of any event in which he was involved.

From The Sidewalk Cafe to SxT Tattoo, The Trading Post Liquor, to the first Streets of Venice skate shop and even the now non-existent Hi Dee Ho Comics and the Westminster Pagodas  … EVERYONE, one way or another knew Mikey.

Countless young men and women and even small children in town know him as “Uncle Mikey”, others know him as “Punk Rock Mikey” when he sang with punk rock Karaoke band “ToneDeaf”, and close friends and acquaintances know him as “Wrecking Ball”. All of them accurate, all of them meaningful, all of them given with love and respect. But how does one properly define in such a short column a man who was so many things to so many people? The reality is I can’t… nothing I write will ever truly do the man justice, nor properly convey just how unique of a person Mikey was… but I can damn well try.

One would not think through his gruff exterior that there was a very lonely man despite being loved by so many people, and due to this loneliness he constantly put himself out there as an emotional anchor for anyone else. He became the person he wished to know, he became the person he wanted to look after him, but to everyone else.

He was a father to the fatherless, a friend to the friendless, a protector to the defenseless, a voice to the voiceless and was always willing to hear the shit on your plate even though he had loads on his.

Mikey battled alcoholism and drug use for years, but managed to go for years at a time not drinking or using anything… but even when he was, he still went to meetings and supported others, even if he could not stay clean. Recovery for him seemed less about not using but rather making sure others were not alone or had to face it by themselves.

In late March of 2012, just a few weeks after his 49th birthday, Mikey was raced to Harbor UCLA Medical where he would spend the next month in intensive care for the battle of his life.

Years of drinking and drug abuse, mixed with his punk rock lifestyle, had caught up with him. His body was shutting down. While in intensive care, the countless doctors that treated him mentioned multiple times that chances of Mikey living or leaving that hospital were close to none. This, however, had no effect on him, and slowly but surely, he became more and more stable, bashing through every medical obstacle like the wrecking ball he was named for.

While in the Hospital, there was a benefit held for him at Danny’s Deli put together by Mikey’s close friend and band member of Tone Deaf, Masao Miyashiro, in an amazingly short 12 hour time frame. In one night over 1500 dollars was generated for Mikey’s expenses, and many old and new friends got together to support and honor their friend. Emotions were high, but morale and love for Mikey was at an all time high.

Day by day, he got better, they took him off the breathing machines and he soon was taking liquids and then solid foods. He was talking and walking before anyone could even believe it.

But the truth was the long term damage had been already been done and it seemed Mikey pulled through all that because he wanted to die on his own terms, and not in a hospital bed.

He had always been a fighter and refused to leave this life unless it was his choice in the matter. As one friend, Dan Clements, stated “coming out of that hospital was his final victory lap”.

While in the hospital, Mikey, had a slew of visitors coming from all over to possibly say their last goodbyes. The nursing staff actually became frustrated at the hordes coming to visit because no one wanted to “wait their turn” when it was so uncertain what the outcome would be. People started completely disregarding the rules and walked past security without even a forethought.

Mikey was eventually released and taken home, a miracle in his own right, but tired, as the experience had clearly aged him in just a few weeks. He went along with his daily life, but now everything seemed slower, quieter, and he still did not feel well. He could be seen walking around accompanied by various friends, and having lunch or a Shirley Temple at Danny’s Deli or Sidewalk Cafe. It was very clear though that the way Mikey had lived for the past 48 years was over.. it had been a good run but now it was only a matter of time. Mikey lost his battle on May 29.

On June 23 at 9 am there was a paddle out service for him at the Pier at the end of Washington Blvd and, then another service at 7 pm at the Skate Park, followed by a memorial party at the Gas Station just off Pacific. At both services, stories and memories of Mikey were shared and the reminder voiced that everyone was connected because of one man.

People who knew each other for decades and people who did not know each other at all mingled together to celebrate a person who in this small blink of an eye we call life, managed to bind so many people to one another simply because they loved him.

The aftershock and the lack of accepting of his death is still there and probably always will be. Some people are angry… some just can’t believe he’s gone. As one of his many nephews, Tripple Jenkins stated recently while at Danny’s Deli, “I keep expecting for him to walk in that door and say, ‘Hey Maaaaan, whats goin on?’. Others, such as Damion Palmer, who has known Mikey for 30 years, comments on how it is a reminder that “we’re all gettin old, and watching your friends drop makes you put things in perspective”. Whatever the emotion may be outright, the reality that everyone is already missing him is showing as people shuffle along Ocean Front Walk and realize never again will they see him sitting on a bar stool at Sidewalk Cafe, or riding that ugly orange beach cruiser with the bent frame and ringing the stupid cheeseburger shaped bell that he got such a kick out of.

On a more personal note, I myself last spoke to him on the afternoon of May 28th at around 2pm. I called him to wish him a happy Memorial Day, and asked if he wanted me to come pick him up so he could spend it at the beach. He replied with a soft spoken “No, I think I’m going to take a nap.” How little then did I realize how foreshadowing that statement was.  I then told him if he changed his mind to give me a call and I’d call him tomorrow. I wished him well, told him I loved him. He replied with “Talk to ya later, little brother.” That was the last time I spoke to him.

Michael Samuelson is survived by his family… us, Venice Beach. His brothers, aunts and uncles, his sisters, his nieces and nephews, and children.  The little boy who was adopted that ended up adopting a whole beach side community.

To end this, I want to quote Mikey on something he said in his hospital bed a few days before he was discharged: “Despite everything that’s going on, if I had to do it all again, I would. I lived my life my way and did it how I wanted to do it.”

How many of us can truly say that?

And will we be able to when it’s our turn?

I want to give a special thanks and recognize all the people who helped, donated their time, energy or were just there every single day Mikey was in that hospital, including, Katie Sullivan, Theresa Viselli, Jessica Hawkins, Toni Giuliano, Masao Miyashiro, Daryl Lee, Damion Palmer, Big Seven, Palar Brown

To all who helped with the charity items for the auction: ToneDeaf, Danny’s Deli, SxTx Tattoo, Streets of Venice, DogTown Skates, Maui and sons, Venice Originals, Sidewalk cafe, and countless others

And most importantly, Thank you to the Harbor UCLA medical center Nurses and Doctors for putting up with all of us and bringing Mikey back to us for a little bit longer.

The Prospects for Venice Cityhood

By Jim Smith

Like the surf that keeps rolling up on Venice’s shore, the idea of restoring our cityhood just won’t go away.

In 2012, I am continually approached by Venetians who ask “What’s going on with cityhood?” or “What do we have to do to get free of L.A.?”

It’s not a new issue. In 1925, there were immediate claims of foul when the supporters of annexation by Los Angeles finally won an election. Previous votes to annex to Los Angeles or Santa Monica had both failed. In 1940, there was a bill in the California State Senate to restore Venice cityhood. During the 1960s and ‘70s, it became a movement, called Free Venice.

This paper, the Free Venice Beachhead, has always been a part of the demand for restoration. In the 1990s, a new committee was formed that actively campaigned for cityhood. Through the “00s,” community forums took place under the auspices of the University of Venice and well-reasoned articles appeared in the Beachhead. In the end, we didn’t get any closer to getting our city back.

What’s different today? 

A couple of things. More and more Venetians are becoming disgruntled with the city of Los Angeles. Previously, the megalopolis was able to quietly siphon off much more money from Venice than it returned. Lately, its financial problems have made L.A. look for any way to make a buck in Venice. This includes raising the price of parking and the tickets that everyone eventually gets on “street cleaning” day, whether there is any actual street cleaning or not, schemes such as the “Big Wheel” and the “Zip Line,” which include revocable “promises” of sharing revenue with Venice.

Waiting in the wings are more metered parking, more amusement rides, more fees for city services such as repairing broken sidewalks, allowing advertisements everywhere including Ocean Front Walk, renewed inspections by code enforcers and a wholesale reassessment of Venice’s taxable property values.

The Los Angeles City Council, June 5, declared a fiscal emergency. This enables the Mayor to make massive layoffs (just what we need, more people out of work) and cuts in services. There is a projected deficit of $199 million for fiscal year 2013-14 and $315 million for the following year. Unless it squeezes the life out of Venice and other “holdings,” it is on the path to bankruptcy.

At the same time, Venice is becoming wealthier. Property values are on the rise again, which could make a great tax base for the city of Venice. As an independent city, Venice would be larger than half of the 88 current cities in Los Angeles County.

Some critics have said that Venice would not be viable without a shopping center to tax. Anyone who has been past the intersection of Rose and Lincoln lately knows that Venice now has a shopping center, even if it is one hugely profitable Whole Foods Market. It is only a matter of time before a new proposal to redevelop Lincoln Center, at California and Lincoln, is floated again. As Lincoln Place becomes repopulated, it makes sense to provide stores that cater to the locals, and are a source of revenue for Venice.

For anyone seriously interested in regaining cityhood, it might be useful to look at how other cities of Venice’s size gain their revenue and what they spend it on. A nearby city of approximately Venice’s size is Culver City. More than 50 percent of Culver City’s revenue comes from three sources:  Sales Tax, Utility Taxes and Business Licenses. The budgets of other cities in L.A. County can be easily accessed with an internet search.

In Venice, we would likely gain much of our income from our largest industry, tourism. This would include sales tax, hotel taxes, parking revenue, taxi fees and other fees to derive at least some income on the tens of thousands who descend on Venice each day.

Uniting for a City of Venice

In recent years, Venice has been a war zone of neighbors battling each other over parking, poverty and development. Some Venetians believe that such divisions make it impossible for the community to come together in favor of city hood.

However, the Coalition to Save the Venice Post Office has brought together groups and people who usually don’t get along. It includes this newspaper, the Venice Neighborhood Council, the Venice Stakeholders Association, Venice Peace and Freedom, SPARC, Venice Arts Council, Venice Chamber of Commerce, various poets, writers, artists, and business people. Personal attacks and extraneous issues are frowned upon by most of the participants. As a result, Venice has been able to speak with one voice and to wage a credible fight to save one of our most historic buildings.

The fight to save the Post Office has also pointed out our weakness in not having a city government. In Hermosa Beach, when the local Post Office was targeted for closure, the city responded with electronic signs on busy streets urging residents to email their Congressmember. In a short time, Rep. Jane Harman received 5,000 emails from angry Hermosa Beach residents. She then demanded that the Postal Service not close the HB post office. Contrast that with the lack of response from our two Senators and Rep. Henry Waxman. Post offfices are being abandoned by the USPS in Santa Monica and La Jolla. But in both communities the city government is considering buying the post offices and turning them into city buildings, thereby keeping them as public spaces.

Can we come together for cityhood before the remaining historic buildings and houses and public services are decimated?

Some Venetians have told the Beachhead that they are wary of cityhood because the other side (homeless haters or sixties hippies, take your pick) would assume power.

So it comes down to whether you’d rather be ruled by the crooks in L.A. City Hall or “those people” down the block. It also comes down to a question of democracy. Can you have anything resembling democracy in a jurisdiction of more than four million people? Democracy is more than having a secret ballot election periodically. It is at heart, a question of how much control, power, influence the average person has in the social maelstrom swirling about around him or her. Most of us who have served on the neighborhood council know that it is not a body with real power. At best, it can advise city officials on local policy. At worse, it is a placebo offered to a withering community that needs a dose of real power.

Venice is a potential city of 40,000 people. It can be walked, biked or skated from one end to the other. Anyone elected to a Venice City Council would have to live in this small area. Does anyone know where the 14 men and one woman who are the Los Angeles City Council live? Does anyone know where the department head, who has great decision-making power, lives? Does anyone even know the names of the bankers, corporate heads and big developers who are the real rulers of Los Angeles?

In Venice, civic-minded people would know their elected officials. They would also see these people at the market, the hardware store, or out riding their bikes. The potential for real democracy in a city of 40,000 would be much greater than it would be in an entity of millions.

Venice have suffered, you will ultimately find an instigator from the L.A. city government. This was true of the abolition of the progressive Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council in 2006, the Overnight Parking Districts, the beach curfew, and the Big Wheel, among others. This does not mean that there weren’t locals who were more than happy to “front” the fight. However, if Venice was its own city, they wouldn’t be able to rely on these powerful backers. Accommodation, not confrontation, would become the political game in small town Venice.

How can we assemble a wide-ranging committee to plan the initial steps for regaining cityhood. As a temporary measure, I’d like to suggest a discussion begin on http://yhoo.it/MWLGBN. This is neutral ground, although I am the moderator. The only rule is that people use their real names. Regaining cityhood is serious business, not an idle discussion. Once we get together on VeniceCA, we can get volunteers to put up a website, Facebook page, Twitter, etc. So let’s get started!

Would people you don’t agree with be elected to office? Yes. Would people you do agree with be elected to office? Yes. This is how democracy works. In a town or a society where everyone thinks the same, you wouldn’t need democracy. But Venice hasn’t been that homogeneous since the Sixties (and probably wasn’t even then).

So yes, we would have disagreements, hard fought elections, and a few disagreeable people. But we would likely have less disputes than we do at present. If you search carefully hrough the major controversies that we in Venice have suffered, you will ultimately find an instigator from the L.A. city government. This was true of the abolition of the progressive Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council in 2006, the Overnight Parking Districts, the beach curfew, and the Big Wheel, among others. This does not mean that there weren’t locals who were more than happy to “front” the fight. However, if Venice was its own city, they wouldn’t be able to rely on these powerful backers. Accommodation, not confrontation, would become the political game in small town Venice.

How can we assemble a wide-ranging committee to plan the initial steps for regaining cityhood? As a temporary measure, I’d like to suggest a discussion begin on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/veniceCA. This is neutral ground, although I am the moderator. The only rule is that people use their real names. Regaining cityhood is serious business, not an idle discussion. Once we get together on VeniceCA, we can get volunteers to put up a website, Facebook page, Twitter, etc. So let’s get started!

Beach Curfew Violates Law

By John Davis

The Beachhead has reported on an ordinance of the City of Los Angeles that violates the California Constitution and the California Coastal Act. Former Executive Director Peter Douglas of the Coastal Commission agreed with the public that the City curfew has violated the law from the beginning. He stated that the City curfew was “unenforceable.”

Yet the City continues to arrest people to prevent them from legally using the public trust lands whenever they like, night or day. Some people work in the day so the only time they can enjoy the beach is at night. The same is true of fishermen when the bite is on at night or people who like to view the full moon in all its splendor as it illuminates the shining night sea.

But the L.A. City Council, particularly Councilperson Bill Rosendahl of CD 11, implies that there are Boogie Men who may roam the beach after sunset, creating such wild mischief that the public must be kept away. The City implies it cannot afford to provide a police patrol at night, even though untold millions of tax revenue is generated by Venice annually.

What is really happening is that Councilman Rosendahl is riding point for his posse so those who can afford beachfront real estate will enjoy higher property values.

Removing the public from the beaches they own provides exclusivity to certain property owners. If you owned a nice beachfront home in Venice, like former Congressperson Jane Harman does, would you prefer to see poor people on your beach after sunset? Of course not, they would ruin the view, and God forbid, reduce the value of the real estate. What better way to stop this than to imprison them! Bill is their man. Atop his high horse, he bugles the cry to sweep up the homeless from their home and to cleanse the beach. But he not only wants to remove the homeless. He wants all of us to get off the beach by sundown, or else his dark posse will ride down and punish you.

But the story goes ever further. Dockweiler State Park has three sections. One is south of the Marina Del Rey main channel, the other is just north, 11 acres (Least Tern Reserve) and most importantly, three acres where the Venice Pavilion once stood.

The City entered into an agreement with the State Department of Parks and Recreation in 1943 to lease and operate Dockweiler State Park. That agreement ended in 1998.

Currently, the City has no legal authority over the Park nor does the County, which provided maintenance and lifeguard services to the City while the lease was current. This places major liabilities on the State Park System, which is now responsible for any injuries that occur on State Park lands. The City no longer holds the State harmless and indemnifies it, (the State is now responsible for loss not the City). I met with and informed the Superintendent of the State Park, Craig Sap, of this matter on June 13.

At no time, even when the City leased the State Park, did it ever have the authority to impose a curfew on the public parklands. The Regulations that govern the State Parks system only allow the Executive Director, Ruth Coleman, to impose a temporary curfew, and only for minors.

The State Parks Commission needs to consider this matter as soon as possible to make the City straighten up and fly right.

Andrew Willis, enforcement officer of the Coastal Commission, said the Commission is discussing the matter with the City and is encouraged the City will soon apply for a Coastal Development Permit. However, when I spoke to Rosendahl’s trusty sidekick, Arturo Pina, he informed me the City had not yet applied. How many years does it take to fill out an application?

Andrew Willlis has said the same thing for years, but with no visible result. The Commission has failed to place this on its agenda as a violation of the Coastal Act.

Alex Halprin, Senior Staff Legal Counsel, sent the last formal letter to the Commission on February 3, 2011 reiterating Peter Douglas, “Because no such authorization has been granted, it is the position of the Commission’s Legal Division that the Beach Curfew is currently of no legal force or effect.”

Willis indicated that the Commission might be sued if it attempts to enforce the Coastal Act. I responded the Commission should welcome such a suit because a legal motion for dismissal or summary judgment would easily defeat it. I said the public would be enraged if the City fought to keep the people off of their beaches. The City would then back down. Willis would not even acknowledge this as a possibility, but focused only on not bringing the violation before the public Commission for enforcement.

Perhaps he and the Commission are in fear of the L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who stated on October 1, 2010 that the City needs no permit from the Coastal Commission, which is attempting to exercise the powers of a “super-legislature or court with power to effectively veto or nullify the laws of Charter Cities….Indeed, your interpretation of the Coastal Act is contrary to separation of powers defined by the Constitution of the State of California… A development in the Coastal Act always refers to physical structures and things: buildings, walls, fences, etc.” (Note: The Coastal Act also defines development as change in access according to the Coastal Act).

Trutanich went on to state that “the Commission is not a Court….We trust the concept of the democratic process is not completely lost on the Commission and its Staff…The Commission obviously intends its investigation, (into the illegal curfew), to harass the City…The ongoing investigation ….represents retaliation against the City.”

Trutanich fails to even address the issue of constitutional access to public trust lands because there is no logic in which the City can override the Constitution of the State.

As for the Coastal Commission, they have known about the violation since 2008. The Commission staff has hidden well over 1,000 other known violations from the public by failing to place them as enforcement matters before the Commission. This allows the staff, behind closed doors, to decided who can violate the Coastal Act and who they will let get away with the crime. It is the Commission at a public meeting that is to decide, not staff.

My opinion is that the Commission is not afraid of the City, but is working with it behind closed doors and with no written record to allow the violations to continue without intervention.

The non-enforcement of the Coastal Act further encourages the City’s ongoing violation and is green lighting to all other coastal communities up and down the coast that they too can remove the public in order to prop up real estate values for certain financially privileged individuals.

Sun Exposure: Benefits and Cautions

By Marisa Peck

The summer is a time of abundance. Food, friends, fiestas, and yes our blessed Sun. We Venetians have to be extremely careful when it comes to the Sun. With so many benefits, come so many cautions. We all know that sunshine can brighten our mood, fuel our gardens, light our way, and just 15 minutes in the sun gives us our recommended daily allowance of bone strengthening vitamin D! But we know the brutal reality of sun damage to our skin. This summer there is much you can do to protect yourself, to strengthen your body and pamper your skin so you can be fit to enjoy summers to come.

The number one thing you can do on a daily basis to help mitigate the effects of the sun is to eat a diet rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants turn harmful, unstable particles that damage healthy cells (aka free radicals) into harmless stable particles that have little to no effect on our bodies. UV rays create free radicals. Loading up on antioxidants will increase your body’s natural ability to fight off these free radicals and thus prevent the damage that they cause (such as discoloration, wrinkles and cancer). Talk about an all-natural sunscreen! Some of my favorite antioxidant packed summer foods are Sunflower seeds, kale, spinach, artichokes, red peppers, watermelons, blueberries, oregano, green tea and chocolate. Oh yes, all natural dark Chocolate (just a few bites).

Another consideration Venetians should be taking seriously this summer is our wardrobe. Cover up people! Hats, long sleeve shirts and pants are the best protection from the Sun that money can buy. Be aware that many fabrics do not completely shield you from the UV rays. If you are like me you love being outdoors, you might consider investing in some clothes that are specifically suited to sun protection.

About now you may be thinking to yourself, “what about sunscreen?” I am so glad you asked. Sunscreen is questionable at best and should be used with extreme caution. For starters, most sunscreen products only protect against UVB (the rays that cause burns) and not UVA (the rays that cause age spots and cancer). This means that although you may be avoiding an uncomfortable burn, you are still being exposed to dangerous cancer causing rays. There are some expensive products out there that claim to protect against UVA, but due to an FDA loophole that allows any products that block out 20 percent of UVA rays to state that it “protects against UVA rays”, these claims are often bogus.

Furthermore, some of the compounds in commercial sunscreen have been found to be very dangerous, even carcinogenic. Vitamin A, for example, and ingredients related to Vitamin A are unstable and have been show to increase the rate at which malignant cells multiply when used on the skin and exposed to extreme heat. The FDA has funded and supervised multiple studies over the last decade that prove ingredients related to Vitamin A can be carcinogenic when used in sunscreen, but the FDA knowingly withheld the results of these studies for years until consumer protection groups such as Environmental Working Group published their own (and very damming) studies of sunscreen and pressured the FDA to release its own (also very damming) data. Other chemicals commonly found in sunscreen, such as Oxybenzone, penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream disrupting the body’s hormones. And many others have yet to be studied at all. If you do choose to use sunscreen (some of us absolutely must), safer options include organic, mineral based products containing nano free zinc oxide or titanium.

So be aware, and take good care. Remember that an annual skin cancer screening by a licensed dermatologist is a must for all adults. There are a number of dermatologists who offer free or low cost skin cancer-screening clinics. You can go online and find a clinic at a time and location that works for you. Get screened, eat right, cover up and live your life. Enjoy the summer! I’ll see you at the beach.

Public Safety Uber Alles, Says Nuch

By Greta Cobar

A bigger-than-usual crowd showed up to the June 19 Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) meeting to hear City Attorney Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich.

His opening speech exemplified his job duties of defending the city in lawsuits, of “representing the people of California,” as he put it. He went on to flaunt his job performance by claiming to have removed all illegal billboards in Venice, to have won many lawsuits that saved the city millions of dollars, and to have overall increased our quality of life. What about the illegal electronic billboard on Lincoln and Washington?

A question-and-answer session followed, with Linda Lucks, President of the VNC, asking him to clarify the terms of the Jones Settlement (Jones vs. City of L.A., 2007). Trutanich stated that because of the aforementioned ruling, the city cannot enforce prohibition of sleeping on any sidewalk between the hours of 9pm and 6am.

As far as personal belongings, Trutanich did not agree with the consensus in the room that the city cannot seize them. However, because of another lawsuit, Lavan vs. City of L.A., there is a restraining order in effect prohibiting the city from seizing or destroying property from homeless camps.

According to Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, “if someone claims that items in the streets are their personal belongings, the city cannot remove those items without risk of legal repercussions.”

This is not the first time we heard conflicting statements coming from supposedly trusted officials. During the January 23 VNC meeting Lieutenant Paola Kreefft blatantly misinformed the public that the Jones settlement, allowing people to lie on the sidewalk between 9pm and 6am, is valid only on Skid Row as a result of a recent re-interpretation by a judge. During the January meeting neither she nor Arturo Pina, who was making similar claims, was able to provide further details as to what case, when and where.

The remainder of the question-and-answer session was dominated by Venetians who spoke up to voice concerns more so than to ask questions. Trutanich provided no solutions or answers, but used each opportunity to flash his victories in different lawsuits.

Because both the public and Trutanich did not observe time limits, not everyone who turned in a card to ask a question was able to speak. The Beachhead reporter, amongst others, was not given that opportunity.

When a Beachhead reporter approached Trutanich as he was leaving the VNC meeting and asked about the legality of the beach curfew now in effect midnight to 6am on Ocean Front Walk and the beach, Trutanich responded that it is in effect due to public safety concerns, such as someone drowning.

A Beachhead reporter challenged Trutanich’s statements by quoting Charles Posner, Coastal Program Analyst with the California Coastal Commission (CCC), who had previously stated that “the city does not have any approval from the CCC to implement the curfew.”

In a phone conversation with the Beachhead in January, Posner went on to say that under the Coastal Act the city needs a permit for “any sort of curfews or restrictive ordinances that have such a negative impact on coastal access.” The curfew is in clear violation of the Coastal Act of 1976, according to which “the public should have 24 hour access to the beaches.”

Trutanich was somewhat at a loss for words when challenged with these statements, and walked away while authoritatively stating that public safety supercedes everything else.

We all know by now that the curfew was established to rid OFW of the homeless population, in violation of the Jones settlement. Saving people from drowning in the middle of the night not only was never a concern, but it is a poor fabrication on the part of a city attorney.

Happily, Trutanich’s efforts of replacing Steve Cooley as our county district attorney failed during the June 5 election. Sadly, we are still stuck with him as city attorney.