Little Free Library

If you walk around Venice, you might notice little boxes in front of houses. On closer examination, it says “Little Free Library – Take a book, leave a book.” Apparently this is part of a nation wide effort to put books in peoples’ hands. It’s a library that is free, with no supervision and no fines. There is a box in front of Venice High School, and another in back of the school. I’ve seen another one on Walnut and Superba, and on Amoroso.

This is a great idea, and it’s part of the “Pay It Forward” movement. I’ve gotten a lot of books and taken a lot back. It’s a great way to get books in the hands of people who love books and aren’t ready to surrender to “Kindle”. It’s hard to lay in bed, holding your laptop and reading a book electronically. This is an idea perfect for Venice, with its reputation of taking things into their own hands. It’s such a nice surprise, to be walking along and find these little book boxes, full of books waiting to be explored. Thank you to all the book lovers. – Mary Getlein

www.littlefreelibrary.org

The Killings in Connecticut

By Mary Getlein

Michael Moore (of Bowling For Columbine) told the story of a crazy man who went to a school and tried to kill some children, but it was in China and he only had a knife. No kids killed that day. The same day as the attack in Connecticut. Twenty children killed by the greed of the NRA. The NRA spent so much money for Republicans to get in office, but didn’t get them in office. The NRA, who have remained silent – in “respect of the mourning of the families”. The NRA, the most powerful gun lobby in the world. Twenty children killed who will never come back. Twenty children of America, living in a beautiful suburb, going to a school that was supposed to be safe.

Now all the other crazies are coming out of the closet. Some total idiot is saying to arm the teachers. Yeah, a horrible act of violence happens, let’s throw some more violence at it.

Michael Moore: “Isn’t eviction a violent act?” “Throwing people out of their homes, isn’t that a violent act?” “Closing down factories and jobs? And cities? Isn’t that a violent act?” “Our country creates wars and keeps them going with the young people of our country, isn’t that a violent act?” “We sell arms to our citizens and arms to other countries, who use them to kill other women’s children, isn’t that a violent act?” “The side effect of war on our soldiers, PTSD and suicide, isn’t that a violent act?”

Pundits on the radio, trying to figure out a way to have gun control – and keep their guns at the same time – propose taking assault weapons off the market, making it illegal to own an assault rifle, like the one the shooter used on those children. Even Senators who love hunting, even they are saying enough is enough.

But there are no guarantees. Three hundred million guns are already out there in gun owners’ hands. How do you make a law retroactive … can you demand people to give up their guns? What about just their assault rifles? You can get an AR15, which is equal to an M16, for $500 to $1,000. Just in time for Christmas! What better way to celebrate Peace on Earth than to buy an assault rifle?

The thing is, the best time to sell them is when they are threatening to take them off the market. The gun factories are manufacturing assault rifles right now, so there were plenty for Christmas shoppers. This guy on the radio was telling the announcer what a “cool” gun it was. She said, “Excuse me, but you are referring to the gun that the shooter used to kill 27 people, including 20 little children.” He tried to backtrack, and said that people would want the assault weapon to protect themselves from being mowed down by a similar murderer as the shooter.

Who do we blame for this? Well, first off, the shooter. Of course we need to have background checks, and change the laws that govern mentally ill people. Meanwhile, one of the first things that have been cut from state and federal budgets is money for mental health facilities. When someone turns 18, they are considered an adult and if they are mentally ill and refuse treatment, there is nothing you can do. You have to wait, in most states, for them to commit a crime before they can be apprehended. A lot of mentally ill people wind up in jail who should be in a mental hospital, getting treatment. If someone is threatening to kill someone, or blow up a school, there should  be a place to get help for that person, before that act is committed. A lot of people are in prison who should be in a mental health facility.

But you can’t get away from the violent world of gun owners. The “gun culture” of the United States. No other country in the world has as many homicides as we have. There is a huge link between gun ownership and gun deaths. Every gun sale should have a background check, but they do not. New gun sales require a background check, but guns sold at gun shows, second hand guns, and guns sold at yard sales are private and are not regulated by the state or federal government.

They should make possession of assault rifles a felony, and gun trafficking a felony.

In studying other countries, they have found the same violence rates, and the same depression rates. The difference? We have more guns. If we enact stricter gun laws, we will have fewer murders.

We are living in a violent country that seems to worship violent acts. The sales of violent video games is through the roof. There are videos that kids watch to re-enact what soldiers do. The children kill people on screen and congratulate themselves. Many movies out there are violent, twisted, stories, involving mass murders. It doesn’t take that much imagination to see the link between watching violent movies and video games and actually doing it in real life. If you are depressed and suicidal and filled with rage, it might look like a good way to “go out”. Who the f knows?

All I know is this is not the kind of world I want to live in. We have let this go on for too long. I lived in Venice during the gang war and it was truly horrible. People in cars would drive by our house and would shoot into the yards. They would come by early in the morning and shoot into apartment buildings. It was absolutely terrifying. We have got to come to an agreement that this is no way to live. It is about gun control, but it’s also about how we treat each other. Right now we are not doing well on either count. Things have to to change.

Sticking to Their Guns

By Jack Neworth

For days after the horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School the National Rifle Association was oddly silent. They even shut down their Facebook page and stopped tweeting. (The NRA “tweets?” How weird does that sound?)

Eventually the NRA announced that in an upcoming press conference it would reveal how they would “contribute meaningfully” to preventing further gun violence. Everyone assumed that finally they would be willing to compromise. Everyone was wrong.

On the same day six of the murdered children were buried, the NRA held its press conference, except no questions were allowed. (The big, bad NRA is afraid of the press?)  Instead, Wayne La Pierre, the NRA’s Executive Vice-President (and chief pitchman) took the podium and gave a lengthy and bewildering interpretation of the Sandy Hook massacre reminiscent of something out of the Twilight Zone.

Self-righteously, La Pierre, whose NRA annual salary is reportedly $1.4 million, identified the villains of Sandy Hook as the shooter, violent video games, “blood-soaked” Hollywood movies, President Obama and fluoride in the water. (Okay, I made up the fluoride part.)  The truth is La Pierre blamed everyone and everything but guns.

The movies La Pierre singled out for blame were American Psycho (2000) and Natural Born Killers (1994), neither exactly current.  As for the video games, La Pierre cited Kindergarten Killers, a game no one had heard of until he mentioned it. With its amateurish cartoon figures, one reviewer said the game was so lame and repetitive that “after five minutes I couldn’t stand any more.”

Given the horror of Sandy Hook, La Pierre was shockingly disconnected. Never once did he mention that the Bushmaster AR-15 with the high capacity magazine used at Sandy Hook is the same weapon used at Aurora, Colorado and used by the D.C. sniper in 2003.

Eerily, only days later the Bushmaster would be the weapon of choice of William Spengler. On Christmas Eve in Webster, N.Y., Spengler, 62, killed himself after murdering two firefighters and wounding two others at a blaze he apparently set to lure them to the scene. (Wayne probably blames it on a video game.)   – Continued on page 10

– Continued from page 6

La Pierre’s “solution” to gun violence massacring our children is to have every school in America staffed with an armed policeman. This seemingly ignores that at Columbine there were two armed security officers, at Virginia Tech there was a well-staffed campus police department and at Fort Hood, protected by military police.

Apparently, to La Pierre there can never be enough guns. The U.S. represents 5% of the world’s population, but at 300,000,000 guns we account for 50% of the world’s supply. (Should we chant “we’re #1?”)

Not surprisingly, La Pierre’s “press conference” was a PR disaster. Commentators  were shocked by his “tone deafness.” Even Rupert Murdoch’s conservative NY Post ran a headline, “Wayne La Pierre Is The ‘Craziest Man On Earth” and referred to his speech as a “bizarre rant.” (If anything, the Post was too kind.)

But maybe La Pierre is crazy like a fox. He is, after all, a high-priced pitchman for the gun and ammunition industry and baby, business is booming. Fearing changes in gun laws, on this past Black Friday 300,000 guns were sold nationwide. And since Sandy Hook, assault rifles have been selling off the shelves as delighted manufacturers struggle to keep up with orders. (What a country.)

Since 1982 there have been 62 mass murders in the U.S., 10 this year alone. In the past, as people return to their busy lives and the NRA, with its $250 million annual income, continues to fund pro-gun political campaigns, public outrage subsides. But hopefully not this time.

The seeds are already there. In this recent election the much-feared NRA used their typical bully tactics, plowing huge dollars into eight key congressional races. Guess what?  In seven out of eight their candidates lost. (Can you say “the Emperor has no clothes?”) And I’m confident that the grieving but remarkably strong community at Sandy Hook will not let their children or their children’s heroic teachers and principal die in vain.

Real hunters and gun enthusiasts attest that assault weapons have no place in the sport or even self-defense, nor do 30-100 bullet magazines. The irony is that a majority of NRA members are in favor of changing these laws (as was Ronald Reagan) and closing the gun show loophole which allows 40% of all guns to be purchased without background checks.

But as a shill for the weapons and ammo manufacturers, Wayne La Pierre is sticking to his guns. (Pun intended.) The NRA is famous for giving grades to political candidates ranking them as pro or anti-gun.  Grading La Pierre as a human being with a soul I’d have to give him  an “F.” And frankly I’d also like to tell him what he can do with all those assault weapons but this column is rated PG.

(To encourage the new Congress to pass laws to prevent future gun violence, go to www.bradycampaign.org. Jack can be reached at jnsmdp@aol.com.)

What Have They Done to the Rain?

By Mary Getlein

What Have They Done To The Rain? was written by Malvina Reynolds. Malvina’s song was protesting nuclear testing on the people and livestock of Utah in the 1950s. Most of the people and the livestock got cancers, and died. Malvina’s emphasis was on children and families – to protect our world, our planet  from our own greed. Our greed cuts down the old-growth forests. Our greed is killing our children! We sell arms, we sell video games that train young boys how to kill. We kill our children – we feed them horrible food, food that will make them sick and give them life-long diseases. We kill our children – we quickly diagnose them and put them on psycho-tropic drugs, whose side effects might manifest as homicide, suicide, or both.

We kill our children – we lock them up for false charges to ensure we have a huge population of prisoners. California’s cash crop is prisons. California is free-falling right now. They can’t pick up the trash on Venice Beach, but they can put thousands of brown, black and low-income whites in jail. We kill our children. Every one of the corporations related to this is making a “killing” on killing our children.

The real point of Occupy for me is taking off the every day glasses of “I’m ok, screw everybody else.” The notion that if you’re “ok”, then things are really “ok” for the rest of us. They’re not. Unemployment is high, rents are high, people are living in their cars, if they have cars. Poor people are being discriminated against and harassed, while rich people who commit REAL crimes are let off the hook.

Occupy is calling a pig a “pig”. (Sorry to all the real pigs). How many houses do you need? Seriously. How much wealth does one person need, when he can go out in the streets and see people sleeping on the sidewalk? And these are not all young run-aways. A lot of these people are old. They spend their days going to food pantries, or begging on the Boardwalk, and finally going to sleep on the sidewalk at night.

Since when did the notion of having a Third World country inside the United States become a good one? This is a frightening scenario. More and more people living in the street, while the rich people drive around in limos, fly around in helicopters, and generally have  a good time.

So what happens when all the people in the streets get sick? All the people in the streets are stricken by small pox, bubonic plague, cholera, typhoid, measles … Pick one, any one. All are highly contagious diseases and ALL the poor people are sick. Not just a little sick – FRIGHTENING sick, with big huge boils forming all over their bodies. Where their bodies collapse and they die with blood exploding from every orifice. “Highly contagious” – which means everybody gets it. Then what? Then you would see a mass exodus  from wherever the rich people live – oh yeah, they’ll be on the first plane out of here (remember Katrina?). Then all the poor people DIE, then years later, when the government has finally decided it’s safe to go back, they let the rich people back.

I have no problem believing in the real history of this country which was based on greed, taking all the land, killing all the Native Americans, destroying their language, their customs, their belief system.

Today on Reservations there are huge amounts of alcohol and drug abuse. You can’t tell me this is not deliberate. This is deliberate. This is just as deliberate as the amount of liquor stores in South Central L.A. More liquor stores than grocery stores. Genocide! The first thing the Army did when they got out West, was to give liquor to Native Americans. So they got strung out on alcohol. They never had alcohol, or sugar, in their lives until the white armies showed up. When your culture is destroyed, and they give you alcohol – you drink. And watch your culture, your life, go down the tubes.

The psych drugs they give us don’t work. 70% of people taking anti-depressants say they don’t work. We’re basically guinea pigs for their edification, and their profit motive. They have convinced us we need all these drugs, and we have to pay accordingly. It’s  the capitalist system at its best! They are the doctors, your are the patient, and you do what they say. But if these drugs don’t work, or end up killing the patient, all the doctors can say is “I’m sorry.”

If we were healthy, if we didn’t spend most of our lives on the freeway … what kind of life would that be? If you knew your neighbors and talked to them, what kind of life would that be? If you could realize that everything you do has an impact on the planet, and we are losing eco-systems and animals so fast, could we change? Could we hear the cries of other people in our country, can we hear the cries of the poor? Can we hear the cry of the tree that got cut down? Can we hear the cry of the seagulls over the polluted sound? Can we hear anything, except the relentless beating of our hearts, and our own selfish needs?

We have to care again. We have to really love each other, because if we can love each other, maybe we can love someone else. Hating each other is not working. We have to find a common ground, and that is this – we need to help our planet. To survive our time upon the Earth.

We have to have respect for our children and not lock them up at the first offense. Do you really want a future population of young adults to come out into society after spending most of their lives in the prison system? This is a scheme to serve only the rich billionaires who proposed it in the first place. By arresting someone, you automatically condemn them to the criminal caste. Why should anyone care about a criminal? So prisons get away with solitary confinement, overcrowding, and many ways to put your life in danger while you are locked up. This is just an eerie reminder of the way society treated black people in slavery. They viewed them with a dollar sign over their heads . If they treated them halfway decent, it was only to increase their profit margin.

The white owners would rape their female slaves and then sell their own children down the river, to avoid the “disgrace”. The way we sell our own children down the river is buying killer video games and letting our child play them. They desensify in a devastating way, and they basically train your kid in Army situations. Do you want a trained killer, age 14 – at the height of hormonal hatred for their parents – living in your house? Do you really believe violent video games had nothing to do with all those young adolescents  going to school and killing other adolescents?

Now a new way to kill your female adolescent child is opening up – Republicans running for office want to repeal Roe v. Wade. Remove the legality of abortion and open the door to criminal, back-alley abortions for the poor. Many patients who are requesting abortions are in their teens, and already have two or three babies. If  a young mother, living in poverty, requests an abortion, I would say give it to her. And provide her with help with the children she is already raising.

The Republicans are going after women. People want to know why women aren’t fighting back. Maybe women are trying to keep their job in these times of no jobs, or part-time jobs. Unemployment has run out, people can’t pay their rent, they are evicted, and suddenly another family has hit the streets. So yeah, maybe that’s one reason women are not fighting back.

Maybe they are tired. Maybe doing something requires too much energy, when you are raising your daughter’s kids, because your daughter is in jail.

Maybe you are scrambling for a place to live before you lose everything and are left on the curb. When you’re on the curb, it’s pretty hard to fight back.

Maybe you don’t understand what feminism is. I have heard a lot of women say ” I don’t really feel like I’m a feminist, because I have nothing to rebel against. I don’t feel like I’ve ever been discriminated against.” Most of the women saying that were young, full of energy, health  and beauty. But try looking for a job in this job market, when you’re over 60 and you’re not young, cute and healthy. You’re “old”, your back hurts a lot, your hands are starting to swell up with arthritis, and you’re scared. Who is going to hire you? As what? A greeter at WalMart, or the guy who hands your your coffee at McDonald’s? All day on your feet, at age 65, is this what you thought it would be?

Maybe we already know who the enemy is, and we don’t have to go to policy meetings to figure this out. Republican men in $6,000 suits are trying to reduce women to a secret? “Oh, did you hear so and so’s daughter had an abortion?” This is not the question. The question is when are these guys going to get a clue?

They are suffering from the Messiah complex and they actually believe they are working for Christ. What would Jesus do? Well, he always said stuff like love each other, and be kind to each other. Love should be the center of your life. These people are haters and they hate anything they can’t control. They are against reproductive rights for women and have a totalitarian approach to a medical episode in the life of a woman. They should stay out of a woman’s womb. If they hate women, they hate themselves, because they came from a woman. Or is it because they were raised by women, and women were viewed as subservient?

The Republicans need to look over on their side of the street – what have they done to sell the country out?

We are not stupid people. We do not believe the lies and the stupidity coming out of the ruling class. Democrats … Republicans … they’re all the same. Rich men in expensive suits, plotting new ways to dehumanize the planet. And kill your kids.

They don’t care. Remember Katrina? Remember George W. Bush – quite possibly the stupidest President we ever had – drained all the money out of the US budget to pay for two horrible wars? The guy had a big grinning face all the time. George Bush Senior had a great partnership with the Sheiks of Saudi Arabia. After 9/11, when all the planes were grounded, they were given secure passage out of this country (George Bush – Head of the CIA! Get it?)

Remember? Don’t forget your brain while you go vote. Don’t vote for Republicans – because they actually do want to kill your kids. Prison or war, who cares?

The motto of the ruling class has always been “Keep the poor people down.” Which means all of us who ain’t rich, and ain’t on the other side of the line drawn in the sand.

1% or 99%? Which side are you on?

Venice Is Best When the Kids Are Happy

By CJ Gronner

The minute I heard about 826 LA opening in Venice back in 2005, I was on board. I have adored author Dave Eggers since reading his wonderful memoir, A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius, and gobbled up every word he’s written since. He founded 826 Valenica in San Francisco to offer tutoring and creative writing adventures to kids after school, and when it became such a success, it was almost no time before chapters began opening up across the country. As L.A. is so spread out, we are lucky enough to have two locations, one in Echo Park, and one right here in Venice, upstairs in the SPARC building (though they’ll soon be moving a bit more east on Venice Boulevard).

I painted chairs and helped assemble Ikea furniture alongside Mr. Eggers to get the Venice location open, and then volunteered with them at Animo Inglewood to get a book by those kids out in a project collaboration with former Lakers coach, Phil Jackson. It was called Rhythm Of The Chain, and it was awesome. Then I got all busy with life and work and stuff and wasn’t able to get to 826 during tutoring hours, but have kept track of them over the ensuing years, and am always impressed.

When I went to check them out again recently, I was beyond impressed. I was floored. That the tutoring room is PACKED with kids, all excited and bright eyed and eager to learn, to a kid. There is a happy buzz in the room of controlled chaos, as the kids (from 6-18) get help from extra nice and helpful adult volunteers with their homework and creative writing stories. And they have FUN learning. 826 also offers class field trips to schools, free workshops, In-School programs, Young Authors’ Book Projects, English Language Learner Summer Camp, Spoken Word Summer Camp, they publish a newspaper by the kids (The Venice Wave), have their own publishing brand (Dogtown Press), and help high school students with preparing College essays. All of this is free, all of it is non-profit, and all of it is so inspiring, your heart swells just sitting there observing.

As I did one recent day, and watched all the fun, creative interaction between kids and tutors, and the light bulbs popping on as things got figured out, and ideas came to life. Once the kids finish their day’s homework, they settle in to write fun stories. As these stories get closer to completion, they move up a basket, and when a child’s story is ready for the top basket, all action stops, an announcement is made to the entire room, and that beaming, proud child gets to clang a bell in celebration of their story.

Two little guys were so small they had to climb up on a desk and jump to ring the bell, and you could tell they’d been bursting at the seams to do it. Their faces as they received the applause from their peers and the grown-ups were a sheer delight to behold, as you could see them see their own potential … and it’s looking pretty bright for them. (These finished stories will then be part of a reading the students participate in at Beyond Baroque to share with their friends and family).

Speaking of bright, ALL of the kids I spoke to said that they were doing much better in school since attending 826. One little 5th grade girl I talked to named Melisha, full of energy and spilling over happiness, said simply, “It’s a great place to write”. She should know, as she attends 826 every day they’re open, and loves it. I asked her what she loves most about Venice, and she said, “826 LA”. Whoa. I said, “More than the beach?” A very firm, “Yes”. Now THAT is impressive. She continued, “I get 3′s and 4′s every time because of coming here. 826 LA made me gifted. My Mom was so happy. Now I want to learn more to make my advanced level higher,” she said with excited eyes blazing. I high-fived her for that, and for talking to me, and she went back to her volunteer, saying, “I’m done with my meeting.” Ready to get back to it. How very great.

As I have found with my previous creative writing teachings with kids, their purity and unabashed honesty in writing makes your own writing better. I spoke with volunteer named Lili Flanders, a writer now in her fifth year of tutoring at 826, and she wholeheartedly agreed. She said, “I fell in love with the creative cacophony that is 826 … It amazes me the turnaround you’ll see in kids from being here for two hours a day.” She explained that the young people running the place are very impressive, (like Birte Klug and Lauren Humphrey, who were my hostesses for the afternoon) care deeply about grass-roots education, and they give you everything you need to be a volunteer, including a true feeling of appreciation every time. Because the first rule of 826 is that everyone is there because they WANT to be, students and volunteers alike.  Lili went on to say, “Being here gives these kids power over their craft, and it’s really happy learning …

The connection with the kids is the reward, and I usually leave here dizzy and happy and having used every bit of me and my time.” What a satisfying feeling!

The proof of 826′s success is in those little happy, proud, inquisitive faces … and their grades. Given attention, encouragement, knowledge, and respect, kids thrive. It’s plainly obvious that 826 offers all of this, in abundance. When parents arrive to pick up their children, it’s a happy reunion as they hear their kid gush about what they did that day. As a busy, working parent … what a joy to know your child is not only learning, but thrilled about it. Everyone wins in this place.

A recent chap book published by the 826LA kids (through their “Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers”) was titled Is Venice Beautiful In The Night? featuring stories by the young writers about Venice, California and Venice, Italy. I would answer that Venice is extremely beautiful at all times, but maybe never more so than on a golden afternoon, from 3-6, with the sun streaming in over the kids of our town, as they write about what they love.

This is a perfectly wonderful organization, and they can always use more volunteers and donations. Contact them at IWANTTOHELP@826LA.org and feel wonderful about it.

826LA – Venice

685 Venice Boulevard

Venice, 90291

310.305.8418

Chicago Teachers Strike

By Fred Owens

I am not getting involved in this issue. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and I have a long-standing survival policy — when they’re fighting downtown, stay away. Chicago fights can get nasty. Then you throw in teachers and parents getting into these fits of self-righteousness about who really cares about the precious children  — bystanders can get injured.

The timing of the strike is terrible for President Obama. There’s a hundred ways he can lose and no upside. But I have more concern for the parents of the school children. I remember when my two kids were small and in grade school and the summer vacation drags on and on, and by late August you’re ready to kill them or abandon them at the nearest bus stop and your only salvation is that the little brats will be going back to school after Labor Day and someone else will be watching them for a while.  So this is a vulnerable time for parents. Teachers should strike in the middle of the school year — it would be more of a fair fight.

But don’t ask me about the issues — performance reviews, wages, co-pays on pensions & insurance, class size, curriculum content  — I have nothing to say.

Except maybe one thing. I can’t teach, but I admire people who can teach. It’s a special skill. I couldn’t be the principal of school either, having to deal with students every day and making judgments on the spot. But I could easily be a school superintendent. It takes no brains for that job, and you get paid enormous amounts of money. That’s the whole key to success in education. Teaching is a job for suckers. The real money is in the overhead.

Seriously, teachers are on the front lines of education — they work for their money. It’s the people upstairs who put a strain on the budget.

Summer Brings Glimmer of Hope to Venice Skills Center

By Charles Thomas

The Venice Skills Center enters summer with a glimmer of hope after enduring an emotional roller coaster these past several months. This past March, in the wake of across-the-board school budget cuts, the LAUSD school board voted to end all funding for adult education.

Gutting adult ed funding meant no operating funds for our Skills Center. What ensued, as a result of the board vote, was a plethora of rallies and activ- ism to save adult education. We were loud and insis- tent for the board to reinstate adult education, and the persistence may have paid off.

LAUSD has set forth a plan to continue adult ed and the Skills Center. This latest development evi- dently resulted (in large part) from recent successful negotiations between the teachers’ union and the board. At issue was the union’s acceptance of 10 fur- lough days (maximum) for the coming school year. The furlough days, obviously, meant a pay reduction for the teachers, a feisty point of contention.

The union’s communications department says the yearly pay reduction is about 5 percent if the maximum furlough days stand. LAUSD contends that savings generated by pay reductions
is necessary for the budget.

The board and union reached a tentative agreement on June 12 and the union body voted to pass the plan; the vote counted and an- nounced the following Saturday. Only the previous week, Skills Cen- ter teachers attended a special meet- ing and workshop on campus to process their unemployment claims.

An operating plan has been handed down from the board that could keep ten locations of adult ed open for the fall, the Skills Center being one such location.

Accepting the aforementioned furlough days hasn’t created “happy campers” of a number of teachers. Many voted against the plan. How- ever, approximately 58 percent of teachers supported the agreement. Apparently, the majority believed that a 5 percent pay cut was better than a 100 percent cut. As such, it seems the board held adult education “hostage” during this whole process.

David Lyell, a teachers’ union officer says that in previous times when teachers were “pink-slipped” in a similar reduction in force (RIF) issue, the district hired substitute teachers who were paid substantially less for doing the same job.

too. In other cases when teachers were ‘RIF’ed, Lyell knows that principals would often hire those teachers back as substitutes. Those teachers were doing the same job, but were paid substantially less, possibly upwards to 50 percent less in some cases.

Lyell believes these events to be calculated prac- tices on the part of LAUSD to give teachers the “short end of the stick.” He says, “LAUSD embraces irresponsible decisions. They should embrace a more transparent budget process like the County, which has budget hearings. There should be school board meet- ings at night so those who work days can have oppor- tunity to address the board.”

Lyell further asserts, “They are trying to break the union. They want older teachers to retire because they cost more money. They want younger teachers to question seniority . . .” as this could be a method for creating discord in the union.

June 14 was the annual graduation ceremony at the Skills Center. The ceremony was a profound and touching event, with hugs shared and a few tears since we were under the assumption that this could be the last event of its kind. Our guest speaker was Councilmember Bill Rosendahl who spoke at length

of the Center’s importance for providing access to the homeless.

Other teachers have cause for better morale thanks to the steady drone of adult ed activists and those who successfully negotiated the board and un- ion agreement. (Notably among those was Ernest Kettenring, the union representative for adult educa- tion.) I have a friend who is a long time Venice resi- dent and LAUSD teacher. My friend is a tenured teacher, having toiled with LAUSD for many years. She thought she was going to have to declare retire- ment in the wake of all transpiring with the budget crisis. However, thanks to the aforementioned nego- tiations, she now has the option of seeing what is going to happen with her job and then plan accord- ingly in a less stressed way. Negotiations allow her to think things over until the end of August.

As we go to press, it looks as if there will be other Skills Center graduations after all. Please take note that on August 6, the Center will begin its “sign ups” for the fall term. Skills Center administration is confident enough about the improved budget progno- sis to schedule registration for the Fall. Classes will be on a “first come – first serve” basis, so please plan on registering early to secure a seat in class.

Until the school budget is finalized (mandated by the end of the month) we won’t know for sure which classes are offered and which instructors return. We are not offered a summer session (due to the budget) as we have enjoyed in the past. We don’t know how much the budget cuts will impact availability of classes for the fall.

The Center’s website indicates class schedules will be available August 1. The Center’s website is found at http://www.lausd.net/Venice_Skills_Center. The phone is 310-664-5888.

We can breathe a collective, but cautious, sigh of relief and gratitude for the planned continuation of the Skills Center. In light of the averted “100 percent pay cut” alluded to earlier, let’s be grateful that we have something to work with (which is better than nothing). 

Students, Teachers Work To Save The Venice Skills Center And Adult Education

By Charles Thomas

Uncertainty and tension continue at the Venice Skills Center.  For many students and teaching staff, it is “needles and pins” over the future of the Center in the wake of recent drastic budget cuts.

In March, the school board voted to “zero out” funding for adult education. However, since then, there has been ongoing talk among the board, the school superintendent, labor unions and others for ways to keep adult education. Unless a solution is reached, this will mean closure for the Venice Skills Center.

Since that devastating news from the March meeting, the board has not revisited the budget issue as anticipated. According to Steve Zimmer, our board district representative, we should have received more budget information (via board vote) around May 15.

However, the “anyone’s guess” atmosphere continues among staff and students at the Center (as nothing further has come from the board).  On May 9, the Center’s teaching staff was summoned to a meeting and told they likely would lose their jobs on June 19. This meeting was a “last rites” (of sorts) for the Skills Center. Teachers were instructed to remove all posters from the walls along with personal effects, and to turn in student records. Teachers were also given technical assistance on applying for unemployment and addressing the issue of whether to take retirement. The principal, herself, is opting for retirement although she had hoped to work at least another two years.

Despite discouraging news, there is still an amazing undercurrent of hope and resolve for the Center’s survival. Rallies and activism have continued full force. As we go to press, a Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for June 1 to mobilize supporters, teachers and students on the issue of adult education.

The meeting is scheduled at 3p.m. at city council member Bill Rosendahl’s field office, 7166 W. Manchester Ave (aat the corner of Manchester and Lincoln Blvd). Zimmer, Congressional Representative Maxine Waters and representatives from the offices of Bill Rosendahl and State Senator Ted Lieu are expected to attend. This could be a great opportunity for meaningful dialog.  Please show your support by attending.

On May 5, a few hundred of us rallied at Venice High School. Response to our Westside Rally was evidenced by honking horns along Venice Boulevard from passing drivers showing support. Speakers at the event included Matthew Kogan, who chairs the Adult Education Committee for the teachers’ union.

In his remarks, Kogan pointed out that the sign identifying the office of board member, Steve Zimmer had been removed the day before our rally.  Zimmer’s office is right across the street from where we held our rally, and the previous day Zimmer’s sign had been taken down.

On March 29, a bus load of us from the Skills Center trekked together to La Plaza del Mariachi in East L.A for a rally.  We bonded in camaraderie as our bus load emerged together, converging on the Plaza with our placards, signs and whistles.  The rally speakers, as usual, were passionate and motivating on what we can do for our adult ed crisis.  A big focus of the speeches that day was directed towards Monica Garcia, the current school board president. There is great contention and dissatisfaction among Garcia’s constituency for what was said to be her budget mismanagement, squandering, and voting along with the board majority to “zero out” funding for adult ed.  A formal “recall” campaign has been launched against Garcia. See www.RecallMonicaGarcia.com.

A “testimonials page” is now online, where written accounts of those who have benefitted from the Skills Center (and adult ed in general) can be read.  A video version of that format is available at youtube.com/saveadultedstories.

The latest developments with the ongoing adult ed struggle can be found at http://lastudents.org and http://saveadulted.org.

Venice Skills Center Still Fighting for Survival

By Charles Thomas

Things are heating up again for the Venice Skills Center during the coming month. The LAUSD school board is expected to address the crucial budget issue on or about May 15.  As you may be aware, the school board (in its March meeting) voted to slash all funding for adult education.  If this budget decision stands, then this would mean closure of our Skills Center.  However, there is optimistic talk between the board and school superintendent and on closer scrutiny of the budget, something may be worked out.  Depending on negotiations with labor unions and the almost $200 million of recently discovered funds that the superintendent seems to think could keep adult ed afloat, we may have a better prognosis for the Skills Center’s survival.

 

In the meantime, an exciting development has occured, namely that the school district has launched an incentive program to share our ideas on where the district can save money.  The program is called the 2012 My Bright Idea Challenge.

All those affiliated with LAUSD (as students, employees and parents) can write a proposal to change what they see as wasteful spending. Ideas and proposals are submitted electronically via the program’s website at http://mybrightidea.lausd.net.

Prizes will be awarded to the winning ideas. Three different winners will be chosen in each category of student, employee or parent. Trophies will be awarded to the winners and $3,000 will go to the winner’s school of choice. A private funder is sponsoring the cash awards.

In addition to the Skills Center, a number of other schools within the LAUSD school system located in Venice (Venice High, Westminster Elementary, Broadway Elementary, Animo Venice Charter High School, Coeur D’Alene Elementary, Westminster Early Education Center, Animo Westside Charter Middle School,Westminster Computer Science/Math Magnet) would qualify for prize money.

A special panel will evaluate the ideas and proposals submitted. You must submit your idea by May 11, so this is a “time sensitive” chance to let our voices be heard in a meaningful way. Please put on your thinking cap and visit the “My Bright Idea” web page. Please get crackin’.

Before the next onslaught of rallies (as we approach the mid-May school board decisions) this is also a time to take a moment and appreciate the Skills Center for its positive contribution (if you weren’t already aware).  You can find out more about what really goes on at the Skills Center and adult education sites in general by visiting www.lausd.net/Venice_Skills_Center/testimonials.html.

This inspirational page is a personal glimpse of selected students and their testimonials as to how adult ed changed their lives.  Some of the faces I recognize as continuing students. Others attesting therein have gone on to impressive re-entry in the career world gathering skills in computers, graphic design and electrical power line mechanics.

Rich Mann is a fine art photographer who earned his GED through adult ed which allowed him to go on to degree programs with acclaimed art schools. Jean De Latallide began a successful web design business from his home thanks to the knowledge he picked up at the Venice Skills Center.

Ryan Murphy of the Emerson Adult Learning Center attended the pharmacy tech program and now is a licensed technician.  Please see the other personal glimpses for a fuller understanding of the importance of adult ed, and why it is important that we do rally and make our concerns heard.

Speaking of rallies, a rally and protest is tentatively planned for the Venice area on or about May 5.  Details have not been finalized, but should be available soon on either one of two websites to keep you in the loop on adult ed.  Those sites are http://lastudents.org and http://saveadulted.org.  Please turn out on Cinco de Mayo so we can all raise our voices together.  I hope to see you.    b

Future of Venice Skills Center in Doubt

By Charles Thomas

The Venice Skills Center continues to “hang in there,” thanks to community activism during the ongoing saga of the school district budget crisis. If you have followed this issue, then you are aware the Los Angeles Unified School District claims to be short of the funding needed to operate the network of adult education centers, the Venice Skills Center being one such location.

On March 13, the school board and superintendent convened in the much-anticipated vote, among other things, to decide the fate of adult education. The result, in full analysis, could be termed a mixed victory, of sorts. The bad part is that the board voted to “zero out” funding for adult ed; that is, that in a worst case scenario, pending further review, adult ed would be eliminated. The board, by majority vote, approved a budget plan in a worse case review of the numbers, leaving no provisions for adult ed, as they claim pressures for slashing the budget. Again, this would mean the end of adult ed and our beloved Skills Center. The good part is that a potential $180 million has, interestingly, been located by the superintendent in his reassessment of the budget, and these funds could keep adult ed afloat. The reassessment left the board and superintendent with a tentative plan keeping adult ed operating, but in a more limited capacity. Only ten of the district’s adult ed centers would continue, the Venice Skills Center being one of those.

The board also voted, in an effort to close further budget gaps, to place a parcel tax on the ballot for the elections this November. Such a levy on property owners, if approved, could raise another $255 million annually. In both these major votes (as to the budget itself and the parcel tax) the one dissenting vote came from board member Marguerite LaMotte. In LaMotte’s dissenting comments, she questioned the absolute need for drastic cuts and instead stated, “Let’s stop the wasteful spending.” LaMotte’s suggestion is a smoking gun. It is possibly a wake-up call as to what the situation really is at the LAUSD. Let’s examine wasteful spending going on whether it be a result of politics, or perhaps neglect, oversight and poor planning.

For example, as a student at the Venice Skills Center, I believe there is questionable expenditure with school police staffing. I note there are usually two uniformed school police officers on duty at the Center. The Skill Center campus is about one acre in size and the school grounds can be virtually seen and monitored almost entirely from a couple of vantage points. I’ll be the first to recognize the importance of school safety, but I have wondered if it was really necessary to have two police. One officer is a full-fledged “peace officer” (who carries a gun) and the other what is often referred to as a safety, or patrol, officer. This school term, one of the officers has been away (called up for his military reserve service, I am told) and things have been just fine in the “law and order” department. It has been orderly having one officer on duty, from what I have seen. I believe just a “police presence” is mainly what is needed, and that goes a long way.

The LAUSD budget pays for the operation of the school police. Salary information on the school police web site indicates that the starting salary is in the $49 to $59,000 range for an officer. If only one officer is really needed, then it could be wasteful spending having two. The point is, please look for examples such as this anywhere in LAUSD’s operations so we can bring them to the attention of board members; things they don’t see, or conveniently don’t want to see.

There are worthwhile ideas and suggestions to hear; ideas from students, teachers and others. You can come up with some. (Don’t leave it all to the school board.) You’re probably smarter than you think.

It is time for meaningful citizen input now as the school budget must be finalized by June 30, and that’s probably closer than you think. As to mounting meaningful forums for hearing ideas from the constituency, possibly we might have a friend in LaMotte, the board member with the courage to say, “Stop the wasteful spending.”

We thought we had a friend in board member Steve Zimmer. On February 9, Zimmer, who represents our district, came to the Skills Center to speak to students, teachers and others on the issue of budget cuts. A big part of this meeting was the “question and answer” segment. One of the most obvious questions on people’s minds was how Zimmer would vote as to the big budget question on continuing adult education. Would he go along with the proposal to gut adult ed, or resist? Zimmer’s rhetoric sounded real good. He sounded in support of his constituency’s issue at hand.  With all said, however, Zimmer never directly responded to the specific issue of how he would vote. As one Skills Center instructor commented, “He managed to wiggle out of that one.” This can give pause and concern when dealing with politicians. It’s too bad Zimmer didn’t join with LaMotte in dissenting from a budget plan that would do away with our school. I am sorry Zimmer couldn’t find it in his heart to stand behind what he proposed to us on February 9.

The Los Angeles Times, in its March 14 article on this issue, quotes parent activist Lydia Grant as saying, “The district has never been good at keeping its promises.” Grant’s comment underscores what was set forth above. Zimmer again came to the Skills Center on March 28 for a more informal talk with a handful of teachers and a few students. Zimmer reiterated his belief that adult ed will survive for now and to expect the next “board moment” on their May 8 meeting when more significant information will probably emerge regarding what is going to happen. Zimmer himself believes the budget deficit to have been overestimated by about $40 to $55 million, explaining “we have a conservative CFO” (at the school district) and that is partly why the numbers skewed in a bleak direction. Zimmer says the availability of additional funds will depend on the success of labor negotiations with the teacher’s union. Between the union and district, there is arbitration in progress regarding furlough days, and the outcome could bring in another $60 million.

The final analysis seems to be a big “we don’t know” and “wait and see” depending on whose numbers are to be believed. Again, community activism is paramount to stay on course seeing the Skill Center’s survival through, with the least damage. In large part, it’s up to the people.

Please visit http://lastudents.org and http://saveadulted.org for suggestions to contact your elected representatives. These sites also list events and especially the rallies where we have demonstrated our numbers and show of support.

A rally, one was held on March 13 at the LAUSD Headquarters. The rally was yet another exciting event, slightly different from the first one in February in that we were an even feistier collective. The fashion statement of solidarity was a show of red T-shirts and ribbons worn headband style. There was food and a “disco-capable” sound system set up on a platform, with dancing in the street. These activities might induce you to attend a rally on behalf of this issue, as they are enjoyable perks, and besides contributing your presence to a worthy cause, there is also some fun to be had. Again, please see one of the aforementioned websites and . . . . . join us!