Failed Boardwalk Ordinance Leads to Abuse of Power

By Greta Cobar

As the Beachhead fore-saw in its January 2012 issue, the new Ordinance regulating free speech on Ocean Front Walk (OFW) is not being enforced, and vending is in full swing (http://bit.ly/13dLKrQ). The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have displayed full power and control over selective enforcement, choosing to ignore vendors of mass-produced items and targeting local performers with tickets and arrests.

On March 20 Solomon the Snake Man, also known as Willie Lee Turner, was arrested on a panhandling charge. The incident was video-tapped by Vivianne Robinson and highly publicized online (http://bit.ly/11Txvne and http://bit.ly/11SkLBd).

The LAPD proceeded to confiscate all of Solomon’s belongings, which they kept even after he posted the $100 bail fee. After performing the same show, in the same spot, for the last twelve years, how much sense does it make for the LAPD to tell him that he cannot do it anymore? And how much sense does it make for the LAPD to confiscate Solomon’s rubber snakes and everything else he used to put on his show? Is the LAPD implying that he should just sit on a street corner or on OFW truly panhandling, mocking the LAPD officers’ charge for taking him to jail?

How easy do you think it is to lose your way of earning an income? And who gives the LAPD that type of power?

All of that while more than half of OFW free speech spots are once again taken by out-of-town vendors, re-selling made-in-China merchandise bought downtown. That was exactly what the new OFW Ordinance, which took effect late January 2012, was supposed to eliminate.

Some of us had our Summer 2011 plans derailed by the city of Los Angeles’s decision to hold dozens of meetings concerning the new OFW ordinance. Although Venetians did not sit back, but instead, like myself, attended each and every one of those meetings during the summer months, input from the community was completely ignored, and once again downtown higher-ups drafted their own version of the legislature.

One of the points that we did not agree with was the punishment proposed and finally provided for in the 2012 Ordinance. All repeat offenses carry misdemeanor charges with possible $1000 fines and six months in jail.

Previous to this latest Ordinance, all offenses were categorized as infractions, not misdemeanors, did not carry a minimum charge and definitely did not have a jail sentence attached to them.

Besides being opposed to the fines and punishments for non-compliance, Venetians also asked that the First Amendment be mentioned in the Ordinance, opposed artists being called “vendors”, and the free speech zone being divided into “designated” spaces, but none of our suggestions were incorporated into the final draft of the Ordinance. Who would have ever thought that free speech could be limited to a marked box?

The back-bone of the Ordinance, stating that all spots are to be occupied on a first-come basis, was a failure from the beginning, as the same people occupy the same spots day in and day out.

All of these legislations created by downtown higher-ups who chose to ignore our outspoken community activists did not make provisions for enforcement. As previously reported by the Beachhead (bit.ly/13dLKrQ), at the Dec. 15 2011 Friends of the Boardwalk meeting Lieutenant Paola Kreefft stated that the LAPD does not have a plan to enforce the new ordinance going into effect at the end of January 2012. Not surprisingly, the LAPD shied away from enforcing the Ordinance, but proved to be blunt when it came to selective enforcement on several instances (http://bit.ly/XKdWuz and http://bit.ly/WZwKZL).

Just in case you are thinking that a new Ordinance needs to be drafted, remember that this is the sixth revision of the Los Angeles Municipal Code 42.15, first introduced in 2004. The previous revision, of 2008, established the lottery system of allocating the 205 designated spaces on OFW. It was deemed unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson in October 2010 on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment.

Although many OFW artists and vendors did not agree with the lottery system of allocating spaces, the very vast majority of them bought into it. Solomon was one of the very few who never joined the lottery system.

Just a few months ago a highly popular online video of an LAPD officer in Venice (http://bit.ly/XjMVMS) abusing his power resulted in public outcry, which led to the ticket being dismissed and the officer being disciplined. The same thing is bound to happen regarding Officer Gonzalez’s arrest of Solomon, which was deemed as abuse of power and selective enforcement not only by the Beachhead, but even by websites that have traditionally been supportive of the LAPD.

Please contact your local police officials to let them know that you are against LAPD engaging in selective enforcement.

Food for the Soul

By Anne Alvarez

New Life Society is a local grassroots non-profit which was founded in 2001 by Millie Mims, in the mountain community of Badger, California. The original intent was to provide shelter on the family property to people who were in need of temporary housing.

For over ten years, Millie helped people who came to the community and needed lodging. She began going to the local farmer’s market, asking for donations of fruits and vegetables for the small local school, and for families that were in need of food.

In 2010, Millie relocated to Venice, and immediately set up a spot on the Boardwalk to feed the homeless and anyone in need of a hot meal. She sets up a minimum of five days a week, across from the Venice Bistro at 3:30 in the afternoon, and stays until all six gallons of homemade soup, 2 1/2 gallons of salad, rice and bread are all distributed.

She is able to maintain this schedule through the generous donations of local farmer’s markets. On Sundays, she heads to the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market, where local farmers, like Lupe Cordova and her grandson Kyle Moran, donate on a weekly basis.

For about six months, New Life Society was out on the Boardwalk, seven days a week. However, the number of volunteers needed was not met, and she has been unable to maintain that schedule. “We are in need of help on Thursdays and Fridays, in order to get back to a seven-day-a-week feeding schedule. We also need a person with a car to come to the apartment where the food is prepared, to help pick up and drop off at the beach … We need help with people serving, and we need someone that can return back with all the containers. We are also looking for volunteers to help with clean up in the evening for 1 hour, either from 6 to 7, or 7 to 8 PM, would be ideal.”

The New Life Society offers clean water, vegetarian food and emergency shelter to all. Millie and her company are true advocates in the fight to end hunger and homelessness. Remaining persistent in her commitment to help those in need, she is a strong, wise and gentle human being.

Currently Millie is in search of a building in the Venice area, where New Life Society will be able to offer shelter to some of the unhoused looking to get their lives in order.

If you are interested in volunteering please visit http://www.newlifesocietycalifornia.org or you can reach Millie at 310-398-1901.

Writing The American Dream On A Grain Of Rice…

By Anne Alvarez

Vivianne Robinson is one of Ocean Front Walk’s most colorful and successful artists, known for her ability to write on a grain of rice. Her record is 14 letters on a single grain spelling out “Rumpelstiltskin.”

It is an art form that originated in Ancient Anatolia, where artisans began inscribing messages and names on rice, widely known in those days as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.

Born and raised in Venice, she recalls spending her childhood playing on the Boardwalk, often in bare feet. During her teens, she attended school in Santa Monica, but spent most of her free time rollerskating from Santa Monica to Venice. “I made lifelong friends with the performers, vendors and artists of the time. Growing up in Venice gave me an appreciation for diverse cultures and lifestyles. It helped spark my lifelong love of travel. One of the main reasons I love Venice is the diversity. It is unlike any other place on earth.”

Vivianne should know. During her twenties, she traveled to France, Italy and Germany where she worked as a waitress, babysitter and at McDonalds. “I like to absorb the culture. I have always been fascinated by different languages.” She speaks French and German fluently.

She returned to the States, and received a degree in Recreational Studies from Long Beach State. After graduation, she was offered and accepted a job working for the City of Santa Monica, heading the kids and senior curricular programs. She remained there for ten years.

It was a chance encounter with a kind Indian man in 1994, while vacationing on the beaches of Portugal, that her destiny would change. “He was writing on rice and people were lining up for his trinkets. I asked him how he did it and he took the time to show me. It requires lots of patience and a steady hand,” he said. “He encouraged me to do it back home. As soon as my vacation ended, I purchased some rice, quit my job and was fortunate that a friend had a stall for rent on the Boardwalk, and offered it to me.”

“Never imagining working for myself, I had no experience running a business, and frankly just never thought I would succeed.” Her first day on the Boardwalk, people lined up to get their names on rice, and business blossomed for years. That is, until recently, which she blames on the current recession.

Vivianne has become a staple on OFW, garnering national attention when she was the focus of a Modern Marvels episode for her ability to write the world’s tiniest writing. She only uses Uncle Ben’s rice which she says is “the smoothest, most unbreakable rice out there.”

In 2010, muralist Rip Cronk approached her while he was painting his famous ”Venice Reconstituted” mural, which according to the artist, is a parody of Botticelli”s Birth Of Venus masterpiece. He asked to take her picture, and mentioned making her a part of the mural, but asked her not to tell anyone. Vivianne obliged, and didn’t say a word to anyone, not even her parents. “I didn’t really believe it. I was completely surprised one day as I arrived at the beach and saw myself halfway painted on the wall.”

While attending the 2012 London Olympics, (she has attended 5) Vivianne’s colorful outfits made her an instant celebrity after the Associated Press took a picture of her arriving at Heathrow airport and it circulated worldwide. Throughout her stay in London, she was featured on the cover of various British magazines, finding out about them only when another tourists handed her one. At one point she was approached by a member of the U.S Track and Field team while eating at the food court at Westfield London’s shopping center, “I don’t know her name, she just walked up to me and asked if I had ever gone inside the Olympic Stadium. I told her no, and she then handed me a ticket and told me to go, as the races had already begun. To my surprise it was a seat 10 feet from the track surrounded by Track and Field stars representing every country.” Her seat was also next to the massive Olympic torch.

Celebrities often approach Vivianne to take pictures with her, and to purchase trinkets for themselves and as gifts, such as Halle Berry, the Olson Twins and the late Jenni Rivera, to name a few. Vivianne is one of a handful of vendors on the Boardwalk to have two stalls opposite each other. She is also an avid photographer, often documenting the daily goings on of Venice Beach. She hopes to publish a book of pictures in the near future. In the meantime she keeps busy doing her art and working private parties. Next time you’re on the Boardwalk, stop by, say hi and get to know a very intriguing woman.

To learn more about Vivianne check out her website: http://www.nameonrice.com

Jingles at Bill’s

By John Davis

Vegan musical performing giant, Jingles, is leaving Venice Beach. CD 11 City Councilperson, Bill Rosendahl, presented him with a City Scroll honoring him as a Legend of Venice Beach.

Several persons spoke at the party held by Bill at his private home. All described Jingles as a good musician that had been at the Boardwalk for a long time, and as a wonderful helping individual.

It appears that he is now moving on to another place that will welcome him with open arms and ears, as so many hundreds of thousands of persons passing through Venice already have. In Philadelphia, and New York’s Greenwich Village, he kept people happy for years with his bells and guitar, according to VirtualVenice.

Jingles was always there to stand up for the homeless and everyone’s civil right not to be discriminated against. That is a service he provided for all of us.

It was nice of Bill to recognize Jingles. We will miss Jingles as our shining entertainer, and we will miss Bill as Councilperson of CD 11. I am hoping Jingles will have a party to honor Bill. To see and hear Jingles, visit this Youtube Link: http://bit.ly/XpAYbV.

Normal Is Dead

By CJ Gronner

I am thrilled to report that my good friends at the Venice Beach Freak Show are getting their own reality show on AMC, called, appropriately, Freakshow, which starts airing this Valentine’s Day, February 14th at 9:30 pm.

Todd Ray, his wife Danielle, kids Asia (now the youngest sword swallower in the world!)and Phoenix, and their extended family of performers invite you into their world, where “Normal is relative”. I first got to know and write about the Ray family in 2010, and am so happy to see their message of fun and acceptance blowing up all over the world.

“Normal is an illusion, there is no such thing is normal … some people have a problem with the word ‘Freak’, but we should have a problem with the word ‘normal’,” explains Todd, as everyone has a struggle to fit in and appear “normal,” but no one really knows what that is. So the Freakshow cast decided to have a funeral for Normal, and held a parade carrying Normal’s casket all the way down the Venice Boardwalk, celebrating its death, and our differences. Todd old-timey preached the funeral, asking for a moment of silence for Normal. When it was through, the entire Boardwalk erupted in two minutes of joyous shouting, proclaiming that we are ALL Freaks in our own way. That funeral will be in the show, along with supercool things like the Freak Show performing in a huge tent during Fashion Week in New York, and also just the every day happenings that make it all tick.

Venice is as much the star of the show as any of the performers, and beautifully portrayed. The Tallest Man in The World (8 feet!) joins Amazing Ali (the tiniest lady), Larry the Wolf Boy, Murrugun The Mystic and all their friends at the Freak Show, in a real behind the scenes portrait of Todd Ray’s childhood dream not only coming true, but growing and growing.

While you’re learning the story of the Rays and Freakshow, you’re also learning what Venice still means to so many people around the world. Todd is inspired by the place that another man with a dream thought up long ago. Abbot Kinney would appreciate the renaissance that the Rays are trying to bring back to Venice, and as Todd says, “We NEED it here now. It’s a piece of history, and a piece of Venice that is positive and creative. Everything we love about Venice is in this show.”

That’s all I needed to set the dvr for every single episode. Join us Freaks, starting February 14th on AMC.

Snake Man Cleared of All Charges

As the Beachhead reported in the June issue, Solomon, also known as Willie Lee Turner, or the Snake Man, was arrested in Santa Monica for allegedly hitting someone in Hollywood. Now that the trial is over and all charges against him were dropped, it’s time to find out what happened.

Solomon: Thanks to my family, friends and supporters, I wish a Happy 2013 Year of the Snake to you all. The crown of my hope was the fact that I knew I didn’t do it. I didn’t even worry about proving my innocence, I just let them worry about how they would prove me guilty.

BH: So what happened?

Solomon: The two witnesses based on whose testimonies I was arrested recanted their statements and the case was dropped.

BH: Why did they identify you as the perpetrator in the first place?

Solomon: Sergeant Marc Reina was promoted to Lieutenant and moved from Venice to Hollywood. When a 911 call came in that a Black man in his 20’s hit someone in Hollywood, Reina placed a 20-year old picture of me in the photo line-up. The witnesses did not pick me as a suspect, but Reina then showed them videos of me protesting in Venice. A week later, the two witnesses were driven in a police car to Santa Monica, where I was jogging, and were coerced into saying that I was the one whom they saw in Hollywood. The suspect was described as wearing a baseball cap and riding a beach cruiser with a milk crate on it, which definitely does not fit my description.

BH: It sounds like a Hollywood movie.

Solomon: Ya, like a nightmare on Elm Street. I had to spend 19 days in jail and now I have to pay back $5000 to my family, who posted $50,000 bail for me. But I count my blessings and feel victorious for defeating their efforts to frame me. It never ends, though. The other day I was performing two feet out of a marked spot, and the police wrote me a ticket. They want to keep me in the box. When I asked the policeman where to sign the ticket, he said: “in the box.” But I am one of those who thinks outside of the box, and I think that self-expression should not be limited to the spaces currently marked on the boardwalk. I was one of the few who did not join the Lottery system, which created the assigned spots, and which was deemed unconstitutional since.

BH: Thanks for giving us the latest on your endeavors, we wish you good luck in what you do.

Solomon: I want to thank the divine force for always bringing truth to the light.

Chariots Coming to Venice

By Greta Cobar

The Hare Krishna Festival of the Chariots is the world’s oldest religious observation, and this year marks the 36th such celebration in Venice. Called Ratha-Yatra, the festival is a celebration of the Deity Jagannath. People attend the festivities to catch a glimpse of Jagannath, whose statue only comes out of the Temple during this festival.

“Birth class determines who may or may not enter the Temple in Puri,” according to Sthavira-Bhakti Dasa, a Hare Krishna Pujari, or priest. The statue of Jagannath from the Temple in Culver City is brought out for the parade in Venice.

Although similar celebrations are held throughout the world, the largest of them all takes place on the East Coast of India, at the Temple in Puri, and is attended by three million people. Three richly decorated chariots commemorating the annual journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balarama and their lady Subhadra are pulled through the streets of Puri. Those chariots are five times bigger than the ones we have here, in Venice.

This year the Hare Krishna Festival of the Chariots takes place on Sunday, August 5, with twenty thousand free vegetarian food plates, music, dancing, and parading.

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.

The Hammer Museum’s Venice Beach Biennial

By Dean Henderson

The Hammer Museum’s Venice Beach Biennial, an open air art exhibition, will take place July 13-15 on Ocean Front Walk. Fifteen Venice boardwalk artists will be among the nearly 50 artists exhibiting their work during the free three-day event. The Venice Beach Biennial (VBB) name is a reference to the famous Venice Biennale in Italy that draws visitors and artists from around the world.

The focus of the VBB is local rather than international, being part of the Hammer Museum’s three month long Made In L.A. 2012 exhibit series. In years past, before Venice was trendy, low-rent studio space attracted artists to the area and an artist’s community was born. This was, in a sense, a return to Abbot Kinney’s original vision of Venice as a center of art and culture. Inexpensive studio space is a thing of the past, but a large community of artists remains, some with national or international reputations.

During the annual Venice Art Walk, local artists open their studios to the public, and there are far too many to visit in one day. Not all of our artists work in studios and exhibit in galleries, a number of them set up in the open along the Venice Boardwalk to create and sell their work. Under the current vending ordinance, that number has grown. Aside from its bizarre and disturbing instance of politicians determining what is art (and jewelry is not art, according to the L.A. City Council. Tough luck Tiffany and Faberge), the ordinance has forced out most, but not all, commercial vendors of mass produced items, opening up space now filled with artists. Perhaps “artist” is not a title that applies to everyone painting, drawing, or otherwise creating and selling on the boardwalk. Fortunately, the City Council has left it for the public to decide what constitutes good art.

The VBB brings together boardwalk artists and more established artists, taking the latter out of their comfort zone of studio gallery and museum, and places them all along Ocean Front Walk and Windward Plaza. Artists working in a wide range of media including sculpture, video, ceramic tile, performance, paint, installation and photography will be part of the VBB.

Longtime local Venice artist Arthur Moore assisted in the selection of Boardwalk artists invited to participate, and his best selling painting, Funky Pussy, is the image appearing on all VBB promotional material.

More information is available at

www.madeinla2012.org

Two Views of the Zip Line: Zipped, Not Taxed

By Dean Henderson

The vote for the zip line at Windward Plaza was probably a foregone conclusion, possibly a classic example of bait and switch salesmanship. Regardless, at its May 15 meeting the Venice Neighborhood Council voted (with some dissension) to approve a proposal permitting a 3 month trial period for a zip line at the beach. After the fiasco of the big wheel, any project promoted by the Recreation and Parks Dept. would likely be an improvement.

Ian Green, co-founder of Greenheart/Flightlinez and 3 of his staff gave a brief presentation illustrating previous projects as well as artist’s renderings of the Venice pavilion zip-line proposal. Two of Greenhearts staff members are Venetians and will be teaching classes and workshops to area children; one of the 15 conditions recommended for the proposal.

Among other conditions attached to the project are that the zip-line be removed at the end of the 3 month trial. And that permanent structure is subject to review by the City of Los Angeles and the California Coastal Commission and the VNC. Also, that 2/3 of the gross revenue received by the City of LA is spent on maintenance and services at Venice Beach. And also the VNC reserves “meaningful consultation” rights regarding maintenance and services. Other conditions cover security, lighting, signage, a monthly review of operations by the Parks and Recreation, LA Council District 11, the VNC and community members. Finally, Condition 15 permanently rejects the “Great Observation Wheel” aka Big Wheel.

Public opinion during the comment period was evenly divided. With criticism of the project including the view that the zip-line may be a president for other commercial ventures and Venice does not need an attraction, the beach is the attraction. One community member commented that the parks are public and should not be made a revenue source. This is exactly what the Parks and Recreation does not seem to understand. In years past the city was able to maintain the beach and it facilities without having to resort to commercial partnerships. When most of the buildings along Ocean Front Wall were residential and there was little commerce on the beach area, the city found money to clean restrooms and remove garbage. Now that Ocean Front Wall s almost entirely retail and dining and “Silicon Beach” is a buzzword, the city can no longer pay for services it had in the past.

Where did the tax receipts go? Business license fees or the city’s share of the massively increased property values (via tax) that even in this post real estate bubble time are still far above the not so distant past.

The crux of the issue is not any individual project. The Big Wheel stunk, the zip-line seems far less intrusive and more in harmony with the community. But why must we be told that these sorts of projects are needed to pay for services our tax monies once covered? If this is to be the new model for funding city services then there will be more ventures such as the zip-line and the Big Wheel  here in Venice and throughout the City. The limit will only be reached when the public says NO but at the VNC, on May 15,that did not happen.