Venice Loves You – NOPDs

By Greta Cobar

Discrimination against those opposing Overnight Parking Districts (OPDs) in Venice was in full swing at the April Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) meeting.

No speaker cards were used for the discussion concerning OPDs, and Marc Saltzberg, VNC vice-president presiding over the OPD discussion, favored those supporting OPDs. They were allowed and encouraged to speak, while those opposing OPDs were marginalized and silenced.

As a result, the public is currently misinformed when it comes to OPDs. Here are some facts to consider:

• Price: How much is it going to cost you to park in front of your house? By how much will the rate increase each year? How much will you and your friends spend on parking tickets?

• Hassle: Do you look forward to going to some city office miles from here to pick up your permits? Is that something you want to do right before guests are coming over, to have to go and pick up a permit for them? What do you think will take longer, the drive or the waiting in line?

• Domino effect, not democracy: Although two thirds of all residents on a certain block would have to sign a petition requesting OPDs on their block, once one block signs such a petition, the blocks next to it will be forced to do it. When a person living on a block with OPDs has a visitor, that visitor will take the parking space in front of your house if your block has no OPDs. And therefore OPDs would create a domino effect in which people will be forced into signing up for OPDs on their block.

• Attention, beach residents!: Parking in your area will become even more congested under OPDs. Under the proposed settlement the area West of Pacific is not eligible for OPDs. Therefore all visitors coming to Venice will be looking for parking in that area.

• OPDs will not provide parking relief: Parking scarcity is a problem during the daytime, not at night. OPDs will be effective 2am to 5am only, when parking is not a problem in Venice. The only area where it is difficult to find parking during the night is West of Pacific. Ironically, OPDs are not going to be an option in that area.

• OPDs are illegal: Everybody needs to have 24 hour access to the entire Coastal Zone, which lies West of Lincoln. Not allowing people to park during certain hours anywhere within the Coastal Zone is a violation of the Coastal Act.

• Restriction of access: Sharing the Coastal Zone with people who are not as lucky as we are to live here is a Venetian responsibility. Restricting access through OPDs is wrong, immoral and unethical.

• Selective targeting and discrimination: “As a result of the Oversize Vehicle Ordinance people living in RVs have moved to vans,” stated Mark Ryavec, who is responsible for bringing forward this new settlement. The real intent of OPDs is to target people living in vehicles. Although that attitude might fly high in other parts of town, it really goes against the Venice way of doing things.

The only person not supporting OPDs who was allowed to speak during the meeting was Sara Wan, former commission member with the California Coastal Commission. She warned that OPDs would change the characteristics of our community. She also warned that the city of Los Angeles needs to put in place all proposed changes in order to accommodate OPDs before the parking restrictions go into effect. She mentioned that the city does not have a good record of following through.

Wan emphasized the fact that the settlement is only tentative, and it still needs to be approved by the Coastal Commission. In her opinion, because the Commission had not approved two very similar settlements in 2009 and 2010, it is likely and expected to follow its precedent rulings.

Presentations supporting OPDs at the VNC meeting were given by: Tamara Martin, Manager Analyst, of Parking Permits Division for the Department of Transportation; Arturo Pina, Councilperson Bill Rosendahl’s Chief of Staff; Jane Usher, from Carmen Trutanich’s office.

During the Question and Answer section of the meeting, the aforementioned speakers were allowed to answer the public’s questions. However, following Saltzberg’s suggestion, Ryavec became part of the panel answering the public’s questions even though he was the one who paid an attorney to come up with the settlement that would establish OPDs, if approved. Talk about conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, Linda Lucks, VNC President, chose to recuse herself from the discussion concerning OPDs following Ryavec’s request of an investigation of ethics violation concerning Lucks’s employment with the Venice Community Housing Corporation, organization which has opposed OPDs.

Although all those opposing OPDs were allowed to talk at large, when a question was directed towards Wan, who was against OPDs, Ryavec took over the microphone and proceeded to answer the question himself. Did he just make himself exempt from conflict of interest violations?

The public needs to build a strong stand against Ryavec’s attempt to fool the public and the Coastal Commission into something that was already denied twice.

Send letters opposing OPDs in Venice addressed to John (Jack) Ainsworth, Senior Deputy Director and
Teresa Henry, District Managerto, at the following address: 45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94105-2219.

And come out to voice your opinion during the June hearing, to be held on either June 12, 13 or 14 at the Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.

Censored at the April VNC Meeting: Interview with Sara Wan

By Greta Cobar

Sara Wan, former California Coastal Commission member, attended the April 16 Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) meeting. She spoke with the Beachhead subsequent to the VNC meeting, and this is what she had to say concerning Overnight Parking Districts (OPDs) in Venice:

Beachhead: What do you think about OPDs in Venice?

Sara Wan: The residents in Venice don’t know the long-term effects of OPDs, and neither does the public. The April 16 VNC meeting was rigged. There was no attempt to listen to what problems might be created for homeowners, residents and members of the public. The presentations were very one-sided. How are they going to determine who gets to vote in order to establish OPDs?

Beachhead: Were you unhappy with the VNC meeting?

Sara Wan: The meeting was a big disappointment – they did not allow me to say what I wanted to say. I wanted to give a little background on why the commission turned OPDs down twice – the public should know what the reasoning was. VNC reps limited me to talking only about the current settlement and told me that if the public wanted to know more about the previous defeated attempts to establish OPDs in Venice, they would address those questions to me during the Question and Answer section. However, when someone did ask me a question, Marc Saltzberg, who was presiding over the meeting, directed Mark Ryavec to take over the microphone from me, which he did. He then took all the allotted time to express his position, and I was never allowed to answer the two questions the person had for me.

Beachhead: Is the city of Los Angeles questioning the Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction over parking?

Sara Wan: The original intent of all of this was to challenge the California Coastal Commission’s power to regulate parking by stating that parking does not fall under the definition of “development”, and therefore is not under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission. “Development” is defined in the Coastal Act as anything considered to be a “change in density or intensity of use.” Parking is definitely a change in intensity of use.

By voting in support of the California Coastal Act of 1976, the public stated that the Coastal Zone be treated differently than the rest of the state. The city has the power to regulate parking outside of the Coastal Zone, but the city does not have the right to over-ride the Coastal Commission.

Beachhead: What do you think about parking restrictions in the Coastal Zone? 

Sara Wan: Parking restrictions create preferential treatment for the people who live there. OPDs are against public access and are designed to limit the public’s ability to park and therefore to use the beach. OPDs are against the Coastal Act of 1976.

OPDs will eventually lead to Preferential Permit Parking (PPD, which allow residents within 1500 feet of major commercial streets to apply for 24-hour permit parking). PPD would limit non-resident parking to a few hours, while residents with a City permit could park with no restrictions.

Beachhead: How is the city of Los Angeles bringing the issue of fairness into the discussion concerning OPDs?

Sara Wan: One of the main issues raised by Rosendahl’s s office has been the matter of fairness (if the rest of the city can have OPDs, it is unfair for Venice not to be able to have them as well). This is an attack on the Coastal Act – if you think that the Coastal Zone should be treated no different than the rest of the city, then you don’t think there should be a Coastal Act, which was voted by the people.

Beachhead: What do you think about the current midnight to 5am curfew on the beach and Ocean Front Walk?

Sara Wan: It is illegal. The city never got a permit from the Coastal Commission for the curfew. The public needs to write to the Chair of the Coastal Commission and ask the Commission to take action to deal with the enforcement of the curfew and initiate enforcement action against the city.

Beachhead: Do you think that by increasing the number of parking spaces available in the early morning hours the new settlement might be approved by the Commission?

Sara Wan: No, all those parking lots are supposed to be open 24 hours, they should be used for public access now.

Beachhead: What can the public do to let the Commission know that they are against OPDs in Venice?

Sara Wan: The public needs to understand that this is not a set thing. Attend the Commission hearing in June ( Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach), following which the Commission could deny the settlement establishing OPDs in Venice, could approve them with modifications, or approve them as they are now.

Letters can be sent to the San Francisco office (45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94105-2219) to be forwarded to the each of the commissioners. Some of the commissioners have their addresses listed on the Commission’s website (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/address.html), and in that case letters can be sent to them directly.

Phone calls can be made to the Long Beach office (562-590-5071) for further questions and comments.

Happy Mother’s Life

By CJ Gronner

Please let me take this opportunity to spill my heart all over the place and humbly THANK my two homes, Venice and Minnesota.

If you’ve ever met me you know that my Mom is a big deal to me. I’ve never met a better lady, ever. She had a heart attack in Minnesota while I was on the phone with her in Venice. I was beside myself. Minnesota friends went to her even before I could. Venice friends got me there overnight.

Minnesota friends picked me up at the airport, took me straight to the hospital, and gave me strength to handle seeing my Mom all hooked up to a million things. The way her face lit up when I walked in abso- lutely proves the power of love to heal. Venice/LA friends called and texted and let me know that we had thoughts and prayers going in my absence. People everywhere that I didn’t even know attended Church told me about adding my Mom to their prayer chains. Facebook blew up with beautiful messages and offers of ANYTHING to help, from every place I know people internationally, especially Venice, especially Minnesota, particularly from the unusually close and timeless friends that were/are Richfield Spartans.

Minnesota friends brought me lunch, stole me away for a stiff drink, made a party for me when I got home late one night so I could see friends, and held me while I cried on their shoulders, both from fear and joy.

When I’d leave the ICU to check messages, every time there was new love and light shining on us from sunny Venice. This was extra needed when there were not one, but TWO April blizzards while I was back, which I was totally unprepared for, packing wise. I was the only person in Minnesota thrilled about it, since I’d missed Christmas back there this year, and tried to keep it to myself as they are OVER it.

As I became used to the awful lighting (and food) of the hospital, I started to feel sick and in pain my- self. Stress piled up on my neck and shoulders, and I started to feel hypochondriac-ish. That’s when my dear friends, Christine, Jane and Kate stepped in and took me out of the hospital to hear some music and get some fresh air for an hour at the MacPhail Center for Music, where Jane is the lead singer in her 10 year old rock band. Perhaps to Jane’s embarrassment, her “Fairy Godmother” also needed to rock, and blow off some steam, even if for just a sorely needed hour out of the Heart Center. The 10 year olds gave me the uplift and spirit to go back to the hospital, stronger and more hopeful – both for my Mom, and the future, with kids as great as these coming up.

I would read Mom messages from my family of friends in both homes, and see her eyes regain that familiar twinkle every time. Just knowing that you have so much love lifts you up to feel like you can handle anything. And we did.

Mom had scary surgery on her beautiful heart. It went well, and the only reason they didn’t have to admit me to the Psych Ward during that was because all of my people from all over had my back so lov- ingly well. Every day Mom is getting a little better, though it’s a whole new life now, and a lot of change is underway for her. I could only leave (real life still rolls on) because I saw first (and grateful) hand how very sweetly she is being taken care of, both by the lovely nurses and our friends.

I left Minnesota last night amid another blizzard. I was a sobbing wreck, and even the airport security guy was tender to me about it. That’s Minnesota.

I awoke (after a long and crazy-delayed journey) back in Venice, to sunshine and profound feelings of gratitude. I came back to the news that my good

friend, Bobby Brown (The World’s Greatest Wino) had died from his battle with throat cancer. Another Venice icon is gone. More than ever, I feel the truism that life is short, and you honestly have to do your best to have the best time you can, while you can. Venice friends – that I didn’t even know KNEW about my Mom’s ordeal – have stopped me every day, asking about her, and tell- ing me to call if I need anything at all. People care. I went to the beach to inhale the fresh sea air, and close my eyes to give thanks … for this life I’ve been given, for the abundant love I’ve been shown, and for the peo- ple and places I call home. Gratitude is glory!

As truly hard as that week was – it was also deeply beautiful. The humanity – that we were surrounded in like a huge embrace – was a lesson in how to be a friend. In how to live your life gratefully and positively. If you’ve ever thought I was sappy and gushing about that kind of stuff before … well, now it’s really on. For all time.

Thank you, dear friends and family of mine, wher- ever you live. From the bottom of the Gronners’ com- pletely full (and on the mend!) hearts.

Family Literacy Day

By Krista Schwimmer

Some of my fondest memories of my early, child- hood years are of my parents reading to me and my brothers before bedtime. One such book was “Are You My Mother,” by P.D. Eastman, about a lost, little bird. My mother read this book to me so frequently that I surprised her one day at the age of four by apparently reading it to her. I had simply memorized it.

Imagine now that you are in a home where there is not a single book. No fairy tales to hear as you drift asleep; no shared memories of reading with any par- ent. Sadly, in California, this is too often the picture. Ranked 48th in childhood literacy, California is in dire need of help. Fortunately, three organizations are pre- pared to send in some troops: Raising A Reader, Sun- set Lodge #369 Free & Accepted Masons, and the Mystic Journey Bookstore. Armed with books, knowl- edge, and heart, they are ready to show the community how we can not only face this situation, but ultimately solve it.

On Saturday, June 1st, from 1 – 4 pm, Sunset Ma- sonic Lodge and the Mystic Journey Bookstore are proud to present Family Literary Day. The event will be held at the lodge, located on 1720 Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica. This free event will bring awareness to the amazing, national, literacy program called Raising A Reader. The day will include a book swap; a creative arts station; a model train display by Group 160; and a celebrity panel, discussing the issue of child literacy and children’s literature. The panel will include the local Venetian author and actor, Paul Michael Glaser.

In 1999, Raising A Reader was created to help lower income families of children aged 0 to 8 years old “develop, practice and maintain home-based liter- acy routines critical for school success.” They do this

in a simple, effective way: by providing low-income families with free books to take home. Having already helped over one million children, this group’s thirty years of research shows that children do better in school when the family is involved in their activities. The most successful activity is that of families reading books together.

Historically, Masons have championed public education. Just in California, they have lobbied for state-supported education and federal land grants; helped create a free system of public education; and created Public Schools Week. In the last four years, the California Masonic foundation has provided more than $5 million in educational scholarships and serv- ices to children.

Each year, the incoming Grand Master of Masons in California chooses a charity to support. For not only this year, but the next three years, the Grand Lodge has chosen to support Raising A Reader. Along with donating funds to the organization, the goal is to pro- vide the Raising A Reader program to 250 California kindergarten classrooms in the lowest performing schools, reaching an estimated 6,000 children at risk.

Locally, to support the Grand Lodge’s project, Sunset Masonic Lodge, in coordination with The Mys- tic Journey Bookstore, has created Family Literacy Day. This diverse and dynamic lodge has served the Venice Beach, Santa Monica, West L.A., and sur- rounding areas for more than a century. For this event, they reached out to the West Los Angeles area, starting with Will Rogers Elementary and Grant Elementary Schools. Ironically, although Raising A Reader was founded in Redwood Shores, California, the West Los Angeles region has been untouched until now.

The Mystic Journey Bookstore, founded in Octo- ber 2008 by Jeffrey Segal, joins Sunset Masonic

Lodge in their efforts. The metaphysical bookstore is located at 1624 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Its mission is not only “to spread light and love, to enlighten and enliven, to intrigue and inspire,” but to “become a leader in our community.” The two organizations plan on promoting other charitable events together in the future.

Victor Hugo writes that “to learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out a spark.” Please join Raising A Reader, Sunset Masonic Lodge #369, and the Mystic Journey Bookstore on June 1st in lighting a fire for children in California, one spark at a time.

For further information about or to donate chil- dren’s books for “Family Literacy Day,” please contact John Stellar at 800-858-2712 or info@e-pr.com To learn more about the other organizations, please visit these websites: Sunset Lodge #369 F&AM, http://www.sunsetmasoniclodge.org; The Mystic Journey Bookstore, http://www.mysticjourneybookstore.com

Keep Venice Free – No OPDs

By Greta Cobar

What else could possibly be done to change the welcoming spirit that has been the trademark of Venice for as long as it’s been on the map? How about bringing in Overnight Parking Districts (OPDs) that would make it illegal to park without a city-issued permit from 2am to 5am.

The California Coastal Commission has voted against OPDs in Venice on June 11, 2009 and June 10, 2010. Because neither the legislature nor the circumstances have changed since, it is expected that the same vote will yield the same results come June 2013. The judicial system of the US is heavily based on precedent rulings.

The Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) was scheduled to hold a Town Hall meeting on OPDs on April 4, but that meeting was canceled and the next tentative date is May 6.

The reason the last meeting was cancelled and the date for the next one is still up in the air is because of disagreement between Linda Lucks, VNC President, and the Outreach Committee of the VNC, concerning who should be on the panel answering the public’s questions at the Town Hall.

“I’m not going to accept this,” Linda Lucks told the Beachhead about the current selection of panel members. They include Mark Ryavec of the Venice Stakeholders Association; Arturo Pena, Bill Rosendahl’s Chief of Staff; Jane Usher, former President of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission; and Tamara Martin, LADOT representative in charge of OPDs. All of these individuals are strong supporters of OPDs.

Town Hall meetings in Venice have historically been dominated by strong, outspoken opinions and enraged citizens on all sides of an issue. But the current effort of the VNC Outreach Committee is to have the next one be non-controversial and non-confrontational. According to this committee, the option of not having OPDs is not an option anymore.

Following the Coastal Commission’s 2010 ban on OPDs in Venice, Mark Ryavec’s Venice Stakeholders Association filed a lawsuit with the City of Los Angeles in which he argued that no Coastal Commission approval is needed in order to establish OPDs in Venice. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, although at first against Ryavec’s lawsuit, changed his mind and joined forces with Ryavec against the Coastal Commission.

“An earlier, tentative settlement went to the Commission about a year and a half ago, but it was rejected by extremists on the Commission. In the intervening time the Commission membership has dramatically changed,” said Mark Ryavec,

Although the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) Board voted to approve OPDs in 2010, then Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission Peter Douglas joined forces with the 38 Venice residents who had filed an appeal against OPDs by filing his own appeal.

As a result, the Coastal Commission in 2010 voted against the establishment of OPDs in Venice.

Unfortunately Peter Douglas passed away on April 1, 2012, and the Coastal Commission went from what the World Bank had previously called “the strongest in the world” to what Steve Blank, a Commission member, predicted at the time of Peter Douglas’s death: “Once he’s gone, this commission will implode in the blink of an eye and all we’ll be talking about is the color of the concrete used to pave over what’s left of the coast.”

Currently a tentative settlement between Ryavec and the Coastal Commission has been reached, which would allow OPDs throughout Venice if the Coastal Commission were to approve them. In addition, two-thirds of the residents of each block would have to sign the petition asking for OPDs in order for them to go into effect.

Linda Lucks, although not the most outspoken liberal member of the VNC Board in the past, is now taking a strong stand against the Town Hall panel being represented only by Ryavec and those who agree with him and his settlement with the Coastal Commission.

As a result, Ryavec and his Stakeholders Association on March 25 filed a request for an investigation of an ethics violation by Linda Lucks. According to the request, Lucks should recuse herself from involvement with deliberations concerning OPDs because she has a conflict of interest due to her position as Capital Campaign Coordinator at the Venice Community Housing Corporation, which has opposed OPDs.

“The ethics charges are groundless, I don’t have a conflict of interest,” Lucks told the Beachhead.

Ryavec has previously been a big advocate of the Oversize Vehicle Ordinance (OVO), which prohibits RVs from parking on certain streets between 2am and 5am. “Vehicle dwellers have simply moved to vans, small trucks, and SUVs, which are not subject to the restriction on oversize vehicles,” Ryavec stated.

“The city of Los Angeles cannot justify this proposal as a way to address homelessness,” wrote Kim Thompson, a San Fernando valley resident and regular visitor to Venice, in his 2010 appeal to the Coastal Commission against OPDs.

Undoubtedly public access to the beach would be restricted under OPDs. According to the Coastal Act of 1976, “the public should have 24 hour access to the beaches.”

The midnight to 5am curfew that is now in place in parts of Venice under LAMC 63.44.B.14(b) is not only selectively enforced, but also illegal. A person sleeping on OFW during that time is likely to be harassed by the police either with a ticket or an arrest, while someone walking his or her dog is likely to be ignored by those same cops.

According to the Coastal Act of 1976, “the public should have 24 hour access to the beaches.” Under that same act, the city needs a permit for “any sort of curfews or restrictive ordinances that have such a negative impact on coastal access” said Charles Posner, Coastal Program Analyst with the California Coastal Commission in a phone conversation with the Beachhead in January 2012. The city does not have such a permit.

OPDs come at a price to all residents: they cost money. And the fee will be increased on a yearly basis. All of a sudden we will have to pay to park in front of our own houses and will end up paying outrageous parking tickets when we forget to put up the permit. Our friends will have to leave in the middle of the night or pay for the ticket more than they would for a hotel room if they just decide to crash over. Or, even more trouble can come about if they decide to leave after drinking because they’re worried about getting a ticket.

Although OPDs would be a hassle to the residents, the more important issue to consider is the public’s right of access. Do we want Venice to become the equivalent of a gated community?

Just because certain fractions of the VNC are trying to make it seem as if OPDs are inevitable, the settlement reached by Ryavec is tentative, just like the ones reached in 2009 and 2010. The Coastal Commission cannot afford to discredit itself by issuing a ruling opposing its previous decisions. Neither can it afford fighting and losing, based on the Coastal Act and on precedent rulings, the lawsuits that would inevitably follow.

The Coastal Commission is going to hold a hearing on the settlement on either June 12, 13 or 14 at the Long Beach City Council Chambers, at 333 W. Ocean Boulevard, in Long Beach. The public cannot attend this meeting, but letters opposing OPDs can be mailed in. Also, keep an eye out for the Town Hall meeting, currently scheduled for May 6, and come to voice your opinion during the Question and Answer section.

To Be A Poet

 

to be a poet is to be a waiter

you wait for inspiration

you wait for that ray of sun

that illuminates,

explains some piece of life

that eluded you before:

a casual kiss of a child to its mother

a smile, a laugh -

you looking on: grateful for a happy glimpse of humanity

glad to leave the dark side

hungry for the light

a chance blessing that you grab up and put in a poem

a recipe for life:

some hope mixed in with the despair

the light on the horizon

the hope sensed only sometimes

that everything is going to be alright

that you came through the horror and the pain

and found joy

and can hear the angels calling your name

to tell you, you are blessed, you are safe

and everything is going to be alright

that you are protected and glorious

and every day your light can shine

if you let it

and someone can see your light

and be changed by it and let their light shine too

to be a poet is to wait.

- Mary Getlein

Dedicated to my daughter, Susan Getlein, who is stronger than she knows.

March Venice Neighborhood Council Meeting Overview

By Greta Cobar

The March Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) Board meeting was of the shortest duration so far, according to Linda Lucks, VNC President.

One of the issues discussed during that meting were digital billboards. The permits given for their operation by the city of Los Angeles in 2006 were deemed illegal by the California Supreme Court in February.

As a result, Clear Channel Outdoor was ordered to remove all of its 100 digital billboards, many of which are on the West side, including Lincoln and Venice.

“Images on digital billboards change every 8 seconds, which means that light in near-by homes changes every night, every 8 seconds,” said Dennis Hathaway, Venice resident and President of the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight, at the March VNC meeting.

Clear Channel, the owner of all digital billboards, “is trying to make a deal with the city to keep the billboards by intimidating the city into bankruptcy,” stated Hathaway at the March VNC meeting.

During his speech, Hathaway also mentioned a Swedish study that showed a decrease in driver safety as a consequence of digital billboards. Because of that study, the Swedish government ordered all digital billboards to come down.

A representative from Clear Channel, which owns all digital billboards in Los Angeles, also spoke during the March VNC meeting, stating that “none of the billboards are illegal -  the permitting process is flawed.” He went on to threaten that “there is no real mechanism for the city to enforce laws concerning billboards.”

While addressing the issue of illegal billboards in Venice at the June 19, 2012 VNC meeting, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich stated that he had already eliminated all illegal billboards. Obviously not, as the illegal digital billboard at Venice and Lincoln is still standing.

Another sight-blinding issue discussed during the March VNC meeting is the Zip-line, which is scheduled to start operations on the beach, between the Art Walls and the basketball courts, during mid-June this summer. It is slated to quit operations by October 1.

Operated by the Canadian company Green Heart, the Zip line will have two towers and up to four lines. It is unclear at this point how much money it will generate, but two-thirds of the funds are supposed to come back to Venice in a Recreations and Parks account, which is supposed to help with maintenance, such as restroom upkeep at the beach.

“I am opposed to  cleaning our bathrooms by destroying the beach,” said Ira Kuslow, VNC Board member.

If the money over-all generated in Venice were to stay in Venice, we would have nice, clean public bathrooms like the ones in Santa Monica. But because, unlike Santa Monica, we lack cityhood, the city of Los Angeles robs us of our funds.

Since when is beach bathroom cleanup contingent on blocking ocean view by a Canadian-operated Zip line? How many of their employees will be Venice residents? When they discontinue operations, where is the certainty that they will remove their two towers and the rest of their operation equipment?

“The hours of operation will not change,” said Linda Lucks, VNC President, when asked if the beach bathrooms will stay open longer.

The Zip line will be 720 feet long, but the towers will not have an underground foundation. When cautioned that strong winds might blow over the towers, Lucks stated that “they know what they’re doing.”

Last but not least, Steve Clare spoke of the success of the Winter Storage Program, which allowed house-less people taking the bus to the West Los Angeles shelter for the month of March to store their belongings in clean trash bins in a container situated by the Pacific Police Station. It was provided for by the Venice Community Housing Corporation (VCHC).

The purpose of the container, available only to those taking the bus to the shelter, was to increase the number of people going to the shelter. However, according to those already going, the shelter was full to capacity.

Steve Clare, VCHC President, stated at the March VNC meeting that 36 people took advantage of the container, which he considered to be a “great success” considering that it was only a pilot program that people did not know about. He did not know at that time if the storage program increased the number of persons going to the shelter.

During its one month of operation I visited it often and spoke at length with the volunteers that attended it. I really thought that we need affordable housing for all, and that the storage bin available for just one month, with hours of operation just between 3pm and 5pm, and available to only those taking the bus to the shelter, was too much of a short-coming.

Yet one day I literally stood there with tears in my eyes as a family, including grandmothers, tried to stuff their belongings in the one bin provided. The volunteer person in charge told them that their bin would be OK even if the lid was not closed all the way; after all, it was the storage container’s last day of operation. The family was so very happy and thankful. I wondered what would happen to them the next day, when the shelter and the storage container would be closed. The West Los Angeles shelter is open only during the winter months, and it closed March 1.

The VNC is considered to be one of the most outspoken neighborhood councils in the city, with one of the highest public participation around. Yet over the last year I have witnessed attendance and public involvement decreasing. It’s your Venice, get involved! VNC Board meetings take place on the third Tuesday of the month – hope to see you there April 16, 7pm, Westminster Elementary School Auditorium.

For more information, see www.venicenc.org

Sidewalk and Bus Stop Taken Over by Owner of Venice Historical Post Office

By Greta Cobar

Joel Silver, the new owner of the historical building that formerly housed the Venice Post Office, does not have permits to block the sidewalk and the bus stop around his property, but he does not seem to care.

The public needs to call inspector Ed Oddone at 213-252-3085 for the limits on Silver’s building permits to be enforced.

However, according to real estate attorney Michael King, “the city is very lackadaisical about temporary fence installation enforcement because the contractors move it when the inspectors show up and move it back when they leave.”

First Silver denied public access to the historical building, then he claimed ownership of the Edward Biberman mural that is still the property of the USPS, and now he is taking over the entire sidewalk, a lane of street traffic, and a very busy bus stop.

Unabated, he might extend his fence to the entire Windward circle and beyond. If that seems unlikely, what he has done so far was beyond our worst imagined case scenario just a year ago.

Although the Venice Neighborhood Council in February passed a motion to move the Edward Biberman mural out of Silver’s office, and put it into a public space such as the Abbot Kinney Library, no further action was taken.

According to the Phase III Design Plan Review, Silver is replacing things like wainscoting, wood paneling, wood-frame bulletin boards, and other defining features of the building, with the provision that “they would be safely and securely stored so that they could be reinstated at a future date, if so desired.”

Angelica Houston, the last millionaire to move into the area, removed the historical Venice colonnades in front of her compound, and they were never to be found again.

Call the inspector or risk getting hit by a car when walking along one of Venice’s busiest streets.

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.

Crawling for Art in the Snake Run

By CJ Gronner

Last night was the March Venice Art Crawl, and it was great. It kind of felt like First Fridays used to feel, where you saw a lot of locals and neighbors, and places served up free booze and music. The Art Crawl is actually better than First Fridays used to be, because the whole point is to appreciate local art … the very reason Venice became cool in the first place.

Cool doesn’t begin to describe how excellent it was to approach the Venice Skatepark just after sunset, seeing it all lit up, with a DJ blasting out good jams over the entire Boardwalk. They built a little entrance ramp so that people could go down in the snake run of the park, where the art of Mark Farina was hung.

It was a party, seeing all sorts of familiar Venice faces and catching up, all while checking out the brightly colored and highly political pieces from Farina.

These are the kind of original, fun ideas that make Venice special, and the kind of things we NEED – to show the world that they can keep their corporate chain stores and hum drum sameness.

WE have art openings IN skateparks. Bam.

There was a lot to see and do, so I had to crack the whip and keep us moving along … to Small World Books next.

Among all the zillions of books I covet every time I walk in the best book store in the West, I now also want one of the pieces by Christina Mills showing at Small World.

Her work feaures the typical Venice scenes, with surfers and the Venice sign type images, with scads of tweets from Venice 311 behind them … truly an example of “Where Art Meets Crim

On to The Gallery on Market Street, where we saw the gorgeous photography (featuring a bunch of Venice neighbors – Tawney! Shawn!) of Nicol Ragland.

The sign said, “A photographic exhibit raising questions about our ability to access primal and immaterial forces within the commercial ethos of western industrial society. The images stir a vital and confrontational animism by juxtaposing taxidermied wild animals in the arms of domestic U.S. citizens provokingly situated in the iconic centers of mass commerce.” Phew. That’s weighty stuff … but the photos sure were lovely.

We stopped in to see my girls at Kiki Designs (and spied even more cool rings we all wanted) and raise a glass, then did same at Gotta Have It, where the lovely Venice native, Mattea Perrotta, was showing her work. I knew almost everyone I saw, making it such a delight to be out and about, among friends.

Art was everywhere, and it was hard to take it all in when there was also so much socializing to be done. We did pretty well, but did get to Shulamit Gallery a bit too late to fully enjoy it, since they were kicking people out.

James Beach had Shark Toof and Tom French work featured – always a pleasure – and across the street at the Canal Club, owner Danny Samakow showed his very Venice paintings, that he was auctioning off for his upcoming AIDS Lifecycle Bike-A-Thon. We drank champagne with “Team Venice” and I soon found myself being the person that drew the raffle tickets for the lucky winners of Danny Samakow originals. We had a blast with the boys, even more so knowing that it was all going for such a good cause (that you can still donate to. Contact Danny.)

We covered a lot, but we didn’t cover it all … so there will be a lot to look forward to when the next Art Crawl rolls around June 20th. The night was starry as we strolled back home, way later than I had planned. We passed underneath the Venice sign again, and I smiled to myself that I get to live here, where there are still staunch preservationists of what is truly cool, proven by nights like this.

I love you, Venice. (We say that a lot here)