Thu - September 1, 2005

Neighborhood Council Election, Sept. 10-11: VOTE as if your town depended on it


Beachhead endorses Venice Progressive candidates in long-delayed vote

Finally, the Neighborhood Council may be back in business. Its demise last November at the hands of the city of Los Angeles, and the failure to call follow through on a scheduled June election, did a disservice to Venice at a time when our town was under assault from a legion of developers.

Posted at 08:33 PM     Read More  

Hearing Held on MTA Lot


By Carol Fondiller

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has effected a land-swap that benefits developers Robert D’Elia and RAD Jefferson, LLC. The proposed development will rise 56 feet high. That’s nearly 20 feet over the coastal development plan maximum. The development includes 10,000 - 13,000 square feet of commercial space.

Posted at 07:29 PM     Read More  

MTA Lot Proposed Site for 56-foot-high Self-contained Gated Community


By Jan Sproull

I am opposed to the request by applicant Robert D’Elia, RAD Jefferson, LLC, including but not limited to the request for a zone change – from M1-1 – to CM-1 – commercial manufacturing zone, which would allow the developer’s proposed 5-story structure including 214 residential condominium units with only 341 parking spaces, plus 10,000 square feet of commercial floor retail space with only 59 guest parking spaces compared to 262 spaces for the commercial tenant representatives who would work there.

Posted at 06:31 PM     Read More  

Beachhead Salutes Cindy Sheehan


The Beachhead Collective awards
Cindy Sheehan
Honorary Venetian Citizenship

Posted at 05:35 PM     Read More  

Share the Joy, or Boardwalk Ordinance Unravelled


By Boardwalk Mary

Thanks to the efforts of the homeless advocate organization Food Not Bombs, the hated prohibitive ordinance—the so-called free expression ordinance—has been overturned.

Posted at 04:36 PM     Read More  

Marina del Rey’s Tree of Greed


By John Davis

Marina del Rey translates to Marina of Kings. A more proper name would be Marina of Thieves.
Venice founder Abbot Kinney was the first to propose a small boat harbor be dug out of the Ballona wetlands. His proposal to build a man made marina at the outlet of the Playa del Rey Lagoon was rebuffed by the Secretary of War because it was not consistent with the U.S. Rivers and Harbors Act that would fund it.

Posted at 03:38 PM     Read More  

PEACE PRESS Lives again in Venice


By Eric Ahlberg

What do Timothy Leary, Huey Newton, Brian Wilson and the Free Venice Collective have in common? The answer is that they were all clients of the Peace Press, an alternative print shop which produced posters, books and other printed matter from 1967-1987.

Posted at 02:40 PM     Read More  

What do Venice and New Orleans have in common?


By Jim Smith

Watching the devastation (and destruction?) of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina on TV, one wonders if it could happen here. Both Venice and New Orleans are at, or below, sea level. Venice has been subjected to large amounts of flooding in past years. That threat may be greater now than ever.
Katrina was the wayward daughter of global warming. The abnormally heated surface of the Gulf of Mexico made the hurricane much larger and stronger than it would have been otherwise. More Category 4 and 5 storms will be on the way.

Posted at 01:41 PM     Read More  

How Developers Skirt the Law to get their Projects Approved


By Joan & Marvin Klotz

Several of those opposing the MTA-RAD project at Sunset and Main Streets (CPC 2005-1002) strenuously object to the developers declaration that his project will be a “gated community.” But, alas, there is no law against creating a gated community, no matter how alien to the history and spirit to our neighborhood – hence our outrage may well be futile. However, there is a law (LA City Ordinance 177,693 The Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan, a 2003 revision of Ordinance 172,897 effective 12/22/99) that places fatal obstacles in the path of this development. All exceptions from the constraints imposed by the Venice Specific Plan (VSP) must meet 5 tests required by the Los Angeles Municipal code section 11.5.7 F2 (a-e).

Posted at 12:43 PM     Read More  

Lincoln Place Q&A


By Sheila Bernard

For those who believe that we are a society of laws in which people who make promises keep them, and for those who believe the opposite, here is a little quiz. Answers next month.

Posted at 11:44 AM     Read More  

These candidates are endorsed by the Beachhead


Venice Progressive Candidates for Executive Committee:

President: Jim Smith

It’s been 37 years since I came to Venice, and decided that I never wanted to leave. At the same time, I don’t want our community to become indistinguishable from the rest of Los Angeles.

Posted at 10:57 AM     Read More  

Why the Election Matters


Venice does not have its own city government. As part of Los Angeles, we can only advise its city officials on issues that affect Venice.

Posted at 09:58 AM     Read More  

Poetry


• After the deluge - Hillary Kaye
• let the yuppies take it - Rex Butters
• Fifty ways to leave Iraq (apologies to Paul Simon) - lyrics modified by Jim Smith
• Two Bush’s is not better than one - shanna moore
• No Beauty Beyond Us

Posted at 08:05 AM     Read More  

Venice California: ‘Coney Island of the Pacific’ by Jeffrey Stanton


Reviewed by Jim Smith

This is the year for books about Venice history. Although the Centennial is over, the books keep on coming. One of the best is Jeffrey Stanton’s Venice California: Coney Island of the Pacific. An earlier edition was published in 1978. However, this is no mere reissue. The new edition has twice as much text and many more photos, than the first edition. In addition, it has a hard cover and a sturdy binding.

Posted at 08:00 AM     Read More  

Venetians head for Burning Man


By Rich Mann

Much like our Venice Boardwalk’s daily pedestrian community, the “Burning Man Festival,” is located in the Central Nevada Desert area.

Posted at 07:02 AM     Read More  

Neighborhood For Sale


FOR SALE! One formerly diverse and eclectic beach neighborhood.

Posted at 06:04 AM     Read More  

Latinos Against The War


By Javier Rodriguez H.

It’s obvious to me that the Latino political establishment continues in the path of moderation and pragmatism. On the struggle for peace, the war on Iraq and the savagery of the empire, the most important international issues of today, Latinos are mired engulfed with myopia and lack of leadership engulfing Latinos. Though there are exceptions it is expected of this generation. I have seen it and critiqued it for over fifteen years.

Posted at 05:05 AM     Read More  

Simon Rodia of Venice


By Pano Douvos

We should now grant posthumously an honorary Venice citizenship to sculptor Simon Rodia if the recently shown film documentary is a yardstick.

Posted at 04:06 AM     Read More  

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