The Spirit of Venice
By Lydia
Poncé
spirit (spir’it) n. 1.
The animating or life giving principle within a living being; soul. 2. The part
of the human being associated with the mind and feelings as distinguished from
the physical body. 3. The real sense or significance of something.
To ask what is the Spirit of Venice
you’d get many replies just as you would asking about what is
aesthetically pleasing to one’s eye, it’s very personal. What is
your definition of quality of life? It depends on what you feel you need and
what you want...
Let us
review:
Wednesday the 24th of
September:
When the Department of
Neighborhood Empowerment certified the Grassroots Venice Neighborhood Council
(GRVNC) election held months ago, after reviewing and investigating the
challenges made about the election, Tisha Bedrosian, GRVNC President, was asked
to call an emergency meeting and she refused by responding, “Let’s
play it by ear.” She was also asked to turn over the data that belongs to
the City via GRVNC. She plans to meet with Tom O’Meara, the newly
appointed and certified Communications Officer for GRVNC. If that happens, and
the data is complete, I will be surprised.
Why?
Thursday the 25th of
September:
A booth for the Abbot
Kinney Festival was not secured for GRVNC. WHO decided not to secure one? WHY
wasn’t there going to be one? HOW was this decided? WHEN was it decided?
It was really important for the Venice Community to have access to the LA City
Budget Survey. We needed 200 surveys completed by Venetians by the 5th of
October. The Budget Survey is an opportunity for the community to tell the Mayor
how we want our tax dollars spent, or not spent. This project is headed by
GRVNC’s 2nd Vice President, Chris Wood.
The Shuttle survey that the Parking
Committee, headed by area rep Bonnie Cheeseman, also needed to be made available
to the masses. Bonnie was willing to share a booth with the Carnevale Committee.
She had an alternative.
It still
wasn’t clear to me WHY it was important NOT to have a booth for GRVNC.
Didn’t the People of Venice deserve the truth, the results of the election
from GRVNC?
Great! One of the last
booths available was reserved for GRVNC!! Chris Wood, Tom O’Meara, Greg
Fitchitt, Sabrina Venskus and Bonnie Cheeseman succeeded in getting 85 surveys
turned in and that certainly is better than none! Thank you
volunteers!
Monday September
29th:
The very day after Tisha
Bedrosian accepted the Spirit of Venice Award, she managed to endorse the Watch
Dawg as President of GRVNC. No one from the GRVNC voted and agreed to endorse
that e-periodical full of hate, discrimination and lies. She resigned as
President of GRVNC shortly after her
endorsement.
By that Monday afternoon the
phone number for GRVNC had a different outgoing message and didn’t refer
to a new number at all. The website was shut down and the keys to the post
office box were not turned in until Oct. 2. No warning, no advance notice and
the people, the community of Venice, lost contact with their representatives. Is
that the Spirit of Venice? Tisha clearly deserves an ‘Achievement
Award’ for successfully working through the first year as President of
GRVNC, PERO ESO ES TODO.
I am still
wondering how the award was created. Did Abbot Kinney District Association only
get to nominate and vote for the few winners for this year?. Hey, Pearl White
indeed deserves multiple awards honoring her accomplishments and evokes the
Spirit of Venice as I feel it in my soul and heart. Fortunately she could enjoy
the moment and the award. Flora Chavez another empowering and political- social
advocate, activist, having passed away 2 and 1/2 weeks ago didn’t receive
anything from the Abbot Kinney District Association. Couldn’t there have
been another award added to the list of five?
As for Feibusch, the Watch Dawg, the
Spirit of Venice Award goes to you from Venice of days long ago, when Jim Crow
laws were legal... the Spirit of Gentrification- the Spirit of ‘you kiss
yo’ mama with that mouth!?!” Spirit of Sour
Grapes...
And the winners of the GRVNC
2003 election have been called divisive?
Posted: Wed - October 1, 2003 at 07:00 PM