Letters


• Santa Monica Airport - Martin Rubin
• Airport to Airport - Carol J. Skiba
• Venice Skills Center - Marguerite Siegel
• Illegal Billboard still up - Steve Freedman
• Helicopters over Oakwood - Jacques
• The Neighborhood Council - Chris Wood

Santa Monica Airport

Dear Beachhead: The right to a free press is an essential part to the foundation of the United States of America, and it is important that the press use that right to be a watchdog for issues that could be swept under the rug otherwise.

The two articles in your August and September issues by Theresa Hulme, about how Santa Monica Airport affects the neighborhoods that border it, are an example of free press in its pure form. The Free Venice Beachhead is a leader in the Los Angeles area, and should be recognized as such.

My thanks
Martin Rubin
_______________________________________________

Airport to Airport

Dear Beachhead: In Northern New Jersey, we have a very similar airport -- Teterboro Airport. The Port Authority of NY & NJ gives the distinct impression that it is expanding this airport into the 4th major metropolitan airport.

Unfortunately, we already have 3 Major Metropolitan Airports within a short distance of this airport. We, too, are fighting very diligently against expansion of this airport as it resides in the middle of densely-packed residential communities. We have just won an environmental impact study/health risk assessment from the Governor of New Jersey -- something which is very necessary.

If any of your readers need information on what direction we have taken and where we have gone to fight this airport, please feel free to have them contact me. I have already been in contact with Mr. Martin Rubin and with Ms. Ping Ho of UCLA. We are using her son's project for discussion at our meeting this evening.
Thank you for any connections you can send our way. I will be very glad to advise of how we achieved this study.

Regards,
Carol J. Skiba <CSkiba@fishneave.com>

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Venice Skills Center

Dear Beachhead: Thank you for your article about the Venice Skills Center. Increasing “job marketability” is our main focus, and your article described comfortably the opportunities that we offer at our center.

Regarding Jan Brittain, we enjoyed working with her; Jan’s energy and focus helped the management team and teaching staff develop new programs as well as increase enrollment. Our new principal, Sarina MacMillan, comes with similar focus that evolves from both academic and vocational experience. And, of course, it’s critical to point out that the balance of the management team – operations and counseling – remains the same. We see no interruption of continuity, direction, or trend.

Our community advisories and forums offer opportunities to better understand the VSC challenges and opportunities as well as updates on the proposed building plans. Like most budget constrained public service entities, development projects are typically a function of funding and politics. Recently, we received what appears to be good news regarding the Division’s building plans: the Board of Education resolved (and passed unanimously) to include the Division of Adult and Career Education in the District’s facilities master planning, and the Venice Skills Center was specifically listed in the final resolution.

We welcome visits from the community, and I would enjoy meeting you to chat further on these or other issues that might be of interest to the Venice Beachhead.

Sincerely,

Marguerite Siegel
Assistant Principal, Adult Counseling Services

••••••••••••••

Illegal Billboard still up

The CA Coastal Commission heard Clear Channel Outdoor's appeal of previous denials by the Zoning Administrator and the WLA Planning Commission of their application for an after-the-fact coastal development permit for the billboard at 753 Washington.

The CCC determined, as recommended by staff, that the appeal raised NO SUBSTANTIAL ISSUE, allowing the local denial to stand. The question of enforcement was raised after the decision in connection with the "sister" sign at 4111 Lincoln on which Clear Channel lost before CCC exactly 2 years ago, but which is still standing. There was some indication that CCC would address enforcement of these decision, but only time will tell whether they come down. We are pleased by this decision after a fight of almost 5 years.

Thank you very much for your interest and support concerning this illegal signage in the Venice Coastal Zone.

Steve Freedman

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Helicopters over Oakwood

Dear Beachhead,

All was quiet in Venice at California and Electric Avenue on a weekday afternoon. The cars and buses came and went, stopping and turning down Abbott Kinney. People in the stores and coffee shops read newspapers and sipped tea, talking to friends and watching the street traffic go by.
Suddenly a dull throbbing rumble was heard coming through the walls and rooftops. The growling got louder as police cars whizzed by the windows and doorways. Circling and speeding down the streets, splitting and changing directions, the police were hunting the invisible criminals who hide under the palms from high tech. surveillance.

A helicopter, that flew in very low, hovered and circled the apartment block across from the Vera Davis Center. My wristwatch read two o'clock. I bought a coffee and picked up the Beachhead to read about the election. More than an hour passed and the helicopter was still circling and belching its burnt kerosene exhaust. Buzzing and vibrating, the mechanical instrument of the police state burns our tax money away.
Twisting and accelerating down the street, the constabulary circles the low-income disabled housing.
The criminal element was nowhere to be seen, but the noise and intrusion was beyond belief. I though, "Is America a war zone or have the Orwellian bizzaros invaded Oakwood?"

An elderly disabled woman, who emigrated from Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, tries to rest in her apartment. She sighs and a tear comes to her eye, "It must be the Secret Police - they have followed me to Venice."

Jacques under the palms

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The Neighborhood Council

Dear Beachhead: My name is Chris Wood. I am the 2nd Vice President of the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council (GRVNC).

Contrary to what you may have heard, there is another side to this story. Read the challenges to the election and the Dept. of Neighborhood Empowerment’s (DONE) final analysis which is posted at <www.freevenice.org>.

DONE's exhaustive review is extensive and definitive. All challenges were rejected without qualification and Tisha Bedrosian's leaders were reproached for seriously flawed election management. The miracle is that 1250 legimitate stakeholders (less one dog) voted in our election.

If you're interested in the other side of this story and perhaps some information to glean for improving your own practices, read on. I'm trying to write this straight. However, I'll admit to more than a little irritation that after a personal time investment of 2 1/2 years for this organization, Tisha is attempting to burn the entire Los Angeles neighborhood council institution in what appears to be childish rage.

When I first came to the Venice organizing meetings, I stayed because it was a credible and impressive mix of people involved. Later, I stayed because the neighborhood council is an idea worth making reality. The idea becomes a reality at the moment we choose to participate, embracing the democratic messiness and very infrequent moments of grace.

There are plenty of politics behind this, the least of which is that Tisha's friends and sister were not reelected. Throw into the meat grinder a little gentrification, a lot of developer interest in rising property values, ethnic and spiritual diversity, surf culture, latte culture, and a rather interesting combination of personalities.

The truth is that a number of long time GRVNC volunteers and even longer Venice leaders ran an impressive on-the-ground, knocking on doors, clipboards at the steps of the post office campaign. 1250+ stakeholders turned out for this election. Tisha's friends did not win as they seem to have primarily relied on email, control of the election procedures, a propaganda of half-truths, and one newspaper ad. And, they are now spreading around enough sour grapes to coat all of LA, even turning against the whole neighborhood council system.

Here is some of what was badly flawed in the GRVNC’s election procedures:

1. Brown Act violations. The initial rules were drafted substantially in private meetings without public input between at least 3 people, including 1 candidate. As a result, at least one candidate (Tisha's sister) had "insider" information to the rule changes which introduced absentee balloting to the whole community. (~90% of those votes were for Tisha's friends and family, but the overall count was only 40% for her friends.) Those rules were made public just 6-7 days before the deadline which gave a large advantage to a.) those in the know and b.) folks obsessed with email. Not even the board was given notice via email (our usual method) until 3-4 days before the deadline.

2. As a result of secret rules process, the rules were not very well thought out. A request by the Venice community and DONE to postpone the election to allow for a good open process was refused by Tisha and Greg Fitchitt. As an example, they allowed for emailing of absentee ballot requests, allowed for mailing of requests, but did not speak to other methods of getting absentee voting commitments - which was done by candidates of both "sides" - most commonly by telephone to legitimate stakeholders. This turned out to be a point of contention. (Interestingly enough, even if these had been tossed, the results would not have changed.)

However, I should note that the addition of absentee balloting was excellent, no matter how terrible the roll-out. We more than doubled our participation, and exceeded local participation over the last official city election by about 400 votes.

3. A candidate (Chris Bedrosian) was managing the membership list and the absentee ballot process up until election day.

Key leaders refused to give information about who was actually running the election. Frankly, it felt and smelled liked a rigged election at that time. In early June, I had no choice but to submit a formal complaint to DONE about the election. In fact, DONE stated that if GRNVC's elections committee had not subsequently made key changes to remedy the unfair situation for all potential voters, our entire election would likely have been tossed. Thankfully, a few of our board members stood up for the right thing.

Here's the thing: even if DONE had ruled for the challenges by tossing ballots, it is almost certain the results would not have changed. Eliminate all the absentee ballots? Same outcome. Eliminate either set of absentee ballots? Same outcome, though possible that 1-2 seats would have been different.

Within Venice, Tisha’s style was divide and conquer, not consensus building. As a result, she created and continually reinforced divisions with Venice. As evidence, look at the wide swath she is currently burning in public - it isn't exactly civic virtue to childishly create such animosity and community division in a fit of "if I can't have it, no one can".

Tisha has so far refused to advertise the Mayor's budget forum to the membership thereby preventing anyone from getting involved, refused to turn over the membership list and the organizational records, has cancelled the GRVNC voicemail, the status of the PO box is unclear, used the membership list to advertise for a divisive, mean-spirited propaganda "newsletter" run by a friend and former board member, and torn down the website.

Were we stupid to allow such control? Probably. But you note that Tisha has spent a lot of time heralding the future with neighborhood councils. It is one thing to grate against someone with a strong authoritarian streak; it is another to believe she'd actually destroy a big investment.

I realize that you have no reason to believe me. You don't need to do so. Just read the DONE decision, not the propaganda. If we do the councils right by becoming the strongest possible advisory bodies for our communities, more and more people will want to become involved. Our elections will be competitive with winners and losers. Current leaders will leave or lose elections, new folks will come in. If every set of leaders plans to crash and burn their neighborhood council just because they lose one election, then what the heck is the point?

My fear is that these neighborhood councils will turn into personal feifdoms, guaranteed by a small set of people carefully controlling the elections. That almost happened in Venice. Be vigilant. Embrace the spirit of the Brown Act. Not everyone will try to make it right: they'll just leave your council and leave our communities weaker.

Let's leave a legacy, not a failed experiment.

Regards, Chris Wood

Posted: Wed - October 1, 2003 at 07:17 PM          

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