By Lydia Poncé

Two Very Important Meetings – Held on the Same Night: Regarding the Cell Phone Tower at Oakwood Park and Venice High School Pool Closure (see page 4).

Liska Mendoza, the Oakwood Park Director, saw this EMF monster being erected one Tuesday afternoon and ran out to stop the T-Mobile workers. The workers had pushed the park fence 20 feet back and dug a hole 30 feet deep. Liska managed to stop the construction for a few days. However the cell tower is up because the Los Angeles’ Bureau of Engineering, (BOE), had approved this project. This cell tower stands at 47 feet high; it’s 15 feet over the legal height. 

T-Mobile put a cell phone tower at Oakwood Park without going through proper procedures. The city and T-Mobile failed to notify the residents. T-Mobile did not provide the required Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact. They failed to present their cell phone tower plan to Venice Neighborhood Council, (VNC) or to Land Use & Planning Committee (LUPC) for that matter. What about the Coastal Commission, you may ask? Nada, zilch, zip, zero. And as a public record, we cannot seem to find the signature, as to who in all their brilliance, signed off on this. Villaraigosa? Not Rosendahl! It’s a real who-dun-it mystery.

As for public process, the municipal code ordinance – LAMC Sect. 62.03 was amended by the L.A. City Council and Mayor Villaraigosa about six months ago. Above Ground Facility and BOE enforced the amended ordinance. 

According to Whitney Blumenfeld, representative from Rosendahl’s office, stated they never received any information regarding this cell tower at Oakwood Park. Well, no one has been notified, perhaps this is the first you have heard of this. You are not alone. The child care center across the street from the park, the church on the corner of 7th and Westminster, and Oakwood Park themselves did not receive notification. BOE stated that since no one appealed this project, they went forth with it. No one appealed it, because no one knew about it! BTW-Rosendahl has said previously that he opposes all cell towers in all residences.

VNC stated they didn’t know anything about this project. But LUPC called a meeting at Oakwood Park, where upset residents voiced their concerns. “A two man team from the City tried to explain how this came to be. LUPC decided that because of the overheight and lack of public notice, this cell phone relay station had to be removed,” reported C.V. Beck, Beachhead Reporter.

One resident recommended that it should be removed and placed in the City representatives’ backyards. 

There’s just too much flim flam going on in Venice! For further information regarding the future of the cell tower and other atrocious crimes occurring in Venice: 

Please contact, Jataun Valentine 804-4786.

Venice pool closed September 29. A well attended meeting was held at Venice High’s Auditorium on Nov. 12 at the same time as regarding the Cell Tower meeting a few blocks away, no conspiracy just shear coincidence.

LAUSD, the city representatives and parents shared dialogue that simply sank. The outcome: do we fix the pool and hope it holds without leaking 1,000 gallons of water daily? Or do we build a new pool since this one is so old?  

The entire westside of district 11 has only three yearround heated pools, Venice High School, LACES, and Westwood. The VHS Waterpolo teams, both boys and girls, are being bused every day to practice. What will become of the kick ass team we have now and what about the VHS Spring Swim Team? More busing? For how long? Aquatics Coach Sophie Sabbah, Venice High, had the best idea yet, “We must build a temporary pool on the student parking lot while the new pool is constructed”. Brilliant! They built a 50 meter pool with ten lanes for the Olympic Trials in Long Beach. If LBC can do it- so can Venice!

The Venice pool has an outside private construction company working hard to repipe and reconstruct the deck and their deadline is this January! Does that mean our pool will re-open? According to one of the construction workers, “This is a five year band-aid. Eventually Venice will have to re-build a new pool.”

We need to know how much cash is there is for our pool, new or old. Since there’s a money shortage in both, state and city budgets, we need to get resourceful. 

POWER, People Organized for Westside Renewal, has organized a group of parents, who will keep the city of L.A. on point with their words and their promises. This group, determined to be pro-active and not re-active. 

They’re in the process of securing a meeting within 30 days as the city promised. It was suggested that the city provide a bus for the senior citizens who participate in Water Aerobic exercise every Friday. Can’t we get them a ride? POWER is meeting December 10 – at 7PM. Contact POWER for location, Bill Przylucki, Organizer, (310) 392-9700 x 3# or bill@power-la.org.

Some Venice High pool documents can be found on the city’s Aquatics website. This report does not include geological or engineering testing. (www.laparks.org/dos/ aquatic/facility/venicePool.htm).

Support the Waterpolo Team. The girl’s season just started! Venice High School’s website is: http://www.venicehigh.net