A showdown on Overnight Parking Districts (pay parking) in Venice is scheduled for the morning of June 11 at the Marina del Rey Hotel, which is adjacent to Venice.

In a sleight of hand movement, the city of L.A. has tossed out its OPD proposal that was the subject of hearings and numerous appeals, and substituted another proposal which has not been reviewed by the public.

The new proposal, which has the Coastal Commission staff’s backing, would add the Ocean Front Walk residents to the OPD, change the hours when a permit is needed to 2 – 5 am, and open the beach parking lots at night. However, individual vehicles could only be parked there for four hours on any given night.

It is not possible to say exactly when the Venice item will come up on the agenda. It is item number 9. However, since the meeting place is only a few minutes from Venice by bike or car, it will not be necessary to sit through the meeting from its beginning at 8 am. There is a live webcast on June 11 which will give advance warning that number 9 is coming up. The website is http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html

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On Memorial Day, a giant Air Force plane flew over Venice at an attitude designed to cause mental anguish to any visiting New Yorker.

The C-17, a four-engine cargo place, flew at only 1,000 feet over our community. The World Trade Center in New York stood at more than 1,300 feet.

The stunt was apparently approved by the L.A. Council District office, which put out an email notice to some Venetians the day before. Calls to the Council office to find out who ordered the overflight and who is going to pay for the colossal waste of fuel went unanswered. The flight was to and from March Air Force Base, which is east of Riverside.

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The Los Angeles City Council finally passed the Community Design Overlay for Lincoln Boulevard in May. The vote was unanimously.

This means that future projects and remodels of buildings on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice will have to follow the design guidelines, says Laura Silagi of the Venice Community Coalition. In time this will create a more pedestrian friendly boulevard with landscaping and interesting design.

Silagi urges contacting Councilmember Bill Rosendahl to ask him to pressure the Department of Building and Safely to remove all the illegal billboards on Lincoln Blvd as he has expressed an interest in doing.

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An impeccable source says that a Lincoln Place settlement is near that includes 80 evicted people returning to their homes, 80 people being paid off, and the building 99 new condos. Any new construction would have to include the involvement of the community.

The Venice Historical Society has plans to raise money to restore the history columns on Windward Avenue. A celebration fundraising event will be announced shortly.

Some of the columns were allegedly destroyed by artist and resident Robert Graham when he built an art studio on the street. Other columns are in a state of disrepair. The Historical Society can be reached at 967-5170 or info@veniceofamerica.org.