• Who Am I? – Chuck Bloomquist
• I Am Me – Jonathan Dorado
• Car Stacking – Mark Ryavec
• First Friday – Gerry Becerril
• Over-development and Restaurant Moguls – Chuck Levin
• We Are Venice – Alex Kramer

———–

Who Am I?

Dear Beachhead,

Who Am I?

I am not an artist or a musician.

I am not a performer.

I am not lost or forgotten.

I have no brothers or sisters in the gangs.

I did have skateboarding kids.

I am not a graffiti writer and I don’t surf.

I have often bitched about kids running amok and doing stupid things, especially my own.

I moved here because of the aura.

I want the cool points of living by the beach.

I wouldn’t know Jim Morrison if I tripped over him on the boardwalk.

I was a newcomer here 50 years ago.

And every year since, I have been warned of the imminent take over of Venice by

People like me.

I am Venice

Chuck Bloomquist

————

I Am Me

Dear Beachhead,

My name is J.D. I would like to establish the answer to your question. My response – “I am Me” I am skateboarding. I am the tri-colored smoker with the blood shot stare of positivity and ingenuity. I am the lonely heart with the hopeful inclination towards love. I climbed L.A. until i could only roll down and land on the beach. The beautiful view that screams home. A child of the west a California resident that’s for sure dude. But apparently I am a valley kid to you Venice. I have my dukes up and I am ready for a game of skate. So you wont deny me of sharing the beach ad learning how to ride those waves. Yo can’t Venice you just can’t. I am me and I want to be your friend. I am me and will soon be a part of you.

Jonathan Dorado

————

Car Stacking

Editor,

While John Henning does represent the Venice Stakeholders in our suit against the Coastal Commission, he does not represent the developer of the proposed restaurant at 1305 Abbot Kinney. John represents one of the adjoining property owners who is opposed to the restaurant, in part for its failure to provide code-required parking on-site. On behalf of his client, John appealed the City’s approval of the project to the Commission. He also has worked closely with residents in the effort to stop this project.

By the way, the VSA also opposed the project, due to the lack of code-required parking, and is opposed to the car stacking machines. In practice, these lifts just don’t get used because they are cumbersome and time-consuming, which results in the parking not being provided.

It would be refreshing if Mr. Smith deigned to correct the record in the next issue of the Beachhead.

Mark Ryavec,  President, Venice Stakeholders Association

—

Response: The Beachhead regrets the error.

———-

First Friday

Dear Beachhead,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! For publishing your rant on the First Friday shit show!  I’m with you 100% on this matter. What pisses me off the most about the whole thing is it’s no longer about the locals and our community.

Now me and all my friends share the same thing with you, why do I want to go to bars, be forced to stand in a Hollywood-style line, and have some bouncer actually tell me if I give him 50 bucks he will let me into James Beach!

I don’t live in Hollywood for obvious reasons.  I think if First Fridays continue to go on, all bars an establishments should adopt the Other Room mentality and if you have a Venice address on your license then you will be let in no shit show hassle necessary.  Thanks again for your article.

Gerry Becerril

———–

Over-development and Restaurant moguls

Dear Beachhead,

————

We Are Venice

Dear Beachhead,

I am a writer and fine artist, traveling the west of our country meeting with educational institutions and artists of various mediums.

I’m developing a photographic technology I can best describe, in brief, as: a process of color imagery bypassing the traditions of three-dimension-to-two-dimension representational, “image-capturing”, a process so typically ascribed to camera-based light-sensitive image making.

Night’s rest and day’s steps I dream to share this technology as a visual medium of communication.

I have found frustration with my progress, often finding folk fixed in the constraints of contemporary privatization of public forums, and so too, communication in general, though, as a recent resident of Venice, my frustration has given way to smiling; for this, I have the passionate and literate voices of the Beachhead to thank.

Ian Dean, in your piece, “We Are Venice… Who Are You?,” you describe a home I yearn to share with, a home I have looked for since my departure from New York City this past April.  With this text, I here ask for the opportunity to speak with you, perhaps in person.  I am available daily, and would appreciate the opportunity to speak with a voice dedicated to saving the freedoms of Venice.

Thank you Beachhead, and Ian Dean, I look forward to the latest issue,

Ciao,  alex kramer