• Bill Rosendahl’s Police State for the Poor – Calvin Moss
• Gasland – Suzy Williams
• Battle of Marina del Rey – Jon Nahhas

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Bill Rosendahl’s Police State for the Poor

Dear Beachhead,

Venice has become a police state for the disabled, unhoused people living on the street. A special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department has been harassing, arresting people and towing vehicles.This beach community in southern California has been a refuge for artists, musicians and craft persons. Many of them are disabled with disabled license plates who are parked to have access to the beach, medical clinics and food programs. The recent appearance of a special LAPD task force has had an extremely negative impact on the poorest people living in the community.

A recent incident of a disabled man, a Venice artist, who was found dead in his van has been attributed to police harassment. Threats of violence and misinformation have been coming from some hateful Venice blogs. People posting on these blogs are members of the local Neighborhood Watch – people associated with the LAPD who influence the LA City Council.

Venice area City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, a former Neighborhood Watch block captain and a popular member of the Democratic Party, has helped spread hatred towards the poor and disabled by supporting those who hate the homeless and by facilitating hate forums, such as the September Venice town hall meeting over an exaggerated alleged RV dumping incident. One of Rosendahl’s supporters and volunteer staff, Jim Horowitz, a well-known Democratic party functionary, was seen at the town hall meeting standing with the local police who regularly bash on the homeless and was then seen standing behind a sign being held up by two children. The crude cardboard sign read “Our streets are not toilets.” These young children where obviously brought to the meeting by their parents who have taught them to hate the poor, parents who themselves instructed them to make the sign.

Bill Rosendahl and his city council staff continue their campaign against the most impoverished people living in the Venice community. He has openly threatened people at public meetings by saying its jail or the highway “we dont want you.” This type of get-rid-of-people politics has only created animosity in the Venice community.

Just imagine the ruthlessness of the military on the Afhganistan population: night raids, assassinations, children being wounded, maimed and killed. Rosendahl’s special (task force) police units are pushing hard on the homeless people in Venice. People living on the streets with serious disabilities are being driven out by cruel and ruthless LA city politics. After an LAPD raid on a disabled person ends in a tragedy – who is to blame?

The city agencies doing the harassment should be held accountable: Bill Rosendahl, the LAPD and neighborhood watch members. Persons posting hate rants on local blogs are just as responsible for violence as big-mouth, talk-show hosts. The recent tragedy in Arizona was caused by irrational hatred. This is also true of what is going on in Venice. Hatred and bigotry directed towards the poor is alive and thriving. This is being orchestrated by callous and cruel politicians, the LAPD and their Neighborhood Watch cronies.

Calvin Moss

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Gasland

Deaar Beachhead,

A little follow-up to the GASLAND article that appeared in the October 2010 issue of The Beachhead. I listened two nights ago to the right-on and spiritually ecstatic Caroline Casey on KPFK, who was conducting an interview with Josh Fox, the maker of GASLAND, the movie. He has been nominated for Best Documentary by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

The Oil industry has already come out with this dart: “The Movie industry should stick to art and keep out of science.”  Man, that should get a few goats! It turns out that since this poetic and factual film has been made, the only tangible positive result (besides oceans of appreciative viewers) is that the state of New York has declared a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, aka “fracking.”

Honestly, this fracking thing has to stop, immediately!  Even tho Venice and California are not on the oil industry’s  current crosshairs, fracking does concern us all.  We’re talking about millions of gallons of fresh sweet water being poisoned right now! As a Venetian, I lovingly urge anyone reading this to see the movie, and go to the website:  gaslandthemovie.com – and get those letters to congress people and any appropriate higher-ups post-haste! Anyone who wants a free copy of this film, do call me at 310-306-7330.

thank you,   Suzy Williams

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Battle of Marina del Rey

Dear Beachhead,

With some of our politicians pledging not to hide or hinder their public interactions in light of the January 8th shooting incident at an open meeting in Arizona, there is one local leader that has been absent from any public outings in the unincorporated area of Marina del Rey for many years. Don Knabe has failed his constituents in providing explanations for the numerous drastic changes that will come before the Board of Supervisors on February 1^st.  The community organizations are “lawyering- up” and the battle for our public lands along the coast of Los Angeles continues.

Mr. Knabe and the appointed Harbor Director, Santos Kreimann, are planning to eliminate 800+ more public boat slips and continue to increase residential/commercial densities without an adequate public vetting of the Local Coastal Program Amendment on the agenda to be heard next Tuesday. The LCP is already touted by State experts as the worst document of its kind and with its changes would give even more public resources over to the private sector.  Academians from USC and UCLA have long stated that the deals in the Marina are not in the best interest of the public and now further revenue generating potential will continue to taint the original intent established by the Federal, State, and Board of Supervisors.

The continued reduction of small, affordable entry-level boating opportunities will inevitably damage boating in and around the harbor of MdR.  This belief has been supported by Dr. Ed Mahoney and Dr. Daniel Stynes of the Recreational Marine Resource Center at Michigan State University.  Both Boating Economists have stated that boating communities are like most other ecosystems and food webs – diminishing the primary and secondary levels (small boats) will cause irreparable damage.  Their research along with recent statements by the National Marina Manufacturers Association President, Thom Dammrich, clearly indicate bad planning by the County and its sole interest in generating revenue.

“For years, as long as I’ve been in the industry, everybody was working to build bigger and bigger and bigger boats and it’s interesting to hear that it’s kind of moving in the other direction, and I think it needs to. We’ve got to build what the market wants and right now it wants smaller boats.” –Thom Dammrich, President, National Marine Manufacturers Association, November 2010

The lack of public participation into the decisions of Marina del Rey development have been a topic of concern at the California Coastal Commission.  Commissioner Bill Burke (former County Supervisor Yvonne Burke’s husband) spoke to his fellow commissioners about the lack of input and public process in Marina del Rey.  Jim Fawcett, former Director of Planning for the Department of Beaches & Harbors, has described it as a public process gone wrong questionable planning practices.

One thing will be clear on Tuesday Morning, February 1^st, a very large contingency of Developers, their representatives and special interests will be present at the Hall of Administration to give the Supervisors their support to pass this controversial amendment to the LCP.  We haven’t found one member of the general public that does not stand to make money from these deals in favor of the comprehensive amendment to our laws.  This is a prime example of Noam Chomsky’s “manufactured consent.”

Jon Nahhas, The Boating Coalition