Not to be outdone by the Pentagon, the Venice Neighborhood Council at its May 24 meeting voted to spend money like it was going out of style. President Linda Lucks explained that the funds would have to be returned to the City if VNC didn’t spend them (where they might have helped reduce the city’s budget-BH).

Here’s some of the damage:

• $3000 for the 2011 Venice Community Barbecue; $1620 for rental of storage space;
• $325 for a booth at the Abbott Kinney Festival;
• $450 for a new canopy;
• $425 for meeting timer;
• $600 for table coverings for Board meetings;
• $400 for Board retreat.

Although the Board is without translating equipment, no one thought to put it on the shopping list.

The Board also doled out money to a number of worthy – and/or dubious – community causes:

• $1,900 – Masters In The Chapel: Concert Series;
• $1, 325 – Walgrove Elementary School: Cafeteria Area Beautification;
• $1, 900 – Venice Canals Foundation: Coastal Access Path;
• $1, 900 – Venice Historical Society: Discovering My Venice Workbook;
• $1, 700 – Venice Canals Assn: Re-Treading Canal Walk-Bridges;
• $1, 400  – E. Jaquchem/Venice Chamber of Comm: Carnevale;
• $1, 500 – Coeur d’Alene Elementary School: Local Wildlife Mural;
• $1, 500 – Beethoven Elementary School: Learning Garden;
• $1, 000 – Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club: Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally;
• $1, 300 – Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker Comm: Memorial Marker at Lincoln & Venice;
• $500 – Venice Art Crawl: Neptune Festival;
• $275 – Milton Rosenberg: Venice Spring Fling

The Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker Committee had originally been allocated only $500 (half as much as the motorcycle club), but after an outcry from the audience was raised to $1300. They had asked for $2,000.