Dear Beahhead,

Thank you Beachhead and Greta Cobar for the interview with Emily Winters. I have known Emily since I came to the Beachhead Collective in the late 1970s. Her art and her commitment to humanistic politics have always been inspirations to me.

Long may her murals survive beyond tagging and natural erosion.

Sincerely,

Lynne Bronstein

———————————–

Dear Beachhead,

You sustain and reassure me!

Thank you,

Laura Shepard Townsend

———————————-

Dear Free Venice Beachhead!

I am currently serving a 24-year sentence here at SATF Corcoran Prison.

I was born and raised in Venice, California. My friends call me Shark not only because I swim like one, but because this beach boy has razor-sharp physique.

Well let me get straight to the reason for this letter. I would like to ask you to put me on your membership – and please mail me your Free Venice Beachhead.

I’ve also written to my sisters, who lives on Venice Blvd./Louella Av. and on 5th/Brooks in Venice to please make a monthly donation to help keep your paper on the map, as you all are doing a great job! Do you accept books of stamps for donation?

Respectfully,

Mr. Mike

Dear Mr. Mike,

We send the paper for free to all inmates that we know might want it. We added you to our mailing list and you should receive the Beachhead monthly. We do not accept donations from people in prison, but all others are welcome to donate. We do accept books of stamps.

Sincerely,

The Beachhead Collective

—————————————

Dear Beachhead,

Santa Monica, CA – Airport2Park.org, a coalition of residents and groups formed to turn Santa Monica Airport into a great park, will sponsor a workshop to envision what the park could be. The workshop, “From Airport to Park: Turning Santa Monica Airport into a Park for Everyone,” will be open to the public and will take place Thursday, October 3, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., at the Mount Olive Church, 1343 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica 90405.

“Airport2Park.org is a coalition uniting residents who want to seize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a great park in place of the Santa Monica Airport,” said John Fairweather, Chair of Community Against Santa Monica Airport Traffic (CASMAT).

Sincerely,

The Airport-to-Park Train

—————————————-

Dear Beachhead,

I’m tired of this war between the locals and Those Other People. It’s like a bad movie: Earth vs. The Aliens. Everyone came to Venice from somewhere. What qualifies you as a local – how long you’ve been here? How you look? How much money you have in your bank account? How does the peace and love that is supposed to be Venice jibe with Us against Whoever They Are?

Sincerely,

Don Schraier, long-time resident

Dear Don,

As a self proclaimed “long time resident” it should be obvious what the on going struggle between Venetians and “those other people” is all about. True, most of us came to Venice from somewhere else, like many did to CA in general. Venice is a not a state, but it is a state of mind. Venice is and always has been a diverse working class neighborhood/city. But with continued gentrification, the working class, low income, and bohemian artist types that give Venice its very appeal (along with the beach and weather), their very existence becomes threatened. All you have to do to see proof of this is to walk along Rose or Abbot Kinney and watch local, mom and pop, long time shops close due to souring rents. Gentrification is its own unique kind of blight. It may be pretty to look at, but what it does to the very fiber and spirit of a community is where the underlying struggle gets played out. Do we just roll over and accept it, or do we fight back to save our beloved community? I’m all for peace and love. But as long as rich developers, greedy landlords, and the one percent continue to want to turn Venice into something they envision, we will continue to hold onto the true spirit of Venice and resist.

Sincerely,

Anthony Castillo

——————————-

Dear Beachhead,

In your recent story Parking, Traffic and Other Evils in Venice the street Grand Blvd. is referred to as Grand Ave. in both picture captions. As small as this may seem, it can discredit your paper and staff involved as not true Venetians. Grand Ave. is in downtown L.A., which ads to this insult. After all, it was the choice location of our founding father (1 Grand Canal). Please school your staff on Venice facts before you turn into the mini LA Times.

Thank you,

George Hernandez

Dear George,

Thanks for paying attention and reading carefully. Our staff has been schooled accordingly.

Many thanks,

The Beachhead