Mar Vista View final - Mar Vista Neighborhood Association

Mar Vista View
SUMMER 2010
THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Inside this issue:
Not a Sidewalk To Stand On 1-3
Venice Family Clinic
4
World Music
5
Airship Adventures
5-6
Venice Learning Garden
7-8
Friday Night Live
1011
Leslie Ann Moore, Author
13
I am not sure everyone is
familiar with the City
Watch articles written by
Ken Alpern. Ken has spoken
at a couple of MVNA Board
meetings over the years –
usually about the Expo
Line. I also served with him
on the MVCC as one of its
first elected board of directors.
Bryan Gordon, Vice President
MVNA Board
Not A Sidewalk To Walk On, Or A Leg To Stand On -Ken Alpern
watched City Hall’s antics
over the past few years, we
knew this was coming, but
with Sunday, May 9th’s L.A.
Times article it’s now
clear: the City of Los Angeles
Support Your
West side of Ocean View Ave near
Palms
I have found his articles to
contain just the kind of material that is not only relevant to Mar Vista, but
thought-provoking and often
controversial. They embody
just the kind of fodder that
To those of us who’ve
Looking For A way To
will get neighbors talking and debating issues which impact our
quality of life. The following article represents a perspective or
point of view and does not necessarily reflect the individual or collective views of the MVNA Board.
might no longer be paying for
the upkeep of its sidewalks.
Community? Support
Local Business
T
his stark proclamation,
placed next to the understanding of rising City fees and taxes,
has to make the average citizen
wonder: if not this, what the
heck do my ever-increasing
taxes actually pay for, and what,
if not this, is the role of my City
government? To be sure, this
does touch upon a few controversial and oft-debated issues,
such as whether government in
general is a good steward of tax
revenues, whether government
is efficient, whether we’re all
paying taxes equally, and what
the role of government is in our
lives us who’ve watched City
Hall’s antics over the past few
years, we knew this was coming,
but with Sunday’s L.A. Times
article it’s now clear: the City
of Los Angeles might no longer
be paying for the upkeep of its
sidewalks. I’ll go out on a limb,
however, and suggest that roads
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and sidewalks alike, in addition
to trash, fire, police, parks and
libraries, is considered a MUST
by most taxpayers who presume
they’re already paying for them
and believe that their taxes
would cover all this if spent appropriately.
Continued on page 2
Mar Vista View
Page 2
Not A Sidewalk To Stand On
Continued from pg 1.
Perhaps NOW would be
the right time for the Mayor
and the City Council to
stop screaming and marching about any new laws in
Arizona, and start refocusing on the pain that City
mismanagement has caused
on the lives of the citizens,
legal residents and illegal
immigrants all living here in
Los Angeles. Whether one
agrees or disagrees with the
Arizona laws towards enforcement of illegal immigration policy, I think we
can all agree that Downtown Los Angeles can do a
lot more on our budgetary
crisis than it can on Arizona
law. So our Mayor and City
Council would do well to
stop the political diversions
and focus on its self-created
problems right here at
home. Furthermore, they
can stop blaming Richard
Riordan, who’s been out of
office for over two mayoral
terms, just because he’s
saying that bankruptcy
might be the only option for
a City whose government is
by far more concerned with
their own political hides
than the opportunity to
have a good ol’ do-over.
Because it’ll be proclamations like this, that the City
will stop shouldering its responsibility to sidewalk
repair, that will
make the voting,
taxpaying citizenry
of Los Angeles
demand that
bankruptcy be
considered as the
only way to give
ourselves and our
children a better future.
Clearly, the Mayor and City
Council don’t have the
stomach to govern, OR the
decency to recognize that
the voters and taxpayers
are the NUMBER ONE constituent base to which they
are beholden to. So
whether it’s politicians, lobbyists or the neighborhood
councils of Los Angeles, I
dare you to promote an
initiative (or even just a well
-done poll) that has voters
choosing whether or not to
pursue bankruptcy for the
City of Los Angeles.
I double dog dare you!
Or perhaps a good body
wide CT scan should be
performed on the Mayor
and the City Council (don’t
worry, they’ve all got excellent health insurance) to see
if they really have a functioning brain, heart and
spine, and do the following
as the only way to prevent
bankruptcy:
Follow through with ugly
painful medicine, and demand either immediate pay
cuts or layoffs...or both.
There will be some City
workers—-and start with
those who were sneakily
transferred from the City
payrolls to the DWP—-who
need to be told: “Sorry we
can’t afford you. You’re
fired. Hit the bricks. Here’s
your termination papers.
Start walking down those
broken sidewalks and keep
on walking.”
You deserve better, but
here’s our reality.
1. Throw out the right
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initiatives for City Charter reform, from the
DWP to the City Council
to the Neighborhood
Councils. Until Austin Beutner fires those 1000 City
workers who were transferred from the City payroll
to the DWP, no one should
believe he’s any more than a
pretty face meant to divert
the taxpayers form Downtown policy that’s proven
inept if not downright corrupt. There are just no
checks and balances between
municipal unions and the citizenry, and at this time we
need a City Charter that requires ALL Union discussions
with public officials to have
taxpayer ombudsmen present
for input and review. I am
not certain whether there’s a
“right” figure to what City
Council and Mayoral salaries
should be, but I am certain
they’ve earned a pay cut.
2. Come Up with A Plan
to have private and public
entities compete for cost
effective sidewalk repairs and
tree replacements (goodbye
ficus trees) in order a more
sustainable and environmentally-beneficial plan for the
City to enjoy safe and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks within
5-10 years.
Continued on pg 3
Page 3
Mar Vista View
Not A Sidewalk To Stand On
Continued from page 2.
3. Come Up With A Plan That Makes EVERYONE from homeowners and renters, from
citizens to (illegal immigrants) pay or this
plan. Maybe we can come up with an idea once we
have voted down the upcoming ill-conceived school
parcel tax plan, because as Measure R showed, if we
come up with a plan that’s clear and transparent and
paid by everyone, the taxpayers will do the right
thing. Rather than Downtown telling us all to continue to “deal with it”, maybe it’s time we said the
same to Downtown: Do the ugly layoffs, take the pay
cuts, come up with an action plan and the City Charter reform, or resign. Or just declare bankruptcy.
Or all of the above. Deal with it!
(Ken Alpern is a Board member of the Mar Vista
Community Council (MVCC) and is both co-chair of
the MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee
and past co-chair of the MVCC Planning
Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11
Transportation Advisory Committee and also chairs
the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at
Alpern@MarVista.org. This email address is being
protected from spam bots, you need Javascript
enabled to view it. The views expressed in this article
are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
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Reprinted with permission from CityWatch
Vol. 8 Issue 37
Pub: May 11, 2010
August 2010
New and Ongoing Local Events
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1.
July 8,15, 22, & 29-Culver City Music Festival-info at http://
www.culvercity.org
2.
26th Annual Santa Monica City Dance Series Thursday nights
from July 8 through September 2. Performer Ricky Lee Jones
appears August 5th.
3.
Don’t Forget FREE “Friday Night Live” entertainment at St.
Bede’s Episcopal Church community room every Friday starting at 8PM. Go to http://www.smgov.net for more info.
4.
Mar Vista Farmers Market at Venice and Grandview every
Sunday, Santa Monica Farmer’s market every Saturday at Virginia Park, on the corner of Pico Bl., & Cloverfield Bl.
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Page 4
Mar Vista View
Mar Vista’s Bright Star Mayer B Davidson, MD.
T
he Venice Family Clinic recently opened the doors to its new
Colen Family Health Center in Mar
Vista, serving residents unable to pay
for health care. Located at Inglewood
and Braddock Avenue, on the south
side of the Top Valu shopping complex,
it is the newest of eight Venice Family
Clinic facilities in operation on the
Westside. All offer free health care to
those who can't afford it, from primary
to specialty care, as part of a network
that includes St. John's, UCLA, other
private and public providers and many
volunteer physicians.
Forty years ago, my husband Mayer
Davidson, a physician and Professor at
UCLA Medical Center, and his colleague, Phil Rossman, responded to a
need for health care access in Venice.
Working tirelessly with the community, UCLA Medical School, hospitals,
and local government, they opened in
1970 with a tiny evening clinic at Rose
and Lincoln, staffed entirely by volunteers. It has become the largest free
clinic in the country.
Mayer and I lived the Clinic's history
together for 40 years. I must say, I am
his biggest (and loudest) fan. The Clinic
won a ‘Points of Light’ award in the
90's, which was presented to Mayer at
the White House by President Clinton.
He recently won the Jefferson Award
for community service from ABC7 TV
(cash prize to…the Clinic). Mayer continues to serve on the Board of Directors, is the chair of the Medical Quality
Committee, and volunteers to run an
evening clinic at the Rose Avenue site
monthly. I'm on the Advisory Board
and have been involved with the Volunteer committee for years.
Mayer, as impressive as the institution
he co-created, has taught many top
U.S. Endocrinologists their craft, done
significant research and writing on diabetes at UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, City of
-Roseann Herman
and social service providers and
their clientele. Each facility looks
like an upscale Westside medical
office and is run professionally and
courteously.
Mayer Davidson, MD
Professor of Medicine, UCLA School
of Medicine
Past President of the American
Diabetes Association
Director of the Center of Urban
Research and Education in Diabetes
and Metabolism (CUREDM) at
Charles Drew University
Hope and now Drew University. A
former officer and President of the
American Diabetes Association, he
continues to work at Drew, teaching
and conducting research, and supervising diabetes clinics for LA County
at the former MLK Hospital. He talks
about working part time; for Mayer
that’s 60 hours a week instead of 80.
The Clinic's mission is: "To provide
free, quality health care to people in
need". The eight facilities provide a
multitude of services to over 20,000
patients from a rainbow of ethnicities
ranging in age from newborn to very
senior. More than 2,000 volunteers
provide millions of dollars worth of
services: medical, administrative and
fundraising. Donors include pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and
private medical groups.
After 40 years of involvement, I still
get emotional about the Clinic. It is
an awesome place in every sense.
Every facility is humming with health
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Are you interested? Want to donate
or volunteer? Almost all skills are
needed! Visit
www.venicefamilyclinic.org. You
will find a wealth of information
about the Clinic and its mission.
Want a tour of the Colen Family
Health Center or the main facility at
Rose Avenue? I can try to arrange a
group tour. Mar Vista has reason to
be proud of a truly worthy
"resident".
Page 5
Mar Vista View
World Music At Our Doorstep -Lee Pederson
W
e continue to be delighted by the
wealth of talent that goes frequently unrecognized
in our own area. On a beautiful spring evening in
May, several Mar Vista residents had the pleasure of
attending one of the concerts of the Spring Festival
of World Music and Jazz at UCLA’s Schoenberg
Hall, sponsored by the Department of Ethnomusicology. The two part program included performances by the Near East and Music of China Ensembles. Both groups are made up of student musicians
as well as guest artists.
One of the featured performers with the Near East
Ensemble was Mar Vista resident Ergun
Tamer. Ergun performed beautifully on the qanun, a
zither-like instrument. He played several pieces
with the ensemble, as well as performing solo accompaniment with singer Serpil Borozan on a traditional Ottoman song. Another highlight of the first
half was an instrumental duet by Münir Beken on
‘oud and A.J. Racy on buzuq. A.J. Racy, director of
the Near East Ensemble, and Munir Beken are both
masters of their instruments, which are stringed
and closely resemble the lute. Their duet was meticulously performed and quite moving in its intenContinued on page 6
sity.
Ergun and his wife Samira met A.J. Racy in 1975, in Washington
D.C. at the Smithsonian Institute Festival of American Folk Life.
They immediately connected and a friendship ensued. When A.J.
took a position at UCLA in 1978 he got in touch with Ergun and in
1980 they formed the Near East Ensemble. Ergun has mastered
several middle eastern instruments: the saz, a long necked bowl
shaped instrument similar to the buzuq, the oud, and the tambour
another bowl shaped instrument. Presently he concentrates on
playing the qanun.
Ergun began his music and dance avocation as a student in Turkey.
He was a principal dancer and musician with the Aman Folk
Festival and he continued his involvement with Aman well after
emigrating to the U.S. Ergun is retired from his financial accounting
business and devotes much of his time to performing and teaching
his art.
U
Ergun Tamer playing the qanun
nless you are a
Living It Up-Airship Adventures -Susan Black-Feinstein
Goodyear Tire dealer, or know
one well, you've probably run
into a wall attempting to get a ride on the Goodyear blimp that
frequently floats over our neighborhood. I know that I
have. After attempting to hitch a ride on a blimp for several
years, my good friend Roseann found an advertisement from
Airship Ventures, flying out of Long Beach Airport. They have
a choice of several flights; an initial 30 minute flight over the
Long Beach area; a one hour flight, and a two hour flight. Their
website is: www.airshipventures.com. The company shifts
between Northern California (Moffett Field) and Southern California. On May 15th we took the "Taste of Zeppelin Tour" and
had a total blast. Roseann, myself, and friend Andrea Gross
were lifted off the ground for a glorious 30-minute flight of the
Long Beach area. As we both literally and figuratively floated
on air, we had views to the North of downtown Los Angeles
and the areas between downtown and Long Beach; to the West
was Catalina and the beautiful Pacific. We flew over the coast,
the Queen Mary, the beach, and the Port of Long Beach.
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Mar Vista View
Page 6
World Music At Our Doorstep
Lee Pederson
Continued from pg 5
The Music of China Ensemble also performed a variety of Chinese classical
and folk pieces. The musicianship was
equally excellent throughout. Interestingly, there were a number of instruments that closely mirrored those of
the Near East. One of the highlights of
the second half of the concert was a
unison performance by four young women on the zheng, another zither-like stringed instrument resembling the qanun.
The UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology holds a number
of free concerts throughout the year. The level of entertainment equals that of many ticketed concerts, and the proximity to our neighborhood makes for a very enjoyable evening. For concert listings, their website is:
www.ethnomusic.ucla.edu.
A close up of the qanun
City Gardeners… Sustainable & Water Wise -Michael Millman, ESQ.
Neighbors who have “taken
ownership” of various public
spaces in our community. Join in
and “own” a plot of land, help a
neighbor, or volunteer in the
community. It’s a feel good effort
that boost the quality of life in
Mar Vista.
M
any of my neighbors
may recall the article that I and my
young beagle, Brandy, wrote several
months ago about the synthetic grass
lawn we discovered in our neighborhood. About a month ago, Brandy
and I decided to explore the MAR
VISTA GREEN GARDEN SHOWCASE. With map in hand and Brandy
at my side, we started at Lisa and
Larry Kite's home on Coolidge in
Westdale Estates.
Own It!
There we met Linda Endler, an incredibly creative and innovative landscape
designer. Linda was very generous
with her time and explained how she
had designed, for the Kite’s, a droughttolerant front yard, including trees and
shrubs. We were taken by the simplicity of the design and its inclusion of
both native and exotic shrubs and
plants. Linda explained that she considers the Kite’s garden to be ‘in transition’, as it does not yet support all of
the sustainable features typically found
in a drought-tolerant design.
For example, the garden did not include the essential "storm runoff" features, and this design incorporated
some conventional lawn. Linda Endler's
Design has been in business for approximately 20 years: (310) 614-6323.
She holds an advanced degree in Landscape Architecture from UCLA.
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Water conservation is now of paramount concern to professional landscapers. They seek to ensure that
gardens have such sustainable features as storm water runoff, lawn
grading, grouping of drought-tolerant
plants, and a good landscape design
as part of the plan. She further explains that it may be desirable, if you
have small children and pets, to incorporate a small traditional lawn.
One good place to start is the parkway in front of your home. Many of
these drought-resistant plants can
take up to a year to mature. Many
are confused because these plants
are not completely drought-tolerant
like cacti, but they are varieties or
species that do well with less care
and water.
A "drip irrigation" system is a better
choice when compared to the traditional spray sprinklers. You will conserve a great deal of water.
Mar Vista View
Page 7
Sustainable & Water Wise
Michael Millman, ESQ.
Continued from pg 6
Our friend and Mar Vista neighbor,
Susan Black-Feinstein, recently landscaped her front lawn and added totally
drought-tolerant plants. She felt
strongly that in Southern California we
each must contribute to water conservation and she no longer wanted to pay
the escalating costs of water and the
corresponding sewer fees. (Water
costs have increased in the last two
years by 18%, and sewer costs by 24%.)
Linda explains, "We live in a Mediterranean climate...not a desert." To
incorporate drought-tolerant plants
you need to be creative and recognize that your soil needs a porous
amendment such as pumice or coarse
sand. It may be important to include
redwood chips or compost to help
retain the water.
Linda has an exhaustive list of drought
-tolerant trees and plants. You can
contact Linda directly to get her input
and design ideas. She did remind me
that for new projects, including residences, with gardens larger than
2,500 square feet, Assembly Bill 1881
mandates that landscape architects
and developers use designs that include storm water runoff and other
drought-tolerant components.
Brandy and I thoroughly enjoyed our
adventures at the MAR VISTA GREEN
GARDEN SHOWCASE and our talk
with our good friend Linda Endler. If
you drive through our Mar Vista
Neighborhood, you will see dozens of
homes that are now incorporating
sustainable gardens. In any event,
Brandy and I are going to continue our
adventures in the Neighborhood.
Stay tuned for our next installment!
Own It!
Venice High’s Learning Garden “Extraordinaire” Vanessa Rosemund
W
alking into the Venice
High School Learning Garden is tantamount to entering a well heeled profitable Nursery. From the wood chip
piles, compost and soil amendment
heaps that line the northwest fence
along Walgrove Street to rock
sculpted water garden at the entrance
you know that this is a “Blue Ribbon”
effort on many levels. The Learning
Garden was begun in March 2001 by
Julie Mann and David Grow. It is one
of the largest and most successful
school gardens in the country, aimed
at teaching sustainable agricultural
from ground to table, not simply
through classroom lectures but
through applying that lesson to a long
term project involving the entire organic plant life cycle under the supervision of the Garden master, David King.
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Left to right: Master Gardener,
Marianne Brown and Diane
Pollock, Horticultural Instructor at
Venice High School
My guide for the morning Marianne
Brown, a Master Gardener herself,
assists Dianne Pollock the Horticultural teacher in her classroom, one
day a week. One of the requisites of
having the Master Gardener certificate, says Marianne, is that
continued on page 8
Page 8
Mar Vista View
Venice High’s Learning Garden “Extraordinaire”
Continued from pg 7
they have to spend a certain number
of hours educating others on how to
garden and completing continuing
education credits on the subject of
gardening. In addition to working
with Venice High, Marianne works
with the teachers at Walgrove Elementary and Mark Twain Middle
Schools on their organic gardens.
The Learning Garden encourages
students to be closer to nature by
illustrating how integral man is in
nature’s process. Students learn, by
participating, how we impact our
environment and how what we do,
or don’t can make a profound difference in the quality of our environment. I was struck by the deliberate
purpose of each designated section of
the garden. The shade barn houses
the new seedlings until they are ready
for planting and serves as the storage
unit for garden supplies. Next to the
shade barn is the greenhouse. The
pathway from these two structures
leads to specially designed potting
bins to accommodate persons with
limited mobility. Romaine, red leaf,
and arugula lettuces, and squash grow
alongside flowering plants. Did you
know that many of the Garden’s herb
and vegetable plants are for sale? Sunflower plants were in abundance and
well over 6 feet tall.
Inside the Southwest gate entrance are the soil amendment, wood chips and
compost available to the Public.
apply some of the lessons learned during the lecture. He allows plenty of time for a
Q & A session to cover impromptu questions and requests. For more details visit
http://www.learninggarden.org
On June 3, 2010, actor Rosaria Dawson showed up at the Venice High School
Learning Garden to show support to the “Yes to Carrots Challenge’, to area public
schools. The winning school receives a grant to start their own organic garden program and a year’s worth of garden supplies. The Challenge is a part of Environmental Media Associations (EMA) push to involve youth in promoting healthy eating
life styles. Other celebrities involved in this organization supporting local schools are
EMA Board Directors Nicole Richie, Amy Smart and Lance Bass. Nicole Richie
helped launch the organic garden project at Helen Bernstein High School in North
Hollywood. You can find out more about EMA at http://www.ema-online.org/
(Continued on page 15)
The Learning Garden shade barn for
growing seedlings.
Students of the Yo San University of
Tradition Medicine and Emperor’s
College of Traditional Chinese Medicines are instrumental in developing
the Chinese medicinal herb garden.
UCLA Horticulture Department
teaches its extension course at the
Learning Garden. Garden master,
David King, offers a three class series
for $25 each, conducted at Venice
High. The course is titled “What To
Do and When To Do It”. The
classes are from 9am until noon on
the garden patio. This allows those
in attendance to stroll the garden and
Judy Kann, Psy.D.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
310-479-1028
1849 Sawtelle Blvd. #540
Los Angeles, CA 90025
www.westsidetherapy.com
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Mar Vista View
Page 9
Venice High’s Learning
Garden
Photos continued from pg 8
The water garden complete with
turtle, I am told.
EMA as benefactor to Venice High School
and other schools, obtain donations for
the schools like .Kellogg brand potting and
garden soil shown here.
Critter Corner -Roseann Herman
A
while back, a neighbor
wrote about 'possums in the
neighborhood. Wild things, in our
urban setting! The neighbor was
surprised that there were such creatures in Mar Vista. No surprise:
there are, indeed. We have opossums, raccoons, lizards up to a foot
long, and a huge variety of birds,
which have attracted domestic
(outdoor) and feral cats. Not to
mention the UNSPEAKABLES: rats,
mice and, depending on your attraction to bushy tails on rats, squirrels.
I’ve seen them. 'Possums and raccoons in the daytime, though they are
supposed to be nocturnal. Raccoons
in the trees, so distinctive that I could
sight-identify a few of them: the one
with the crooked tail, the one with a
slight limp. Many lizards, lots of
birds, and a family of squirrels who
own the backyard, defying me to
chase them from the bird feeders.
The cats sleep on my outdoor furniture and eat the birds that are too
slow to evade the cats' hunting instincts. It reminds me of my trip to
Africa, where I watched the lions
lying in wait at a watering hole; cats
have a natural instinct to plan, wait
and kill. Perhaps not to eat, as so
many cats bring their mice to their
humans, just as the female lions allow
the males to eat first.
In May, a spreading vine on my very
ugly block wall was--I swear to you-devoured by some creature. Now,
who would eat an entire thunbergia
vine down to the bones? It was gone;
not a leaf or a flower left, even on the
ground. The chewed stems were the
only evidence that it had been alive
and flowering. There is green reemerging from the stems, so maybe
next year we'll have the pretty orange
and black flowers again and the block
wall will have some coverage. This
year, it's a disaster. My daughter in
Berkeley has deer in her yard, improbably, as she lives on a busy street
that divides her home from the
Berkeley hills. But there they are; I've
seen them. Might we have deer in
the neighborhood? Do raccoons or
possums or squirrels or rats eat flowers, leaves and young shoots? I have
seen squirrels eat our apricot blossoms, and the fruit too, when it’s
ripe. So, perhaps they also eat the
leaves and flowers and stems of certain irresistible vines. Does anyone
reading this have a clue?
Dr. Brigitte Rozenberg, D.C.
Handicap accessible planting bins for
growing vegetables and herbs.
brigitterozenberg@sbcglobal.net
www.TheChiroSpaCenter.com
12568 W. Washington Blvd. Suite 202
(LA) Culver City, CA 90066
Tel 310.482.3252•310.482.3255
15710 1/2 Vanown St.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Tel 818.901.1505 Fax 818.901.7705
The Learning Garden Greenhouse
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Page 10
Mar Vista View
Welcome to “Friday Night Live!” -Vanessa Rosemund
Comics Jay Lynn and Steven Lolli
W
hen I learned that we had a
talented group of comic artist and musicians playing at a local church, I was curious. Indeed the community room at St.
Bede’s Episcopal Church is the unlikely
site of a free open mike club called
“Friday Night Live”. “How could we have
missed a free night of local entertainment?” So, I calendared a drop-by visit for
Friday, May 21st to check it out.
Friday Night Live was begun by entertainment producers Eddie Eds and Dave Corrado nearly 13 years ago, now only Dave
is involved. You can also catch Dave
hosting open mike at the Bliss Art Café in
Hollywood on Vine, Tuesdays beginning at
7:00PM.
I entered the south side of St. Bede’s on
Charnock Boulevard—now dimly lit to
look like a night club. All that was missing
was a tea candle nestled into a glass jar in
the center of the table. Remind me to
make a donation! Musician, Jeff Goldberg
was performing a polka tune followed by,
one of my favorite genre’s, Swing. A husband and wife team known as Still Yet
More Chamber Players (Pris Haffenden on
Guitar and Chris Haffenden on Oboe)
opened with a Beatles tune. The Haffendens have been performing together
for more than 14 years. They have per-
formed in a variety of venues: including galrs
lery openings, art shows, weddings, bookPlaye
e
h
stores, and coffee houses. Their repertoire
T
is eclectic, including the classics , folk tunes,
as swell as show and holiday tunes. The
room was dark except for the spotlight on
the stage. You can learn more by visiting
their web site www.stillyetmore.com
Stand up Comic Cordell aka JokerPace is a
Writer (Film/TV-stage-sketch), Comedy
Storyteller, Voice-over Artist, Director,
Producer and Radio Host/DJ. Cordell
trained at Second City-Chicago and Improv Dave Corrado, MC and Comic
Olympic-Chicago comedy clubs learning
improvisation and sketch comedy while also
educating himself with on-camera Film/TV
JokerPace on UCLARadio
classes and performing in countless straight
theatre productions. He’s the part-time DJ
for the Bruins Radio station. Check out
UCLAradio.com for more details’.
Also performing were comedienne Deidre
Richards and comic Steve Lolli. Deidre has
been doing stand up comedy for 8 1/2 years.
She has played in clubs all over L.A. and was
recently featured in the L.A Comedy
Awards.
Chicago born comic Steve Lolli, did 5 years
of stand up in Orlando and Tampa before
his move to Los Angeles in December 2001.
“The reality of our show”, says Lolli speaking about Friday Night Live, “ is that it
serves as a creative lifeline for the really
good comedians in LA who can't stand the
politics of Hollywood and just wants to be
funny. He’s been described, by Weekly
Planet, as “equal parts Richard Pryor ,
Woody Allen, and Charles Bukowski”. In
early 2002 he became known as the angry
black Jewish comedian as he played the circuit in the underground black comedy Clubs
in South LA. Lolli worked as a collaborative
writer for Katt Williams between 2007 and
2009. His recent projects include top-billing
in the comedy What Do I Do Now, a
comedy about medical marijuana, In 2009 he
played 4 different roles in the Sundance romantic comedy Please God Someone
Normal.
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Cordell aka JokerPace
Charlie Haynes
Page 11
Mar Vista View
“Friday Night Live!”
Continued from pg 10
Steve Lolli is set to play in The Fairfax
File scheduled to shoot later this year
and is due for release in 2011.
Success rarely comes outright. Timing
and luck often trump talent. Steven says
that he and fellow comics are tired of
the mediocrity that stands in the way of
getting the good “TV and network deals”
Still Yet More Chamber Players
he adds “At some point the talent gets
burned out trying to be what the club,
network, and every individual in the "in
crowd " likes, while still trusting their
own creative instincts. He adds “This
Jeff Goldberg, Singer/Musician
may explain why the comedy business
hasn't put out a superstar in 15-20 years.
So I just go where people like me and
where I know I can get funnier.” Lolli
says his ideal gig is one where he has 45
minutes of material and he closes the
house down. That’s what he’s shooting
for.
“It’s a fact that this business is brutal.
Pursuing an entertainment career is
tough and you have to be tough to survive. You have to believe in yourself and
your talent,” says comedienne Jay Lynn.
She arrived in Los Angeles about 2 years
ago. “You have to know who you are
and be secure in who you are,” laments
Jay. “This business is 45% talent and the
rest is who you know”.
Steven Lolli
Deidre Richards
The General
They all agree that its hard work and the
pay off is slow coming. Warning that its
nearly Impossible to turn 2 minutes of
material into 15 minutes as she knows
from first hand experience—so her advice is “don’t fake it or you’ll bomb.” If
you bomb you may not get booked
again.
The talent would love to see you Friday
nights-free to all comers!
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Mar Vista View
Page 12
Vanessa Rosemund
I have been taking my dogs to the Mar Vista Animal Medical Center for a few years to be treated
by Veterinarian Leslie Ann Moore, a petite, quiet, and gentle spoken woman. And for the patrons of this small animal medical center she’s pet-perfect. Beneath this calm unassuming exterior
beats the heart of a strong, fierce and poetic writer of Fantasy Fiction.
L
eslie, winner of the 2008 Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award For Best
First Fiction, spins an adventurist tale about the struggles
between two unequal societies, one stronger and more
powerful than the other and determined to control and
dominate the weaker society through any means. She imbues her heroine, a woman of mixed ancestry—human and
elf—with inner strength and outer beauty, magical powers
and fierce cunning. Her heroine, Princess Jelena, is strong
and passionate. The story takes you through the battle
over oppression which almost always leads to deadly conflict, ultimately delivering you to justice. This fantasy has all
the magic and fast action suspense that make an exciting
tale.
High Praise for Griffin’s
Daughter!
”Moore’s narrative drive and
suspenseful plot twists
will leave readers eager for the
conclusion to this intricate
and appealing tale.”
— Publishers Weekly
Leslie Ann Moore grew up in Los Angeles, California. As a child she loved animals and had
many pets. She recalls being especially intrigued by Jane Goodall, her first heroine. It was her
love for animals and their wellbeing that led to her career in Veterinary. But Leslie also loved
“make believe” . Her passion was ignited when a grade school friend introduced her to science
fiction through books by Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. By the 8th grade she had discovered “The Hobbit” , and “Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R Tolkien.
In the 80’s, while living and going to school in Davis California she was a member of the fantasy reenactment group called Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA). As a writer Leslie offers
her services to edit the works of other aspiring authors . You can learn more about Leslie by going to her website at www.leslieannmoore.com. All three volumes of the Griffin’s Daughter Trilogy can be purchased online at Amazon.com
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Page 13
Mar Vista View
Restaurant Review— “What’s On Your Plate” -Samira Tamer
Café Bizou
2450 Colorado Blvd
Santa Monica, 310
453 8500
T
he MVNA Ethnic Cooking group enjoyed its outing at Café Bijou on
April 24th. Among the many choices enjoyed included several seafood entrees, as
well as appetizers and luscious desserts. A three course prix fixe dinner is also
available for $28 per person. Most entrees were from $10 to $25, but the best part is they have a $2 corkage
fee. Average price for 2 people including tax, tip and corkage is about $60. A real find on the West side!
Enter the parking structure on Colorado for free parking with validation for 2 hours. The Ethnic Cooking
group most recent event was a brunch on June 5th, hosted by Sharon Wetzel and Dave Kanter. Food was
multi-ethnic dishes prepared by the members of the group.
CAFÉ BIZOU
The Bundy Village Fight
Bundy Village is a 385-unit, 12-acre development at the corner of West Olympic Boulevard and Bundy Drive in West L.A.'s Sawtelle neighborhood. A protest against the
project materialized in early February of this
year, with opponents saying that it will bring
an additional 21,000 cars per day to the
area ultimately making an already bad traffic
congestion worse. About one in five units at
the development will be set aside for senior
and affordable housing, although Bundy Village is being spun as a senior-living project.
Councilman Bill Rosenthal who once supported the project now shares the same
concerns of many Westside residents, that
the size and scale of the project will have
negative traffic impacts. To the right is a
snapshot of Councilman Rosenthal’s recent
statement on the matter.
Bundy Village Project
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Mar Vista View
Page 14
Mar Vista History Corner
Real Estate Matters -Renee´ Marcus, QSC®
S
ummer is finally
here! School’s out, it’s vacation time and what, you ask, is happening with our Mar Vista real estate?
Let’s take a look at the area from our
Association to Hilltop since January
1st. While sales prices have not increased much, activity has been high,
with an increase of buyers writing multiple offers on property. In my professional opinion, one of the reasons for
such high activity in the market was the
buyer incentive offered by the Federal
Government and now the State. What
a great time for buyers! Interest rates
are still low on many programs. Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) loans are
very popular with buyers.
There are currently 16 properties on
the market. Prices range from
$385,000 to $2,495,000 with an average
time on the market of 61 days. There
are currently 11 properties in escrow
(under contract). Prices range from
$429,000 - $1,999,000 with an average
time on the market of 30 days.
-Mark Crawford
D
o you have a box of old
photographs inherited from your parents, or your Uncle Charlie? Do you
know anyone who does? The Mar
Vista Historical Society is looking for
vintage pictures of the community –
the older the better. Unlike Venice,
Culver City, Santa Monica, and Palms,
there are precious few “historic”
photographs of Mar Vista pre-1950.
The Society has been granted a display case in the library at Venice and
Inglewood, which we will use for alternating exhibits. We are also preparing to publish a history of Mar
Vista. Both projects would be greatly
enhanced with choice photos.
Mar Vista began as the real estate
subdivision Ocean Park Heights, 106
years ago. The first notable structure
built was an imposing masonry archway that spanned Grand View Boulevard north of Venice. Besides the two
main arches that stretched 100 feet
across Grand View, two smaller
arches reached over each side walk
and a real estate office at the west
end. The arches were local landmarks
for twenty years and served as a de
In the last newsletter there were 8 facto depot for the Pacific Electric
local properties on the market
train that ran down the middle of
Four sold below list price, One
Venice Boulevard. There are only
sold over list price, one is pending three known photographs of the
escrow, one was removed, and
Grand View arch: a 1905 photo from
one remains listed but as yet unthe LA Times, a 1922 distant view
sold.
published in the Venice Evening VanIf you are a seller, qualify your buy- guard, and a Spence aerial photo
taken in 1921-22. Do you know of
ers’ ability to close escrow and if
you are a buyer, get approved by a anyone who has other pictures?
qualified lender before writing an
Floyd’s Barber Shop, the edgy tonsoroffer. If you have any questions,
ium that opened last year at the SW
please feel free to call me at: 310- corner of Venice and Grand View,
398-5857, or email at: reneemaroccupies an historic building. Concus@verizon.net.
structed in 1923, the Busby Building
was the first big commercial building
in Mar Vista. Floyd’s current space
was the site of the Mar Vista Drug
There are 23 area properties that
have successfully closed escrow
from January 1st until now. Prices
ranged from $535,000 $1,630,000. Average time on the
market was 51 days. On average,
houses in our area were sold for
approximately 4% less than what
they were listed for. That means
that sellers are pricing their houses
more realistically.
(Continued on page 15)
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Mar Vista View
Page 15
Mar Vista History Corner
-Mark Crawford
(Continued from page 14)
Store, owned and operated by Mr.
Busby. Two spaces to the west was
Daley’s, an early supermarket chain. The
first local post office was at 3807 Grand
View, today the site of Abby Party Rentals. The first Mar Vista Chamber of
Commerce met here, with Busby as
Treasurer. The decision to change the
name to Mar Vista took place here at a
Chamber meeting in 1924. Despite its
significance, the only known early photo
of the Busby Building is a grainy shot
from a 1925 Evening Vanguard. Do you
know of others? Few now recall a
stream called Mar Vista Creek where
local kids used to catch pollywogs, crawdads and frogs. Today it is the open concrete storm channel at the NE corner of
McLaughlin and Venice. We don’t have a
single photo of the creek – do you? How
about Westward Ho Country Club, the
25-acre golf course east of McLaughlin
between Charnock and Victoria? Today
it’s a 60-year-old residential tract. We’ve
seen a couple of newspaper pictures of
the club house –the former Guthrie
mansion at the SW corner of Victoria
and Sawtelle – but not of the course
itself. Have you?
Besides old pictures, we’re looking for
subjects for oral history interviews. We
have done several such interviews in the
past and have unearthed details that
would otherwise have been lost. Do you
know any fifty year (or more) residents
who wouldn’t mind being interviewed?
Are you such a person yourself? If you
have or know of vintage pictures or
know a good interview candidate,
please contact Mark Crawford at
dacraw1@gmail.com.
The MVNA Annual Picnic and Potluck was a huge success. More than a hundred neighbors turned out for great food and lots of fun. Each year we have a
wonderful auction of new items donated by local businesses. DidiPop provided the musical background. Thanks to all the Board members for contributing where ever was needed and a special thanks to those who helped set
up and tear down. We all appreciate the hard work our chief event organizers, Sue Hirschkoff and Susan Black-Feinstein committed to with great results
Sue hand painted birdhouses stuffed with doggy waste bags for our
“neighbor to neighbor” fundraiser. Thank you Tom Ponton and Walt Roessner for the use of your homes for tables chairs, music and BBQ set up, and to
all attendees who brought a dish. What an awesome participation by Bikerowave, located near the corner of Venice Bl. and Ocean View Ave., who
brought bikes for the kids to ride and Rest & Relaxation Bodyworks who
gave free advice and mini massages all afternoon. To top it off, out picnic
could not have been a success without the support of or local businesses
large and small. Whose contributions helped to defray the cost of putting on
the picnic:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Trader Joes( Palms & Sepulveda)
Peter’s Salon (12024 Venice Bl. Mar Vista)
Huebner’s Clothing (12300 Venice Bl. Mar Vista)
Bikerowave (12255 Venice Bl, Mar Vista)
Soaptopia (12228 1/2 Venice Bl.)
Rest and Relax Bodyworks (national & Sepulveda)
CVS Pharmacy (Centinela)
Mar Vista Farmer’s Market-Lorraine Wells
Picnic honors included Councilman Rosenthal’s presentation of a Certificate
of Appreciation from the City of LA to MVNA Vice President Bryan Gordon
for his community work and efforts toward a sustainable environment and a
special visit by Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich.
Susan Black-Feinstein
Visit us on the web at www.mvna.net
Sue Hirschkoff and
Carmen A. Trutanich
ÂVisit us on the
web at
www.mvna.net
Officers
Contemplating MVNA: Why We “Dues” It?
Dan Jackson, President
Bryan Gordon, Vice President
Susan Black-Feinstein,
Treasurer
Roseann Herman, Secretary
Board Members
Cary Gordon
Heather Goren
Sue Hirschkoff
Renee Marcus
Michael Millman
Tara Mulski
Vanessa Rosemund
A founding member and MVNA Vice President,
Bryan Gordon reflects, “ Almost 9 years later, I
am so proud and amazed at how our association has evolved—not just as an advocacy
group for the community, but as a vehicle to
bring neighbors closer together for fun, safety
and community beautification. Even more cool
is how our newsletter and website have
created a feedback mechaniism for us to hear
from our members and for us to let neighbors
know what’s happening in the ‘hood—
information that they would never find in the
L.A.Times. What’s really impressive is that
through the collective will and energy of our
board and members of our association, we
have one of the larges associations in the West
L.A. area. 1200+ homes, over 25% of residents
signed up as paying members. We are a
cohesive, stable, energetic, productive and wellrespected organization and we’ve done so
much to make this neck-of-the-woods feel like
an idyllic place to live. I feel lucky to live here
and to be a part of this vibrant community.”
Please Join Us!
Questions/
comments?
Contacteditor@mvna.net
Community? Support
Mar Vista Landk0eepers’ Preservation
3.
Neighborhood Youth Association
4.
The Mar Vista View Newsletter
5.
Police Unity Tour– honoring our former
Senior Lead Officer Craig White
6.
St. Bede’s Episcopal Church community
meeting space
7.
LAPD Winter Wonderland
8.
Block Captain Appreciation Party
9.
Annual Stakeholder’s Meeting
10. Globe Avenue Beautification Project
11. Venice Family Clinic
Its easy and inexpensive to become a member. Simply complete this form, clip it out and
mail it to MVNA Treasurer, 11615 Francis Place, Los Angeles, CA 90066. You may also
remit your dues via PayPal by going online to www.mvna.net.
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MVNA supports these events and organizations:
1. Association-wide block party-rentals,
food, beverages, t-shirts, etc.
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Local Business
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