July 28, 2025 #1 Local News, Forum, Information and Event Source for Venice Beach, California.

Letter to Editor: What Does Surfing Have to do with Local Self-Governance?

Dear Editor:

What does surfing have to do with local self governance?

The Venice Neighborhood Council is comprised of twenty-one elected volunteers who take no salary or compensation and deal with an array of data and information that is distributed to the public.

They weigh-in on land use issues and serve as a buffer to a woefully detached, LA city government too dysfunctional to mention here.

In a city of 4 million, Venice is roughly one percent of that population which is dealing with an array of complex and complicated issues now in the midst of a pandemic.

While I comply with the current social distancing guidelines, hundreds if not thousands of people do not as it applies to Venice Beach in or outside the water!

Let me repeat that, hundreds if not thousands are breaking the rules each and every day since the lock down was imposed.

I live just yards from the Venice Pier and watch endlessly as bikes, scooters, runners and alike with no masks or gloves gather at the beach for morning jogs, bicycle rides on a path supposedly closed as well as a beach that is closed, yet hundreds continue to congregate without consequence or warning.

No tickets, no warnings, no real enforcement of these new rules.

Even by your own admission, the surfer in question would not be an issue had they not volunteered to serve in this stakeholder capacity.

In fact anyone at the beach snapping images would also be in violation of the same guidelines since the beach and boardwalk are allegedly closed.

Yes, the rules do apply to everyone.

So is the issue really to embarrass a single board member, or to question why anyone is at the beach in wake of the closure?

To call for resignations of people that serve for free?

You want to fire a volunteer?

You want the President to resign because you didn’t like his response?

Quite frankly, when was the last time this medium attended or covered a VNC meeting or subcommittee event?

Finger pointing and silly criticism in serious times demeans public service from people who are ordinary citizens, not political professionals earning in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide constituent services that are lacking by any reasonable standard.

The Los Angeles City Council is the highest paid legislative body in the United States today.

The fifteen members of this dubious body earn in excess of $300,000 annually when you consider their complete compensation including free health benefits and pensions for life, also in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually after their “service” is over!

VNC board members don’t even get a t-shirt!

These compensation packages are so obscene when compared to New York City, where the municipal council is triple the size, makes half in salary and has double the population!

LA City Council members earn more than Members of the US Senate, the House of Representatives; Speaker of the House, most Governors and the Vice-President of the United States!

Criticism comes with public service and rightly so.

But isn’t this really displaced criticism?

Criticism that should be squarely aimed at the real policy makers that actually manage and operate Venice, a destination venue of Los Angeles?

The VNC is advisory in capacity and jurisdiction. Is this kind of random criticism truly necessary?

Yes, it can play a role that is impactful and serve as a sounding board for locals in wake of a city government that does not have the interest or ability to care what locals truly think about the array of issues facing Venice.

But the VNC did conduct a Community Survey and here is a link to that data which went ignored by most media outlets, including this one.

For “Gotcha” news is no news at all!

Sincerely,
Nick Antonicello
Venice

The writer is a volunteer member of three (3) VNC sponsored committees and is hoping the boardwalk and beach will open soon.

Related Posts

Council to Weigh Next Steps in Justice Case on Land Seized from Black Entrepreneur

July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025

The Ebony Beach Club case has become a focal point of Santa Monica’s growing reparative justice efforts The Santa Monica...

Malibu Teen to Paddle 21 Miles for Ocean Cleanup Following Pali Fire

July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025

His 21-mile prone paddle will trace the coastline from Malibu through Palisades A Malibu high school student and avid surfer...

14-Unit Apartment Complex on Sawtelle Blvd. Lists for $3.25M After Price Cut

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

Plans have been approved to convert an existing laundry room into a 536-square-foot accessory dwelling unit  A 14-unit apartment complex...

(Video) A Plus Tree: A Steward of Urban Forest Management Across Los Angeles

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

For More Information, Go to Aplustree.com A Plus Tree: A Steward of Urban Forest Management Across Los Angeles For More...

The Third Place Reinvented: Why Kavahana Is Becoming LA’s New Favorite Hangout Spot

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

In a city full of coffee shops that close too early and bars that don’t cater to the sober (or...

Avocet Playa Vista: Your New Luxury Retirement Experience

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

A wealth of high-end amenities, gourmet cuisine, mind-body programs and stimulating cultural events, centered around a luxury lifestyle retirement experience...

Yacht Crashes Into Seawall at Marina del Rey’s Fisherman’s Village

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

Witnesses at nearby restaurants watched as the mid-size yacht collided A yacht crashed into a seawall at Fisherman’s Village in...

LAPD to Conduct DUI Checkpoints Across City This Weekend

July 26, 2025

July 26, 2025

LAPD officials said checkpoint locations are chosen based on areas with high numbers of DUI-related crashes and arrests The Los...

Sunset Jazz & Pizza Series Returns to The Lobster

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

The series blends jazz from a three-piece house band with handcrafted pizzas and $5 Open Brewing beers  The Lobster’s popular...

Measles Case Confirmed in LA, Officials Urge Vaccination

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Investigators are working to identify potential exposures and assess the risk to others Health officials have confirmed a case of...

Herbie Hancock to Headline Hollywood Bowl in August

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Known for his decades-spanning career, Hancock is one of jazz’s forward-thinking voices Jazz legend Herbie Hancock is set to return...

LAHSA Appoints New Interim CEO Amid System Transitions

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

The agency is navigating uncertainty following the county’s decision to create a separate homelessness department and shifting federal policy priorities...

Premiere of ‘All These Women’ Coming to Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Set in 1913, the play dramatizes the uphill struggle for the right to vote as women across the United States...

Santa Monica City Attorney to Step Down, Take New Public Role in California

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

City Council will discuss hiring a replacement at its July 29 meeting Santa Monica City Attorney Doug Sloan has announced...

TODAY: Venice Artbeat Celebrates Community and Supports Local Causes

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

The event offers live music, dance performances, live art, food, and storytelling Venice Artbeat, a community-focused festival, takes place on...