Someone wants to put up a building in the parking lot of Grand View Blvd. Elementary school. Grand View is my home school, and it’s right in the heart of Mar Vista, so this issue affects me personally.
Imagine an apartment building right here.
The scope of the project is still vague, but it’s been described variously as 3 small houses or a 50-unit apartment building. Whatever it is they want to build, I am STRONGLY opposed.
It’s not clear how the idea first was launched, but it’s now being driven by LAUSD, who sees a giant (imaginary) revenue stream from this project, whereas we parents see nothing but a big mess and serious safety situation for our kids for years to come.
The ridiculous aspects of the projects are numerous, so I’ll just list a few.
Putting aside the fact that parents will have no place to park once its built, the space in question is “land-locked”, meaning there’s no access to it except through our school’s parking lot.
And, kind of a basic point, parents will then have no place to park. Remember, this is a school district that bemoans the fact that they can’t get parents more involved in the schools. But hey, why would easy access to the campus itself help encourage parents to get involved? Not necessary. Make ‘em walk a few blocks if they want to attend a PTA meeting.
Then, let’s say it gets built — at that point, how will tenants be vetted? Hi, I see you’d like to live here on the school’s property — well, you’ll have to be fingerprinted and we’ll need to run a background check on you — oh, and on everyone who might ever live with you — and who will ever come to visit you. Oh, and if by any chance you work at night? Well, the school bell starts ringing at 7:45am, so no sleeping in! Oh and you can’t smoke on campus or play loud music during the day. Enjoy!
Or let’s imagine it under construction. Are they going to work only nights and weekends building the thing? Because if they work during the day, it will totally disrupt the classes in session. Oh, and all the trucks and equipment in proximity to 5-year-olds, yeah, that’s an exciting idea.
As I said, I am taking this issue very personally.
The Planning and Land Use Committee of the Mar Vista Community Council will be meeting this Tuesday evening, 10/20, at 6pm at the Mar Vista Library. This is the first chance for the public to have a say about this project, and I urge you to attend. This time it’s on Grand View’s campus; next time it could be your kids’ school.
Meet-Up starts this Saturday 10/17 at 1:00pm at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 11000 National Blvd, then we’ll actually walk the streets in question and circle back to workshop the ideas. They’re asking us to rsvp, so please contact Shana Bonstin and let her know you’re coming: Shana.Bonstin@lacity.org.
I love this building.
She’s going to make broccoli and sugar snap peas 
with sauteed cippolini onions, 
mint, parsley, and basil. 
She’s going to serve it with the chicken she’s roasting and some quinoa on the side. By the way, she makes a nice gravy for the chicken with sauteed shallots, homemade chicken stock, vermouth and some of the pan drippings, but no flour. Sounds delish!
was on hand to show people how easy it is to compost. 
She pointed us to the 
and let me tell you, they are really good! Krissy Argo-Solomon and her sweets will be at the market once a month, and I recommend trying the Fleur de Sel. It’s a little sweet and a little salty at the same time. I see some lovely holiday gift potential here!
Or in this case, a balloon motorcycle?
and along the east wall. 
That wall is over 300 feet long, and there’s quite a lot of landscaping to do there. They want only California native, drought tolerant plants in there, for obvious reasons, 
and they could use the help of more of the neighbors.If you’re interested in either volunteering your time or contributing to the plant-purchasing fund, please contact Christopher McKinnon at chrispm@aol.com. Oh, and if you see anyone not cleaning up after their dogs around the fire station, tell them they have no more excuses!! 
Thanks, volunteers!
Great landscaping.
(That’s him on the right and Ali from SmartFish on the left.) Either tuna or salmon would be great in this recipe, he says. Start by broiling the fish and then letting it cool. Then cut it into bite-sized pieces and mound it in the center of the serving plate. Around the edges, add raisins, walnuts, dill, 
cucumbers 
and tomatoes, all chopped. He makes a dressing of light mayo, honey 
and dijon mustard and drizzles that sparingly over the chopped vegetables. Sounds really delicious and very healthy!
This process is being conducted by the LA City Planning Office, and it’s a chance for us to have input into what we want our neighborhood to look and feel like. Do we want 8-story buildings lining Venice Blvd? Hmmm. Whatever your opinion, this workshop is chance to help shape zoning and planning decisions for the future, and I urge you to take the time and come along. 
Here are stakeholders Rob Kadota, Martiza Przekop, Steve Wallace and Sharon Commins, all of whom were on hand to discuss the ideas and ramifications involved. They’ll be back at the market next weekend, October 11th, if you missed them today.