Why, you may ask, would anyone be interested? The MVCC (and a few dozen tireless volunteers) has been a catalyst for turning Mar Vista from “that part of town you drive through on the way to Venice” into the green, farmer’s market oasis you now see before you. Green Garden Showcase? Sustainable Works? Education forum? Mar Vista’s 80th Birthday festival? Countless beautification grants and school grants? All that and more is courtesy of the MVCC.

Mar Vista has its share of medical marijuana shops already — in my opinion, more than its share. So, many are welcoming this action by the Council. I know I am. I hope it will mean closing some of these stores, one of which just opened recently 2 blocks from 2 schools. Please understand that I believe marijuana can be used medically — and that it should be available for those who need it. I just don’t like seeing a pot dispensary on every corner. Having a Starbucks everywhere is bad enough. I would feel the same way if there were liquor stores cropping up all over my neighborhood. The market is saturated, people. Find another way to do business: form co-ops and collectives with each other.

Thanks, Bill! You’ve once again earned my vote.

Stay tuned for more information on the project as it develops…

Plenty of people also have concerns about what the power cables themselves will mean to us, and wonder what levels of Electromagnetic fields are safe? And what controls are in place in the State, or in the City of LA? So tomorrow night, January 6th, City Councilman Bill Rosendahl will sponsor a presentation on Electromagnetic Fields by Dr. Leeka Kheifets of the UCLA School of Public Health.

The presentation will begin at 6pm at the West LA Municipal Building, Hearing Room 200, 1645 Corinth Avenue, West LA, 90025. Following the presentation there will a question-and-answer session. Please email questions to Len Nguyen at len.nguyen@lacity.org.

Have a great weekend, Mar Vista!

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The other notable honor Mar Vista can take credit for this month is the superior baking talent of another Mar Vista Mom, Barbara Treves. Barbara entered her Forever Favourite Apple Pie in KCRW’s 1st Annual Good Food Pie Bakeoff and it was deemed Best in Show!  Congratulations, Barbara! And for those bakers in the audience, the recipe is available on request. Yum!

Chrysalis is a non-profit agency dedicated to helping people out of homelessness and poverty to make changes in their lives through employment. Rick Stoff, Director of Business Partnerships for Chrysalis, initiated the clean-up effort with local business owners. “The clean-up jobs we provide not only keep our neighborhoods looking beautiful, they also allow the workers to gain valuable work experience and become self-sufficient,” said Stoff. I saw Michael Dotson and Edward Gonzales working near the post office. Byron Ellison, Joann Anderson and Bessie Lucas were working near the Yum Yum Donut shop. I’m so grateful to them for the work they did. It made a difference here and Mar Vista’s lucky they came.

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.