Yo! Venice December 25, 2020

YO!

VENICE www.yovenice.com

December 25 – January 29, 2021

Venice Year in Review

A cardboard cutout of Gavin Newsom’s head hangs from the Venice clown ballerina installation. See more page 5.

2020’s top stories for Venice, pages 2-5

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

February 27, 2020

Venice Homeless Shelter Opens

154-bed bridge housing center operational

By Sam Catanzaro

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmember Mike Bonin Tuesday officially opened the Pacific Sunset A Bridge Home facility in Venice, which will provide 100 beds for homeless adults and 54 beds for transitional age youth.

“The homeless and housing crisis is a citywide challenge that requires citywide solutions,” said Mayor Garcetti. “Today’s opening is a reminder that people across Los Angeles are saying ‘yes’ to delivering the housing, healing, and hope our unhoused neighbors need and deserve.”

“A roof and a bed will replace a tent and a sidewalk for many of our unhoused neighbors who have been sleeping in encampments in Venice. This is a big and important step in our long march to confront our homelessness crisis,” added Councilmember Bonin.

While residents are not required to be sober, no drugs or alcohol will be allowed on site.

In addition, there will be 24/7 security and on-site services including case management, mental health care, substance abuse treatment

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and housing placement.

According to the City Administrative Officer of Los Angeles, the shelter’s capital cost is $8.5 million, $4.1 million of which came out of city funds. The shelter’s operations, to the tune of $5.6 million, will be funded by the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP).

PATH will be the lead operator of the site and will work with the Venice-based SPY, which will also provide services at the temporary facility, which will provide 100 beds for adults and 54 beds for youth.

“Bridge housing is an important first step in the process of moving our most vulnerable into permanent supportive housing. We are grateful for the partnership of Safe Place for Youth, local organizations and the support of Councilmember Bonin and Venice community members for helping us move people living on the streets into a safe home,” said Jennifer Hark-Dietz, Executive Director of PATH. The shelter will be located on the 3.15acre lot that takes up an entire block between Pacific Avenue and Main Street south of Sunset Avenue. MTA closed the lot in 2015 after receiving multiple offers from developers interested in the site. The property can be used temporarily for housing, however, because there is no deal in place.

The project has not been without

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

A Bridge Home Venice.

controversy. Opponents have raised issue with the shelter’s location, worrying that the site will disrupt the mostly residential neighborhood. In addition, there has been concern raised about the housing being within a 1,000-foot radius of Westminster Elementary School.

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The Venice Stakeholders Association is in the midst of a legal battle against the City of Los Angeles over the project, saying the environmental review was unjustly fasttracked and did not take into account an increase in noise levels from individuals in the shelter or its air conditioning units.

December 25 – January 29, 2021

SoCalGas® is proud to support the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project

We are removing equipment out of the wetlands.

In support of the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project, SoCalGas is planning the removal of 17 wells from service in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve area. Rest assured, we are not expanding our infrastructure. Removing equipment and access roads will accommodate a larger restoration area in support of the project.

SoCalGas’ environmental stewardship goals fully support the Ballona Wetlands and we stand by the restoration method of the wetlands according to the experts in the field.

Learn more at socalgas.com/Wetlands ©2020 Southern California Gas Company. All copyright and trademark rights reserved. N20G0166A

December 25 – January 29, 2021

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May 19, 2020

April 16, 2020

Venice Skate Park Filled Police Confirm Missing Venice Swimmer Shad Gaspard With Sand

Parks and Rec. putting a halt to skating

By Sam Catanzaro

City officials are filling the Venice Beach Skate Park with sand to prevent people from skating during stay at home orders.

On Thursday morning, as first reported by Shacked Magazine, tractors began filling the Venice Beach Skate Park with sand.

According to Los Angeles City

Councilmember Mike Bonin, the action was recommended by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (LA Parks).

Lance LeMond an employee at LA Parks says that the decision was promoted by skaters violating stay at home orders which had closed the Venice Beach Skate Park.

When asked if LA Parks was concerned about the weight of the sand causing damage, LeMond said crews are filling the bottom of the skatepark’s bowls with only enough sand to prevent people from skating and that the weight of the sand is not a concern.

Photos: Shacked Magazine

Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks crews fill the Venice Beach Skate Park with sand.

Search for missing swimmer enters third day

By Sam Catanzaro

Los Angeles police have confirmed that a swimmer who went missing off of Venice Beach over the weekend is Shad Gaspard as lifeguards enter their third day of searching for the WWE star.

According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguards Division, around 3:41 p.m. on Sunday, May 17 lifeguards began a search for two swimmers, who had got caught in a rip current and had gone missing near 4200 Ocean Front Walk, south of the Venice Beach Pier.

Lifeguards were able to locate a 10-year-old boy who was evaluated and did not require transport to the hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Lifeguards were unable to find the boy’s father, however, conducting line and subsurface searches with support from Baywatch Del Rey and Los Angeles County Fire Air Operations.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed reports that the missing swimmer is former WWE star Shad Gaspard.

“Mr. Shad Gaspard was last seen by a Los

Angeles County lifeguard on May 17, 2020, around 3:40 p.m., as he swam in the Pacific Ocean approximately 50 yards from Venice Beach in the county of Los Angeles. When last seen by the lifeguard, a wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea,” the LAPD said in a press release.

The LAPD says the 39-year-old Gaspard has bald head, brown eyes, stands 6 feet 6 inches and weighs 270 pounds.

“He was last seen wearing black and gray shorts and has tattoos on his right shoulder and left chest,” the LAPD says.

Also on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau announced that it, along with LA County Lifeguards, continue to search for Gaspard for the third straight day.

Photos: Instagram/Twitter

Left: Shad Gaspard on Venice Beach Sunday, May 17. Right: Lifeguards and sheriff’s deputies search for a missing swimmer on Monday, May 18.

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December 25 – January 29, 2021

October 21, 2020

‘Recall Newsom’ Head Hanging From Venice Ballerina Clown

IF YOU’VE GOT

CANCER,

Cardboard cutout of Gov. Newsom’s head hanging from iconic Venice art installation

WE CAN HELP

By Sam Catanzaro A cardboard cutout painting of the California governor’s head with the word “Recall” was spotted hanging from the iconic Ballerina Clown art installation in Venice.

The cardboard cutout was first spotted Wednesday morning hanging from the sculpture that sits above the CVS on the corner of Main Street and Rose Avenue.

The “Recall Newsom” head features the artist tag “Sabo”, a conservative street artist from Los Angeles.

“THIS WAS FOR CHRISTMAS, THIS WAS FOR THANKSGIVING, THIS WAS FOR CANCELLING THE 4TH OF JULY,” reads an Instagram post from the artist showing the installation.

Sabo could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Ballerina Clown, 30 feet tall, made of aluminum, steel, painted fiberglass electric

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

motor Permanent installation was created in 1989 by artist Jonathan Borofsky.

“The Venice Boardwalk is full of all kinds of people in all sorts of outfits and the atmosphere is very festive with many live street performances taking place, especially on weekends. This sculpture is an accommodation or resolution of opposites in one. Not only does this image bring the male and female together into one figure, but also, two opposite types of performers are represented: the formal classical ballet dancer and the traditional street performer. Of course, this public sculpture might push the envelope in ‘taste’, but if you have ever walked the Venice Boardwalk on a Sunday afternoon, you might understand why this figure is right at home,” Borofsky says about the culture.

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December 1, 2020

LA County Supervisor Kuehl Dines out After Voting to Shut Down Restaurants LA County Supervisor dines at Il Forno in Santa Monica last Tuesday

By Sam Catanzaro

LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who represents Venice, ate at a local restaurant just hours after voting to ban outdoor dining and saying doing so is “probably more dangerous in terms of contagion than any other kind of business.”

On Tuesday, November, 24 Kuehl along with two other Supervisors voted to suspend outdoor dining for three weeks in Los Angeles County due to rising COVID-19 cases. The ban passed with a 3-2 vote.

“Outdoor dining is probably more dangerous in terms of contagion than any other kind of business,” Kuehl, a Santa Monica resident,

said at the Tuesday meeting. “The servers are not protected from us, and they’re not protected from their other tables that they’re serving at that particular time, plus all the hours in which they’re working.”

That evening, however, Kuehl ate outside at Santa Monica restaurant Il Forno, as confirmed by Barbara Osborn, Director of Communications for the Supervisor.

“Supervisor Kuehl did dine al fresco at Il Forno on the very last day it was permissible.

She loves Il Forno, has been saddened to see it, like so many restaurants, suffer from a decline in revenue. She ate there, taking appropriate precautions, and sadly will not dine there again until our Public Health Orders permit,” Osborn said.

Under the Board of Supervisors vote– in effect until December 17–restaurants, breweries and wineries may only offer food and beverage via take-out, drive-thru or delivery. This comes as a blow to many

December 25 – January 29, 2021

Sheila, see page 7

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PIQUE Health - Specialized Treatment Plans to Optimize Male Health Beverly Hills-based practice helping men come up with a plan to fully optimize their health

By Sam Catanzaro

Commercial and Residential Servicing Southern California since 1996

NEW CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIRS WATERPROOFING GUTTERS

Over 20 years of Experience!

Now more than ever, amid a pandemic, people are paying extra attention to their health. With the new year approaching, Beverly Hills’ PIQUE Health– the Westside’s first comprehensive men’s health practice–is helping to optimize wellness for high-performing men, a traditionally underserved demographic.

“We’ve seen chronic pain go up, we’ve seen mental health issues go up,” said Dr. Nell Smircina, Owner and Director of PIQUE Health. “Just as we plan our finances, just as we plan our schedules when it comes to work, you have to do that with your health no matter where you think you are on that health spectrum.”

PIQUE Health has been around since 2018, offering medical care and services to help people live their best lives. In 2020 the company shifted, still focusing on health, but gearing their efforts towards men experiencing the effects of aging.

“My practice was always predominantly men…Executives, business owners, people who really lead high-performing lifestyles,” Dr. Smircina said. “A lot of times men are left to age on their own. They aren’t given a lot of options for optimal aging. It’s either ‘okay get some testosterone’ or something else, but there aren’t any conversations around holistic health or a comprehensive health plan.” Our patients at PIQUE are individuals, Dr. Smircina says, with different boundaries to healing

Dr. Nell Smircina

Photos: Courtesy

and different lifestyles to accommodate their healing. A PIQUE Health treatment plan will provide answers to questions many men may ask themselves but don’t necessarily know how to articulate.

“Why am I tired all of a sudden? Why am I having a lower libido? Why did I used to be able to focus for 14 hours a day and now I’m down to 6-8? I’m not sleeping as well, I’m not recovering as well,” Dr. Smircina said. “PIQUE is really the solution for that...I wanted a place where men could really come in or have a conversation and say ‘I just don’t feel like myself anymore and what can we do about that?’”

Solutions to these questions typically focus

PIQUE, see page 7

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818-835-9337 PIQUE Health is the Westside’s first comprehensive men’s health practice

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December 25 – January 29, 2021

Sheila, from page 5 restaurants who found outdoor dining a saving grace. For some restauranteurs, like the owner of The Farm of Beverly Hills Kelli Cotton, the end to outdoor dining has forced layoffs.

“We are laying off about 70 percent of our staff,” Cotton said. “It will mean we will lose money but we just want to make it through.”

“We are very disappointed in the fact that there is not some sort of stimulus or assistance coming through from our government to help us weather the storm. We want to do our part, we don’t want to be bad citizens to each other, but it is going to make it really really hard,” Cotton added.

In a gesture that acknowledges the hardship faced by many of their constituents, several local lawmakers have volunteered to take pay cuts throughout the pandemic. On the Westside, these include Santa Monica City

Councilmember Sue Himmelrich who forgave her $29,000 salary, Santa Monica City Manager Lane Dilg who is taking a 20 percent reduction from her over $300,000 salary and Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin who took a 10 percent pay cut from his roughly $200,000 salary. Supervisor Kuehl, when asked if she took a pay cut from her $210,00 salary, said no citing the county’s budget and lack of control over her pay.

“Unlike many cities in the County, the county budget position is relatively strong,” Kuehl said. “The County had a very healthy rainy day fund that helped us close the deficit in 19-20 and hopefully again in 20-21. We have not had to require layoffs or pay cuts from any of our staff, all of whom are working many extra hours to meet this health crisis, as am I. County budget allocations are determined through our annual budget process and cuts are made equitably and thoughtfully. Supervisors’ salaries are set by the state, not the County.”

LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl being interviewed at the 2017 opening of the rainbow Venice Beach lifeguard tower.

PIQUE, from page 6 on issues such as testosterone supplementation and erectile dysfunction treatment. PIQUE’s customized treatment plans, however, are results-driven to address the root cause of these ailments, rather than just the many symptoms that arise from Andropause–a misunderstood and rarely discussed medical condition experienced by many middle-aged men. Some common signs of Andropause include decreased muscle tone, increased body fat, decreased energy/focus, suboptimal sleep, decreased sex drive and suboptimal recovery from workouts. To treat such issues, PIQUE offers men anti-aging therapies, including acupuncture and targeted bloodwork.

In addition to targeted bloodwork and acupuncture, PIQUE offers other remedies including cupping, Gua Sha, customized nutrition, herbal medicine and cosmetic therapies like microneedling. With these treatments, Dr. Smircina says, aside from helping patients achieve optimal health, PIQUE can also help men avoid unnecessary

Locally Owned Business

Photo:Facebook

SPECIALIZING IN:

medications.

So where can men receive these services?

While the PIQUE is physically located in the heart of Beverly Hills at 9001 Wilshire Boulevard, they are able to treat patients athome or remotely, including patients who are located in different cities and states.

“We are able to connect you with practitioners in whatever city you’re in to be able to continue your treatment,” Dr. Smircina said.

This business model has made adapting to COVID-19 protocols relatively easy for PIQUE Health.

“We’ve always gone to hotels or people’s homes to deliver care, but now we are enhancing the execution of our virtual services in order to elevate the patient experience,” Dr. Smircina says. “Our new offering is the 2021 Health Optimization Consult, which provides clients with a strategic health plan for the New Year”.

PIQUE Health is located in Beverly Hills at 9001 Wilshire Blvd Suite 206. For more information, call (310) 734-7025 or visit www.piquebh.com.

December 25 – January 29, 2021

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December 25 – January 29, 2021