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IN THIS SITE
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Some links on these archived pages are not operative.
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This NONCOMMERCIAL site is a harmless hobby of George Garrigues, who has lived in the Westside Village district of Palms for 12 years. These pages have no connection with any organization.
Send him e-mail with corrections and comments.
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PALMS IS MOVING TOWARD ITS FIRST COMMUNITY ELECTION
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The newly certified Palms Neighborhood Council is moving forward to our neighborhood's first community election.
It will be held Sunday, May 22, at Palms Elementary School between noon and 5 p.m., but it will be preceded by a vote-by-mail period in which absentee ballots will be accepted.
 Organizers of the Palms council have emphasized the vote-by-mail aspect of the campaign because of the large number of apartment dwellers in the district and the perceived difficulty in getting people to the polls.
Thirteen members of a Representative Assembly will be elected — eight by districts and five at large.
Five districts will be for residents — Palms West, Overland, Motor, Studio and Exposition. Each will have about 6,000 people in it.
Business representatives will be elected from three Historic Business Areas based on geography:
• The Pacific Electric Area along Venice and Washington Blvds. (including the Venice Crossroads Mall).
• The Charnock Ranch Area to include Overland Ave. and any business on it.
•The Palms Depot Area for Motor Avenue and the rest of Palms.
Voters must choose whether to cast ballots in a business district or a residential district. They can't vote in both.
Any stakeholder can vote for the at-large seats —president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and non-profit representative.
In Palms, the definition of a stakeholder is very broad. It includes not only residents, property owners, business people and employees but also members of organizations that serve this neighborhood.
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The latter category includes active members and participants in the Palms-Westside Village Neighborhood Watch and school-serving organizations at Palms Middle and Charnock Elementary schools, which are shared with the Mar Vista Community Council.
Other stakeholders might come from the Culver-Palms YMCA, the Friends of the Palms-Rancho Park Library and similar "trans-border" organizations.
A Nominations and Elections Committee has been working on the election process and will soon be seeking nominees. Members have included Terry Robinson, chair; Mario Bruhwiler, George Garrigues, Richard Leib, Len Nguyen and Eloy (Rod) Rodriguez.
The League of Women Voters of Los Angeles will actually have charge of the election process. In the event of an election dispute, the Los Angeles City Department of Human Relations will make a final decision.
Until the election, the affairs of the Palms Neighborhood Council are being guided by an Interim Governing Body composed of Nguyen, president; Robinson, secretary; Sura Kadetz, treasurer; Willie Bell, Mario Bruhwiler, Lori Donahoo, Garrigues, Leib, Ingeborg Prochazka, Rodriguez, Billie Silvey, Bea Steelman, Alejandro Soschin and Josan Wright.
Petitions are the only route to nomination, election official says
The official in charge of Palms's election on May 22 says the Nominations and Elections Committee of the Palms Neighborhood Council doesn't have the authority to make nominations on its own.
Jerry Kvasnicka, who has worked for the League of Women Voters as an "independent election administrator" on dozens of neighborhood council elections, says he will accept only nominations made by a petition signed by 15 stakeholders and accompanied by proof of eligibility.
These are the requirements of the election procedures adopted by the council's Interim Governing Body, he said.
The exchange of correspondence on this matter is on The Sun's Mailbox page, here.
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Residential areas, left, and historic business areas, right. Click on the maps to see larger versions on the official Palms Neighborhood Council Web site.
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'DRYING-OUT' CENTER IS PROPOSED ON VENICE BLVD.
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The Sun has received this report from Len Nguyen, chair of the Interim Governing Body of the Palms Neighborhood Council:
"On March 21, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported that the Santa Monica City Council was going to help fund a regional, urgent care sobering facility for the homeless. The proposed location is a 10,000 square foot building in Palms, at 10000 Venice Blvd. (SW corner of Venice Blvd. & Dunn Dr.) The center would be operated by Exodus Recovery.
"As a result of inquiries and concerns expressed by a member of the Palms Neighborhood Council, LAPD Captain Bill Williams, Senior Lead Officer Anthony Vasquez, and Mark Edwards from Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski's office met with the CEO of Exodus Recovery to discuss concerns about the proposed facility."
The building at 10000 Venice Blvd. is current being used for diabetes programs of the UCLA Medical Group.
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Click here for more information on the Exodus Recovery program of Brotman Medical Center.
Click here for an Opinion article: Venice Blvd. facility for the homeless would place a burden on police departments.
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Wrestling fans wait hours in line to see John Cena
Thousands of wrestling fans waited up to two hours to get an autograph from superstar John Cena on Saturday, April 2, when he appeared at Blockbuster Video on Venice Blvd. at Durango. "He's my hero," one man told The Sun.
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You couldn't find much parking at the Venice Crossroads Mall (top right) because of the throngs of visitors.
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