Venice Beach, CA

VENICE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- One of the largest homeless encampments in Venice that's occupied Hampton and 3rd avenues at Sunset Avenue for years started getting cleared last week. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was joined by Councilwoman Traci Park and service providers on the first day that Bass' program, Inside Safe, started clearing the encampment and moving the homeless to a South Los Angeles motel.

Under Inside Safe, 31 people have been housed in Hollywood and 92 in Venice so far.

"I know that the neighbors in Venice are very happy in that one area where we were, but I also know that Venice has many more problems. It is great that we have cleared it out, and we've gotten people housed. But now we need to make sure that that area is not re-populated. So just getting people out of tents and into motels is only step one," said Bass.

Jody Briskin exercises at Gold's Gym next to the encampment.

"It's unsafe for anybody to walk," she said. "I park my car here and I wonder, is someone unstable because they have not been treated. Are they going to jump me?"

Briskin says everything has changed in the last week. Not only does she now feel safe, she believes the unhoused are better off.

"We have to supply all kinds of services. Psychological services. Substance abuse services. Nobody wants to be on the street. It's no life," said Briskin.

But Eyewitness news spoke with Lee Scott, a resident of the encampment, who told us he's been waiting for housing for 19 months.

"Do I think it's going to work? No. It's not going to work because they're only going to provide so many motel vouchers. When the motel vouchers run out, where are the people going to go. Being put in a whole new place, I have to learn everything over again. I have that suspicion in the back of my mind that what happens when they decided to say oh, you don't have another hotel voucher. Then, I have to come back here and do this again," said Scott.

There have been some complaints about the conditions at the temporary shelters in the past. Bass told Eyewitness News if that happens at the motels the city is using for Inside Safe, she would fix that immediately. Bass said she doesn't want anyone being deterred from accepting help because of issues with a temporary shelter.

Jackalope's American adventure will start March 24 in Venice Beach, Calif. as Chad Caruso begins his cross-country skateboard ride to Jackalope's Virginia Beach event. Courtesy of Jackalope

PRESS RELEASES | Published Mar 16, 2023

The Montreal-based JACKALOPE festival, which has taken over the city’s Olympic Park Esplanade in late summer for the past 10 years, will be making its first foray into the United States in a few days’ time. JACKALOPE’s American adventure will start March 24 in Venice Beach, CA, as Chad Caruso begins his cross-country skateboard ride, bound for the first edition of JACKALOPE in Virginia Beach, VA. The event promises to be quite different from its Montreal counterpart, as the main venue for all competitions will be the beach at Neptune’s Park.

“JACKALOPE is the largest event of its kind in Canada. By bringing our concept to Virginia Beach, we become the only event of its kind to operate on both sides of the border,” says Micah Desforges, founder and president of TRIBU, which produces JACKALOPE.

JACKALOPE Montreal will take place from August 25 to 27 and the official program will be unveiled in June.

CHAD CARUSO’S CHALLENGE

Chad Caruso, a skateboarder from Long Island, NY, will soon be rolling across the United States from the West Coast to the East, raising money for addiction awareness among youth. He’ll set out from Venice Beach, CA, and ride 4,830 km (3000 miles), arriving in Virginia Beach in time for the brand new edition of JACKALOPE. Chad is embarking on this journey to celebrate the fact that skateboarding set him back on the right path in life after a rough patch. He’s been sober for six years now, and is eager to send out a positive message of hope. He’s chosen skateboarding as the channel to convey that message because it’s what paved his way to redemption. Starting March 24, Chad will spend two months on his cross-country odyssey, hoping to rally people to the cause he’s supporting. A full 25% of funds raised will go to Natural High, a drug prevention nonprofit.

“This collaboration between Chad and JACKALOPE is a natural fit. Our strength lies in creating opportunities that bring communities together and we’re all about adrenaline-filled experiences,” adds Micah Desforges, founder and president of TRIBU, which produces JACKALOPE. “We’ll be celebrating the end of his epic ride in Virginia Beach, where we’ll experience a new version of JACKALOPE that switches up our usual urban plaza for the Atlantic shoreline. By the way, all Montreal fans of JACKALOPE are invited to come join us there!”

JACKALOPE VIRGINIA BEACH PROGRAM

From June 2 to 4, members of the public are invited to watch street skateboard, bouldering, base jump, skimboard, freestyle motocross and beach volleyball competitions featuring hundreds of thrill-hungry athletes, all free of charge! And to set the bar even higher, none other than Tony Hawk and his crew will be giving an off-the-chain demo on the evening of June 3. Other luminaries besides the living legend of skate will also be there, including Mitchie Brusko, Collin Graham, Reese Nelson, Tom Schaar, Elliot Sloan, Bucky Lasek and more.

In addition, Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer recently announced that with the arrival of JACKALOPE, the Neptune’s Park boardwalk will now be accessible to skateboarders.

“We’re thrilled about JACKALOPE making its U.S. debut in Virginia Beach and look forward to all the excitement it brings along with it,” said Nancy Helman, Director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our city not only has the best weather this time of year but has an amazing collection of hotels, restaurants and activities for visitors coming to be a part of the action. We know you’ll have a great time, and we look forward to hosting an amazing event that spotlights the energy brewing in our seaside city.”

JACKALOPE Virginia Beach is powered by Gel Blaster, Coastal Edge, iFly VA Beach, Irish Apple, Chesapeake Bay Distillery and Twisted Tea. Competition sponsors include p1440, Send It Climbing Gym, Skim USA and World Cup Skateboarding. The event is presented by invitation of the city of Virginia Beach and is an initiative of TRIBU.

For more information: jackalope.tribu.co/virginia-beach/

ABOUT

TRIBU builds solid relationships thanks to the power of adrenaline. It helps organizations forge stronger ties with young people and adults who are young at heart by creating daring, integrated experiences that get the adrenaline flowing and make indelible memories. TRIBU is making sure that its generation will always have ways to have fun, celebrate and get inspired. www.tribu.co

VIRGINIA BEACH, one of Virginia’s most populous cities, resides where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. The city is home to 35 miles of sandy beaches, a flourishing culinary and craft beer scene, rich history, a variety of arts and entertainment and family-friendly attractions that keep visitors entertained year-round. For more Virginia Beach information, including new attractions and experiences, or to plan your next trip, visit www.visitvirginiabeach.com.

Private members’ club NeueHouse is debuting its newest L.A. location in a historic building owned by actor, director and Oscar-winning The Sting producer Tony Bill.

Located steps from the Venice Beach boardwalk, the two-story 1920s building — redesigned as a professional work and social space with a residential vibe — includes a 2,000-square-foot roof deck, a programming and events space, a gallery, meeting rooms and phone booths. There also is a daytime lounge that will become Reunion restaurant and bar by night when the coastal Italian-inspired eatery opens in late January.

In the 1970s, Bill hosted concerts, lectures, art shows and community political meetings in the space, which was flanked by Larry Gagosian’s first gallery and the celebrity hotspot Bill owned with Dudley Moore, 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill.

“When we found this building and got to know Tony Bill and the history of the street, it all came together pretty serendipitously,” says NeueHouse chief brand officer Jon Goss. “[Bill] housed many influential creative luminaries in his own space when he operated it as a production office.”

Goss says Venice – and the west side of Los Angeles, more broadly – was the natural next step for the brand: “We identified many years ago that it’s pretty much a haven for the creative class…I think Venice has sort of always lacked a central hub for that community.”

The Dec. 5 opening of the Venice location marks the company’s third L.A. outpost, rounding out NeueHouse’s presence in Hollywood (in the old CBS Studios building) and downtown (in the Bradbury Building). “We really kind of saw this as completing the triangle of where creatives work and commute,” Goss says of Venice, adding: “[That] and the pure, natural beauty of being by the ocean made it a bit of a no-brainer for us.”

Since the location was first announced in April, Goss says the team has received more pre-opening membership applications than at any of their other locations. Membership tiers — which are designed for companies seeking meeting rooms and desks as well as for individuals — start at $350 per month. Venice Beach is the smallest footprint in the NeueHouse portfolio, and because of its exclusivity (total membership is capped at 850), it’s the highest in price point.

“There are people spread all across the city that need to have spaces that are convenient, allow for private and collaborative meetings, and a place to be part of a community again,” Goss says. “We’ve definitely seen a fusion of work from home and corporate offices coming together more — and a fusion of work and play — so if you can work, take a meeting, eat, access group cultural programming, and have a drink late into the evening…we can solve a lot of that which is quite rare.”

Martine Bury, vice president of programming and experiential at NeueHouse, says the company’s overarching approach to programming and building a location’s identity is “community up, rather than culture down.”

“We really create our culture from this rich community that we build — and that organically coalesces around our spaces,” she says. “For Venice in particular, we had the opportunity to really create a distinct identity [at the] intersection of art and innovation: a certain sliver of the entertainment and production industries, science, and looking forward, leaning into this idea of sustainability. That’s a real distinction for [this] house.”

According to Bury, the programming calendar for December is already underway, and is focused on visual artists and designers creating interactive work.

The design of the space, which Goss calls an “urban sanctuary by the beach,” was inspired by the legacy of California design and uses midcentury-style lighting and abundant natural materials.

This story first appeared in the Dec. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Beachgoers in Venice will be able to see the pinky-sized sea creatures on the shore as they migrate to SoCal's warmer waters.

VENICE, CA — The shores of Venice are overrun with hundreds of squishy jellyfish-like organisms known as Velella velella, or By-the-Wind Sailors, and marine biologists cautioned beachgoers against touching them.

What looks like one of these little creatures is actually a colony of hundreds of polyps that come together to form the By-the-Wind Sailors, according to Nona Reimer of Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching. The organisms feed on algae and zooplankton in the water and are commonly eaten by ocean sunfish.

Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium Programs and Operations Director Melissa Wu said the onslaught of the creatures is normal around this time of year as they come to warmer waters. Wu said these incoming sailors are likely coming up north, and they have been reported in both Los Angeles and Orange County waters.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“They don’t come into shore a lot, so it’s cool when we see them,” Wu said.

Related to jellyfish and Portuguese Man O’War, By-the-Wind Sailors also have stinging cells, though the ones washing ashore aren’t as potent to humans as they could be, according to Wu.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Though marine biologists don’t recommend touching or picking up the pinky-sized organisms, Wu said their stinging cells won’t be as strong if they’re seen on the beach. Wu said as they wash ashore, the organisms fire their stinging cells until they eventually run out.

“Once they beach themselves they start to die,” Wu said. “As they’re dying they’re not regenerating those stinging cells.”

The little creatures are classified as hydrozoans, a subgroup of cnidarians, and are most often pelagic, meaning they tend to reside in the open sea. More commonly, the wind-riders are found in the more tropical waters of Baja California.

Because of their size, the By-the-Wind Sailors are at the mercy of the winds and tides as they move around in the water, Reimer said.

If you happen across one of the By-the-Wind Sailors, Wu said it’s best to report them to lifeguards and leave them be. Reimer said it’s okay to hold them by the sails on top of the creature but to avoid touching the stinging tentacles at the bottom of the organism.

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Teachers and students are likely to have the same reaction to shortened winter breaks in LAUSD, but many parents requested it.

VENICE, CA — Don't tell the kids: they are getting a shorter winter break over the next three school years in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education approved the instructional calendar for the 2023-26 school years Tuesday with an eye toward mitigating "learning loss," and balancing out the fall and spring semesters, according to Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.

That means shorter a shorter winter break and more opportunities for summer school.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The new instructional calendars address the need to mitigate learning loss by shortening the winter recess and extending options for summer programing,” Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said. “We have also maintained a student centered focus in scheduling future instructional calendars to address family needs of childcare and food assistance, as well as provide a calendar that delivers the best educational experience.”

The new school schedule takes into account input from parents, according to the district. Through a series of surveys, many parents expressed concern that the district's long winter break created a childcare challenge for working families and put students at a learning disadvantage compared to other Southern California school districts, which tend to have shorter winter breaks than in Los Angeles over the last two years.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“With this instructional calendar, we are trying to balance the needs of students who benefit from time in the classroom, of adults in our schools who deserve time to rest and rejuvenate, and of our parents who often have to scramble for childcare the third week of vacation,” Board President Jackie Goldberg said. “The revised calendar brings us in line with most school districts in Southern California.”

It's unusual for the board to adopt an instructional calendar so many years out, but it gives families time to schedule childcare and vacations and allows the district to budget well in advance, according to proponents of the decision.

“The Board's adoption today of a multi-year calendar provides helpful certainty for our families and staff,” Board Member Kelly Gonez said Tuesday. “When our school community knows when school will be in session, they can better plan for their families, which I know firsthand as the mother of a Los Angeles Unified student myself.”

The key dates in the upcoming LAUSD school years are:

The 2023-24 School Year

The 2024-25 School Year

The 2025-26 School Year