Mike Bonin - Council District 11
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12/12/2017 Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter - Mike Bonin - Council District 11 ABOUT MIKE COUNCIL STAFF NEWS ISSUES NEIGHBORHOODS MEDIA TAKE ACTION HOME » NEWS Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter Sign Up For Updates Posted by David Graham-Caso 721.80sc on June 30, 2017 · Flag · Add your reaction June 2017 Welcome to the June issue of Mike Bonin's "Neighborhoods First Newsletter!” IN THIS ISSUE: Mike makes a series of efforts to protect the environment, a community rallies to save a beloved newsstand, safe street projects continue, fun Contact Our Ofce neighborhood gatherings happen throughout the district, the city completes street resurfacing, and a whole lot more... but first, please read this month's Neighborhoods First Profile about a neighbor in Venice who helped create a Connect with Facebook special celebration of LGBT pride in his community. You can find out more about Mike, meet your CD11 staff and see the latest Connect with Twitter videos and updates from the Westside on our website at www.11thdistrict.com. And remember to like Mike's Facebook page to see the latest news about your neighborhood. Councilmember Mike… 5,188 likes Liked You and 17 other friends like this The Pride of Venice In Spring 2016 the Los Angeles LGBT community lost a longtime sanctuary on the Westside when The Roosterfish, the only remaining gay bar west of the 405, closed. Mourning their loss, the community banded together to host the first-ever LGBT Pride Celebration in Venice history, and out of that effort, Venice Pride was born. In honor of LGBT Pride month, we asked Grant Turck, one of Venice Pride’s founders and the driving force behind much of the group’s good work, a few questions. http://www.11thdistrict.com/your_june_2017_neighborhoods_first_newsletter 1/32 12/12/2017 Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter - Mike Bonin - Council District 11 Q: How did you get involved Tweets by @MikeBoninLA with Venice Pride? From starting a Ga y-Straight Mike Bonin Alliance 15 years ago as a high @MikeBoninLA school senior in Madeira, Ohio Faith leaders gathered at City Hall to celebrate the to challenging anti-gay start of Hanukkah with the lighting of the Menorah. policies at Pepperdine I want to thank the Downtown Jewish Community University—a private citizen in Center, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and City Attorney Mike for hosting a special celebration. Happy 2004, advocating for LGBT Hanukkah! inclusion by disrupting the status quo has been a priority ever since I came out. Venice Pride began a little over a year ago after the closure of the Roosterfish - which was the last remaining gay bar here on the westside. The Roosterfish wasn’t just a bar - it was a place for people to meet each other, a safe space where people could be themselves without fear of what other people may think of them. With the closure of the Roosterfish, our community lost a 1h place for us to be ourselves. That was offensive to me and my friends. So in about Embed View on Twitter 39 days I hatched the idea of finding a new way for the LGBT community to connect offline and remain included and visible on the westside. Q: Tell us a little about the things Venice Pride has accomplished in the past two years. Venice Prid e actually only celebrated our one year anniversary as a nonprofit on Monday. It's extraordinary when you think about what our 13-member, all- volunteer board and the Westside community has been able to accomplish in concert with the support of city leaders like Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmember Mike Bonin. Since last year we have reached a global audience of more than 1.5 million people across all our channels. Here are a few more highlights: Inspired the L.A. Rams and Chargers to come out as official sponsors of Venice Pride this year - respectively the first and second ever NFL teams to openly support a gay pride event. Partnered with the British Consulate to support their Love Is GREAT campaign which champions LGBT rights around the globe. Dedicated the stretch of beach between Parks and Breeze Avenue the Bill Rosendahl Memorial Beach in honor of the first openly gay person elected to L.A. City Council. Supported the opening of The Birdcage in Santa Monica—first post- Roosterfish gay bar on the Westside Q: Of the great things Venice Pride has done in the past two years, of what are you most proud? Endless things to be proud of when it comes to Venice Pride. I am particularly proud of the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower – a public art installation on Venice Beach at Brooks Avenue. Visibly situated on one of the most popular parts of California’s golden coast, the painted tower represents a global symbol of inclusion and diversity. It will be on display through September 4, 2017 and I encourage everyone to visit the tower, have fun with it and share your experience online with #venicepride. The tower has been a year in the making and it’s incredibly rewarding to see all that hard work make a positive impact on our community. Special thanks to L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Artist and http://www.11thdistrict.com/your_june_2017_neighborhoods_first_newsletter 2/32 12/12/2017 Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter - Mike Bonin - Council District 11 Board Member Patrick Marston and Dunn Edwards Paints who all made this powerful statement possible. On June 9th we launched the Saving LGBT Lives campaign to help LGBT people escape state-sponsored violence by purchasing a Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower Tee. For every t-shirt sold now through August 1, 2017 we will donate $5 to American Friends of Rainbow Railroad. Q: Why is celebrating LGBT Pride Month so important? LGBT Pride Month serves as an annual reminder to those who would deny our community equal protection under the law that “We’re here! We’re united! We’re fabulous! Don’t mess with us!” Visibility was imperative in the fight for marriage equality. And it will continue to play a vital role in the battle for full equality across the nation in areas like workplace discrimination and religious freedom. We’ve made great strides forward, but now is not the time for complacency. Q: Why is celebrating LGBT Pride in Venice so important? Believe it or not there is a sizable LGBT community that exis ts West of the 405 and outside of West Hollywood. Venice Pride exists to reinvigorate that community through annual events like the Venice Pride Sign Lighting & Block Party in June alongside on-going events and programming throughout the year. Given Venice is also the number one tourist destination in the City of LA, we also believe there’s a responsibility to leverage that visibility in the fight for equality in other states when appropriate. Q: What can people look forward to in the future of Venice Pride? We have a several exciting initiatives in the works, one of which is sp orts related. The best way to be the first to know about any of our upcoming events is to sign- up for our monthly news email on our website at www.venicepride.org. Save the Brentwood Newsstand! Mike Joins Neighbors in Effort to Save Beloved Community Newsstand Marck's Brentwood Newsstand - a beloved newsstand in Brentwood -- is being evicted from its location in front of a Whole Foods Market. After hearing the sad news about this treasured community institution, Mike joined neighbors in an effort to save the neighborhood newsstand, visiting with Marck and writing a letter to Whole Food’s corporate office in Austin. This newsstand is a vital source of information and community for its customers, http://www.11thdistrict.com/your_june_2017_neighborhoods_first_newsletter 3/32 12/12/2017 Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter - Mike Bonin - Council District 11 especially in this age when digital resources outnumber paper. Brentwood Newsstand’s owner, Marck Sarfati, has requested to stay at his current location so that he may continue to care for his aging father, Nic Sarfati, a Holocaust survivor. Mike’s letter to Whole Foods’ corporate management asks that they work with Marck to explore ways to allow Brentwood Newsstand to continue serving people in Brentwood and bringing customers to the store’s doorstep. Please click here to sign the petition to save Marck’s Brentwood Newsstand. Celebrating Mar Vista at the Mar Vista Neighborhood Association Block Party Hundreds of Mar Vista neighbors came out to enjoy the Mar Vista Neighborhood Association (MVNA) potluck picnic on a beautiful summer day on June 25. Mike was happy to be one of the Mar Vistans gathered at the annual event, and was especially pleased to be able to honor Susan Black-Feinstein for her work to promote public safety as organizer of the Peerless Neighborhood Watch. Thank you, MVNA and Susan for all you do to make Mar Vista a wonderful place to live, work and enjoy! Annenberg Pet Space Opens in Playa Vista The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace is now open in Playa Vista! Mike was very happy to welcome the Annenberg PetSpace to Playa Vista last month. The new facility will be a great community space for pet lovers of all ages to play, adopt pets, and learn about the unique bonds people have with animals. Check out the video here to learn more. http://www.11thdistrict.com/your_june_2017_neighborhoods_first_newsletter 4/32 12/12/2017 Your June 2017 Neighborhoods First Newsletter - Mike Bonin - Council District 11 Town Hall Educates Neighbors about Natural Gas For more than 70 years, a former oil and natural gas production field in Playa del Rey has been used as a gas storage field by the Southern California Gas Company.