It is the Christmas season, yet Venice is in the turmoil of the homeless in one situation or another and to one degree or another.

• Nikoletta Skarlatos and a close group have reported that the alley parallel to Rose between 4th and 5th has been used as a toilet, that the Public Storage facility on Rose between 3rd and 4th has a gate open for homeless to enter after hours on 4th, that homeless are not abiding by the Lavan Injunction in which belongings clutter the sidewalks or the Jones Settlement where homeless (9 pm to 6 am) clutter the sidewalks beyond the 6 am and before the 9 pm.
• Kip Pardue had a homeless invasion of a female entering his home in the morning on Venice Blvd near the beach. Second homeless invasion in Venice.
• The 3rd Avenue encampment has expanded to Sunset, Rose, 2nd and 4th. It is apparently not because they have been moved off the beach but because the homeless number in area has increased in the Venice area. The weather is better than New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and you name-it this part of the year. The belongings the homeless are carrying with them have increased.
• The storage facility at the paddle courts has been open.
• The Winter Shelter program opened 1 December and busses shuttle homeless back and forth daily from Market Street in Venice to the Winter Shelter.
• City Attorney Mike Feuer made the statement at his town hall meet Thursday that the 1250 required units to satisfy the Jones settlement might be met in 2015, which would mean that homeless would not be allowed to sleep on the sidewalks at any time.
• Councilman Mike Bonin announced last week that Winter shelter was open and funds had been authorized for PATH (people assisting the homeless) to do outreach for the homeless.
• Venice Update posed a question to an attorney after the Mike Feuer Town Hall meet. Question was regarding the transients who are here and continuously refreshing the scene. On 3rd there are about 8 to 2 for being from out of state and one of the 2 is not from LA County. So considering all of this, does this mean, after LA gets the 1250 housing units, Venice can ask/tell the transients to go back to where they came from and not have to put up with their drugs, alcohol, and childish pranks? Can this be enforced? Otherwise, what has been gained? There was no answer.
• Captain Brian Johnson has made a public statement.
• Laws, municipal codes, and comments are given here. Dialogues are presented here to spark the Venice community into thinking about this ongoing situation with the thought for solutions. The City and police are certainly open to help with improvements. Kip Pardue said that Venice has the best group of creative minds anywhere.