(Photo courtesy of Patrick Guzman.)

Temporary-No-Parking-on-Friday signs went up on 3rd Ave Wednesday morning, providing 24-hour notification to prevent drivers from parking on 3rd on Friday.

There has been much controversy regarding steam cleaning the street and sidewalks on 3rd on Fridays. Rick Swinger, activist in the area, was told by Sanitation last Friday that Sanitation could not steam clean the streets or sidewalks on 3rd because of the parked cars. It would be a liability for them to clean, possibly causing damage to a car.

Since that time Swinger has been in touch with Taylor Bazley, Venice representative, and SLO for the area Kristan Delatori.  They both have agreed it would be a good idea to steam clean the street, sidewalks on 3rd, and said they would work to get the necessary signs for Sanitation.

SLO Kristan Delatori initiated the request with Public Works to get the signs.

The good news is that places such as Harding, Staples, Lake, Harrison are old stories with great endings thanks to neighbors coming together. There are no new stories this week only updates on those still existing.

Ocean between North and South Venice Blvd is getting more contentious and more concentrated. There seems to be a lot of living from one end to the other. The word has spread that the police can’t touch them. Well, perhaps true, and perhaps, not true. Two policemen stopped by and said unfortunately “we cannot do anything.” It was mentioned in last week’s Update that one needed new signs or for the present signs to be turned around so that the landscaped area was covered. That was the scuttlebutt for last two weeks and everyone was rushing the signs.

It was rumored this week that Claudia Martin, attorney for Venice, said that was not true and that she would talk to the Captain.   So here we go. Photo only shows the north end of Ocean. Difficult to shoot into the sun and the shade.

The cars and vans on North Venice Blvd seem to be rather clean this week with the exception of the white car that is growing on the road. The brown van of last week and all its “stuff” laid out on both sides of the boulevard is still gone. The blue van is the recycle van.

The Grand Canal area that was subject to controversy is totally clean. Last week there were two scooters that had been thrown down the ramp. This was mentioned to Paul of the BID Clean Team. The scooters were gone this week and the place was still clean. It has been mentioned that the group occupying the area have seven counts against them. Where or if this is being prosecuted is unknown at this time.

The lady at the old post office was still there. Here ADA accessibility is questionable. The encampment at Main with the two pit bulls seems to be consistently gone. Occasionally, they will come back at night but are gone in the morning and with all their belongings.

Fourth Street looks the same. There is no accessibility or “tent up” problems. The garbage can that won the prize last week has a friend at its side and two mattresses behind it.

Hampton, south of Rose, has two separate encampments and each looks in compliance with the “tents down” and accessibility.

Hampton, north of Rose, thanks to two business establishments on the west side Hampton, is as clean as one can find. There is no sign of any encampment having been there after 10 am. Both businesses wake the people in the morning and then clean the sidewalk. This is what Hampton on the east side of the street used to look like. Many of the stable homeless moved to the west side of the street.

Seventh Ave has fewer tents and seems to have a quieter crowd. Actually, noise comes at night when the working people are asleep. Tents are up and it is not ADA accessible.

Penmar Park is so different than what it was. It looks like a few more tents are up but it could be that one person is expanding. Garbage seems to be contained in a pile. The alley is starting to get some garbage but nothing like it was. First picture shows the overall area and what one would see from Rose. The other one shows part of one tenter’s expansion–patio!

And then there is the homeless group behind the Thai restaurant at the northeast corner of Venice and Lincoln Blvd. Please read the story about the alley mystery. The group was discovered a couple weeks ago and the homeless themselves have tried to clean it up, little by little. SLO Adrian Acosta says Sanitation has been notified.

The alley that goes from northeast corner of Venice Blvd north to Victoria and is between the businesses on Lincoln Blvd and Prospect, Superior is a mystery. Almost no way in or out unless…

Users of the alley claim it is a public alley and trash used to be picked up … but the trash trucks had to back up and that was 10 years ago.

On the other hand, one end is stopped and access is next to the Thai restaurant off Lincoln and one does mean next to Thai restaurant wall. One lady who has lived on Superior forever claims access used to be off Venice where the Deux Machina restaurant is. That is very feasible but it had to be prior to 1980 according to this writers’ records. And then there is another fence blocking the alley at the Boys and Girls club.

One person is using the alley as part of his business, one is using it to extend his parking lot or maybe two are using it to extend their parking lots.

Todd who manages the body shop said the United Methodist church got a variance and blocked the alley on the north end and that was more than25 years ago, actually it was before 1980 according to this writers’ records.

Everyone was forthright in their explanations. The fence behind the Boys and Girls club was erected by body shop and Boys and Girls club to keep the tenters from going thru the body shop and sleeping in cars. That was 10 years ago, All trash is being handled from Lincoln or Superior.

Now to the crux of this tale.

All of this chaos and mystery of this story leads to the fact that the alley has left room for 8 to 10 tenters on drugs directly behind houses on Superior and behind the Thai restaurant and the Boys and Girls Club of Venice.

Because of all the publicity, tenters are now busy carry “stuff” out of the area as fast as they can. SLO Adrian Acosta wrote to this writer that he had contacted Sanitation. Tenters have cleaned up and it looks totally different than when first discovered a couple weeks ago. (See also Encampment Update — 15 March.)

The lady in the house on Superior is sick and her dog is sick and she believes it is due to the homeless. One fellow did have scabs on his hands and face but he had just gotten out of the emergency care for his arm. Am sure the doctors would have given him treatment for the scabs.

Everyone has called the police and they say the police claim nothing can be done. Really! This is a public alley. It is a throughway.

Actually, it it not an alley. It is called Prospect Court. Just what that means in this instance, this writer has no idea. The width varies from 15 to 16 feet. Many alleys in Venice are 15 feet. The lady who lives on Superior says it is a street.

It has been used as an alley even when the trucks had to back up but that stopped about 10 years ago because of the fence the body shop and boys and girls club put in place to protect themselves.

Robert who has been the spokesperson for the group is the most thoughtful homeless person this writer has met. He was in a motorcycle accident and got hooked on the pain pills. As a consequence he lost his wife and child and lives on the street. But he, of all the homeless, will not always be on the street.

So where are we City, Police, Residents, Commercial operators?

Note: There are stories like this of the Venice Scene throughout the internet. Update selected this one because it was well written and best exemplified the frustration felt by all who have written such emails recently.

By Kathryn Johann

My neighbor Kyle Arbaugh was kind enough to pay to have four planter boxes in an area outside on Indiana Avenue where homeless had been sleeping & was constantly covered with tents, hypodermic needles and garbage.

I couldn’t of been happier with some progress being made and contributed plants to help make the area nicer.

I have called the cops maybe 15-25 times in the last few months because of homeless fighting, screaming all night, doing drugs and living in an encampment within 5 feet of my gate.

I walked out of my gate yesterday to find a man sleeping on the sidewalk with the garbage spilling into the streets. I bet the huge pile of garbage will continue to be in the street for weeks or months to come. How is this my everyday life when I pay a fortune for my beautiful bungalow?

I always see people organizing beach clean ups, but what about our streets and sidewalks? Where is the funding to clean up the garbage everywhere? I can’t even drive my car down my alley to my garage because it’s such a constant disaster. I mean it’s honestly just insane what goes on.