By Marty (Shtunken) Liboff There is an old joke about a little boy and girl taking a bath together and the little girl sees the boy’s penis and says, “Can I play with that?” and the boy says, “No! You already broke yours off!” Long, long ago in ancient Rome they built huge bathhouses where...

By Carol Fondiller This is a re-print from the July 1969 edition According to the long-term tenants, some of whom have lived at the Ellison for over 15 years, 15 of the 60 units in the Ellison have been “rehabbed” into youth hostel accommodations. So 15 units times $1,768 a month equals $26,520 a month....

By Jim Smith We never even learned the way the Vietnamese write the name of their country (Việt Nam), before we lost the war. It was 40 years ago, April 30, that TV viewers witnessed our Vietnamese lackeys being kicked away from overloaded Hueys as the helicopters fled from the land our rulers thought they...

By Phyllis Hayashibara What’s happening with the Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker? What’s taking so long? It’s been fourteen YEARS since the idea first came about, to memorialize the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards. At this intersection over several days in April, 1942, some 1,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, forcibly removed from their...

By Peggy Lee Kennedy Why did the City of Los Angeles close the people’s beach from midnight to five in the morning? I have heard it all: the gangs, the homeless, drugs, prostitution, et cetera, et cetera. The truth is that Ordinance 164209, amending LAMC 63.44 in 1988, does not say why the City of Los...

By Marty Liboff YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST!! John Haag started our beloved Beachhead newspaper in 1968. He had run the legendary Venice West Cafe at 7 Dudley Ave. in Venice from 1962 to 1966 with his wonderful wife Anna. Believe it or not, you could be arrested back then just for reading a poem...

By Krista Schwimmer There are many features on Ocean Front Walk that define its essence. Among the most noteworthy are the pagodas or pergolas, as they were first called. Clustered together like mini palm trees, these free structures welcome all against the elements. As a result, a variety of people congregate in and around them:...

By Brenda Harvey This is a re-print from the April 1978 100th edition It is 10:30 at night and we are exhausted and waiting to pick up a borrowed truck to drive out to Glendale. “I can’t find his keys!” my friend’s friend moans. “Can you start it without keys?” I sigh, knowing I’ll never...

By Suzy Williams September 11, 2011. Everyone I know had a big reaction to the falling of the World Trade Towers. Paranoia. One dear friend became completely unhinged. Heightened patriotism. A lot of people put two American flags on their SUVs. And renewed commitment to peace. Having been a New Yorker for 17 years, my...

By Jim Zane I was part of the Beachhead collective for a 14 to 16 month period that spanned the end of 1972 through the first few months of 1974. I remember the Venice Pier, food buying clubs, the Canals before gentrification and the short-lived nude beach. I, of course, didn’t live in Venice at...