Runners may be distracted by the Marina Harbor views

The 13.1 Los Angeles half marathon (13.1 miles) takes place next Sunday, January 15, against “a new scenic backdrop.” The half marathon, part of the “13.1″ series of races in major U.S. cities, starts at 7 a.m. at the Venice Boardwalk (Rose Ave. intersection), winds around the Marina del Rey Harbor, and ends in Playa del Rey. Area drivers should plan accordingly.

In addition to the half marathon, there will be a separate “Karhu 5k” race along Dockweiler Beach, in which racers will compete against — insert joke here — a runner dressed as the Karhu Bear. Runners who “Beat the Bear” will win a pair of Karhu brand running shoes.

Marina Harbor with Burton Chace Park, a prime viewing location, on the far side

Good news for many area residents: the annual Marina del Rey New Year’s Eve fireworks show is a go.

After L.A. County canceled this year’s July 4 fireworks show at the Marina due to budget tightening, private interests stepped up to assist with funding to put on the New Year’s Eve display. That’s cause for a double celebration.

The fireworks show gets warmed up at 11:55 p.m., but, given the public parking and traffic challenges during Marina del Rey events, I’d plan to get there quite a bit earlier.

Marina Boat Channel by day

If you’re an L.A. lover of the life aquatic, you’re in luck: this weekend, we’ve got two boat parades in a row.

First up, on Saturday, December 10, is the Marina Holiday Boat Parade at the Boat Channel in Marina del Rey. The boat parade, where the vessels are decked out in lit holiday splendor, begins at 6 p.m., preceded by a fireworks show at 5:55, which some people may be eager to see after the annual July 4 fireworks display was canceled due to budget cuts. There will be judging in various categories for the boats. See the first link above for all details.

Then on Sunday, December 11, the Venice Canals right down the street will play host to their own boat parade. This parade, which starts at 4:30 p.m. (boat lineup at 4), will feature decidedly smaller boats due to the smaller waterways, but the intimate setting is sure to provide your monthly dosage of quaintness. Awards will be given for the best-decorated boats, and the fine print in the flyer (see link) indicates that the bridge and home decorations will be judged the day before at 4 p.m., so you could check that out before the Marina Boat Parade on Saturday if you’re really ambitious. Some of those homes along the canals are famous for their amazing Christmas light displays, which may be up, or at least in the process of going up, by now. Who says quaint can’t be a bit blingy too?

Marina del Rey 4th of July reveler from apparently cash flush 2009

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors (see top link under “News and Press Releases”), “[t]here will be no fireworks display this year in Marina del Rey in celebration of Independence Day on Monday, July 4, 2011 due to budget curtailments.” That has got to be a big disappointment not just to locals who enjoy the big fireworks show from the Marina Boat Channel, Burton Chace Park, Venice Beach, and Playa del Rey, but also to many other Angelenos who braved the local driving and parking nightmares in previous years to see it too.

While money is obviously tight in L.A. County as elsewhere, and there are many important and competing interests for those tax dollars, it seems pathetic that we can’t even come up with the money to celebrate our nation’s freakin’ founding. The two comments to this article in The Argonaut regarding the fireworks cancellation are apropos. The first commenter asks whether there are any attempts by local residents and businesses to come up with the funds. The second commenter inquires, “[h]ow much are they saving canceling the fireworks show considering the loss of buisness and taxes that day?”

My thoughts exactly.

The Shores is at the vanguard of a host of construction projects, some of which were approved just yesterday, which could significantly alter the laid-back, recreational image of the Marina. This is in addition to a large mixed-use project being built just across Lincoln Blvd., between Maxella Ave. and the entrance to the Marina Freeway (Rte. 90). A number of the projects involved in this planned building boom have caused an outcry among some Marina residents and visitors, especially given that, according to the Marina Del Rey Land Use Plan, implemented pursuant to the California Coastal Act, “[p]ublic opportunities for viewing the Marina’s scenic elements, particularly the small craft harbor water areas, shall be enhanced and preserved.”

However, that small, vocal group of opponents to some of the local development plans here is often too small and not vocal enough to have too much of an effect.  Rather, it seems that, in this corner of L.A. County, as in many other places, the real estate developers eventually get most of what they want.

Should you wish to witness a spirited and entertaining discourse on this very subject, however, why not head out to The Warehouse in Marina Del Rey on Saturday, and catch The Lowdown?

Here’s what your host Jeff Norman has to say about it:

The Lowdown is a bold cultural revival fueled by unique collaborations between world-class artists, authors, activists and other public-spirited leaders. Presenters and performers connect the dots between media, government, national security, sustainability, psychology and the arts. By confronting disinformation, promoting civic engagement and having fun in the process, we help people cope with life in America.

The Warehouse Restaurant
4499 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Hosted by JEFF NORMAN and featuring performances and a discussion with

music by I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. (Full set at 5 PM)
Author PETER RICHARDSON
Journalist ROBERT SCHEER
LA Weekly founder JAY LEVIN
Comedian ED CRASNICK
Musician-satirist GARY GORDON
Drinks and appetizers available – no minimum required.
Happy hour discounts from 5 to 6!
FREE admission
Seating is first come, first served.
The evening will conclude with a book sale and signing by Peter Richardson, author of A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly Life of Ramparts Magazine Changed America, hosted by Book Soup.

(Ow, my linking hand!)

“that will transform the familiar Marina Del Rey property into a lush Caribbean-themed resort befitting its name. The new Jamaica Bay Inn will take advantage of the hotel’s unique location on the only beach inside the marina, an inviting arc of sand and calm water appropriately known as Mother’s Beach. The new hotel will have a colorful porte-cochere that will be a street-side landmark for the property and an elegant lobby with a sophisticated West Indies décor, rattan/wood/leather furniture and a large stone fireplace and chimney as a focal point. The renovation’s architecture will showcase Caribbean features such as dickie-style roofs with standing seam galvanized metal roofs, plentiful balconies with white-painted woodwork and window trim, pale yellow plaster walls and green shutters.”

Rear view

The question for Marina residents and visitors is: will the expanded Jamaica Bay Inn, and the many other planned construction projects in the neighborhood, represent improvement, or just growth?  The Marina has a special status regarding development: according to the Marina del Rey Land Use Plan implemented pursuant to the California Coastal Act, “[p]ublic opportunities for viewing the Marina’s scenic elements, particularly the small craft harbor water areas, shall be enhanced and preserved.”  Because of these “scenic elements,” many visitors, and, I imagine, numerous residents, come to the Marina primarily to play. Unfortunately, some residents say that real estate developers have had their way in the area for years.

Some residents across the street won't be happy about losing their view

Nauseating PR puffery aside, I don’t necessarily find the Jamaica Bay Inn project particularly egregious, given its limited — albeit doubled — height and footprint that was largely taken up by two existing buildings.  However, due to other planned projects, some of which are gargantuan, the character of the Marina is in a state of flux, and it remains to be seen what will happen.  I know I will be watching with interest.

View of Mother's Beach and Marina from back of Jamaica Bay Inn

Space to left will be blocked by expansion

Back of the Inn, as seen from the Southwest

Construction worker seems to like the view that he will soon be obscuring

Normally, I would never post about a “c-word” sighting.  What makes this newsworthy, however, is the incongruence of having Johnny Rotten, who made his name, his reputation, and his career on being angry and edgy more than on his musical talent or anything else, living in a place that is known for being laid-back and anything but angry and edgy.

The next time I run into John/Johnny, I will try to say hello, and ask him for an impromptu mini-interview.  I want to know whether he is now living an idyllic, anger-managed life by the sea.  Hopefully, he won’t lose his temper.

When I walked in shortly before noon, about half a dozen people were voting in the various booths, but there were zero people waiting to vote behind them. I asked one of the poll workers whether it had been busy thus far, and she said that it had been so busy today that she had not had time to go to the bathroom. Maybe machines will have to take care of that in the future too, although I think we can skip the receipts.

On the way out, I actually had a big smile on my face and a bounce in my step. That’s what you get in a place where, even when it’s busy, it seems sleepy. More importantly, it’s what happens when you not only vote, but you feel like you voted FOR something.