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Last Call for Coffee

Posted by The Argonaut | Oct 17, 2018 | News |

Venice Grind owner blames Vision Zero and Councilman Bonin for the loss of his business By Gary Walker After 15 years as one of the most high-profile establishments on Venice Boulevard, Venice Grind Coffee Co. is closing its doors tomorrow, Oct. 18. Venice Grind owner Demetrios Mavromichalis attributes his decision to close the Mar Vista coffee shop to a precipitous drop in sales due to controversial lane closures on Venice Boulevard that occurred more than a year ago. “It’s a direct result of Great Streets Vision Zero,” Mavromichalis said of the transportation initiative designed to reduce traffic–related deaths on...

Ciao, Valentino

Posted by The Argonaut | Oct 17, 2018 | News |

The godfather of Italian restaurants will shutter his Santa Monica landmark after 47 years By Richard Foss Ask Piero Selvaggio about whom he considers his competition, and you get an imperious answer. “I don’t have any competition. Everyone who has an Italian restaurant today does what they do because of what we did. When Valentino leaves there is going to be no fine dining Italian-style.” That would be outrageous coming from anybody else, but from Selvaggio it’s a defensible statement. The book “How Italian Food Conquered the World,” a survey of Italian cuisine from 1900 onward, covers Selvaggio and...

Letters

Posted by The Argonaut | Oct 17, 2018 | Letters To The Editor |

Voting & Activism Anyone who believes that activism and voting doesn’t work has probably never been politically active. Well, I’m very happy to point out that there are almost 1,000 mature trees that still exist at Mariners Village because of activism and voting. Many residents and non-residents alike from both the right and the left united for a common cause and won. Lumping people into one box or another only serves to divide us and helps the special interests win. While throwing your hands into the air and saying, “Oh, what’s the use?” is just another way of saying:...

Notes from Noreen: Familial Eviction Friction

Posted by The Argonaut | Oct 17, 2018 | Opinion |

I have a granddaughter who is a dear, dear thing. I’ve been present at every major life event from colic to quinceañera and have made an earnest effort to not let my all-around generational terribleness rub off on her too much. Mine is an epoch that has swindled hers. A hit-and-run bamboozlement. I live off the fat of the land whilst her frail Millennialness holds but a lifetime of spotty employment, uncertain retirement, and diminishing dreams of homeownership. Yet any guilt ricochets off me like reason and logic in an intelligent dialogue on rent control ordinances. Pew, pew, and...

Caution: Roadblocks Ahead

Posted by The Argonaut | Oct 17, 2018 | Opinion |

Piles of scooters may be annoying to you, but they can be an insurmountable obstacle for someone with disabilities By Carissa Donahoo The author is a Marina del Rey resident pursuing a master’s degree in social work at the University of Southern California with an emphasis on Social Change and Innovation. Some people love electric scooters for the freedom of mobility they offer. Some hate the way they’ve basically taken over so much public space. Others couldn’t care less. Whether scooters are here to stay or this year’s version of the ice bucket challenge, my greater concern at the...