Update: LAPD Bomb Squad Investigates Suspicious Package in Venice

The streets around Windward Circle in Venice are shut down as the Los Angeles Police Department investigates a suspicious package.

A report of a suspicious package near the Venice Main Post Office on Windward Circle prompted police Sunday afternoon to close neighboring streets as the bomb squad investigated, but no explosives were found. Police were notified about 1:35 p.m. Sunday of a suspicious package left in a newspaper bin and there was no threat associated with it, said Officer Karen Rayner, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Police officers and yellow police tape cordoned off several blocks around Windward Circle as the bomb squad checked the suspicious package. The bomb squad only found a duffel bag and the incident was resolved about 3:40 p.m., she said. The LAPD bomb squad was called out March 20 to Venice Beach after a homeless person …

• Photos (1)

Week in Review: Ferris Wheel Proposal, Venice Record Holder, Pot Workers Unite

Here’s our recap of stories from the past week, so you can be up-to-date on all the local happenings.

From the proposal for a 200-foot "Great Observation Wheel, to a Venice High School alum helping set a new U.S. swimming record, to pot dispensary workers joining a local union. Here's a look at some stories this past week in Venice-Mar Vista Patch. The proposal by a United Kingdom-based company to temporarily operate a 200-foot "Great Observation Wheel" on Windward Plaza in Venice Beach will be presented to the Venice Neighborhood Council board meeting in April. The plans for the 15-story attraction have raised concerns over parking and obstructing the view of the ocean. Details right here. Venice High School graduate Andrea "Andi" Murez and three of her Stanford teammates set a national record at the 2012 NCAA Championships and she'll be …

• Photos (1)

Rosendahl Gives Status Report to Venice Chamber of Commerce

City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose 11th District includes Venice, talks to the Venice Chamber of Commerce on a wide range of issues.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl gave an update on local issues to members of the Venice Chamber of Commerce that included new initiatives to clean up the 3rd Avenue homeless enclave on a weekly basis and provide safety helmets at the Venice Beach skatepark. About 40 members of the Venice chamber and their guests listened to Rosendahl's status report on Venice during a luncheon Wednesday held at the upstairs banquet room at Danny's Deli. The councilman said a weekly cleanup will take place on 3rd Avenue between Rose and Sunset avenues, which has become a gathering place for the homeless. A Bureau of Sanitation crew earlier this month cleaned up the street near Gold's Gym, Digital Domain and newcomer Google in an action decried by…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Venice and Marina del Rey Border Dispute Spills Into Thailand

Samantha Page, the founding editor of Venice Patch, sets the record straight on where Venice ends and Marina del Rey begins. Dispatch from Thailand.

Journalists are horrible know-it-alls, but please don't hold that against us. Our sincere desire to know absolutely everything – and talk about it – is partly what enables us to produce stories day after day. It's certainly what got us into the field to begin with. Non-professional news bloggers, you're included here. Even among the best of us, a passion for truth and accuracy is as much rooted in personal pride as it is in professional ethics. It's our job to know things first– and to be right. We thrive on facts, and we will argue them to the death. This was as true of me when I lived in Venice as it is now, in Bangkok. My own Venice pedigree is weak. I started at Venice Patch in September 2010, new to the neighborhood, relatively new to…

•  16 Comments
• Photos (1)

Weekend Planner: New Year's Eve 2011

We've got your Venice guide for the biggest weekend of the year!

Looking for a way to while away the hours this weekend? Here's a list of some of the stuff going on in Venice, Dec. 30 - Jan 1. Friday, Dec. 30 No need to go and waste energy or dollars on the night before the biggest night of the year, right? Go to a movie. Order a pizza. Rest up. Saturday is going to be huge. Saturday, Dec. 31 Apart from strolling into the local watering hole where there's sure to be some good New Year's Eve action, many bars in Venice are having special shindigs. Hotel Erwin's rooftop bar, High, might be one of the best places to watch the Marina del Rey fireworks display at midnight, and there's no cover charge. James' Beach will host their Shangri-La-La celebration complete with two separate seatings and menus …

• Photos (2)

Winter Holiday Stroll Brings Cheer to Residents and Dogs

Holiday jubilee erupted Venice style at the annual Abbot Kinney Winter Holiday Stroll.

Venice got a healthy dose of merry making magic this Sunday with the Abbot Kinney Winter Holiday Stroll. This family event was a winter wonderland held at The Brig parking lot with plenty of holiday cheer to go around. Kids threw snowballs at each other while dogs reveled in it. Kooky carolers sang zany tunes while Santa spread Christmas cheer. Shops and galleries up and down Abbot Kinney also held special events, kicking off the holidays once again for Venice. Ian Wallach and his St. Bernard, Tinker Bell, were simply strolling down Abbot Kinney for a bite from Badass Burger food truck when they came across the cheer-filled lot. "I didn't know this was going on," exclaimed Wallach, 45, from Marina del Rey. "This is great." Children and …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (23)

Pic' of the Week

C.A.V.E. Gallery Is "Dressed to Impress"

The local gallery is filled with exciting new exhibits this November.

Tony Venegas and L Croskey's new collaborative series "Dressed to Kill" is in its first week at C.A.V.E. Gallery. The show features recent works, since the pair's last show at C.A.V.E. in July of 2010. The exhibit, which covers Gallery II's project wall, includes colorful pieces of stylishly-dressed women wearing black gowns with vibrant designs, with lively patterns and exotic images as background. The various pieces are paper collages and acrylic designs, on wood no longer than three feet. In addition, the gallery's main room is currently featuring paintings from four other returning C.A.V.E artists, Jason Hernandez, Young Chun, Jasmine Worth and Megz Majewski. These shows will continue through Dec. 3. Be sure to fan Venice Patch on …

• Photos (5)

G2 Gallery Presents Poetry of Ice

Ira Meyer is just one of five exhibits at the G2 Gallery.

Ira Meyer's photography show "Poetry of Ice" is currently on display at G2 Gallery, just in time for chilly skies over Southern California. The exhibit features massive ice castles and the surrounding arctic wildlife in some of Antarctica's hard-to-find places. It will make Venice's "wintry" weather seems warm. The exhibit highlights the ice formations of a very still Antarctica. The photographs are crystal-clear images, which perfectly balance the bright white snow with the contrasting blue of the water. Meyer also captures local wildlife in several playful action shots. Meyer was a business owner and competing cyclist until a near-fatal cycling accident in 1986, which influenced his decision to turn towards a life of photography. Since …

• Photos (5)