Wolves at the Door

Joseph Tsidulko's exposé of a pair of siblings preying on the Russian immigrant community drew raves last week (“In Sheep's Clothing”). Mark J. Featherstone writes, “After reading Tsidulko's engaging yet oddly amusing article, I'm counting the days until Zina Whateverhernameisthisweek and her brother emerge like a Sharknado and attempt to sue Mr. Tsidulko for defamation of character. It's amazing what nutty, money-hungry wackos can do with a bunch of big words, bullying ploys and plenty of fortitude.“

Fast Fred agrees. “Well-written, well-researched and interesting article,” he writes. “It's amazing the system doesn't have any law in place to prevent against these baseless, devious fake lawsuits.”

Adds Ricky Gilbert, “I predict that the Weekly and/or the people in the article will be getting a visit from these two claiming defamation of character. Throw their sorry asses out of town.”

The Developer You Know

Readers also had lots to say about Jill Stewart's Oct. 11 piece on the new hotel proposed for Abbot Kinney Boulevard (“A Hotel War in Venice”).

Dtnmatt writes, “For those who say this project is the death knell to Venice, I would argue the Venice you moved to is already on the road to extreme change. Growth will happen and at some point, as long as the developer/owner is within his rights, something will be constructed on that site. Do you want to keep Joe's and Willie Jane's, or do you want a P.F. Changs and a Holiday Inn Express? I don't know Dan Abrams beyond meeting him once, but I do know that he is our neighbor. He has to live with us and that's the kind of a developer I've seen save the direction of the community under the development gun.”

Adrian Riskin writes, “The arguments against Dan Abrams and his hotel lose their force the moment they refer to West Washington Boulevard by the false name, imposed on the long-suffering aboriginal inhabitants of Venice by their conquerors, of 'Abbot Kinney Boulevard.' The authenticity they claim to defend has been gone for decades and the Neighborhood Council and its minions are suffering from last-in-the-door syndrome and its associated delusions. If they really want to defend the authentic glory of Venice, they ought to be out tearing down signs restricting RV parking, encouraging creepy cults to restart communal living projects in the canal bungalows, and reinstalling the long-gone public chessboards and their elderly Jewish patrons. The Venice whose authenticity they claim to defend bears as much resemblance to the real thing as Marie Antoinette's Hameau de la Reine did to a working farm. 'Abbot Kinney Boulevard' is more like a street in CityWalk than anything authentic.”

Corrections

In Sept. 27's “Silver Lake Generation War,” we gave incorrect information about the origins of a practice described as “jazz hands.” It was popularized by the Zapatistas, not the Sandinistas. Quelle horreur!

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