Boardwalks

One year ago, Ted Hawkins was a busker on the Venice Beach boardwalk, a man literally singing for his supper. At age 49, with much of his life spent on the road and inside prison walls, he'd accrued lots of experience for the part. "I looked upon myself as an outcast," admits Hawkins. "I'd said to myself, 'Well, this is it. I tried and tried and couldn't make it. So I'm gonna sit right here and sing until I die.' " Today, Ted Hawkins lives in England, where he is widely regarded as a hero.

Since The Times considers it fitting to allow ad hominem comment in the debate on the refurbishment of the Venice Boardwalk, I trust I will be given leave to reply in kind. Mr. Abcarian (in his letter of April 21, 1994) is the one who ignores the truth. Hundreds of Venice residents did indeed spend four years of hard work in workshops and hearings to develop the draft Venice Urban Waterfront Restoration Plan and its sequel, the Venice Boardwalk Historic Refurbishment Plan, authored by the leading Venice civic organizations.

The immense popularity of the Venice Boardwalk has raised new concerns for this zany seaside carnival. The huge crowds have attracted every manner of illegal vendor and legitimate nonprofit to set up shop on Ocean Front Walk. This, in turn, has created an impenetrable wall of tables along the east side of the famous walkway, blocking emergency vehicle access and posing a safety hazard for pedestrians. Limiting nonprofit groups to six-foot tables and banning structures along the boardwalk's west side is a reasonable means to restore public ingress and egress and to preserve some open space in this public park.

Call them the Venice Beach Scrolls. Two weeks ago, community activist Jerry Rubin set up a 1,000-foot blank scroll on Ocean Front Walk so passersby could jot down their thoughts on boardwalk renovation plans. To date, thousands have done so--in a jumble of multicolored phrases and signatures inscribed with felt-tip markers that Rubin supplied. Among the offerings: "No brickheads making plans for Venice Beach," "Don't maul Venice Beach," "Save Planet Venice" and "Don't *&% With Venice."

Don't be the only one who isn't talking about "Boardwalk Empire. " The Prohibition-era drama, based on the Nelson Johnson nonfiction book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City," makes its debut, and it has everything going for it: It's on HBO, it's produced by Martin "Everything I Touch Turns to Gold" Scorsese, and it stars Steve Buscemi ("The Sopranos," "Fargo") as a county treasurer who runs Atlantic City from his room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Although it has not quite recaptured the magic of "The Sopranos," there is no denying that HBO is once again in full stride. With Emmy-winning movies, a panoply of well-done documentaries, successful comedies and dramatic hits both popular — "True Blood" — and critical — "Boardwalk Empire," "Treme" — the premium network bursts with so much justified confidence that it took on the perilous realm of fantasy with the well-received "Game of Thrones....

The spiked iron bars that separate her condominium pool from the Ventura Promenade took on new significance for the 64-year-old woman Tuesday. Twice in six days, innocent victims have been violently attacked along the boardwalk that runs from the Ventura County Fairgrounds to the Ventura Pier. "We're barricaded here," the fenced-in woman said in frustration, glancing periodically toward the boardwalk and requesting that her name not be used for fear of retaliation.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a pilot program Tuesday aimed at easing crowded conditions on the Venice Beach boardwalk by regulating vending sales on the famous tourist strip. "The cops have been concerned for a long time--as has the Fire Department, but particularly the police--about their ability to respond in the event of an emergency," said Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents Venice.

The City Council on Monday will consider a temporary ban on bicycles, skateboards and skates on Oceanfront Walk on weekends and on other peak days, allowing only pedestrians along the popular boardwalk at those times. The proposed prohibition comes one month after the city was required to pay a pedestrian $270,000 in damages after the man and a bicyclist collided on the boardwalk.