Marina del Rey Sell-Out

Click here to purchase
a copy of this book

$8.95 +shipping


Marina del Rey was originally conceived as a giant park to provide recreation for the ten million citizens of Los Angeles County. How, then, did it change into what is largely a housing tract for a few thousand residents with an expanse of shopping malls? How did the 6,000 or so small boat slips get chopped to almost half?

The County has acquired the power to do what it wants with parking lots and inevitably a number of parking lots will be up for grabs. When the County announces its plans for further giveaways to private developers, message the County on your opposition, call your local State assemblyman and senator and write letters to newspapers.

The aim of this book is to arm you with the facts to make your protest more effective. Proceeds from book are dedicated to preserving and increasing recreational facilities in Marina del Rey.

Praise for the book...

Bruce Russell’s impeccable journalistic credentials lend themselves expertly to telling the story of the bureaucratic obfuscations of county politics, chicanery and greed by those who profited from the development of Marina del Rey. Russell’s wry sense of humor and keen observations strip away the veneer of pretense that has clouded the political and financial machinations over this prime locale, ostensibly as being in the public interest. Nothing could be further from the truth, and his concise explanation provides the stark details of how Marina del Rey has become Los Angeles County’s “bejeweled cash cow.”

— Helga Gendell, author of Snoopin’ Around: 

The Story of David  Asper Johnson and The Argonaut

Reviews:

May 12, 2014
I rate this lively little book with five stars. It delivers a lively and mostly accurate account of what happened to Marina del Rey from its inception to the present moment. The author gives a lively account of his illustrious career as a reporter and establishes the title Chinatown County as a parallel to the famous movie by that name involving corruption in Los Angeles City in the 1930’s. The Marina’s story begins in the 1950’s and the shysters who would corrupt the project are well documented in the newspapers by great reporting. But in the mid nineties, the media’s light began to dim. And most residents of the County and of Marina del Rey did not have a clue what was happening. What was happening was the County began not enforcing its ordinances for protecting scenic views and traffic density and special funds for recreational parks. The County and developers got bolder and bolder in flouting their laws as the press turned a blind eye. About ten years after this, we began to notice that the state of California evidenced the same disrespect for the rule of law, and now it has spread to the Federal Government. Russell’s lively book then is not just about MdR, but is a warning that what happened to us may happen to Yosemite National Park, to the honesty of local and national governments and to their respective legal professions. Daniel Henry Gottlieb Marina del Rey