johnrusso photos on Flickr

In June of 2017, LADOT made safety reconfigurations to the Vista del Mar roadway that runs along Dockweiler Beach and Playa del Rey Beach. This City of Los Angeles was responding to multiple pedestrian deaths and lawsuits involving Vista del Mar's road design. At the time, the most recent death and wrongful-death lawsuit involved a $9.5 million settlement for the death of Michael Lockridge, 21 who was stuck and killed while walking across Vista del Mar in 2016. The City of Los Angeles recognized the dangerous conditions that were part of the road design and attempted to make corrections that prioritized public safety over traffic speeds and throughput.

The reconfigurations narrowed the road for drivers, reducing four traffic lanes to two traffic lanes, removed parking on eastern side of Vista del Mar and added angled parking on the beach side of the road, lessening the frequency of pedestrian crossing. Then drivers complained.

Drivers, (especially from the South Bay cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach) who used Vista del Mar as a short-cut to avoid Pacific Coast Highway and 405 freeway traffic, balked about the new road design that FORCED them to slow down on VDM. They formed a special interest group called, "Keep L.A. Moving," filed a restraining lawsuit against the City, launched the second failed "Recall Bonin" campaign, and became frequent guests of KFI Right-Wing-Radio's John and Ken Show.

By August, just two months after the road was re-striped, Council Member Mike Bonin acquiesced to the backlash from drivers, and pressure from LA City Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LA County Supervisior, Janice Hahn, ordering LADOT to return to the previous dangerous road design on Vista del Mar. The only difference, that now, with the exception of Vista del Mar Park, there would no longer be any parking of Vista del Mar, thus making the roadway even wider and encouraging more speeding by drivers.

On September 25, 2018, Supervisor Janice Hahn is given an award by the City of Hermosa Beach for pressuring the City of Los Angeles to return Vista Del Mar to its dangerous road design that prioritizes driver speeds over public safety.

On Saturday, September 11, 2021, 33-year-old Wendy Galdamez-Palma, was walking across Vista del Mar with her 3-year-old son, when she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run SUV driver. Suspected driver, Darwin Dantzler, 39 has since been charged with felony hit-and-run.

An innocent woman who was simply trying to walk across the street is dead. Two sons age 3 and 4 will grow up without their mother. Los Angeles will likely have to pay-out another multi-million dollar wrongful-death lawsuit settlement. Until the road design is changed, this will happen again, and again, and again. All because drivers feel more entitled to their convenience than people are entitled to safety and their own lives. A mother is dead, and a bloody award hangs on Janice Hahn's wall somewhere.

art by Greg Lawler

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John Russo shoot thru by Jonathon Cianfrani

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John Russo Lighting Workshop, Stockton College

Seat belt law are for EVERYBODY! by V Smoothe

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And John Russo would know.

Aswan Felucca ride by alohadave

John Russo by Robert Berkowitz

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(Image # 412 - 09/12/22)

Signed Night of the Living Dead book by Peter Taylor

A signed copy of the Filmbook for Night of the Living Dead.

John and Russ by Ben Roffelsen Photography

John Russo and Russ Steiner legends from "Night of the Living Dead" Who has not seen this 1968 classic! They were this years Grand Marshall's and were a great hit! They LOVE Toronto! Can't wait for the stage show!

JBS_0652 by Pixie Press Worldwide