Venice exploring cityhood effort

Chris Buck, center, pushes his small, portable home, that has a bed inside, along the boardwalk in Venice Beach.

Resident Mike Bravo worries about what the government of an independent Venice would look like.

Bicyclists ride along Venice beach.

Lifelong resident Pamela Anderson outside her Venice home.

Skateboarders pass by a man sleeping on a bench at the Venice boardwalk.

Venice plays an outsize role in making Los Angeles “the funky and fiercely independent international city that it is,” City Councilman Mike Bonin says.