For the rest of the world, Venice without further qualification means a place in Italy. Some additional context would have been nice.
Exactly, it wasn't until I got to the 7th paragraph--which mentioned Santa Monica--that I realized that the article was in the LA Times and was not talking about Italy. I'll admit I was confused by a Rastafarian storefront owner being interviewed, but I've never been to Italy so for as much as I know it may be plausible...