may 17, 2013 edition

Publisher’s Note .......................................page 2

Community Calendar .......................................page 2

Letters to the Editor .......................................page 3

“Greetings from Mike” by Council Member Stevens .......................................page 4

Trix Pau’s Pet Peeves .......................................page 4

Rhonda’s Wellness Column .......................................page 5

Hoof Beats Limited .......................................page 5

Dining with Rhonda at FIESTA MARTIN MEXICAN GRILL .............................page 6

Anne on Architecture: LA CASA DE LA SENTINELA .........................................page 6

Book Review: White Trees Black Windows ............page 7

D E P A R T M E N T S

contents

IUSD sells La Tijera to a Charter School Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2I Spy...City Attorney Cal Saunders working for mayor—if at all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5Kevin Akinfolarin, an AVID Student and more!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6Urban Arts Theatre West is in Inglewood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7Friday Food Truck Festat Sentinela Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7Dotson’s Secret Carpet Contract w/ City: Clean-ing Out the City Coffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8Looking Back at Holly-wood Park’s History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8Butts Kiss Dorn’s Pastat Prayer Breakfast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 9SUBSCRIBE!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 11

As the June 11 run-off approaches, electricity seems to be in the air: will the residents whose interests are being cham-pioned by Mike Stevens finally be heard? The an-

swer appears to be a re-sounding YES! The opening of the councilman’s campaign headquarters on 2542 W. Manchester attracted a ca-pacity crowd.

“The grand opening was a great success. I look for-ward to holding more in-formational town hall meetings at the campaign HQ where we can discuss the truth regarding Resi-

dential Sound Insulation without disruption by May-or Butts and the and other members of the Inglewood City Council,” Stevens said after the event.

Is Inglewood Toady Deceiv-ing Voters?”Official” paper declares wrong election run-off date

By Randall Fleming

The City of Inglewood has a run-off election on June 11. To some it may seem that a nine-square mile charter city in the middle of L.A. County is of little consequence. The outcome of the elec-tion, however, will deter-mine a great many deci-sions for the city and coun-ty of Los Angeles. Among them will be LAX’s north-ern runway, Residential Sound Insulation funding,

Councilman Mike Stevens Stands Strong with Union and Community Endorsements

Rare Exhibit of King Documents at California African American Museum

Last week the Califor-nia African American Mu-seum (CAAM) exhibited an unprecedented show-case of the speeches, cor-respondence, personal notes and photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. JP Morgan Chase, the King Center in Atlan-ta and a team of more

than 300 personnel in-cluding U.S. veterans and students have digitized more than 200,000 piec-es of paper, including Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the letter from Birmingham jail and his Nobel Peace Prize accep-tance speech. Those doc-uments are now travelling

around the country in an interactive display called The King Center Imaging Project. The entire archive may be viewed at www.The KingCenter.org/archive. To learn about the on-going programs at CAAM, please visit www.caamuseum.org.

Charmaine Jefferson (CAAM Executive Director) and Suzanne Ryan (VP of Local Media for JPMorgan Chase & Co.) at the King Center Imaging Project’s CAAM exhibit on May 5.

Ithe

morningside parkchronicleVol. 2, No. 8 B Informing Inglewood and the community May 17, 2013B

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Morningside Park • Briarwood • Century Heights • Inglewood Knolls • Fairview Heights • Arbor Village • North Inglewood • Hyde Park • West Athens • Westmont • Crenshaw-Imperial • Lockhaven • Imperial Village • Downtown Inglewood

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— page 9 —

Mike Stevens speaks to a capacity crowd at the opening of his HQ on May 8. inset: one of the massive banners on the HQ’s walls.

please see Endorsements, page 3

please see Deception, page 3

Inglewood Today continues to promote wrong run-off date.

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Morningside Park Chronicle

MorningsideParkChronicle.com

May 17, 2013

Our Community Newspaper To think that our little newspa-per—and by “ours” I mean the com-munity—could encourage the L.A. Sentinel, Our Weekly, Inglewood Today and the Wave to start actively

viewing Inglewood’s District 1 as the place to be. Growing up I don’t recall seeing Inglewood Today in my community of Inglewood; I remember seeing it in Ladera Heights. The paper with Inglewood in its name recognizes many unique communities in Los Angeles: Ladera Heights, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw—but not Inglewood. For a “news”paper with nothing more than an osten-sible namesake, the city’s diversity isn’t granted any re-spect: no respect for the historic landmark of Briarwood, the beautiful homes of Morningside Park’s Circle Park, the youthful exuberance of Arbor Village or the great views of Century Heights. No, to the “official”newspaperwe’re just people tosteal from and exploit. My parents and their friends would often talk about how if you’re south of Slauson or east of Crenshaw it seems as if your voice, vote and opinion didn’t matter to the black press or black politicians and how it clearly didn’t matter to the Daily Breeze or the L.A. Times. Now, six short months after the debut of this commu-nity newspaper, the L.A. Sentinel and other out-of-town papers litter the sidewalks—and the paper best known for being owned by a paid political consultant to the mayorofInglewoodisjustmoretrashforthegardenersto pick up every weekend. As for the Wave? They dump two huge bundles at the District 1 community center—two bundles that usually sit yellowing in the sun until the following Monday. How many decades have we been asking for those newspapers? And how many years have we been ignored? These “news”papers gave us human interest stories on Leimert Park, wrote about galas in Beverly Hills and featured homes that are not in Inglewood—so we started our own newspaper. We started writing about what we cared about: plug-ging our community, hiring writers and cartoonists who live in all four districts and inviting all the people doing things who for decades have been ignored by the special interests who write about themselves and their compa-nies with no hint of disclosure. The sad thing is that all these other papers will stop being delivered to our homes after June 11—when the Inglewood run-off ends. The Chronicle is here for the same reason you are here: as a part of the community. Long after this election this newspaper will still be here publishing all the good stuff Inglewood has to offer.Teka-Lark Fleming

A word from the publisher

Publisher Teka-Lark [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Randall [email protected]

Design and Production: RD & F [email protected]

Writers & Contributors:

Birtram Birtran

Eli Diaz

Rhonda Kuykendall-Jabari

Anne Cheek La Rose

Gerald Morales

Trix Pau

Mike Stevens

California African American Museum (CAAM)

“Heads are Turning Children are Learning” Literacy Day for children, Sat., May 18, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. For more information, please call (213) 744-7432 or visit www.caamuseum.org. Event is free. Lot parking $10.

• • •

Manchester ProjectTeka-Lark Fleming, journalist, arts commissioner and environ-mentalist as well as publisher and founder of the Morningside Park Chronicle, will be speak-ing at the Inglewood Cultural Arts’ Hub Event on the topics of the revitalization of Manchester Boulevard east of Crenshaw, the history of black L.A., the first migration and the new Hol-lywood Park Tomorrow Project and its potential impact on In-glewood’s sustainability on Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. |In-glewood Center for Spiritual Living, 525 N. Market St. (be-tween Hazel and Hyde Park) 90302. www.inglewoodcultur-alarts.org. Free Event.

• • •

Morningside Park Sustain-able City monthly (re) Think-ING the Manchester Project meeting. For updates on the Clock on Manchester and Van Ness, come to the Wednesday, May 22 meeting, from 6 until 8 p.m. ICOP Center 2901 W. Manchester, 90305. Get in-volved, stop traffic congestion, trash and unsustainable practic-es. For more information, call (424) 261-3019.

• • •

IGAP- Inglewood Growing Artist Project Competitive grants of $25k, $15k and $10k are available to artists and art organizations of all genres.Workshop on how to fill out ap-plication is Thurs., May 23 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ingle-wood Main Library’s Wadding-ham Lecture Hall, 101 West Manchester Blvd., 90301. For more information, please call (310) 412- 5266. Free Event.

• • •

65th Annual Memorial Day Service The City of Inglewood invites you to honor our war veterans Monday, May 27, at

Inglewood City Hall, One W. Manchester Blvd. at 11:00 in front of the Memorial Obelisk.For more information, please call (310) 412-8750. Free Event

• • •Citizen Forestry The environ-mental group the Tree People will be hosting a tree-planting class at Darby Park. Saturday, June 8, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. For more information, please call (213) 321-3310. Free Event

• • •

American Cancer Society, Re-lay for Life, June 8-9, from 9 a.m. until 9 a.m. Crozier Mid-dle School 120 W. Regent Street, 90301. For more infor-mation, please call (213) 368-8526 or visit www.relayforlife.org/inglewoodca

• • •

“When the Past Comes Back,” a play by Mildred Dumas Fri-day, June 21 7:30 p.m., Satur-day/Sunday June 22-23 7:30 p.m. General Admission $22; 62 and over $18.00. Inglewood Center for Spiritual Living 525 N. Market St. Inglewood, Cali-fornia. (310) 412-4027.

INGLEWOOD COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Morningside Park Chronicle/MPCPost Office Box 2155 • Inglewood CA 90305

Display Advertising Sales: [email protected] General Line: (424) 261-3019


May 17, 2013

Calendar items in the Chronicle are free of charge.Please send calendar items to our P.O. Box or via e-mail.

(See contact info at left)

By Teka-laRk Fleming

Beulah Payne Elemen-tary School in Ingle-wood is where the last of the Measure K mon-ey is being spent. The ben-eficiary is the construc-tion company Turner Bakewell which is owned by Danny Bakewell, Sr. Bakewell also owns the Sentinel, a paper that heav-ily promoted Measures K and GG. His papers have never disclosed his huge fi-nancial stake when pro-moting the measures. In the classroom next door to the on-going con-struction, 32 kindergart-ners fill a classroom that in Santa Monica—the city next door—typically holds 25 or fewer students. When Inglewood vot-ers overwhelming-ly voted to raise home-owners’ taxes for “the children,” one could not have known it meant Dan-ny Bakewell’s children. Bakewell’s son, Dan-ny Bakewell, Jr, is the contributing writer who penned the November 1,

2012 front page story pro-moting Measure GG. Bakewell appears to al-so own at least half of In-glewood’s city hall. In the first few months of this year, many of the arti-cles that first appeared in the Sentinel and the L.A. Watts Times—another Bakewell paper—also ap-peared in Inglewood’s “official” paper, Inglewood Today. Inglewood Today is owned by Willie Brown, a paid political consul-tant of the mayor of In-glewood and a good friend of the Bakewells. Despite the $300 mil-lion dollars that Mea-sure K brought IUSD and the hundreds of millions more that GG will allo-cate, Inglewood is a dis-trict that lays the sad claim to being the district that has the lowest-paid teach-ers in L.A. County. “We have the worst salary in L.A. Coun-ty. We’re 78 out of 78,” said Peter Somberg, President of Inglewood Teacher Association.

How are our children going to compete when the people who are on our school boards and their friends/puppet mas-ters at City Hall are more concerned with develop-ment and making money than educating children? “Hollywood Park real es-tate development is mov-ing rapidly to reality with 3,000 new homes and in-creased educational needs this project presents anoth-er major challenge to this board for which we are preparing to meet,” boast-ed District 1 school board member Arnold Butler in the April 2, 2009 edi-tion of the L.A. Sentinel. Arnold Butler is a de-veloper. He builds hous-ing using money obtained from CDGB surveys, ac-cording to Inglewood RDA documents. Butler is also well-known for having been reported for beating up school girls at Inglewood Unified School District schools where he worked. He was transferred twice

IUSD Sells LaTiejra K-8 to Charter SchoolKent Taylor’s $50k/month salary, Danny Bakewell’s development scam and Arnold Butler’s female student abuse are all paid for by Inglewood residents

please see Baked Scams, page 9


Morningside Park Chronicle May 17, 2013

letters readersfromour

A Letter We Should Have Printed in March

Dear editor, Thank you so much for your interest and concern. Please note that the ownership (Stockbridge/Terry Fancher) is not changing. They are want-ing to change opera-tor from Leo Chu to Eric Swallow. Currently there is no guarantee to retain any of the existing em-ployees in this proposed transfer. Tomorrow I will be addressing this issue at the gaming commission in Sacramento.

If you need more infor-mation please contact our communications coordi-nator, Leigh Shelton, who I have copied on this e-mail.

-Sincerely, Tom Walsh

President, Unite Here! Local 11

• • •

An Anonymous Appeal That Knows No Names

Dear editor, Two months ago I mailed the enclosed letter to the three offices noted in the letter. Apparently

nothing has happened ad-ministratively because the teacher is still teaching at Morningside High School despite the fact that [the teacher] does not have the proper State of California teaching credential in or-der to be allowed to teach [the subject]. The situation with [the teacher] raises the ques-tion whether other IUSD teachers may not have the proper credentials to be approved for teaching in Inglewood public schools.

-Sincerely, Anonymous

The Chronicle is a community newspaper in, from and for Inglewood;

We want to hear from you!MPC, P.O. Box 2155, Inglewood CA 90305

or via e-mail at: [email protected] or leave a message at: (424) 261-3019

Please include full name and telephone number (for verification purposes only). If requested, names will be withheld from publication.

Please note that letters are printed and/or edited at the discretion of the Chronicle. Letters conveyed via telephone may be reproduced on-line.

When The Past Comes Back…

Seven 2001 NAACP theater image award nominations One phenomenal win!

A revival by popular demand

June 21-23, 2013Inglewood Center for Spiritual Living525 N. Market St., Inglewood, CA 90302

$18.00 62+; $22.00 general admissionChecks payable to:

Inglewood Center for Spiritual Living or purchase on-line:

www.RochelleWilliams.net/currentevents(310) 412-4027

30 years after graduation,

a strange reunion

Metro’s Crenshaw Line, the future of the Forum, the management of Hol-lywood Park, and much more. The election is so seri-ous as to personally in-volve Sentinel owner Dan-ny Bakewell, California BOE chairman Jerome Horton, the city clerk (Yvonne Horton—who is Jerome Horton’s wife), L.A. County D.A. Jackie Lacey, the Inglewood Po-lice Department, the City of Compton and city attor-ney Cal P. Saunders. As such, it is significant that the “official” newspa-per of the city, Inglewood Today, has and continues to promote an incorrect date regarding the run-off election. According to campaign financial disclosures Form 460 available at the Ingle-wood city clerk’s office, the paper’s owner—Wil-lie Brown—is a paid polit-ical consultant to the may-or, James T. Butts. In every edition of Brown’s paper is a page on which Brown has an editorial; right next to that editorial is a brief article that features a pho-to of—and quote by—In-glewood city clerk Yvonne Horton. And in every elec-tion-related edition of 2013 are political ads support-ing the election of the may-or’s hand-picked and pub-licly acknowledged candi-dates—both of whom will be in the run-off election on June 11. Butts is a 19-year veter-an of the Inglewood Police department, the former po-lice chief of Santa Moni-ca and for a brief term the Executive of LAX Secu-rity with an FBI rating of

“Secret.” He was alleged-ly fired from Santa Monica and LAX before accepting

a low-paying job as mayor of Inglewood in 2010. Bakewell has and con-tinues to run ads support-ing the mayor’s candidates as well as articles by and about Jerome Horton. The Inglewood Police Depart-ment has refused to prop-erly investigate a murder, a drive-by shooting, two arson incidents and no less than three home burglar-ies that have recently tak-en place near the opposi-tion candidate’s headquar-ters and volunteers’ hous-es. The aforementioned crimes are practically un-precedented, as the areas in which they have tak-en place over the last five weeks are of the sort that have not happened in the area in nearly 30 years. The City of Compton is where many of those who have openly insulted the opposition candidate cut their teeth during a period that on April 6 came under investigation by the D.A. Along with the irregu-larities and voter intimida-tion allegedly carried out by Yvonne Horton, record-ed by Inglewood residents and possibly under investi-gation by the CA Secretary of State, it is curious that the “official” newspaper of the City of Inglewood is promoting the wrong date for this very important run-off election. Will there be a sec-ond “inexplicable homi-cide,” another “mysteri-ous” drive-by, a third “un-explained arson incident” that Inglewood District 1 IPD officers will explain away as just more “ran-dom gang violence” af-ter this story is filed? Will the election go without an-other plethora of irregular-ities? And will Inglewood Today print a front-page retraction to undo their

“mistake”?

Deception, from pg. 1

Stevens’ endorsements represent the homeown-ers of District 1: SEIU Local 721, County Fed-eration of Labor, IA-TSE Local 33, Unite Here Local 11 and nearly every Block Club Cap-tains in District 1: Mary Beal (10th and 11th Ave-nue Block Club), the Freemans (5th Avenue Block Club), Eva Over-turf (78th Place Block Club), Darrell Herron

(4th in Touch Block Club), Bill Sanders (3rd Ave Elite Block Club), The Holliers (76th Street Block Club), The Hous-tons (11th Avenue Block Club), Darlene Parris (3rd Avenue Snoopy), The Bowdres (12th Ave-nue Block Club) and Sterling Gordon (10th Avenue Block Club). Last but not least, the Morningside Park Chronicle heartily en-dorses Mike Stevens for District 1 Council.

Endorsements, from pg. 1



May 17, 2013

By mike STevenS, Inglewood CounCIl MeMBer, dIstrICt 1

I’m sure by now most of you have noticed the impact of the recent water rate increases on your monthly water bills. (As you may remember, I refer to money or finan-cial advantage as “pie” in this series of articles I’m writing for the Morning-side Park Chronicle.) The increase was pur-ported to be 28% and then 8% in two portions, six months apart in 2012. City management, the mayor and other members of the council insisted that we needed the full in-crease immediately or there would be dire finan-cial consequences. The water fund was going bankrupt and we would have to tap the general fund to buy water because we were paying more for water than what we were bringing in from sales to all of the water users in Inglewood, including us residents. At the time my assistant and I researched the issue and found the increase was closer to 60% and there was a host of issues regarding Inglewood’s water. One of Inglewood’s as-sets is under our feet in the form of water in an underground basin. Water is a scarce resource in Southern California and the State of California Watermaster for the West Basin regulates how much water we can pump out of it yearly. The City of Inglewood is allotted approximately 4,500 acre feet per year or almost half of our 2012 water consumption of 10,802 acre-feet. Our wa-ter consumption will in-crease if and when the 2,900 affordable housing

units are built on Holly-wood Park property. There hasn’t been a clear definition of what will happen to the 282 acre-feet of water rights for the water under Hollywood Park property once the property is built out. How many acre-feet could be pumped from the wells on the Hollywood Park property? Maybe we can answer these questions in part 3 of this series. For now if we just focus on water wells and water rights owned by the City alone since they could be a nice slice of pie for the residents of Inglewood. After pumping and treating water purchased from the West Basin Met-ropolitan Water District, the City pays about $1,100 per acre-foot meaning the water pie has a value of roughly $3.5 million per year to the residents of Inglewood! But wait! Unfortunately, the City of Inglewood on-ly has the pumping capac-ity to pump 2,500 acre-feet of water out of the ground per year. The West Basin Water-master reduces our yearly allocation if we don’t use it so we lease the water rights for 2,000 acre-feet to Golden State water for $70 per acre-foot. Yes, this is not a misprint: just $70 per acre-foot and not $700. Oh no! This means we residents are losing ap-proximately $1.5 million every year simply be-cause city management has been unable to get wells built or repaired to pump the free water pie from underneath our feet! It’s been nearly 10 years since we pumped our al-lotted capacity of 4,500 acre-feet! I’ve wondered why we are giving Golden State Water such a great deal

on the water rights pie— just about giving it away, especially since former City of Inglewood Gener-al Manager of Utilities/ Deputy Public Works Di-rector, Shad Rezai, was more than qualified to un-derstand the entire water follies concept after serv-ing Inglewood for 25 years and leaving in June of 2005. Matter of fact, when Shad Rezai left in June 2005, Golden State Water hired him immedi-ately that month. Talk about a soft landing and timing. As a high level District Manager at Gold-en State Water Southwest District he interacted with Inglewood daily for six years. Was Shad Rezai looking out for Ingle-wood’s interests or Gold-en State Water District interests? And if he was not looking out for Ingle-wood’s interest, who was? When I pointed out we were not pumping our al-lotment of free water pie in early 2012 during the time period of the water rate increase being pre-sented to Council, I was ridiculed and told the City was about to empty its water fund account. I was told the City would have to start tapping the General Fund within three months, which would further increase the deficit. I felt an in-

Cutting Up the Pie: How Big is Your Slice? Pt. II: WATER FOLLIES

Inglewood District 1 council member Mike Stevens

please see Follies, page 10

[ GREETINGS from MIKE ]

Who can guess… how much industry and providence and affection we have caught from the pantomime of brutes? –Ralph Waldo Emerson

We think of our four-legged pets as people, and they give us lots of rea-sons on a daily basis to go on thinking it. But here’s the equation we don’t necessarily like to think about: the person is a pet, the pet is a dog, the dog is an animal, the animal is it-self. The reduced fraction, the animal, is the essential stuff of which Bo or Ted-dy or Sasha is made. The animal answers to no one. Buy him or her all the cus-tom-made beds and fan-cy collars you want, dress them in a sweater, train them to a t. None of that prevents a dog left to its own devices from digging

for gophers, howling at ambulances or eating each other’s dog poop. Those things may be an-noying or disgusting, but they’re innocuous. They don’t disturb our view of our dog as a beloved, if occasionally poorly be-haved, best friend. But other instincts aren’t so in-nocuous, and force us to reassess the whole rela-tionship, to examine our delusions. I had to do that recently. On a regular night walk with my hus-band and three dogs, we decided to unleash a cou-ple of them and do a train-ing exercise—sit, come. They’re good at it, do-ne it lots of times. This time they sat very nicely, in perfect sync. I walked ahead, turned around and called them to come. They did that, too.

Or they started to. Half way to me, they broke sharply right; it took me a second to realize they were after a cat. It streaked by me then my two dogs. I was annoyed but not too alarmed; they’ve given chase be-fore but never caught up with anything. I thought of it as a game. But this time they caught the cat, and it was no game. My two adorable dogs imme-diately set about trying to kill it, one latching its jaws on to one end of the cat and one latching on to the other. They were very efficient and focused, and responded not at all to my yells of anger, and then horror as I realized they might kill the poor crea-ture in front of my eyes. My husband managed to pry one dog off the cat, and a very kind strang-

er who was driving by and stopped to help man-aged to pry off the other one. Freed, the cat darted away, blood in its wake. I was shaken and also livid at my dogs—how could do they do this? I thought I knew them, knew their hearts. What kind of peo-ple were they? The answer, of course, is no kind of people. After the incident my dogs were fine; they went right back to being their adorable selves. Or they had never stopped being themselves. Given the chance, they will do it again. They had simply shown me what they were made of. After a couple of days I forgave them, knowing full well there was nothing to for-give. That’s the wonderful simplicity, and savagery, of animals.

Reality Bites

Trix Pau’s

Pet Peeves

Warmest Regards Councilman Mike Stevens

District 1(310) 412-8602

[email protected] • www.CouncilmanMikeStevens.com

Get on the Chronicle mailing list: [email protected]

But this time they caught the cat, and it was no game.



by Birtram Birtran

Hoof BeatsLIMITED

Hello, horse players and friends. The Kentucky Derby is over and the #16 horse Orb won with the aid of one of our past favorite riders, Joel Rosario, who departed this area and re-turned to the east coast for more horses to ride as well as to get the chance to acquire a mount for the Derby. Orb is the son of Mal-ibu Moon, who is the grandson of Seattle Slew and who was owned by Telly Savalas, the lollipop sucking detective of the TV series, “Kojac.” You remember one of my previous articles about the rabbit, the fox, the hound and the tur-tle? Well, the race started with three rabbit-style runners that broke the 46-second quarter-mile distance. Right then and there, I knew that they would not be in front at the end of this race when

they had another mile to run. Secretariat was prob-ably the only horse that ran a race with those kind of fractions and won the race. In the end, with the last 1/16th of a mile to go, Orb was on the move like a runaway freight train and Golden Soul (the pure turtle) was right be-hind him finishing second at odds of 40 to 1. Orb had won his last four races and the last two with a going-away style that left one to speculate that one really doesn’t know how good this horse is. But those who are interested will witness it on May 18 at the run of the Preakness at Pimli-co race track in Maryland. You will be able to bet the track at Betfair Hol-lywood race track and the Finish Line at the Holly-wood Casino. The track will open ear-lier than usual on that Saturday morning so that

the patrons can bet the earlier races at Pimli-co while they get ready for the races at Holly-wood. Also, If there is a single winner of the pick six contest, that person will also win a car. The top jockeys at the track at this time are R. Bajarano, A. Quinonez, E. Maldano and T. Baze. Have fun at the track this summer, folks. Re-member to check your ticket and money be-fore you leave the betting window because the ma-chines will sometimes give you a incorrect num-ber. Stay sharp and bet with your head and not your heart—unless you just love that horse’s name. And last but not least: Good Luck.

Anger is a healthy response to a threat. It is part of the fight or flight response that occurs when danger is im-minent. But when anger reels out of control, it can lead to violence and abuse, causing long-term damage to profes-sional or personal relationships and our health. Anger is a destructive and painful emotion. Under its influence, we spew hurtful words that cannot be recanted. Anger is a dark, heavy, counterproductive energy that prevents the light of love from shining through. Anger is harmful to the physical body. In the gastrointestinal tract, it has been known to prevent digestion and elimination. Anger may cause the release of acids that cause diarrhea, acid reflux, abdominal cramps or constipation. It can cause soreness in muscles from involuntary contractions that occur during the fight or flight response. In addi-tion to emotional binge eating, anger can also contribute to weight gain by releasing the stress hormone cortisol. These are just a few ways that anger may manifest in the physical body. Few would debate that anger is powerful and it needs to be dealt with in a constructive manner. Many times anger is fleeting. In these cases, an emotional outburst is followed quickly by regret and remorse. Sometimes there is time to process anger slowly and talk to others about our feelings to resolve issues. Other times, we need a quick-release valve to let go of anger so we can move on to more pressing and productive activities. Here is a quick, five-step process to dissipate angry feelings when a confrontation isn’t possible or in your best interest. • Take three deep breaths and give some thought to the true gravity of the issue. Anger is usually an inap-propriate emotion. It’s often the result of mounting minor irritations that have been left unattended for too long. But when you really think about the seriousness of most situ-ations, “it ain’t that deep.” • Use knee-jerk aromatherapy. Inhale calming essential oils like lavender or chamomile. You don’t have to bother burning it or putting it on a cloth or cotton ball; just in-hale it straight from the bottle. • Take a brisk walk. If your space is restricted, pace around the building or inside your office. This releases endorphins that lighten and lift your mood. It doesn’t take long - three to five minutes is enough to get your heart pumping and those positive feelings flowing. • Play and/or sing your favorite song. • Clap your hands to the beat with an intent to be happy and joyous. Done with an intent to heal, hand clap-ping loosens negative energy in the space around you. The next time you find yourself ready to explode in anger and want to get over it quickly, use these five steps. The entire process will take less than 15 minutes and your head and spirit will be clear and ready to move forward. Spare the feelings of the people around you. Preserve your health and relationships by practicing posi-tive anger management. If you or someone you know shows signs of uncontrol-lable anger, rage or violent tendencies, speak to a mental health counselor and get help from a professional prac-titioner or organization like Betty Smith, LCSW, of Life Adjustment Group, Inc. in Inglewood, CA.

Anger Management is Not a TV Sitcom

Rhonda’sWellness

Cornerb y R h o n d a K u y K e n d a l l - J a b a R i

Ii-Spy...

Mayor Doodydances to the Sound

of missing Insulation money

Which mayor gave city attorney Cal Saunders

orders to politicize his office?

Ya better pick up that

pebble before someone

gets hurt!

Rhonda Kuykendall-Jabari is a Morningside Park resident where she lives with her “tween” son, Damani, and his father. She has a BA in Spiritual Healing and is certified as a Reiki Master Teacher and Holistic Health Practitioner. “Like” her page at www.facebook.com/wellness.uprising or visit her on the web: www.wellnessuprising.com.

To see the letters and evidence that the city attorney has ignored,

please scan the QR code or visit:

http://bit.ly/TwainING

May 17, 2013Morningside Park Chronicle

By geRald moRaleS

Kevin Akinfolarin is a senior at Inglewood High School and is one of three graduating seniors that have been honored with the Gates Millennium Scholarship. He is also an AVID student. AVID stands for Achievement Via Individ-ual Determination; the program was created in 1980 and exists in ele-mentary, middle and high schools to ready students for college. The AVID program at Inglewood High School continues to produce ex-ceptional students that are well on their way to ac-

complish big things in so-ciety. He plans to attend New York University Shanghai, China in the fall as a neu-roscience major. This campus is an extension of New York University lo-cated in the country of China. The goal of the school is to bring together the world’s most talented professors and students. In 9th grade he attended Leuzinger High School and transferred to Ingle-wood High School his sophomore year. Akinfo-larin is a highly motivat-ed student, and the AVID program has only helped provide him with a better direction and more oppor-

tunities to grow as an in-dividual. He has received many awards including the Horatio Algers Scholar.

Kevin Akinfolarin: More Than Just an Honors Student!

please see Akinfolarin, page 10


[ ANNE on ARCHITECTURE ]

Fiesta Martin is a quaint, colorfully deco-rated, family-owned res-taurant located on the cor-ner of 64th Place and N. La Brea Avenue in In-glewood. With a maxi-mum seating capacity of 66, peak hours can be a bit crowded, and parking can be inconvenient. It’s not uncommon to see a line of customers waiting outside the front door, es-pecially on 99-Cent Taco Tuesday! If you like the hum and buzz of people having a great time and enjoy-ing good food, then Taco Tuesday at Fiesta Martin Mexican Grill is the place for you. The fully stocked taco bar sets a festive tone for good times and lively conversation. If you want to avoid parking hassles and waiting for a table, you can order to go. Since this was not my first time at Fiesta Mar-tin, I opted for a food to go after waiting for about 35 minutes. I left with shrimp tacos, fish tacos and chicken tacos. The appeal of this neigh-borhood eatery is not so much that the food is fan-

tastic, it’s in the warm and homey atmosphere and getting excellent ser-vice with a smile. When I patronize Fiesta Martin, I feel like I’ve done some-thing good for myself and the local communi-ty. The space is well-kept and clean, and the prices are very reasonable. This is a place I would love to see remain open in Ingle-wood for many years to come. The menu is extensive and includes appetizers, soups, salads, burritos, combinations and popu-lar Mexican staples made with fish, chicken, beef or shrimp. There are too ma-ny items to list here, but the menu is available on the Web at www.Fiesta MartinMexicanGrill.com. My favorites are the combination plates with tacos, enchiladas or tama-les. The chips are a little greasy, but very delicious, and the beans and rice are passable. The restaurant is open seven days from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and later on weekends. The Mar-tins also own Fiesta Time

Fiesta Martin Mexican Grill

[ DINING with RHONDA ]

please see Fiesta, page 10

Kevin Akinfolarin holding up his picture as an Angel City Links Achiever

By anne Cheek la RoSe

La Casa de la Centinela is the original name of the Centinela Adobe. It is one of 43 surviving adobes in Los Angeles County and is considered to be one of the most magnificently

preserved smaller adobes. Built in 1834 in the Spanish Colonial style as the seat of the Rancho Aquaje de la Centinela, it is the birthplace of Ingle-wood and the South Bay. The adobe sits on the hill above the 405 freeway

between the southbound La Tijera and Manches-ter-Florence exits. Antonio Ygnacio (Igna-cio) Avila arrived in 1822 after the Mexican War of Independence freed Mexi-co from Spain. He was the first to use the land and he grazed cattle on it. Ygnacio (Ignacio) Machado was the next ranchero. Machado was a true Californian: he was born here. Around 1830, Machado, one of the four owners of Rancho Ballo-na, decided to plant corn and grapevines along the creek that ran through Rancho Aquaje—where the 405 Freeway is now. Though he did not own the land, in 1834 he built a three-room adobe on the hill above the creek and named it Centinela,

“the Sentinel.” What we think of today as the front of the adobe (because that is the view when entering the property) is actually the rear of the house; the front faces toward north Inglewood and overlooks the San Diego Freeway. Picture, if you can, the area in 1834 from the

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La Casa de la Centinela: Birthplace of Inglewood

please see Adobe, page 10

May 17, 2013 Morningside Park Chronicle

ARTSIT’STHE

Morningside Park Chronicle Page 7


By Teka-laRk Fleming

Inglewood now has a theatre arts company, Ur-ban Arts Theatre West. It was founded by Stephen Semien, a 20-plus year veteran of New York the-atre. He is also the direc-tor. The troupe is housed in the A-Man building at 101 N. LaBrea in down-town Inglewood directly behind the real life drama, Inglewood City Hall.

On a recent night, I sat among a crowded audi-ence for the staged read-ing of “Visiting Day,” a dramatic interpretation of the breakdown of civili-ty in society through the lens of a psychiatric hos-pital for adolescence. “This is not yet a play. We’re showing you selec-tive scenes to see how we feel about them. We have enough to maybe make our ‘Act 1,’” said Semien. In theatre, the staged

reading is where audience members are encouraged to input their feelings and insight on the work. “We think that art is sa-cred. There is no civiliza-tion in history that has not had art,” said Semien. Up through the 1980s, Inglewood had a very strong community the-atre program. Urban Arts Theatre West lends great hope that Inglewood’s re-naissance won’t stop with the visual arts.

Urban Arts Theatre WestInglewood’s Theatre Arts Company leaps into action

Urban Arts Theatre West founder Stephen Semien (front and center) surrounded by his actor workshop troupe and with owners of the A-Man building, Dr. Bettye and Dr. Hal Walker (center rear).

White Trees Black Windowswritten by James Santilena & Ana L. Harp The dangers of being a teacher are countless. In White Trees Black Windows, suicide, murder, embezzlement, physical at-tacks, false accusations of teacher rape, bizarre cam-paigns of intimidation and more. It’s all in a day’s work for the typical teacher under assault by their own administrations, unions and now corporate-owned charter schools and poorly informed media. The events in the book took place in the late 1980s in and near Inglewood, CA. The environment for public education has only gotten worse since then. The book opens with a resignation letter then re-

turns to a point of hope when one of the authors is first hired. Over the course of a year a great struggle ensues. Students commit suicide and are beaten to death, cars are vandalized, teach-ers are attacked, a principal and administrative person-nel are caught in flagrante delicto, threats are made, people are fired and the whole mess ends with good people and bad no longer employed. Santilena and Harp may not be professional writers but their story is a dramatic one that, sadly, is all too common these days.

(Available from www.Xlibris.com)

[ READING with RANDALL ]

Friday Food Truck Fest at Sentinel Field

By geRald moRaleS

On May 10, the Friday Food Fest took place at Sentinel Field. La Tanya Kirk-Carter, the interim State Admin-istrator of the Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) gathered local food vendors to help raise money for both Ingle-wood and Morningside

high schools. Some of the food trucks that came out last Friday were Sugar Babies, The Surfer Taco, Fresh Fries and Rajin Cajun On Wheels. Ten percent of all proceeds were donated to the Associated Student body programs for IUSD. The trucks set up shop on the Sentinel baseball

The Ragin Cajun on Sentinel Field at Inglewood High School.

please see Food Trucks, page 11



May 17, 2013

Books

Postcards

Brochures

Magazines

Newsletters

Business Cards

and, of course,

NewspapersRD&F pRint | [email protected]

By Randall Fleming

Planning commish chairman George Dotson has long attempted to keep secret his lucrative contracts acquired with the influence of his posi-tion as a decades-long In-glewood Planning Com-mission member. One of his recent con-tracts was 2005—shortly after he became chair of the Planning Commission. A number of red flags were obvious in the bid “process”: of the 26 ven-dors allegedly notified, on-ly two of them submitted a bid. One was Dotson’s contracting company, Washington Interiors. The other was the Santa Ana-based Progressive Floor. A second red flag was

that Dotson—a resident of Inglewood for several de-cades—chose to have a business located in L.A. instead of Inglewood. Washington Interiors is at 2804 W. Florence Ave., L.A. CA 90043. Yet another concern was the very small difference in the two bids. Dotson’s bid was a paltry $500. This may seem like a fair amount until one consid-ers that two bids were

Dotson’s Secret Carpeting Contract with the CityGeorge Dotson’s company Washington Inte-riors has long been a secret in Inglewood

1. You have the right to cast a ballot if you are a valid registered voter.A valid registered voter means a United States citizen who is a resident in this state, who is at least 18 years of age and not in prison or on parole for conviction of a felony, and who is registered to vote at his or her current residence address.

2. You have the right to cast a provisional ballot if your name is not listed on the voting rolls.

3. You have the right to cast a ballot if you are present and in line at the polling place prior to the close of the polls.

4. You have the right to cast a secret ballot free from intimidation.

5. You have the right to receive a new ballot if, prior to casting your ballot, you believe you made a mistake.If, at any time before you fi nally cast your ballot, you feel you have made a mistake, you have the right to exchange the spoiled ballot for a new ballot. Vote-by-mail voters may also request and receive a new ballot if they return their spoiled ballot to an elections offi cial prior to the closing of the polls on Election Day.

6. You have the right to receive assistance in casting your ballot, if you are unable to vote without assistance.

7. You have the right to return a completed vote-by-mail ballot to any precinct in the county.

8. You have the right to election materials in another language, if there are suffi cient residents in your precinct to warrant production.

9. You have the right to ask questions about election procedures and to observe the elections process.You have the right to ask questions of the precinct board and elections offi cials regarding election procedures and to receive an answer or be directed to the appropriate offi cial for an answer. However, if persistent questioning disrupts the execution of their duties, the board or election offi cials may discontinue responding to questions.

10. You have the right to report any illegal or fraudulent activity to a local elections offi cial or to the Secretary of State’s Offi ce.

If you believe you have been denied any of these rights, or if you are aware of any elections fraud or misconduct, please call the Secretary of State’s confi dential toll-free

Voter Hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE [8683].

Voter Bill of Rights

SPECIAL NOTICE• Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the day indicated in the posted sample ballot.

• Specifi c instructions on how to vote, including how to cast a provisional ballot, can be obtained from a poll worker or by reading the information mailed to you by your local elections offi cial.

• If you are a newly registered voter, you may be asked to provide appropriate identifi cation or other documentation according to federal law. But please note that every individual has the right to cast a provisional ballot even if he or she does not provide the documentation.

• It is against the law to represent yourself as being eligible to vote unless you meet all of the requirements to vote under federal and state law.

• It is against the law to tamper with voting equipment.

Page 1 of Dotson’s lucrative contract with the city, approved right after he became the chair of the city’s Planning Commission.

please see Secret, page 10

http://bit.ly/CarpetING

To see video footage of Dotson’s secret carpet contract with the city, please scan the QR code or visit:

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hron

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.net

By eli diaz

On May 9 Betfair Hol-lywood Park announced it would end operations and shut down permanently at the end of this year. Plans will then proceed to de-velop the land with a mix-ture of 3,000 apartment dwellings, a 10-acre park, hotel and a retail and en-tertainment center. For many this signifies the end of an era for the “City of Champions.” Growing up in and around Inglewood I have often passed by this leg-endary landmark. From time to time, I’d catch a glimpse of horses running the track. I’ve been to Hollywood Park a num-ber of times for church

or school functions. The beauty of the architec-ture of this place always had me wondering why the stature of this unique place didn’t get more ex-posure. I remember back in 1994 when the Hol-lywood Park Casino opened. I was a Cro-zier Jr. High student, and I recall my parents say-ing, “Hey, let’s go check out the casino and have dinner there.” Look-ing back it’s kind of fun-ny that my parents would want to take their junior high school kid to a ca-sino—I’m grateful now they did—as it would be the first time I’d actual-ly walked the Hollywood Park grounds. It was

something new and differ-ent and was only a mile away from home. The casino now made Hol-lywood Park a 24-hour fa-cility. I remember those long gates once the Park would close for the day. As it stands now on the Hollywood Park Tomor-row website, the casi-no is going to stay. But as for the rest of the facili-ty, it’ll soon be under the wrecking ball. It’s jarring to think that most of it is going to become a hous-ing development. Private contractors have been in place for quite some time ready to tear and build. In 1998 the late for-mer Mayor Edward Vin-cent pushed for major

End of an Era: Hollywood Park ClosesAn Inglewood resident muses on the racetrack and the casino

On May 5, 1949, the Hollywood Park grandstand burned down in under 20 minutes. The damage was estimated at approximately $5 million.

please see Era, page 11

Eli Diaz is a native of southern California and an alumnus of Crozier Junior High 1993. He was the youngest volunteer on record in 1992 at the Inglewood Senior Center and possesses Associate and Bachelors degrees in Business Administration. Mr. Diaz may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].



By Randall Fleming

District 1 residents who received the City of Ingle-wood’s recent Communi-ty Development Block Grant (CDBG) survey take note: if you check off ANY of the items except for “Residential Rehabili-tation,” federal HOME and HUD funds meant for your houses will be taken away by developers who have and will build low-income apartment build-ings. The wording of the city’s survey may seem nice—and for developers who get the free money to build Section 8 housing, it is very nice: they get to use your money to install appliances and make their low-income apartment buildings look nice while they collect Section 8 rents. How does this bamboo-zle work? A good example may be found in the Regent

Square apartments on 527 W. Regent St. A letter from the CA Department of Finance dated April 6, has declared that “the Regent Square loan receivable in the amount of $13.9 million continues to be denied.” What does this mean? It means that residents of Inglewood are on the hook for the $14 million that the State of CA wants back owing to yet another “mistake” made by the city. The developer, Bur-bank-based Chandler Pratt & Partners LLC, has its money and will not be affected by this recent de-cision. In their first attempt, “the Developer requested up to $14.5 million in Agency assistance in the form of a first-time home-buyer assistance pro-gram,” according to a let-ter from City of Ingle-wood’s Redevelopment Agency and addressed to

the Agency Board of Di-rectors on July 20, 2010. It is the language “first-time homebuyer assis-tance” that should raise a red flag, for it is similar to one of the categories in the current CDBG survey sent out by the same peo-ple who approved Regent Square. Regent Square is a 145-unit building that was approved in February 2011 by a city council led by mayor James T. Butts. The same month, Chan-dler Pratt —which fi-nanced and constructed the “affordable family apartments”—gave three donations to the James Butts for Mayor 2011. The donations were sub-mitted on February 2 and April 29, 2011 and totaled $2,000. The decision to “adopt [the] resolution and ap-prove the Issuance of Tax Exempt Bond Financing...to finance the develop-

Free Money for DevelopersHow Butts & Co. will again bamboozle residents—after losing $14 MILLION because of Regent Square fiasco

By Randall Fleming

The Inglewood Ar-ea Ministers Associa-tion held its 31st Annual Prayer Breakfast on May 8 at the Proud Bird in Westchester. The gathering of the tax-exempt 501(c)(3) or-ganizations was a private affair. Tickets cost $20. One speaker at the event was Inglewood mayor James T. Butts. Also at the event were former In-glewood mayor Roosevelt Dorn and two candidates presently running for of-fice, George Dotson and Alex Padilla. Also pres-ent was Tricia Crenshaw, a former IUSD employ-ee who has been observed bussing in seniors against their will to city council meetings, verbally abus-ing seniors and may be responsible for helping facilitate a fake petition given to the city clerk in late 2012. Crenshaw now works at the Westchester Villas but attends all of the mayor’s events Butts spent several min-utes telling the pastors and ministers in atten-

dance to go back to their churches and “support [my] two candidates” in the upcoming run-off. Regarding Dotson, Butts said that “he knows how to compromise.” During a second time at the podium, Butts brought up the Hollywood Park Land Co. and then said “that project was con-ceived and entitled un-der the leadership of our former mayor, Roosevelt Dorn.” Hollywood Park Land Co. was and continues to be the largest donor to James Butts for Mayor 2010 campaign. Dorn is a signifi-cant campaign donor to George Dotson’s cam-paign and was with Dot-son when the election’s results were announced on April 8.

Butts Kisses Dorn’s Past Inglewood mayor fond of saying “Let’s forget about the past” applauds previous mayor’s errors

Don’t be a victim of VOTER FRAUD!

This election...

“Election fraud...usually involves absentee or mail ballots.” -Paul Gronke, Director of Early Voting Information Center.

If you believe someone has tampered with your voter registration affidavit, report it to the California Election Fraud Investigation Unit at

(916) 657-2166 or (800) 815-2666Be sure to request the Voter Fraud Protection Handbook or download it from:

www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vfph-2009.pdf

Roosevelt Dorn (in white circle at left) stands as James T. Butts (white circle at right) acknowledges Dorn’s involvement in the Hollywood Park development deal.

To see video highlights of Butts, Dorn, Dotson and Padilla at the 31st Annual Prayer Breakfast, please scan the QR

code or visit:

http://bit.ly/buttING

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please see Bamboozle, page 11

If you check off ANYTHING other than “Residential Rehabilitation,” federal HOME funds meant for District 1 residents will be given to developers to build low-income housing that will line developers’ pockets with Section 8 cash—but nothing for you! inset: The front cover of the CDBG survey.

owing to no fewer than two such incidents. When asked if former IUSD superintendent Kent Taylor got fired, Som-berg said, “They are say-ing in open board meet-ings that he did not violate his contract. If he didn’t violate [it] and they let him walk away with $100 grand, then we have a collective bargain-

ing agreement that needs to be staying in place.” District 1 may want to start looking for a school board member. “District members are all at large. Everyone can vote for them. [Kent] Taylor was trying to get that changed in the char-ter,” said Somberg. Butler ran unopposed in the 2013 election. The teachers are getting ready to fight a 20% paycut.

Baked Scam, from pg. 2



May 17, 2013

front porch of the adobe: no buildings, no freeway– just land spreading out before you. There was a long road that approached the hacienda from the southeast. The rancho lands were unclaimed and Machado took advantage of Avila’s failure to apply for them. After a lengthy battle, the Alta California Governor gave the rancho to Mach-ado in 1844. Like many other rancheros, Machado had difficulty paying the taxes. Other owners lost their ranchos to foreclo-sure, but Machado, feel-ing that life would be better closer to town for his sizeable family, trad-ed the rancho and a keg of whiskey for a small home with a fence and grapevines in the Pueblo de Los Angeles near 7th and Alameda Streets. He had owned the rancho for only one year. This may seem to be a frivolous deal by today’s standards, but in 1844 Los Angeles property was worth more than a parcel of thousands of acres with a creek and a hacienda on it. There were other own-ers, but the next signifi-cant one was Lancaster Brent. Brent, a Southerner, was anxious to fight for the Confederacy during the War Between the States. He sold the land to

Robert Burnett of Scot-land. Burnett was anxious to leave Scotland as he was the second-born son and saw no future in a country where the first-born in-herited everything. He purchased the land for $3000, the same amount Brent had paid. Burnett made signifi-cant changes to the clas-sic adobe for his eastern bride. Dirt floors became wood flooring and fire-places were installed. The adobe brick walls were covered with wood siding, but perhaps the most im-portant change was the addition of a kitchen–the Spanish and Mexicans usually had theirs in a nearby separate building. With the death of his brother, Burnett returned to Scotland to become Sir Robert and inherit the family holdings. Still be-lieving he might return someday, he leased the rancho, with an option to purchase, to Canadian born Daniel Freeman. Freeman chose South-ern California because the climate was good for his tubercular wife. She lived only a year, but Freeman made a go of it. When his daughter, Grace, married, he gave the couple the adobe as a wedding gift. Eleven-thousand acres of the rancho were sold to become Inglewood and the rest of the land was sold off acre by acre until

all that is left is the one-acre site that the Centine-la Adobe, Freeman Land Office, and the Haskell Heritage Center sit on. Unlike other adobes that had long since become museums or used for oth-er purposes, the Centinela Adobe was continuously occupied from 1834 through the mid-1970s. In the 1946, the com-munity of Westchester was founded and shortly thereafter the adobe was in danger of being demol-ished and the land sub-di-vided for homes. The Casa Centinela Associa-tion was formed, funds were raised, and the ado-be was purchased and deeded to Inglewood. The city worked out the an-nexation of the property. The Adobe Complex is officially an Inglewood park and owned by the city, though completely surrounded by the L.A. community of Westches-ter. The Historical Soci-ety of Centinela Valley owns all of the furnish-ings and memorabilia on the site and operates the Complex. There’s a wealth of in-formation in all three buildings. It’s well worth a visit, and admission is free. The annual BBQ fundraiser is Sunday, June 9, from 12 noon un-til 4 p.m. The complex is regular-ly open to visitors on Sundays, 2–4 p.m.

Get on the Chronicle mailing list: [email protected]

crease of about half of what was presented would be adequate cou-pled with a crash pro-gram to get two new water wells built and on-line. Instead we ended up with an 80% increase in water rates directly felt by homeowners and small businesses and in-directly by residents that rent as the increases are passed along in the form of higher monthly rents. Since the large water

rate increase was passed the pressure to get the wells built eased and mi-nor progress has been made over a year later. I’ve made it known to the Public Works Director that I expect the wells to be completed and online soon. If I find out we are continuing to all but give away the residents water pie to Golden State Water or anyone else, I’m going into battle! Mike Stevens: Fighting to get more pie for you, the District 1 residents.

Follies, from pg. 4 Adobe, from pg. 6

He is a Links Achiever and maintains a GPA above 4.0 by excelling in all of his advance place-ment and honors classes. During his sophomore year he was a part of the Social Justice Academy, where he learned how to be aware at a local level and how to seek solutions for communities. Kevin has already started taking action using what he learned. He has discussed organizational strategies with his future classmates at NYU Shanghai. Kevin has not been able to travel to the China campus, but he has visited the New York location. When he met with his future class-mates at the New York

location together they al-ready brainstormed ideas to stay connected through an online web portal. They plan to involve as many classmates as possi-ble to work towards achieving similar goals for producing better com-munities. Akinfolarin is aware of his place in the world and the changes that he can make. He wants to share with the community the sentiment that people should “work together; it’s better to have a group of people going for one goal because you have more support from each other.” We can all take note from one of the most accomplished students this city has seen in re-cent years.

Ms. Yanick Clay, who runs the AVID program at Inglewood High School, is very proud of Kevin and all that he has accomplished. She would like to add, “Kevin is a motivated, inspired and ambitious scholar. Work-ing with him has been a great experience.” Just where does Ms. Yanick Clay get such outstanding students? “They grow in the neighborhood,” she says.Akinfolarin is one of three Inglewood High stu-dents who received the Gates Millennium Schol-arship this year. Future editions of the Morningside Park Chronicle will feature the other two students—so

“stay tuned!”

Akinfolarin, from pg. 6

Tacos down the block at 1314 N. La Brea, open seven days from 11 a.m. to midnight. When you’re looking for a decent Mex-ican food fix in Ingle-wood, Fiesta Martin Mex-ican Grill and Fiesta Time Tacos are waiting to feed

your craving. Give them a try.Fiesta Martin Mexican Grill1330 N. La Brea AvenueInglewood, CA 90302Parking: StreetWiFi: YesAccepts Cash, Credit and ATM DebitAttire: Casual

Fiesta, from pg. 6

each approximately $131,000. Along with the 7% bid return rate, such a small difference points to favor-itism. As chairman of the Planning Commission of Inglewood, one need not wonder much how such a lucrative contract with the IPD may have been awarded. Moreover, two of the people were intimately in-volved remain on the city payroll and under investi-gation for two major prob-lems regarding Ingle-

wood’s finances and elections process: Mark Weinberg (regarding the $36 million of lost RSI Program funds) and Yvonne Horton (whose position as city clerk has long been questioned re-garding her competence and honesty and which is far too closely monitored by her husband, California BOE chairman Jerome Horton—who appears on election materials for In-glewood elections.) Neither Weinberg, Dot-son nor Yvonne Horton returned phone calls re-questing comment.

Secret, from pg. 8



ment by Chandler Part-ners and Faithful Central Bible Church, a joint ven-ture, of the Regent Square residential housing devel-opment, located at 527 West Regent Street” was made on February 8, 2011—just six days after the first set of donations. Chandler Pratt partnered with Faithful Central Baptist Church to secure the CDBG funds through the church’s non-profit status. The church’s Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel is Marc T. Little. Little was a contributor to the James Butts for Mayor 2010 campaign, according to California Form 460 filed with the city clerk’s office. Faithful Baptist was al-so the church where a re-markable number of events hosted by the may-or have taken place. The most recent was a hiring fair for the orange County construction firm, Clark Construction. Other events that took place in the last few months in-cluded the mayor’s highly politicized “town hall” meeting as well as an ear-lier “hiring” event—also for Clark Construction. Another entity involved in the Regent Street low-income apartments is In-glewood realtors Ted & Glenda Brass. Both Ted and Glenda have been at nearly all of the events that the mayor has hosted this year, and often times one or the other is a speaker. Both have been quoted in the Inglewood Today, a paper owned by one of the may-or’s paid political consul-tants. Most notable are the campaign contribu-tions from Glenda Brass to the James Butts for Mayor 2011 campaign which she submitted on April 15, 2011. Along with Butts, both Brasses are featured on the www.527regentsquare.com website standing with the developer’s principal, Ted Chandler. Now the city has its hand out again—and there are several new “afford-able” apartment projects that are shovel-ready. Nearly all of these new low-income apartment

buildings are partnerships between developers from anywhere but Inglewood and any one of Ingle-wood’s numerous non-profits. (According to IRS tax-exempt 501(c)(3) doc-uments, Inglewood is home to more than 700 non-profits—most of which were chartered in the last 13 years.) They will not be invest-ing their money. They will use HOME funds that will be reallocated by way of the CDBG surveys that the city has sent out. So be sure to return your form by no later than May 28—and be sure to check off ONLY the “residential Rehabilita-tion.” To check off any others will only allow the current administration to allow their developer and non-profit friends to take your money to build more Section 8 apartment build-ings that the State of CA will again declare invalid and then want its money back. the developers will be gone, the non-profits will not be held responsi-ble, the mayor will cry that we need to “forget the past and move forward” and you will be forced to pay higher taxes to replace the money that was taken from you in the first place. It’s time to stop this nonsense regardless of how long it has been go-ing on. The state of CA is going to sue the City of Inglewood to get its $14 million dollars, and the people paying will not be the developers, the non-profits, the city manager Artie Fields (also pictured on 527regentsquare.com with the developers) the mayor or those who con-tributed to the mayor and also profited directly from the Regent Square fiasco. The people who will pay twice for this and oth-er low-income housing disasters will be you: the residents and taxpayers of Inglewood and particular-ly District 1 who own homes, pay increasing trash, water and many other taxes. The person heavily re-sponsible for this bamboo-zle, Sr. Admin Analyst Pam Thigpen, retired on April 30—nearly 30 years of CDBG, HUD and HOME grants—and we are stuck with “moving for-ward” to “forget the past.”

Bamboozle, from pg. 9

Publisher’s Note.......................................page 2Community Calendar.......................................page 3Church Calendar .........page 3Letters to the Editor.......................................page 3Council Member DunlapVIEW FROM DISTRICT 2.......................................page 6Council Member StevensGREETINGS from MIKE.......................................page 6SNACKTIME with SARAHRestaurant Reviews .....page 6Book Reviews ...............page 9


CONTENTSSa’brak Boutique..................................page 2

DVD Ave “Street Fight”..................................page 2Paul R. Williams..................................page 4

Aircraft Noise Harms Kids..................................page 4Inglewood Blackhawks..................................page 5

Hoof Beats Limited: We Bet you’ll love this series!..................................page 5Fox Theatre to be Re-stored at long last?

..................................page 6Your Block Rocks! New photo series shows the real Inglewood

..................................page 6Zeal Harris, Artist Extraordinaire..................................page 7

It’s Casual on Metro, Red Line and Black Flag..................................page 7

By Gerald Morales

This year marked the sixth Inglewood Open Studios, an event hosted by the artists whose studios are open to the public during one Novem-ber weekend every year. Lov-ers of art from Inglewood and elsewhere turn out to visit the studios via the shuttles pro-vided by the city. This year’s event took place Saturday and Sunday, November 10 and 11. A total of 12 venues were made available to view art. The two main locations were the Beacon Arts Building, lo-cated on 808 N. La Brea Av-enue, and the Beacon’s sister studios, affectionately known as 1019 West, located at 1019 W. Manchester Blvd. Both buildings, as well as all the tour stops, are in Inglewood. Inglewood Open Studios was founded by Rene Fox, the current gallery direc-tor. After a 2009 article in the L.A. Times, the event started

to gain attention. Since then, many artists from the Ingle-wood and the surrounding area have come together to help this event grow. Current-ly there are approximately 70 artists in the two main build-

ings as well as many others in their respective workspaces throughout Inglewood. Each of the two days was accompanied by a perfor-mance courtesy of Fisher En-semble, which is an act in

progress from Seattle com-poser Garrett Fisher. Those who attended the perfor-mance were witnessed the work’s debut performance

Mike Stevens Breaks the Sound Insulation Barrier in InglewoodBy randall fleMinG

In the decades since the many variations of the Resi-dential Sound Insulation Pro-gram (RSIP) was institut-ed, LAX—which is owned by Los Angeles World Air-ports (LAWA)—has prof-fered many changes to the residents of Inglewood. From contract passages that whol-ly indemnify LAX from any further legal action, to fund-ing a city program that has been “mismanaged” to the point of building and sound-proofing new luxury apart-ment complexes while exist-ing houses remain uninsulat-ed, to changes in contract lan-guage that the city attorney allows to let “slip,” the LA-WA’s LAX Master Plan Pro-gram, wherein is found the Community Benefit Agree-ment (CBA), has been altered

in many ways. The result has been a largely unfulfilled pro-gram, nearly $100 million dollars “lost,” and a deadline approaching in Dec. 2015. Fortunately, Inglewood has a proponent working for the residents. District 1 Coun-cil Member Mike Stevens, whose decades of work to get the CBA fulfilled, contin-

ues to root out the problems that appear to be intentionally presented to usurp the sound insulation program. Despite refusals by the ap-pointed city officials who are responsible for the city bud-get, he has pushed for an ini-tiative to execute a “detailed forensic level audit of the

Two Decades of Dirty Tricks Who is responsible for Ingle-wood’s decades of misery? Whether it is the City of Inglewood firing people and shutting down Town Hall meetings, contracts to in-demnify LAWA against fur-ther legal action for nothing more than insulated window dressings or expensive cam-paigns to discredit citizens’ groups protesting the unethi-cal and illegal expansion ef-forts, the problem has been to bring to justice those re-sponsible for the complicat-ed schemes carried out to si-lence opposition to LAX ex-pansion plans. Attempts to follow the money tend to

please see Open Studios, page 8

Inglewood Open Studios’ Sixth Year

Artist Muriel Mandel kneels beside her mural during the Inglewood Open Studios’ 2012 tour.

please see Mike, page 10

please see Tricks, page 5

Inglewood resident Prentis Bolden, after conferring with D-1 Council Mem-

ber Mike Stevens about years of empty promises to have his eligible house

sound-insulated, points to the much newer apartment complex across the

street which was being sound-proofed.

I

themorningside parkchronicleVol. 1, No. 2

B Informing Inglewood and the community

December 2012

B




Morningside Park • Briarwood •Century Heights • Inglewood Knolls • Fairview Heights • Arbor Village • North Inglewood • Hyde Park • West Athens • Westmont • Crenshaw-Imperial • Lockhaven • Imperial Village • Downtown Inglewood

To see the entire Town Hall meeting video explain-ing problems with the LAX Sound Insulation program, scan the above QR code or visit

http://issuu.com/mpc1888/docs/TH01

Inglewood

in Action!see page 12

...prompted the re-start of the Residential Sound Insulation

program...

Name_________________________________________

Address_______________________________________

e-mail ________________________________________Mail your check or money order to:

Morningside Park Chronicle • P.O. Box 2155 • Inglewood CA 90305 [email protected]

www.MPChronic le .net

Publisher’s Note

.......................................page 2

Community Calendar

.......................................page 3

Letters to the Editor

.......................................page 3

“Greetings from Mike”

by Council Member Stevens

.......................................page 4

Rhonda’s Wellness Column

.......................................page 5

Hoot Beats Limited

.......................................page 5

Dining with Rhonda

STUFF I EAT ....................page 6

Anne on Architecture..page 7

Book Reviews ...............page 9


CONTENTS

Joe’s Barbershop

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 2

“Pet Peeves”column

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 2

Mark Fronterotta ap-

pointed new IPD Chief

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 3

Supervisor Mark

Ridley-Thomas

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 4

Fox Theatre now

on National Register

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 4

Feature book review:

Word for Word

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 7

Fruit Tree Giveaway

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 6

Michael Massenberg

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 7

Your Block Rocks,

W. 102nd Street!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 8

Dinglewood!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 8

Dotson’s Drug Den

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 9 By RAnDALL FLeMinG

The cumulative safety haz-

ards of the Osage Senior Vil-

las have been a part of daily

life for the center’s residents

shortly after the City of In-

glewood, the Redevelopment

Agency and Planning Com-

mission declared, “The proj-

ect was completed and re-

ceived a certificate of occu-

pancy” in June 2003.

On October 4, 2005, the

aforementioned agencies

signed the “Release of Con-

struction Covenants Certifi-

cate (formerly called a Cer-

tificate of Completion) of the

project.” However it was not

disclosed that there were “nu-

merous revisions, change or-

ders and building modifica-

tions were necessary…” and

that the “Osage Senior Vil-

las Limited Partnership, LLC

(OSVLP) also contends that

the building modifications

and change orders have re-

sulted in a project cost over-

run of 15%…” from a letter

from the city administrator’s

office. The city administrator

at the time was Mark Wein-

berg. Weinberg has since

been retained by the City of

Inglewood as a consultant un-

der a contract to receive near-

ly $70k annually. Weinberg

was also investigated by the

Inglewood native Crystal

Chavis sings at Lakers Game

By GeRALD MORALeS

What is the sound of in-

spiration drawn from inspi-

ration? One Inglewood na-

tive with a remarkable talent

might have an answer. Crys-

tal Chavis, a 17-year-old ju-

nior student of Inglewood

City Honors High School,

found her passion in music

four years ago. Her roots in

the entertainment industry,

however, date back much fur-

ther. At only three weeks of age

Crystal received her first

glimpse to the industry when

she was in a film for a com-

mercial for Fidelity Financial.

She continued getting acting

gigs in commercials for State

Farm and Jeep as well as ma-

ny other well-known compa-

nies. Throughout elementary

and middle school, she partic-

ipated in many performanc-

es and activities in and out of

school. Her mother, Allison

Queen, is a publicist who spe-

cializes in local and nation-

al media placements. From a

young age decided she want-

ed Crystal to develop into a

well-rounded individual. She

enrolled her daughter in ice

skating and dance classes and

even had her try horseback

riding. “I tried to support Crys-

tal in every endeavor she pur-

sued and I knew it was im-

portant for her to be well-

rounded. I wanted her to

know she could do anything

she put her mind to, which

is why I wanted her to be ac-

tive,” said Mrs. Queen.

Crystal spent a lot of time

acting as well as participat-

ing in various activities—but

Residents Claim

Victory Against

728% Tax Hike Mayorʼs Property Tax

proposal shot down

By RAnDALL FLeMinG

In a quietly announced last-

minute city council meet-

ing for January 23, Ingle-

wood mayor James T. Butts

moved to reject a proposal to

place a 728% increase of the

city’s property transfer tax

on the April municipal ballot.

The city clerk was directed to

withdraw Resolution No. 12-

157 (adopted December 18,

2012) from the April 2 ballot.

The mayor had argued

through no fewer than two

previous council meetings to

push the remarkably high tax

hike proposal forward for the

April ballot. It was rumored

that the reason for the pro-

posal was to upset the unions

that would benefit from the

increase, should any council

members oppose the new tax

hike. The mayor remarked that

such a tax hike is not an un-

usual one. “The city of Los

please see Rusty Tub, page 10

A Decade of Rusty Bathtubs at Osage

Rusty pipes, fire-hazard stoves at Senior Center were approved by Planning Commissioner George Dotson

All the bathtubs in the Osage Senior Villas look like this. The rust staining the plastic bathtubs is a result of iron

pipes that for over a decade have drained condensation from the residents’ heating and air conditioning units. The

non-ceramic tubs, lack of safety bars and other safety hazards were approved by Inglewood Planning Commissioner

Dotson in 2003. INSET: A shot of the iron drain pipe from which rusty water has dripped since 2003.

please see Crystal, page 11please see Victory, page 11

Crystal Chavis sings the national anthem at the Lakers v Jazz game

on January 25.

Ithe

morningside park

chronicleVol. 2, No. 2


February 2013

B

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com



To see more pictures of the Osage safety

hazards, scan the above QR code or visit:

http://bit.ly/ingbtmpc

FPPC fines

Tabor $32k

— page 8 —

field from 4 until 7 p.m. Elementary students treat-ed early attendees to a performance. Tables and chairs were set up so that people may relax and en-joy contributing to a good cause together. “This event was a success, a lot

of money was raised and another is in the works. Expect to see the food trucks out there in a few weeks again,” said Ms. Yanick Clay, the AVID coordinator and social studies teacher at Ingle-wood High School. The Chronicle gave a brief notice to followers

of the Facebook page about the event. Another notification will be given when the next event oc-curs; stay up to date with the Facebook page to learn when you too can catch the next Friday Food Fest at an Ingle-wood Unified School near you.

Food Trucks, from pg. 7

Publisher’s Note

.......................................page 2

Community Calendar

.......................................page 3

Church Calendar .........page 3

Letters to the Editor

.......................................page 3

“View from District 2”

by Council Member Dunlap

.......................................page 6

“Greetings from Mike”

by Council Member Stevens

.......................................page 6

Dining with Rhonda (res-

taurant review) by Rhonda

Kuykendall-Jabari .......page 6

Book Reviews ...............page 9


CONTENTS

Dr. LeRoy Vaugn, MD

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 2

Los Acosta Tacos

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 2

Friends of the

Inglewood Library

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 4

Hoof Beats races over

the year in review

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 5

Rhonda’s “Wellness”

column debuts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 5

Googie Architecture

in Inglewood

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 6

Your Block Rocks:

Ash Avenue

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 6

Feature book reviews:

The Tribunal

and Bitter Inheritance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 7

The Wood Class

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . page 7

Double-barrelled film review:

Django Unchained

. . . . . . . . . . . . pages 8 & 9

By Teka-lark FleMing

When the owner and den-

tist of Smile Studio, Dr. Carla

Thomas was a little girl grow-

ing up in the Inglewood com-

munity of Century Heights

she wanted to be a dentist.

Smile Studio caught my

eye while I was riding my bi-

cycle up Morningside Park’s

business district on Man-

chester. It was a modern and

beautiful facility. While at a

community meeting in Briar-

wood, I met the charming Dr.

Thomas. She was discussing

the importance of dental care.

As a person who is regularly

at the dentist office owing to

doing ten years as brace face

and a black coffee addiction

the art of dentistry has be-

come a major part of my life.

I went to Dr. Thomas’ of-

fice to find out about her

lovely facility and to ask how

did she come into the helpful

field of dentistry.

“When I was very small my

mother took us to the dentist

every six months. I had a re-

ally nice dentist when I was a

child. He let me play with all

the equipment and touch all

the buttons. I was fascinated.”

Dr. Thomas has always

wanted to be a dentist. And

it shows in her facility. Even

sitting in the waiting room

you feel at ease. It feels more

like a health spa than the

white bright dentist office

you may be used to.

“From the sixth grade I

knew I was going to be a

dentist and I would always

say that. People said I would

change my major a few times

once I went to college. I nev-

er did. I have yearbooks from

junior high through high

school where they would ask

you what you want to do, and

all of mine said, ‘Dentist,’”

said Dr. Thomas.

Dr. Thomas did her under-

grad work in biology at the

University of the Pacific and

earned her Doctorate of Den-

tal Surgery at the top ranked

University of Southern Cali-

fornia. She has been practic-

ing dentistry in Inglewood for

16 years.

Even though I regular-

ly go the dentist I have many

friends who are very nervous

about going to the dentist. I

tell them that it’s not that bad.

“If you go to the dentist

regularly, every six months

and you do things that are

preventative. Then it’s not as

expensive,” she posited.

Dr. Thomas office is relax-

ing and tranquil. Her front

Stevens Opposes 728%

Property Transfer Tax Hike

Councilman Mike Stevens favors modestly increased tax hike—but not at 728%

By randall FleMing

District 1 council person

Mike Stevens has announced

that he wishes the recent-

ly proposed property tax rate

increase to be readjusted. A

new rate was proposed by

Mayor James T. Butts and

was on the city’s agenda dat-

ed December 18, 2012 but

was not voted until the fol-

lowing day.

Inglewood has one of the

lowest such property tax-

es in Los Angeles County, at

$1.10 per $1,000.00. Of that

amount, $0.55 goes to the

City of Inglewood. The may-

or’s intention is to place the

resolution on the April 2 bal-

lot to increase the city’s tax

portion 728%, to $4.00.

Were Stevens to whole-

heartedly oppose the tax—

which would be put into the

city’s general fund and from

which unions such as the

SEIU could benefit—then it

would not fare well for In-

glewood’s on-going financial

strife. However, the coun-

cilman has made it clear that

it is not a transfer tax rate

increase he opposes, but a

728% tax rate hike.

Stevens declared that he

was “not against a transfer

tax; I’m against a transfer

tax that is extremely exces-

sive, like this approximately

725% increase.” The trans-

fer tax rate increase resolu-

tion was pushed through by

the mayor and was approved

by District 3 and 4 council

members Eloy Morales, Jr.,

and Ralph Franklin.

The resolution does not

fully divulge the nature of

the increase. By mention-

ing only the portion that the

Danny Tabor

Runs in D-1 Claims “No problem”

regarding misappropri-

ated Darby Park funds

Former Inglewood mayor

Danny K. Tabor filed his run-

ning papers just in time for

the city’s deadline on Mon-

day, January 7. He had pulled

his papers the previous busi-

ness day (Thursday, January

3) just before the city clerk’s

office closed at 12:30 p.m.

Tabor, who has a political

history as District 1 council

member and a short-term

mayor, was also known for a

series of political and finan-

cial concerns.

please see Smile, page 4

Smile Studio Lives Up to Its Name

Century Heights native Dr. Carla Thomas takes a moment to smile for the camera at her dental studio.

please see 728%, page 11

please see Tabor, page 9

District 1 council member Mike

Stevens.

Ithe

morningside park

chronicleVol. 2, No. 1


January 2013

B

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com



To see all the raw video of Tabor at the city clerk’s

offi ce, scan the above QR code or visit:

http://bit.ly/ing01mpc

I-Spy...

a g r e at e s c ap e ?

—page 5— The Chronicle helped Inglewood residents save $1000s in property transfer taxes...

...and showed Inglewood to the world.

plans to build a football stadium between the race track and Forum—one that seems eerily close to the one AEG wants to do with L.A. Live complex in downtown Los Angeles with the Staples Center and their proposed Fam-ers Field football stadium. Eventually plans for the Inglewood Stadium died. In 2004, Wal-mart bought that section of land hop-ing to build a store the size of three football fields. Of course, those plans were squashed when Wal-mart failed to zone off the land by voter approval so that it didn’t have to be regulated by the city. Wal-mart still owns the land to this day. As time passed Holly-wood Park seemed to be surviving the vast transi-

tion around it. Now it has come to this. I’ve seen the plans and they look nice. But in the end, is it really worth it? So much rich history is there, including the fa-mous racehorse Seabiscuit who won the inaugu-ral running of the Holly-wood Gold Cup on July 16, 1938. And don’t for-get it was the famous War-ner Brothers—founders of the Warner Brother Stu-dios—who built Holly-wood Park. And there is that funny story about the famed Directors’ Room, in which Elizabeth Tay-lor once tried to teach the King of Pop Michael Jack-son how to make a wager. Why didn’t the own-ers ever look into devel-oping Hollywood Park into a resort vacation des-tination? The total poten-tial to make it appealing

to lure the millions who may have seen the park from planes flying into and out of LAX is signif-icant. It’s approximately four miles from the air-port, so it’s inconceivable why the owners or the city never thought about capitalizing on it. But as the Betfair Hollywood Park Company President Jack Liebau so eloquently put it: “From an econom-ic point of view, the land now simply has a higher and better use.” The bottom line? The land is worth more than the building or track for that matter. So I’ll con-clude with a quote from the newly released mov-ie, The Great Gatsby: “It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment.”

Era, from pg. 8

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Paid Political Advertisement

Paid for by Committee to Re-elect Councilman Mike Stevens 2013

Councilman Mike Stevens works with the people of Inglewood.

Councilman Mike Stevens is endorsed by Jim Burt, President of Around The Block Club.

Martha Hunter, President of the Maitland Ave. Block

Club, has endorsed Mike Stevens.

Dear Voters,

Thank you for your vote!

Councilman Mike Stevens

I was elected by you to look out for your interest and not special interest.

You voted for me to be your elected representative because you wanted

change.

I have broken the chain of anointed individuals and am independent of

the existing political machines. Outsiders have controlled our elections

for years with their money and power. Now together we can change the

cycle and get something done for you the residents.

People ask me, “What do you stand for?” I respond, “My community!”

President Obama made Federal Grant dollars available to help small busi-

ness and communities. I have worked to make these Grant dollars avail-

able to homeowners, for repairs including copper plumbing, new roofs,

driveways, etc. I will continue to advocate access to these funds for resi-

dents to make home improvements and dreams of owning a small busi-

ness a reality. I have proven to you I can deliver with Residential Sound

Insulation. I have brought forward over 30 Initiatives benefitting you, the

residents. Most have been approved or incorporated into current policy.

To see them visit www.CouncilmanMikeStevens.com and read about how

I have been successful at looking out for you.

On Tuesday, June 11, vote “YES!” for our future.

Re-elect Councilman Mike Stevens! He is endorsed by the PEOPLE not the political machine.

Former District 1 candidate LeRoy Fisher—shown here

inspecting the site of the MSG Forum off-site parking—has

endorsed Mike Stevens.

may 17, 2013 edition

Documents

city coffers page

city of inglewood

inglewood city council

square mile charter

councilman mike stevens

city attorney cal saunders

runoff election

la sentinela