Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................8
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals............................. 4,6,7
Pets........................................5
Weekend
Forecast
LA Chargers Host Play60 Camp
The Los Angeles Chargers hosted a Play60 camp with members of the Inglewood Police Department at Worthington Elementary School last week. Photo: Inglewood PD.
Focus Turns to Schools Amid
Inglewood’s Development Boom
By Haleemon Anderson
Mayor James T. Butts had an extreme request
for Senator Steven Bradford, who stopped by
Tuesday’s Inglewood City Council meeting
to give an overview of his 2018 legislative
platform. “I want to ask you to join me in
seeking legislation to amortize the Inglewood
School District’s loan,” said Butts.
The district needs relief, added Butts. It
currently must pay back $1.8 million a year
to the state. “With $55 million hanging over
its head, it will never get out of receivership,”
explained Butts, who noted that with
Inglewood now paying over $7 million in
taxes to the state, those funds might be used
against the schools’ debt.
Bradford responded, saying he definitely
wants to see the Inglewood schools stay
solvent. “It makes sense on the surface,” he
said, before committing to look into the matter.
The Inglewood schools received another
measure of relief recently, with Assembly Bill
1840 authored by Assemblywoman Autumn
Burke. Governor Jerry Brown signed the
budget bill into law on Sept. 17. Sponsored
by a coalition of leaders with school districts
in receivership, the bill provides direct state
funding and allows schools to raise money
through the sale or lease of surplus properties.
Inglewood, like all state school districts, is
funded by state tax dollars and is not under
a city council’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the
dire state of the district is a recurring topic
with residents, who have asked the Council
to use its money and influence to weigh in
on the matter.
Bradford’s legislative package includes two
bills -- SB 1294 and SB 1283 -- that will
relax regulations on the cannabis industry
and type 75 alcohol licenses, respectively.
The actions are meant to help small and
independent businesses.
In other business, the Council unanimously
approved the disposition and development
of two City of Inglewood-owned parcels.
Thomas Safran and Associates, operating
as Inglewood Market Gateway, LLC, will
develop 243 rentals units and 55,000 square
feet of retail and restaurants at La Brea and
Florence. In the second phase of the project,
Safran, a well-known developer of marketrate
and low-income properties, will build
50 additional rentals and more retail space
at Market Street between Regent and Queen.
The Council also approved $100,000 in
transitional housing services including motel
vouchers; and $62,500 for fair housing counseling
and housing discrimination services.
The members allocated another $150,000 to
plant 370 trees throughout the community.
At last week’s meeting, the Council approved
a deal with developer Prairie Station,
LLC to improve a four-acre parcel at Prairie
and 113th. The bulk of the property is already
owned by the City and will be developed into
approximately 485 market-rate rental apartments,
according to the exclusive negotiating
agreement with Prairie Station.
The City will sponsor the Inglewood Open
Studios art exhibit, providing shuttle buses
for the two-day event in November. The
Council additionally approved $17,440 for
invoices related to the Child and Adult Care
Food Program.
The Inglewood City Council meets every
Tuesday, unless otherwise noted, at 2 p.m.
in the Council chambers on the 9th floor,
Inglewood City Hall. •
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/65˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
72˚/63˚
Sunday
Sunny
74˚/63˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale & El Segundo Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 27, 2018