The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - December 15, 2016 Santa Fly-In at LAX Brings Holiday Cheer to Local Elementary Kids Santa Claus flew to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for a pre-holiday visit by helicopter last weekend to spread holiday cheer to nearly 350 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students from eight local schools, including several from Hawthorne, Inglewood and Wiseburn. The annual LAX Santa Fly-in festivities were held airside of the LAX Flight Path Learning Center & Museum. Photo by Ken Phan Agreement Reached Between City, LA Dodgers Foundation and LA84 Foundation By Cristian Vasquez On Tuesday afternoon, the Inglewood City Council approved an agreement (recommended by the Parks, Recreation and Library Services Department) for the City of Inglewood, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) and LA84 Foundation to move forward with the installation of baseball field improvements at Darby Park. “They have awarded the City a grant for field improvements at Darby Park, which include improvements to both the upper and lower fields and will include everything from new turf and new scoreboards to fencing,” said Inglewood Parks, Recreation and Library Services Director Sabrina Barnes. “It also leads to support the Dodgers RBI Program. The plan is to start the work early when we get back from the holidays so that the opening coincides with the opening of our RBI season and Dodgers’ season.” LADF named Inglewood the recipient of two Dreamfield awards and proposes to renovate the Large Field to the north and Show Field to the South at Darby Park. The total amount needed to complete the project is set at $296,312, with the City providing $35,000, LADF contributing $236,312 and LA84 funding $25,000. “We are very excited to build our first Dodgers Dreams Field in the City of Inglewood at Darby Park,” said LADF Senior Director of Programs and Fundraising David Brennan. “These fields are going to look brand new and there are going to be some amazing scoreboards.” The Large Field’s renovations will create a regulation-size field with a new “skinned infield” that includes multiple base paths that will accommodate a variety of age groups. Renovations will include replacing the chainlink fence on the backstops and dugouts, installing a new outfield, and providing a metal roof for the dugouts. A new turf sod will be installed after the playing field’s surface is smoothed via pulverization and laser grade. “The City of Inglewood was recently awarded a grant by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) to participate in the 2016 Dodgers RBI Program,” states the staff report signed by Barnes. “The grant provided funds to cover field maintenance and officials’ fees for the 2016 Dodgers RBI Program.” LADF, a registered 501(c)3 organization, is the official Dodgers’ team charity working to support cornerstone programs in sports and recreation, as well as literacy and education, health and wellness in benefit of families and their children throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. Through the leveraging of strategic partnerships, LADF is committed to harnessing the influence of the Dodgers’ brand and the enthusiasm of its fans “into a vehicle for positive change” for underserved communities throughout the Los Angeles area. “We had our first season with Dodgers RBI Program here [City of Inglewood] with about 140 kids that played at Darby Park and about 400 kids between the other parks combined throughout the city,” Brennan said. “We are excited to build these fields so that those kids are playing on them as part of that program.” Also involved is the non-profit LA84 Foundation, the third partner in the agreement, which also uses sports as a tool to work alongside youths in order to increase sports knowledge and have a positive impact on people’s lives. The LA84 Foundation has been a nationally recognized leader in supporting youth sport programs and public education for the past 30 years. This group, through its on-the-ground experience, has supported thousands of Southern California youth sports organizations. By providing grants, coach training, commissioning research and convening conferences, LA84 Foundation’s goal is to level the playing field so that children have access to sports. “The City’s successful participation in the Dodgers RBI program and LADF’s interest in investing in the City’s parks system provided an opportunity for the City to be selected for a Dodgers Dreamfield Award,” states the staff report. “The goal of the Dodgers Dreamfield program is to provide baseball and softball fields where youngsters can learn the game of baseball in an organized program that is administered by the city or county in a safe environment while learning the importance of playing team sports and key characteristics like sportsmanship, ethics and fair play.” Part of the agreement includes allowing LADF to carry out all of the construction needs through its own contractors (Landmark Construction Solutions, Inc.). Field maintenance, both for safety and aesthetic reasons, will be in accordance with the donors’ wishes to uphold their reputation and all warranties’ mandates. Fields will also be available to donors for sporting and special events--with a reasonable notice and free of charge, except for any needed staff supervision, security, maintenance or traffic control. As of April 2016, LADF had completed 40 of the 50 Dreamfields it set out to build. Of those 40 fields, three can be found in neighboring Lennox Park, Baldwin Hills Recreation Center and Culver Marina Little League. “Hopefully that [new fields] will spark the interest of kids to play baseball in the city of Inglewood in future years,” concluded Brennan. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............2 Finance..................................6 Food.......................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Rainy 61˚/45˚ Saturday Sunny 58˚/44˚ Sunday Sunny 60˚/47˚ “We are very excited to build our first Dodgers Dreams Field in the City of Inglewood at Darby Park. These fields are going to look brand new and there are going to be some amazing scoreboards.”
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