May 31, 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

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

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

Anne on Architecture: What’s in a name? ......................................page 6

D E P A R T M E N T S

contents

Out-of-town PACs attack Inglewood elections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2A complete list of Dis-trict 1 Polling Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3Richard Amoah, Gates Millennium Scholar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4Wallace Arts Foundation: an Inglewood Jewel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5I Spy...Guess who’s coming for dinner! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

By Teka-Lark FLeming

On Thursday at 8 a.m., a peaceful group of Morningside High School students with signs and guitars walked out of class. They were protest-ing in support of their principal, Dr. Sirls. The Chronicle gained new followers among the kids from Morningside High School after attend-ing Monday’s Inglewood Unified School District community meeting. One student, known on Twitter as Eduardo2296, had informed the media that there was going to be a walk-out in support of keeping Sirls. “Cute how when there is a shooting or death or

gang-related BS news be all on us in 1 minute! News better be there to-morrow!!!” he wrote. (As one who grew up in Inglewood I understood Eduardo’s frustration, and I strive to make this newspaper an exception to the poverty porn and related media smear cam-paigns.) At the Thursday morn-ing walk-out, I spotted Dr. Sirls amid the students who had broken from class to support him. “These are the best kids in California. They are very supportive of the school and the vision we have for it. That’s why we’re out here,” he said. “The kids here want to do well. The kids here

have a vision. And we have real camaraderie among the different eth-nic groups.” Morningside High seemed like a different school than in the 1990s—when I went to school. “They’re good kids and they really get along” Sirls added. After an hour the kids decided they were going to march to district HQ to protest the moving of Sirls. They decided against it when a message from an IUSD rep an-nounced that he was stay-ing at Morningside High School. The students were hap-py. “We did it!” they shouted. Sought for comment to

get confirmation that “staying” meant Dr. Sirls would continue being the principal for the coming school year, Asst. Super-intendent to Academic Services at IUSD Mrs. Ofelia Ceja- Lariviere did not return phone calls.

VOTE on June 11Don’t believe Dotson’s deceptive flyer

By randaLL FLeming

A flyer mailed out by George Dotson’s campaign appears to clearly attempt misleading Inglewood’s Latino voters. The flyer, mailed in mid-May, makes an out-rageous claim regarding a city council meeting that has yet to happen: “At the June 11, 2013 City Council meeting...” The flyer cites the Ingle-wood Today, a local news-letter owned by a paid po-litical consultant to the mayor. The newsletter al-so has as a regular and fre-quent contributor city clerk

Yvonne Horton. Her pho-to, name and contribution appear on the same page as the owner, Willie Brown. In a recent edition of the newsletter, an incorrect voting date was given. The incorrect date was posted on May 9 and remains on the website a month after the error was pointed out to Willie Brown. As the deception gets thick, residents are warned to be on the lookout for more flim-flams flung by the Dotson-Butts campaign committee. More than $250,000 has been put into Dotson’s coffers from out-of-town developers.

Morningside High Students Walk OutIUSD’s possibility of forcing out principal Dr. Sirls prompts a peaceful protest

Stevens Proposes Repeal of Easy Pot Shop Set-up

District 1 Councilman Mike Stevens has had a great many calls to ban pot dispensaries in Ingle-wood. Last summer he succeeded in having a temporary closure but the pot shops fought back and added medical personnel, making their stores legal under the Inglewood mu-nicipal code. The code was changed in July, 2008 when Ordinance 08-19 was passed by the Planning Commission. At that time and for ma-ny years prior, the Plan-ning Commish chairman

was—and remains—George Dotson. Calls to have the pot shop closed have come from neighboring busi-nesses, schools, churches, and residents near the re-cently opened shop on Van Ness at Arbor Vitae. On May 7, Stevens asked city manager Artie Fields to bring before the mayor and city council an initiative banning pot dis-pensaries. “Since the Planning Commission Approval, marijuana dispensaries

The pot shop ban that Councilman Mike Stevens has presented to Inglewood city manager Artie Fields.

Ithe

morningside parkchronicleVol. 2, No. 9 B Informing Inglewood and the community May 31, 2013B

www.Morningside-ParkChronicle.com


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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

Vote-by-Mail

SCAM!— see page 4 —

Dr. Sirls stands amid a huge crowd of students at Morning-side High School on Thursday.

please see Dotson’s Pot, page 3

A flyer by George Dotson intends to mislead Latino voters.

special ELECTION RUN-OFF

edition

IUSD

MorningsideParkChronicle.com

Morningside Park ChroniclePage 2 May 31, 2013

Caring Hurts—and We Care a Lot Taking some time to relish the beauty of Inglewoodians. Despite its history of controversy, Inglewood is a city with great people. I think about my great neighbor, Laverne Mann. She’s a one-woman

Google for the entire community. She knows the his-tory of the community and has the phone number to get things done. How lucky am I to have grown up across the street from such a great walking and talking resource. I always tell people I don’t remember Inglewood ex-isting without Laverne Mann. My good neighbors don’t stop with the people I knew growing up here; I have met new Inglewoodians. Ethel Alexander is the co-pilot for Morningside Park Sustainable City and the one-woman campaign behind getting our beautiful giant clock on Van Ness and Man-chester working again. I take it personally when people say Inglewood resi-dents are “apathetic” or “don’t know.” Inglewood residents started LAX Expansion No (LAXEN) to prompt the city to create the RSI Program. Inglewood residents show up to council meetings even when they were changed to unreasonable times. I’ve lived all over the world and I have to say Ingle-woodians participate just as much as anywhere else. I think this talk of apathy is an excuse by government. This excuse to do nothing is trumpeted because most of those in government don’t care, are not from here and do not live here. Instead of having a real conversation about what they need to be doing, the first thing government and govern-ment agencies do is talk about how “if you had just gone to a meeting, A, B, C wouldn’t have happened.” I’ve shown up to plenty of meetings and so have other people. We showed up to the meeting to not have our city hall meetings moved to working hours. People who pay taxes—like the taxes we’re going to pay with Measure GG—work for a living. How did that turn out? We showed up to meetings and asked, “Who owns that marijuana facility?” Again—how did that turn out? Time and time again everything is already decided be-fore we get to meetings. Every time I pay my property tax and someone says I’m apathetic about the plight of IUSD schools I want to say, “OK, give me back my money.” Inglewoodians are great and we do care. I for one am not going to let people who merely sit at city hall or IUSD get away with disparaging our citizens regardless of the side they are on. Respect the residents here and we’ll respect you. Don’t respect us and we’ll vote no next time you ask for our tax dollars for your special projects.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 BirtranRhonda Kuykendall-Jabari Anne Cheek La RoseGerald Morales Mike Stevens

“In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper.” -Warren Buffett, L.A Times, 28 May 2012

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

• • •

VOTE! Inglewood’s Districts 1 and 2 run-off elections are on June 11. Please find your polling place to vote in the list

at right. Make sure to mark your VBM as “VOID” and vote in person! Vote-by-Mail fraud is easily undertaken if you do not mark your VBM ballots void when you VOTE IN PERSON on JUNE 11.

“When the Past Comes Back,” a play by Mildred Dumas Friday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday/Sunday June 22-23 at 7:30 p.m. General Admission $22; 62 and over $18.00. Inglewood Center for Spiritual Living 525 N. Mar-ket St. Inglewood, California. (310) 412-4027.

• • •

Joe Branton, Jr. Tribute at CAAM. Join us for an encore screening of the documentary recorded during Branton’s talk

at a 2010 “Conversations at CAAM.” The celebration of his life and legacy is on Friday, June 7 from 2 until 4 p.m. at the California African Ameri-can Museum. The event is free but RSVPs are preferred to 323.893.1922 or 213.744.7469. Parking is available at 39th and Figueroa Streets for $10.CAAM, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90037

• • •

Sunshine Storytime for Kids! Every Saturday in June at 11:30 a.m. Stories, puppets, songs, art, films and fun—all ages are welcome. Inglewood Public Library, 101 W. Man-chester Blvd., Inglewood CA 90301. (310) 412-5645.

INGLEWOOD COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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

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


May 31, 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 randaLL FLeming

A Torrance-based PAC (Political Action Commit-tee) has been operating to undermine the City of In-glewood for months. Despite its name, the “Inglewood Residents for Good Government” PAC has no ties with Ingle-wood—save to disrupt this year’s District 1 elections. Under federal law, PACs are allowed to re-ceive any amount of mon-ey—so long as the PAC appears to have no direct connection to or commu-nication with the candidate(s) that the PAC names as supporting. Ac-

cording to the Center for Responsive Politics, “PACs make no contribu-tions to candidates or par-ties. They do, however make independent expen-ditures...running ads or sending mail or commu-nicating in other ways with messages that specif-ically advocate the elec-tion or defeat of a specific candidate. There are no limits or restrictions on the sources of funds that may be used for these ex-penditures.” California Independent Expenditure Reports—bet-ter known as CA Form 496—disclose that the PAC’s office and treasurer

is at 2450 West 239th Street, #16, in Torrance, CA 90501. The phone number is (310) 245-0243. The principal is Richard E. Bellheumer, a political consultant whose career includes a stint as the campaign manager for Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach). According to an L.A. Times story dated August 2, 2012, “Richardson [faced] a $10,000 person-al fine over the misuse of government funds. In a scathing report, the ethics panel found Rich-ardson improperly com-pelled her congressional

Out-of-Town PACs Spend $30k to Attack Inglewood

In less than three months, $30,000 was raised from out-of-town business by an out-of-town PAC to disrupt Inglewood’s District 1 elections.

please see PACs Attack, page 6


Morningside Park Chronicle Page 3May 31, 2013

letters readersfromour

Is mayor inten-tionally denying District 1 its city services?

Dear editor,I sent this e-mail to [In-glewood city manager Artie] Fields this morning. I got a response—he should be working 7 days a week with his salary—and have forwarded it to you:

Mr. Fields: Someone has done some digging on this corner. The picture is attached. I am contact-ing you because this dig-ging site has remained like this for over a month. This looks like some sort of govern-ment project albeit a small one. Whatever the case, no one has been out to backfill that dirt or get on with the work that is intended. This long-standing mess neg-atively affects the over-all appearance of our neighborhood. In addi-tion, it might be a safety hazard to the children who play in the area. Would you please look into it and tell me who is digging this hole, for what purpose and when they will complete what-ever it is they are doing over there? Thank you. On another matter. I have contacted the ap-

propriate city depart-ment several weeks ago regarding cleaning the median along Manches-ter Blvd. between West and Van Ness. To date it has not been cleaned. The trees need prun-ing, weeding and there is trash everywhere. Can you tell me why that median has not been cleaned? I have made re-quests to have other me-dians cleaned in the city and the response has been much more effi-cient. I have been told D1 is some sort of “no ser-vices” zone because the mayor does not like the City Councilman for D1. I thought we had got-ten rid of these sort of petty politics and poli-tics by fiat when Dorn was convicted for his malfeasance. I hope we not going through this

type of small-town pet-tiness again. (I am sure there would be some-thing illegal about not providing services to constituents who pay taxes for those services but they are being with-held). We deserve ser-vices. Though the city cries broke, the employ-ees are being paid some pretty hefty salaries for services we are being told we can get, not af-ford, or whatever. Not to add they work four days a week. I am frankly getting tried of living in a city where some employees get paid $200k or more but the people who pay those salaries are treat-ed like they don’t mat-ter. I am tired of the ex-cuses.

-Ethel Alexander• • •

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.

Precinct No. 1—Daniel Freeman Elementary School, 2602 W. 79th St. Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 4—Faith Lutheran Church 3320 W. 85th St. Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 9—Warren Lane School 9330 S. 8th Ave. Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 10—I-COPP 2901 Manchester Blvd. Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 11—Briarwood, 3500-1 W. Man-chester Blvd., Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 14—Darby Park 3400 W. Arbor Vitae St. Inglewood CA 90305Precinct No. 23—1st Presbyterian Church 100 N. Hillcrest Blvd. Inglewood CA 90301Precinct No. 25—Veterans Memorial Building 330 Centinela Ave. Inglewood CA 90302Precinct No. 29—1st United Methodist Church 304 E. Spruce Ave. Inglewood CA 90301Precinct No. 41—Centinela Valley Retirement Home, 1000 S. Flower Street, Inglewood CA 90301Precinct No. 152—Carlton Square8700 Carlton Drive, Inglewood CA 90305

District 1 Polling PlacesAs of May 31, city clerk Yvonne Horton has refused to post a list of D-1 polling places

Are the mayor and city manager intentionally allowing District 1 to be neglected despite the safety hazards posed to children?

have flourished in District 1. Meanwhile my initiative banning marijuana facili-ties continues to meet re-sistance by Mayor James Butts because there is an election Tuesday, June 11—or perhaps, as others have stated who know the mayor extremely well, he has his own marijuana dis-

pensary card. These facili-ties cannot be allowed in our residential neighbor-hoods. The latest facility that opened is at Arbor Vi-tae and Van Ness behind the former F & M Market,” Stevens said. A May 6 California deci-sion has made it legal for a city to ban pot dispensaries. Handed down by a three-judge panel of the 4th Dis-

trict Court of Appeals, the judgement unambiguously states that local jurisdic-tions possess the legal au-thority to outlaw such es-tablishments through the passage of restrictive zon-ing regulations. The decision makes it clear that no legal barriers remain in the way of the mayor and city council to vote to close the shops.

Dotson’s Pot, from pg. 1

Inglewood city clerk Yvonne Horton has refused to post a list of District 1 polling places. As late as 2009, she made the list available in PDF form via the city’s website. The last one avail-able on-line bore the city’s seal as well as Horton’s name at bottom. A similar version was also available in Spanish. The on-line version has not been made available since 2009. As late as the April 2012 election, the entire list of polling places was posted outside the city clerk’s of-fice. It was posted in Eng-lish and Spanish. For the June 11 run-off, Horton has refused to post the list outside her office. As of May 31 the board re-mains blank. When asked when the list would be posted, city clerk staffer Sheila Hinkle said, “I don’t know.” Registered voters seek-ing a copy of the list are of-ten inconvenienced, One elderly registered voter from District 2 was made to speak to four city clerk staff over the course of 10 minutes, just to obtain a photocopy of the two-sheet list. He had to rest his body on the counter and place

his cane on it, so long was the wait and so evasive where the staff in answer-ing. One wonders why the city clerk cannot take two minutes to photocopy two sheets of paper and at least post them outside her of-fice, seven feet away. Is the city clerk hoping to per-suade people to send in Vote-by-Mail (VBM) bal-lots? (See related story, page 4.) For those who wish to exercise their rights as a voter (see page 5: Voter Bill of Rights) and person-ally observe the elections process, it is strongly sug-gested to call (310) 412-5280 every weekday and ask if the next round of ballot processing occurs that day or the next, and what time. When asked on May 30 when the ballots process-ing would begin, city clerk staffer Cheryl Moore said it would be June 5. Howev-er, a notice outside the city clerk’s office stated that the “processing of Vote By Mail ballots will com-mence at 10 a.m. on Thurs-day, May 16 at City Hall.” One wonders if the city clerk will extend such ir-regularities to the “process-ing” of VBM ballots.

Morningside Park ChroniclePage 4 May 31, 2013Morningside Park ChroniclePage 4

By geraLd moraLes

Richmond Amoah is one of three of Inglewood High School students who re-ceived the Gates Millenni-um Scholarship. (Another student, Kevin Akinfolar-in, was in the May 17 edi-tion of the Chronicle; the third student will remain a mystery until the next edi-tion!) The scholarship will pay for his college educa-tion all the way to his doc-toral degree. In addition to the Gates award, he has also received the McDonald’s Future Achievers award. This fall he plans to at-tend UCLA and pursue a major in science. “Right now I’m thinking about be-coming a doctor, but as long as I study in the field of science I will be hap-

py. I am very interested in science and love to study anything science-related,” he said when asked which major he intends to pursue. Amoah was born in the United States. He lived here for five years before moving Gana, West Africa. There he had to walk five miles one way just to go to school, but it did not stop him. In Gana, he did not have access to the type of literature and course mate-rials like in the U.S, but he appreciated each and ev-ery book he could get his hands on to read. His dad worked three jobs at one point while his mom also worked hard to support the family. After all his hard work his dad decided to move back to the U.S. Richmond enrolled at In-

glewood High School as a sophomore. Although he had studied English on a consistent basis he did not realize that there was still a language barrier. He adapt-ed quickly while study-ing and was recognized by his teachers for his hard ef-forts. Soon he enrolled in-to advance placement and

Gates Millennium Scholar Richmond Amoah

please see Amoah, page 6


[ ANNE on ARCHITECTURE ]

Richmond Amoah.

By anne Cheek La rose

Do you know the name of the neighborhood you call home? Street signs all over our city carry a sym-bol noting the neighbor-hood designation. When I came to town 24 years ago, I noticed the symbol on my street’s sign; I quickly learned I live in Fairview Heights. Back then, the neighborhood was frequently referred as Fairview Heights. Now it’s commonly just called “the north end.” It was appar-ently named for Fairview Boulevard, a local artery that goes back to the 1920s when this residential tract—the oldest in town—was developed. The next-oldest neigh-borhood is Arbor Village. The area was originally used by city founder Dan-iel Freeman for groves of trees; he wanted to learn which trees grew best in the climate. The area was named after Arbor Vi-tae Street, and virtually all streets in this area bear tree names. Interestingly, Ingle-wood’s city line was Arbor Vitae Street until it pushed south of Century Boule-vard in the 1920s.Other neighborhoods’ names are equally obvi-ous, such as Industrial and

Sports Village. Others take respective their names from nearby roadways, two examples being Im-perial Village and Century Heights. Still others have a separate development name within a neighbor-hood designation: Carlton Square, Briarwood and the gated rental community of HollyPark Knolls (these three being within Morn-ingside Park); Renaissance in Sports Village; and Heights at Ladera in Centi-nela Heights. Morningside Park has the most romantic name as well as the largest neigh-borhood area. It is In-glewood’s most upscale neighborhood. The front yards are deep and the homes are of comfortable, single-family size. The most grand can be found

between 8th Ave and Van Ness Ave and north of Manchester. The neighborhood with the most colorful past is Centinela Heights. This area was the known as the Inglewood Poultry Col-ony starting in 1906. It also was home to Ameri-ca’s first albeit short-lived Chinchilla Farm. Many of the streets were named for kinds of poultry. Some of those names were Leg-horn, Wyandotte, Orping-ton and Plymouth streets. Only Plymouth Street re-mains to honor this history. The Los Angeles County Property Assessor’s tracts in this area still carry the name Inglewood Poultry Colony. Rounding out the neigh-borhoods are Inglewood Knolls and Lockhaven.

What’s in an Inglewood Name?

By randaLL FLeming

When I voted in person for the April 2 election at Warren Lane, I found the behavior of the poll work-ers disturbing. I was told that voters are not allowed to open the Vote-by-Mail/Absen-tee Ballot (VBM) ballot envelopes that had been mailed to me. I was told that I was to not mark on the VBM I was required to surrender. I was told that this was the law. Nevertheless, I did both. And when I firmly re-quested a copy of the

“laws” the poll worker was citing, I was handed a two-sheet document that proved the poll work-ers present were either in-competent—or lying. As such, I have taken it upon myself to inform the voters of Inglewood what the city clerk and the poll workers hand-picked by her have not and will not tell residents of this oth-erwise fair city. The Chronicle has learned that in the 2011 election, 46 voters who signed their names to the polling place registers also had their VBM ballots turned in. And many of those voters were unaware of the double-dipping. Attempts to find any on-line lists of polling places in Inglewood were in vain. In every other city and county in the state of California, the list of polling places is listed on-line months ahead of time—but not in Ingle-wood. Another red flag regard-ing voter fraud that is per-

petuated by the city clerk is the constant changing of precincts. In the 11 years since Horton has been city clerk 2003, there have been ap-proximately 15 elections have taken place under her exclusive hand. And with every election, she has changed the precinct numbers—even between an election and its run-off. (Is your precinct the same on June 11 as it was on April 2? Need one say more?) How do you keep your VBM from being used against you? Simply open the enve-lope, mark “Surrendered at Polls” in large letters with a marker across the entire face of the VBM ballot, and give it to the poll worker when you vote on Tuesday, June 11.

What to Do with a Vote-by-Mail Ballot

It’s the law: It’s YOUR vote. Don’t let ANYONE tell you otherwise. Use a marker to make sure that your VBM ballot cannot be used ever again.

The first step to preventing voter fraud is heavily mark-ing out your VBM ballot.

A close-up of a hand-drawn map of Inglewood’s neighborhoods, courtesy of Anne Cheek La Rose. The oval at center bottom is Hollywood Park.

Morningside Park Chronicle Page 5May 31, 2013 Morningside Park Chronicle

ARTSIT’STHE

Morningside Park Chronicle Page 5


By Teka-Lark FLeming

The Wallace Arts Foun-dation recently took its “Budding Young Artist Workshop” students on a studio tour of renowned artist Angela Briggs. “We finally have a place in Inglewood where we can build for our little ones,” said Program Director Di-vinity Warmsley. The Foundation was con-ceived by Los Angeles arts trailblazer Wanda Wallace. Wanda Wallace was one of the first people to bring

black artists to the New York Expo. She remains the Foundation’s Executive Director. “The Wallace Arts Foun-dation is just as important as the Getty Foundation for our community,” said Wal-lace. Wallace was instrumen-tal in getting a percentage of all development money to go towards an art fund in Inglewood, so that we could develop a city that fosters artists as well as art. The “Budding Young

Artist Workshop” program is housed at the Bright Star Reading Club. It’s a six-week course of art classes instructed by working artists. The course involves field trips and cul-minates in an art show. The Wallace Arts Foun-dation is truly a treasure to the city of Inglewood. To sign up your child for the next workshop, please contact the Wallace Arts Foundation at (310) 419-0376 or visit their website at www.WandaWallace-Foundation.org.

Wanda Wallace Arts Foundation is a True Treasure to Inglewood

The Parks Family with Program Director Divinity Warmsley (center), Wallace Arts Founder Wanda Wallace (white hat) and Inglewood artist Angela Briggs (second from right).

Rebel Alliance Strikes Again!

By geraLd moraLes

You may be familiar with the Rebel Alliance in the Star Wars films. The nonprofit organization in your local community known as the Rebel Alli-ance may not be fighting the Galactic Empire, but they are making a posi-tive impact that can be felt across the galaxy. Comprised Angelenos, the Rebel Alliance con-sists of a group of young women who helped raise money for the Revlon walk on Saturday, May 11th. The Revlon walk is designed to raise money for causes such as the Cancer Support Commu-

nity and Cedars Sinai’s Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program/Wom-en’s Cancer Program. Two Inglewood residents, Daniela Loza and Amy Lizano were a part of the walk. The Rebel Alliance originally had a goal of raising $5.6k; they raised $6523 for the cause. Loza was shocked at the outcome. “I would have never thought that we could raise this much.” They wish to raise $10k by year’s end. For infor-mation about Rebel Alli-ance, please visit www.facebook.com/pages/TheRebelAlliance/387309074700315?fref=ts.

The Rebel Alliance of Inglewood needs your help to fight the evil Empire!

Don’t be a victim of VOTER FRAUD!

On June 11...

“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

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.



By mike sTevens, Inglewood CounCIl MeMBer, dIstrICt 1

Here’s an update on recent events that touch on past column topics.

SB 458: CalGang Database Disclosure There has been some good news! Sen-ate Bill 458 (SB 458)—authored by Sena-tor Rod Wright and a bill I wholeheartedly support—passed unanimously in the State Senate a few weeks ago. Under SB 458, law enforcement agencies would be re-quired to notify minors as well as their par-ents or guardians when the children are added to the CalGang database. Crime is down in Inglewood by 35% yet our youths can be added to the Cal-Gang database without being arrested or even accused of a crime based solely on interviews by police during routine stops. Currently our youth can be added to the CalGang database without being arrested or even accused of a crime based sole-ly on interviews by police during routine stops. The CalGang database is used to add our youth to gang injunctions and support enhanced sentencing in court. It also pre-vents many minorities from being able to secure employment. Too often, those on the list never know the reason why they are not hired; innocent young men and women with college degrees languish on the unemployment rolls owing to this pe-culiar database. This important legislation will provide parents or guardians of minors the knowl-edge—and subsequently the need—to get their child into gang intervention programs or the opportunity to appeal the inclusion in the CalGang database if their child is falsely accused. Good work, Senator! Now what we must do is make it possi-ble for adults to know if they have been entered into the CalGang database unfair-ly by police officers as a result of a rou-tine traffic stop. A police officer can use a traffic stop as the catalyst to enter any minority adult into the CalGang database. Doing so effects the person’s employment for years to come.

Street Repaving Update In my April 19 column, I discussed the details of some much-needed street repav-ing projects coming our way. I’m happy to announce the La Brea Avenue street-repaving project on the southwest edge of District 1 is underway! The 80th Street repaving project will be underway next week as well. Eightieth Street will be re-paved from Maitland to Crenshaw Blvd. Eighth Avenue is undergoing extensive sidewalk repairs and some small sections will be resurfaced. The affected area is

primarily north of Manchester. We may have had an even longer wait but one of the major sources of funds for these projects, Prop 1B, is set to sunset on June 30. This looming deadline is has-tening the completion of many long-ne-glected projects. If the funds are not spent, a major portion of the Inglewood’s $3.6 million Prop 1B fund would be heading back up to Sacramento. These funds were appropriated back in June of 2010, and the City of Inglewood had three years to spend the funds or lose them. Instead, they sat on them until now. Who gets the credit for repaving your streets seems to be a major concern of Mayor Butts. Let’s be grateful that be-cause of the June 30 deadline, he could not delay these long-needed infrastructure projects any longer. Victoria Avenue is another street that needs wheelchair access ramps installed. I have several locations already identified for their installation that will take place towards the end of 2013.

Residential Sound Insulation Update Last December, one of the topics I dis-cussed in my column was the Residential Sound Insulation (RSI) Program. Over the past two months the city staff has dramatically increased the volume of residences going out to bid for the actual installation of the sound insulating com-ponents, i.e., doors, windows, and insula-tion, etc, I’m monitoring the actual completion rate and will watch to make sure we attain that completion rate set by LAWA . That rate is 1,000 homes that must be complet-ed by December 31 of this year. Doing so will possibly open the door to increased LAWA and FAA funding for more RSI Program funding. I am pressing ahead for progress in District 1!

Updates on District 1’s RSI Program, Street Repair and a New Senate Bill

Inglewood District 1 Councilman Mike Stevens.

[ GREETINGS from MIKE ]

Warmest Regards Councilman Mike Stevens

District 1 • (310) 412-8602 [email protected] • www.CouncilmanMikeStevens.com

Name_______________________

Address_____________________

City, State ZIP_______________

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 2Community Calendar.......................................page 3Church Calendar .........page 3Letters to the Editor.......................................page 3“View from District 2”by Council Member Dunlap.......................................page 6“Greetings from Mike”by Council Member Stevens.......................................page 6Dining with Rhonda (res-taurant review) by Rhonda Kuykendall-Jabari .......page 6Book Reviews ...............page 9


CONTENTSDr. LeRoy Vaugn, MD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Los Acosta Tacos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2Friends of the Inglewood Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Hoof Beats races over the year in review.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5Rhonda’s “Wellness” column debuts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5Googie Architecturein Inglewood

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6Your Block Rocks:Ash Avenue

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6Feature book reviews: The Tribunal and Bitter Inheritance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

The Wood Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7Double-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 HikeCouncilman 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 9District 1 council member Mike Stevens.

I

themorningside parkchronicleVol. 2, No. 1

B Informing Inglewood and the community

January 2013

B





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 a t e s c ap e ?

—page 5—

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Publisher’s Note.......................................page 2Community Calendar.......................................page 3Letters to the Editor.......................................page 3“Greetings from Mike”by Council Member Stevens.......................................page 4Rhonda’s Wellness Column.......................................page 5Hoot Beats Limited.......................................page 5Dining with RhondaSTUFF I EAT ....................page 6Anne on Architecture..page 7Book Reviews ...............page 9


CONTENTSJoe’s Barbershop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

“Pet Peeves”column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2Mark Fronterotta ap-pointed new IPD Chief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4Fox Theatre now on National Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Feature book review:Word for Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7Fruit Tree Giveaway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6

Michael Massenberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7Your 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 GameBy 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 downBy 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 OsageRusty 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.

I

themorningside parkchronicleVol. 2, No. 2


February 2013

B





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 —

Publisher’s Note

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

Community Calendar

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

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

Letters to the Editor

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

Council Member Dunlap

VIEW FROM DISTRICT 2

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

Council Member Stevens

GREETINGS from MIKE

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

SNACKTIME with SARAH

Restaurant Reviews .....page 6

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


CONTENTS

Sa’brak Boutique

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

DVD Ave “Street Fight”

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

Paul R. Williams

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

Aircraft Noise Harms Kids

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

Inglewood Blackhawks

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

Hoof Beats Limited: We

Bet you’ll love this series!

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

Fox Theatre to be Re-

stored at long last?

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

Your Block Rocks!

New photo series shows

the real Inglewood

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

Zeal 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 Inglewood

By 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.

Ithe

morningside park

chronicleVol. 1, No. 2


December 2012

B

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com

www.Morningside-

ParkChronicle.com


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...

honors classes. During Richmond’s ju-nior year of high school he heard about the Gates Mil-lennium Scholarship. He understood the potential it could offer and he applied. He started writing his es-says the summer before

the scholarship deadline. With a 4.3 GPA, he was awarded the scholarship. He would like say to aspir-ing students, “Do not let an environment influence you. Perseverance is some-thing you have to work hard through; it can estab-lish you as a leader,” Amo-ah said.

Amoah, from pg. 4

staff to work on her cam-paign, used taxpayer-funded resources for personal and political ac-tivities, and obstructed the investigation.” The Times also stated that “her last known cam-paign manager, Steven E. Bellheumer, said in an e-mail that he was no lon-ger with the campaign.” Bellheumer is the Presi-dent of the Woodland Hills-based SB Strategies, LLC (http://sbstrategiesllc.com/about.html). Accord-ing to records filed with the California Secretary of State, Bellheumer has an office in Beverly Hills. For his PAC that has the sole intention of opposing an Inglewood District 1

incumbent in this year’s city council race, Bell-heumer’s PAC has ac-cepted no less than $30,000 from at least four out-of-town companies. Those companies are: VIG Furniture (Vernon, CA)—$5,000.00 Goli Enterprises (Los Angeles)—$5,000.00 Rudy’s Towing (Lawn-dale)—$5,000.00 Excel Property Manage-ment Services (Beverly Hills)—$15,000.00 The big question is: Why are all these out-of-town companies so heav-ily involved with a single city council election in Inglewood—and HOW MUCH MONEY did non-resident Steve Bell-heumer GET PAID TO DO IT?

PACs Attack, from pg. 2


Morningside Park Chronicle Page 7May 31, 2013

by Birtram Birtran

Hoof BeatsLIMITED

Well folks, The second leg of the Triple Crown races is over and was won by one of the great return-ing jockeys, Gary Stevens, who by the way has said that he will be making his home base this summer in southern California for the Betfair Hollywood and the Del Mar racetrack meets. Stevens had retired for seven year before return-ing to the races and seems to have kept himself in very good shape. Jockeys are true athletes; they train hard to keep strong and also to keep their weight down. That goes for the girls and the guys. The girls have real-ly caught on to the racing bug and are making seri-ous in-roads in the sport all across the nation One of the top female jock-eys riding in the Triple Crown is Rosie Naprivnik who rides Mylute. You have got to really love this game to rise from a sound sleep at 4 a.m. and go to a track to work out horses. By the way, the 2014 Hollywood meeting days

will be split up between the racetracks in Arcadia (Santa Anita) and San Di-ego (Del Mar). As many of us know, last Monday, May 20 was a terrible day for the peo-ple of Moore, Oklahoma when a terrible Tornado hit the town and destroyed almost everything. It was more than a mile wide and traveled almost 17 miles on the ground. More than 24 people lost their lives and over 150 hors-es were also killed. The Daily Racing Form stated that Mr. Joe Lucas, ex-ecutive Vice-president of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklaho-ma said that a hot line was being set up through the State Department of Agri-culture for owners of lost or missing horses. So far, at least 18 horses have been found and some of them are race horses as identified by their lip tat-too. Also, The Oklahoma Thoroughbred Retirement Program is providing sup-port for horses displaced

by the storm. On a related note, the Form stated that Mr. Chris Kirk, a director of the Oklahoma Thorough-bred Retirement Program, said that a 3-year-old un-raced thoroughbred filly known as Sasha’s Im-age was found under two barn doors at the Celestial Acres Facility. She was found lying on her side with her ears “laying flat over the top or her head. They got her up and her ears were still flat. They next morning her ears were pricked up again. They said that she was in a lot of distress but that she was getting better.” For those who are inter-ested, the Belmont third leg or the Triple Crown races will be held on Sat-urday the June 7. Have fun, folks, and bet with your head and not your heart—unless you just love that horse’s name!

Mild spring temperatures will soon give way to hot-ter days, warmer nights and quite a bit of recreation. If you’re not accustomed to physical activity, it’s easy to overdo the exercise and outdoor playtime. Don’t spend your precious hours sitting in the ER waiting for first aid you can administer at home. Here are a few home remedies for common summertime ailments. It’s easy to sunburn, especially during late spring and early summer. Skin that has been covered and protected all winter is especially susceptible to harsh ultraviolet sun rays and high temperatures. Symptoms begin with light tingles and intensify over four to six hours to reddened, swollen, burning, sometimes blistering and peeling skin. In extreme cases, sunburn can increase chances of devel-oping skin cancer. The pain may last for several days. For immediate relief, rub egg white on the burning areas and leave overnight. Follow this with a mixture of aloe vera gel and lavender essential oils to promote faster healing. Repeat if burning persists. Moisturize with lotions and creams containing vitamins C and E. Burns attract fluid to the skin’s surface and away from the body so stay well hydrated by drinking lots of water. Seek medical attention in the event of dizziness, headache, dry mouth, reduced urination or if blistering covers more than 20% of the body. Of course, prevention is better than cure. Visit www.MelanomaFoundation.org/prevention/facts.htm for facts about sunscreen and choosing an SPF level that’s right for you. Beach volleyball, basketball, cycling and jogging may be great for maintaining a fit and trim summer phy-sique, but they also increase the likelihood of muscle sprain. Sprains occur when someone trips, falls or the body is hit and forced out of its natural position. This causes a tear or stretch in a ligament, the fibrous tis-sue that connects bones at joints. WebMD reports that 25,000 ankle sprains happen each day. Other common sprains are to the wrists and thumbs. Mild-to-severe pain, swelling and bruising may occur at the site of the injury. Mild-to-moderate sprains can be treated at home using RICE care: Rest the site of the injury for 24-48 hours. For the first three days, Ice the area to reduce swelling for 10 minutes at a time, with 20-30 minute breaks between. Compress an injured knee, elbow or wrist using an elastic bandage or compression sleeve. This will further reduce inflammation. Elevate the in-jured area above the level of your heart to prevent fluid build-up and reduce swelling. Consult your physician if you are unable to bear weight, if you feel a popping sensation when you move the joint, or if pain and swell-ing persist for 24-72 hours. If you love water, you’ll spend hours and hours in the pool. Swimming is wonderful for burning fat, toning muscles and stretching. Occasionally, swimmers may feel dry and itchy after laps in a chlorinated pool. This could be an allergic reaction to chlorine or exposure to germs in a pool with too little chlorine. In either case, find quick relief with an Epsom salt and baking soda bath. Under running water, add three tablespoons of Epsom salt and 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Soak for 20 minutes making sure you cover the entire body up to the neck. After soaking, stand and wash as usual. Armed with these common sense remedies, you’re now ready to claim your space in the summer sun. Be careful and enjoy yourself!

Simple Summer First Aid Tips

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...

“It’s for children!”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.

Butler, Taylor, Bakewell and Butts

IUSD

To see video testimony of IUSD’s non-public

BS, please scan the QR code or visit the

MPC website:

http://bit.ly/14eDrqr

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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.

Documents

May 31, 2013 Edition