Celebrating 25 Years of Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
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EYE ON THE CITY
Home of The Rams October 10-16, 2019
City of Champions
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VOL. 34, No. 40
Saluting Women of Inglewood City of Inglewood and has lived on 8th Avenue for the duration. She has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the city and is delighted that Mayor Butts and the city Council have ushered in a fresh, innovative and execution and results oriented focus on the city council. When asked her reaction to the overall growth Inglewood is experiencing with the new NFL Stadium, the pending NBA Arena, the Girls Scouts Headquarters, the Los An-
By Francis Taylor, Senior Writer
Imagine looking backwards 40 years at the City of Inglewood. Imagine experiencing first-hand the negative reports then of a city that was in turmoil and one that was rated at the bottom of those cities that comprise the South Bay. Now, imagine the view of long term Inglewood resident Patricia Patrick, who is now an Inglewood Commissioner on the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission and one who recently completed her appointment by her D1 Council Member George Dotson, on the Los Angeles County Grand Jury, where she authored the report, ‘Human Trafficking in Inglewood and Surrounding Cities.’ Patrick is a 40-year resident of the
Zero to Heroes
geles Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Program, the award-winning Senior Citizens Center, to name only a few of the city’s recent and significant additions, she said, “I echo Mayor Butts’ recent remarks, ‘the only thing changing in The City of Inglewood is everything.” Patrick is a native of Chicago, Illinois where she was working as a paralegal with a notable law firm. When she made the decision to leave the Windy City for a considerably less harsh climate, her Chicago employer introduced her to his law school roommate with a strong employment recommendation, noting her professionalism, breadth of knowledge and legal experience and ef- Continued on page 2
Inglewood football is about redemption for coach and team
Mil’Von James, Inglewood High School Football Coach (Ken Miller/Photo)
Inglewood High School Football team studies in the classroom for Oct. 11 opponent West Torrance. Inglewood is enjoying an undefeated 6-0 campaign in a redemption season. (Ken Miller/Photo)
By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
two games as JV coach with a team of gifted players he was promoted to the varsity head coaching position. “I was only supposed to be the JV coach. Hawkins was a school that opened its doors in 2012 and the football program started in 2013. I coached JV for two games and (He had two star players in eventual D1 recruits Corner Greg Johnson, quarterback Dylan Lemle) the JV team was a lot better than our varsity,” James explained to Inglewood Today. That’s when James, a former star at
Three years ago Mil’Von James was a coaching star in the high school when he led Los Angeles Hawkins High School to the brink of a Los Angeles City Football Championship in 2016. Life could not have been better for both James and Hawkins, an obscure high school in the shadows of city powers Narbonne, Crenshaw and San Pedro. After all when James arrived at Hawkins in 2013 he was the head coach of junior varsity, but after just
Fremont who earned a scholarship to UCLA before finishing his collegiate career at UNLV, set Hawkins out on a football glory run that would produce Division I players that would eventually play for USC among others. The success at Hawkins turned to horror when following the 2016 season the City Section cited the program for the use of ineligible players, forcing the principal, vice principal and football coaches to be fired. The school was placed on probation and Hawkins had to vacate a season of success.
“We enjoyed great success, but unfortunately it did not turn out the way that I would like, but all things have to come to an end,” said James. James left Hawkins in 2017, and as he says just traveled around the country observing football games. When asked why it ended, James responded: “Everyone has an opinion on that. I know the truth and the truth is a lot of people were not prepared to deal with what we were doing. It was easier to paint a narrative that was Continued on page 7 JOIN US ON