C e l e b r a t i n g 2 6 Ye a r s o f Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
City of Champions Your Community Connection Since 1994
EYE ON THE CITY Rams
Chargers
Clippers
Forum
“Aaron L. Moore strives to impact culture” See Page 6
September 3-9, 2020 VOL. 35, No. 36
Councilmember Eloy Morales: A Champion for the City of Inglewood
By Francis Taylor, Senior Correspondent
Councilmember Eloy Morales, 3rd District representative for the City of Inglewood, was first elected to the city council in 2003. He has directly contributed to the dramatic changes and improvements the city has experienced. Morales grew up in Inglewood and his father’s leadership and involvement in the community contributed to his decision to run for elected office. As a member of the city council, when council members could not agree on anything, he has been an active participant in the transformation of a city council that synergistically handles the city’s business, gets things done, and broadly garners the support of the majority of Inglewood residents “I earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Northridge and a J. D. Degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego,” Morales said. “I was inspired to run for elected office by my father and it has
been a pleasure serving the citizens in the city where I grew up.” While it is difficult highlighting 17 years of dedicated community service in a few paragraphs, Morales notes that for many years he was the only Latino representative on the council. He recalls how he was frequently asked to make calls to city staffers on behalf of nonEnglish speaking residents who needed city services. “The city has come a long way during my service as it pertains to the access Spanish-speaking residents have to literature, documents and information,” Morales said. In addition, Morales has been instrumental in delivering many notable accomplishments that have helped to transform the city’s landscape. He listed the vice squad that was formed to clean up Century Boulevard and the closure of adult book stores and massage parlors. He described the five percent grave space for local businesses that allowed local businesses to prevail when their bid was within five percent of the winning
& Lakers
bid and the revitalization of the annual Hispanic Fiesta. Another accomplishment that Morales lists as a significant is the redevelopment of the local park where he grew up. Ash Park has received a $1.6 million face lift that has transformed the community. Not only is it an award worthy-park with tennis and basketball courts, it also features a child’s water park and adult exercise stations. “I am also delighted,” Morales said, “that we were able to remove the fence around the park that was installed years ago to
contain gang activity.” Morales commented on the synergy the council demonstrates in weekly council meetings explaining that agenda items are thoroughly vetted before they are presented in an open forum. “I am familiar with the issues that will be reviewed in the weekly meetings and I ensure that all of the questions, objections and concerns are addressed by the city staff, before they come before the public.” Morales said. Continued on page 2
Waters Slams LASD Killing of Schools K-12 to Offer In-Person Learning Dijon Kizzee, Calls for Investigation
Public Health Revises Health Officer Order IT News Wire
L.A. County will not open the waiver program for grades TK-6 at this time; hair salons and barbershops may offer indoor service with limited occupancy The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health), in consultation with the Board of Supervisors, has revised the Health Officer Order to allow for limited, on-campus operation for schools in L.A. County, as well as limited indoor operations of Hair Salons and Barbershops. Beginning Monday, September 14, schools K-12 may offer in-school services for small cohorts of students
with Individualized Education Plans (IEP), students requiring instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL) or students needing assessments or specialized in-school services, as long as the school is able to fully implement the Health Officer’s re-opening protocols. Public Health will not be opening the waiver program for instruction of students in grades TK-6 as the department monitors the implementation of this effort to safely get students needing specialized inschool services back to school. Continued on page 2
IT News Wire
LOS ANGELES – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee (FSC), issued a statement today slamming the killing of Dijon Kizzee by Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies. “I am deeply troubled by yet another police killing of an African American man, Dijon Kizzee, stemming from an alleged bike riding code violation – a violation the sheriffs could not specify or explain to reporters on the scene. I am further disturbed by at least one witness who observed that Dijon put his hands in the air as others watching the unfolding events urged the police
Buppie is Back! See Page 6
not to shoot. None of the deputies were wearing body cameras and now another man is dead, shot between 10 and 20 times, after being initially stopped on his bicycle. We do not yet know all of the details of this incident, but I share in the community’s outrage. The ongoing message these police killings send is that the lives of people of color do not matter and that the practice is to shoot first and ask questions later. “The LA Sheriff’s Department is the largest county police in the United States, with 9,000 officers who patrol nearly 200 different southern California Continued on page 7
JOIN US ON