August-15-2024-edition

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August 15-21, 2024

VOL. 39, No. 33

Your Community Connection Since 1994

Paris has set a high bar for LA 28

By Scott M. Reid | sreid@scng.com Orange County Register

SAINT-DENIS, France – In the parlance of the next Summer Olympics host city, Los Angeles’ portion of the Paris Games’ closing ceremony Sunday night was a coming attraction, a global trailer for what International Olympic Committee and local officials hope is the blockbuster hit of the summer of 2028.

“Our chance to give a glimpse to the world of what to expect in 2028,” said sports and entertainment mogul Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA 28.

So, actor Tom Cruise rappelled into Stade de France to the theme of “Mission Impossible,” grabbed the Olympic flag, hopped on a motorcycle and rode off through the streets of Paris to an awaiting plane.

“I’m on my way,” Cruise said, talking on a cell phone before boarding the plane in a pre-filmed segment in which he attaches the Olympic rings to the Hollywood sign.

While Cruise’s arrival showed that Los Angeles still knows how to make an entrance it upstaged a moment presented Karen Bass, the mayor of the first ever such handoff between the Olympic Games for the third time that was significant in multiple ways.

Los Angeles, accompanied by gymnast two female mayors, Los Angeles was When Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo Simone Biles and the Olympic flag, officially on the clock—being awarded Continued on page 8

Dr. Dre opens new School

By Veronica Mackey

Hip Hop music moguls Andre “Dr. Dre” Young and Jimmy Iovine launched a new high school academy in Inglewood on Monday. The Iovine and Young Center Academy will be on the Morningside High School campus, and will open officially in August 2025.

Dr. Dre, was not available for the launch, but Iovine was there to welcome the Inglewood community, City Councilmembers and Mayor James T. Butts.

“Inglewood is up to some good.

Dre loves Inglewood. We all love

Inglewood. We waited for the first opportunity because we wanted to make sure we came here. We believe that this will differentiate them in the workforce and colleges. To go out and say you have an education in disciplinary learning, being able to collaborate with different disciplines and innovate is an advantage,” Jimmy Iovine told FOX 11.

The school promises to offer a cutting edge educational experience, with interdisciplinary curriculum aimed at training students to become young Continued on page 7

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August 15-21, 2024

Publisher’s Message

Inglewood Today Announces Put your money where your vote is

By Willie Brown

As Vice President Kamala Harris continues to surge in the polls, the excitement in the air can be felt everywhere. Here she is, a strong, beautiful, super qualified Black woman, carving out her place in history. But while she is certain on a winning trajectory to become the first female President of the United States, beating Trump is not a given. We cannot take her victory for granted.

I am encouraging every eligible voter to get out and vote. We cannot assume that our neighbor will vote, and there is no need for us to do the same. We need every vote, and the stakes have never been higher. The choice is clear, a woman who is educated, cares about the law, is compassionate about the middle class vs. a racist, misogamist,

PRESIDENT/ EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Willie Brown PUBLISHER Willie Brown VICE PRESIDENT Gloria Kennedy

cheater and convicted felon.

And while you’re voting for president, don’t skip the local races. City, county and state elections are even more important because they have a more direct impact on where you live— education, city services, and traffic are just a few examples.

Getting people to take voting seriously is a noble task, despite that fact that it can be frustrating.

Sometimes it may feel like you’re spinning your wheels, getting no place. A lot of folks are empathetic, but don’t let that stop you. Word of mouth and social media are powerful tools that we all have to influence people. Remember that choosing not to vote is choosing to vote for Trump.

Failing to show up at the polls is not an option.

As a news publisher, I want to appeal to the business owners in this

community to put your dollars where your vote is. In other words, contribute to the Harris-Walz campaign by placing an ad in Inglewood Today, announcing that you stand with Harris and Walz with Inglewood. Yes, I am asking for your advertising dollars. If we don’t support our own, who will.

Contact me at wille@ inglewoodtoday.com for more information. Let’s get Kamala Harris to the White House. The time is now.

Inglewood Today Announces Summer Internships

PRODUCTION Kenneth Denson QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER Gloria Kennedy Inglewood Today Weekly is a legally adjudicated newspaper of public cir­c ulation, published weekly

by Ads Up Advertising, Inc. News and press releases may be submitted for consideration by mail to 9111 La Cienega Boulevard, Suite 100, Inglewood, CA 90301 or by email to itnetworks@msn.com.

You can reach us at 310-670-9600 or by fax 310-338-9130 www.inglewoodtoday.com The artistic contents of Inglewood Today Weekly are copyrighted by Ads Up Advertising, Inc. and permission to reprint any article herein must be obtained in writing from the Publisher.

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Inglewood Today (https://inglewoodtoday.com) has announced immediate internship opportunities for aspiring journalists and data/research assistants.

The 31-year old media company is considering college and high school students for 3-6 month internships working hybrid 4-8 hours per week.

Journalist interns will have an opportunity to build their writing portfolios while interviewing celebrities, elected officials and other community leaders.

They will also cover issues related to Inglewood and surrounding areas.

Data/research assistants will work behind the scenes maintaining databases and helping to organize and launch a new blog.

Interested candidates may apply by submitting resumes to veronica@ inglewoodtoday.com. If applying for the journalist internship, candidates must also submit their best 2-3 writing samples.

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August 15-21, 2024

IUSD Alternative School Project

Ground breaking Crenshaw Improvement Project

Back to School Fair at Crozier

LA28 Passing of the Olympic Flag at LAX Delta Hanger

Intuit Dome Opens on August 15

Inglewood Today News

The Intuit Dome officially opens its doors to the public Aug 15 and 16 with a sold-out concert featuring Bruno

Mars. Other big name artis scheduled to appear ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season include Usher and Olivia Rodrigo. While the new arena is

designed for basketball, it will also be an entertainment mecca. Sold-out concerts, L.A. Clippers basketball won’t be the only attractions. The

arena will also host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and will be one of LA’s venues for the 2028 Olympic Games.

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August 15-21, 2024

Area Communities S e r v i n g L a d e r a , H a w t h o r n e , W e s t c h e s t e r, L a w n d a l e , G a r d e n a , C a r s o n

A Pattern of College Tragedy

By Stephanie Vargas

El Camino Community College faced another bout of violence on Friday, August 9th. A man and woman were involved in a domestic embroilment around 5 pm that led to an attempted murdersuicide outside of Parking Lot H. Numerous 911 calls were made around 5:20 pm, according to the University Herald.

The man, a former ECC student, stabbed the woman who turned out to be his mother.

As the woman screamed to passersby for help, her son walked to the fifth floor of the parking structure and jumped to his death. He was pronounced dead at the scene while the mother was last reported to be in critical condition. Their names have not been released to the public.

The disturbance caused the campus to close for the weekend, opening again on Monday.

This is the second time in a year that the El Camino campus has experienced such brutality. Just last December on Christmas Eve a woman, Junko Hanafusa, was

walking her dog and collecting recyclable material on campus when an unhoused man beat her with a sledgehammer unprovoked. She was taken to the hospital but unfortunately died from the beating.

The man, Jeffrey Davis, apparently had multiple run-ins with the police, who tragically could not detain or arrest him for previous encounters. In his ongoing criminal case, Davis maintains he is not guilty for beating Hanfusa to death, says The Union.

Morbid moments such as these do not happen just within community college campuses. This past May, a

student at California State University, Long Beach died by suicide in the McIntosh Building. According to the Daily 49er, he was found hanging in the stairwell on May 15th, the middle of Finals Week. The unnamed student was pronounced dead that same night.

Both colleges offer the same resources to their students: emergency phones where campus security can be called with the press of a red button, counselors, mental health services, and resource centers to help those with mental and physical disabilities. Furthermore, students at both colleges must take a short Title IX training course that tells them their rights when it comes to harassment of any kind, as well as how to recognize

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when someone may be struggling and what can be done for them.

There are even national helplines and organizations an individual could call to talk and get support or help with the issues they face.

Yet, it is not enough to keep 100% of the student-body safe or help them feel secure on campus. There may be something within the system itself of collegiate institutions that needs to be addressed and mended. Or perhaps the system of a different institution entirely must be held accountable, the one that allows students of higher education (past, present, and future) and surrounding communities to suffer so greatly.

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August 15-21, 2024

Sports & Entertainment

Inglewood Bans Outdoor Stage to Curb Noise Inglewood Today News

During the weekend of August 3-4, thousands of techno music fans gathered at SoFi and Hollywood Park for the HARD Summer Concert.

While concert goers enjoyed the music, held outside of SoFi, it was a major nuisance for many residents.

Responding to a barrage of noise complaints from residents as far away as 10 miles, the City of Inglewood addressed the issue in a statement and outlined steps taken to alleviate the problem. Noting that the sound and vibration problems were related to certain bass frequencies, “City authorities engaged the event promoter and the venue and implemented several critical adjustments to each stage. . . It was determined that the stage placement in the

American Airlines Plaza, which is elevated, was a major contributor to the issue. Consequently, no stages

will be permitted in this area for future events. Additionally, we will require even greater sound engineering with

a more comprehensive plan when it comes to addressing sound and bass frequency management.”

California Legislature Honors LA Lakers Legend Michael Cooper Antonio‌‌Ray‌‌Harvey‌‌|‌‌California‌‌Black‌‌Media‌

(CBM) – Accompanied by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood), former Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper was honored on the Assembly and Senate floors of the California State Capitol on Aug. 5 Cooper, 68, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on October 13, in Springfield, MA. He spent his entire 12-year NBA career playing for the Lakers and helped the team win five NBA titles.

“What an honor to be at the State Capitol, honored by the Legislature, and have a chance to meet Gov. Gavin Newsom,” Cooper told California Black Media. “Chris (Holden) and I go way back to high school. For him to bring me up here and bestow this honor is gratifying.”

Alongside his wife Wanda Cooper, “Coop” had a full day of activities in the capital city. After he was presented on both floors of the State Capitol, he took portrait shots and selfies with lawmakers.

Cooper played for Pasadena High School and the University of New Mexico in the 1970s.

Holden, 64, who played for

Pasadena High and played basketball for San Diego State University, said Cooper had exceptional defensive

skills.

“He played the game with heart, and he played it with intensity,”

Continued on page 7

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August 15-21, 2024

Sacramento State University Inaugurates Firstin-the-Nation Black Honors College Tanu Henry | California Black Media

(CBM) – Last week, California State University (CSU), Sacramento (Sac State) celebrated 80 students who are enrolled in the inaugural class of its Black Honors College (BHC).

Dubbed a “college within a college,” the BHC program is the first of its kind in the United States.

“Using the honors college model as a way to create a unique experience for students who are interested in Black history, life and culture,” said Dr. J. Luke Wood, President of Sacramento State. Wood was speaking at the event organized to celebrate the students and launch the program, held the afternoon of Aug. 8 in the university ballroom.

“While in our minds we were creating this with the intention of serving students from the Black community, we also want you to know that we are open to anyone and everyone. We do not want to be inclusive by being exclusive,” continued wood, who also challenged the students to leave Sacramento “better than they found it.”

Former President Barack Obama was featured in a video sharing a congratulatory message with the Sac State family for launching the BHC. Obama said the BHC told the students in the BHC’s first cohort that they are “uniquely poised for success.”

“Channel your energy to a cause higher than yourself,” he encouraged them.

CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia said the BHC serves a model that could be

replicated at other campuses.

“Sac State is exemplifying what we can do across the CSU,” said Garcia, adding that she is confident the BHC students will emerge as “courageous leaders” in California and around the world.

According to the Sac State, the BHC is “an enhanced co-curricular college for students providing

specialized coursework, distinctive research opportunities and creative arts, residential living and learning programs, scholarships, and distinguished recognition.”

It is “designed for students who are interested in Black history, life, culture, and contributions. All incoming students who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher are encouraged to apply,” the

program’s description continues.

Several state leaders, university leaders, elected officials, education advocates, Sacramento officials and international guests attended the event, including Assemblymember

Continued on page 7

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August 15-21, 2024 Continued from page 5: California...

Holden said. “When you think of the fact that you can have a player make it to the Naismith Hall of Fame as a defensive specialist…that is special.

He had to defend the greats of the game. They knew when he stepped on the court with him, they were in for a battle.”

After the Capitol honors, the Coopers attended a reception at the California State Museum hosted by Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

There, Cooper met with youth from the San Diego Chapter of Jack and Jill of America. The organization nurtures Black American youth through community service, legislative advocacy, and philanthropy.

The reception was held on the first floor, where California State Hall of Fame inductees are on exhibit. Weber said that recognition should also include Cooper, who was born and raised in the state.

“I was looking around, and Chris (Holden) said, ‘he isn’t on the wall,’” Weber said. “It is not my responsibility, but I am going to work on that. We’re going to make sure California knows it has a person of honor and (Cooper) should be up on

that wall.”

Cooper said he is still getting used to the fact that he will be among 450plus inductees after a remarkable career on and off the basketball court. The 2024 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Massachusetts, where basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891.

“For a kid coming out of Pasadena, California, who had to fight and scratch just to be on the high school team, then finally my journey of going to the Lakers, and never been a starter or All-Star? For my footprint to be at the door of the Hall of Fame and it finally opens says a lot to me,” Cooper said. “It’s also a blessing.

I’m still coming to grips with it. It’s a little bit overwhelming.”

At 6-foot-7, Cooper was chosen by the Lakers with the 60th pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. Primarily in a reserve role off the bench, he went on to make the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times in his career (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988).

Cooper managed to make three NBA All-Defensive Second Teams as well (1981,1983, 1986).

For the 1986-1987 season, he earned the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award as the top defender in the league.

In 1987, Cooper was presented with the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award with Rory Sparrow of the New York Knicks.

The award, named after the NBA’s second commissioner, is handed out every season by the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) to a player, coach, or athletic trainer who provided outstanding service and dedication to the community.

“See that’s another thing about the Naismith Hall of Fame,” Cooper said. “It’s not all about being an NBA All-Star or anything. It’s about your contributions to the game of basketball. It’s about what you give back to the game that has given us so much.”

Post retirement in 1991, Cooper coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2000, he earned the Coach of the Year honor and led the Sparks to back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002. He

LEGAL NOTICE

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2024157428 The following Person is doing business as: Freeman Home Services 707 N. La Brea Ave. Inglewood, CA 90302 Registered Owner(s): Glenda Freeman, 707 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302

Continued from page 6: Sacramento...

Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood), Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa), Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Tani Cantil-Sakuye, President and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California, Morakane Mosupyoe, Speaker of the Guateng Provincial Legislature in South Africa, among others.

Stephen K. Benjamin, Senior White House Advisor to President Biden and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement delivered the keynote and read a statement from Vice

is the only person in the world to win a championship as a player or coach in the NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League (renamed the G-League).

Today, Cooper is an assistant coach for California State University Los Angeles’ Men’s Basketball Team.

Jim Saia is the head coach for the Golden Eagles.

For up-and-coming basketball players, coaches, and trainers, Cooper has a message.

“Keep working hard because dreams do come true. The true blessing will be fulfilled,” Cooper said. “I can tell you those things happened to me. It’s been a great ride.”

President Kamala Harris.

“May you always dream with ambition and lead with conviction,” Harris was quoted in the statement read by Benjamin.

In his own words, Benjamin said, “History is indeed being made today with “this bold vision.”

“I hope that you are both humbled and excited,” he said, reminding them that “titles don’t make leaders.”

“Leaders are servants,” Benjamin continued. “Leaders give. Leaders build other leaders. Within each and

every one of you is the power to change this world.”

During the event, Wood thanked Sacramento’s Tsakopoulos family, who donated $2.5 million to the BHC. The college “will give us a voice, a way to make change, and a family,” said Savanna Beattie, a student in the BHC’s inaugural class, who told guests that she will study nursing and hopes to work in a neonatal intensive care unit.

This business is conducted by an individual(s). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business listed above on July 26, 2024.

I (We) declare that all information in this statement is true and correct.

(A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Glenda Freeman, Owner.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk on July 26, 2024.

NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration.

Continued from page 1: Dr. Dre...

leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

“The center is designed to reshape the high school experience through an innovative education model that combines a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum with real-world, teambased learning opportunities. This IYC

initiative is set to amplify Inglewood Unified School District’s focus on creating innovative and exciting pathways for high school students,” a statement from Inglewood Unified read.

The academy will initially be

available to ninth grade students and will eventually expand to all grades by the 2028-29 school year. This is the second school opened by Dr. Dre and Iovine. They also have a music school at the University of Southern California.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State or common law (See Section 14411 Et seq., Business and Professions Code.)

Original August 15, 22, 29; September 5, 2024 IT00422301200203127 Inglewood Today

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August 15-21, 2024

Continued from page 1: Paris has set...

in history.

“It’s both symbolic and historic,” Wasserman said. “But for me and the LA 28 organization—it’s the signification that it is our turn. We are no longer on deck. We are in the batter’s box and ready to go.”

And with all the swagger of Hollywood, emboldened and inspired by the Paris Games, Wasserman and Los Angeles intend to swing for the fences.

“The opportunity to have one of the great sporting cities in the world showcase the greatest sporting event in the world and the place where the world comes to tell their stories,” Wasserman said, “we think is a really powerful opportunity.”

The Paris Olympics have both presented Los Angeles with a tough act to follow and have taken Wasserman and LA 28 off the hook.

“He doesn’t have to save the Olympic movement,” Rick Burton, a Syracuse sports marketing professor and former chief marketing officer for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said of Wasserman.

Paris took care of that.

Parisian venues were sold out from track and field to gymnastics to table tennis. Paris sold an Olympic record 8.6 million tickets, generating $2.83 billion. The opening ceremony drew 28.6 million viewers across the NBC and Peacock platforms, up significantly from the 17.9 million who tuned into Tokyo’s opening night three years earlier. If the 17-day Olympics were an original series they would have been the summer’s second mostwatched series, averaging 33 million viewers per day.

“The appeal of these games has been absolutely undeniable in every metric, viewership engagement, tickets,” Wasserman said, “and that provides a great deal of momentum for us as we head to Los Angeles in just four years.”

Those numbers were driven by a galaxy of generational stars. Cruise was far from the biggest superhero to land in Paris. It only seemed like Biles could leap tall buildings in a single bound on her way to winning gold medals in the all-around, vault and team competition and further cementing her as history’s greatest gymnast.

American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone raced herself into any conversation about the greatest athletes in the world with her sixth 400-meter hurdles world record in three years.

Hometown hero Leon Marchand gave the French plenty to cheer about, capturing five swimming medals, four of them gold. Marchand won the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke in less than two hours, becoming the first Olympic swimmer to win two individual events on the same day since 1976.

“A full stadium every day, both morning and evening sessions, countries winning their first-ever Olympic gold medals, incredible performances, shock upsets, world and Olympic records, three marriage

proposals, a couple of GOATs and a Snoop Dogg,” said Jamie Fox, director of communications for World Athletics, track and field’s global governing body, referring to the rapper ever-present on NBC. But the real hero of these Games was Paris itself. and the most iconic and historic settings and venues in Olympic history, all of them anchored by the Eiffel Tower from which the five Olympic rings lit up the city each night.

“The truth north of these Olympic Games, being Games wide open,” Wasserman said, “I think really opened the eyes of the world to how spectacular the Olympics are and how successful they have been, not just in the city of Paris but for the whole world to experience. The appeal of these Games has been absolutely undeniable.”

The lesson of the Paris Olympics, he said, is to not be afraid to take chances.

Dozens of LA 28, Los Angeles city, county and state officials spent the Games shadowing Paris 2024, local and national government and law enforcement officials in preparation for the 2028 Games which open July 14.

“Bastille Day,” Wasserman said laughing.

“What I learned here, and I give the French team a great deal of credit for, is they were willing to do things differently and take chances and it didn’t mean they were all going to be perfect or work, although most of them did,” Wasserman said. “But they really thought outside the box, obviously starting with the opening ceremonies, which was spectacular, but in every facet of their delivery, they took a step back and said how can we do things differently and do things that’s right for our city and our communities and it’s not the way that other Games have done them. They were doing it for them, and I give them a lot of credit because the easy thing to do has been to do what has been done before.

“But they have taken chances and those chances have been rewarded.

And they have been spectacular, and I still think it’s incumbent upon us in an appropriate way for Los Angeles to think about what we can do to do things differently for our communities in our city.”

For Los Angeles that means working within a $6.8 billion budget with a $615.8 million contingency fund in case the Games are postponed or canceled, adding sports like cricket, lacrosse and flag football to the Olympics that will be held almost exclusively at existing or previously planned venues and holding to what Bass vowed would be “No Cars Games,” despite the region’s lack of a mass public transportation system comparable to recent Summer Olympic hosts like Paris, Tokyo and London.

“As we’ve seen here in Paris, the Olympics are an opportunity to make transformative change,” Bass said.

“It’s our top priority to ensure that the Olympic preparations benefit Angelenos for decades.”

While LA 28 will submit an updated

budget to the city later this year, the organizing committee has a projected goal of generating $2.5 billion in domestic sponsorship revenue, and Wasserman has said that the 2028 Games have already attracted more contracted revenue from sponsors such as Coca Cola, Delta and Visa than the Paris Games will have in total revenue. “American sponsors are coming back in and wanting to be part of the movement,” Burton said.

In naming Los Angeles host of the 2028 Games in September 2017 as part of an unprecedented double award in which Paris received the 2024 event, the IOC agreed to pay LA 2028 at least $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion had the city hosted the 2024 Games and the largest payout ever to an Olympic host city.

As part of that agreement, the IOC paid LA 28 $180 million up front in 20 quarterly $9 million payments starting on January 1, 2018.” We feel very good about where we are today,” Wasserman said. “And it’s our job to stay really diligent.”

Longtime Olympic observers and sports economists are optimistic that LA 28 will stay within its budget.

“There’s a potential problem of mission creep, that’s the military version of it, or the upgrades creep,” said Victor Matheson, a Holy Cross economics professor who has written extensively on Olympic finances.

“That’s the concern and we’re hoping that LA stays with its good reputation of having actual competent and rational people running the Games like Ueberroth did back in the old days,” Matheson continued, referring to Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic organizing committee. “The initial numbers look pretty good but again, just like in Paris, what remains to be seen is, do those good numbers finally hold up when the final books are closed?

“At least they’ve got a shot. You don’t have anybody over there saying, ‘Oh, you know what would be really cool is a permanent 80,000 stadium just for track? Don’t think that would be cool?’ We’re not even getting a hint of that.”

LA 28 has used that money to help fund a $160 million youth sports program in Los Angeles, what Wasserman calls “the single biggest investment in youth sports in the history of America in one city.”

“Your zip code is no longer a barrier to entry to participate in sports,” he said.

The federal government will pick up the cost of security, which is expected to exceed $2 billion. The Games received national special security event designation last January.

LA 28 will borrow a page from the London Games in 2012 and use local sporting events as dry runs to train both law enforcement and the military, and educate the public on what to expect security-wise at the Olympics.

In London’s case, they used a day at Wimbledon a year earlier for a dry run for security and the public.

“So just to be ready we could take a Dodgers game and enact on a

Thursday night in 2027 and tell people what it’s going to be like so that we can practice,” Wasserman said, “They can practice and we can learn.”

The 2028 Games will only be accessible by public transportation.

While the region continues to expand its public transportation lines and hubs, Bass acknowledged “that’s not going to be enough. We’re going to need over 3,000 buses.”

A significant portion of those buses – and their drivers – will come from other U.S. cities. Atlanta implemented a similar program for the 1996 Games with mixed results.

Paris, following an approach taken by previous Olympic host cities, removed the homeless from the city during the Games. Bass didn’t directly answer when asked in Paris if Los Angeles would implement a similar program in 2028.

Los Angeles County reported 75,518 homeless persons in 2023, a nine percent year-over-year increase with the City of Los Angeles reporting 46,210 homeless, a 10 percent increase, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Security Authority.

“We are going to get Angelenos housed,” Bass said. “That is what we have been doing and we’re going to continue to do that. We will get people housing, we will get them off the street. We will get them into temporary housing, address the reasons why they are unhoused and get them into permanent housing.”

Bass boarded a Delta flight Monday for LAX, the Olympic flag in her care, with the lessons of 17 glorious days in Paris and the knowledge that any issue facing Los Angeles will be played out on a global stage and that the clock is ticking.

“The day after the Olympics and everybody is back in town and they roll up their sleeves,” said David M. Carter, a sports marketing professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business and founder of the Sports Business Group, a sports and entertainment consulting firm. “We need to start hiring. We need to start getting these Games in the right position and I think they’ve got a lot of this at the gate.

“The day afterwards is where they’ve been at for years, it’s just that it’s going to go from a jog to a sprint.”

Wasserman said he is ready.

“So we’ve learned a lot here,” he said Saturday. “We are focused on the road ahead. It’s about 14,135 days to the opening ceremonies. But who’s counting?”

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