November 15, 2018
VOL. 33, No. 92
Governor-elect WHY DID Newsom Will Face Complex Unresolved Issues
MAYOR BUTTS
WIN THE ELECTION?
Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
Governor-elect Gavin Newson will not begin his governorship in January with a budget deficit, but nevertheless, Gov. Jerry Brown will leave him a stack of complex managerial and policy issues that cannot be ignored. The two most obvious are Brown’s two pet public works projects, twin tunnels to carry water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and a north-south bullet train. While Brown portrays them as vital to California’s future, Newsom has blown hot and cold on both, reflecting their high costs and highly controversial nature. But at some
2
In Mayor Butts’ own words, he explained his success in the recent mayoral race. He attributed the victory to a number of measurable accomplishments. It is an ‘indisputable fact that every promise I have made since being elected in 2011 has been kept with results the residents can see. Crime is trending down throughout my tenure as Mayor of Inglewood. Over 10 million dollars has been invested in hiring and modernizing police equipment and operations. Fire Station #2 has been reopened. Jobs have been provided and the unemployment rate in Inglewood is the lowest in 30 years. As mayor and with a diligent city council, our decisions have provided cultural and recreation opportunities now and in the future for Inglewood children. City services levels and infrastructure renewal is occurring at unprecedented levels and speed. I have made the City more financially stable than it has ever been with four bond rating upgrades and
a 53 million dollar General Fund Reserve which is the largest in the history of Inglewood. I have proven the ability to negotiate “Win Win” deals for the residents and City business partners and will not be intimidated by malicious litigation from making decisions in the best interests of Inglewood. Finally, I have brought pride back to the City of Inglewood and changed the Brand/Image of our city.’ In terms of priorities for the city, Mayor Butts provided the following: ‘Next year we will hire 10 additional police officers, continuing the crackdown on violent street gangs. We anticipate the commencing construction of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the opening of a Boys & Girls Club in Inglewood.’ Beyond those more immediate priorities and within the next four years Mayor Butts described the last mile connector for the Sports-Entertainment district
with a monorail or maglev system capable of moving 50,000 persons per hour with stops at the Forum entertainment area. We have already convened a study group to see what model will be most financially advantageous for the City, its residents, the retail & entertainment venues and that will reduce vehicular traffic within the City. In response to the matter of the parent company of The Forum, Madison Square Garden’s opposition to the Clippers arena and their unprecedented spending against you, did Mayor Butts view his landslide victory, at least in part, as evidence that Inglewood residents support the trajectory of the city, and projects like the Clippers arena? “The residents expressed clearly and overwhelmingly that they support the decisions that the mayor and city council have made on their behalf and my vision for Inglewood,” Mayor Butts said. “The few votes garnered by candidate Marc
2
CALIFORNIA’S FIRES: DEADLIEST IN STATE HISTORY Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
With the discovery of 13 more remains Monday, the death toll from the Camp fire in the Northern California town of Paradise has risen to 42, making it the deadliest fire in state history. It’s also the most destructive, with more than half the town’s dwellings gone, as flames continue to burn out of control. Civic leaders had worried a tragedy like this might come; aware of the long history of fires in the area, they had developed evacuation plans and held drills. But the disaster plan relied on routes that date to
the Gold Rush and were never intended to move out 26,000 people, many of them retirees, in just hours. Unfortunately the conditions for disaster began with intense heat waves in the summer, a lack of rain in autumn and powerful winds. Put all of these together, and you get a set of conditions throughout the state that has already proven deadly. Ex-
perts say that early storms have usually ended the Northern California fire season by now, but this year, that hasn’t happened — and that this matches up with the predicted consequences of climate 5
VOTE FOR THE BEST IN INGLEWOOD AT WWW.INGLEWOODTODAY.COM
JOIN US ON