March 29, 2013

I have three beautiful daughters: Celine who is 12 years old, Olivia (8) and Sophia (6). Many of the positions I take in Council are with a lot of thought about if my vote on each item will provide for a better future for ALL of our children.

One of the recent Council Agenda items involved authorizing nearly $100,000 for legal consulting for gang injunctions. As part of my analysis in preparing for the council meeting I found over the past two years crime has dropped 35% in the City of Inglewood and I came to the conclusion gang injunctions are not needed at this time. What I’ve realized is needed, owing to the steady stream of job seekers coming to my office, are jobs for minority young men and women who have been pushed into the system by being labeled as “Gang Affiliated.”

The title “Gang Affiliated” prevents many minority young men from capturing employment opportunities with Corporate America as well as the Federal, state and local governments. Today everything is computerized and linked to databases all over our country so even a job vacuuming out and cleaning cars at Hertz Rent-A-Car can be a challenge when the phrase “Gang Affiliated” is connected to a family member’s California drivers license or ID card.

I did not feel comfortable giving our police department the power to classify our young adults who may simply be “hanging out” or returning home with their friends from their entry-level job as “Gang Affiliated.”

According to the Criminal Justice Fact Sheet published by the NAACP, “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population. African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rates of whites.”

Why is this?

Among the contributing factors, the NAACP believes that “inner city crime prompted by social and economic isolation” along with
“get tough on crime” and the “war on drugs” policies tend to create crime rather than staunch it. Broad-sweeping gang-injunctions that name no gang to be targeted but are instead used to push young men into a life-long cycle of recidivism and crime is what these tactics tend to do. What we need to combat the gang problem is a good school system, parks where events are not cost-prohibitive or used by non-Inglewood teams and groups, and money spent on gang injunctions re-directed to after-school activities for our youth to prevent them from being recruited into gangs.

I do support having all uniformed Police Officers patrol Inglewood in highly visible black and white marked police cars. I believe the black and white patrol car is a crime deterrent and maximizing their presence in the community is a “best practice” with respect to our police. It also would be an important tool to combat the increase in burglaries we’ve had over the past 15 months.

By the way, burglary is the only crime that has been on the upswing; most other crime statistics show a downward trend or are holding at the same rate.

In closing I ask that we all do our part in helping our children, especially those community members that are retired by providing voluntary help to after-school activities and programs. I am very supportive of sports organizations for the youths. I personally have managed several youth soccer teams and feel I am a highly successful coach. I believe that competitive team sports for the youths are important in the community. They build character in our children and provide for a strong community.



The Inglewood crime statistics (above) were obtained from Inglewood Police Department’s website at www.inglewoodpd.org/Crime_Info.aspx.

The statistics regarding African American incarceration rates from www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact- sheet.

Wise Tires in Inglewood, circa 1920's courtesy of the IPL

March 15, 2013    |  By Mike Stevens

With the District 1 Council seat elections right around the corner on April 2, one of the topics of debate has been about being business-friendly.

I consider myself very business-friendly—but not to the point of supporting sweetheart taxpayer-asset- and-money-giveaway deals to the very wealthy who would not ever consider living in Inglewood.
In my 18 months of being the District 1 councilman, I’ve found some of the city staff and elected officials to be very friendly to a dozen or so rather wealthy individuals and decidedly not friendly to the average small- and mid-sized Inglewood businesses

This business-unfriendly reputation is very well known in the business community.

To illustrate how I came to this conclusion I’m going to share two of the many experiences I’ve had regarding this topic with you.
Dr. Carla Thomas has been a dentist in the Inglewood area for quite a few years. I first met her when she contacted my office asking for help. At the time she was in the middle of attempting to relocate her office from leased space on Locust Street to the old M&M Soul Food restaurant building on 11th Ave. and Manchester. Dr. Thomas explained to me that the City of Inglewood planning department had delayed her plan check and had been doing so for many months. The delay was holding up financing for the property purchase and construction. She had only a short time before her purchase option would expire on the property and she would lose her considerable investment in time, architectural fees and purchase option. I was able to help expedite her plan check and with a few minor corrections she was able to get her plans approved. Unfortunately she had came to me a bit late in the process and still needed some time to complete her financing and her purchase option was due to expire in a day or two.

I approached the owner of he old M&M Soul Food restaurant site. Owing to business considerations he did not want to extend the duration of the purchase option. I suggested Dr. Thomas obtain a “bridge loan” until the financing was completed and
—viola!—the remainder of the hard work by Dr. Thomas and her team allowed the nicest dentist office for miles around to be placed right here in Morningside Park!

Reflecting on her experience, I suspect a fix was in.

Rumors were an ex-mayor was a silent partner in the unsuccessful Oasis restaurant right next door. One of those owners (of the Oasis) had been trying to acquire the old M&M location for parking. I wonder if the plan check was stalled in the City of Inglewood planning department so Oasis could buy the property for a parking lot. Oasis closed their doors and went out of business soon after Dr. Carla successfully reopened at the new location.

Another story, one that remains in development, is the old Safeway location on 84th and Crenshaw. The lot has been on my radar since I first became your Council- man; many of my constituents have complained about the lack of a small, convenient grocery store in the Morningside Park area.

Nearly a year ago I contacted a representative of Fresh & Easy to see if they had any interest in locating here. After several rounds of discussions and a better understanding of their business model I realized it was not going to be a successful fit. The nearly $4 million price tag on the property was a deal-breaker for the relatively low profit-per-square foot of a Fresh & Easy. It would take many years just to pay back the original property investment. Additionally we didn’t have the needed income levels within a five- mile radius—especially from the area one to two miles east of Inglewood.

Toward the conclusion of the discussions, the representative I was working with informed me that Fresh & Easy was imploding and closing stores; soon thereafter he too was laid off as the grocery chain downsized.

I held several other discussions and attempted contacts with Albertsons, Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s representatives; sadly they were all in vain.

Around the holidays I was contacted by one of my constituents. She had heard that a Dollar Tree was coming to the location and she let me know the residents in the area were unhappy about this after sharing the information with the members of her block club. I verified her findings and found the Planning Com- mission led by chairman Dotson took no action on the item in the December 5 meet- ing and the item had been appealed to the City Council. Soon afterward I was contact- ed by the new owners of the property and met with them. In our discussions I informed them the residents in the area were not happy with their plans of opening a Dollar Store in the area, especially since we have a 99¢ Only store at Century and Crenshaw and a Big Lots across the street from their property.

The owners were surprised at the resistance to the Dollar Tree store as they had discussed their plans with the Inglewood city manager and the planning department and had been told that a Dollar Tree store would be fine at this location before going ahead with the approximately $3.5 million purchase. I let them know in no uncertain terms that I could not support a Dollar Tree at this reiterated his sentiments in his “Message” on page 5. Proclaiming that “it’s simply not true...that Inglewood Today is being funded by the City of Inglewood,” Brown also complained that “councilmembers (sic) are behind attempts to stop the City from paying its bills.”

In the days following the location and gave them a long list of possible alternatives including Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Hometown Buffet, Chuck E. Cheese, etc. I mentioned to the owners that it would have been a good idea to have discussed this with me before purchasing the property. Also discussed was the possibility of erecting a statute incorporating an airplane similar to the airplanes at the Proud Bird on the northeast corner of the property as a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen and Inglewood’s WWII aviation heritage to give something back to the community as part of the project. In parting the new owners let me know they are very upset with the City of Inglewood, especially with the city manager and planning department for setting them up and emphasized they are burning $10k-$15k per month while the property sits idle.

Currently their appeal to the City Council from the Planning Commission’s “No motion for action” has been delayed, potentially until after the April 2 elections. Thinking back on the new owner’s dilemma and the timing I suspect this is another situation where the fix was in this time because of the upcoming local elections. The city manager does not do anything without the Mayor’s permission, the Planning Commission (led by chairman Dotson) took no action on the item, and the constituent originally spreading the story to local residents about the possible Dollar Tree store opening is a major supporter of Mayor Butts and friends. You connect the dots.

Stay tuned to see if Councilman Stevens is able to lend a helping hand to business and help change Inglewood’s business unfriendly reputation while meeting your needs.

February 08, 2013    |  By Mike Stevens

Last month we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King. As I sat in the front row at Crozier Middle School on Saturday, January 19 at our official Inglewood celebration looking at the many historical photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his quest to achieve equality, I noticed a few glaring facts in the photos.

Maybe it was because the photos were so large. After all, the entire screen itself was over 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide. The most obvious was that everyone in the photographs was good- looking and well-groomed. I guess back then, everyone wore what looked best on them—not what looked best on their favorite celebrity or entertainer as many people do today. In the photos, I did not see anyone with 30 pounds of potatoes squeezed into a 10-pound sack in the photos. Many of the people marching and standing alongside King, Jr. may have been share croppers but they sure maintained their dignity while taking an active role in changing America and making it possible for residents residing in a community such as Inglewood to have the power to change governmental policy simply by participating in their local government. Before this we would have gone to jail—or worse!—attempting to affect change in our local government.

Next, let’s discuss how taking an active role in the governing of this city has benefited you, the residents of the greater Morningside Park area.

One of the most important things you can do to make a difference—besides voting—is to come to council meetings when items of importance to you are brought before the city council. When constituents come to the council and comment on agenda items, we on the city council pay attention.

On that note, I want to thank everyone who came to the council meetings this past month to make their voice heard and speak truth to power! Together we successfully defeated the attempt to place a 728% increase in the Property Transfer Tax on the April ballot.

With respect to Inglewood’s Residential Sound Insulation (RSI) program, it is very possible Inglewood would still be doing land acquisition, clearing the land, and selling the vacant land to developers instead of sound-insulating our homes.

More than a decade ago, the residents went to council meetings with me. We demanded that Mayor Dorn and the council use the noise mitigation funds for a sound insulation program, and we now have more than 4,000 homes sound-insulated.

Unfortunately the Inglewood RSI program has been slow and inefficient since 2003. I’ve pushed, prodded and begged for information, met with many government and sound insulation company officials, and spent countless hours discussing problems in the program with many of you. I’ve found the city has been failing to file required grant reports since 2006, has had exorbitantly high per-home sound insulation costs, and that sound insulation funding to the City of Inglewood has been cut off by Los Angeles and the FAA.

Being docile and thinking if we ask real nice or kiss up to the right government official isn’t going to get most of our homes sound insulated. I need your help now! Many more of us are going to have to make it very well known we are upset about the lack of progress. We as a group are going to have to raise our voices and demand our Mayor James Butts, Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, and our ranking member of the House Financial Services committee Congresswoman Maxine Waters get this City of Inglewood Sound Insulation Program and its respective funding back on track. I urge you to support our community’s efforts and write letters to all three aforementioned elected officials.

Here are the addresses of the representatives to which to write:

James T. Butts
. org or call

Antonio Villaraigosa


Congresswoman Maxine Waters
.

If all residents work together—those inside and outside the “noise contour”—we’ll have an even better Morningside Park community!

Wishing all of you the very best!

Sincerely,

Councilman Mike Stevens

January 10, 2013

I was born and raised in Inglewood. I love this city! I remember when there was a Ralphs supermarket at Manchester and Crenshaw and a Safeway Supermarket across the street at 85th and Crenshaw Boulevard. I remember the 5th Avenue Theatre, the Academy Theatre and the Imperial Theatre on Imperial and Crenshaw Boulevard. Brolly Hut at Crenshaw and 111th had the best charbroiled burgers to eat after racing your slot car at Dave’s Grand Prix Slot Car Track on Manchester Boulevard between 7th and 8th Avenues.
(Read More)

Inglewood District 1 Council Member Mike Stevens

December 10, 2012    |  By Mike Stevens

The holidays are upon us, and it is my gift to you to work for the residents of District 1 and make Inglewood shine as we all know it will. (Read More)

Patrons at Inglewood's Open Studios an annual art event

November 03, 2012    |  By Mike Stevens

Inglewood has gone through a lot of changes during the few decades since I took my first breath at Daniel Freeman Hospital. Rather than focus on the past, however, I am envisioning what Inglewood will look like in 2022.

What will Market Street, the greater Morningside Park areas, and the Vincent Park area look like in 10 years—or to put it differently, what would I like to see here?
Will the Inglewood Public School system become one of the best in the state? Or will we have a network of competitive charter schools providing an array of high- quality educational options?

Will all of our homes in the LAX flight paths be sound-insulated?

Will we restore the Historical Landmark, Centinela Springs, so that Centinela Creek in Vincent Park flows above ground to Beach Avenue and Centinela Boulevard before going underground?

As the council member for Inglewood's District 1, these are some of the many concerns I am addressing.

One thing I know for certain: as we see an influx of younger families move into Inglewood, and as our elders move into retirement housing, the activist spirit will nevertheless remain high for those who advocate for our neighborhoods; that the city’s volunteer resident-staffed commissions and committees will become stronger and more influential; and that our single-family housing stock will become more sought- after.

Another given is a light rail line down Florence Boulevard, which will bring international tourists into Inglewood’s core.

Thinking LARGE, I envision a vibrant, bustling, multicultural Arts and Entertainment District that will have grown from a few energetic seeds planted just a few years ago, which is set to really take off now. It will surely be a significant tourist draw, one which tourists will access via the light rail from the Market/ Florence station. They’ll be greeted by an open-air art bazaar, markets, theaters, restaurants, lofts and youth hostels in the Market Street area. Intermixed will be cutting-edge, cottage hi-tech firms whose geeky employees are drawn to the funkiness and coolness of a budding popular arts mecca. Buses—or narrow-gauge rail cars designed in the fashion of old trolley cars— will carry passengers from the Florence/Market light rail station to the Forum, and perhaps farther. Most of the buildings on Market Street will be mixed-use, with street-level studios, markets and restaurants topped by artists’ lofts. Various arts schools will have a presence here, and a large one will call Inglewood its home. The scene will be so popular crowds of surrounding areas’ employees will descend on the area for lunch, gawking and shop- ping. To the east, a secondary art mecca will continue to grow and flourish near the West and Redondo light rail stations.

The success of the multicultural Arts and Entertainment Districts will, in turn, help to promote other business districts in the City. With the resulting increase in tax revenue collection the City will have repaired long neglected infrastructure including our City streets and sidewalks and we’ll see much improved maintenance of City owned landscaping.

With this in mind, I urge you to participate in the upcoming Inglewood Open Art Studios tour and see the future for yourself.

If you have any visions of Inglewood’s future you would like to share, I would be happy to hear them.

In the meantime, let’s all continue to enjoy the great City of Inglewood!