After a year of wrangling, CARB has approved the Clippers arena to be built in Inglewood. As a compromise, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will invests millions into the city to improve air quality.
The Daily Breeze outlined how Ballmer will achieve this.
Ballmer, will install 330 electric vehicle chargers at the arena, fund 1,000 residential chargers in the surrounding area, purchase two electric buses and 10 electric vehicles for Inglewood’s municipal fleet, and plant 1,000 trees as part of its agreement with CARB.
Last June, 2UrbanGirls questioned why a bus manufacturer, that does business with LA County Metro, would invest in a city that doesn’t have a proprietary bus service. We also pondered whether their investment into the Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce (IAACC) was having internal turmoil, over money being funneled out of the nonprofit to members of the Inglewood City Council.
The board terminated Erick Holly alleging he was misapropriating agency funds and was refusing to turn over access to the banking information.
When those claims were presented to Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr., he threatened to withhold funding to the organization if they didn’t rehire Holly.
Two weeks later, Build Your Dreams (BYD), who manufacturers electric buses for Metro, where Mayor Butts is the Chair, is alleged to have invested $50,000 into the Inglewood Chamber.
Related: Chinese electric bus manufacturer invests in Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce
It is highly likely that BYD will be selected to furnish the electric buses Steve Ballmer now has to buy the city.
As for that “slam dunk” $100 million community benefits package, which allegedly includes $75 million for affordable housing initiatives, the Daily Breeze reports it is still under “negotiation”.
