2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    • Compton
    • Education
    • Inglewood
    • Los Angeles
    • Orange County
  • News
    • Elections
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Word on the Streets
  • Things to Do
    • Arts & Culture
    • Entertainment
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot
March 27, 2023

One dead, three injured after possible overdose in El Monte

March 27, 2023

Sheriff’s deputy involved in traffic collision

March 27, 2023

Angel City FC loses opener

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • One dead, three injured after possible overdose in El Monte
  • Sheriff’s deputy involved in traffic collision
  • Angel City FC loses opener
  • Man fatally assaulted near DTLA
  • Person shot while sitting in vehicle near LA
  • Authorities ID driver killed after vehicle goes off bridge near DTLA
  • Palmdale shooting leaves one dead, one wounded
  • Pedestrian critically injured after driver hits them in Long Beach
Facebook Twitter YouTube TikTok Instagram
2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    1. Compton
    2. Education
    3. Inglewood
    4. Los Angeles
    5. Orange County
    6. View All

    Compton College Diverse Workforce Hiring Meets Benchmarks

    March 22, 2023

    Compton College to host job fair March 25

    March 21, 2023

    Authorities offer $20,000 reward for help solving murder of former NBA player’s father

    March 21, 2023

    Compton shooting leaves one dead

    March 17, 2023

    LAUSD, unions reach tentative labor deal with assistance of Mayor Karen Bass

    March 25, 2023

    Inglewood school board meeting erupts into chaos during vote on school closure

    March 24, 2023

    LAUSD schools reopen as three-day strike ends

    March 24, 2023

    Cerritos College looks forward to a permanent Child Development Center

    March 23, 2023

    Inglewood Target to hold grand opening April 2

    March 27, 2023

    Inglewood Transit Connector JPA to hold meeting March 29

    March 26, 2023

    El Camino College Board Trustee Ken Brown has died

    March 23, 2023

    Inglewood Councilwoman-elect has yet to resign from water board seats

    March 21, 2023

    Metro train hits ANOTHER pedestrian

    February 20, 2023

    LA city council approves relocation assistance for tenants following rent increases

    February 7, 2023

    LA Mayor makes new appoints to police commission

    February 7, 2023

    LA council committee backs ending COVID testing for unvaccinated employees

    February 7, 2023

    Off-duty Orange County deputy dies in single-vehicle crash

    February 9, 2023

    2 dead after wrong-way driver causes multi-vehicle crash in Orange County

    February 6, 2023

    Pedestrian killed while crossing street in Orange County

    February 6, 2023

    Man faces life sentence for kidnapping, rape of girl in Orange County

    February 4, 2023

    Herbalife sued over wrongful termination allegations

    March 27, 2023

    CA governor announces end of some water restrictions

    March 27, 2023

    Powerball jackpot grows to $122 million

    March 26, 2023

    SuperLotto Plus jackpot grows to $45 million

    March 26, 2023
  • News
    • Elections
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Word on the Streets
  • Things to Do
    • Arts & Culture
    • Entertainment
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart
2UrbanGirls
You are at:Home»Inglewood»Is the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce Funneling Donations to Inglewood City Council Members
photo is for illustrative purposes only

Is the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce Funneling Donations to Inglewood City Council Members

2
By 2UrbanGirls on May 11, 2019 Inglewood

Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce (IAACC) will host Women Business Leaders Champions of Change on June 13, 2019. The event will honor a couple of business owners and two municipal employees. Why is IAACC hosting so many events, charging thousands to potential sponsors and more importantly, who is really benefiting financially from their costly events?

IAACC is seeking sponsorships for the event which ranges from $1,000-$3,000 to honor Senior Community Affairs Liaison Cinder Eller-Kimbell, Mari Morales, Trena Thompson Lawson, Assistant Fire Chief Eleni Pappas and Marrow Meadows CEO Cathleen Vick. Of the honorees, only three would qualify as business leaders.

Cinder Eller-Kimbell works for the Inglewood Police Department, as a civilian, in the Community Affairs department.

She was gifted a 2018 Black Chevy Tahoe, identical to the one driven by Mayor James T. Butts, to assist with the homeless issue in the city. A review of city records show that 2018 Chevy Tahoes purchased between 2016 and 2018 have all been outfitted with “Code 3” lights for IPD officers to use in cases of emergency.

2UrbanGirls has submitted public records requests to determine how much was spent for Black and White Emergency Vehicles to outfit the departments fleet of Black 2018 Chevy Tahoes.

Mari Morales runs One For All, a nonprofit based out of her home that supports back to school drives for Inglewood Council District 2 area students. After heavily supporting Councilman Alex Padilla’s two campaigns, she was hired by Republic Services as the city residents liaison for trash issues. One could assume she has access to confidential information, related to all Inglewood residents, which includes their phone numbers and email addresses. Morales is regularly present at every event featuring members of the city council.

Trena Thompson Lawson is an administrator for Children of Promise Charter School (COPCS), in Inglewood Council District 4. The charter school was featured in a 2016 LA Times article titled “Can Inglewood’s NFL-fueled turnaround be a success if its schools are failing?” They cited COPCS as a failure.

Although Animo brought up the overall test scores for charters, the full picture of education in Inglewood remains bleak. Among the worst examples, only 1%, of students at Morningside High, a traditional public school, and at Children of Promise Preparatory Academy, an elementary charter school, met state standards for math.

Mayor Butts assists the troubled school by hosting fundraisers where Murphy’s Bowl/LA Clippers are generous supporters. In turn, Lawson is listed as a supporter of the arena on the Murphy’s Bowl funded InglewoodForward.com website.

School insider share with 2UrbanGirls the students have yet to meet state targets for reading and math.

Assistant Fire Chief Eleni Pappas is most likely tasked with ensuring the various city projects are “up to code” and don’t raise any flags for non-compliance. A 2UrbanGirls investigation revealed the LA County Fire Department regularly looks the other way where Mayor Butts campaigns donors are concerned.

Related: Inglewood Business is Cesspool of Lead Contamination and Illegal Immigration

2UrbanGirls ponders why long-time Inglewood businesswomen like Pearlean Rocket, owner of Crenshaw Imperial Car Wash or Connie Cossio, owner of Coni’Seafood aren’t being honored for their decades of service to the Inglewood community. It appears that the only people worthy of being honored are those somehow tied to favors for the mayor.

Former IAACC chamber board members have shared that Executive Director Erick Holly has unscrupulous ways that involve misappropriation of funds. One particular instance being a deposit for the chambers annual state of the city.

Related: Chamber No Longer in Charge of Anaheim’s State of the City Address

Most South Bay cities host their annual state of the city at a city owned facility with FREE admission. IAACC charges tens of thousands of dollars to put on the annual state of the city, which includes heaping praise on certain businesses with items on the council agenda awaiting council approval.

Past board members commented on the article below and raised community members eyebrows over their assertions of Holly’s alleged fiduciary antics.

Related: Inglewood Chamber of Commerce Restricts Residents Access to Annual State of the City Address (read the comments)

Former board members expressed their frustrations of Holly’s alleged misappropriation of chamber funds, directly to Mayor Butts in a meeting at City Hall, after they fired Holly only to have Butts insist they rehire him.

Related: Letter to the Editor: Inglewood Mayor threatens Board of the Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce

It would be a shame if Holly is accepting donations from businesses, seeking to do business in Inglewood, and somehow funneling that money to the hands of members of the Inglewood City Council.

That sounds a little far fetched or does it?

Related

Inglewood Inglewood Chamber of Commerce James T. Butts
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
2UrbanGirls
  • Twitter

2UrbanGirls has been cited in Daily Breeze, Daily News, Inglewood Today, Intersections South LA, KCRW, KPCC, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Wave, LA Weekly, LA Watts Times, Mercury News, New York Times, Orange County Register, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, and Washington Post. Former contributor to CityWatchLA.

Related Posts

Inglewood Target to hold grand opening April 2

Inglewood Transit Connector JPA to hold meeting March 29

Opinion: Inglewood City Clerk is dragging her feet swearing in Councilwoman Gloria Gray

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Blind Item: Inglewood Airport Area Chamber allegedly dismisses employee - 2UrbanGirls - Covering Compton, Inglewood, LA County and Beyond

  2. Pingback: State board green lights LA Clippers Arena in Inglewood - 2UrbanGirls - Covering Compton, Inglewood, LA County and Beyond

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Most Read
Crime
March 10, 20230

Orange County movie theater evacuated after fight breaks out

ORANGE, Calif. – A movie theater was evacuated after a fight broke out which lead…

March 25, 2023

Winning Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in Long Beach

March 12, 2023

New York bank shutdown closes LA, OC offices

March 9, 2023

Women ordered to strand trial for the death of a woman seeking a BBL

Elections
March 24, 2023

Early in-person voting begins Saturday in LA special election

March 21, 2023

Grace Yoo announces candidacy for Los Angeles Council District 10

March 21, 2023

2022 election data shows Republicans gained in majority Latino districts

March 11, 2023

Gloria Gray maintains lead in Inglewood runoff election

Entertainment
March 26, 2023

`John Wick: Chapter 4′ opens with $73.5 Million

March 25, 2023

Netflix sued over images used in reality TV series ad

March 22, 2023

Walmart presents Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water Festival

March 21, 2023

Kim Fields, Nathan Mitchell among celebrity presenters for 42nd College Television Awards

Business
March 22, 2023

Should I use credit cards to pay my insurance premiums?

March 21, 2023

Ways your business can give back to charity

March 21, 2023

Black Tech Week returns to Cincinatti this summer

March 20, 2023

Sofi’s campaign to stop the student-loan payment pause

Transportation
March 25, 2023

Biden nominee withdraws nomination to head FAA after Republican attacks

March 25, 2023

CA Transportation Commission awards millions to LA County for infrastructure projects

March 24, 2023

County Supervisor issues statement on extending law enforcement contracts for Metro transit services

March 24, 2023

Inglewood requests cancellation of Centinela Grade Separation project, wants funds shifted to transit connector

Sports
March 27, 2023

Angel City FC loses opener

March 26, 2023

Former NFL star sued over attack at West Hollywood club

March 20, 2023

Magic Johnson part of group making bid for Washington Commanders

March 20, 2023

Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in danger of losing 2026 World Cup hosting rights

Real Estate
March 24, 2023

California may scale down new loan program designed to assist first-time homebuyers

February 28, 2023

In a World of Shrinking Apartments, L.A. Rentals Got Bigger – Here’s Why 

February 27, 2023

Homes owned by Black families appreciated the fastest during the pandemic

February 17, 2023

Top 50 Most Expensive L.A. County Neighborhoods in 2022

Legal
March 16, 2023

Former employee identified in lawsuit against Encino doctor

February 7, 2023

Black tenant seeks to intervene in ongoing discrimination case

February 2, 2023

Juice bar chain pays $175,000 to settle federal discrimination claims

February 1, 2023

Grand Jury indicts disbarred attorney Tom Girardi for embezzling $15M from clients

Newsletter

Recent Posts
  • One dead, three injured after possible overdose in El Monte
  • Sheriff’s deputy involved in traffic collision
  • Angel City FC loses opener
  • Man fatally assaulted near DTLA
  • Person shot while sitting in vehicle near LA
Recent Comments
  • Anonymous on Affordable housing projects in Inglewood have stalled for years
  • 2UrbanGirls on Inglewood school board meeting erupts into chaos during vote on school closure
  • Fre’Drisha Dixon on Inglewood school board meeting erupts into chaos during vote on school closure
Copyright © 2011-2023 2UrbanGirls.
  • Cookie Policy
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

 

Loading Comments...