Police seek information on homicide in Inglewood



A 22-year-old black male was shot and killed on the night of Friday, April 9 in what police believe to be a gang-related homicide.

Aaron Bascomb suffered wounds to the head and chest while walking on the sidewalk of the 100 block on East Hazel Street. Witnesses reported seeing two black males approach Bascomb on foot. Bascomb later died after being taken to a Lynwood hospital. Det. Will Salmon with the Inglewood Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and no suspects have been identified or arrested.

This is the fifth Inglewood homicide in 2010, excluding officer-involved shootings. The city reported 28 homicides in 2009.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 877-426-4253.

New jobs at Inglewood City Hall despite hiring freeze



Since calling for a hiring freeze in early February to help close a $10 million budget gap, the Inglewood City Council has approved the hiring of 21 new employees at a cost of nearly $2 million.

The new hires include four in the planning department, two in the city clerk’s office, four in the police department, nine in the parks and recreation department and two in residential sound institution.

The salaries and benefits for the new hires will add a cost of nearly $2 million to the city’s $324 million budget. Three of the positions are described as part-time, and seven are temporary.

During the hiring freeze, each new position must be approved by the city council, an additional step in the hiring process.

Councilwoman Judy Dunlap said each hire is examined closely and that all of the hires the council has approved since the freeze went into effect are crucial to providing key city services.

“We are looking at tremendous cuts and expenditures,” said Dunlap. “We strongly consider these things when we’re looking at hirings.”

The jobs deemed most crucial after the council approved the freeze were those in the city clerk’s office, which have been filled.

In her request for the city council’s approval of new hires for her office, City Clerk Yvonne Horton anticipated six elections taking place in Inglewood between June 2010 and June 2011, half of them runoff elections. Horton told the council that the positions “will allow the City Clerk’s office to provide excellent service to the community.”

The city budget allots less than $600,000 to the city clerk’s office. The two new hires will cost $161,000 combined.

Ed Maddox, public information officer for Inglewood, said other jobs, such as those needing to be filled in the planning department, are handled on a “case-by-case” basis. Some requests were made before the Feb. 2 hiring freeze gained approval, complicating the approval process.

In the planning department, lack of adequate staffing has delayed plans to convert Hollywood Park into a housing and business development, according to city staff.

Council Member Ralph Franklin said the planning department jobs are a catalyst for future job opportunities.

“By hiring planners, we stimulate the job market with these projects that allow for more jobs to be created,” Franklin said. “The money is recycled back into the city.”

Dunlap said the city council is still in the process of completely providing permission for each department to choose final job candidates. She said the city council should be presented with a new list of prospective planning department employees within the next two weeks.

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