Inglewood, California

Inglewood officials broke ground on the Inglewood Transit Connector, a $287.5 million shuttle bus system linking the Downtown Inglewood K Line Metro station to the city's stadium district. Originally envisioned a decade ago as a $2 billion automated rail line, the project was scaled back to shuttles after federal funding fell through. Construction begins in November, with service targeted to start ahead of the 2028 Olympics; shuttles will run only on event days, moving an estimated 10,000 people through the hub.

The project requires demolishing a Market Street shopping center seized through eminent domain, displacing about two dozen businesses. The city says it has relocated half of them nearby, though some owners describe the process as poorly handled. Officials and transit advocates say the hub fills a long-standing need, though some displaced merchants doubt stadium visitors will patronize local shops.

Five challengers to Inglewood Mayor James Butts — Raina Carrillo, Fre'Drisha Dixon, Gloria Gray, Arturo Martinez and Joseph Soto — appeared at a candidate forum hosted by The LA Local, but Butts did not attend despite an empty chair held open for him onstage. Candidates criticized his 15-year tenure, calling for term limits, a forensic audit of city finances and evening City Council meetings instead of 2 p.m. sessions.

Challengers also faulted the city's handling of its video billboards, the financial arrangement with operator WOW Media, the declining Market Street corridor, parking permit fees, and Bryan Bostic's death in police custody. They offered competing fixes for housing affordability and event-day traffic and parking congestion near Inglewood's stadiums and venues.

Voting is underway in Inglewood's mayoral primary, running through Nov. 3; a runoff follows in spring unless one candidate wins a majority outright. Stadium and billboard interests have invested heavily in the race, which also features City Council, school board and ballot measure contests.

Inglewood is projecting a $30.8 million general fund deficit next year, its largest in at least two decades, after spending roughly doubled following SoFi Stadium's 2020 opening while revenue growth has since leveled off. City officials say more than $150 million in reserves can cover the shortfall in the near term, and Mayor James Butts has downplayed public concern, framing the reserves as enabling ambitious infrastructure investment. The City Council approved the budget 4-0.

The deficit's trajectory now hinges on two competing Nov. 3 ballot measures tied to a dispute between the city and its stadiums over billboard advertising. Measure AT, backed by billboard company WOW Media, would remove the cap on SoFi Stadium's ticket tax and add a new levy on Intuit Dome tickets, potentially generating $45–50 million annually and erasing the deficit. Measure BB would instead ban most commercial billboard advertising, cutting a revenue stream worth several million dollars a year and pushing the deficit toward $39 million. Officials caution the revenue estimates remain uncertain.

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. publicly denied allegations that he inappropriately touched a high school student during a group photo at the city's "Votechella" event, calling the claims a politically motivated smear campaign. At a news conference outside City Hall, Butts accused local activists and political rivals of a libelous, racially charged attack, noting no formal complaint has been filed by the student or her family. He said he is pursuing cease-and-desist actions against several activists, some of whom are running for City Council, and linked the controversy to a broader dispute over a ballot measure backed by SoFi Stadium and Kia Forum operators that would cut city ad revenue.

The student's family has declined comment, citing an ongoing investigation, while city and school officials say no complaint or referral has been received. Activists have asked the Los Angeles County district attorney to open a criminal investigation. Butts, mayor since 2010, has faced past harassment and retaliation lawsuits, both ultimately dismissed by courts.

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts is facing calls to resign after being accused of groping a teenage cheerleader while posing for a photo at a city hall community event this week. His office has denied any misconduct, but the incident has renewed scrutiny of a long history of allegations against him that have never resulted in criminal charges or removal from office.

Past claims include a 1993 criminal referral, later dropped for insufficient evidence, alleging he molested his young daughter and choked his then-wife unconscious, which Butts denied. A 2021 wrongful termination lawsuit from a former executive assistant, with whom he had a relationship, alleged workplace sexual demands and stalking after the relationship ended; the case was later dismissed on procedural grounds. He also faced scrutiny over a 2012 contract awarded to a company that had hired his brother, and a retaliation dispute with the city's former treasurer that reached the California Supreme Court, which sided with the city. Butts has not directly addressed the latest allegation.

An LA Superior Court judge has ruled that Inglewood will not be required to proactively post police misconduct and use-of-force records online, rolling back an earlier order that had mandated the practice for three years. Judge Amy Carter said such a requirement would need to come from state legislators, not the courts, though she reaffirmed that the city must comply with state law requiring it to release the records upon request.

The ruling caps roughly five years of litigation between Inglewood and the ACLU of Southern California, joined by Trisha Shanklin, whose sister Kisha Michael was fatally shot by Inglewood police in 2016. The court found the city had repeatedly violated public records law, missing deadlines, providing incomplete records, and sometimes producing nothing at all. Inglewood faces no major penalties but must pay attorney fees to the ACLU and Shanklin. City attorneys and Mayor James Butts did not comment on the decision, which ACLU and First Amendment advocates called a win likely to pressure other cities on records compliance.

Inglewood plans to break ground next month on a $287.5 million shuttle bus network connecting the city's stadiums to Metro's K Line and C Line stations, with service targeted for April 2028 ahead of the Olympics. The project is a scaled-back version of a nearly $2 billion automated rail line first proposed in 2018.

The network centers on four transit hubs, three along Market Street and one at Hawthorne Boulevard and 111th Street, offering parking, bike facilities and rideshare drop-offs. The largest hub, at Market Street and Florence Avenue, will include a pedestrian bridge to the Downtown Inglewood Metro Station and a five-level, roughly 1,000-space parking structure with retail space. The city is acquiring and demolishing an existing shopping center there through eminent domain, drawing concern from some affected business owners. Additional improvements include wider sidewalks, new lighting, landscaping and a plaza along the Market Street corridor. Officials call it the largest project the city has ever undertaken itself, fully funded through state and local grants, while leaving room for a future rail line.