Tuesday, October 7, 2025
spot_img
spot_img
Home Blog Page 446

TikTok recommends serial killers, weapons videos and gun accessories to 13-year-old users, and offers links to buy them

Reporters Desk
-
0
TikTok recommends serial killers, weapons videos and gun accessories to 13-year-old users, and offers links to buy them

By John Byrne, For RawStory.com

https://www.rawstory.com/tiktok-teen-violence

Last month, after the Wall Street Journal revealed that social media app TikTok served drug and bondage videos to teenage accounts, TikTok said it “in no way represents the behavior and viewing experience of a real person.”

“Protecting minors is vitally important,” a spokeswoman said, “and TikTok has taken industry-first steps to promote a safe and age-appropriate experience for teens.”

A Raw Story investigation, however, found the TikTok experience — seen through the lens of a teen account that dwelled on law enforcement content — to be anything but safe. Within twelve hours of opening a 13-year-old account, TikTok recommended content promoting firearms, along with videos promoting body armor and rifle mounts that improve the accuracy of weapons fire. It also provided links to websites where they are sold.

TikTok also suggested an account about serial killers that described the murder of a naked 14-year-old. Within several days, the app played videos that young users uploaded of their apparent failed suicide attempts, including one girl who appeared to be in an hospital. TikTok’s promotion of suicide content will be the subject of a report from Raw Story later this week.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is an app that provides a stream of user-uploaded videos. It recommends additional videos based on which videos users watch. Generally, it offers innocuous content like people doing funny dances. While the technology is effective at keeping users on the app, it can send users down rabbit holes of toxic content if they show interest in certain videos. It also tends to find more and more extreme videos about the type of content you watch.

Raw Story’s simulated 13-year-old user initially dwelled on videos of police, servicemembers and hunting. Within two hours, TikTok showed hunting videos jokingly suggesting shooting a neighbor’s dog and an Amish man. Within three hours, TikTok recommended “flexible” rifle armor. After five hours, TikTok suggested we consider Unity Tactical’s Fast Mount, a device used to improve firearms targeting. Unity Tactical’s website says the mount is helpful “especially while wearing tactical gear, night vision goggles, gas masks, helmets, and plate carriers.”

Both profiles promoting body armor and rifle equipment linked to websites where the items were sold.

By the time bedtime rolled around — 10 p.m. for our eighth-grader — TikTok served up videos about serial killers. By clicking the profile, our 13-year-old found graphic descriptions of murders committed by convicted murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, including the killing of a 14-year-old who was found naked in the street by police and an 18-year-old “dismembered and disposed of… in the woods behind his parent’s home.”

Many videos appear to violate TikTok’s Community Guidelines. TikTok bars content that “promotes, normalizes, or glorifies extreme violence or suffering” and “depiction, promotion, or trade of firearms, ammunition, firearm accessories, or explosive weapons.” Raw Story found the depiction or promotion of all four types of prohibited weapons products.

While the guidelines say they ban any depiction of firearms, however, they later say weapons “carried by a police officer, in a military parade, or used in a safe and controlled environment such as a shooting range may be allowed.”

After an inquiry, TikTok called Raw Story to gather background information and take questions. Raw Story provided TikTok with the content, but TikTok declined to comment.

TikTok’s owner offers a different, censored version of its app in China which has more restrictive rules. The version provided to Americans is banned in China.

TikTok knows about the prevalence of guns on its platform. In 2020, Gizmodo published ” TikTok is Full of Guns,” which found at least 100 accounts in apparent violation of TikTok’s policies. In March, Media Matters followed up with an article entitled “TikTok is teaching teens how to build fully automatic rifles and make ‘hollow point’ ammunition.” The news site Digital Trends then found demonstrations of how to manufacture ammunition and 3D-print guns — “dozens” of clips which, it said, in some cases, accumulated half a million views.

TikTok told Digital Trends it “prohibits the trade, sale, and promotion of weapons,” and removes “content and related accounts as they’re identified.” The platform allows users to flag content they don’t like. TikTok now bans searching the hashtags, #homemadegun and #3dgun, though videos may be available under other terms.

One video Digital Trends cited showed a purported 9-year-old firing a handgun. Months later, the video remains on TikTok, and is easily discoverable by a 13-year-old.

Children may fire guns legally in many states. Minnesota allows 10-year-olds to fire guns while hunting with parents; Wisconsin did away with an age restriction altogether in 2017. Children fire guns in video games and movies, including this year’s James Bond film, No Time to Die.

What’s different about TikTok is that users who show an interest in content depicting soldiers or toy weapons are recommended videos of people firing real weapons, then suggested an opportunity to buy them. Raw Story’s 13-year-old user paused on military videos and within 12 hours was shown content advertising firearms accessories and body armor.

Matthew Hogenmiller, digital manager for the gun control group March For Our Lives, worries about TikTok showing teens radicalizing content alongside links to buy guns. March for Our Lives was founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

“To think that these young people are getting that radicalizing content, and could get a gun marketing video within the same scroll session is incredibly dangerous,” Hogenmiller said. “On other platforms, like YouTube or Facebook, you have to actively seek out content surrounding guns. With TikTok the very nature of the platform is to allow an algorithm to choose what it shows you, and for some people, that algorithm can show you alt-right ideologies and what website to buy a [modified] gun on in a span of a few hours.”

The profile for the video allegedly showing a 9-year-old firing a handgun links to a New York firearms dealer which sells handguns, rifles, shotguns, knives and silencers.

Raw Story went through the dealer’s online process to purchase a Glock handgun. The gun must be retrieved at a federally licensed dealer. A minor could not legally pick up the weapon, but the ease of the process — address, credit card and a checkbox to accept terms — would allow an agreeable adult to help with a weapons purchase. Teens have used adults to buy them weapons, including the teens who murdered 12 people at Columbine High School in 1999. In Georgia, where Raw Story looked to have the gun sent, the Glock could be picked up at one of eleven nearby Cash America Pawn stores.

The dealer did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Nick Groat, founder of Safe Life Defense, whose rifle armor TikTok recommended, said his product wasn’t meant for teens and that he couldn’t control TikTok’s algorithms. He emphasized his products were intended for safety and shouldn’t be grouped with weapons.

“Body armor unfortunately gets grouped in with weapons occasionally, but that’s just simply not what it is,” Groat said. “It’s the exact opposite. It’s no different than wearing a seatbelt or a hard hat for a construction worker.”

When Raw Story noted that many of TikTok’s users are minors, he said, “TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms in the world and is commonly used by adults as well. Most of the influencers that we work with are law enforcement that are older than I am.”

TikTok also showed Raw Story’s teen account body armor from two other sellers, whose profiles linked to their online stores. Neither responded to repeated requests for comment.

Concern about young adults and guns stem from the fact teens have used firearms in massacres at U.S. public schools. In 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz shot more than a dozen students to death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

A video of Cruz describing his plan to murder teens prior to carrying it out is on TikTok. The video was found through a TikTok search, and is available here.

“I’m gonna be the next school shooter of 2018,” Cruz tells the camera. “My goal is at least 20 people. With an AR-15 and a couple of tracer rounds, I think I can get it done.”

The video has 6.3 million views.

The AR-15, the lightweight semi-automatic rifle Cruz used in the Parkland shooting, is also on TikTok. TikTok’s app notes that users have viewed AR-15 content 277 million times.

The Columbine High School killers also live on in TikTok. A search for Columbine reveals the two teens screaming into the camera prior to their classmates’ deaths. TikTok also hosts a fan account for Columbine shooter Eric Harris which says “he is so hot” and “I love you more and more.”

In addition to school shooter videos, TikTok also provides a virtual marketplace for ammunition dealers. A seller cited by Media Matters in March continues to hawk bullets, even though their original account was taken down.

“We got lots of ammo in stock,” one video states. “Order through our email or inbox us directly on TikTok.” The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Raw Story easily found three other sellers by searching “ammo.”

Media Matters Research Director Sharon Kann said that following its March report, TikTok removed many videos they’d flagged. But she noted that content TikTok takes down frequently reappears.

“Although TikTok has taken down potentially violative content, we’ve seen time and again how a lack of proactive and consistent enforcement enables bad actors, harmful content and misinformation to reappear and flourish on the platform,” Kann said.

While its rules bar the depiction of guns except in circumstances, TikTok seems to have made little effort to prevent teens from searching for firearms videos. The app shows weapons and violence to millions of users. According to TikTok’s own app, the hashtag for murder has 3.4 billion views; guns, 1.8 billion views; and ak47, 100 million views. TikTok even suggests content under the hashtag “killingchallenge.”

One account TikTok recommended to Raw Story’s 13-year-old offered drawings created by serial killers (video here), pictures of a serial killer’s torture chamber, and descriptions of the murders of teens (videos here and here). It depicted a bloody mattress being removed from serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment, and retold his murder of Stephen Hicks, an 18-year-old that Dahmer said he lured with alcohol and killed. A photo by serial killer Richard Ramirez appears follows.

The account, also described the murder of a teen Milwaukee police officers found naked in the street in 1991. Dahmer later said he injected hydrochloric acid into the boy’s brain after drilling a hole in his skull.

“Jeffrey came home to find one of his victims who was in a zombie like state had escaped,” the video notes. “He was naked standing near some woman on the street. When the police came, he told them that it was his boyfriend and that he was drunk. They gave the boy back to Dahmer and he was killed.”

“That boy was 14,” the video adds.

The account claims it is “not a fan account.”

TikTok’s impact on teens is not simply theoretical. Across the country, schools are dealing with TikTok “challenges,” which encourage teens to engage in destructive behavior and upload videos of it to the platform. Last month’s “devious licks” challenge resulted in theft and vandalism at schools across the country. Three weeks ago, a teen was arrested after punching a disabled 64-year-old teacher in the face.

Even toy weapons that appeared in pranks have posed challenges. A “Gun Prank War” in North Carolina found police responding to reports of teens pointing guns at motorists. The weapons, which turned out to be toys, so alarmed residents that police put out a statement on Facebook.

“Most of the people involved were under the age of eighteen,” Roxboro police Chief David Hess told Raw Story. “In today’s society, with airsoft and water guns designed to replicate real firearms, law enforcement and even general citizens cannot tell the difference, which creates a potentially deadly situation. We used our local incident as an educational approach to hopefully prevent a deadly situation occurring.”

TikTok recommended videos of individuals shooting airsoft guns within two hours of Raw Story’s teen being on the platform. The devices are so realistic they are banned in public in three states.

TikTok’s critics have been pleading with the company to take a more hands-on approach to protect its young users. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined TikTok $5.7 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, for improperly collecting the personal information of children.

TikTok is also facing inquiries from Congress. The company’s head of public policy will testify today in a Senate consumer protection subcommittee hearing on social media and child safety.

“Recent revelations about harm to kids online show that Big Tech is facing its Big Tobacco moment—a moment of reckoning,” subcommittee chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said in a statement. “We need to understand the impact of popular platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube on children and what companies can do better to keep them safe.”

The committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), has said “companies are prioritizing profits over safety.”

Blumenthal, along with Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Kathy Kastor (D-FL), introduced legislation aimed at protecting users under 16. The so-called KIDS Act would ban auto-play settings for young teens and prohibit websites from amplifying violent or inappropriate content.

“Figuring out that they’re interested in things like suicide or guns and then bombarding them with that content, is something that the KIDS Act would expressly prohibit,” said Josh Grolin, Executive Director of Fairplay, a nonprofit watchdog which has filed an FTC complaint against TikTok.

In September, the UK began enforcing a law requiring social media companies to employ “age appropriate design” when serving content to users it believes to be minors. Two days before the bill went into effect, Instagram began requiring users to enter their birthday before using the app. The company also introduced changes that restrict advertisers from targeting audiences under 18 using anything other than their basic demographic information.

Following the law’s passage, TikTok announced that it would stop sending push notifications after 9 p.m. to 13-15 year olds. YouTube announced it would turn off auto-play settings for children and add break and bedtime reminders.

The companies’ moves to restrict teen accounts raise hope for critics that say legislation is necessary to curb potentially harmful impacts on teens. Instagram made the changes globally, suggesting that individual countries may be able to influence tech giants’ global behavior.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed quotes to Devorah Heitner, author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World.

Have tips about TikTok or internal information about social media impacting teens? Email techtips@rawstory.com.

John Byrne holds direct investments in Softbank, one of TikTok’s large early investors; Alibaba; Facebook; Microsoft; Tencent; and Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube; He is the founder of Raw Story.

Plan A Safe Halloween

Reporters Desk
-
0
Plan A Safe Halloween

As the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to account for 100% of COVID-19 strains seen among samples sequenced in the Los Angeles County area, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health is urging residents to plan for a safe Halloween.

The county is in a better place this year with 60% of the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents fully vaccinated. However, Halloween can still present COVID-19 transmission risk this year. When planning your Halloween activities, think about your and your family’s level of risk and remember, COVID-19 spreads more easily in:

Closed spaces with poor air flow

Crowded places with many people nearby

Close contact settings especially where people are talking, laughing, screaming, or breathing heavily close together.

The safest activities are those that are outside, including outdoor costume parties, pumpkin patch visits, outdoor ghost tours, hayrides, and trick-or-treating – when done safely.

Wherever possible, aim to be outside, particularly if you are with individuals, including children, that are not yet vaccinated; masks covering your nose and mouth should be worn if in crowds or close contact with others not in your household.

Details: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/holidays.htm

Small Business and Entrepreneur Equity Crowdfunding Act Passed

Reporters Desk
-
0
Small Business and Entrepreneur Equity Crowdfunding Act Passed

Gov. Gavin Newsom Oct. 12, signed Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s (D-Torrance) AB 511, the California Small Business Equity Crowdfunding Act.

The new law will help entrepreneurs and start-up small businesses use federally approved crowdfunding portals to find investors who can provide early-stage seed capital offerings to help jumpstart companies and help them become candidates for larger rounds of financing. AB 511 also provides greater consumer protections to investors participating in equity crowdfunding financing.

This bill was sponsored by Small Business California and supported by the California Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, National Association of Women Business Owners and many other small business advocacy organizations.

Congress enacted in 2012 the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) which modernized regulations for raising equity capital by establishing crowdfunding provisions. The JOBS Act has facilitated capital access by larger later-stage enterprises, but it hasn’t been effective in providing small businesses with access to critical capital at the seed level.

AB 511 creates an exemption from state securities qualification to enable a business in California to conduct an offering pursuant to SEC Regulation Crowdfunding without the requirement to provide reviewed financial statements for seed offerings of up to $300,000. AB 511 also provides investor protections not present in the JOBS Act such as an attorney’s fees and costs provision for prevailing investors and a prohibition against class action waivers.

Resources and Support Regarding the Noxious Odor from the Dominguez Channel

Reporters Desk
-
0
Resources and Support Regarding the Noxious Odor from the Dominguez Channel

For weeks, high hydrogen sulfide levels in the Dominguez Channel have created a noxious odor that spread throughout Carson and surrounding neighborhoods including Gardena, Compton, Torrance, and Long Beach. Unfortunately, people are still dealing with this issue.

Rep. Barragan ahs been in daily contact with city, county, and state authorities. Her office is fielding calls daily from residents impacted by the noxious odor and providing them information on where to obtain services.

There are several resources available to residents dealing with this noxious odor:

  • Submit a Claim: If you have been impacted by the odors and would like to submit a claim, call the Public Works Department at (626) 300-2644.
  • Carson Community Center: LA County Public Works Department and LA County Department of Public Health will have staff available at the Carson Community Center to answer health questions and assist residents with filing a claim. They will be on-site from 7:30 am – 6:30 pm at 801 E Carson St, Carson, CA 90745.
  • Reimbursements: If you are a resident of Carson or West Carson, Los Angeles County has a reimbursement program for the purchase of HVAC air filters, portable air filters, or temporary relocation during this public health event. Please click here to see more information about air cleaners and filters. Click here to file a claim for reimbursement or contact the Call Center at (800) 675-4357. You can also call the LA County 211 Hotline for additional assistance in submitting reimbursements or in finding temporary relocations.
  • Temporary Relocation Assistance: The City of Carson is providing temporary relocation assistance, HEPA air filters, and air purifiers to Carson residents affected by the Dominguez Channel odor at (310) 830-7600 from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.

For more information on protective measures to protect the foul odor from entering your home, call the Public Health Community Line at 626-430-9821. A list of all resources available to those impacted by the foul odor can be found at https://lacounty.gov/emergency/dominguez-channel/.

Fun Wins Out in “Sister Act” Musical

Greggory Moore
-
0
Fun Wins Out in “Sister Act” Musical

Several years ago, Long Beach Playhouse staged Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant but devilishly difficult Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The result was disastrous.

Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy is no Sweeney Todd — but that’s a good thing here. By choosing a work that is a) not so far beyond the reach of a company that doesn’t specialize in musical theatre, and b) all about fun, Long Beach Playhouse is able to deliver a product that is likely to please most anyone who would buy a ticket to see a Whoopi Goldberg vehicle done up in song.

For those of you who haven’t seen that lighter-than-lite slice of 1992 (and I haven’t, so no unfair comparisons to the film here), it’s Xmastime 1977, and Donna Summer wannabe Deloris Van Cartier (Natasha Reese) accidentally sees her crime-boss boyfriend Curtis (William L. Warren) commit murder. The Philadelphia Police Department, who need to hide her away until she can testify, come up with the idea of stowing their notably unholy witness somewhere Curtis will never think to seek her out: a South Philly convent. Standard fish-out-of-water tropes ensue, and Deloris and her fellow nuns develop a true sisterhood, learning from each other blah blah blah.

Sister Act: The Musical featuring Natasha Reese.

Needless to say, you don’t come to Sister Act for plot. For the music, then? God knows composer Alan Menken’s had a lot of success — Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, for example. There are no classics here (and several songs are instantly forgettable), but he and lyricist Glenn Slater do serve up occasional cleverness and unrelentingly good nature. A high point is Curtis’s “When I Find My Baby”, a Barry White-style disco ballad where the lover is gonna do very un-Barry White things when he gets his girl.

The delivery is shaky at times. As tends to be the case with Long Beach Playhouse musicals, the band sounds too thin, with occasional fits of pitchiness (particularly the violin). Vocally, although the effort is there, this simply isn’t a cast full of true singers (although the heaviest lifting is done by the truest, Natasha Reese, along with a very well-cast Erika Cruz as a little sister with a big big voice).

But let’s talk turkey: really the only reason you come to Sister Act is for good, clean fun. On this count, Long Beach Playhouse does just fine. On opening night the energy was sufficient to get the audience clapping along to multiple numbers, and Sonya L. Randall’s choreography gets a lot of laughs by giving her cast of non-dancers simple steps calibrated just slightly beyond what they can easily do. David Poncé, Demetri Mack, and Dimitri Tiatia-Garaud as Curtis’s henchmen are standouts on this score.

All this production’s strengths come together in “I Could Be That Guy”, a wistful ballad-cum-disco fantasy sung by Eddie (James Webb), the diffident Philly cop in charge of protecting Deloris. Webb is doing a fine Barry White turn (whaddya want from me? Menken likes Barry White), when suddenly, with a magical costume change, things jump to another realm. Lighting, blocking, song, ensemble…. All by itself, this number is worth the price of admission.

An unsung (unsinging?) star of Sister Act is the costumery, so immaculate that I feel compelled to namecheck not only costume designer Christina Bayer but the entire costume shop: Abertha Montgomery, Rebecca Roth, Linda Westman, Christina Abbot, Donna Frische, and Sharre Bischoff. In addition to their contribution to the above-mentioned magic, they bring an ever-increasing amount of sparkle and pizzaz to the proceedings. I doubt I’ve ever seen a show on this level where the costumers make such an outsized contribution.

Ultimately, Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy succeeds because its style and fun win out over its shortcomings and lack of substance. The denouement is so pleasing to look at that you forget the lame climax. You revel in the fun of the best numbers and forgive the musical failings. You knew what you were signing up for when you bought your tickets — and you got your money’s worth.

Long Beach Playhouse presents Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy Friday–Saturday 8:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 p.m. through November 20. Address: 5021 E. Anaheim St. Cost: $14 to $24. COVID safety protocols include mandatory masking throughout the duration, plus proof of vaccination or a negative test result within the prior 48 hours. For tix or more info, call (562) 494-1014 or visit LBplayhouse.org.

City of Carson Celebrates Larry Itliong Day

Terelle Jerricks
-
0

Video by Harry Bugarin

On Oct. 22, the City of Carson celebrated the life and legacy of labor leader Larry Itliong. The Filipino American labor leader gained wide recognition due to the Delano Grape Strike of 1965. In October 2010, Carson’s City Council passed a resolution establishing Oct. 25 as Larry Itliong Day in Carson and has annually celebrated his life ever since.

Before this strike, the Itliong led Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and Cesar Chavez’s National Farm Workers Association merged to form the National Farm Workers Union. The AFL–CIO union’s AWOC sent Itliong to Delano, California in the early 1960s, sent by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, of which the majority of its members were Filipinos who had arrived in the United States in the 1930s.

Up until that point, he had decades of labor organizing experience with the Alaskan salmon cannery union and the ILWU, Local 37. He organized a failed 1948 strike of the asparagus workers in Stockton and a successful strike in 1949. Arguably, he had more organizing experience than Dolores Huerta or Cesar.. Unfortunately he died a few years after the UFW was founded. He was pivotal to the Delano Grape strike and the early years of the UFW.

The Delano grape strike was organized against table grape growers in Delano, California for better wages and work conditions. The strike began Sept. 8, 1965. A week later, the predominantly Mexican National Farmworkers Association (NFWA) joined the cause. In August 1966, the AWOC and the NFWA merged to create the United Farm Workers (UFW) Organizing Committee.

The strike lasted for five years and relied on consumer boycotts, marches, community organizing and nonviolent resistance, gaining the movement national attention. In July 1970, the strike led to a collective bargaining agreement with the major table grape growers, affecting more than 10,000 farm workers.

California Moves to Prevent New Oil Drilling Near Communities, Expand Health Protections

Reporters Desk
-
0
California Moves to Prevent New Oil Drilling Near Communities, Expand Health Protections

As the state works to phase out fossil fuels, Gov. Gavin Newsom Oct. 21, announced that the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) has released a proposed regulation that would prohibit new wells and facilities within a 3,200-foot exclusion area – or setback – from homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other sensitive locations.

It would also require pollution controls for existing wells and facilities within the same 3,200-foot setback area.

The state is proposing a 3,200-foot setback in order to protect public health. A 15-member public health expert panel selected by University of California, Berkeley and Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers (PSE) for Healthy Energy helped inform the draft rule announced Oct.21. The panel concluded that when oil and gas developments are within 3,200 feet, there is a strong connection to higher rates of adverse birth outcomes, respiratory diseases such as asthma, and heart disease, among other health impacts. The panel’s research supports both moving oil production farther away from communities in combination with pollution controls for operating wells.

In 2019, the Governor directed CalGEM to strengthen health and safety protections for communities near oil and gas facilities as part of its updated mission to protect public health, safety and the environment. During a pre-rulemaking engagement process, CalGEM held 10 public meetings, received more than 40,000 public comments to help inform the draft rule and convened a 15-member panel of public health experts and scientists. The panel reviewed epidemiological studies relevant to oil and gas production and completed the initial phase of its work on October 1.

Gov. Newsom has made California a national leader on efforts to phase out the use of fossil fuels, fight the climate crisis, protect our environment and support the health of every Californian. The Governor took action to end the issuance of new fracking permits by 2024, move the state toward phasing out oil extraction by 2045 and reduce demand for oil by ending the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. For the first time in state history, the number of permits to permanently and safely close wells far exceeds the number of permits for new wells in existing oil fields.

California is home to more than 485,000 clean energy jobs and the state’s renewable energy industry leads the nation in growth. Oil production has been on the decline in California, dropping 65.2 percent since its peak in 1985, and the state is on track to meet its ambitious 2030 climate goal, which will result in a 45 percent reduction in demand for transportation fuels. The Governor’s historic $15 billion climate package includes a $3.9 billion investment to advance the state’s Zero-Emission Vehicle goals, which will help clean up air pollution in disadvantaged communities.

CalGEM will now accept public comment on the draft rule for 60 days. Once that is completed, CalGEM will begin a comprehensive, in-depth economic analysis of the rule. Following this analysis, CalGEM will submit the proposed rule to the Office of Administrative Law and will begin an additional process of receiving comments and refinement of the proposal as needed.

To read the full details of the proposed rule, visit the Public Health Rulemaking webpage. Public comments can be submitted via email to CalGEMRegulations@conservation.ca.gov or by mailing comments to 801 K Street, Sacramento, California (ATTN: Public Health Regulations) by December 21, 2021.

A memo from the public health expert panel can be found here.

With Fall Comes A Season of Strikes

Reporters Desk
-
0
With Fall Comes A Season of Strikes

Union Kaiser Employees Overwhelmingly Authorize A Strike

An overwhelming majority of Kaiser Permanente employees represented by UFCW 770 in Southern California authorized economic actions, including a strike, if the company fails to negotiate a fair deal with all unions currently bargaining with the healthcare giant.

The employees are standing in solidarity with thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees across the country who have already voted to authorize a strike.

UFCW workers also withdrew from all Labor Management Partnership activities, including Unit Based Team meetings.

UFCW 770 represents nearly 2,000 highly skilled employees in Southern California at laboratories and pharmacies including pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, clinical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory techs, as well as admins and medical assistants, among other health care specialists.

Union Rite Aid Workers Ratify New Contract

Los Angeles — An overwhelming majority of union Rite Aid workers Oct. 14, ratified a new contract. The new 3-year agreement secures wage increases, improves health benefits, and adds new measures to keep stores safe. CVS workers recently ratified a similar contract adding strong gains to UFCW 770’s Drug Division.

Employees at both companies scored pay increases of nearly 10%, with all wage increases retroactive to July 2021 when the previous contracts expired.

Two new developments marked these contracts:

First, it was the first Rite Aid and CVS contract where workers from across the companies sat at the bargaining table and shared their experiences during the pandemic.

Second, it established a ground-breaking worker-composed Health and Safety Committee to address the hazards of working in this sector, both from the pandemic and the rash of violence in stores.

Workers from both pharmacies across California actively participated in bargaining.

Negotiations involved eight UFCW Locals including Local 5, 135, 324, 648,770, 1167, 1428 & 1442. Approximately 13,000 drug retail workers in the state from CVS and Rite Aid will be impacted by the contracts. Roughly 2,600 CVS workers and over 1,700 Rite Aid employees are in Local 770 jurisdictions.

Rite Aid workers ratified their CBA Oct.14 and CVS members ratified theirs the prior week.

Take Your Metal to a Scrap Yard

Lyn Jensen
-
0
Take Your Metal to a Scrap Yard

I miss Alameda Recycling in Wilmington, where for nearly three decades I took whatever scrap metal or e-waste I wanted to recycle. The scrap yard was distinguished by its bright yellow fence, on Alameda Street, within a bottle’s throw of the Pacific Coast Highway overpass. The facility advertised it took “anything with a plug.” Besides recycling aluminum cans and many kinds of metal (and glass and plastic), they took things like my broken-down vacuum cleaner the Goodwill refused, a keyboard I spilled chocolate milk on, and the greasy auto parts and battered kitchenware from my late father’s place. Then they closed down, coincidentally, just ahead of the COVID pandemic.

Community recycling programs usually provide ways to recycle aluminum cans, plastic/glass bottles, and paper, but recycling scrap metal and e-waste is usually up to the initiative of individual homeowners. There’s an old bit of housekeeping wisdom, “Never throw away anything made of metal.” Partly that’s because old hardware can come in handy, but partly because throwing away any metal can be harmful to the environment.

So I was glad to discover SA Recycling, a full service ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycler and processor, which is also on Alameda Street, but in Carson, a bottle’s throw from the I-405 overpass. It’s one of more than 80 such facilities scattered across several cities and states. They primarily serve trucking and industry, but they also welcome the general public. I’ve used both the Carson location and a larger one in Anaheim, and the Carson one’s probably preferable for the average household. Be warned, however, if you’re nervous around big trucks, SA Recycling isn’t for you.

In Carson things were fairly simple. I drove my car load of scrap onto the truck scale, showed my driver’s license and got a receipt, dumped the scrap on a scrap heap, got my car weighed on another truck scale, then went to the cashier’s window and got paid in cash.

Anaheim was more complicated. I drove up on the truck scale, but my driver’s license got raised on a string and it and the receipt came back down. Then I had to go to a second scale, unload, give a thumbprint, a guy punched data into the computer and gave me a printout, and then I couldn’t get paid on the spot. They work by check, and you can either come back and pick yours up after several days, or have it mailed to you. I had mine mailed.

Between the two runs, I disposed of 115 pounds of scrap metal and got roughly $17 richer. I cleared out old broken-down garage door springs and hinges, old broken-down aluminum window screens, rods, pipes, old rusty blades and files, rusty gardening tools, coils of wire, auto parts, plumbing parts, some of what looked like an old garbage disposal, and several outdated refrigerator water filters. I may not be done yet.

Full disclosure: SA Recycling advertises with Random Lengths News.

Details: 310-835-7291, sarecycling.com
Location: 22606 S. Alameda Street, Carson

County Recommends Avoiding Prolonged Outdoor Activities Between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Around Dominguez Channel

Reporters Desk
-
0
County Recommends Avoiding Prolonged Outdoor Activities Between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Around Dominguez Channel

Los Angeles County officials have been working since Oct. 6 to investigate and address the pungent odor affecting communities in the area of Dominguez Channel in the City of Carson. A multi-agency response — including the County departments of Public Works, Public Health, Fire and the Office of Emergency Management and the South Coast Air Quality Management District — was mobilized in response to this incident and to provide rapid relief to residents and businesses that have been affected.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health has updated the health recommendations for residents impacted by odors reported in Carson and surrounding communities to avoid prolonged outdoor activities between the hours of 9 p.m. through 8 a.m., based on patterns seen with air monitoring results, and whenever odors are strong to reduce exposure.

South Coast AQMD is continuing to conduct air monitoring in Carson and the surrounding areas using technologies, including handheld hydrogen sulfide (H2S) monitors, grab samples, and mobile monitoring.

Monitoring efforts are focused on schools and senior centers in communities impacted. Community monitoring has shown H2S levels to be within typical background levels. However, elevated H2S levels have been detected at various locations along the Dominguez Channel that exceed state nuisance thresholds, but not at levels determined by health experts to be imminently dangerous.

A fixed air monitor was set up last week at the intersection of E. 213th St. and Chico St., near a residential neighborhood adjacent to the Channel, to supplement the monitoring network. The monitor has shown high H2S levels in overnight readings obtained from Oct. 14 through Oct. 16. The highest 1-hour average concentrations over those three days were 3.7 ppm, 6.2 ppm, and just under 7.0 ppm, respectively.

South Coast AQMD inspectors conducted 24-hour operations through the weekend and obtained instantaneous readings near residences that were significantly lower than the levels detected at the 213th & Chico monitor. The agency continues to provide data to public health professionals. Additional outreach efforts were conducted by DPH and Hazmat at residences closest to the Channel in an abundance of caution.

On Oct. 17 and 18, readings obtained at the 213th & Chico monitor and through handheld monitoring were drastically lower. The highest readings at the fixed monitoring site over the last two nights were 1.1 ppm and 0.8 ppm. Further information regarding South Coast AQMD’s monitoring efforts can be found on the agency’s website, www.aqmd.gov.

Solutions to Channel Odors

A specialized team of scientists and engineers has been working aggressively to develop solutions to address conditions within the channel, alleviate the smell and restore the waterway to a healthy estuary.

On Oct. 15, LA County Public Works maintenance crews began spraying a natural, water-based and biodegradable deodorizer in the channel to neutralize the odor. The community should expect a noticeable reduction in the smell within 3-5 days.

A bubbler system was installed Oct 19, to inject millions of tiny oxygen bubbles into the water to increase the levels of dissolved oxygen and prevent the creation of additional hydrogen sulfide gas.

Residents and Businesses

For businesses that may be impacted by the foul odors, if you have noticed strong odors inside your building during the last week when opening in the morning, Public Health recommends businesses run their air-conditioning units 1 to 2 hours, if possible, before on-site operations begin. Doing so will increase air flow inside your business and help reduce any odors present that may have built up overnight.

Although the odor has also been detected by those in surrounding communities, the smell is reportedly stronger and higher levels have been detected in the late evening and early morning in the areas next to the Channel. The levels noted can cause notable discomfort, irritation, or certain asymptomatic non-sensory effects. However, the effects are not expected to be disabling, but are expected to be transient and reversible as the exposure decreases or stops.

The source continues to be considered as naturally decaying organic material (vegetation and marine life) at the bottom and sides of the Channel in Carson. As air monitoring of the surrounding areas continues, no other point sources for the hydrogen sulfide have been identified. South Coast AQMD, County Fire Hazardous Materials (HazMat), and Public Health continue to evaluate and monitor hydrogen sulfide concentrations and mitigate health impacts.

Public Health Recommendations

While the effort to get rid of the odor continues, Public Health recommends residents take the following actions to lessen their exposure and any symptoms experienced and to protect the health of themselves, their family, and their pets:

  1. If symptoms feel life threatening, seek immediate medical care.
  2. If symptoms are persistent, worrisome, or worsening, seek medical attention. Relocate to another area until odors go away. For assistance, call 2-1-1.
  3. Avoid prolonged outdoor activities between the hours of 9 p.m. through 8 a.m. and whenever odors are strong to reduce exposure.
  4. Keep doors and windows closed as much as possible to prevent outdoor odors from entering the residence or business. Air out the home/business when odors are not present.
  5. If residents have a central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, contact an air conditioning specialist, if needed, to determine if the air filters in the system may be replaced with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) or MERV-rated filters with activated charcoal (carbon) to improve the air quality inside. If residents notice odors are stronger or symptoms are worse in the late evening or early morning hours (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.), residents should try running their central HVAC system throughout the night, if they have not already. Temporarily relocating may be best if this does not help.
  6. Use a certified portable HEPA indoor air filter with activated charcoal to improve air quality in their home. If residents notice odors are stronger or symptoms are worse in the late evening or early morning hours (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.), residents should try running their portable indoor air filter throughout the night, if they have not already. Temporarily relocating may be best if this does not help.
  7. Keep pets indoors. If residents notice any of the following in their pets, they should contact their local veterinarian: difficulty breathing, vomiting, lethargy, or nausea.

Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that has a very strong odor (like “rotten egg”). Its smell can be detected and cause temporary mild to moderate symptoms even below the minimum detection limit of 1 part per million (ppm) or 1000 parts per billion (ppb) of typical equipment used to detect it. Everyone should take steps to reduce their exposure when the odors are present. People experiencing persistent, worrisome, or worsening symptoms from the odors are encouraged to contact their health care providers, especially if they have any chronic health conditions. People should also ensure that they have adequate supplies of their medications, especially if they have heart or lung conditions. In addition, Public Health recommends temporarily leaving the area where odors are present to alleviate health impacts.

For more information contact the Public Health Community line at 626-430-9821 and leave a message with your contact information and your call will be returned. The message line will be checked every hour between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day while odors persist.

If you live in the areas of Carson or West Carson, or the surrounding vicinity, County Public Works has a reimbursement program for the purchase of HVAC air filters, portable HEPA air filters, or for temporary relocation. during this public nuisance event.

Review the recommendations and guidance on “Air Cleaners and Filters to Improve Indoor Air Quality and Remove Odors” below before purchasing filters. Visit https://lacounty.gov/emergency/dominguez-channel for more information on the reimbursement program. Residents can click here to submit for reimbursement. For assistance, they can call 2-1-1.

In addition, residents should continue to call South Coast AQMD to report odors at 1-800-CUT-SMOG (1-800-288-7644) or use the agency’s On-line Complaint System.

1...445446447...938Page 446 of 938

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Real people. Real news. Random Lengths is the Los Angeles harbor area's remaining independently owned progressive news magazine. We cover news in Carson, Wilmington, Long Beach, Lomita, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro.

Contact us: letters@randomlengthsnews.com

FOLLOW US

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv