Molly Peterson

Nobody wanted to talk about this...at first. Then they did. Rachel Becker gets below the surface on this one to talk to people about an invasive species whose costs are still climbing.

That’s a wrap on #20CongressoAbraji!
SEJ board members @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, Michael Kodas, @bobbymagill.bsky.social & @mollypeterson.bsky.social brought global perspectives to São Paulo and connected with attendees, Brazilian SEJ members. Stay tuned for their takeaways and a webinar!

ooo she sounds smart and hot wonder if she has a name!!!

‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries - Public Health Watch Steelworkers, other advocates say proposed changes would put workers and communities at risk

‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries
#news #environment

Jim Morris and @mollypeterson.bsky.social
report for @pubhealthwatch.bsky.social

EJ Today Headlines: www.sej.org/headlines/list

publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/s...

‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries - Public Health Watch Steelworkers, other advocates say proposed changes would put workers and communities at risk

‘Secret Deal’ in California Would Weaken Regulations for Oil Refineries publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/s... via @mollypeterson.bsky.social

California Falls Short in Enforcing Regulations for the Metal Shredding Industry - Public Health Watch After decades of lax oversight, new efforts are underway to protect communities from toxic emissions without putting the industry out of business.

Literally 🔥

@mollypeterson.bsky.social provides a breath-taking description of how systemic failures in CA's hazardous waste management program works with forces arrayed to protect bad actors to harm real people.

This system broken & the harms are real.

publichealthwatch.org/2025/03/18/c...

Elon Musk’s agents have gained access to FEMA’s sensitive disaster data Representatives from Elon Musk’s government efficiency task force were said to be examining data on FEMA grants, according to staff members.

"[O]n Feb. 5, Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former college student who goes by the moniker “Big Balls” online and now works for Musk, was given a FEMA badge."

Californians, including some wealthy and private ones, are in FEMA's records.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Disasters Are Exactly the Time for Urban Planning That first Tuesday in January, well south of the fires, wind put out just about every third streetlight on Figueroa in northeast LA. Nobody…

"We still have time to fail each other. But we still have time to try not to." medium.com/@mollypeters... via @mollypeterson.bsky.social

Fire hydrants ran dry as Pacific Palisades burned. L.A. city officials blame 'tremendous demand' Firefighters battling the Palisades fire dealt with hydrants that had little to no water flowing out. By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all hydrants 'went dry,' an LADWP official says.

Under what circumstances has LAFD required residential properties to have hydrants?

www.latimes.com/california/s...

Rick Caruso, former member of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, who authorize and help prioritize infrastructure updates

If you can afford travel time & expense to get the hell out of dodge and you've got kids or older people to think about, that's a good option. But indoor air purifiers & better building infrastructure is going to be essential, speaking as someone who has also been caught in hurricane evac traffic.

Wildfire Smoke: Skies Darken as Air Alerts Are Issued Across Northern U.S. (Published 2023) Smoke from the hundreds of wildfires blazing in eastern Canada has drifted south, casting a hazy pall over New York City and triggering air alerts from Minnesota to Massachusetts.

Miles from Altadena or Sylmar or PP, smoke is spreading, a public health hazard. For several years I've written about research into smoke's risks and every time I talked to scientists what they learned was worse than before.

Some tips for staying safe inside: www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06...

a screenshot of a search from EPA's AirNow map, showing AQI for PM 10 at 312, with numerous purple, red, and yellow dots where AQI is of varyingly risky quality, with purple being more serious, and yellow being a moderate hazard.

Not in an evac area, woke up in the night because it smelled like a campfire inside. My house has well-sealed windows but apparently drafty doors, so I blocked those up and doubled up on air purifiers. Outdoor AQIs are 320-400ish for PM 2.5 and PM 10.

Wildfires Are Intensifying. Here’s How to Protect Your Health. (Published 2022) Wildfire smoke is “like tobacco smoke without the nicotine,” one expert said. Here are some ways to keep yourself — and your family — healthy.

In 2020, over 2 dozen fires caused >100 care homes to relocate or evacuate seniors. At the time, advocates told us California’s weak oversight left facilities unprepared for emergencies. This could be another big year.

Check on seniors, obtain and use air filters. www.nytimes.com/explain/2022...

Disaster planning in nursing homes: The questions to ask your loved one’s facility Thousands of long-term care homes are at heightened risk for wildfire. But there are ways to help loved ones in a care home in case of emergency.

Fire takes buildings; smoke steals your lungs.

Avoiding evacuations, and staying inside with clean air, experts say, is the best way to protect older people. If you know people in risky areas who aren't yet under an order to leave, you can still ask questions. calmatters.org/projects/nur...

At KQED our Older and Overlooked reported on the risks climate-worsened wildfires pose to skilled nursing facilities and care homes around California. Pasadena Park is in a risky area, and has had some citations for fire safety concerns, like many other care homes.

www.kqed.org/olderandover...

YouTube video by NBCLA Seniors evacuated from nursing homes due to Eaton Fire near Altadena

The Pasadena Park Wellness Center had to evacuate patients from the #EatonFire yesterday, dozens in wheelchairs, some with only surgical masks on, family members around them. It's a risk we've known about.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuTO...

way too many inexperienced reporters from national outlets on tv without masks on, in and around the Palisades, not loving the health risks out there

LAT Guild statement: Our commitment to journalistic integrity — L.A. Times Guild - Los Angeles Times Guild Journalists of the Los Angeles Times are committed to shining a light on injustice, exposing wrongdoing, and seeking the facts. We speak truth to power, regardless of which party is in power.

“The Guild has secured strong ethics protections for our members, including the right to withhold one’s byline, and we will firmly guard against any effort to improperly or unfairly alter our reporting.”

latguild.com/news/2024/12...

CNS describes crowd as “hostile” and moving to 9th and Grand, as of 20 minutes ago. How and when did they become hostile? Dispersal order was reported at 10:51; they were hostile 13 minutes later on the wires.

at least in part this seems to be motivated by avoiding street takeovers. but streets in East LA and downtown were closed in anticipation of stunting. the big complaint floated in local media seems to be igniting fireworks. which…this is nothing compared to the 8 days of Independence Day

i get that there have been declared unlawful assemblies in days leading up to this. i wonder about those too.

if we shut down fireworks this fast on the fourth of july we’d probably prevent emergency room visits.

now a dispersal order. 50% of this city rents, and sometimes in high density housing. are so many people fireworking the cops that shutting down the streets is justified?

fireworks on the fourth of july aren’t even considered pollution

a volatile situation?

how is los angeles already declaring unlawful assembly

the readers to worry about are (a) journalists in decimated and/or poorly-run newsrooms who crib the times’ framing and replicate it in outlets, large and small, across the country and (b) those inside the times itself

spraying gasoline on the orange crops, like in California almost a century ago