Raj Tawney

Irvine Weekly‘s Evan Lancaster reports on a new UC Irvine EPA study that has found unsafe lead levels in Santa Ana soil. In his latest piece he details on how a group of UC Irvine students has spotlighted the detection of federally unsafe levels of lead within soil throughout the city, which has now caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“In addition to the discovery of unhealthy amounts of lead in soils, the team was able to correlate that there were higher concentrations of lead in lower-income neighborhoods,” writes Lancaster.

Read more on Irvine Weekly here.

Reporter Daniel Felsenthal reviews artist Eva Hesse’s ‘Expanded Expansion’ exhibition in his latest piece for the Village Voice. Shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, this exhibition focuses on Hesse’s sculptures, exploring how the artist’s work has evolved in meaning over the decades.

“Like visiting an aging parent after years away, going to an Eva Hesse show puts mortality on the mind. The materials of her late career—latex, fiberglass, rubber—decompose, becoming more brittle each time we see them,” writes Felsenthal. “Thanks to her pieces’ short lifespans, each show of Hesse’s late work feels like a fleeting opportunity.”

Read more on the Village Voice here.

New Framework Approved For Great Park Development

Irvine Weekly‘s Evan Lancaster reports on the latest vote from the Great Park Board to approve major enhancements to Great Park. The vote, which took place on Tuesday, July 26, concluded 4-1 in favor of new framework for park plans, paving the way for new development across the sprawling 300 acres of beloved open space.

“The fact that we have nearly $600 million in cash on hand for use toward seeding the development of the first phase of the Great Park, there’s conceptually enough funding to move ahead with the elements that are being suggested — the framework plan,” Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi said during the meeting.

Read more on Irvine Weekly here.

Village Voice reporter Anna Conkling tackles the somber subject of getting to know the brave men and women that make up Ukraine’s defense force in her latest piece for the Voice. She writes of the unlikely backgrounds of those that are stepping up to battle the Russian invasion on Ukrainian land, describing a modern soldier’s life in details beyond statistics.

“Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Force is made up of both senior soldiers and those who have no previous experience in the military but who want to join the fight,” writes Conkling. “Before the war, a 32-year-old Kyiv-based DJ, who asked to be referred to by his stage name, ‘Detcom,’ spent his time hosting parties at Kyiv’s popular venues. Detcom spoke with the Voice over a WhatsApp call, talking about his life before the war, and how it had begun to feel normal again. He had plans to travel after two years of Covid-19, and wanted to play international gigs in Norway and Berlin. However, his ‘normal’ life before the war is, as he says, a ‘past life now.’”

Read more on the Village Voice here.

LA Weekly’s Isai Rocha reported on a long-awaited event for all soccer fans in his latests piece. Los Angeles hosted the finale of the  Soccer Champions Tour on Saturday, July 30, where finalists Real Madrid and Juventus competed at the iconic Rose Bowl. The tour was composed of some of Europe (EUFA) and Mexico’s (La Liga) biggest soccer clubs who where making their way across the U.S. for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Outside of the Champions Tour, Guadalajara and Club America will stick around for friendlies against the Los Angeles Galaxy and LAFC on August 3.

“I went to the U.S. in 2019, with Florentina and it was definitely a remarkable experience,” Striker Dušan Vlahović said at the start of the tour. “we’re all very happy that we have an opportunity to go back to the U.S., so from this point of view, as I said before, I’m happy to come to the U.S. and we can’t wait to get there and to play against great teams.”

Read more on LA Weekly here.

Soccer Champions Tour Makes Its Way To The Rose Bowl

 

Originally published in April of 2012, Village Voice reporter Camille Dodero went face to face with Hunter Moore, an early adopter of revenge porn trolling and an enemy to many. The founder of Is Anyone Up, a now defunct adult website made up of stolen and hacked revenge porn content best known for the malicious doxxing of its unwilling subjects, Moore’s ethics are left to reader interpretation as they follow along with Dodero’s retelling of her encounter with the man.

While the Hunter Moore scandal was infamous in 2012, this moment in internet history is being brought to the forefront again thanks to a new Netflix docu-series, The Most Hated Man on the Internet, which follows the story of a mother who went after Moore, the “self-made Internet villain.”

Read more on the Village Voice here for both of Dodero’s original feature stories on the matter.

 

 

LA Weekly’s Isai Rocha reported on a gun law California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, introducing the bill as being “modeled” in a similar fashion to Texas’ abortion law. Under California Senate Bill 1327, Californians will be able to sue those making, selling, transporting or distributing illegal semiautomatic guns and “ghost guns” for up to $10,000 in damages, per weapon in the confines of the state.

The Texas law that Newsom refers to is Senate Bill 8, which prohibits abortions as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy. Similar to the law Newsom signed Friday, a lawsuit component may be enacted toward providers and doctors who performing an abortion in the state of Texas.

“We’re using Texas’ perverse abortion law to ACTUALLY save lives,” Newsom explains.

“Our message to the criminals spreading illegal weapons in California is simple: you have no safe harbor here in the Golden State,” Newsom says in a statement. “While the Supreme Court rolls back reasonable gun safety measures, California continues adding new ways to protect the lives of our kids. California will use every tool at its disposal to save lives, especially in the face of an increasingly extreme Supreme Court.”

Read more on LA Weekly here.

Newsom Signs Gun Law ‘Modeled After Texas Abortion Law’

 

Irvine Weekly reporter Evan Lancaster, in his latest piece, writes about an inspiring new breakthrough in food insulation technology coming out of UC Irvine. Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Alon Gorodetsky, with help from his dedicated team of researchers, has designed a new squid skin-like material to disrupt the wasteful food packaging industry and promote more ecological-friendly alternatives.

“The reflective polymer uses flexible tiny metallic structures to initiate infrared reflection when stretched on a surface, like a coffee cup for example,” writes Lancaster. “In fact, coffee cups became a focal point during the testing of Gorodetsky’s latest development, in which the team reported that cooling of the cup could be controlled.”

Read more on the Irvine Weekly here.

LA Weekly’s Isai Rocha wrote on President Joe Biden’s recent positive Covid test. The White House reports that the president is feeling very “mild” symptoms. While those symptoms were not specified, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president is currently taking Paxlovid as treatment.

“Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Jean-Pierre said. “He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.”

Read more on LA Weekly here.

President Joe Biden Tests Positive For COVID, Feels Mild Symptoms