Graphic images harm our mental health, UC Irvine researchers say
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 24. I’m Carol Cormaci bringing you this week’s TimesOC newsletter with a look at some of the latest local news and events.
If you’ll forgive a slight detour in this week’s newsletter, I wanted to tell you about a news article in the L.A. Times that caught my eye the other day, not because it was centered on local (as in O.C.) news, but because it was on a topic that might not get as much attention as it should.
Our collective mental health is at stake.
Turbulent times lead to the bombardment of one horrifying photo after another. A former president is shot in a public setting, bombs are dropped in the Middle East, and, closer to home, we see the video of broken bikes and their trailers strewn on a street after a family out for an afternoon ride is struck by a DUI driver.
This is where the story does tie into Orange County: UC Irvine researchers have found that repeated exposure to graphic photos and videos is being linked to psychological distress, according to the Times’ story by Karen Garcia. You may have already intuited that, but now you have the research, by locals, to back it.
“Roxane Cohen Silver and E. Alison Holman are researchers and professors in Irvine’s department of psychological science who have been studying the public-health effects of graphic images, including those from the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013; and the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.,” Garcia reports.
Cohen Silver and Holman found “a correlation to acute stress, post-traumatic stress symptoms, fear of future attacks and difficulty functioning in work and social life” when people were repeatedly exposed to photos from horrific events.
Over the years we’ve increasingly moved from getting our news on violent happenings from newspapers and TVs to sources on social media that are largely unfiltered, Holman explained.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding and people were home with not much to do ... people often would ‘doomscroll’ from one negative news clip to another and another, mainly encountering images of tragedy,” the reporter learned from Silver.
That practice made matters worse.
“My colleagues and I would never advocate that people should not know what’s going on in the world,” Holman said. “We need to understand what’s happening in the world around us.” But we need to be able to do so “in a way that doesn’t totally traumatize us and leave us distressed and at risk for heart health problems.”
Holman recommends allotting yourself a certain amount of time for consuming the news. “You can tell when it’s time to stop reading or viewing images about a tragedy by understanding how you’re reacting to what you’re seeing,” according to the story.
Garcia’s well-researched article also includes helpful information, including how various social media sites label their graphic content and steps you can take to change your feed to exclude it. The reporter also includes a section detailing how you can evaluate whether or not you are seeing factual news.
It’s all very informative. I encourage you to give it a read. Here’s the link.
MORE NEWS
• A juvenile humpback whale seen off the coast of Dana Point, then Newport Beach and back to Dana Point was freed by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration team Friday from the rope both its tail flukes had become entangled with, The Times reported. NOAA estimated the mammal had been entangled in the line for at least three to six months, causing “some serious damage” to the flukes.
• Disneyland workers voted 99% to authorize a strike against the theme park. Members of the Master Services Council — an alliance of unions representing custodians, ride operators, candy makers, merchandise clerks and other Disneyland employees — held the historic vote on Friday. The upshot: If they are unable to negotiate a new contract with the company, union leaders now have the option to call a strike.
• In an effort to meet state housing mandates, the Newport Beach City Council last week decided to override the findings of the Airport Land Use Commission to allow for the development of a 282-unit apartment building on acreage 2 miles from John Wayne Airport.
• UC Irvine will establish the first school of population and public health in Orange County, the Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health, recognizing a $50-million donation made by Wen and his family to the university. School officials made the announcement Thursday.
• A coat of black paint recently erased what became known around the community as the “Hijabi Queens” mural that for about two year covered a privately owned wall along Brookhurst Street, Little Arabia’s officially designated thoroughfare in Anaheim, according to this story by my colleague Gabriel San Román. The mural’s erasure has prompted debates within the community about private property, public art and Little Arabia’s identity as its business profile, San Román explains.
• By this fall, San Clemente is going to have to come up with $2.9 million to complete the first phase of a long-awaited beach nourishment project being overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Once that is done, the city will still be on the hook to share 50% of the costs with the federal government to keep the project going over the next half century. So, the City Council is mulling the idea of putting a 1% sales tax measure on the November ballot, which officials say would generate more than $13.5 million annually. A decision is expected in August.
• A planned fundraiser in Laguna Beach this Friday for the reelection of President Joe Biden will be rescheduled as an event for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign now that the president has dropped out of the race, the organizer told City News Service on Tuesday. “They were hoping to [go] forward but decided to hold off a bit,” fundraiser organizer Carol Leslie Hamilton said. “That’s probably a good decision, but we’re moving along.”
PUBLIC SAFETY & COURTS
• A Tustin lawyer misappropriated up to $282 million from as many as 60,000 clients who were looking for debt relief, the State Bar of California said last week. According to the story that appeared in The Times, Daniel Stephen March did not dispute 27 ethics charges of moral turpitude, misappropriation, failure to maintain client funds in a trust account and others filed against him.
• Crime briefs culled from City News Service reports:
— Huntington Beach police on the night of Tuesday, July 16, shot a man outside an Arco gas station. Officers responded at around 11 p.m. that night to the intersection of Goldenwest Street and Heil Avenue regarding a call for assistance where they encountered a man outside the gas station, NBC 4 reported. At some point the officers opened fire on the suspect, striking him multiple times. As is protocol in an officer-involved shooting, the investigation will be overseen by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
— A 59-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 11 years to life in prison for stabbing his son-in-law in Yorba Linda. The victim, Heng Niu, who was going through a divorce with his wife, went to pick up his children Nov. 18, 2022, when Hna Zhao attacked him, prosecutors said.
— A San Juan Capistrano resident pleaded not guilty Friday to recently setting multiple brush fires within a four-week period in south Orange County. Sergio Parracastellon was charged with 10 felony counts of arson of a structure or forest. Parracastellon, who was arrested last Wednesday, is accused of setting fires on Oso Road and Camino Capistrano on May 27; on the Shea Recreation Trail on May 28; at Oso Road and Camino Capistrano on June 6; at Reata Park in San Juan Capistrano on June 9; on the San Juan Capistrano Bike Trail also on June 9; at Calle Arroyo and Via Parra on June 9; again at the Shea Recreation Trail on June 12; at La Novia and Valle Road on June 25 and at 27802 Calle Arroyo also on June 25.
— A pedestrian was killed in a collision in Garden Grove at around 11 p.m. on July 17, when he was struck by a Toyota sedan while he was in the 14300 block of Brookhurst Street. The driver, a 58-year-old Santa Ana woman, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation, police said.
— Dietrich Lee Arthur Hudson, 43, was charged last Wednesday with seven felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run with property damage. related to a road-rage incident and hit-and-run in Garden Grove on July 15.
— A legal assistant pleaded not guilty Thursday to stealing about $128,000 from a bankruptcy settlement account. Danielle Justine Cyrankowski, 52, of Costa Mesa was charged July 9 with 19 counts apiece of grand theft and forgery, and a dozen counts of computer access and fraud, all felonies, and faces sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 and $500,000.
— A 43-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 240 days in jail, or time served behind bars, for threatening O.C Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Wagner, for whom he had worked. Jose Saul Martinez pleaded guilty June 18 to single felony counts each of criminal threats and threatening public officials. Martinez was ordered to participate in a drug and alcohol program and was placed on three years of formal probation.
— Pedro Gallegos-Garcia, 46, made his first appearance in court Monday in connection with the 2006 fatal shooting at a quinceañera on Wallace Avenue in Costa Mesa. Gallegos-Garcia, who was extradited from Mexico Thursday, is charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the use of a firearm, both felonies, for the shooting of Hermes Rodriguez-Raya, 21, on Feb. 11, 2006.
SPORTS
• Manager Ron Washingon’s Angels rallied Sunday to beat the A’s 8-5 at the Oakland Coliseum, the Halos’ last scheduled visit to Oakland. When Kevin Pillar caught the ball for the final out, his teammate Jo Adell suggested the veteran center fielder might just want to keep it as a souvenir, The Times reports. But Pillar realized it really should go to Washington, the longtime Athletics’ third base and infield coach who still feels his deep connections to franchise and city. “It was the last opportunity to do something good in this ballpark in my favor and my team pulled it out and got the win,” Washington said. “And when he gave me that ball it was a great surprise and joy. I wrote on it, ‘last out of my last game managing in the Coliseum.’ It was heartfelt.”
• Former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis said in an Instagram post last week he was simply tapping a United Airlines flight attendant to ask for a cup of ice for his son during a July 13 flight to Orange County when the attendant responded to the contact by yelling, “Don’t hit me!” — an accusation that Davis said led to him being handcuffed and taken off the plane by FBI agents as his wife, Tamiko and their three children, ages 9 to 13, watched. He said he was able to clear the matter up within minutes after talking to agents at John Wayne Airport. Davis will be filing a lawsuit against the airline, The Times reported.
LIFE & LEISURE
• A pair of bronze crows — each approximately 6 feet tall and 1,000 pounds — were recently installed on the Laguna Beach City Hall lawn, where they will remain into September as part of the city’s temporary public art program. Artist Jack Champion, who told my colleague Andrew Turner he has had and affection for crows since childhood, calls the striking installation “An Attempted Murder.”
• Celebrated chef Roy Choi, perhaps best known for his Kogi BBQ Taco Truck & Catering business, visited the Rancho Santa Margarita library earlier this month to meet with fans and sign copies of his best-selling cookbook and memoir, “L.A. Son.” According to this TimesOC feature story by Sarah Mosqueda, Choi’s appearance in the local city was no accident. “I lived in Orange County for a long time, we moved out here in high school,” he said. “You will read in the book in the chapter about my downfall into gambling and reaching rock bottom ... in that recovery phase my parents were living out here in Ranch Santa Margarita.”
• Murphy Karges, one of the founding members of the band Sugar Ray, released his first book, “Basics for Bassists: How to Not Suck at Playing Bass,” on Tuesday. My Daily Pilot colleague Matt Szabo interviewed the musician and learned the band’s first practice was in 1988 at a little beach house on the Newport Peninsula. The 57-year-old Karges, a graduate of University High in Irvine, resides today with his family in Newport Beach.
• South Coast Repertory‘s board this week announced that Suzanne Appel will be the theater’s new managing director, succeeding Paula Tomei. Appel, who will step into her new role in September, joins Artistic Director David Ivers as co-chief executive officer of the theater. Appel comes from Vineyard Theatre in NYC.
CALENDAR THIS
• Art Exhibition: “Unsavory,” now on view at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, features the work of 15 artists who use fine art, photography, low-brow imagery and recycled art to challenge what we value— and what we don’t — when it comes to food consumption. The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, until Aug. 30. The Muckenthaler is located at 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton. Admission is $5.
• The musical “Grease” will be presented by Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts, with 7:45 p.m. performances Tuesday, Aug. 6 through Saturday, Aug. 10. This outdoor event is held at Peppertree Park, 230 W First St., Tustin. Advance general admission tickets for this “Broadway in the Park” event are priced at $25 and can be purchased here. The cost is $30 at the gate. Tickets for children 5 to 10 are $15; younger children are admitted free.
• Soka University presents a free outdoor performance, “Shakespeare by the Sea: Henry IV: Falstaff & the Boy Who Would Be King,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1. Bring picnics, blankets and low-backed beach chairs to set up on the Campus Green for an evening of entertainment. The campus is located at 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo. Parking is free. No tickets are required.
A READER WRITES
Newsletter reader Sandra Fazio of Huntington Beach touched base about last’s week’s main subject, the state Coastal Commission’s approval of the Magnolia Tank Farm, and she agreed to allow the inclusion of her letter here for your consideration. She writes:
“[Re: Magnolia Tank Farm project has its critics but promises to add much-needed housing,” July 17] I think that there is a lot more to the MTF than getting a few houses for rich people. We don’t need another hotel. Huntington Beach has plenty and they do not run at full capacity save for a few times there is something happening like an air show. As far as retail space goes — maybe a little research into the success and failure rate of the stores at Pacific City would shed some light on why we don’t need more retail. The houses next to the toxic dump, which is still not remediated, certainly will be less desirable and so will probably be the less expensive ones. They still won’t be affordable.
“Certain members of the Huntington Beach City Council have professed to be concerned about the environment for some projects but I don’t think this one is one of them. As this project stands, the wetlands especially and the area in general will all suffer from an ecological standpoint. It needs to be returned to the wetlands it once was.
“Your headline is misleading and misdirected I think.”
If you would like to weigh in here on any topic covered in this newsletter, I encourage you to let me know via an email, as Ms. Fazio did. All I ask is that you keep it reasonably brief and allow your name to be published with it.
Thank you for reading! Until next Wednesday,
Carol
KEEP IN TOUCH
I appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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