Thursday, August 24, 2023
US Department of Justice investigating racism in Kansas City Fire Department Luke Nozicka, Glenn E. Rice and Mike Hendricks The Kansas City Star KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Kansas City Fire Department over allegations of racial discrimination within the fire department, The Star has learned. Three Black firefighters say they were interviewed within the last year about racism they have faced within the fire service and their complaints of a hostile work environment. They named others who have been interviewed, as well. The inquiries began months after The Kansas City Star published a series of stories in December 2020 detailing systemic racism and sex discrimination within the department.
Sherae Honeycutt, a Kansas City spokeswoman, confirmed the investigation and said the city was “cooperating fully.” Lawyers for Battalion Chief Stephen Seals, 55, who is Black, made the first publicly known reference to a DOJ investigation in a lawsuit filed last week in Jackson County Circuit Court. He alleges he was retaliated against for speaking to DOJ investigators, among other things. In the lawsuit, attorneys for the high-ranking firefighter said he was contacted by the Justice Department in January 2022 about its investigation into allegations of race discrimination and the department’s hiring and promotional practices. Federal investigators were looking into the work environment and its “impact on African-American firefighters,” according to the lawsuit. Seals spoke with the DOJ twice in January 2022, according to his lawsuit.
In August, he was interviewed again and told his deputy chief he was participating in the probe. Since he alleged discrimination and spoke with the DOJ, he has “experienced additional retaliation by the KCFD,” according to the lawsuit. Seals referred The Star to his attorneys at the law firm Siro Smith Dickson PC. They declined to comment, saying they do not discuss pending litigation. Reached on Wednesday afternoon, Interim Fire Chief Ross Grundyson directed The Star to the city’s legal department, which did not respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment. One Black firefighter, who requested that his name not be published for fear of retaliation, said he was contacted by a DOJ investigator about eight months ago. He later received an email that contained a Zoom link for a formal
interview. The firefighter said he spoke with at least three investigators for about four hours. Their conversation focused on the firefighter’s experience with racism in the department, the promotion process and the treatment of other Black employees inside the fire service. “It’s not just one person, but it is a multi-layer system” where there are no consequences for bad behavior, he said. “They can treat you any kind of way.” The firefighter said he is pleased that federal investigators are looking at the fire department. But he remains pessimistic that lasting reforms will occur. “I’m glad they’re coming in to look but what results they’re going to get is yet to be determined,” he said. “After all is said and done, nobody’s going to get fired and nothing is going to change.” See Department on 6
How bad the climate crisis gets is still up to us. We just have to act Sammy Roth Los Angeles Times
File Photo Trey Rucker likes the identity of the defense in defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo’s new scheme.
Rucker looking to build on bowl game performance Parker Gerl Staff Reporter In Year 1 under new defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo, Trey Rucker wants to take a considerable leap. The redshirt senior safety appeared in just one game last season, recording an interception and three tackles in OSU’s loss to Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. With little to no game action in 2022, Rucker’s using his performance in the bowl game as a confidence booster for 2023. “(The bowl game)
was very big. Very big for my team also, you know, because that’s who I’m gonna be playing with,” Rucker said. “So being able to play in that game and do what I was able to do, it meant a lot to me.” Key players from the Cowboys’ secondary left Stillwater through the portal, but OSU still returned guys who have experience with the program. For Rucker, a guy who’s looking to have a sizable role this season and be on the field with those familiar faces, that’s where assurance kicks in. See Rucker on 4
LOS ANGELES — As usual, California was ahead of the game. It’s been two decades since lawmakers passed the first law to begin requiring electric utilities to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Nearly as long since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for 1 million solar roofs. A decade since the state first mandated large numbers of electric cars on the road, and four years since Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban gas appliances in new homes. None of those initiatives have protected the Golden State from the ravages of the climate crisis. The eight largest wildfires on record have all burned in the last six years, collectively torching more than 4 million acres — and none of them was nearly as deadly as the 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise. The three driest years ever recorded came to a dramatic end this past winter, when record rain and snow wreaked deadly havoc, flooding farmworker communities and burying mountain towns. The precipitation filled reservoirs but did nothing to change the reality that California faces a frighteningly water-scarce future as rivers dwindle and groundwater levels drop.
The coast has fared relatively better — but sea level rise grows ever more urgent. Cliffs are collapsing into the Pacific, rail lines are experiencing temporary shutdowns and waves are edging closer to toxic sites, threatening to poison nearby residents. And there may be no more harmful consequences of global warming than extreme heat. Hundreds of Californians already die in heat waves every year, roasting in their homes and baking on asphalt streets with little shade. The toll will only rise as we continue to burn coal, oil and fossil gas, spewing heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane pollution into the atmosphere. Lisa Patel, a Stanford University pediatrician, saw the dangers firsthand during last year’s Labor Day weekend heat wave, when temperatures reached 116 degrees outside her hospital in Pleasanton. She worked two 24-hour shifts, and she was called to several deliveries where laboring mothers had fevers or other complications. She sent multiple newborns to intensive care. “In retrospect, I don’t know if those moms had a true infection or if they just got overheated,” Patel said. It’s not too late to stop climate change from getting worse. But for California to lead the world toward a safer future, the state’s politicians, business leaders
and tens of millions of residents will need to work a lot harder — and be willing to accept a tomorrow that looks different than today. Los Angeles offers a telling case study. The city is dominated by freeways built to serve gas-guzzling cars and trucks, and for decades its biggest electricity source has been a coal-fired plant in Utah. Ships and trucks belch toxic fumes into low-income communities of color. Many neighborhoods have precious few trees to protect residents from heat soaked up by the urban hardscape. There are too many grassy lawns, not enough protected bus lanes and far too many well-to-do white homeowners willing to fight dense housing construction near job centers. Elected officials are trying, at least, to make things better. L.A.’s first-ever chief heat officer, Marta Segura, is working on efforts to plant trees, update building codes to keep residents cool and create an early-warning system for dangerous temperature extremes, with public outreach in English and Spanish. The port is aiming for a 100% zero-emissions truck fleet by 2035. City leaders have approved rebates for replacing grass with artificial turf or native plants, plus billions of dollars in spending to expand the Metro rail system ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. See Climate on 7
Courtesy of Tribune The Camp fire in 2018 killed 85 people and burned more than 7,000 structures in Paradise, California.