Why the Air Quality Is So Bad; News About Recalls of Shampoo, Beef Sticks–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: March 27, 2025

Indy Digest: March 27, 2025

If you have allergies, or you’ve simply gone outside and looked around, you know that the Coachella Valley air quality is … well, not great—and it’s going to continue to be not great through tomorrow (Friday), according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which has issued a windblown dust and ash advisory.

As of this writing, on late Thursday afternoon, the valley air quality ranges from moderate to—in parts of Palm Springs and Cathedral City—unhealthy, according to the SCAQMD.

I have allergies, and, boy howdy, I’m feeling the yuckiness right now. I’ll spare you the details, other than to say it feels like I’ve been rubbing poison ivy inside my nostrils. And I certainly have not been doing that.

Local leaders say we’ve been experiencing more bad air quality in recent years—and, I hate to say it, but it’s likely that we’ll be experiencing more bad-air days in the coming years, too.

Last August, our partners at Calmatters examined what’s going on in a piece headlined “Danger in the dust: Coachella Valley residents struggle to breathe.” Reporter Alejandra Reyes-Velarde wrote:

Local leaders and residents say more dust is covering cars and driveways, and even surfaces inside their homes. A brown-gray haze lingers after high winds — so bad that it can cause car accidents. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses have expressed concerns that the dust is driving away tourists and raised their cleanup costs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the air quality has been worse than I’ve certainly ever experienced it in my 28 yrs in the Coachella Valley,” said Tom Kirk, executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, which represents the area’s cities and tribes.

What’s the cause? The article pointed out one culprit: “Desert dust is usually coarse and packed into the ground. But when (tropical) storm Hilary hit the area last August, the  torrent of rain disturbed the dust and brought mud from mountains that turned into a fine, loose silt that raised PM10 levels.”

Of course, climate change means more fires and more extreme storms like Hilary. So it behooves all of us to prepare for more bad air as best we can.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Again, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should not be in the cabinet; he should be behind bars. The New York Times reports: “Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. Parents in Gaines County, Texas, the center of a raging measles outbreak, have increasingly turned to supplements and unproven treatments to protect their children, many of whom are unvaccinated, against the virus. One of those supplements is cod liver oil containing vitamin A, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted as a near miraculous cure for measles. Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of unvaccinated children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage. Some of them had received unsafe doses of cod liver oil and other vitamin A supplements for several weeks in an attempt to prevent a measles infection, said Dr. Summer Davies, who cares for acutely ill children at the hospital.”

• Our partners at Calmatters look at how much money the state could lose due to federal budget cuts in health grants … and it’s a big number: “California may lose more than $1 billion in public health and mental health funding as a result of new federal budget cuts that target COVID-19 pandemic response grants, according to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency website. The federal Department of Health and Human Services terminated $12 billion in grants intended for infectious disease response, mental health services and other public health issues, according to national reports. Most of the money came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while $1 billion was cut from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. California officials are still tallying up the state impact because the Trump administration clawed back additional health-related grants that went to counties and the University of California.”

• Today’s recall news involves … shampoo! USA Today says: “Henkel, a shampoo company in Mexico, has recalled 1,068 units of shampoo due to possible exposure to a bacteria that can lead to eye, nose and skin infections, and possibly more adverse reactions to consumers who have compromised immune systems. Although there have been no reports of customers being hurt from using the products, the recall was put in place because the shampoo may be contaminated with the bacteria which is called Klebsiella oxytoca. … Calling klebsiella oxytoca ‘an opportunistic pathogen,’ the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website that the bacteria normally impacts immunocompromised individuals or those requiring intensive care. … The company recalled over 1,000 units of its Tec Italy Shampoo Totale that was distributed to New York and California, and possibly other states.”

• And … beef sticks from Costco! EatingWell reports, via Yahoo!: “Costco just announced a recall on a popular snack product, according to the company’s website. This is due to a potential foreign matter contamination after two consumer complaints of metal fragments in the product. The product affected is the Chomps Original Beef Sticks sold in 12-count pouches. The impacted beef sticks were sold at Costco locations from February 4, 2025, through March 21, 2025, in the following states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.”

• The CNN headline says, “After living in the US for 35 years and raising 3 citizens, these parents got deported to Colombia. Their kids want them back.” Some details: “Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez have called the United States home since 1989. Their three daughters, now grown, were all born and raised in California. The couple led Bible studies at their Southern California church and volunteered at food pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘For nearly four decades, they have built a life here—raising three daughters, giving back to their community, and recently welcoming their first grandchild,’ their daughter Stephanie Gonzalez wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family. ‘Now, they are being treated as criminals.’ Last month, the parents checked in at an immigration court in Santa Ana, just ‘like they have been doing since 2000,’ Stephanie wrote in an email to CNN. But this check-in ended with a much different outcome. The couple was arrested and handcuffed during their February 21 appointment and put in federal custody, where they spent three weeks before being deported to Colombia.” Sigh.

• SFGate reports that some forgetful airline pilots have exposed a loophole in protections for passengers: “San Francisco International Airport was recently central to consecutive abnormal events, starting when a United Airlines pilot forgot their passport before embarking on an international flight. A week later, another United pilot also forgot their passport, and the flight to China from Los Angeles was diverted to SFO. The pilots’ lapses highlight that the Transportation Department does not have any specific rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for delays due to human error. Though passengers were delayed for hours, they had to rely on what United deemed fair redress. … The back-to-back mishaps sparked discussions on Reddit and pilot forums over the absurdity of the situation and the limits for passenger protections. A seasoned attorney who specializes in international travel law said that U.S. regulations would not cover an event like this.”

• And finally … could Palm Springs one day become home to a Dollywood theme park? Probably not, but a recent business transaction makes it more of a possibility: “A dose of Southern hospitality is bound for the West Coast as a co-owner of the Dollywood theme park scoops up four amusement parks in Southern California. Herschend Family Entertainment, the Atlanta-based parent company of Dolly Parton’s Tennessee theme park and several other parks throughout the South, signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of Palace Entertainment’s U.S. entertainment properties from Parques Reunidos. Among the 20 entertainment venues in the sale are four in California: Boomers parks in Palm Springs and Vista, Castle Park in Riverside and Raging Waters Los Angeles in San Dimas. … Dolly Parton still co-owns Dollywood with Herschend in a 50-50 split.”

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