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Spectrum News 1 So Cal

Storytelling in SoCal with Spectrum News 1

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Check out my new video promo about living and working as an anchor for Spectrum News 1.

As someone who is super active in my environment, it leads me to be active in my community as well. That’s the way to tell authentic stories and really understand the needs of a community. You have to be a part of it. I embrace the people that I’m around and I really enjoy sharing their stories and and connect organically. I feel like we bring that to the table.

Protecting the environment, where we live, play, eat, and travel to is imperative for our future generations. I’m grateful for the communities and people of SoCal who let us tell their stories🙏🏼

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Something Fishy: The Truth About Where Your Fish Comes From

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So often we lack understanding or connection with what we are eating. Do you know what’s on your dinner plate?

Commercial fishing in California has a long history of over-fishing and mis-management. No quotas or size limits, closed areas or seasons for the fishing industry and a “go out and just get ’em attitude” led to its collapse in the mid to late 1990s, when the federal government stepped in imposing harsh restrictions.

The shutdown of commercial fishing off the West Coast of the United States not only left many out of work. It led to a shortage of locally harvested fish for consumers.

In its place, Southern California restaurants have relied almost entirely on frozen seafood imported from Mexico and elsewhere around the world, with very little accountability, and ample room for mislabeling and outright fraud.

This opened the doors for a longer supply chain and even more room for mislabeling or fraud. In fact, much of the salmon caught on the West Coast of the U.S. travels over 10,000 miles to places like China to be processed, only to return back to the U.S.  Essentially, it can be frozen and thawed multiple times before ever reaching your dinner plate. In Los Angeles, a UCLA study found tested sushi restaurants in LA and found almost HALF of the sushi restaurants to have mislabeled fish.

About 90 percent of U.S. seafood is imported and in a 2015 study released by the watchdog group OCEANA, it was found that 43 percent of the salmon samples tested were mislabeled. In the study, which was just released in March of 2019, there were more findings, including the fact that 1 in 5 fish we consume is mislabeled. As of December of 2018, there is good news for local fishermen, as Rockfish are on the rise as well as other local ground fish and for the first time in 25 years the federal government has lifted catch limits.

So where does your fish come from? And how can traceability and transparency help forge a new path to a more sustainable future? In this short documentary for Spectrum News 1, I talk about the details:


Borderline Shooting Survivors Reflect on the Night That Changed Their Lives

Borderline Shooting Survivors Reflect on the Night That Changed Their Lives

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From a special one month retrospective long form piece on spectrumnews1.com produced by and hosted by Angela Sun. 

On the night of Nov. 7, a gunman walked into the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks and killed 12 people.

So far this year, there have been 328 mass shootings in the United States, according to The Gun Violence Archive. The organization defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are “shot and or killed” at “the same general time and location.”

After living through the Borderline tragedy, several survivors recently got together for a barbecue in Camarillo. Since the shooting, they have started a Facebook group and lean on each other for support. 

One month after the shooting, we meet many of the survivors who have forged a unique bond amidst adversity. Some of them were also survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas last year, where 59 people died, including the gunman. 

After each mass shooting, critics on both sides of the gun debate have shared their points of view.

Collin Hymes is a film and TV stuntman and a Marine veteran, as well as a big brother of sorts to many. He survived a bullet wound to the neck in the Thousand Oaks shooting and a shattered knee from jumping out of a window to escape.

“As a Marine and understanding history, you want to be able to protect yourself from tyranny, so you want to be able to have the ability to rise up against a government to subdue its people,” he said about gun ownership. “But at the same time, too many guns in the hands of wrong people cause mass shootings. So where is the happy medium, where we can protect ourselves from dictatorship and protect ourselves at home that’s really hard to say.” 

A gunman killed 12 people at the Borderline Bar and Grill
A gunman killed 12 people at the Borderline Bar and Grill

The Orfanos family has been grieving the loss of their son, Telemachus “Tel” Orfanos. Tel was good friends with many of the survivors at the BBQ. His mother’s impassioned plea for gun control after the shooting went viral on social media. She later spoke to Inside the Issues host Alex Cohen, and urged the nation’s leaders to restrict access to automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and expanded magazines.

She went on to say she couldn’t hug her son in the mortuary to say goodbye, because of the severe wounds inflicted on his body.

“No parent should have that picture in their head,” she said. 

Borderline Shooting Survivors Reflect on the Night That Changed Their Lives

California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, while many other neighboring states are less restrictive. The semi-automatic gun used by the Borderline shooter was purchased legally, but the expanded magazine authorities say he used is illegal here.

The shooting that night lasted nine minutes, but to the victims it lasted an eternity. While the physical injuries of these survivors are starting to heal, the mental wounds remain raw.  

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help support the victims of the Borderline shooting. You can find the link here.

Glendale Horse Stable Shelters Animals From Woolsey Fire

Glendale Horse Stable Shelters Animals From Woolsey Fire

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Olivia is happy, she’s been out of her stall all day and she loves being around people.

Olivia is one of the many animals rescued From Big Heart Ranch in Malibu, which was threatened by the Woolsey fire. The therapy goat traveled a long way with Phoebe Scott, a boardmember from the ranch.

A total of 26 horses, donkeys, goats, chickens, pigs and more were saved from the fire and brought to the Silver Spur Stables in Glendale, including Olivia.

“Bambi, Daisy and Renee are three rescues from their restorative herd, all evacuated from the fire. Renee and some of the goats stayed overnight with me at my house,” Scott explained.

Suzanne Pika has been the manager at Silver Spur Stables for the last 20 years. She said she hasn’t gotten much sleep the last few days, but the overwhelming support from strangers who’ve stepped in at this time of need has kept her going.

One of the good Samaritans and animal rescuers was Christopher Devon. He and his friend, a first responder, were able to get behind the fire lines and save many of the larger animals.

“Chris is our hero, he went out there when it first started and picked up horses in every direction,” said Pika, referring to the young man who drove out to help save animals in the Malibu area as the fire quickly approached.

“It was like Dante’s Inferno, all the telephone lines were burned through,” said Chris.

“There were 30 or 35 people here yesterday, talking like this… they all got together and were talking about what happened to them… so that was very therapeutic for most people because it was very traumatic for everybody,” added Pika.

As the Woolsey fire continues to burn, there has been a public outcry on social media over the thousands of animals that have been displaced and potentially left behind by their owners.

Many Southern California residents have expressed concern about the welfare of animals in the fire’s path, particularly in areas like Malibu.

Thankfully as we’ve seen from the way volunteers have stepped forward to help animals in need, a community can come together to make a difference.

Big Heart Ranch is a donation based organization that exists to help with therapy programs for autistic and inner city kids and veterans with PTSD. At this time they said monetary donations are most helpful as they transition.

Visit the ranch’s website to donate.

Angela Sun Joins Spectrum News 1 SoCal network as the 5PM evening anchor

Angela Sun Joins Spectrum News 1 SoCal network as the 5PM evening anchor

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I’m excited to announce that I have joined Spectrum News 1 SoCal as the 5 PM evening anchor!

Spectrum News 1 is a new 24/7 local news channel committed to serving communities in Southern California. Our network will be focused on hyper local news and stories in and around Los Angeles and is the west coast version of Spectrum News NY1 with a uniquely California twist!

Living in LA for the last 20 years, and California all my life, it’s a storyteller’s dream to be able to shed light on issues, events, and focus on people where it matters most, the neighborhoods we live and play in.

I’m fortunate to join such a passionate, dedicated team, who are focused on good journalism.

Check us out on Spectrum cable Channel 1 and spectrumnews1.com or tune in LIVE to the Evening Beat, Mondays-Fridays at 5pm!

I joined Spectrum News 1 SoCal as the 5 PM evening anchor

Evening Beat team with: Chris Leary, Rick Adams, and Amrit Singh

Evening beat production team