Latest news with #ReeferMadness'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Every Day Action Found a Way to Feed the Hungry, Cut Waste on Film Sets — and Hire Out-of-Work Crew Members
On a recent Tuesday, Samantha Luu and Arun Goswami are sorting day-old cupcakes and loaves of artisan bread in a warehouse on Alvarado Street as they wait for texts to come in from TV shoots across Los Angeles. But 'Nobody Wants This,' filming in Eagle Rock, doesn't have any leftovers from its crew meal, and neither does 'The Lincoln Lawyer,' shooting at L.A. Center Studios. So Arun moves on to plan B: delivering hundreds of pounds of leftover Whole Foods baked goods to partners like the Hollywood Food Coalition. More from Variety At a 'Reefer Madness' Reunion Concert, Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell and Other Cast Veterans Retell the Satirical Show's History Via Signature Songs and Cut Numbers Rachel Bloom Sets One-Woman Musical Comedy 'Death, Let Me Do My Show' as a Netflix Special 'Frasier' Adds Harriet Sansom Harris, Reprising Her Agent Role, and Rachel Bloom to Season 2 Guest Cast (EXCLUSIVE) It's a typical day at Every Day Action, which was launched by former assistant directors Hillary Cohen and Luu in 2020 to help eliminate waste on productions. Drivers from the nonprofit crisscross the city, stopping by the sets of shows including 'Abbott Elementary,' 'NCIS,' '9-1-1' and 'The Pitt.' 'We were kind of sick of how much food was thrown out, and during COVID, we decided to do something about it,' says Cohen, who now runs Every Day Action full time. Today, the organization distributes more than 85,000 meals a year, feeding unhoused people, veterans and families through charities such as Bridge to Home, SELAH and Alexandria House. 'We go from Santa Clarita to San Pedro every day following film production, and we pick up the gourmet leftover catering at the end of lunch and then deliver it,' explains Cohen. Luu and Cohen work out of a warehouse in Historic Filipinotown called the Food Insecurity Shared Hub or FISH, where several organizations coordinate storage of food and other supplies before redistributing it. The goal is to expand the warehouse for cold and pallet storage so that food can also be accepted at night and stored until the next day. To that end, Every Day Action's third annual celebrity fundraising gala is set for May 17, with Rachel Bloom tapped to host. At the gala, Noah Wyle will present the Heart of Humanity award to 'The Pitt' showrunner R. Scott Gemmil. Tickets for a pre-gala happy hour are still available. Though film and TV production is down across the city, Cohen says commercials are holding strong. 'We haven't seen that big of a decline, and commercials actually do have a significant amount of food waste because they're just like a two-day shoot,' she says. Funded by grants from the Annenberg Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, along with support from entertainment companies, Every Day Action is helping to employ film industry workers too. 'We pay production assistants and background artists and really anyone in the business who is struggling, when we can afford to, to be our drivers,' says Cohen. Van driver Goswami worked in craft services for eight years, then saw jobs taper off. 'It was never this slow,' he says, 'I wasn't really ready for a career change.' Cohen says the Every Day approach is three-pronged — addressing the problem of food waste, hiring embattled production workers and feeding people in need. She worries the pressure will only mount. 'It's going to become a much bigger crisis over the next two years as the cost of food goes up, as job loss continues to increase,' she predicts. 'Food insecurity in Los Angeles and the United States is really going to grow at an exponential rate.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025 What's Coming to Disney+ in May 2025
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Detroit has new marijuana advertising restrictions: What to know about ordinance
Marijuana advertisements near schools and other places children congregate will no longer be allowed after the Detroit City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday. The ordinance, co-sponsored by City Council members Scott Benson and Angela Whitfield-Calloway, prohibits advertisements for marijuana and electronic nicotine delivery system products (vapes) from being within a 1,000-foot radius of certain locations where children are likely present. "When children are exposed to this type of advertising, it normalizes the use of marijuana and vaping products," Benson said in a press release announcing the ordinance's approval. "The impact of these advertisements extends beyond immediate health risks. It also creates a perception of social acceptance and influences peer pressure." Below are answers to some common questions about the new ordinance. Advertisements for marijuana and vaping products can't be near places where children congregate, such as child care centers, child-caring institutions, parks, libraries, playgrounds, playlots, playing fields, recreation centers and juvenile detention or correctional facilities. The ordinance only applies to billboards, Whitfield Calloway's office told the Free Press. It does not apply to airplanes pulling advertising banners and mobile LED billboard trucks, for example. Benson said the ordinance is in response to concerns raised by Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti about the proliferation of marijuana in schools in recent years. While the new ordinance was unanimously approved, Council member Coleman Young II expressed concerns. "I think it's too far, but it's not a hill I want to die on," Young II said during the meeting Tuesday. "It still smacks of like Devil's Lettuce and people who believe that 'Reefer Madness' is based on a true story," Young said, referring to a slang term for cannabis and a 1936-era movie about high school students who are pushed to try marijuana, become addicted and commit crimes. Violating the ordinance is a criminal offense with a fine up to $500 and up to 90 days in jail. The new ordinance will go into effect in the coming weeks once it is published, according to a city of Detroit press release. Yes. After recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2018, Detroit officials took several years to craft an ordinance allowing recreational cannabis sales in the city. Recreational marijuana sales officially started in Detroit in early 2023. Since then, more than 50 recreational marijuana dispensaries have opened in the city. More on the marijuana industry: Michigan to distribute nearly $100M in marijuana tax revenue: What your city will get Yes. After Council member Mary Waters said that she was frustrated with gas stations that sell minors vapes, Whitfield-Calloway said she wanted to work with Detroit Public Schools to look at installing smoke detectors in school bathrooms to detect vaping. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit has new marijuana advertising ordinance: Restrictions to know
