Latest news with #SteveBurns
New York Post
02-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
NYS lawmakers want to ban nonstick cookware over chemical that feds say isn't dangerous
Tough luck, Teflon. New York lawmakers are pushing to ban the sale of nonstick cookware over a chemical coating they say is dangerous — but that the federal government has deemed safe for decades. The popular – and typically cheaper – style of pots and pans could be wiped off store shelves by the start of 2027 because the kitchen items contain a type of plastic made from 'forever chemicals.' Advertisement 3 The ban would affect nonstick pans. Fred – The proposed bill that would ban the chemicals used in the cookware and a slew of other products, the latest in a series of nanny-state legislation Empire State officials have passed with or considered in recent years. New York would follow a handful of other states like Rhode Island, Minnesota and Connecticut with a ban, but a trade group lobbying against said lawmakers are misunderstanding the science. Advertisement Steve Burns, of Cookware Sustainability Alliance, said the same type of chemicals are coated with pacemakers and other electronics that are not being attacked by state lawmakers. 'What we try to say is that exact chemical that a cardiac surgeon has been putting into bodies for 60 years, how can that possibly be dangerous?' he told The Post. 'But somehow the same chemical when used to coat a frying pan is deemed to be dangerous. 'If we're gonna go around the state of New York and point at things in everybody's home and say that good, that's good, that's bad,' he added. 'What's it based on?' Nonstick cookware is made from polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE, a subset of the synthetic chemicals group called per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The ban wouldn't just affect pots and pans. Advertisement The sale of some architectural paints, car parts, cleaning products, rugs, ski wax textiles and polish containing PFAS would also be prohibited, according to the proposed law. The legislation passed the state Senate in May and has already cleared two crucial state Assembly committees in the legislature's lower chamber. A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the legislation is 'being discussed.' The final bill would also need to be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), one of the bill's architects, called the PFAS-laced products 'cancer causing pollutants' harmful to a person's health and environment. Advertisement 3 Lawmakers in support of the bill claim the type of pots and pans are not safe. Octopus16 – 'By phasing out this whole class of dangerous 'forever chemicals' we can decrease the likelihood that New Yorkers are exposed to these toxins through the life-cycle of the product, including the manufacturing, use, and disposal,' Hoylman-Sigal, who is running for Manhattan borough president, said in a statement. The bill also has some broad support, with moderate Democrats and even a pair of Republican Senators co-sponsoring the proposal. Brooklyn Democratic Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forres even wrote an op-ed for USA Today last month arguing the chemicals used to coat non-stick cookware pose health risks. 'As a nurse, this concerns me, and it's why I'm in support of getting these chemicals out of our cookware and other products, and ensuring safer alternatives are used,' said Souffrant Forres, a member of the Democratic Socialists of American. The FDA website notes that nonstick applications on pots and pans are an authorized use under federal guidelines. One Westchester Assemblyman against the measure noted the FDA's longstanding stance. 'I think consumer choice is crucial, there's no question,' Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Yorktown) said. 'But you're running in conflict with what the [Food and Drug Administration] has out there.' 3 Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal is backing the legislation. Hans Pennink Advertisement The potential ban is one of several heavy-handed rules Empire State lawmakers have considered or put in place, including targeting wood and coal-fired stoves, single-use plastic bottles of soap in hotels and flavored nicotine pouches. While nonstick pans with PTFE are considered safe when used correctly, if the cookware is set to a temperature above 500 degrees, the coating can burn off and cause potentially harmful fumes, according to a 2024 Washington Post article. The fumes can lead to a polymer fume fever, also known as Teflon flu. Advertisement An FDA spokesperson told the publication that the agency is not aware of any research that shows PFAS in nonstick cookware could lead to a safety concern for customers – a point Burns from the cookware alliance points to. 'This dates all the way back to the JFK administration and has been true under both Democratic and Republican presidents alike,' he said.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Blue's Clues' Reveals Shocking Salary from Hit Show
Blue's Clues' former host, Steve Burns, is a treasure to Millennials who grew up with the Nickelodeon personality. Kids had merchandise with his show's logo and that beloved puppy, Blue, but Burns didn't get to cash in on that success. On the May 1 episode of Rainn Wilson's Soul Boom podcast, the 51-year-old actor described the show as his "side hustle forever." Burns also made a shocking claim about his salary, sharing, "Every waiter I ever knew made more money than I did for the first many seasons of that show." Instead of making his fortune from this TV fame, he was fortunate to also have a successful voice-over career. It was commercials that "kind of sustained" Burns during those years. "But man, it was grim," he added. He was also living a stereotypical struggling actor's life in this Nickelodeon years with his housing accommodations. Burns said he "lived in a hallway [in a NYC apartment]. I built like a little shelf in a hallway between two tiny bedrooms." Burns exited the show in 2002 amid privately suffering with clinical depression. It was a diagnosis that he didn't share with fans until 20 years later. "I didn't know it yet, but I was the happiest depressed person in North America," he told Variety. "I was struggling with severe clinical depression the whole time I was on that show. It was my job to be utterly and completely full of joy and wonder at all times, and that became impossible." Burns now stays in touch with fans on his popular TikTok account. 'My favorite thing about TikTok is that what I'm doing is incredibly simple. Everyone else is doing all the work. And what really gets me is when someone posts something dark, simple, something grim, and everyone else comments to support them,' Burns shared with The New York Times in September 2024. 'I think that's really beautiful. And it's happening just because some middle-aged bald dude in glasses is paying attention.'
Express Tribune
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Steve Burns reflects on early struggles with pay during Blue's Clues, shares his path to fame
Steve Burns, best known for hosting Blue's Clues, recently opened up about the financial struggles he faced during his early years on the show. In an interview with Rainn Wilson on the May 1 episode of the Soul Boom podcast, Burns admitted that his pay for hosting the beloved Nickelodeon children's series was "grim" for a long time. Despite the fame Blue's Clues brought him, Burns revealed that he made less money than many waiters he knew in the early seasons of the show. "Every waiter I ever knew made more money than I did for the first many seasons," Burns said. For much of that time, Burns relied on his voiceover work for commercials to support himself, which he described as his primary income. He even lived in a hallway in a New York City apartment while managing his Blue's Clues duties as a "side hustle." Burns also shared his initial hesitation about the role, recalling that he had no intention of becoming the host. He had originally thought the audition was for a voiceover gig and had never considered working in children's television. 'If I had known that it was to be the guy on the show, I wouldn't have gone,' he said. Despite his reluctance, Burns ultimately decided to go for it, using his acting training from the esteemed Uta Hagen to give the audition his best effort. Burns hosted Blue's Clues from 1996 to 2002. After his departure, Donovan Patton took over as the on-screen host, and the show was later revived with Josh Dela Cruz as the new host in Blue's Clues & You!, with Burns making occasional appearances.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Steve From "Blue's Clues" Got Real About How Much He Was Actually Paid For The Show
Do you remember Steve from Blue's Clues on Nickelodeon, the show that basically helped raise most millennials? Steve Burns recently revealed that he barely made any money from starring in the first few seasons of the Nick Jr. developmental children's show, in which he was featured alongside the animated dog Blue. Steve, only 22 years old at the time, starred in Blue's Clues from 1996 to 2001 before being replaced by Donovan Patton, and now it is starting to make sense why he decided to exit the show. On an episode of the podcast Soul Bloom with Rainn Wilson, Steve opened up about his time on Blue's Clues and his mental health journey, revealing how much he made from the children's show. Related: Here's Why Channing Tatum And Zoë Kravitz Reportedly Split "Every waiter I ever knew made more money than I did for the first many seasons of that show," Steve said. "My real gig was, I was a voiceover guy. I fell into that early," he added. Related: Leonardo DiCaprio's 26-Year-Old Girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, Just Talked About What It's Really Like Dating Him — And Some Of Her Comments Are Making Me View Them Differently Steve thought he would be doing a voiceover for an animated character on the show. "Because I thought it was a voice thing, I went to the audition. And when I got there, there was a camera in the room. And I thought, 'Oh, shit. I better do something.' Yeah. And so I looked at the script, and, you know, I figured … I'm gonna act the shit out of this." While the low pay was indeed wild, it wasn't necessarily why Steve parted ways with the show. In a 2006 Nickelodeon special, Behind the Clues: 10 Years of Blue, Steve revealed, at the time, he was losing his hair. "I knew I wasn't going to be doing children's television all my life. Mostly because I refused to lose my hair on a kids TV show, and it was happening fast." Thankfully, Steve and Donovan would return for the premiere episode of the new and improved Blue's Clues and You, hosted by Joshua Dela Cruz in 2019. Steve would star in the feature film Blue's Big City Adventure alongside the other guys as well. Steve has since shown up a couple of times on the internet to directly address his longtime fans, and it has made people incredibly emotional. He even checked in on us big kids on his TikTok page after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, and gee, didn't we all need that? TikTok @hioutthereitsmesteve / Via It's a bummer about the low pay, but I think I speak for most millennials when I say we're glad Steve auditioned for Blue's Clues. Listen to the full podcast episode here. Also in Celebrity: These 21 Celebrity Ex-Marriages Were So Brief And Bizarre, They Practically Evaporated From Hollywood History Also in Celebrity: 28 Celebs Who Never Seem To Get Canceled Despite Some Pretty Awful Behavior Also in Celebrity: 15 Celebs Who Went From 'Wait, They Did WHAT?!' Normal Jobs To Massive Fame
Buzz Feed
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Steve From "Blue's Clues" Got Real About How Much He Was Actually Paid For The Show
Do you remember Steve from Blue's Clues on Nickelodeon, the show that basically helped raise most millennials? Steve Burns recently revealed that he barely made any money from starring in the first few seasons of the Nick Jr. developmental children's show, in which he was featured alongside the animated dog Blue. Steve, only 22 years old at the time, starred in Blue's Clues from 1996 to 2001 before being replaced by Donovan Patton, and now it is starting to make sense why he decided to exit the show. On an episode of the podcast Soul Bloom with Rainn Wilson, Steve opened up about his time on Blue's Clues and his mental health journey, revealing how much he made from the children's show. "Every waiter I ever knew made more money than I did for the first many seasons of that show," Steve said. "My real gig was, I was a voiceover guy. I fell into that early," he added. Steve thought he would be doing a voiceover for an animated character on the show. "Because I thought it was a voice thing, I went to the audition. And when I got there, there was a camera in the room. And I thought, 'Oh, shit. I better do something.' Yeah. And so I looked at the script, and, you know, I figured … I'm gonna act the shit out of this." While the low pay was indeed wild, it wasn't necessarily why Steve parted ways with the show. In a 2006 Nickelodeon special, Behind the Clues: 10 Years of Blue, Steve revealed, at the time, he was losing his hair. "I knew I wasn't going to be doing children's television all my life. Mostly because I refused to lose my hair on a kids TV show, and it was happening fast." Thankfully, Steve and Donovan would return for the premiere episode of the new and improved Blue's Clues and You, hosted by Joshua Dela Cruz in 2019. Steve would star in the feature film Blue's Big City Adventure alongside the other guys as well. Steve has since shown up a couple of times on the internet to directly address his longtime fans, and it has made people incredibly emotional. He even checked in on us big kids on his TikTok page after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, and gee, didn't we all need that? It's a bummer about the low pay, but I think I speak for most millennials when I say we're glad Steve auditioned for Blue's Clues.
