Our correspondent Ruth wants to be cool with Staples. But she says they make it hard.
This story is from Ruth, who’s part of our correspondents program, where we commission recordings from people in communities who often don’t see their experience reflected in the media. For Smogland Radio, Ruth reports from an LA-area Staples.
Smogland Radio is a news podcast by and for LA from Los Angeles Public Press. We’ll have reporting that holds powerful people accountable, advice on how to thrive in Los Angeles, and in-depth stories about the issues that affect all of us. We’re hard on this city, because we want it to be better. We may be one of the smoggiest counties in the country, but we don’t have to be.
This week, we’re going to the Southeast LA city of Huntington Park, where street vendors and vendor advocates have found themselves in an unsettling battle with the city. Plus, our correspondent Ruth tells us why her relationship with Staples is… complicated.
You can find the videos Ruth references in her story here (https://x.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1650613941071155200?s=20) and here (https://x.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1650228253251231744?s=20)
At some Staples stores, a high-pitched, eerie sound fills the air outside. It seems to be designed to keep people from hanging out outside the store – which generally means they don’t want unhoused people around.
Ruth loves stationery stores. She loves office supplies. And she’s actually had good interactions with Staples employees in the past. But when that happened, the employee told her to keep it a secret. Why are they seemingly willing to broadcast – literally – their contempt for unhoused people, and keep it a secret when they do something nice?
You can find the videos Ruth references in her story here and here.
If you’d like to be part of our correspondents’ program, email us at [email protected].