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The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union
The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union
The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union
Kim McGill

Kim McGill, Senior Staff Writer

Kim McGill is a senior staff writer and photographer for The Union. Kim is enrolled in the Warrior Life Magazine class, J9, for the spring semester.

All content by Kim McGill
Got weed? Despite legalization, finding cannabis in the South Bay isn't easy. The bright green areas on the map - the cities of LA and Hawthorne - indicate the only areas where operating shops that sell marijuana products for medical and recreational use, deliveries, manufacturing, cultivation for sales, and growing for personal use are all allowed. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Got weed? Despite legalization, finding cannabis in the South Bay isn’t easy.

By Kim McGill
September 27, 2024
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department raids an unlicensed cannabis dispensary on Imperial Highway in South Central Los Angeles. Customers and workers say the underground economy will continue due to barriers that prevent participation in the licensed industry. (Kim McGill | The Union)

From locked up to locked out: South Bay cities fail to deliver on the promises of marijuana legalization

By Kim McGill
September 6, 2024
Ms. Yellow's mural at the Del Amo Plaza Swap Meet in Rancho Dominguez celebrates Indigenous cultures. Since the college's founding, students, staff and faculty have debated its name, various logos, mascots and student publications while Native American leaders - both on and off campus - have criticized ECC's use of stereotypical and disrespectful names and images. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

Painful symbols, one fired donkey, a missing statue, and a newspaper that lost its name: El Camino struggles to find its identity

By Kim McGill
May 28, 2024
Illustration by Kim McGill

Raised by Dogs: What dogs have taught me about being human

By Kim McGill
May 22, 2024
Juan Hernandez’s mother, Yajaira Hernandez, right, and his aunt, Stephanie Pineda, both gave victim impact statements in court at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, April 25. “I want you to look at Juan Carlos Hernandez’s picture, to imprint his face and name in your memory, so that you will never forget what you have done. You have taken away a bright future and left us with nothing but pain and sorrow,” Pineda said. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Men convicted of killing El Camino College student sentenced, face up to life in prison

By Kim McGill
April 25, 2024
Yajaira Hernandez and her partner Joel Wright wait outside Department 117 on the 11th floor of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles during a break in closing arguments on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. On Monday, Feb. 26, jurors found Weijia Peng, 34, of Alhambra and Ethan Astaphan, 30, of San Gabriel guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Hernandez's son, El Camino College student Juan Hernandez. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, April 25. Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Habib Balian called Peng’s and Astaphan’s actions, “cold, deliberate, calculated, vicious." (Kim McGill | The Union)

Two marijuana dispensary workers found guilty in murder of El Camino student

By Kim McGill
February 27, 2024
On Feb. 14, 2024, Glendale Police Department Detective Juan Giraldo waits to testify outside Department 117 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown L.A. A specialist in computer forensics for the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory, Giraldo was able to recover images from deleted videos that showed an attack on Juan Hernandez by the VIP dispensary's owner, Weijia Peng, and manager, Ethan Astaphan. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Hernandez murder trial: Phone messages and security video frames reveal possible motive

By Kim McGill
February 26, 2024
Dr. Brian Hutchins, chief forensic pathologist with the Coroner Division of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department leaves Department 117 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles after testifying in the case against two men accused of killing El Camino student Juan Hernandez. Hutchins first examined the remains of a body found in a remote section of the Mojave Desert on Nov. 15, 2020. On Nov. 16, 2020, using Mikrosil casting to lift fingerprints, the remains were identified as those of Hernandez. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Hernandez murder trial: Security video shown in court; cell phone tracking leads law enforcement to slain student’s body

By Kim McGill
February 25, 2024
LAPD detective Jennifer Hammer (left) and L.A. County Assistant District Attorney Hamid Balian meet outside court on Jan. 17, 2024 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Hammer has served as one of the lead investigators in the murder of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez. Balian has led the prosecution team. Ethan Astaphan, 30, of San Gabriel and Weijia Peng, 34, of Alhambra are being tried for Hernandez's killing. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Trial of two men accused of slaying El Camino student starts in Downtown L.A.

By Kim McGill
February 21, 2024
Large murals decorate the outside walls of the Del Amo Swap Meet in Rancho Dominguez, pictured here on Oct. 29, 2023, including a tribute to Compton rapper and co-founder of both Ruthless Records and N.W.A., Eazy-E (Eric Wright). Swap meets sold Hip Hop mix tapes and records long before commercial radio and music producers recognized L.A. artists. Eazy-E forged a special relationship with North Korean immigrant Wan Joo Kim who opened Cycadelic Records at Compton Swap Meet. Eazy-E delivered boxes of Ruthless Records’ first single “Boyz-in-the-Hood” out of the trunk of his car to Kim and other swap meet vendors throughout South L.A. Kim McGill | Warrior Life

Hip Hop just turned 50. For the love of rap radio, gangsta flows and low lows, visit these spots to celebrate South L.A.’s contributions to the world’s most popular culture

By Kim McGill
December 12, 2023
L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies raid a marijuana dispensary on Imperial Highway in South Central Los Angeles on March 9, 2022. The majority of the workers frisked and detained were women. Kim McGill | Warrior Life

My experiences locked up in the world’s largest jail system expose why caging people increases the problems the injustice system claims to address

By Kim McGill
December 11, 2023
El Camino College, elected officials and several municipal fire departments break ground on the construction of a new South Bay Public Safety Training Center on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 in parking lot L. Participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were, from left to right, City of Torrance Mayor George Chen, former El Camino President Dena Maloney, California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, El Camino President Brenda Thames, El Camino Public Safety Director Chief Jeff Baumunk, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group of the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association Jim Birrell, El Camino College Vice President of Administrative Services Robert Suppelsa, San Bernardino County Assistant Fire Chief and former Torrance Fire Chief Martin Serna and El Camino College Trustee Brett Roberts. (Kim McGill | The Union)

El Camino breaks ground on new ‘state-of-the-art’ public safety training center

By Kim McGill
October 6, 2023
El Camino Fire Academy students line up in front of the rescue tower on Dec. 13, 2021. For more than 20 years, El Camino has been training future firefighters at this center located at 206 W. Beach Ave. in Inglewood. On Friday, Sept. 29 El Camino will break ground on a new Public Safety Training Center. (Kim McGill | The Union)

El Camino to break ground on new Public Safety Training Center Friday

By Kim McGill
September 28, 2023
Jailen Commissiong (center) speaks with his attorney outside Department 117 on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown L.A. Commissiong has been subpoenaed to testify as a witness for the prosecution, but told The Union he knows nothing about what caused the disappearance and death of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Trial in murder of El Camino student Juan Hernandez continued until 2024

By Kim McGill
September 19, 2023
The Pico House located at 424 N. Main St. in Los Angeles, pictured here on Nov. 13, 2022, is the site where several vicious attacks occurred just outside the hotel’s entrance during the 1871 Chinese Massacre. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

Top 5 haunted places close to ECC: From downtown L.A. to the South Bay, here’s where you are most likely to encounter a ghost

By Kim McGill
June 19, 2023
Fumie Coello | Special to Warrior Life

My life as an oyster: Searching for gender identity

By Kim McGill
June 17, 2023
J.J. Cole (center) models in a life drawing class at El Camino College on April 4, as students Hyekyung Kim (left) and Fumie Coello (lower right) paint his portrait. Cole has worked as an art model for 25 years after retiring from a career as a professional dancer in Houston, New York City and Los Angeles. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

The naked truth: Art models at El Camino inspire students to portray humanity in all its forms

By Kim McGill
June 14, 2023
Sniffing butts has never been better than at Redondo Beach Dog Park, seen here on November 11, 2022, and four other dog parks close to ECC according to Bob the Dog who visited and compared ten dog parks from South L.A. to the South Bay. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

Sniffing butts has never been better: Bob the Dog reports on the five best dog parks near ECC – dog tested, dog approved

By Kim McGill
June 12, 2023
(Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

How I messed up my mom’s memorial: The conversations, skills and wisdom I miss now that she’s gone

By Kim McGill
June 9, 2023
The aquatic nursery at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, Calif. on April 11, where scientists are raising critically endangered species that can be reintroduced to the wild, including the white abalone. Native to Southern and Baja California, the marine snail was the first invertebrate to be included on the endangered species list. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Tiny aquarium leads charge to heal California’s coasts

By Kim McGill
June 5, 2023
On the inside of the barrier wall that people jump to enter Sunken City — between communities still intact and the desolation of a neighborhood that slid into the sea — a graffiti writer created a chubby-blue water drop with hollow, mournful eyes, seen here on April 22, 2023. The water drop character could be a warning: “Water and shifting lands are stronger than humankind. Try and control us, hold back the ocean’s fury or stop the shifting of tectonic plates, tempt our tides, awaken our fault lines, warm and rise our seas at your own peril.” Kim McGill | The Union

Sunken City, San Pedro, serves as a warning for coastal communities

By Kim McGill
June 5, 2023
Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and is often added to other drugs to cause a more potent high, including heroin and methamphetamine. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) “were the main driver of drug overdose deaths with a nearly 7.5-fold increase from 2015 to 2021.” (Kim McGill | The Union)

El Camino out of compliance with state law to prevent opioid overdose deaths

By Kim McGill
June 1, 2023
On Nov. 20, 2022, Yajaira Hernandez and her oldest son, Joseph Hernandez, visit the site where the remains of Juan Hernandez were laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, Calif. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

Justice for Cookie: How the murder of El Camino College student Juan Hernandez turned his mom into a powerful leader in the growing movement to heal families and communities

By Kim McGill
May 17, 2023
Nayeli Oliva (left), Keiana Daniel, former Vice President of Student Services Ross Miyashiro, Trustee Nilo Michelin and President Brenda Thames stand together during the ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of the Black Student Success Center on April 26. (Khoury Williams | The Union)

Black Student Success Center officially unveiled at El Camino

By Kim McGill
May 3, 2023
On Nov. 20, 2022, Yajaira Hernandez and her oldest son, Joseph Hernandez, visit the place where the remains of her middle son, Juan Hernandez, are laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City on Sept. 22, 2020. Hernandez left his home on Adams Boulevard in South Central Los Angeles to go to work. That was the last time Hernandez’s family saw him. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Defendant indicted in the murder of El Camino student

By Kim McGill
April 19, 2023
Kim McGill | Special to The Union

Tax deadline postponed to Oct. 16 for most Californians

By Kim McGill
April 18, 2023
Kim McGill | Special to The Union

Showdown in Lot Bee demonstrated how to prevent police use-of-force

By Kim McGill
April 6, 2023
The elevator in El Camino's Arts and Behavioral Science Building, located at the southwest entrance, was out of order on the morning of Tuesday, April 4. Some people with disabilities and physical challenges had no way to get upstairs for class while others struggled. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Out of order elevator prompts struggle for disabled students and employees

By Kim McGill
April 6, 2023
On Feb 21, 2023 egg prices range from $7.49 to $8.99 for a quart of liquid eggs; $6.49 to $9.99 for a dozen shelled; and $28.99 for a carton of 60 at the Albertson's Supermarket near El Camino College at 1735 Artesia Blvd. in Gardena, Calif. (Kim McGill | The Union)

El Camino community reeling from soaring egg prices

By Kim McGill
March 1, 2023
Yajaira Hernandez, casts a shadow over the location where her son's remains are at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, on Nov. 20. Two men are in custody awaiting trial charged with the murder of El Camino engineering student Juan Hernandez. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Third defendant extradited, arraigned for murder of El Camino student

By Kim McGill
November 23, 2022
Lillian Justice, El Camino College Registrar, contributes to the painting of a monarch butterfly - the symbol of migrants throughout the Americas during the opening of the UndocuWarriors art exhibition on Oct. 24 located in Schauerman Library's Collaboration Room. (Kim McGill | The Union)

UndocuWarriors art exhibit showcases migrant experiences

By Kim McGill
November 17, 2022
El Camino College Associated Students Organization members (left to right) Senator Rebecca Gloyer, Senator J Arden Jackson, ASO President Jana Abulaban and Student Trustee Sidney Lee at El Camino's Social Justice Center on Thursday, Oct. 19. The group serves on the ASO Initiatives Committee that is working to provide menstrual health products on campus.(Kim McGill | The Union)

Student government aims to increase access to menstrual health products

By Kim McGill
October 19, 2022
Vice President of Student Services Ross Miyashiro handing out t-shirts to people attending the opening of the new Social Justice Center on Sept. 28 in Torrance, Calf. Miyashiro said, “That’s what social justice is about – more egalitarian and less hierarchy.” (Kim McGill | The Union) Photo credit: Kim McGill

[Photo] Social Justice Center aims to build unity and equity at El Camino

By Kim McGill
September 29, 2022

Trial in murder of El Camino student postponed until 2023

By Kim McGill
September 28, 2022

Possible threat against student under investigation by El Camino Police Department

By Kim McGill
May 20, 2022

Suspect’s sentencing postponed in homicide of El Camino College student

By Kim McGill
May 12, 2022
Staff and members of the El Camino College Formerly Incarcerated Re-Entry Students Thriving (FIRST) Program outside their office located in the Counseling Center on the second floor of El Camino's Student Services building on Thursday, April 14. Since its start in 2019, FIRST has supported 56 formerly incarcereted or system impacted students to register for classes; access financials aid; connect to resources for housing, income assistance, food and clothing; prepare to tranfer to a university and/or career; and to navigate the often confusing, discrimnatory and challenging re-entry process. Pictured here are (L to R) Isabel Gonzalez, FIRST success coach, Ricky Gonzalez, FIRST program coordinator, Luis Medina, Pablo Giron, Eduardo Dumbrique and Gerardo Diaz. (Kim McGill | The Union)

El Camino’s FIRST Program supports formerly incarcerated students to succeed in college

By Kim McGill
May 11, 2022
Yajaira Hernandez holds a photo of her son, El Camino College student Juan Hernandez, 21, at the #SurvivorsSpeak rally in Sacramento on Tuesday, April 26. On Tuesday, May 3, Hernandez went to Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse for a hearing in the case of The People of Calif. vs. Sonita Heng. Heng, 22, has accepted a plea deal for her role in the murder of Hernandez' son. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Trial of Ethan Astaphan has possible start date Sept. 6

By Kim McGill
May 8, 2022

Support unhoused students by letting them sleep overnight in their cars

By Kim McGill
March 31, 2022
Three storefronts now for sale in South Central Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. On Sept. 22, 2020 Juan Hernandez, a 21-year-old El Camino College student, came to his job here as a "budtender" for the V.I.P. Collective marijuana dispensary. His body was found nearly two months later at a remote location in the Mojave Desert. (Kim McGill | The Union)

Defendant in Hernandez homicide case pleads not guilty

By Kim McGill
March 16, 2022
Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, March 10 where a hearing was scheduled in Department 40 in the lawsuit filed against El Camino College District, El Camino College's Police Department and Dalfiery Toruno - a former El Camino police sergeant. An undisclosed settlement was reached in the case. Toruno was found to be in violation of District policy when he sent multiple nonconsensual pornographic, racist and homophobic text messages and videos to an 18-year-old ECC police cadet. Kim McGill | The Union.

Undisclosed settlement has been reached in sexual misconduct case

By Kim McGill
March 11, 2022

Final settlement not reached in lawsuit against former El Camino police sergeant

By Kim McGill
March 9, 2022
Los Angeles Police Department detectives Jennifer Hammer and Daniel Jaramillo of the Robbery Homicide Division carry the "murder book" with other files in the preliminary hearing held over three days from Monday, Feb. 28 to Wednesday, March 2. Law enforcement officers investigating homicides often organize their evidence into a murder book, a large binder that contains the details of a case. Kim McGill | The Union.

Preliminary hearing of defendant in Hernandez case tells more about means and motive

By Kim McGill
March 8, 2022
Diana Enriquez tips the ball over the net in a move known as a “kill” in a beach volleyball match between El Camino and Fullerton on Friday, Feb. 25 at El Camino. "I love beach volleyball even more than indoor volleyball because you get to control the ball on every play," said Enriquez, a kinesiology major in her third year competing for ECC. Photo by Kim McGill/The Union.

El Camino beach volleyball team victorious in matches against Golden West and Fullerton College

By Kim McGill
February 28, 2022
Megan Kane, the only woman in the El Camino College Fire Academy's 157th class, trains with the other students at the academy's center in Inglewood, California on Wednesday, Nov. 2. ECC’s Fire Academy, formerly known as the South Bay Academy, has trained firefighters for more than 50 years, but women still make up less than 1% of its classes. Photo by Kim McGill/The Union

ECC could become a leader in addressing gender discrimination in the fire service

By Kim McGill
January 21, 2022

Broken pipeline sends winter semester online

By Kim McGill
January 2, 2022
Hatien Nguyen, an ECC adjunct counselor and human development professor helps a student access resources at the ECC International Student Center on Friday, Nov. 5. Nguyen says it's the responsibility of all students, staff and faculty to ensure that everyone at ECC is welcome on campus, protected, and able to achieve their goals despite barriers. “That’s what equity means,” Nguyen says. Photo by Kim McGill/The Union

L.A. County has seen an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes

By Kim McGill
December 28, 2021
Updated caption: Dalfiery Toruno, former sergeant with El Camino College Police Department, leaves Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 2. Toruno is a defendant in a lawsuit, John Doe vs. El Camino College District, et. al. El Camino College District found Toruno to be in “violation of District policy when he sent multiple, unwelcomed, pornographic, racist and homophobic text messages and videos” to an 18-year-old El Camino College police cadet, according to a document filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court. Photo by Kim McGill/The Union

ECC police sergeant, department and school district sued for sexual misconduct and discrimination

By Kim McGill
December 14, 2021

El Camino College Academic Senate votes to add three holidays to the academic calendar

By Kim McGill
December 8, 2021
El Camino College Fire Academy instructor Deena Lee stands in front of Fire Station 1 in El Segundo on Friday, Oct. 29. Lee, who has served as a firefighter with the City of El Segundo's Fire Department since 2003 will be sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 7 as its new chief. She is the first female fire chief ever in the South Bay and represents the only woman currently heading a department in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange Counties. Photo by Kim McGill/The Union

ECC Fire Academy instructor Deena Lee makes history as South Bay’s first female fire chief

By Kim McGill
December 8, 2021
El Camino College choral classes are preparing for Dec. 4 Holiday Extravaganza featuring ‘Gloria’ by Italian Baroque composer Antonio Lucio Vivaldi. Photo by Kim McGill/ECC Union

Holiday Extravaganza in-person performance to reunite three ECC choirs after COVID isolation

By Kim McGill
December 1, 2021
Friends and family members of El Camino College photography professor Darilyn Rowan, 66, gather outside the Peninsula Community Church in Rancho Palos Verdes during a memorial honoring her life on Sunday, Nov. 14. Rowan died on Oct. 19 from causes unknown. Photo by Jose Tobar/The Union

El Camino photography professor Darilyn Rowan honored at memorial service

By Kim McGill
November 18, 2021
Fourth annual pumpkin decorating contest winners announced

Fourth annual pumpkin decorating contest winners announced

By Kim McGill
November 3, 2021

Fourth annual Halloween pumpkin decorating contest returns in-person

By Kim McGill
October 22, 2021
Patrick Grant, the Division of Facilities Planning and Services and Interim Supervisor stands before the golf cart that gets him around campus while wearing his mask. “We want to make sure that staff, students and faculty are safe, and that worrying about COVID isn’t a part of their experience on campus,” he said. Photo credit: Kim McGill

Facilities Department remains committed to keeping campus sanitized during pandemic

By Kim McGill
October 6, 2021