WATER is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Can’t Buy Me Love Dept.: GKN Aerospace spokesman Steve Carlson appeared on Tuesday night at the Garden Grove City Council and was – as is his fate – on the spot.

He and his employers were, depending on the speaker, responsible not just for the hazmat incident in May that led to the evacuation of over 50,000 people, also, for the Hamas-Israeli conflict and capitalism in general, which allegedly places profit over people.

What he had on his side, though, was substantial. He brought – metaphorically –  the gift of $100 million in compensation for hotel bills, lost wages, lost income, etc.

Calculators have been clicking and – assuming that everyone has the same claim and all are legitimate – that is said to work out to $2000 a claim, if everyone made a claim.  Of course, that $100 million won’t cover the theoretical costs of “emotional distress” and “lowered property values.”

I don’t doubt that most of those are real, but I also see the prospect of some bold grifters who will inflate or invent their losses, seeing an easy pay-day. Lawyers will also begin to circle, dreaming of their 33 percent.

There’s little doubt that, based on previous violations, GKN Aerospace has not exactly been fanatical about safety. And those regulatory bodies who are supposed to be protecting us from such may not have been as “johnny-on-the-spot” as they should have been.

All told, this is not exactly the human race at its finest. All I think I know is that $100 million is just the first bill coming due.