‘What’s that smell?’ Carson joins Southern California’s fraternity of stank

Outside Carson City Hall, a small gathering of residents couldn’t quite agree how to describe the stink that has been plaguing their town.

“It’s like a dirty gym sock,” said Jacob Avery, a Carson resident and football coach at Banning High School in Wilmington, chuckling. “I don’t know; it’s like an unclean locker room.”

Resident Sarah Fong popped a menthol cough drop into her mouth to combat what she described as the stench of dead fish and dirty diapers.

Fong playfully pointed to the marketing on the bag of Halls she carried inside her purse that promised “max strength” and “relief” in capital letters.

“If only,” she said. “God, if only.”