Discrimination

HUMBERTO CASPA It's been about a week since five Latino mothers stood up in front of the Newport-Mesa Board of Education to complain about racial and ethnic discrimination at TeWinkle Middle School. So far, our community has shown a perplexing response of silence, as if nothing has happened. There hasn't been a spark of controversy. There has been no public outcry; no opinion letters have made it into the Daily Pilot's mailbag, either supporting the five moms' version or defending the school's principal Dan Diehl and his assistant Tim Tolzda against discrimination charges.

Many years ago when Cesar Chavez and his followers were leading demonstrations all across California for decent wages and working conditions for farm workers, an old friend of war days and journalism battles called me from Laguna Beach to join him and the protesters there. When my response was a long, long, long pause, he said: “That’s not your style, is it?” It wasn’t. Much as I supported the farm workers, I didn’t go. Instead, I wrote a magazine article extolling Chavez and his cause.

I am a committee member of the Dyke March Organizers and also an employee of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Orange County and my response to Steve Smith's column: I just wanted to share that I found it very interesting and agreed with many of the points that Smith made about how respect is not something that you can demand (Family Time, "Respect cannot be demanded," Aug. 31). Sometimes, seeking respect is not an easy path and not something that can be sought out; it's something that is earned.

The California Supreme Court is set to rule on a case involving two Christian physicians in San Diego County who declined to perform an intrauterine insemination for a lesbian. The case pits religious freedom against the right of gays to avoid discrimination. Should the court rule that doctors have the right to deny treatment they think is against their religious beliefs, or should the judges consider that discrimination? ? This case is a symptom of a much larger problem, which is the agenda of those who seek the destruction of the traditional family.

On the steps of Los Angeles City Hall, a middle-aged man tells a crowd of young gay-rights activists what it was like to live in the era of Harvey Milk: ?We felt like we were so close to full equality,? he says, ?like we could reach out and grab it.? Yet 30 years later, the passage of Proposition 8 reminds us that progress can be slow. For young people who believed that we grew up in an era of seemingly increasing acceptance, Proposition 8 has been a shocking and brutal assault.

Deirdre Newman There is reason to believe that Cirque du Soleil discriminated against an HIV-positive performer when it fired him, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday. The commission's determination is in response to a federal discrimination complaint filed on behalf of former trapeze catcher Matthew Cusick by Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian civil rights organization. The determination came a day after Cirque offered to hire Cusick back.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about teens and race, and how it seemed that Americans younger than 30, particularly our high school students, have a healthy perspective on race and religion. Yes, there are those in this group who discriminate. But it seems that on the whole, their attitude toward race is closer to “whatever.” I wrote that the one group that was still facing heavy discrimination, even among the “whatevers,” was homosexuals. It’s hard to hide whether you are white or black or brown — all groups subject to discrimination.

Deirdre Newman A small protest of alleged discrimination by Cirque du Soleil took place Friday before the opening night of "Varekai." Seven people held signs and handed out fliers and stickers in protest of Cirque du Soleil firing a cast member from performing because he disclosed that he is HIV-positive. The protest stems from a federal discrimination complaint Lambda Legal filed in July against Cirque du Soleil on behalf of Matthew Cusick.

The Newport Beach Public Library has a variety of books available to help parents teach their children about respecting one another and the beliefs and practices of others. The Tolerance Collection was funded by a donation from the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation. The following four books are perfect for your independent readers to enjoy; they also make excellent books for reading aloud. In "Now We Can Have a Wedding," by Judy Cox, we learn what happens when Roberto and Sally's wedding day arrives and all of the tenants in the apartment building bring their own nuptial dishes to the reception.

In so many ways, one of the biggest civil rights issues of our day is the way we treat Muslims in our country. Yes, 9/11 was an act of war against the United States, and yes, it was carried out by radical Muslims. But it is our obligation to realize that it simply is not appropriate to stereotype classes of people, be they Muslims or anybody else. Many Muslim traditions seem a bit strange to many of us, and thus it is natural to be somewhat fearful. But as I noted in a 2011 column , in more than half of the dialects of the world's languages there is no distinction between the word for "stranger" and the word for "enemy.

A fired Newport Beach police officer sued the city and Police Department on Thursday, alleging that superiors retaliated against him after he testified in a colleague's civil trial. Former Officer John Hougan's filing with the Orange County Superior Court alleges that he faced three unnecessary internal investigations, was demoted from sergeant to officer, and then was fired after testifying in 2009 on behalf of a sergeant who alleged mistreatment after rumors circulated that he was gay. Hougan, who is seeking a judgment of more than $25,000, could not be located for comment.

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday evening voted unanimously in favor of a new ordinance that, if adopted at the next public meeting, would "forbid rich and poor alike" to park a bicycle, except in a bike rack, on a public or semipublic (whatever that means) right of way or to tether it to a pole, hydrant, etc. Any bicycle so found would be impounded, along with any personal belongings attached to it, and the owner would have to pay for storage in order to claim it and would be subject to a fine of $10. After 90 days, unclaimed bikes and personal belongings would be sold.

The city of Newport Beach prevailed in court this week when a judge ruled that the city could terminate its agreement with Morningside Recovery. Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell decided the city had the authority when it revoked the recovery center's zoning agreement in July. "The record before this court makes it very clear that the city did just as it was required to do," according to the decision. The city said Morningside breached its original zoning agreement because of its multiple violations, including failing to provide information on the number of parolees and probationers at each facility; using the city seal on its website without authorization; and exceeding the maximum number of beds at its facilities, according to court documents.

The sounds of the high school band Cosmic Infinity reverberated through Corona del Mar High School's quad Friday, drowning out the conversations of students eating lunch. As the music geared up, students celebrated breaking the silence, with some pulling pieces of tape from their mouths and speaking for the first time that day. "I want people to know they are definitely not alone and they can speak up and they have a voice," said freshman Savannah Bachelder, 14, who is part of the Humans Relations Council.

A former Newport Beach firefighter has sued the city in Orange County Superior Court, alleging racial discrimination during his probationary employment period. Christian Benard, 37, who is of Nicaraguan heritage, started in the city's probationary firefighting class in March 2009. He alleges that during his 10-month stint he was not given proper medical aid training and was unfairly criticized by captains at Fire Station No. 7 in Santa Ana Heights. Benard asserts in court papers that immediately after he was assigned to the station, he noticed that he was treated differently than firefighters in his class who were not Latino, and that he sought his own medical aid training when it wasn't provided.

A Newport Beach-based hotel company is expected to pay a settlement of $132,500 for allegedly discriminating against one of its own employees, according to authorities. Tarsadia Hotels settled a suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claimed an autistic employee who worked as a clerk for a Comfort Suites hotel in San Diego's Mission Valley was refused a state-funded job coach to teach him workplace skills, according to a news release from the EEOC.

A former Newport Beach fire official accused of racking up $26,000 in unpaid toll road fees while using a city vehicle has sued the city for alleged discrimination and retaliation against an injured worker, court records show. Paul Matheis, a former divisional fire chief, filed a lawsuit against the city of Newport Beach in Orange County Superior Court claiming that the city began to retaliate against him after a shoulder accident that required time off in 2009, according to a May 25 lawsuit.

What began as an enjoyable day at last year's Corona del Mar Christmas Walk has resulted in a legal claim of racial discrimination against Landmark Steakhouse, along with questions about whether Corona del Mar is a hostile community to African Americans. Mark McHenry filed a federal lawsuit on March 29 seeking unspecified monetary payment for "mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation" resulting from racial slurs used in place of his name on two Dec. 5, 2010 receipts from the Landmark Steakhouse, where he was a regular customer.

NEWPORT BEACH — A federal judge ruled this week that Newport Beach's law restricting group rehabilitation homes does not discriminate against disabled people, handing the city a partial victory in its protracted litigation with operators. U.S. District Court Judge James Selna found that the city enforces the ordinance against both recovering addicts and other individuals equally, and that the city did not violate the patients' privacy, but he also found that the operators can seek some damages.