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.

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.

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.

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.

ANAHEIM — A Muslim woman who is fighting for the right to wear her religious scarf to her hostess job at Disneyland has been taken off the schedule. Disney officials say they stopped putting Imane Boudlal on the schedule during the ongoing issue. The hotel workers' union claims that Boudlal, a restaurant hostess at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, was suspended without pay. On Tuesday, Boudlal rejected a third, alternative head covering that Disney provided, and she was sent home for the eighth time.

Costa Mesa-based Trinity Broadcasting Network has settled out of court with a former broadcasting engineer who claimed that the Christian-programming company discriminated against him because he is gay. Trinity settled in late February with Brian Dugger, who last year filed a civil suit and sought more than $2.5 million, the Daily Pilot confirmed Wednesday. Attorneys for both Dugger and Trinity Broadcasting did not return requests for comment. Details of the settlement were not available in court records.

The Costa Mesa-based Trinity Broadcasting Network has settled out of court with a former broadcasting engineer who claimed that the religious-programming company discriminated against him because he’s gay. Trinity settled in late February with Brian Dugger, who last year filed a civil suit and sought more than $2.5 million. Attorneys for both Dugger and Trinity Broadcasting did not return requests for comment. Details of the settlement were not available in court records.

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.

Newport Beach will pay a police sergeant $1.45 million after he successfully sued the city, claiming rumors at work that he was gay cost him a promotion, according to details of a settlement released Tuesday night. “All parties have agreed to a compromise in order to put the matter behind them,” Newport Beach City Atty. David Hunt said in a memo released Tuesday night. “From the city’s perspective, while it does not agree with the jury’s verdict and the council has authorized an appeal, the current circumstances justify resolving the case in this manner.