Man gets 40 years to life for killing wife in Desert Hot Springs
Deputies find warehouse full of allegedly stolen goods
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Thursday, May 16-May 22, 2024
VOL. 10,
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Teacher, school district settle religious discrimination suit By City News Service
A
ttorneys for a former Jurupa Unified School District teacher who sued the district for firing her over what she argued were religious grounds because she questioned a policy not to tell parents about children's gender identity choices announced Tuesday that a settlement had been reached. Jessica Tapia's attorneys, from Murrieta-based Advocates for Faith & Freedom, said the former physical educator instructor and JUSD agreed Monday to settle her claims with a $360,000 payout, ending the ongoing federal civil rights litigation. "What happened to me can happen to anybody, and I want the next teacher to know that it is worth it to take a stand for what is
right," Tapia said. "Across the country, we are seeing teachers' freedom of speech and religious liberty violated through policies that require them to forsake their morals. I want teachers to be confident in the fact that the best thing we can do for students is educate in truth, not deception." A district spokeswoman said the JUSD Board of Trustees voted in favor of the settlement agreement without admitting "any fault or wrongdoing." "The decision to settle this case was made in conjunction with the district's self-insurance administrators and in the best interest of the students, such that the district would be able to dedicate all of its resources
Jessica Tapia. | Photo courtesy of imjessicatapia/Instagram
and efforts to its student population, regardless of their protected class,"
according to a statement released to City News Service.
Tapia had filed her civil action based on Title 7 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits religious viewpoint discrimination. After her dismissal in February 2023, the district said that it "takes seriously the obligation to accommodate its employee's religious beliefs. Simultaneously, the district is obligated to comply with all local, state and federal laws, including ... laws that protect students' rights to privacy." Tapia said in March 2023 that her dismissal was rooted in an interaction with administrators during which she and colleagues were instructed "to withhold information from parents"
whenever they encountered a student who had begun identifying as a different gender. "I said, 'Are you asking me to lie?' And they said, 'Yes, it's for students' privacy,'" the former Jurupa Valley High School teacher said. "It was just so bizarre to me, because you're talking about minors. The decisionmaking portal of their brain is not fully developed. They need their parents at this time for everything." Tapia said she specifically ran afoul a district policy linked to Assembly Bill 1266, which was signed into law in 2014. The bill focused on "pupil rights," expanding on Section 221.5
See Religious discrimination Page 14
Over a dozen accused in Inland Empire auto insurance fraud scheme
Northern Lights spotted in Riverside County
By City News Service
By City News Service
M
ore than a dozen people are accused of engaging in an elaborate fraud scheme across the Inland Empire that entailed making false representations to individuals involved in collisions in order to take their vehicles and hold them "hostage" until receiving insurance payments, authorities said Friday. Search warrants were executed Thursday by the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force, led by investigators from the California Department of Insur-
ance and composed of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, targeting 12 of 15 defendants. The task force's monthslong investigation uncovered an alleged fraud ring responsible for $353,035 in losses to auto insurers, according to the DOI. The alleged ringleader was identified as 36-yearold Andre Angelo Reyes of Corona, who worked closely with 35-year-old Anthony Gomez of Jurupa Valley, operator of CA Collision,
with repair facilities in San Bernardino County, according to investigators. Additional alleged cohorts named by the DOI were: -- Steven Anthony Alfaro, 38, of Buena Park; -- Robert Arzac, 49, of West Covina; -- Emily Marie Boatman, 26, of Ontario; -- Erika Garcia, 31, of Los Angeles; -- Brian Anthony Lopez, 25, of Anaheim; -Ezequiel Baltazar
See Auto insurance fraud Page 28
S
ome lucky Southern California stargazers were treated to a virtually unprecedented sight this weekend when the sky turned green, pink and red as the Northern Lights made a rare appearance here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had announced that the aurora borealis would be visible in the contiguous United States late Friday and early Saturday, as far south as Alabama to northern California. That was enough to send some Southland residents
scurrying to local mountain tops in hopes of seeing even a reduced glimpse of the famous phenomenon, which is typically seen in areas of Europe, the northern Atlantic Ocean, Canada and Alaska. "This is absolutely unprecedented to see this in Southern California," photographer Mark Girardeau of Orange County Outdoors wrote on Instagram at about 1 a.m. Saturday, accompanied by a photograph taken near See Northern Lights Page 13
Mountain High in Wrightwood, high up in the San Gabriel Mountains. "It's viewable as far south as San Diego and Mexico," Girardeau added. "It would be visible from Orange County if it weren't for the clouds." Girardeau was joined by other local photographers including Patrick Coyne of Torrance. "Last night absolutely felt like a dream. We had the privilege of seeing the Northern lights here in