The Coast News
THE COAST NEWS
.com ESCONDIDO, SAN MARCOS, VISTA
VOL. 10, N0. 19
SEPT. 29, 2023
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
Sex assault claims . cloud CSUSM start
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4 housing incidents THE VISTA filed in first 3NEWS weeks By Laura Place
cific name requested by the student during school, while reverting to biological pronouns and legal names when speaking with parents in order to actively hide information about their child’s gender identity from them.” In his ruling issued Sept. 14, Benitez wrote, “A parent’s right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, control and medical care of their children is one of the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests that Americans enjoy. “However, if a school student expresses words or actions during class that may be the first visible sign TURN TO EUSD ON 7
TURN TO ASSAULT ON 3
Olde Skol
The 21st Vista Viking Festival, North County’s beloved celebration of Vikings and Nordic heritage, returned this month with mead, warriors and axe throwing aplenty. More on 16. Photo by Laura Place
Vista fast-tracks homeless shelter
Judge halts EUSD gender ID policy
VISTA — The Vista City Council recently supported issuing an emergency declaration to fast-track the opening of a new homeless shelter after learning that residents were being turned away from existing shelters due to an insufficient number of beds. Mayor John Franklin called a Sept. 12 special meeting to discuss the lack of shelter space and “concerning” data from the local shelter network. During the heated discussion, council members insisted the city critically re-examine its contract with the Alliance for Regional Solutions. Under the contract, the city provides $200,000 annually to the alliance to connect Vista residents with shelter services at Haven House in Escondido, La Posada in Carlsbad, Oper-
By City News Service
By Laura Place
ation Hope North County in Vista and two Interfaith Shelter Network rotational programs. The agreement includes a provision that La Posada, run by Catholic Charities, and Haven House will each prioritize five beds for Vista residents every night. These beds are low-barrier, meaning individuals with addiction won’t be turned away. From October 2022 to August 2023, 50 of the 87 Vista residents referred to La Posada and Haven House were turned away due to a lack of bed space, according to outreach data from Exodus. Council members said these are not the results they wanted to see, especially with the city allocating a significant amount of TURN TO SHELTER ON 9
Photo by Samantha Nelson
Ex-mayor leads O’side nonprofit Former Escondido mayor Paul McNamara is the new executive director at Brother Benno’s. 3
SANDAG nixes ‘mileage tax’ Board votes to remove any mention of road user charge from 2025 plan. 9
Home & Garden Home furnishings, tree care and more in annual fall special section. 10-13
ESCONDIDO — A federal judge has sided with two teachers at Rincon Middle School who sued over school district policies governing what information can be shared with parents of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez granted a preliminary injunction request prohibiting enforcement of policies that bar teachers from discussing students’ gender identities with their parents. The lawsuit filed earlier this year on behalf of Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West states teachers are required to use “any pronouns or a gender-spe-
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SAN MARCOS — In the first three weeks of the fall semester at Cal State San Marcos, students received alerts regarding four incidents of sexual assault in campus housing. According to the university, the alerts came in the form of Clery Timely RANCHO Warnings, messages sent to the campus community to SFNEWS provide information to help prevent others from becoming the victim of a similar crime. New students began moving into campus housing on Aug. 24, and the semester started Aug. 28. In an alert sent out Sept. 5, the university said they received a report of two incidents involving the same individuals. A female student said that on Aug. 27, she was involved in a consensual sexual encounter with a male student but withdrew her consent to continue. She said the male student proceeded to commit physical battery against her. She also reported that on Aug. 30, the same male student groped her. In another incident on Aug. 28, a student reported being raped by a male student acquaintance in an on-campus apartment unit, according to a Sept. 1 alert. Another alert issued on Sept. 11 stated that a student reported being followed from a social gathering on campus to their on-campus apartment unit and then being sexually assaulted by an unknown perpetrator on Sept. 2. The most recent alert was issued on Sept. 14, stating that the day prior, a student in on-campus housing reported witnessing another student nonconsensually groping and sexually assaulting her roommate and a guest. “Each case is followed up on by our Title IX Office and, in many cases, our campus law enforcement if the survivor wishes to pursue criminal charges. Each survivor is offered support and resources,” said university spokesperson Margaret Chantung. Students who meet with the Title IX office can discuss whether they wish to pursue a remedies-based resolution or disci-
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