Huntington Beach teenagers part of group suing city over library policies
Huntington Beach is being sued by three of its own residents, along with an Orange County-based community group, over its controversial library policies.
A lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, the First Amendment Coalition, Community Legal Aid SoCal and Jenner & Block, LLP. It alleges that Huntington Beach is violating the 2024 California Freedom to Read Act, as well as the California Constitution, with policies including a parent/guardian children's book review board.
Alianza Translatinx, which describes itself as the first transgender-led organization by transgender people of color in Orange County, is one of the suit's plaintiffs. Two Huntington Beach teenagers are also listed as plaintiffs, along with Erin Spivey, a librarian.
'Libraries should reflect, not erase, and be spaces where young people can discover who they are,' said Khloe Rios-Wyatt, founding member and chief executive officer of Alianza Translatinx, in a statement. 'Huntington Beach officials, driven by fear of challenging ideas, are trying to erase stories and identities — but we refuse to be erased.'
In June 2023, the Huntington Beach City Council first brought forward the idea of making books deemed obscene and/or pornographic inaccessible to children. It's long been a passion project of Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark, who introduced the item, and Resolution No. 2023-41 was passed by a split 4-3 council vote.
'Parents, check these books out,' Van Der Mark said at the time. 'If this is what you want for your kids, go for it, but a lot of parents don't know this material is in these books. A lot of parents don't know these books are in the library.'
On Feb. 7, 2024, librarians began moving some books from the children's section on the first floor to an 'adult' section on the fourth floor.
The parent/guardian children's book advisory board, which would feature up to 21 residents appointed by council members, was established as Ordinance No. 4318. It would review new children's library books that it deems possibly inappropriate, potentially stopping them from going into circulation, as well as having the power to move other books into the adult section.
Per the ordinance, 'children' means people under the age of 18 years old.
The review board itself has yet to have meetings or even be named.
Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns said in a statement Wednesday that he disagrees with claims made in an ACLU press release about the lawsuit, adding that the city had not yet been served with it.
'The city has maintained its stance that no books have been banned or removed from the library,' Burns said. 'The safety, wellness and protection of our community, children and library patrons remains our primary goal. We will not be deterred by this lawsuit in maintaining this goal, and the city attorney's office intends to aggressively defend our city's best interests.'
The plaintiffs say the presence of 'sexual content' is an overly broad term that could suppress literary classics like '1984,' 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'The Great Gatsby,' along with science and health books, youth Bibles and books that highlight 'lived experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.'
One of the teenage plaintiffs, identified only as H.P. in the complaint, is a junior at Huntington Beach High School. She said some of her favorite books and school-assigned reading would contain 'sexual content' and thus be subject to censorship if the library measures were fully implemented.
'H.P.'s rights are infringed by the library measures because they deprive her of access to materials that she would like to skim, read, or check out that would be available to her but for the library measures,' the complaint reads. 'Her privacy rights are also infringed because the library measures will require her to share access to her patron record with her parents to obtain or even browse materials from the new 'adult-only' section of the library. Before the library measures were enacted, H.P. could access such materials without her parents' knowledge or consent, and she valued this privacy.'
The lawsuit comes days before the Huntington Beach City Council is due to make a decision about two library initiatives, including one that seeks to have Surf City voters repeal the parent/guardian review board. On Tuesday night, the council is expected to decide whether the initiatives would be on a special election ballot later this year or on the 2026 general election ballot.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Accused Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter has ties to Middle East and Africa, runs security company
The Minnesota man being sought in connection with the Saturday morning assassination of a state lawmaker and the shooting of another runs a security company and has ties to the Middle East and Africa, online biographies showed. Vance Luther Boelter lists himself on LinkedIn as the CEO of the Red Lion Group, which is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also worked with Minnesota Africans United, a statewide organization working with African immigrants in the state, according to a now deleted biography on the group's web site. Advertisement 3 Vance Luther Boelter owns a security company and has ties to the Middle East and Africa, online biographies show. Minnesota Department of Public Safety Boelter, 57, who is believed to have posed as a police officer during the shootings, and his wife, Jenny, appear to head Praetorian Guard Security Services, a Minnesota-based company 'here to set up security options and provide security services right to your doorstep and property to keep what you own safe and secure,' according to its website. Boelter has 'been involved in security situations' in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, 'including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,' according to the Praetorian web site. Advertisement 3 Boelbert is being sought in connection with the Saturday morning assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and the shooting of another. Obtained by NY Post Last month, Boelter said he was open to work. Boelter listed food service more than security in his work history. His LinkedIn profile includes jobs at 7-Eleven, where he was a general manager from 2016 to 2021. He also worked at various times as a manager at Del Monte, Johnsonville Sausage and at a company called Greencore, which manufactures convenience foods in the United Kingdom. Advertisement He was twice appointed to Minnesota government by different Democratic governors. In 2016 then-Gov Mark Dayton named Boelter to the Workforce Development Council, and in 2019 Walz to serve a four-year stint on the Workforce Development Board, documents show. Boetler last registered to vote in 2022 as a Republican. In a Nov. 5, 2018 post on his profile, Boetler encouraged others to vote in the upcoming presidential election — and expressed his fears for the outcome. 'I am very big on just telling people to be a part of the process and vote your values and be part of this adventure we are all a part of living in the United States of America,' he wrote. Advertisement 3 In a Nov. 5, 2018 post on his profile, Boetler encouraged others to vote in the upcoming presidential election — and expressed his fears for the outcome. FEVRIER DEVANT TA FACE 'I think the election is going to have more of an impact on the direction of our country than probably any election we have been apart of, or will be apart of for years to come.' Boetler earned his undergraduate degree in international relations at St. Cloud State University, according to his LinkedIn, and later obtained a Masters of Science and Management and Doctorate in Leadership degrees, both from Cardinal Stritch University. Messages for Jenny Boelter, Praetorian and Minnesota Africans United were not immediately returned. Authorities are searching for Boetler, who remains on the loose after cops say he shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in their Champlin home early Saturday, leaving them seriously injured before moving on to former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortmon's house, where he is believed to have slaughtered her and her husband, police sources previously told The Post. The suspect allegedly exchanged gunfire with the cops who responded to Hortman's home and briefly cornered him inside — but he got away, and left behind a 'manifesto' listing the names of 70 politicians, including Walz, and a stack of papers stating 'No Kings' in reference to the nationwide anti-Trump protests Saturday, according to cops.
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Trump approves Nippon Steel purchase of U.S. Steel
June 14 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday officially giving the green light to Nippon Steel Corporation's multi-billion-dollar purchase of U.S. Steel Corporation. Trump's executive order rescinds a directive issued by former President Joe Biden that blocked the Tokyo-based steel producer's $14.9 billion purchase on national security grounds. The president had been signaling he would approve such a move, stating in May that the two steel giants would form a "planned partnership." Trump previously ordered a review of the transaction by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. "Based on the recommendation of and my review of the materials provided by CFIUS, including re-review of the prior assessment of risk, I additionally find that the threatened impairment to the national security of the United States arising as a result of the Proposed Transaction can be adequately mitigated if the conditions set forth in section 3 of this order are met," Trump wrote in the executive order. "President Trump has approved the Companies' historic partnership that will unleash unprecedented investments in steelmaking in the United States, protecting and creating more than 100,000 jobs," Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel said in a release jointly issued with Nippon Steel. "We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for our historic partnership. This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come. We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again." Trump's executive order requires both companies to enter into a National Security Agreement, which stipulates $11 billion in new investments must be made in the United States by 2028. That includes an already-underway project not scheduled for completion until after 2028. The United States government will also be issued a golden share as part of the NSA, giving it unique voting rights. "President Trump promised to protect American Steel and American Jobs -- and he has delivered on that promise," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CNN in a statement. "Today's executive order ensures US Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security." Confirmation of the deal comes just over a week after 50% tariffs took effect on metals imported into the United States from nearly all countries. The tariffs were enacted a day after Trump signed an executive order doubling the duties on almost all imported aluminum and steel. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Russia's summer offensive in Ukraine gains ground with new tactics
'It's a kind of renaissance of the cavalry, but with internal combustion engines,' said Col. Viktor Kevliuk, a Ukrainian army reservist and an analyst at Ukraine's Center for Defense Strategies, a think tank. The fighting is intensifying even as ceasefire talks have mostly stalled. The most recent round of negotiations, held this month in Istanbul, yielded little result beyond an agreement to exchange prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers. The exchange continued Saturday, with Ukraine saying that it had received 1,200 bodies and that more prisoners had been returned. Advertisement Here are the areas where the front is moving. Sumy In recent months, Russian troops have captured at least a dozen villages in the Sumy region. The advance is tiny but in frequent steps, with small assault groups, often just two or three Russian soldiers, who probe Ukrainian positions in waves. Advertisement 'Where the last surviving infantry is holding out, the next assault group arrives to build on any success,' Kevliuk said. Ukraine has one defensive advantage. The terrain is full of ravines, so movement is only possible on roads, according to Andrii, an intelligence officer with an air assault brigade operating near the city of Sumy, who asked to be identified only by his first name in keeping with military protocol. The city is home to more than 200,000 civilians, including many displaced from fighting along the border, and is now under growing threat as Russia advances. Russian forces overran it in their initial invasion in 2022, but Ukraine recaptured it later that year. Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with Finland-based Black Bird Group, said Russian forces were seizing high ground north of Sumy and pushing toward dense forests that dominate the city's northern and northeastern approaches. If Russia captures four villages -- Khotyn, Yunakivka, Pysarivka and Kyyanytsia -- that would threaten the city itself. If the battles shift into the forests, commanders warn, it could require additional infantry reinforcements from Ukraine, as drone surveillance becomes less effective through the leaves. Kostyantynivka Kostyantynivka, a Ukrainian operations hub, will likely become Russia's main effort in the coming months, with other fronts serving the supporting role of preventing Ukraine from sending reinforcements to this fight, Paroinen said. The first step is to try to isolate Kostyantynivka from multiple directions, in a 'semi-encirclement,' he said, isolating Ukrainian units while maintaining a narrow, hazardous corridor for retreat. The idea would be to advance eastward across the T-0504 road; northward from Toretsk; and westward from the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar. Advertisement This would not be easy. Russian forces have been trying to capture Chasiv Yar for two years, since the nearby city of Bakhmut fell in the spring of 2023. So long as Chasiv Yar remains contested, Russia's advance to Kostyantynivka will be slowed. Also, to the south, Russian forces are bogged down in urban fighting in Toretsk. In some areas near Kostyantynivka, Russia has a manpower advantage of up to 20-to-1, Ukrainian commanders in the area say. 'Our task is to block their actions,' said Capt. Filatov, a commander deployed along the line. His soldiers regularly engage in close-range combat while slowly retreating, he said. A unit of a few dozen hundred typically repels 10 to 15 assaults per week, with as many as four in a single day, he said. At the same time, front-line airstrikes have intensified, even after Ukraine's destruction of at least a dozen Russian strategic bombers. At the start of May, Russia was carrying out 11 airstrikes a day. That pace has picked up to 17 in June, said Lt. Col. Dmytro Zaporizhets, spokesperson for Ukraine's Luhansk Operational Tactical Group. Throughout the Donbas -- parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions -- Russian has concentrated drone units and is targeting roads, threatening supply lines. Analysts say Russian advances in the Donbas follow a systematic pattern. The troops first isolate Ukrainian positions, targeting logistics and reinforcements with drones; then pound them with artillery and aerial bombs; then attack in small units, often on motorcycles. Then they repeat the process farther down the line. Pokrovsk West of Kostyantynivka lies Pokrovsk, also in the Donetsk region, where Russian forces are also pressing forward with superior manpower, said Sr. Lt. Vasyl Yemelianov, an artillery commander in the area. Advertisement Russian forces are closing in on Pokrovsk from several directions, similar to their semi-encirclement strategy around Kostyantynivka. Still, the city remains in Ukrainian hands, while Russian efforts have recently shifted farther west, with some troops crossing the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. But the front, here and elsewhere, remains fluid, with Russian forces looking for weaknesses and Ukrainian troops scrambling to hold defensive lines. This article originally appeared in
