Huntington Beach to hold special election over library review board
It's less than a week from Huntington Beach's special election to decide two issues about how the city's libraries will operate.
Measures A and B supporters claim they're hoping to protect the libraries from privatization and censorship. A yes vote on Measure A would block the formation of a community parent-guardian review board that the City Council appoints.
The board would have the authority to determine which books are allowed on library shelves.
"I'm really trying to stress to people this is where they get to vote for their rights," former librarian Barbara Richardson said. "They are voting for the right to be able to decide for themselves what books are appropriate for themselves, what books are appropriate for them and their families, not some political committee."
"Protect Our Kids from Porn" signs have popped up across Huntington Beach and sparked outrage from some parents. The large placards were paid for by a city councilmember's political action committee.
The council has made complaints that obscene material is available to young readers in the children's section, a claim that librarians insist is not true.
At Tuesday's council meeting, members unanimously passed a resolution stating that Huntington Beach wouldn't ban books or sell its public library.
"And whereas the public has expressed concerns regarding the future of the library and the treatment of library materials," Councilman Chad Williams, who paid for the "Protect Our Kids from Porn" signs, said during the meeting.
Some voters said they were divided over Measures A and B.
"I grew up coming to this library," voter Michelle Dixon said. "We've never had issues with choosing what to read, and from what my circles are, it's a form of censorship."
Others said they need to protect children.
"I think that we have to have our children be protected from the type of subject matter that they are not ready for or they don't need to know about at such a young age," voter Sally Kollar said.
Three in-person voting centers are now open, with two more opening this weekend. They will be open through Election Day, June 10.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
14 minutes ago
- News24
Harvard scores a temporary victory in battle against Trump administration ‘vendetta'
A court on Thursday put a temporary stay on Donald Trump's latest effort to stop foreign students from enrolling at Harvard, as the US president's battle with one of the world's most prestigious universities intensified. A proclamation issued by the White House late Wednesday sought to bar most new international students at Harvard from entering the country, and said existing foreign enrollees risked having their visas terminated. 'Harvard's conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,' the order said. Harvard quickly amended an existing complaint filed in federal court, saying: 'This is not the Administration's first attempt to sever Harvard from its international students.' '(It) is part of a concerted and escalating campaign of retaliation by the government in clear retribution for Harvard's exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students.' READ | 'Such a disgrace': Outrage as Trump ramps up attacks on Harvard, Columbia US District Judge Allison Burroughs on Thursday ruled the government cannot enforce Trump's proclamation. Harvard had showed, she said, that without a temporary restraining order, it risked sustaining 'immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties'. The same judge had already blocked Trump's earlier effort to bar international students from enrolling at the storied university. The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and 'viewpoint diversity'. Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who accounted for 27% of total enrolment in the 2024-2025 academic year and are a major source of income. In its filing, Harvard acknowledged that Trump had the authority to bar an entire class of aliens if it was deemed to be in the public interest, but stressed that was not the case in this action. The president's actions thus are not undertaken to protect the 'interests of the United States' but instead to pursue a government vendetta against Harvard. Harvard filing Since returning to office Trump has targeted elite US universities which he and his allies accuse of being hotbeds of antisemitism, liberal bias and 'woke' ideology. Trump's education secretary also threatened on Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation. The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt. Unlike Harvard, several top institutions - including Columbia - have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration.
Politico
28 minutes ago
- Politico
Will AOC flex?
Presented by When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first campaigned against Andrew Cuomo in 2018, she had just blasted into political fame while he was near the height of his power. AOC's star power has only grown, and now she's lending it to a new cause: blocking Cuomo's comeback attempt to become mayor of New York City. The Democratic primary is a test of her own political influence, and how she chooses to wield it. 'This is actually the perfect time to have received her endorsement,' Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference Thursday morning, weighing in on a debate that's been roiling the political left for months about whether Ocasio-Cortez was minimizing her impact by waiting so long to try to block the front-runner in the June 24 primary. Voters, Mamdani added, 'are still just finding out about this race and to receive word from the most exciting Congresswoman … it's the exact thing we need to win this race.' Ocasio-Cortez endorsed five mayoral candidates, The New York Times first reported, ranking Mamdani first, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams second, city Comptroller Brad Lander third, his predecessor Scott Stringer fourth and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie fifth. The Bronx-turned-Queens Democrat underlined the message in a press release: 'do not rank Andrew Cuomo on your ballot at all. Leave the bubble next to his name blank.' 'This is our most effective tool to protect NYC institutions from being molded to maximize impunity for Cuomo's bully politics,' she continued. 'Cuomo gutted NYS Democratic party leadership, stuffed it with lobbyists, and used it to boost the GOP.' Cuomo's campaign declined to comment and referred Playbook to his long list of labor union endorsements. A rep for AOC didn't respond to a request for comment. Anti-Cuomo Democrats are eager to see how AOC communicates that 'tool' of not ranking Cuomo. 'The key here is developing a permission structure for Adrienne voters who maybe had Cuomo second to move him,' one Democratic consultant uninvolved in the race told Playbook. 'To do that you need to generate enthusiasm and excitement around other people too.' But the messaging was muddled. Her five-way pick allowed all candidates to simply announce that the famous congressmember endorsed them, without mentioning how she ranked them. And she didn't rally with Mamdani or indicate any upcoming appearances with her slate Thursday. That leaves the big question of whether AOC will show up for Mamdani — or any other endorsees, or the whole slate. In 2021, she hosted a rally to announce her single endorsement of Maya Wiley and appeared at a high profile concert featuring The Strokes. 'Zohran is obviously in a much stronger position than Maya was starting out, and doesn't need the full AOC effect in the same way that Maya did to make us competitive' said Jon Paul Lupo, who was a senior adviser on Wiley's campaign and isn't involved in the mayoral race this year. But even if she stays off the trail, her name might be enough. 'She is by far the most popular Democratic politician amongst primary voters in New York City. The endorsement is massive,' Lupo said. 'It is race shaking and may wind up pulling him across the finish line.' — Jeff Coltin HAPPY FRIDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE'S KATHY? In New York City and Albany with no public schedule. WHERE'S ERIC? Appearing live on Fox 5's 'Good Day New York,' attending the funeral mass for former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik and participating in an interview with 'Les Indomptables.' QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I see a Cuomo victory as a necessary condition for running for governor. And once the outcome of the mayor's race is known, I'll conduct polling and assess whether there's a path, and if there's a path, I will certainly run.' — Rep. Ritchie Torres, who's endorsed Cuomo for mayor, on the Nothing But the Trust podcast. ABOVE THE FOLD DELGADO AND DOWN BALLOT: Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado's campaign is presenting him as a stronger choice to lead the Democratic ticket next year than Gov. Kathy Hochul — warning that her re-nomination could hurt battleground House candidates. A state of the race memo obtained by Playbook argued Delgado is a candidate with 'a vision for New York that meets the moment' who can win in purple areas, like his old swing House district. It also plays to a persistent anxiety facing New York Democrats: The blue state will once again be a battleground for control of the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin margin. Delgado's campaign believes he'll be a stronger nominee who can liven up the base to turn out voters — and help the party retake the chamber. 'Heading into a critical mid-term election cycle, Democrats cannot afford a candidate at the top of the ticket who will force the party to divert resources from swing states — as happened with Hochul in 2022,' the memo stated. Delgado's campaign warned Hochul's 'weakness endangers at least six congressional seats.' A Hochul campaign spokesperson did not comment. Hochul won a full term in 2022, but her victory was a narrow one and Republicans flipped four seats. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously blamed the New York governor's weak coattails for poor results in New York. But 2026 stands to be a different cycle for Democrats as they try to tap into the party's anti-Trump fervor. Hochul also bolstered good will among party leaders in 2024, when she helmed a coordinating committee to boost House candidates. In a presidential year when the GOP dominated, Democrats won seats on Long Island, the Hudson Valley and central New York. The governor built up the political infrastructure around the state Democratic Committee, pouring cash and resources, which in turn helped field a GOTV operation. 'Those monies were filtered out to the counties in a way that hadn't been done before,' said Dutchess County Democratic Chair Michael Dupree told Playbook. 'Sometimes I felt like a general deploying troops. I can't raise those kinds of resources in Dutchess.' Hochul, who like Delgado served in the House, appeared to recognize the potency of battleground Democrats. Moments after her lieutenant governor announced he would run against her Reps. Pat Ryan and Tom Suozzi — two moderates who hold swing seats — tweeted their support. Even more importantly was the public backing of the man who stands to become House speaker: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who appeared with the governor at a Medicaid event. 'We appreciate your bold, decisive leadership on behalf of our healthcare,' he wrote on X. — Nick Reisman GUARDRAILS 2.0: A Charter Revision Commission convened by Adrienne Adams will propose extending the term of Department of Investigation commissioners to five years, ensuring that they overlap mayoral administrations, when releasing its preliminary recommendations today. The report will also propose the DOI commissioner and the corporation counsel can only be fired for cause, in an effort to curtail mayoral meddling. (New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed out his corporation counsel, in part, because she resisted defending a close mayoral aide accused of sexual harassment.) The proposals harken back to Hochul's anemic attempt at installing legislative guardrails around the mayor over his cozy relationship with President Donald Trump. 'With DOI in particular, I think we are looking at ways to ensure the department is able to operate with a minimum threat of political interference, that they are appropriately funded and that the authority of DOI is codified in the Charter, because right now a lot of it is done by. Mayoral executive order,' said Danielle Castaldi-Micca, the commission's executive director. DOI has played a key role in investigating Eric Adams. And even though its commissioner has testified City Hall put up no roadblocks, the idea was floated by the council in response to a series of poorly received proposals from Hochul to strengthen checks on Adams during the throes of his now-dismissed criminal case. The Council's commission has been facing a systemic problem: The mayor has been convening Charter Revision Commissions of his own that have prevented lawmakers' proposals from getting on the ballot. But that could change. State legislation removing that impediment is gaining steam in Albany. And while the provision wouldn't apply in time for this November's ballot, the council's questions could still be guaranteed to be put to voters next year if the bill succeeds. 'My senate colleagues seem to support my concept of doing this,' state Sen. Liz Krueger told Playbook. 'I'm feeling pretty good about it.' City Hall said the Council's commission was bereft of input from city residents and is moot, since the mayor has not intervened in the workings of DOI since taking office. 'If you needed further proof that the City Council's commission was a politically-motivated waste of millions of taxpayer dollars, look no further than these proposals, which don't even pretend to attempt to tackle issues New Yorkers truly care about like making our city more affordable or building more housing,' spokesperson Liz Garcia said in a statement. — Joe Anuta and Jeff Coltin PA FACE-OFF: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams squared off in a contentious debate with Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, who tried to paint the incumbent as deeply uninterested in the job, Gothamist reports. There were many disagreements — Rajkumar said Rikers Island should stay open, PIX 11 reports — and Rajkumar called on Williams to resign, citing an ex-staffer's allegations she was drugged in the office by members of his security detail. — Jeff Coltin POWERS JABS HOYLMAN: Council Member Keith Powers is calling for a tax on combining apartments into one larger dwelling, after a report his rival in the Manhattan borough president's race did just that. The Daily News reported Sunday that state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who's running against Powers, combined three apartments to form his 2,000-square-foot co-op in Greenwich Village. 'We're in a housing and affordability crisis of epic proportions,' Powers told Playbook in a statement. 'When units are gobbled up and combined by those with means, it further decreases the housing supply and undermines our ability to provide enough affordable homes to New Yorkers.' Specifically, Powers wants to create a tax on combining apartments with an assessed value of over $500,000. He would have no power as BP to actually enact such a policy, which would require legislation in Albany. The city's rental vacancy rate stands at just 1.4 percent, the lowest in more than five decades. The practice of combining units has resulted in a net drop in apartments in wealthier neighborhoods like the West Village and the Upper East Side, according to the Department of City Planning. 'The idea that the apartment he and his husband own in the Village has anything to do with Brad's record on increasing affordable housing is an absurd political hit,' a Hoylman-Sigal spokesperson told the Daily News. — Janaki Chadha More from the city: — Council Member Rafael Salamanca has used a state committee to circumvent contribution limits from developers with business before him. (New York Focus) — Lander walked with immigrants outside court to shield them from ICE (Hell Gate) — Cuomo claimed NYCHA tenant leaders' endorsements, but at least seven said they were surprised to see their names on the list. (THE CITY) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY FOR YOUR RADAR: The New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus will unveil proposals today to overhaul the state prison system. The reform plan is named after Robert Brooks, an inmate who was beaten to death by guards at the Marcy Correctional Facility. Caucus lawmakers will back legislation to address 'systemic patterns of abuse' in the prisons. Hochul has also called for structural changes to the corrections system and was given the power in the state budget to close up to five prisons later this year. Left-flank lawmakers, meanwhile, are pressing for measures to make it easier for inmates eligible for parole to be released. The bill has the support of 32 members — a majority of lawmakers in the state Senate. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A car share app is pushing legislation to reduce insurance requirements. (City & State) — Facing pressure from the Trump administration, New York officials might expand their ban on mascots. (Times Union) — The state is advancing a long-delayed organ donor program. (POLITICO Pro) KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Many in politics were enraptured by the public bickering between Trump and Elon Musk Thursday — including Rep. Dan Goldman. Last month, the Democrat accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of holding back files about investor and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to protect Trump. When Musk made the same accusation Thursday, Goldman eagerly held up the X post and said 'see?' 'There you have it – Elon Musk just confirmed Rep. Dan Goldman's suspicion,' his office wrote in a press release. He wasn't the only Dem responding with glee to the scene of Trump and Musk tearing at each other. 'The girls are fighting, aren't they?' Ocasio-Cortez told NY1. — Jeff Coltin More from the delegation: — House Speaker Mike Johnson is pleading with the Senate to not change the SALT provision. (Spectrum News) — Johnson is also trying to save the bill from Elon Musk's effort to put a blow torch to the legislative package. (POLITICO) — The GOP's megabill is facing Senate questions over its Medicare target. (POLITICO) NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — A proposed casino project at Nassau Coliseum is unlikely and a plan B is under consideration, County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. (Newsday) — A federal judge warned the Trump administration to not arrest or detain a Columbia student who is facing deportation after attending a protest over the war in Gaza. (Gothamist) — A consumer protection proposal is getting push back from businesses during the final session days. (Spectrum News) SOCIAL DATA MAKING MOVES: Amy Hopcian has joined strategic communications firm Comella & Co. as a strategic advisor. She most recently was head of state and local public affairs at CLEAR. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Brandon Lloyd … attorney Brendan Cunningham … Rental & Management Associates's Chuck Lesnick … Erin Stevens, state deputy comptroller … Pete Hegseth … Eric Cantor … ABC's Katherine Faulders … Bloomberg's Justin Sink … CNN's Kevin Liptak and Ariel Edwards-Levy … CBS' Weijia Jiang and Natalie Morales … Donna Fenn … Anna Epstein … Anja Crowder Morice … Abby Ginzberg … (WAS THURSDAY): Andrea Peyser Missed Thursday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges
Amid a constantly changing reproductive landscape, one West Virginia prosecutor is warning people who have miscarriages in his state that they could get in trouble with the law. Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman says that although he personally wouldn't prosecute someone for a miscarriage, he made the suggestion out of an abundance of caution after hearing from other prosecutors. Truman even suggests people might want to let local law enforcement know if they've have a miscarriage. Several reproductive law experts say people around the country have, indeed, faced charges related to miscarriages — but they still wouldn't recommend reaching out to law enforcement. Truman says the idea first came up during a chat with other West Virginia prosecutors at a conference several years ago, and it's been been an ongoing conversation since. The initial conversation was theoretical, since at the time, women in the US still had the constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade. But some of the prosecutors believed they could charge a person using state laws related to the disposal of human remains. 'I thought these guys were just chewing on a Dreamsicle,' Truman said. But, he added, West Virginia's legal statutes include definitions that are 'pretty broad-ranging.' The way some prosecutors may interpret the law means people who miscarry could face criminal charges, including felonies, he said. 'It's a different world now, and there's a lot of discretion that prosecutors have, and some of them have agendas where they would like to make you an example,' Truman told CNN. 'What's changed is, Roe isn't there anymore, and so that may embolden prosecutors in some cases,' he said. 'I'm just trying to say, 'be careful.' ' Early pregnancy loss is common, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, It happens in about 10 of 100 known pregnancies, often because the embryo isn't developing properly. And some reproductive law experts say it's probably not a good idea to call the police when it happens. 'It's always a mistake to invite law enforcement into your reproductive life,' said Kim Mutcherson, a professor of law at Rutgers Law School who specializes in reproductive justice. Calling police could prompt an unwanted investigation, she says. 'If they then decide, 'no, it actually wasn't a miscarriage, this was somebody who took pills,' or whatever sort of thing that they want to conjure up, then all of a sudden it goes from 'here's this poor woman who had a miscarriage' to 'here's a person who we're going to start to prosecute,' ' Mutcherson said. 'I understand the idea that caution is better than being caught up in something that you weren't anticipating, but it is difficult for me to imagine any circumstance in which I would think it was safe for someone who miscarried to call the police,' she added. Abortion is illegal in West Virginia, but there are exceptions in the case of a medical emergency or a nonviable pregnancy, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Kulsoom Ijaz, senior policy counsel with Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit focused on the civil and human rights of pregnant people, said she doesn't believe there is anything in West Virginia law that criminalizes miscarriage. 'I think the law is pretty clear,' she said. 'There's nothing in the law that says someone can be charged with a crime in connection to their pregnancy loss or their conduct during pregnancy, or for how they respond to that pregnancy loss or miscarriage or stillbirth.' The fractured landscape of reproductive rights that came about in the wake of the Dobbs decision, the US Supreme Court ruling that revoked the federal right to an abortion, has increased the risk that a pregnant person can face criminal prosecution for a variety of reasons, not just a miscarriage, according to a report from Ijaz's organization. Between June 2022 – when Dobbs was handed down – and June 2023, there were more than 200 cases in the US in which a pregnant person faced criminal charges for conduct associated with pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth, according to Pregnancy Justice. The number is most likely an undercount, Ijaz said. In West Virginia, there were at least three cases related to pregnancy prosecutions. In one, the state's Supreme Court found that the state could not levy criminal child abuse charges against someone for their prenatal conduct, which included substance use during pregnancy. Even with the strict abortion ban in place, Ijaz said, 'there are still protections for pregnant people.' In states like Alabama that have fetal personhood laws that give fertilized eggs, embryos and a fetus the 'same rights as you and I,' Ijaz said, it's a little different. 'We've seen people get prosecuted and face decades of incarceration for substance use during pregnancy, because that fetus that they're carrying is seen as a child,' she said. Last year in Ohio, a woman who had a miscarriage at home was charged with a felony on the advice of the Warren City Prosecutor's Office, but a grand jury dismissed the case. Ijaz said that she doesn't think there is an appetite for these kind of cases among the public but that no matter where someone lives, inviting the law into their life right after a miscarriage is ill-advised. The legal landscape for reproductive justice 'seems to almost be changing on a daily basis' – and generally not in favorable ways for pregnant people, said Brittany Fonteno, CEO of the National Abortion Federation, a professional association for abortion providers. 'The laws, the rhetoric, the culture in which we are living in within the US has become so incredibly hostile to people who experience pregnancy,' she said. 'I think that the intersection of health care and criminalization is an incredibly dangerous path,' Fonteno added. 'As a country, we should be supporting people and their ability to access the health care that they need, rather than conducting intrusive and traumatic investigations into their reproductive lives.' Fonteno recommends that people who experience pregnancy loss reach out to a qualified medical professional rather than law enforcement. 'While we are living in a very different country than we were pre-Dobbs, I believe still that this is an individual experience and a health care decision,' she said. 'Most providers believe that as well.' Mutcherson also says that the reproductive justice landscape in the US is 'scary' for people who are pregnant, who want to get pregnant or who have bad pregnancy outcomes. If there's any silver lining to the discussion about criminalizing miscarriage, she said, it's that it's good for people to know that such things can happen. 'Women have been criminalized for their pregnancies for decades, frankly, so to the extent that there is a wider and broader conversation about what it means to treat an embryo or a fetus as a person, and the ways in which that diminishes the personhood of somebody who was pregnant, that is in fact a valuable thing, right?' Mutcherson said. 'Maybe this is actually going to bring us to a better space.'
