Volume XV, Issue 24
www.solanabeachsun.com
June 9, 2011 Published Weekly
Councilman appointed to national panel Solana Beach City Councilman Dave Roberts was recently appointed to a two-year term on the national Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-
■ Local woman honored for her contributions to plant science. Page 8
■ Stanford-bound local student amasses $30K in scholarships. Page 12
vices. The federal advisory panel was chartered in January 2011 to advise and make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Banner days at Fiesta del Sol
ance Program (CHIP); • Enhancing the Federal Government’s effectiveness in informing Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP consumers, providers and stakeholders pursuant to education and outreach programs of is-
sues regarding these and other health coverage programs, and the availability of other health coverage (e.g., via health insurance exchanges), including the SEE PANEL, PAGE 18
High school district rejects charges of religious discrimination Islam textbook controversy continues
now heads to the Assembly for consideration. The I-5 expansion project included an option that would add up to six lanes to this strip of the freeway, however, SB 468 supports
BY MARSHA SUTTON Senior Education Reporter Objections to activities at four schools in the San Dieguito Union High School District have been raised in separate communications to the district by Dean Broyles, president of the Western Center for Law & Policy in Escondido. “I’ve been contacted by a number of parents,” Broyles said. “We have four or five issues in the same district which is very extraordinary.” Torrey Pines High School, Carmel Valley Middle School, Earl Warren Middle School and Diegueno Middle School in Encinitas have all been named by Broyles, who complained that discrimination in various forms against Christian students was occurring at the middle schools and that
SEE TRANSIT, PAGE 7
SEE RELIGIOUS, PAGE 6
SEE ISLAM, PAGE 7
Solana Beach Boy Scouts celebrate the city at the 32nd annual Fiesta del Sol held in Solana Beach June 4-5. The event, which was presented by the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce, kicked off with a parade celebrating the city’s 25th anniversary. See page B10. Photo/Jon Clark
Senate approves transit bill BY MARLENA MEDFORD STAFF WRITER State Senator Christine Kehoe’s legislation SB 468, which requires improved transit as part of any expansion of Interstate-5 from La Jolla to Oceanside, has passed the state Senate by a vote of 24-15 and
■ SB resident’s new book shares tale of survival in North Korean concentration camp. Page 10
Services (CMS) concerning optimal strategies for: • Developing and implementing education and outreach programs for individuals enrolled in, or eligible for, Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insur-
BY MARSHA SUTTON Senior Education Reporter As the San Dieguito Union High School District responds to complaints concerning religious freedom from the Western Center for Law & Policy, the challenge to the seventh-grade social studies textbook and its discussion of Islam in Chapters 3 and 4 continues to churn. The authors of a document citing 22 instances where they say Islam is misrepresented appeared on a recent radio talk show and said the school district asked them last year to prepare a supplemental curriculum for use in the classroom.
Animal rights activists allege elephant abuse BY MARLENA MEDFORD STAFF WRITER Have Trunk Will Travel, a company that provides elephant rides at the San Diego County Fair, is being accused of serious abuse by a
group of animal rights activists. An undercover video that was recently released by Animal Defenders International (ADI) purportedly shows a trainer striking a
baby elephant with a sharpended heavy stick known as a bullhook. That elephant was later featured in the current blockbuster “Water For Elephants,” and therefore the allegations of abuse have
garnered international attention. During the June 7 board meeting of the 22nd District Agricultural Association (22nd DAA), spokespeople from ADI, People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the San Diego-based Animal Protection and Rescue League all publicly spoke out against the SEE ELEPHANT, PAGE 19