West
Lifeguard sues LA County, alleges he was punished for refusing to fly Progress Pride flag
A devout Christian lifeguard filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County Fire Department, claiming the government’s requirement to fly the rainbow Progress Pride flag forced him to choose between his job and his faith.
“I felt like I was being targeted or entrapped by [Section] Chief [Arthur] Lester and my religious beliefs were not being taken seriously,” Captain Jeffrey Little wrote in a complaint to the county, which was included in the suit. “He did not notify me of this change and gave me no heads up that the flags would be flying.”
In March 2023, the LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion requiring the Progress Pride flag — a rainbow flag that has additional colors to represent transgender people and people of color — to be flown at county facilities throughout June, known as LGBTQ “Pride” month. Little requested a religious accommodation that would exempt him from personally raising the Pride flag at his station, according to the suit.
The request was granted the same day, and Little, who has served the Los Angeles County Fire Department for over 22 years, was promised he wouldn’t have to raise the flag himself or ensure that it was raised at his station.
However, when he arrived at work two days later, one of his supervisors left three Pride flags near his station and lifeguards were ordered to fly the flags, according to the lawsuit.
CHRISTIAN POLITICIAN TAKES LEGAL ACTION AFTER ANTI-LGBT PRIDE TWEET SEES HIS ‘LIFE TORN APART’
Capt. Jeffrey Little, a longtime Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard, sued the county for religious discrimination after being forced to fly a Progress Pride flag. (Getty Images/Thomas More Society)
Little said he took down the flags and, later that day, followed up with human resources, which told him his religious accomodation request was now denied. Lester, his supervising officer, ordered Little to put up the flag at his tower, according to the suit.
Little cited his religious beliefs and refused, but was told his religious beliefs “do not matter,” the complaint said. The chief then hoisted the flag himself and informed Little it must fly there the entire month.
Afterward, Little was removed from his role on a background investigation unit despite his “exemplary record” and there “never being any concerns with his work or reputation,” his lawyer, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital.
“He courageously stood on principle and asked for a simple religious accommodation, which he is rightfully and legally due, only to be first denied, then threatened, harassed, discriminated and retaliated against for his widely shared Christian religious beliefs,” Jonna said in a statement.
Little also allegedly received a death threat against him and his daughters at his family home, according to the suit. For the remainder of the month, Little was forced to use up his vacation time to avoid flying the Pride flag at his work station, Jonna said.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REVERSES BAN ON EMPLOYEES WEARING UNIFORMS AT PRIDE EVENTS FOLLOWING LGBTQ BACKLASH
The newly painted “Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower,” after its dedication ceremony at Venice Beach, California on June 01, 2017. – The tower was painted by local artists to celebrate the start of LGBT Pride Month. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
As Pride month approached this year, Little once again sought a religious accomodation so he wouldn’t be forced to fly the flag. However, Jonna told Fox News Digital his requests were “essentially ignored,” leading him to seek legal counsel.
In addition to the fire department, Little’s suit names three lifeguard chiefs as plaintiffs and claims religious discrimination, retaliation and harassment and violations of the First Amendment.
Jonna argued his client’s accomodation request should be granted because it is “so narrow” and puts no burden on his employer.
“In this case it’s so easy,” the attorney told Fox News Digital. “There are situations where accommodating a religious observer would be difficult. This is not one of them. This is the most straightforward possible accommodation request. And yet they’re just ignoring him.”
The suit seeks “damages and injunctive relief—a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction—to protect Captain Little’s religious rights during Pride Month,” the Thomas More Society said.
The LA County Fire Department told Fox News Digital it does not comment on personnel issues or ongoing litigation.
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West
Avalanches in Utah kill 11-year-old girl, father snowmobiling with son in state’s first 2 fatalities of season
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Separate avalanches in Utah this week killed an 11-year-old girl near a ski resort and a father who was snowmobiling with his son in the backcountry, marking the state’s first two snowslide fatalities of the season.
The child, identified as Madelyn Eitas from Rochester, Massachusetts, was backcountry skiing with her family near the Brighton Ski Resort Thursday, when she was buried in the slide, FOX13 Salt Lake City reported, citing officials.
Eitas and her family had gone into an out-of-bounds area known as The Rock Garden when they were caught in the avalanche, the officials said. She had reportedly been buried for up to 30 minutes when search and rescue teams arrived.
Rescuers provided first aid before an ambulance rushed her to a hospital. The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake said Eitas later died from her injuries, the outlet reported.
VIDEO SHOWS TERRIFYING MOMENT AVALANCHE SLAMS INTO PASSENGER TRAIN NEAR SKI RESORT
The 11-year-old girl was skiing with her family at Brighton Ski Resort in Utah Thursday, according to officials. (FOX13 Salt Lake City KSTU)
“It’s a very, very solemn and depressing thing to notify people of,” Unified Police Det. Quin Wilkins told the station.
The child’s death came a day after another avalanche in Wasatch County killed a father.
The father was snowmobiling with his juvenile son in the Snake Creek area west of Midway when the slide buried him, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said. First responders, however, were unable to immediately reach the location due to hazardous conditions.
The father was snowmobiling with his juvenile son in the Snake Creek area west of Midway when the slide buried him, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said. (Utah Avalanche Center)
The son used an avalanche beacon to find his father and dig him out of the snow, according to officials. Despite the son’s efforts, his father died at the scene.
“The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and all those affected by this tragic incident,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “We also recognize the courageous efforts of the juvenile involved and the responding personnel who assisted in this difficult situation. Our thoughts are with all those impacted.”
On Saturday, two skiers were injured in an avalanche they triggered in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake County.
The men, 48 and 57, were buried in the snow, FOX13 reported.
Another group of skiers was able to pull them out, and they were rescued by two LifeFlight helicopters.
The 48-year-old man is in serious condition, and the 57-year-old man is in critical condition, according to the outlet.
CALIFORNIA AVALANCHE THAT KILLED 8 IS DEADLIEST IN STATE HISTORY
Search and rescue officials warned the public about dangerous conditions on the mountains in Utah this season after the two fatalities. (Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office)
Officials have warned the public to stay away from the backcountry this weekend after the two avalanche deaths.
“Conditions on the mountain are as bad as they have been all winter,” Wasatch Search and Rescue commander Kam Kohler told FOX13. “The deepest, softest snow is the most treacherous right now. It’s really, for most places, a no-go.”
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera echoed concerns about dangerous conditions.
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“This winter has created layers within the snowpack that can be unpredictable,” Rivera said in a statement. “We want people to enjoy the Cottonwood Canyons, but safety must come first. When conditions are unstable, the smartest decision may be to avoid backcountry recreation altogether.”
The deaths in Utah happened the same week an avalanche in Northern California killed eight skiers, including six mothers taking a trip together, near Lake Tahoe. Six other skiers in the group were rescued, while one additional person was presumed dead.
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Just two months ago, a massive power outage left parts of San Francisco in the dark for days, and some lawmakers are trying to make sure it never happens again.
“San Francisco has been trying to break up with PG&E for a long time,” said Democratic Senator Scott Wiener. “The rates are extremely high and we know that public power can bring lower rates.”
Wiener says he will announce legislation on Monday that would allow San Francisco and other cities to break away from PG&E and form publicly owned utility companies, and do it quickly.
“San Francisco has already triggered a process to break away at the California Public Utilities Commission, but it is unbelievably slow, it’s taken years and years,” explained Wiener. “The standards set under the law are very unfavorable to a city wanting to break away.”
A professor at UC Berkeley and faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas School of Business, Severin Borenstein, says he has an idea about what this could look like.
“It means trying to buy out their poles and wires to be the distributor of electricity in the city,” said Borenstein. “San Francisco is already its own entity in securing its electricity from generators. What would change, potentially, is they could own the specific distribution lines.”
He says it could benefit the city if they feel they can do a better job maintaining the lines, and they may be able to reduce the cost. But Borenstein explains that some of the reduction in cost could be because San Francisco and other urban areas are subsidizing the more rural areas in PG&E territory, particularly in fire-prone areas.
“If the cities opt out, or could opt out of PG&E territory, what that’s going to mean is all of those wildfire costs, which are really unavoidable, that’s what climate change is doing to us, will be shifting on to the remaining rate payers,” said Borenstein.
Borenstein thinks it could start a domino effect of cities wanting to form their own utility companies, and other lawmakers may want to avoid it.
“I don’t think the legislature is going to be very supportive of this because I think a lot of legislatures understand if we go down this road there’s going to be a crisis in the areas that are left holding the bag,” said Borenstein.
Alameda and Palo Alto already have city-run utilities. Wiener believes San Francisco can join them.
“Right now, PG&E, it is a publicly traded corporation,” Wiener stated. “It is beholden to Wall Street and investors and its bottom line. And public power allows you to break away from that and to focus on the public interest and not on the needs of shareholders.”
Denver, CO
Captured: Men’s Tennis struggles to defeat Denver 4-3 Captured: Men’s Tennis defeats Denver 4-3
Welcome to The Daily’s photo blog: Captured. This is a space for The Daily’s photographers to share their best work, including photos from weekend performances and events around the community. You can contact the photo editor by emailing [email protected].
Coming off a loss to Notre Dame on Friday, Northwestern struggled to defeat Denver, ending the day with a score of 4-3. Freshman Cooper Han secured the win for the ’Cats in a match that went to three sets. The next matchup for the ’Cats is next Saturday against UIC.
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