The Coast News, Feb. 22, 2013

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94

THE COAST NEWS

VOL. 27, NO. 5

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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

FEB. 22, 2013

Lawsuit filed over school’s yoga program By Jared Whitlock

10-HOUR LONG STANDOFF ENDS A San Diego County Sheriff’s official watches as law enforcement gather on the 700 block of Del Rio Avenue in Encinitas Wednesday, where a suspect barricaded himself in his mother’s house. The suspect, a 22-year-old male, wounded two Sheriff’s deputies during a 10-hour long standoff. The suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Thursday morning. See story on A3. Photo by Tony Cagala

Group presents on GPU By Jared Whitlock

Corky McMillin Companies’ Senior Vice President Todd Galaraneau presents to the Planning Commission about the Quarry Creek residential project in the packed Feb. 20 public hearing. See story on A21. Photo by Rachel Stine

‘COPY’RIGHT ON Though the image of the Cardiff Kook statue has been copyrighted since 2007, use of the image will be getting a little bit more attention. A13

ENCINITAS — The General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) recommended places where housing could be built within the city at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting. The 23-member GPAC, a citizen group, was asked to help the city decide where to locate 1,300 state-mandated housing units within Encinitas as part of the General Plan Update, a document that will guide housing over the ne xt few decades. After carrying out mapping exercises looking at which areas can best accom-

Two Sections, 52 pages Arts & Entertainment . A16 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . . A9 Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A22 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18

modate the housing, GPAC determined 26 per cent of housing should be allocated in Old Encinitas, 26.6 percent in New Encinitas, 22.6 in Leucadia, 14.6 percent in Cardiff and 10 percent in Olivenhain. Within the comm unities, there are five spots that “made the most sense for where multi-family housing ought to occur ,” said Lee Vancer, a representative for GPAC. Those spots include El Camino Real and Encinitas Boulevard, the “four corners” in Olivenhain, parts of Santa Fe

ENCINITAS — Lawyers are bent out of shape about a y oga program at the Encinitas Union School District (EUSD). The National Center for Law and Policy filed a civil rights lawsuit against the district over its program. The plaintiffs ar gue the program indoctrinates students with religious beliefs promoted by Ashtanga yoga. But the district insists the program only promotes health, and that the lawsuit won’t stall yoga at its sc hools in the future. “My answer hasn’t changed: there is no r eligious component to this program,” EUSD Superintendent Tim Baird said shortly after the la w center issued a pr ess release announcing its intent to sue the district. EUSD introduced yoga classes to its students in the f all thanks to a $533,000 grant from the Jois Foundation, and the district is in talks with the foundation to continue the program for three more years. Baird said he hasn’ t seen the la wsuit yet, but he doesn’t expect it to affect those negotiations. Rather than seek monetary damages, the lawsuit aims to scr ap the program on the g rounds that it violates the esta b-

lishment cause of the constitution, what’s more commonly known as “separation of church and state.” “This frankly is the clearest case of the state trampling on the r eligious freedom rights of citiz ens that I have personally witnessed in m y 18 y ears of practice as a constitutional attorney,” said Dean Broyles, one of the attorneys at the law center, in a press release. The press release goes on to say: “EUSD’s improperly cozy relationship with the Jois Foundation has entangled the district in an unnecessary and avoidable religious controversy.” Broyles, who could not be reached for comment by press time, has threatened the district with legal action for several months. He filed the lawsuit on behalf of Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock and their two children, who are students at El Camino Creek. The law center also argues that the students who were pulled from the program by their par ents haven’t been receiving 200 minutes of state-mandated PE every 10 days. In response, Baird said that the district isn’ t technically required to provide an alternative program for the 30 families who opted TURN TO YOGA ON A20

TURN TO UPDATE ON A15

HOW TO REACH US (760) 436-9737 Calendar: calendar@coastnewsgroup.com Community News: community@coastnewsgroup.com Letters to the Editor: letters@coastnewsgroup.com

Students at Paul Ecke Central take part in a yoga class. Recently, the National Center for Law and Policy, an organization from Escondido, announced plans to sue Encinitas Union School District over the program. Photo by Jared Whitlock


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