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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 27 January 2023
Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake

By COLLEEN SLEVIN chance to do so.
Associated Press Last year it heard another
DENVER (AP) — The Colo- case challenging Colo-
rado baker who won a par- rado’s anti-discrimination
tial U.S. Supreme Court vic- law, brought by a Christian
tory after refusing to make graphic artist who does
a gay couple’s wedding not want to design wed-
cake because of his Chris- ding websites for same-sex
tian faith lost an appeal couples. Lorie Smith, who
Thursday in his latest legal is also represented by ADF,
fight, involving his rejection claims the law violates her
of a request for a birthday freedom of speech.
cake celebrating a gender Scardina, an attorney, at-
transition. tempted to order her cake
The Colorado Court of Ap- on the same day in 2017
peals ruled that that the that the Supreme Court an-
cake Autumn Scardina re- nounced it would hear Phil-
quested from Jack Phillips lips’ appeal in the wedding
and Masterpiece Cake- cake case. During trial, she
shop, which was to be pink testified that she wanted to
with blue frosting, is not a “challenge the veracity”
form of speech. of Phillips’ statements that
It also found that the state he would serve LGBTQ cus-
law that makes it illegal to Jack Phillips, who’s case was heard by the Supreme Court five years ago after he objected to tomers.
refuse to provide services to designing a wedding cake for a gay couple, speaks to supporters outside the Supreme Court in Before filing her lawsuit,
Washington, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.
people based on protect- Associated Press Scardina first filed a com-
ed characteristics like race, plaint against Phillips with
religion or sexual orienta- or symbolism it provides to beliefs,” ADF senior counsel rado Civil Rights Commis- the state and the civil rights
tion does not violate busi- an observer would not be Jake Warner said in a state- sion had acted with anti- commission, which found
ness owners’ right to prac- attributed to the baker,” ment. John McHugh, one religious bias in enforcing probable cause that he
tice or express their religion. said the court, which also of the lawyers who rep- the anti-discrimination law had discriminated against
Relying on the findings of a rejected procedural argu- resent Scardina, said the against Phillips after he re- her.
Denver judge in a 2021 trial ments from Phillips. court looked carefully at fused to bake a cake cel- Phillips then filed a federal
in the dispute, the appeals Phillips, who is represent- all the arguments and evi- ebrating the wedding of lawsuit against Colorado,
court said Phillips’ shop ini- ed by Alliance Defending dence from the trial. Charlie Craig and Dave accusing it of a “crusade to
tially agreed to make the Freedom, maintains that “They just object to the idea Mullins in 2012. The justices crush” him by pursuing the
cake but then refused af- the cakes he creates are a of Ms. Scardina wanting a called the commission un- complaint.
ter Scardina explained form of speech and plans birthday cake that reflects fairly dismissive of Phillips’ In March 2019, lawyers
that she was going to use to appeal. her status as a transgen- religious beliefs. for the state and Phillips
it to celebrate her transi- “One need not agree with der woman because they The high court did not rule agreed to drop both cases
tion from male to female. Jack’s views to agree that object to the existence of then on the larger issue of under a settlement Scardi-
“We conclude that creat- all Americans should be transgender people,” he whether a business can in- na was not involved in. She
ing a pink cake with blue free to say what they be- said of Phillips and his shop. voke religious objections pursued the lawsuit against
frosting is not inherently ex- lieve, even if the govern- In 2018, the U.S. Supreme to refuse service to LGBTQ Phillips and Masterpiece on
pressive and any message ment disagrees with those Court ruled that the Colo- people, but it has another her own.q

California storms boost water allocation

for cities

households for a year. reservoirs by a combined the importance of our ef-
In December, state officials 66%. More water could be forts to modernize our ex-
announced public water on the way. Thursday’s al- isting water infrastructure
agencies would get just location does not include for an era of intensified
5% of what they had asked water that will eventually drought and flood. Given
for because of a severe come in the spring when these dramatic swings,
drought that had deplet- the snow melts in the Sierra these storm flows are badly
ed the state’s reservoirs to Nevada. As of Tuesday, needed to refill groundwa-
dangerously low levels. California had more than ter basins and support re-
But starting on New Year’s twice as much snow in the cycled water plants.”
Floodwaters cover a property along River Rd. in Monterey Eve, a weather phenome- mountains compared to The U.S. Drought Monitor
County, Calif., as the Salinas River overflows its banks on Jan. non known as “atmospher- hits historical average. said Thursday that severe
13, 2023. ic rivers” began pummeling “We are pleased that we drought was reduced to
Associated Press California for weeks. Nine can increase the alloca- moderate drought in most
By ADAM BEAM 27 million people will get atmospheric rivers dumped tion now and provide more of the San Joaquin Valley
Associated Press much more water from an estimated 32 trillion gal- water to local water agen- and the lowest category —
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) the state than they were lons of water on the state in cies,” said Karla Nemeth, abnormal dryness — has re-
— Weeks of historic rainfall scheduled to get a month three weeks. It was enough director of the state Depart- placed moderate drought
in California mean pub- ago — enough to supply to increase water storage ment of Water Resources. on the entire central coast,
lic agencies that supply an estimated 4.4 million in the state’s two largest “These storms made clear including Monterey Bay.q