ORANGE, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California opened its first regional office today in Orange.

'We have been making plans to open an office in Orange County for a while, so we are pleased that the day is finally here,' said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU/SC. 'The ACLU has always monitored civil rights and civil liberties across Orange County, but with a full time staff we will be able to look at access to health care, education equality and immigrant rights more closely in Orange County.'

With more than 5,000 active members, Orange County has one of the highest concentrations of ACLU members in Southern California. The Orange County office is the first ever ACLU office in Orange County.

The Orange County office will report to the Southern California headquarters in Los Angeles. Hector O. Villagra will serve as the director of the office and Belinda Escobosa Helzer as a staff attorney. Nora Preciado was selected for a two-year Equal Justice Works fellowship and Meera Manek will be the community outreach administrator.

'We've already been busy,' Villagra said. 'When we learned that the Orange County registrar scheduled a special election on the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana, we worked with community leaders to ensure broad access to early voting and absentee voting. We are also working with high school students in Garden Grove who were treated unequally because they are lesbians.'

ACLU/SC Orange County Staff:

Hector Villagra, ACLU/SC Orange County Office Director

Hector is the former Regional Counsel for MALDEF. He managed and supervised MALDEF's legal office serving California, Arizona, and Nevada. A graduate of Columbia University and Columbia Law School, Hector clerked for the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Robert Wilentz, and for 9th Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt before joining the law firm of Fried, Frank in New York as a MALDEF fellow.

Belinda Escobosa Helzer, Staff Attorney

Belinda is an Orange County native experienced in civil rights litigation and community organizing. At MALDEF she focused primarily on immigrants rights and employment issues. Belinda is a graduate of Southwestern Law School and clerked for Senior Justice Joseph Baca on the New Mexico Supreme Court. In addition to her legal work, Belinda has volunteered as the Chair of the Major Gift Solicitation Committee to raise funds to restore a historic Orange County public elementary school, and co-founded a program to provide comprehensive services to emancipated foster youth as they transition out of care into adulthood.

Nora Adriana Preciado, Equal Justice Works Fellow

Nora is a recent graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, where she served as senior projects editor of the California Law Review. She is the recipient of numerous public interest scholarships and grants. During law school she interned at the National ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and MALDEF, and was a judicial extern for federal district court judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Nora was selected for a two-year fellowship that will concentrate on ensuring that non-English speakers have meaningful access to vital government services, particularly in the area of health care.

Meera Manek, Community Outreach Administrator

Meera is a graduate of UC-Irvine and completed an internship in the ACLU/SC Public Policy Department. She also attended the 2004 National ACLU Membership Conference. Meera serves as president of her local Toastmasters Club. She also interned at the Orange County Human Relations Department and the World Affairs Councils of America in Washington, D.C.

Orange County journalists seeking to contact the new office, should call Elizabeth Brennan at (213) 977-5252.

LOS ANGELES -The ACLU of Southern California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network entered into an agreement with the Fresno Unified School District to take steps to eliminate anti-gay discrimination from Fresno campuses after receiving multiple complaints from students who were harassed, in some cases by school officials, because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

"Our concern is that all students regardless of whether they are gay or straight feel comfortable on campus and that learning is their primary concern while they are at school," said Christine P. Sun, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "We are pleased that the Fresno Unified School District is finally taking action to incorporate education on all biases into its curriculum."

The agreement was reached after the ACLU and the GSA Network were contacted by a parent who for months had unsuccessfully attempted to work with the District to end the discrimination against her son by school administrators. In an email obtained by the student's parent, the District Parent Ombudsman instructed other school officials to "document if [the student] is possibly confused about his sexual preference and suggest ways to train him in appropriate ways of expressing his preferences." In the email, the District Ombudsman also suggested that the student needed "psychological testing."

The agreement creates a comprehensive training and curricular program for administrators and students over the next two years that directly addresses anti-gay bias. The training will start this fall and requires that all administrators, teachers, and some additional staff attend a training session focused primarily on sexual orientation and gender identity diversity, discrimination and harassment.

"Daily harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students is ubiquitous in our schools," said Carolyn Laub, executive director of GSA Network. "We look forward to working with Fresno Unified to take comprehensive steps to solve the problem. Other school districts should take a page from Fresno Unified's lesson book and commit to safety and respect for all."

The trainings will include a live presentation by students who can talk about personal experiences and the adult response to such behavior. The District also agreed to provide mandatory instruction for all high school students focusing exclusively on the subject of preventing harassment and discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

Fresno students said the program and training sessions would be a positive step forward.

"I think this kind of training will be great for our district," said Frankie Martinez, a senior at Sunnyside High School. "I know how difficult it may be for gay youth like me and I think this will greatly increase tolerance and I believe that things will finally begin to improve."

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California and a Pasadena couple who was forced to remove a sign questioning the war in Iraq from the exterior of their home, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal district court seeking a permanent injunction blocking the city from enforcing a municipal code that is counter to the First Amendment.

Mary Gavel-Briggs and Patrick Briggs, who are long time Pasadena homeowners, filed the suit after they were forced to remove two political signs that read "Support Cindy Sheehan" and "War starts with 'W.' Bush Lied. People Died." from the front of their home or face a fine of up to $500.

"The signs have allowed us to have many conversations and debates with our neighbors and passers by," said Mary Briggs. "I think that kind of communication is very important to the health of our country. I can't believe we're the first people to challenge this rule, but I hope we help other people express their views too."

Pasadena residents are prohibited from posting most signs on their own property - no matter the content - if they do not obtain a permit and comply with a host of city requirements. Pasadena Municipal Code states that for single-family and duplex homes the maximum number of signs what may be posted is "four signs per parcel" and that maximum sign area is "one square foot per sign" - about the size of a sheet of paper.

"Limiting maximum signage area to one square foot offends another core constitutional principle - that as to the First Amendment, size matters," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director for the ACLU/SC. "Political signs placed on residential property that express views on controversial issues uniquely fulfill a core function of our democracy to reflect and animate change in the life of a community."

The Briggs first called the ACLU/SC after a long exchange of phone conversations, letters and emails with the Zoning Department attempting to clarify the rules and obtain a permit, if necessary, to place a sign on their home. In mid-August the Zoning Department said after consulting the city attorney the Briggs' signs were "prohibited," but provided no rationale why.

The Briggs are active in community groups and their church. Mary Briggs is a third generation Pasadena resident and has owned the home in the North Pasadena Heights section of Pasadena for nearly ten years. The couple bypassed the rule last month to post a sign notifying neighbors they could leave donations for Hurricane Katrina victims at their house.

"We just think this regulation is counter to the spirit of our city," said Patrick Briggs. "At first it seemed like a minor issue, but changing the code is worthwhile for the sake of discussion and democracy in our community."