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California megachurch kicked off land by city seeking Costco's tax revenue
It sounds like a joke, or some contrived sermon illustration about Christianity versus consumerism. But the town of Cyprus, California, really did vote unanimously to seize 18 acres from megachurch Cottonwood Christian Center so the city could bring in a Costco discount store. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing Cottonwood in its legal fight against the city government, says the action "is an extraordinary … abuse of governmental power and cavalier disregard of basic constitutional rights."

The Cyprus City Council still doesn't get it. "Everybody says 'Gosh, how can you stand up against a church?'" Councilman Tim Keenan tells the Los Angeles Times. "You need to look at this as a land-use issue and take the church out of it. Everyone needs to follow the rules. I don't see why a church needs special treatment."

Even more than that, the council members are setting themselves up as martyrs in the battle. "We've been the object of a nationwide and, frankly, a worldwide propaganda campaign that can only be described as malicious," Keenan told the Los Angeles Times yesterday. "My conscience is clear."

Let's be clear: This is about money. A Costco, the Times says, "can generate as much as $900,0000 in sales tax revenue annually, according to city projections." A tax-exempt church generates none. "Our reasons are to protect the city's vision for Cypress—the creation of jobs and revenue," David Belmer, the city's economic-development director, told The Orange County Register.

Propaganda campaign or not, the case is receiving widespread attention. "An Oklahoma firm recently sent 50,000 glossy mailers lambasting Cypress officials, and legal organizations in Washington, D.C., and Colorado are drafting motions on behalf of the church," reports the Times. Even The Wall Street Journal is weighing in. "The powers of eminent domain are tricky enough when exercised for highways, schools or other public uses," the paper editorializes today. "But when invoked on behalf of a private business it represents the worst form of political collusion. Our advice to Cottonwood is not to turn the other cheek."

Whatever the outcome, the fight has created opponents of both the city council and Cottonwood Christian Center. "I hear everyone talking about what our city has done, and I'm thinking: 'There are five ignorant people on my council and how the heck do I get them off?'" Lynne McDaniel told the Register. Another resident told the paper, "We're tired of this big church trying to bully the city by busing its members in from all around the county to harass our City Council. Given the behavior of the church, we're not seeing its spiritual value. I'm not sure we want them in town."

Religious health workers can't be forced to dispense "morning-after" pills, federal court says
A federal jury awarded 28-year-old Michelle Diaz $19,000 in back pay and more than $28,000 in damages in her religious discrimination and free speech suit against a California health clinic. Diaz was fired after she refused to dispense the "morning-after" pill, which inhibits the implantation of fertilized eggs. "When that sperm and that egg meet, that was my child's life, and my life and your life," Diaz said after the verdict was announced. "And that is how every other life is going to begin. When that life starts, I cannot infringe on that. I won't be a part of ending that." County officials say they'll ask a district judge to set the verdict aside.

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May (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46