An unfriendly battle over pride banners in friendly-branded Solvang
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, May 2.
The town of Solvang bills itself as “a sun-soaked slice of Danish culture,” with windmills, thatched-roof buildings, wine tasting rooms, fabled pancakes and other sweets drawing thousands of tourists out to the Santa Ynez Valley each year. I was among them in 2022, and I have the tiny windmill fridge magnet to prove it.
“In the self-described Danish Capital of America, friendliness is part of the brand,” my colleague Hailey Branson-Potts wrote this week. “But lately — if you’re queer — something smells rotten in this wannabe outpost of Denmark.”
The issue stems from an effort by the local LGBTQ+ community and their allies to display pride-themed banners downtown and paint some crosswalks rainbow colors during the month of June.
Solvang’s City Council shot down the proposal. The gay couple that proposed the idea were harassed online and some posted their children’s names and photos. Both critics and supporters of the pride-themed decor say they’ve received death threats.
“The feuding has prompted LGBTQ+ people in and around Solvang to speak out about how difficult, lonely and, sometimes, dangerous it feels to be queer in rural America,” Hailey reported.
Just last year, Solvang’s leaders approved the town’s first pride parade. The next month, two teenagers stole a rainbow flag from a nearby church and posted video showing them burning it. Both were arrested and now face charges.
Lauren Lastra, president of Santa Ynez Valley Pride, which is planning this year’s parade, told Hailey, “those in opposition are now feeling the need to push back at our visibility, our success and our presence.”
In the wake of the feud, the Denmark-loving town even received a letter from the mayor of Copenhagen — the actual Danish capital of actual Denmark — calling out local officials for “opposition to Pride,” saying their stance “does not reflect the genuine warmth and acceptance of Pride that can be seen across Denmark and especially in Copenhagen.”
Then came a crowded City Council meeting on April 24, which Hailey attended. The local pride group amended their proposal, nixing the rainbow crosswalks and asking that pride banners featuring a rainbow-colored windmill and the message “Solvang Pride / All Welcome” be raised for two weeks in June.
“I was struck by how much of the debate over displaying LGBTQ+ Pride banners for an entire month became about the Rockwellian ‘brand’ of a rural tourist town,” she told me this week.
One woman told her: “I’m here to stand for businesses that will get hurt. A whole month is taking away the rights of other people who don’t want to have it in their face.”
The public speakers at the event included both supporters and detractors of the banners, with comments ranging from pleas to protect Solvang’s “brand” to condemnation via Bible verses to personal experiences of some of the city’s queer residents.
“My family is not a political matter,” one gay business owner told city leaders. “Having those banners up shows, for us, that this valley is an accepting place, when there’s so many loud voices, especially sitting on this council, that are not.”
In the end, two councilmembers voted against the banners — with one citing concerns of another “Budweiser fiasco” — while three voted in favor, meaning the banners are approved to fly next month.
Hailey stuck around after the contentious meeting and despite the division on display, found some inspiration in the community, too.
“The night after the tense City Council meeting, around 50 people showed up to a community ‘werkshop’ put on by The Rainbow House to learn how to better support the LGBTQ+ youth,” she shared. “Most in the room were straight allies.”
One of the speakers was Cash Whitney, a 15-year-old who is pansexual and gender fluid. Hailey recounted how Cash took the time to carefully explain to an older crowd how to handle a situation where you accidentally say the wrong pronouns. Basically, just show grace and listen, Cash said.
“I am a normal teen, despite what these labels might mean to you,” Cash said.”It’s really tough, with all the things going on in our community ... It’s all terrible, and it really rocks me to my core. But just seeing all of you here today, ready to help ... really rocks me deep in my core but in a much more positive fashion.”
You can read Hailey’s full story here.
And now, here’s what’s happening across California:
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HOLLYWOOD
Writers strike over streaming pay after talks fail. Thousands of WGA members were set to walk picket lines across Los Angeles, New York and other cities Tuesday after the union was unable to reach a last-minute accord with the major studios on a new three-year contract to replace one that expired Monday night.
L.A. STORIES
Griffith Park may be rich in green space, fun activities and fond memories, but it also contains some dark, little-known history. During WWII, Japanese, German and Italian immigrants were unjustly imprisoned in the park, housed in Army tents in the area of what’s now the beloved Travel Town. Los Angeles Times
I’m struggling to find a better way to communicate this story, so I’ll just share the headline in full: A ‘full body orgasm’ at the L.A. Phil? Witnesses offer conflicting accounts. If that doesn’t spark your interest to read, nothing will. Los Angeles Times
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
A California bill seeks to hold social media companies legally responsible for addicting kids to their platforms. Tech lobbyists, digital rights advocates and internet law experts say the effort faces some major challenges — first and foremost on First Amendment grounds. CalMatters
In the latest state vs. local housing battle, California is taking the city of Elk Grove to court, citing violations of state housing law after the Sacramento County city denied an affordable housing project. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said that despite months of warnings, city leaders “continued to flout the law and here we are.” The Sacramento Bee
CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING
Three women and a man were shot to death Sunday night inside an RV, rattling the Kern County community of Mojave. As of Monday evening, investigators had not provided any information about a suspect, only saying there is no immediate threat to the community.
Los Angeles Times
In the years since a state law giving victims of childhood sexual abuse a new window to file lawsuits took effect, Los Angeles County “has emerged in court filings as one of the biggest alleged institutional offenders,” Times reporter Rebecca Ellis writes this week. County officials predicted that they may end up paying up to $3 billion to resolve roughly 3,000 claims of abuse that allegedly happened in the county’s foster homes, children shelters, probation camps and other facilities, dating back to the 1950s. Los Angeles Times
A man who came to the U.S. as a child with his family — fleeing genocide in Cambodia — grew up in California and later served 26 years for a murder. Phoeun You had hoped to start over in Oakland after being paroled. But Gov. Gavin Newsom silently declined calls from hundreds of clergy, state and local legislators, and others to pardon You and which led to his deportation to a country he left as a toddler. San Francisco Chronicle
Most colleges in California (and across the U.S.) don’t offer rape kits on campus. Some Golden State students are speaking out, demanding better access to the critical care in the wake of a sexual assault. Los Angeles Times
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HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
You might want to check your pantry. A salmonella outbreak affecting California and 11 other states has been linked to Gold Medal flour products. That’s led to a recall of 5- and 10-pound bags of the brand’s unbleached all-purpose flour, as well as 2- and 5-pound bags of bleached all-purpose flour, with “better if used by” dates of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024, according to parent company General Mills. Los Angeles Times
The Big Melt is underway in the Sierra Nevadas, which looks to be a mixed bag for regional wildlife. All that water has reshaped wildlands, upending the natural rhythms of some species, hydrology and wildlife experts told The Times. “We are looking at a resetting of the dynamics of the entire ecological canvas from the redwoods to the desert,” one expert said. Los Angeles Times
We’re conditioned to view wildfires as bad — and of course major, destructive burns have broad, negative effects on people and ecosystems. But a growing body of research shows shows that frequent, smaller fires can actually bring benefits to California’s freshwater fish. KQED
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AND FINALLY
Today’s California landmark is from Frank Damon of Pacific Palisades: the radiant bloom of California poppies in the Antelope Valley.
Frank writes:
The poppy fields... are otherworldly in good years after the rainy season in California ends in April. This year was exceptional. Parts of the countryside were lush with what you see in this image.
What are California’s essential landmarks? Fill out this form to send us your photos of a special spot in California — natural or human-made. Tell us why it’s interesting and what makes it a symbol of life in the Golden State. Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. Your submission could be featured in a future edition of the newsletter.
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
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