California Water Engineer Charges Religious Discrimination

In Napa, California, the Napa Valley Register yesterday reported on a federal lawsuit filed by Turan Ramadan, a public works engineer in the city's water department. Ramadan claims that Napa officials have harassed him and discriminated against him because of his Turkish ethnicity and Muslim religion. The harassment intensified after an Oct. 15, 2003, incident in which his supervisor ordered potentially injurious amounts of chemicals to be added to the city's drinking water. Napa City Attorney Michael Barrett says that Ramadan's charges are without merit.