City council puts off vote on controversial English-only rule

An "English-only" city council proposal is sparking a vigorous debate—and, unsurprisingly, a good deal of anger—in a Southern California town. Although nearly two-thirds of the residents of the city of Walnut are Asian, as are three of the five city council members, a proposal to make public meetings English-only came forward after a citizen complained she couldn’t understand what was going on. The city says it can't afford to hire translators, yet opponents say the measure is a civil rights violation and will marginalize people from participating in public discourse. A vote on the controversial measure is anticipated later this month, but since council members unanimously voted this week to postpone a decision, we’ll see what happens then. [Source]