Sealing the Deal

Though there has been considerable attention paid to the issue, LAist thought it noteworthy that yesterday's vote by the Board of Supervisors resulted in an ACLU victory.

For those unfamiliar with the hulabaloo, the ACLU threatened to sue the City over the use of a small gold cross in the original city seal. Yesterday's vote ends months of argument over the future incarnation of the icons that represent Los Angeles, dumping the cross in favor of the Mission San Gabriel, eliminating the goddess Pomona in favor of a Native American woman holding a bowl of acorns, and removing the oil derricks of Signal Hill to make room for the mission.

Not that LAist is especially traditional, but this is the height of pointless litigation. King/Drew Hospital is closing its trauma wing because it doesn't have the money to fund it and all the ACLU and Board of Supervisors can find to whine about is a tiny, and historically significant, religious symbol on the city seal? Please.

And don't forget the cost factor—replacing the seal on all equipment and other City-related things that bear the seal will cost us $800,000. Probably a lot cheaper than being sued by the ACLU, but more than LAist was willing to pay for a tiny gold cross.

[Thanks to John Suseoff for the image.]