Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Irwindale Declares Sriracha Factory A 'Public Nuisance'
Sriracha bottles
(
Photo Illustration by Scott Olson
/
Getty Images
)
Things are heating up in the battle between the city of Irwindale and Sriracha. The City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday night that the smells coming from the hot sauce maker's factory is a "public nuisance."
And now Huy Fong Foods, the creator behind the beloved cock sauce, is expected to have 90 days to fix the stinky issue or city officials will go into the factory and fix it themselves, according to Pasadena Star News. However, the City Council will need to make another vote before enforcing the public nuisance declaration.
This 4-0 vote had moved forward despite the fact that Huy Fong Foods and its attorney John Tate told city officials that they would have an action plan in 10 days, according to the L.A. Times. They had also been working with the South Coast Air Management District (AQMD) on its filtration system early on when the complaints first started and had hoped to fix the problems by June 1, reported CBS Sacramento.
“We’re disappointed,” Tate told Pasadena Star News. “We had been led to believe we were providing the city what it wanted.”
Support for LAist comes from
Tate added that the judgment seemed hurried and "a bit heavy handed" since they only found 12 residents in the entire city who complained about the factory. CBS Sacramento reported that the complaints were mostly filed from four households in a population of 1,400 residents in the industrial city.
The city of Irwindale filed a lawsuit against Huy Fong Foods last October saying the maker breached terms of their contract and that residents who lived near the 600,000-square-foot plant were suffering from burning eyes, headaches, heartburn, inflamed asthma and nosebleeds. (A trial is scheduled for November.) However, the company said that their own employees who worked even closer with the hot chilis had no complaints.
They lawsuit asked for a temporary restraining order in October to stop Huy Fong Foods from producing the spicy sauce, but a judge threw out the request. However, in November, a judge told the makers they had to stop their production that was making the smell, but Huy Fong Foods had already completed their pepper-grinding season by October, according to CBS Sacramento.
Huy Fong Foods CEO and his employees didn't attend the City Council meeting. The company received some support through testimonials. Pasadena Star News reported:
“I ask that the City of Irwindale reject this inflammatory and unnecessary public nuisance designation and work constructively with Huy Fong Foods to resolve these issues,” a statement from state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, said. “If not, I’m certain there are a number of cities right here in the San Gabriel Valley who would be happy to have a business like Huy Fong Foods in their community.”
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist