The Supremes and Hot Sauce

With the retirement of California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter next year, Jerry Brown will have the opportunity to fill another seat on the Supreme Court of California (SCOC). Last time, he picked Goodwin Liu. That led to African-American and Latino groups getting pretty frustrated that a majority of the Supreme Court had became Asian. (And who says justice…  social or otherwise… is blind?)

Now, the governor has two seats to fill - Baxter and Joyce Kennard, who announced her retirement in February. That leaves the court with three Asian-Americans and two Caucasian justices, which will certainly put the pressure on the Governor to look to Latino and African-American justices.

The rhetorical-yet-legitimate question would then be: To ensure the highest standards of justice are served, shouldn’t the best-of-the-best in terms of judicial performance be appointed to the state’s highest court?

And to add a bit more drama, there’s a new player in the game: Darrell Steinberg. He is the Senate President pro Tempore and leader of the majority party in the California State Senate (that would be the Donkeys). His name is being seriously bandied about in Sacto.

According to a highly respected Capital blog: “Steinberg would be an outstanding choice, and there would be no risk of the Rose Bird fiasco. Steinberg is a well-tested public figure. And, remember that the rejection of Bird, Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin was not about the death penalty. The fight was really about labor issues - particularly agriculture - that won't be before the CA Supreme Court anytime soon. And, to be politically blunt, the fact that Governor Brown has two vacancies opens a door for Steinberg.”

So here are your odds-on favorites to be picked for the two SCOC seats. Trending are Steinberg, Jenkins and Rogers:

•Michael Fitzgerald, U.S. District Court, Central District of California

•Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Professor, Stanford Law School

•Martin Jenkins, 1st District Court of Appeal

•Kevin Johnson, Dean, UC Davis School of Law

•Kimberly Mueller, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

•Yvonne Gonzales Rogers, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

•Darrell Steinberg, Senate President pro Tempore

•Kathleen Sullivan, Partner, Quinn Emanuel; former dean, Stanford Law School

“Sriracha - Gesundheit!”

Remember the flap by the city of Irwindale over Huy Fong Foods, makers of Sriracha chili sauce, being a public nuisance? Well, the Sriracha factory is no longer considered a public nuisance and can stay open.  The city had been battling Huy Fong Foods over complaints that fumes from the plants were making residents sick. Why the reprieve?

From the “You-Can’t-Make-This-Stuff-Up” Dep’t: The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) measured particle levels in a random kitchen after grinding Jalapeño peppers in a completely different way than Huy Fong Foods does. The SCAQMD did it on a tiny scale, with none of the filtration systems that are common in factory-level food production. Its researchers then measured particle matter right next to the blender.

Remember, the AQMD are the same people who took your tax money and created Diamond Lanes that you paid for but can't drive in on a normal basis... which is explanation enough for  "The Great Jalapeño Grinding Kerfuffle.”