The AP tells us the Supreme Court has declined to get involved in an ongoing spat over the cross in the old LA County seal. The crosses were added to symbolize the area’s Catholic mission past, but some objected, calling it an improper government sponsorship of religion. They were removed in 2004.

Interestingly, when the cross was removed, so was the goddess Pomona-“the goddess of gardens and fruit trees – is holding in her arms a sheaf of grain, an orange, a lemon, an avocado and a few grapes to represent Los Angeles County’s agriculture,” according to the County site. She was replaced by a “Native American woman (who) represents the early inhabitants of the Los Angeles Basin, including the area we now call Los Angeles County.” Oil derricks were replaced by an non-religious depiction of the San Gabriel Mission in a nod to the region’s religious past.

From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court on Monday ended a challenge to Los Angeles County’s decision to remove a cross from the county seal.

The court, without comment, declined to revive a lawsuit filed by a county employee that said the decision in 2004 to alter the seal was a display of hostility toward Christianity.

A U.S. district judge and a federal appeals court had previously rejected the claims of Ernesto R. Vasquez.

The county Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in 2004 to remove the cross from the seal to stave off a threatened lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The case is Vasquez v. Los Angeles County, 07-427.