Sriracha factory might be shutdown :/

[AznAnarchy99]

Always trying to keep the Vietnamese man down. DU MA.

 

[BoomerD]

Always trying to keep the Vietnamese man down. DU MA.

Should have never let the boat people into the country in the first place...😛

 

[Ns1]

Should have never let the boat people into the country in the first place...😛

to be clear, you guys brought us here.


thanks tho. cuz like, du ma viet cong and all that good stuff.

 

[Anubis]

time to go buy more again
i already have like 8 bottles of it but thats not enough

 

[notposting]

What a bunch of loons.

I think that basically covers whatever news comes out of California.

 

[Pocatello]

I wouldn't want to live near the plant.

 

[Ns1]

Sriracha considers moving factory amid smell complaints

After a months-long battle with the city of Irwindale over complaints about a spicy odor, Sriracha sauce creator David Tran said Wednesday he is now seriously considering moving his factory to another location.

Tran responded Wednesday to the politicians and business leaders from 10 states and multiple cities in California that have offered to host the Sriracha factory. He invited them to tour the facility in Irwindale and decide if their communities would complain about the odors that arise during production.

Tran stressed he has not decided whether to move, but would like to explore his options.

The Irwindale City Council voted unanimously to designate the factory a public nuisance last Wednesday despite promises from the saucemaker that they would submit an action plan and fix the smell by June 1.

Tran said he fears the city won’t accept any solution he proposes. If Irwindale residents continue to complain even after smell-mitigation technology is installed, Sriracha’s legal troubles could have no end, Tran said.

"[City officials] tell you one thing, but think another," Tran said in an interview at Huy Fong Foods on Wednesday. "I don't want to sit here and wait to die.”

Irwindale City Attorney Fred Galante said he was confused and disappointed by Tran’s actions. Irwindale officials just want an action plan to be submitted, and Galante said that Tran has not proposed any solutions for the city to reject.

“This seems very extreme,” Galante said. “It's disappointing giving that [air quality officials] have explained that there are readily available solutions.”

Irwindale's public nuisance designation gives city officials the authority to enter the factory and install smell-mitigation technology if the company does not make the appropriate changes within approximately 90 days. Tran fears that the city’s intervention could delay the crucial pepper harvest this fall and cause ruinous financial harm to the company. Irwindale officials are also suing Huy Fong Foods in Los Angeles Superior Court, and the outcome of the lawsuit could jeopardize a pepper crop that’s worth tens of millions of dollars, Tran said.

Relocating Sriracha production would not be simple. Tran has been working with a single pepper grower in Ventura County for years, and the businesses have shaped their operations around each other, expanding in tandem. Since peppers for Sriracha hot sauce must be fresh ground on the day they are harvested, Tran said he’ll have to find a new grower if he moves, as well as replace or relocate 60 to 200 employees.

Tran said his first choice is to stay in Irwindale, but the city government’s actions have created an uncertain business climate.

“I have had the bad luck to move into a city with a government that acts like a local king,” Tran said.

Huy Fong Foods' Executive Operations Officer Donna Lam said that Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Arizona, New Mexico and West Virginia have offered to host factories. A cadre of local officials also have thrown their support behind the hot sauce maker, including state Sen. Ed Hernandez.

U.S. Congressman Tony Cardenas, whose district includes the San Fernando Valley, joined the chorus of voices clamoring to host Sriracha production on Wednesday.
“California’s 29th District is home to a vibrant network of businesses,” Cardenas said in a press release. “Why send Huy Fong Foods off thousands of miles away when they can stay in California and create jobs here?”

On Monday, Texas state Rep. Jason Villalba asked Tran in a Facebook post to meet with Texas officials. Villalba offered to organize a Texan delegation to travel to Irwindale and discuss the deal in greater detail.

"I implore the Tran Family: just meet with us. Let us tell you what is possible by moving your operations to Texas. You will not be disappointed,” Villalba said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-sriracha-may-move-ln-20140416,0,4215015.story#ixzz2z63OBX4W

GJ Lancaster.

 

[manly]

I hope he's got the reserves to move to a less corrupt Southland city.

 

[Ns1]

I hope he's got the reserves to move to a less corrupt Southland city.

he could always sell out to Heinz or LKK.

 

[SunnyD]

GJ Lancaster.

I thought part of the problem was that Irwindale gave Tran a subsidized loan of some sort to originally build his factory there in the first place and were essentially holding him hostage now. He basically can't move because of penalties on the loan (well, he can pay the penalties).

That coupled with the interdependence on the local farms make the situation less than ideal. Basically Irwindale is fucking him over.

 

[manly]

Since October, air quality regulators have received 70 complaints, most of them from four households. Inspectors have made dozens of visits to the factory and nearby homes, yet have not cited the company for any environmental violations.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/edit...o-spicy-for-irwindale-20140425,0,672245.story

As alluded to previously, the "smell" aren't the chili peppers but civic corruption.

 

[LTC8K6]

freedomguy
Rank 60

How do you write this story without mentioning that the bulk of the complaints came from a relative of a council member......or that two former officials have already pleaded guilty to public corruption charges while several others including current council members are under indictment for corruption.

4 hours ago
11 Likes

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A commenter to the above story...

 

[unokitty]

A review:

Of the 61 complaints made to the air quality board about smells coming from the Sriracha hot-sauce factory since October, investigators traced the smell to the Huy Fong Foods factory just four times...

... 41 of the 61 complaints came from four households...

Of course, one of those four complaining households is related to a politician on the city board...

If this was my home Chicago, it would indicate that that politician didn't receive the expected pay-off err campaign contribution.

The City Council declared the harsh chili odors emanating from the 650,000-square-foot Azusa Canyon Road plant a public nuisance after residents complained the fumes burned their eyes, caused them to choke and forced them to stay indoors during the fall chili grinding season. The city also filed a lawsuit in October in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the company and sought a temporary restraining order, which would have halted operations during the factory’s busiest processing time.

“He’s been standing his ground and we’ve held his feet to the fire,” said Breceda, of Tran.

They filed a lawsuit and asked for a temporary restraining order based primarily on the complaints of a politician's nephew and three of his friends?

Current news:
Sriracha hot sauce factory no longer considered a public nuisance in Irwindale

Interesting. Wonder if the politicians finally got what they wanted or if something else happened...

Uno

 

[DesiPower]

maybe something to do with TX trying to lure them...