FFRF helps Calif. city keep public median clear of religious objects (March 20, 2013)

The city of Santa Ana, Calif., removed a Latin cross attached to a tree on one of the city's medians after being notified about the problem by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

A concerned local resident contacted FFRF about the church/state violation. FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert contacted Mayor, Miguel Pulido about the violation in a Dec. 28, 2012 letter.

"The inherent religious significance of the Latin cross is undeniable and is not disguised," she said. "The display of this patently religious symbol on this street confers government endorsement of Christianity in an extremely public way."

The executive director of the city of Santa Ana Public Works Agency, Raul Godinez II, responded to Markert in a March 20 letter, reporting that the Latin cross had been removed from the public median.