Chances are most Californians don't know that we have an official state flower (the golden poppy).
There's a state dance (western swing), not to be confused with the state folk dance (square).
And there are about 30 other officially sanctioned, and equally trivial, symbols, a list that includes a state insect (the California dogface butterfly) and not one, but two state ghost towns (Bodie and Calico).
There's also a state rock. That fact probably escaped most of us, too, with no harm done. But if you've been following the news, you know that trial lawyers, cancer patients and geologists are fighting over the fate of serpentine.
Serpentine is a shiny, smooth metamorphic rock that's used for carving and jewelry, and it has been the state rock since 1965.
Unfortunately, serpentine also can contain asbestos.
Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a form of cancer that kills about 2,500 Americans annually. State Sen. Gloria Romero says that's why she joined the campaign to "drop the rock."
Considering that lawmakers have a boulder hanging over their heads -- the state's $19 billion deficit -- this bill ought to wait until next year. After all, that's a nanosecond in geologic time.
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