Vivan las Camionetas!!!
Ξ August 27th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ 90041, 90042, 90065, Best Of, Beyond Northeast, Food, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Night Life |
Today is a big day for unincorporated Los Angeles County and for anyone who likes tacos, or simply doesn’t like a nanny-state dictating what choices they can and can’t make. Below is a letter we sent out to those who have signed our sister site/petition, http://www.saveourtacotrucks.org/. To briefly summarize, the Los Angeles Superior Court struck down the county’s recent ordinance effectively outlawing our beloved taco trucks. Look for us out this week, we’ll be the two happiest gabachos at La Estrella.
It’s a great day to stand on the side of hardworking Angelenos, fair capitalistic competition, and delicious food. Today in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Dennis Aichroth ruled in favor of our hardworking taqueros stating in part that the recently enacted law effectively banning taco trucks was “too ambiguous to be enforceable” and was “arbitrary and not based upon any rational, intrinsic or natural basis”. Furthermore, Judge Aichroth agreed with an argument we’ve championed from the beginning, writing, “this attempt to restrict the operation of catering trucks […] is a pretext for creating a “naked restraint of trade” and, as such, must be declared invalid”. In short, Gloria Molina and her developer backed cabal of myopic gentrificationists have lost. The people of Los Angeles have won.
While we would like to declare the “big taco” bureaucrats down and out for good, we unfortunately must temper our joy with the realization that this may only be round one. The county can still appeal this decision, or rewrite the law in an attempt to stay within their constitutionally limited legislative powers. So then, what’s a socially active taco lover to do?
- 1. Write your Supervisor urging them to stop legislating taco trucks out of business. Their email addresses can be found here.
- 2. Take someone unfamiliar with the taco truck lifestyle out for a night of unforgettably delicious food. $3 should buy you two tacos, a drink, and a political ally for life.
- 3. On a self serving note, continue to submit your street food pictures and keep on wearing your “Carne Asada is not a Crime” T-shirts. Photos can be submitted to contact@yorkblvd.com and T-shirts can be purchased here.
While we may lack the money of the business groups and restaurant owners associations that backed this misguided law, we still carry the votes necessary to put these politicians in their posh offices and wield a bright spotlight which they’d rather not have shined on their political handouts. (Especially those who have built their careers on an image of championing the working class, Latinos, and/or the fair market.) Keep up the good work and know that you are on the right side of history.
“Give us Tacos or Give us Death!”
Aaron and Chris
