LA: Welcome to Little Tijuana...

LOS ANGELES: WELCOME TO LITTLE TIJUANA StreetVendor Once again, the Los Angeles City Council disadvantages those who have fixed establishments, pay taxes, and have significant costs in favor of the street merchants who are mostly illegal aliens. After years of debate, L.A. legalizes sidewalk vending: ‘This means freedom’ Capping years of protests and debate, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday passed an ordinance legalizing and regulating vending on city sidewalks. In Los Angeles, they have long been a familiar sight: the vendors who hawk ice cream from pushcarts in Echo Park, sell bottled water to sweaty tourists strolling in Hollywood, and show off their wares under rainbow-y umbrellas in the Fashion District. Now, after years of protests and packed hearings at City Hall, Los Angeles leaders have passed a law to legalize and regulate vending on its sidewalks. The decision Wednesday was the culmination of a long and persistent campaign by vendors, many of them immigrants and Spanish speakers, who erupted in cheers and applause after the unanimous vote at City Hall. Tens of thousands of vendors are estimated to sell food and goods on L.A. sidewalks, a practice that has been illegal yet all but ubiquitous. “This means freedom,” said Aureliano Santiago, who sells ice cream and hot dogs in MacArthur Park. “The police won’t pester us anymore. They’ll go after delinquents instead.” Vendor5 Bottom line… There is little or no doubt in my mind that those who march under foreign flags (instead of American flags) here in Los Angeles have no plans to assimilate or adopt American culture – but to merely re-create their homeland on American soil. I wonder where the City and County health department is going to get the personnel to inspect the food and delivery systems to ensure against disease and other problems with home-processed food made under dubious conditions? I wonder if street merchants will be organized and controlled by street gangs like they do with prostitutes and drugs? Not to mention fights over the best locations? I wonder about the contraband that might be sold by these “mobile” merchants? Congestion? Trash? And, most of all, I wonder about the “magnet effect” of drawing more illegal aliens to our country by making it easier to get a job without verification and proper credentials – especially since the Los Angeles Police Department is prohibited from asking about the immigration status of those they might encounter? Face it, Los Angeles is now dominated by those who are pandering to the illegal aliens for political purposes. We are so screwed. -- steve