Stout, Stout, Get it Worked Out!
'Kick a Ginger Day' Spawned At Least 5 Attacks on Redheaded Kids
Cool, Crafy, Community Event: Unique LA's Holiday Show
Intrepid L.A. Foodies Tackle 11-in-11 Nocturnal Challenge
Map of the Day: Outdoor Skating Rinks in Los Angeles
Both Reason Magazine and The Desert Dispatch have chimed in on the LAPD's crackdown on bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors in Hollywood last Friday night. "Most disturbing is that apparently, the police simply destroyed all the carts and all the contents without involving that crazy little creation we have here in the United States called 'the justice system,'” wrote the Dispatch in an editorial. Reason writes that this "story has everything: class warfare, racism, protection rackets, relish, and mustard."
Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs Have Rights, Too
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebookComments (8) [rss]
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
Tips
Contribute
Latest Tip:
New Los Angeles Blog created by journalist and creative writing graduate students at USC
http://epo
[more]
Isn't the problem that these were unlicensed food vendors, which means they are violating the health code, so technically all the food and prep equipment can be considered health hazardous, thus warranting their destruction? Not saying I agree with what they did, but there is a legal basis.
Part of the problem here was that outbreak of hepatitis last year from illegals working in many Los Angeles restaurants. One of my favorite places to eat in L.A., La Golondrina Cafe, was shut down for this for a short time.
For anyone who cares to think about this one for a second, un-licensed food vendor, especially if most of them are illegals, is a public safety nightmare.
I honestly believe this is the only way to deter these illegal vendors. I'm not a Minuteman or anything, but most of these people don't really give a s* about our laws.
gotta love the use of "illegals" and "these people"...
nice.
Honestly, I've never purchased anything from the vendors but I really don't see what the problem is with having them on the street. Perhaps LAPD should concern itself with more pressing issues like the violent drunks who regularly start fights outside bars.
like the violent drunks who start fights outside bars we could also clamp down on bartenders who over-serve their patrons. I was a bartender for 3 years and it isn't tough to know you're over-doing it when the 3rd round of shots goes down... we can't police everyone but at some point everyone who does things they shouldn't do has their day to answer for it.
Anyway, instead of ragging on the police and the health department for doing their jobs we could do our part and only buy from licensed vendors selling sanctioned food; not only would it support honest workers but would encourage other vendors to save toward doing the same as they could be assured a market to make it worth their trouble.
These vendors knew the price for getting caught and decided it was worth it to them to take the chance - don't cry for them, they've got their own plan. ...oh, and also? according to the Reason.tv bit, they're not even really being targeted for being unlicensed or for parking in front of other businesses (who, hey, have also gotta try and make a buck, no?) but, no, it's not for any of that - it's for The Bacon! If they got rid of the bacon (and if we all didn't just go look for the next drug-dealer, er, bacon vendor) they'd run less risk of having this happen. Even the woman (Ms. Palacio) in the reason.tv bit was having a hard time 'cause, since doing things the legal way, she was losing business to the unlicensed, unsafe fly-by-night vendors.
I wonder how much pressure local business owners put on their CC rep or the police the get this crackdown.
The amount I abhor the finger pointing at and usage of terms like "illegals" and "these people" aside, "they" can get licensed as street vendors, citizenship status aside.