Word: taco
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...years, county law has required that taco trucks move after 30 minutes, but rarely has the law, which carried a $60 fine, been enforced. The new, harsher taco truck law, and a promise of stricter enforcement, was inspired by the needs of businesses and residents in East L.A., says County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who proposed the regulations. "It all stems from an ongoing turf battle between the vendors and the merchants," Molina says. "The businesses don't appreciate [the taco trucks] down in front. And some of the residents consider it annoying to have the trucks out until midnight...
Awareness of the law, enacted April 15, among L.A.'s 14,000 licensed taco truckers is still low. On April 23, at an East L.A. parking lot where dozens line up every afternoon to clean and restock their trucks, not a single driver had heard of the changes. "It seems like they're doing it very quietly," says Monica Jimenez, whose family has been in the taco truck business for 25 years. "They didn't announce it." Jimenez's family is one of dozens who have spoken to an attorney about challenging the new law on the grounds that...
...Taco truck patrons are getting fired up, too. About 2,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the law to be repealed at Saveourtacotrucks.org, a web site created by two teachers, Aaron Sonderleiter and Chris Rutherford. Signers have left comments like, "The revolution will be served on a paper plate," "This is for you, Taco Zone. Your al pastor tacos have warmed my soul on many a cold night," and "Quit punishing people for bringing us taco-induced joy! Viva los taco trucks...
...pair has just had their web site translated into Spanish and created a flyer that reads, "Carne Asada Is Not a Crime," which they're asking taco lovers to print and post in their neighborhoods. "Taco trucks are such a vibrant part of the landscape of L.A.," says Rutherford. "They're messing with the free market." There's talk of grander plans, too, like a citywide "taco truck night," in which Angelenos will be encouraged to eat a meal at a taco truck in a show of solidarity...
Right now, however, the heart of the taco truck preservation movement is Sonderleiter's living room in Highland Park, at two-man meetings fueled by burritos from Leo's taco truck, widely considered the Kobe Bryant of vendors. "We've probably spent enough money there to put two of Leo's kids through college," says Rutherford. "He recognizes us and knows what we like. You just don't get that at Jack...