While all of this may not be an issue if and when East Los Angeles becomes a city, another victory in the Taco Truck Wars against the forces of the Board of Supervisors and their leader Gloria Molina, has been achieved. The AP Reports:

The great Taco Truck Wars of 2008 appear to have come to a close.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Friday that it won’t appeal a judge’s ruling in August that threw out a law requiring taco truck operators to move every hour or face $1,000 fines and possible jail time.

Phil Greenwald, an attorney for the vendors, praised the prosecutor’s decision.

“After all, they’re not selling porn, they’re not selling drugs, all they’re selling is food,” he told The Associated Press. “Carne asada is not a crime.”

Gloria Molina, Deputy DA Steven Gates and their anti-taco supporters plan to make the taco truck ban a central component of the County Board of Supervisors fall term. The AP reports:

“All there is to say right now is that we have filed a motion for reconsideration, requesting that the court reconsider its previous ruling,” said Deputy District Attorney Steven Gates. He declined to discuss the basis of Monday’s appeal but said the county requested a hearing Sept. 19.
“We will definitely oppose,” said attorney Philip C. Greenwald, who represents the taco truck drivers.

As we told you last month, the battle has been won but the war is on and getting hotter then ever. Taco lifestylers must be ready to defend the Taqueros of East LA and other unincorporated areas of the city at a moment’s notice. We know we can count on the readers of LA TACO to do the right thing and oppose Molina and her minions. Fight on!

Hola taqueros around the world and welcome to this week’s taco news update, with hot taco news action from all over. Did you know that the taco lifestyle has moved up to the #4 most popular alternative lifestyle in the USA! We’re now just behind “Fetish” and ahead of “Motorcycle”, which is a huge step forward for our movement. So get out there and eat some tacos, spread the word, and keep the taco lifestyle going strong.

MODESTO: When is a Taco Truck Not a Taco Truck?
FREY: Author Says Angelenos Consume 250 Tacos Per Year
WINE: Food Pairing– Coastal Chardonnay and Fish Tacos
THE OC: Best Al Pastor in San Juan Capistrano?
SAN DIEGO: Great Fish Tacos at Petco Park
NEBRASKA: Cristinas– Tasty Mexican in Lincoln
BOARDS: Best Tacos in San Diego? Have Your Say

PHOTO CREDIT: “Taco Truck All Stars, East Oakland” by Anarchosyn

The cartoon above is by Al Guerrero, one of our city’s up-and-coming cartoonists and a blogger at our new favorite site laeastsise.com. We also heard from our pals at York Blvd. who send along a “Save the Taco Trucks” online petition: www.saveourtacotrucks.org.

Meanwhile, our poll results are overwhelming– 88% of our readers, who represent a cross section of the taco lifestyle, are against Gloria Molina’s anti-taco truck law. So, vote in the poll, sign the petition, visit the pro-taco truck sites above.

After passing anti-taco truck legislation last night, the Board of Supervisors must now contend with mobile Taqueros who say they’ll resist the new ordinance. The Los Angeles Times has the following quotes in today’s edition:

They can try to move us, but we’re not going to go,” said Aleida De La Cruz, whose taco truck has been a family business for 20 years. “What are they going to do, take us all to jail?”

“I don’t think it’s a crime to sell tacos for a cheaper price than the established business,” truck owner Eugenio Sanchez told supervisors. “And the people are happy to see us because they say, ‘Finally, we have someone selling tacos.’ ”

There must be a reasonable balance between restaurants and taco trucks. We, the taco consumers are caught in the crossfire of this pointless war, and we call on the parties at hand to save the taco trucks! Sure, it’s no good when a mobile Taquero shows up right outside a taco shop, but there must be a better way to regulate things than this draconian measure, causing popular trucks to move every hour, wasting gasoline, hurting the environment and contributing to traffic problems. We call on the county leaders to think about the war they’ve started and to immediately seek a better solution.

The Los Angeles Times weighs in on the simmering debate over mobile taco wagons, commonly known as taco trucks, in East Los Angeles. The story frames the debate as one of vendors (taco trucks) versus merchants (restaurants). Featuring quotes from both vendors and merchants stating their cases, the story is light on the opinions of the people who matter most– the customers. Followers of the taco lifestyle, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Are taco trucks an illegitimate threat to traditional taco shops? Should taco trucks be forced to scurry around the city, changing position every hour? Vote below, then comment on this post.

The battle for Los Angeles’ Taco Truck providers heated up on Tuesday night as several taco truck operators stormed the council floor in order to bring a real debate to the staid chamber. According to the Pasadena Star News‘ intrepid city reporter Alison Hewitt:

A county ordinance targeting food vending trucks took some heat Tuesday when a couple dozen truck owners and their lawyer came to the Board of Supervisors meeting to oppose it.

The supervisors had given the ordinance tentative approval last week. But after the vendors’ protested Tuesday, the supervisors put off a final vote, which now could take place next week.

One vender vowed to sue the county unless changes are made to the proposed ordinance.

Specifically, the vendors oppose a 60-minute time limit on parking at one location, even though current county law prohibits such trucks from staying for more than 30 minutes in one spot. The vendors said 60 minutes is still not long enough.

Even worse, they said, was a provision that makes it a misdemeanor to park beyond the time limit. Now, county law calls only for citations for lagging lunch trucks.

The group’s attorney charged that the ordinance, as written, would not hold up in court.

County supervisors arranged an impromptu information session for the apprehensive truck owners, but their lawyer was barred from the session.