The Board of Directors of the Department of Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument voted in favor of removing the donkey from Placita Olvera, the colorful attraction that has been there for more than six decades to the delight of locals and strangers.
The directors of El Pueblo gave Ricardo Hernández Chase a date to evict the donkey under the premise that there is an agreement that establishes that 30 days after the death of his mother, to whom they initially rented the donkey, he had to abandon his source of work. In other words, literally, the body of Mrs. María Tráncito Hernández had not finished cooling off when they were already planning to kick the donkey out on the street.
Seeing this impending injustice, we wonder if Mayor Karen Bass is aware, and if she knows that Liliana Perez, whom she appointed as president of the El Pueblo Board of Directors, voted to evict a small business, as did all the members of the board.
Have you noticed that many times individuals who have a super salary from the government or a multi-million dollar corporation, like Liliana Perez, who works for the soccer team Los Angeles ChargersThey forget the struggles of the less fortunate and find it easy to throw them out onto the streets.
Ricardo Hernández is a modest businessman who, like any tenant who is to be evicted, was given a series of irrelevant reports to add to the cause for eviction.
It is possible that behind the eviction of El Burro, and other restaurants, there is a hidden plan to gentrify Placita Olvera. But it is hard to believe such cruelty against a small Latino business.
Why has the board of El Burro not dealt with the same fervor with the rat infestation at the Placita or the security problems they have suffered.
It is time for Mayor Bass to take action, because El Pueblo, which rents the spaces in Placita Olvera, falls within her area of action. What if Ricardo Hernandez were not Mexican, he would have treated him with the same rigor.
The Burro is an icon of Placita Olvera. Therefore, the mayor has an opportunity to defend a small business, for which she claims to advocate; and to prevent Ricardo and his donkey from joining the army of homeless people, which as you know is the number one problem in Los Angeles, and the priority of Mayor Bass on her agenda.
Almost there
We may know who the new chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is by August. According to the LA Times, more than 25 people from around the country have applied for the position.
Among the candidates are Bob Arcos, a former deputy chief of the LAPD who works for District Attorney George Gascon’s office; another Latino, Art Acevedo, who was the chief of police in Houston and Miami; and then the LAPD’s special operations chief, Blake Chow; and the head of the LAPD’s South Los Angeles Bureau, Emada Tingirides; and the head of the Transit Services Bureau, Donald Graham.
It would be only fair if Bob Arcos were the new chief of the LAPD. He has all the credentials, and 50% of the population in Los Angeles is Latino. However, he may be disqualified, because he has a history of trying to help a close relative in a problem, using his influence, and that was not taken well. It even affected his bid to be chief of the LAPD, in the process in which Michel Moore was chosen. But how much longer will they punish him?
Since former LAPD Chief Michel Moore retired in February, Emada Tingirides has been touted as the front-runner and could become the first female chief of the LAPD.
The only thing that could be said against her is that Tingirides supported Rick Caruso, Mayor Bass’ opponent in the mayoral campaign. So we’ll see if the mayor lets that little detail slide, and experience and ability prevail over politics.