The new American dream...

[Commander Bunny]

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20101201/ARTICLES/101209919

Grab a few buck-fifty tamales, and while Your at it grab a barfbag as well.

If this were a local lemonade stand, They'd be shut-down in a heartbeat.
If I were to bake apple pies and sell them door to door, I'd probably be fined about $5000 for not having a permit, not having a commercial kitchen, but in this case, let's see, ummm, illegally entering Our Country, being deported twice, selling tamales door to door for 3 decades without the use of a commercial kitchen, nor the proper permits, well, that's just fine with Sonoma county.

This is pretty revolting, and completely undermines Folks who actually have had to go through all of the legal proccess to open a legitimate bussiness.
But then again, this is just fine with Sonoma County...

[Commander Bunny]

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20101209/ARTICLES/101209401/1350?p=4&tc=pg

"Duran said a county environmental health official told him that before he can get a permit for his tamale cart, he needs to contract with a county-approved commercial kitchen commissary where he can prepare his tamales and clean and store the cart. He said he was also told he needs to get approval from the city planning department to operate the cart within city limits.

However Walt Kruse, director of the county environmental health agency, said that while county health officials often “check with the city to make sure we know the conditions the city has on operating anything, the permit for the tamale cart is not contingent on a city permit.

Nor does permit limit where food can be sold. “It only covers state rules for food safety, including handling, preparation and storage,” he said.

Duran seems to face a bigger problem from City Hall.

Santa Rosa community development director Chuck Regalia said that for Duran to operate the produce stand all year around, he would need to amend the existing conditional use permit. That's a process, Duran said, that could cost thousands of dollars.

As for operating the tamale cart within city limits, Regalia said the Santa Rosa city code clearly lays out the restrictions on street vendors, including no selling within 100 feet of an intersection, no selling within 500 feet of a school, and no vendor operating in any one location for more than 30 minutes.”


Hmmmm...making all of those tamales at home, eh?

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Keep on this one Commander, I'd be interested in knowing the end result.

[Ayatollahgondola]

There are obviously more of us who believe in the rule of law, and that it must apply to everyone. Good on everyone who reported this lawbreaker.

[Commander Bunny]

After selling 600 tamales that day the Health dept ordered the destruction of 20 tamales, and gave them a reciept??

Anybody else would have been fined heavily, and all of Their gear confiscated.

And they admit to making them at home for over 30 years, and vending without any permits....wow.

[Commander Bunny]

From My Operatives working in the North Bay area, the City of Santa Rosa has shut them down!
I'm not sure about wether They'll be allowed to operate outside of City limits, or along roadsides in that County, or wether Sonoma Co. Health dept. has fined Them, or ordered Them to cease bussiness, but by the comments in the past few weeks over this touchy-feely story about the Tamale vendors flaunting almost every law in existance, there has been an extremely strong public outcry on why the County has allowed this, and why the press has portrayed Law-breakers as heroes, so even in the ultra-liberal North bay, Folks are waking up.

It's about time.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Thanks for the update Commander.