美国国家公共电台 NPR Los Angeles Moves Closer To Legalizing Sidewalk Food Vendors

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

LA has tens of thousands of street vendors¹. But there's no system for them to operate legally. Now there's a movement to change that. As Parker Yesko reports, one thing helping² is local resistance to President Trump³'s immigration policies.

PARKER YESKO, BYLINE⁴: You can buy almost anything on a sidewalk in Los Angeles. In the city's pinata district, southeast of downtown, tabletop shops offer baby clothes, cell phone accessories, even lunch. Estela Peralta chops brazed carnitas and serves it up with a variety of homemade salsas.

ESTELA PERALTA: (Speaking Spanish).

YESKO: Her husband, Enrique, is known for his crispy pork skins. When he left Mexico for the U.S., his dad gave him one piece of advice.

ENRIQUE PERALTA: (Through interpreter) You should always dedicate yourself to what you know, making chicharron and making carnitas. A pig always has feet and a head. There, you'll have no problem.

YESKO: The Peraltas do have one problem though. Their little street food operation is illegal. Selling on LA sidewalks isn't allowed, even though 50,000 vendors do it openly. For years, they've had their wares⁵ confiscated⁶, been ticketed, even charged with misdemeanor crimes. Peralta thinks the penalties are unfair.

ENRIQUE PERALTA: (Through translator) I don't know who decided⁷ it's a crime - selling drugs in the streets, yes. But street vending⁸ is not a crime.

YESKO: Many of LA's street vendors are immigrants like the Peraltas. And for the ones that are in the U.S. unlawfully, contact with law enforcement can have especially serious consequences, like deportation⁹. City Councilman Jose Huizar represents the district where the Peraltas and many other vendors sell. He proposed legalization in 2014 but says he couldn't get political buy-in. Now...

JOSE HUIZAR: Once Trump was elected and his anti-immigration, anti-Latino rhetoric¹⁰ was at the forefront of his campaign, council members around the City Council decided to move forward.

YESKO: Just weeks after Inauguration¹¹ Day, the council voted unanimously to decriminalize street funding. Huizar says the city is now drafting a legal permitting plan.

HUIZAR: We didn't want to take a chance in further assisting with the division of families should some of these individuals get caught up in the court system because of a small infraction¹².

YESKO: Even neighborhood organizations and business coalitions¹³ that have long feared the spread of vending supported decriminalization. But not everyone's happy about permitting the vendors.

MICHAEL ZARABIAN: You know, they make it look cheap. They make it look bad.

YESKO: Restaurant owner Michael Zarabian says the vendors undercut his business.

ZARABIAN: You can't afford to sell same sandwich for $4 with a drink. You've got to sell it for $10 to just survive.

YESKO: Zarabian feels like brick-and-mortars are held to higher standards, and they're stuck with higher overhead.

ZARABIAN: With the food costs of 35 percent, utility bill, rent, phone, cable, TV, fax, employment tax...

CLARE FOX: If we onboard street vendors into a formal economy, they'll be paying taxes. They'll be buying their business permits. And they are procuring¹⁴ their products from other suppliers.

YESKO: Clare Fox is executive director of the LA Food Policy Council, which provided recommendations for the new vending ordinance¹⁵. She says legalization is a win for all sides.

FOX: Street vendors want this. They're the ones at the forefront of this campaign saying, hey, we're in. We want to get a permit and play ball.

YESKO: That ability to play ball is exactly what Enrique Peralta wants for his family and business.

ENRIQUE PERALTA: (Speaking Spanish).

YESKO: "Everyone's equal," he says. And the injustice¹⁶ upsets him.

ENRIQUE PERALTA: (Through interpreter) It's like if somebody cut your wings. What would you do without wings? What would you do? Nothing.

YESKO: Peralta says he makes an honest living. And now he wants to make a legal one. For NPR News, I'm Parker Yesko in Los Angeles.

1 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

6 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

9 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

13 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

14 procuring   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• He was accused of procuring women for his business associates. 他被指控为其生意合伙人招妓。 来自辞典例句
• She had particular pleasure, in procuring him the proper invitation. 她特别高兴为他争得这份体面的邀请。 来自辞典例句

15 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

16 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。