East L.A. presses for city status

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Organizers in East Los Angeles are pushing to make the district a city, one that would be dominated by immigrants from Latin America and their descendants.

Oscar Gonzalez, president of the East Los Angeles Residents Association, argues that the time to seperate from L.A. has come, The Christian Science Monitor reports. He has been walking the streets handing out fliers that talk of the area's "rich history" and the benefits that would come from having its own municipal government.

"There are probably 100 city regions packed with Latinos just like us who would look over their shoulder, take pride and try to replicate us in this political new era created by Barack Obama," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez and his colleagues plan to submit petitions with the necessary signatures to the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission on Friday. That would set off a series of public hearings and feasibility studies.

East Los Angeles has drawn immigrants from Mexico and farther south for decades. Its famous natives range from Oscar de la Hoya, the former world boxing champion, to Cheech Marin, who made "Born in East L.A." with his comedy partner Tommy Chong in 1987.