FOR PITA’S SAKE, LEAVE THE FOOD TRUCKS ALONE:  An oped in the Wall Street Journal argues for loosening of the ridiculous regulations on food trucks imposed by various municipalities:

Philadelphia’s vendors must carefully read a 20-page list of prohibited streets, including the entirety of customer-rich Center City. Other locales prohibit trucks from operating within a certain distance of traditional restaurants. Las Vegas once had a 1,320-foot restriction but has since lowered it to a still-high 150 feet.

Chicago’s ban is slightly worse, at 200 feet. But food trucks there must also install GPS trackers so regulators can monitor them for infractions—the definition of bureaucratic micromanagement. That’s still better than Palm Springs, Calif., where food trucks are banned outright.

The list goes on. Yet customers want more access to food trucks, not less. . . .

True. Food trucks are fun and often have very creative, delicious food. The regulations are too often driven by the paranoia of brick and mortar restaurants, who view food trucks as competition. Basic health inspection makes sense, but much of the rest of regulations seem more directed at squelching economic opportunity.