On April 15, the parishioners of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in East Los Angeles celebrated a victory in their struggle to uphold a city ordinance preventing the sale of alcohol within 500 feet of a school or religious institution. For six years, parishioners had been fighting a developer's plan to build a 22,000 square foot pizza parlor/video arcade – that would sell wine and beer – on a piece of property surrounded by a child care center, a high school with 2,600 students, and an elementary school with 830 students.

In October, the city granted the developer a waiver to the 500 foot ordinance, a move that outraged many community members. In February, the planning commission denied an appeal to rescind the waiver, despite hours of passionate testimony from the community.

At this point, with their options seemingly exhausted, the pastor of Sacred Heart, Fr. Mario Torres, decided to contact PICO affiliate LA Voice for assistance. LA Voice helped residents plan a course of action, which included meeting with members of the Mayor's staff. A few weeks later, Father Torres received a phone call from city councilmember Ed Reyes, who informed him that the owners of the business were rescinding the license, and that an office building would be built in its place.

"The people didn't give up", recalls Fr. Torres, "after they denied the appeal, we decided not to give up." After their victory, Sacred Heart decided to become a member of LA Voice.

For more information on LA Voice, visit www.lavoicepico.org

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