How Things Work

While the city of Los Angeles tries to help out small business figure out the endless red tape, downtown's new Yxta Cocina Mexicana has become a poster child for the permitting's inherent silliness. Owner Jesse Gomez wants to be able to serve alcohol on his patio too, so he paid $2,015 in permit fees, only to discover that the processing status is "suspended" and he's now facing a $7,200, year-long process to get a new permit. [LAT]