A California couple that has been voluntarily repairing potholes in and around Compton has been asked by their local government to STOP.
The couple, Alex and Daisy De La Rosa, are couriers — “Daisy drives and Alex makes the deliveries,” according to local station KABC.
But after they experienced “several flat tires, suspension problems, and a few arguments,” they decided to get proactive about solving the city’s roadway problems by having Alex fix as many potholes as possible.
“[Alex] first started off within our block in front of our home, and we’ve seen that it got better,” Daisy said. “So he’s all like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I’m like, ‘But we don’t have that much money.’ He’s like ‘It doesn’t matter. One pothole at a time.'”
Learn more about the couple below:
In fixing as many potholes as possible, they went viral and “even started getting requests from people to fix potholes on their street” — which they did first using their own money, and then later using donations.
“All across our city of Compton there are massive potholes,” a GoFundMe set up by Daisy reads. “We are constantly slamming into the them and it’s causing major damage to our vehicles, causing flat tires, and ruining our suspension. We’ve begged the city for help, but they can’t keep up. Many of us are hardworking and cannot afford these costly repairs.”
“My husband and I have taken matters into our own hands and are filling the holes ourselves. People have been so grateful they’ve been donating, so we can continue to buy bags of asphalt. If you would like to help, you can donate as much as you want. Thank you for helping us make a better Compton!” the GoFundMe continues.
Then the unthinkable happened: Compton’s Community Improvement Services Department sent a letter to the couple demanding they halt their “unauthorized repairs to public roadways.”
“Your actions have raised serious concerns as they post a threat to public safety and the integrity of our city’s infrastructure,” the letter reads. “It is imperative that all maintenance and repair work on public roadways be conducted in accordance with established regulations and procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents and visitors.”
It’s not clear whether Compton’s Community Improvement Services Department misspelled pose (which was spelled as “post” in the letter) or whether KABC did so.
The letter added that the De La Rosas could, if they continue fixing potholes, face fines, penalties, and “potential liability for damages incurred as a result of [their] actions.”
FYI, the De La Rosas also have a TikTok page. The following TikTok video shows their children helping Alex with repairing a pothole:
@daisydelarosa4 #pothole #compton #delarosa #fyi #fyiespanol ##amazon #GoFundMe ♬ La Diabla – Xavi
In response to the letter, the couple sadly had to stop making repairs.
“Unfortunately, after 3 awesome weeks of filling in potholes all thanks to contributions from the community and awesome companies like #RoadSoup & #Americanroadpatch, we have to stop our hard efforts,” they wrote in an Instagram post published on March 18th.
“We were able to bring attention to the ongrowing [SIC] issue we have within our city! We seen that if we take matters into our hands and speak up we are able to EMBARASS people with power and make our moneys worth valuable again! Unfortunately they were very quick to stop us but aren’t very quick on helping us! Very big difference between both!” they added.
Look:
View this post on Instagram
All this comes almost a full year after former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got in trouble himself for filling in potholes.
The drama started when Schwarzenegger posted a video to Twitter last April showing him filling in an ostensible giant pothole in a Los Angeles community.
“Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go,” the former California governor wrote in the tweet.
But there was one major problem: The city claimed the pothole wasn’t actually a pothole. Huh?
“This location is not a pothole. It’s a service trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by SoCal Gas, who expects the work to be completed by the end of May,” a city spokesperson told local station KNBC.
“As is the case with similar projects impacting City streets, SoCal Gas will be required to repair the area once their work is completed,” the spokesperson added.
Whoops!
Video of Arnold Schwarzenegger filling neighborhood ‘pothole’ sends city of Los Angeles scrambling https://t.co/uSzxwkhja6 pic.twitter.com/TWhBdaiRBz
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) April 14, 2023
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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