Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—With psychedelics enjoying a renaissance and music festival season quickly approaching, here's a helpful guide to having a good trip on LSD, starting with a recommended dosage and what to avoid. [The Archaic Revival]
—Silver Lake: Residents suspect there could be a serial arsonist on the loose after more than a dozen towering trees around the Silver Lake reservoir have been set on fire, with 17 set ablaze in March alone. Videos and pictures captured on a surveillance app display blurry images of someone in a hoodie—seen in one video to possibly be setting a tree on fire with an incendiary device. [The Eastsider LA]
—Santa Monica: A manhunt continued this morning for two armed and masked carjacking suspects who allegedly fired shots while stealing a woman's car at gunpoint near a Santa Monica parking lot near the Venice border. Santa Monica Police Department officers initially responded at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday to the 100 block of Main Street regarding reports of shots fired during a carjacking near one of the city's beach parking lots. The victim reportedly went to the Santa Monica Police Department to report the crime themselves, while the suspects fired shots and hit at least one vehicle before leaving the area into nearby Venice and crashing the stolen vehicle into another one. At least one of the suspects is believed to be armed with a semi-automatic weapon. [City News Service]
—More than 300 undercover Los Angeles police officers have filed legal claims against the city and police department yesterday after their names and photographs were released to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which posted them online. The inspector general is investigating Chief Michel Moore and the agency’s constitutional policing director Liz Rhodes after an officers’ union filed a misconduct complaint. [AP]
—Composer Adrián Berenguer wants it known he does not give permission for his music to be used to torment homeless people in Metro stations, writing, "I have not given any permission for my music to be used for these purposes. I believe that no form of art should be used to discourage or limit freedoms." [ANBR Music/Twitter]
—Santa Barbara's annual Fiesta, Old Spanish Days has plans to include a full size replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship, The San Salvador, visiting the city's harbor from its home in San Diego and offering tours to the community. So far nobody seems to be objecting to the colonialist display in the name of bad taste. [Edhat]
—Oh, nothing. Just grapes covered in Skittles, Kool-Aid, and Jolly Ranchers that you can buy in L.A. [Greedy Grapes]
