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.
—Los Angeles: An L.A. County Sheriff's deputy who kneeled on an inmate's head for three minutes will not face criminal charges, the L.A. Times reports. In a memo, prosecutors explained: "While the method employed by Johnson may appear concerning, the available evidence is inconclusive and suggests the amount of force used was not excessive." The alleged assualt occurred in March of 2021, two days into jury selection for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minnesota police officer who murdered George Floyd. The Times found that sheriff's officials attempted to cover up surveillance footage of the incident because they feared it would lead to bad publicity. [LAT]
—Los Feliz: The team behind chef Josh Gil’s Mirame in Beverly Hills announced the opening of a sister location in Los Feliz called “Mirate.” The multi-tiered new restaurant will feature two bars, with a more casual style than its upscale Westside location. Expect fried chicken tacos, a family-based albondigas recipe, Sonoran and Baja takes on Oaxacan tlayudas, beef tongue tacos arabes, and flour tortillas made with beef fat. [Eater LA]
—California cannabis brand Kiva is selling a THC-infused turkey gravy for Thanksgiving. Each package/serving comes with 10mg of THC. Because sometimes tryptophan isn’t enough. [Kiva]
—L.A. County: Health officials are once again "strongly recommending" that Angelenos wear masks while indoors, as COVID cases continue to rise. [ABC]
—Westside: Erin Darling, a civil rights attorney running to replace Mike Bonin as representative of the 11th council district, conceded to Traci Park last night. In a statement that has since been taken down Darling said, "While the margin's been tightening as we've been monitoring votes, my team and I no longer see a path to victory." With the addition of Park, who is also an attorney, there will be six women on the city council (the most in L.A.'s history). [LAT]
—South Whittier: Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, the 22-year-old who drove a vehicle into dozens of L.A. County Sheriff's recruits earlier this week, injuring 25, was arrested for attempted murder on Wednesday and then released last night. Sheriff's officials believe that Gutierrez intentionally drove into the recruits. However, they do not have enough evidence to present a case to prosecutors. [LAT]
—Echo Park: Elton John kicks off night two of his final three shows at Dodgers Stadium tonight. The British “Bennie and the Jets” singer will take his "final bow" on Sunday. [LAT]
—Irvine: Representative Katie Porter narrowly defeated a republican to secure a third term in congress. [LAT]
—Pasadena: After opening their new Pasadena location earlier this week, Howlin' Ray's announced on Twitter that they've been doing their best to keep wait-times under 30 minutes. [Twitter]
