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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.

Hadley Tomicki

Weed

California Cannabis Operators Are Protesting Yet Another Tax on Legal Weed Starting In 2022

Mariah Castañeda is a feisty multimedia journalist and social media editor.

Mariah Castañeda

Investigative Report

Longtime Highland Park Residents Remain Skeptical of York Park’s Safety After More Than 800 Gallons of Fuel Leaked Into the Soil It Was Built Over In the 80s and 90s

Featured

Bagel Drama Boils Over in Northeast L.A. Over Alleged Misquote About What Makes an ‘Authentic’ Bagel

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

Gadsden Flag In Grand Park Permanently Taken Down Following L.A. TACO Inquiry

Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).

Javier Cabral

Tacos

Taco Date Night: Long Beach’s ‘El Barrio Cantina’ Is the Spot for Flinstones-esque Costilla Asada and Coconut Negronis

News

Ransomware Attack on Planned Parenthood L.A. Robs Personal Data of 400,000 Patients Amid Grim Times for Reproductive Rights Supporters

Amanda Peukert is a Long beach-based bartender and writer. Her non-fiction has focused mostly on tattoos and the industry, but she’s also interested in history, horror, family, food, and booze. Her work has appeared in publications such as Skin Deep and Tattoo Energy.

Amanda Peukert

How an OG Echo Park Tattoo Artist Snuck Into Harvard University To Have an L.A.-Style Tattoo Kickback in America’s Oldest College

Seafood

L.A.’s First Shrimp Farm Is Here, Here is How the Downey-Raised Prawns Taste and Look Like

Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”

Janette Villafana

People

Meet El Monte’s Pressure-Washing Hero Who Volunteers His Services to Street Vendors and Gets Rid of L.A.’s Greasy Streets

Street Vending

L.A. City Council Stands Up for Taqueros and Fruteros, Urges California to Remove Obstacles for Street Food Vendors