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L.A. TACO

David Rodríguez

Community

How a North Hollywood Swap Meet Beat Gentrification and Won Over Its Landlord

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

Featured

Ukrainian Refugees Join Central Americans and Mexicans In Experiencing Horrific Treatment by ICE

L.A. TACO STAFF

News

Headlines: Comedian Paul Rodriguez Recounts Will Smith’s Abuse; Suspicious Fires Strike Boyle Heights

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

Video

Ed’s Manifesto Opens Up About His Fears and the Future of Tijuana

Food

L.A. ‘Influencer’ Called Out By St. Louis Chinese Restaurant for Extorting Owner for Free Food

Headlines: Dodgers Great Tommy Davis Dead at 83; The Best Tacos In S.F. Wine Country

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

Education

A Theft at An East L.A. High School Made Some Staff Blame Their Student Social Justice Group’s ‘Defund the Police’ Campaign

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

L.A. Ranks As One Of The Deadliest Cities For Rappers, According to Data Analysis

Headlines: Body Found in Griffith Park; Mass-Shooting in Sacramento

Weed

New Medical Report States Secondhand Smoke From Bong Hits Worse Than Cigarette Smoke 