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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

News

Video: Guy in a Prius Caught Swiping Succulents from a Sidewalk in Highland Park

Angela Burgos is an Ecuadorian-American writer and researcher from East Hollywood. She enjoys writing both fiction and non-fiction pieces that highlight the complexities of the people of Los Angeles.

Angela Burgos

A Latina Third Grade Teacher Has Started an Open Air Market to Create Space for Her Lennox Community in the Midst of SoFi’s Gentrification Effects

Here is the Quickly Growing List of L.A. Bars Not Allowing Unvaccinated People on Premises

Ural Garrett is an Inglewood native and graduate of Southern University And A&amp;M College. For over a decade, the content curator and social media strategist has worked alongside various brands and outlets including Complex, IGN, MTVNews, Oculus, Trigger Mix Reality, TechRadar, LA Weekly, and more.

Ural Garrett

SoFi Stadium and Upcoming Clippers Arena Leads to Inglewood’s Controversial New City-Wide Parking Permit Program

Featured

In Gentrifying East Hollywood, These Three Tienditas Fight to Survive

Brenda Nicolas is Zapoteca born and raised in Los Angeles. She is also Assistant Professor in Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) whose research looks at Oaxacans in California and Oaxaca, Mexico.

Brenda Nicolas

Food

Meet the Indigenous Mujeres From Oaxaca Cooking Tlayudas for Struggling Families in Mid-City

Astrid is a Salvadoran-American poet and writer based in Los Angeles.

Astrid

Tacos

Eat This Black-Owned Vegan Taco to Help Build South Central’s First Organic Grocery Store

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

Don Max the beloved Pacoima ice cream vendor setting up post at Humphrey Park on Saturday May 9, 2021.

Street Vending

On a 12-Hour Day, This 73-Year-Old Pacoima Paletero Made $20. Then a Barber Stepped up To Help

Heri grew up in the High Desert but spent most of the last decade as a SoCal nomad before ending up in Whittier. A multi-disciplined writer, Heri strives to use his words to encourage thought and change.

Heriberto Rodriguez

He Was Out of Work and About To Be a Father, so He Ran a Barber ‘Speakeasy’ During the Pandemic To Get By

Christer Maxine Schmidt is a writer and musician from Thousand Oaks, California. She is currently a writer on The Echo newspaper published at California Lutheran University.

Christer Maxine Schmidt

Few Gay Bars Left in L.A. Face Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Debt As City Prepares to Re-Open