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L.A. TACO

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

Los Angeles

Cypress Park Ice Cream Trucks, Fruteros, and Taqueros Are Protesting the Sudden Eviction of Over 150 Vendors At Their Commissary

Sam Ribakoff is a reporter, journalism teacher, communicator for labor unions, and a nice guy from Long Beach.

a man stands in front of a mural with a pig in a police hat being crossed out

Sam Ribakoff

Your Ultra Last-Minute Voter Guide to the LAUSD School Board: Who Is Pro Covid Vaccine and Who Isn’t?

Insomniac Voter Guide: In Long Beach, a Mayoral Candidate For Free Public Transit and Another Who Helped Build Their First Homeless Shelter

Voter Guide: Know Your District’s City Council Candidate, Including Who Donated to Their Campaign

The L.A. TACO Voter Guide: A ‘Progressive Sheriff’ Candidate and  a ‘People’s Judge’

a cartoon taco man giving a thumbs up next to a voting ballot and outline of California

Our Guide to The Mayor’s Race: Who Won’t Release Tax Returns and Who Got Cash From Samuel L. Jackson

A Roundup of GofundMe Accounts and Other Resources to Help the Survivors of Uvalde and Buffalo

L.A. TACO STAFF

Events

All the Tacos and Good Times You Missed Out On at Our Live TACO Madness 2022 (Video and Photo Essay)

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

Featured

L.A. Restaurants Are Expanding To Saudi Arabia, But They Don’t Want To Talk About It

News

Headlines: Woody Harrelson Opens West Hollywood Pot Shop; Brushfire Leads To Evacuation at Griffith Observatory