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L.A. TACO

Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book &#8220;Letters to My City&#8221; was just published by Writ Large Press. He teaches at Woodbury University.

Mike Sonksen

Books

The 27 Best Books About Los Angeles In 2022

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

Headlines: You Have Until New Year’s Eve To Stock Up On Flavored Swishers and Backwoods Before Flavored Tobacco Ban Goes Into Effect

L.A. TACO STAFF

These Were L.A. TACO’s Own Favorite L.A. Tacos of 2022

These Were L.A. TACO’s Favorite L.A. TACO Stories of 2022

Victoria Valenzuela is an investigative journalist based in California covering criminal justice, social inequalities, and race. She is currently an assistant publisher with ScheerPost, a fellow with the Law and Justice Journalism Project, intern with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate student at the University of Southern California.

Victoria Valenzuela

California’s Lost History of Lynching Latinos in L.A. More Than 100 Years Ago

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

Events

15 Fun New Years Eve Parties In L.A. With Little Or Low Cover

For over a decade, Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin has been photographing the urban environment. His work blends elements of landscape, documentary, and street photography to present a side of the city life that’s foreign to the unfamiliar. The experience of growing up in Los Angeles is the foundation for his photo essays, sharing a perspective that is often missing from the mainstream narrative.

a black and white photo of a man in sunglasses and a cap

Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin

Los Angeles

Historic South-Central In 2022 ~ Photo Essay

Headlines: LAPD Officer Charged With Distributing Explicit Images of His Wife: ‘My Own Husband Is a Predator’

Historic South-Central: Nine Things You Didn’t Know About the Neighborhood’s History

Headlines: Attorney for LAPD Officer Killed By Colleague During Training In Elysian Park Says ‘It Smacks of a Cover Up’