Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

Please Register (For Free) To Read this Story

L.A. TACO

Acton

Adams-Normandie

Agoura Hills

Agua Dulce

Alhambra

Alondra Park

Altadena

Angeles Crest

Arcadia

Arleta

Arlington Heights

Artesia

Athens

Atwater Village

Avalon

Avocado Heights

Azusa

Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw

Baldwin Park

Bel-Air

Bell

Bell Gardens

Bellflower

Beverly Crest

Beverly Grove

Beverly Hills

Beverlywood

Boyle Heights

Bradbury

Brentwood

Broadway-Manchester

Burbank

Calabasas

Canoga Park

Carson

Carthay

Castaic

Castaic Canyons

Central-Alameda

Century City

Neighborhoods

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

Update: Councilmember Cedillo’s Office Blames Delay of $1.5 Million MacArthur Park Redevelopment on Unspecified ‘Supply Chain Challenges’

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

How Riverside’s Progressive Stance On Licensing At-Home Restaurants Helped This Immigrant Family Stave Off Homelessness

A comedy podcast about Los Angeles history hosted by Greg Gonzalez (@gregogonzo)and Daniel Zafran.

L.A. Meekly

History

Tragedy and Death In Los Angeles: 12 Lesser-Known Evil and Eerie Real Events In L.A.’s History

Against his better judgment, Nathan Solis continues to write for a living and sleeps along the Gold Line with his wife and daughter.

Nathan Solis

Politics

Homeless Residents Show Up to Vote In California’s Recall Election At Skid Row’s First-Ever ‘Voting Center’

Shaka Mali is a first generation Jamaican American writer, host and producer who grew up in Southern California. He is a writer, producer and announcer on the LAist Studios Podcast WILD. He is also a KCRW Radio Race finalist and winner of the The L.A. Award. You can find him hanging out with his God mama Gail in Venice Beach or on instagram @ ShakaMaLi3 or at shakamali.com.

Shaka M. Tafari

In the 90s, Venice Beach Was a Place Where an Unhoused Person Was Treated Like Your Neighbor

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

Photo Essay

An L.A. Street Photographer Turned a Former Youth Detention Center Into an Art Gallery. These Were Our Favorite Photos

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

Meet the Indigenous Purépecha in Venice’s Neighborhood Council Hoping to Make His Hometown More Equitable for All

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

Astrid

Elisabetta Covizzi at the Watts Towers in Watts for LA Taco (Brian Feinzimer)

Meet the Woman In Charge of Conserving Every Single Inch of the Watts Towers, L.A.’s Most Iconic Landmark

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

Obituary

Remembering DJ Al Jackson, the Voice of the Soul Children

Garcetti Said That L.A.’s Hand-Washing Stations for the Homeless Were Regularly Refilled, Records Obtained Show Otherwise

Venice