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L.A. TACO

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

There Weren’t Enough Porta-Potties for the Homeless To Begin With, in October They’re Being Pulled

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

Capital & Main

Troubled South L.A. Oil Well Site Remains A Danger To Locals

Two organizers hold up a UTACH banner in front of Los Angeles City Hall on May 19, 2021.

Unhoused Residents Speak Out Against ‘Prison-Like’ Conditions At Project Roomkey Hotels

Abraham Marquez is a freelance writer from Inglewood and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). He is a 2021 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Fellow. He writes about social movements, sports, politics, and immigration. Instagram: @abemarquez02

Abraham Marquez

73 Years After ‘The Catastrophe’ Thousands Of Protesters In L.A. Marched To Defend Palestine This Weekend

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

This Mexican Restaurant Plans To Serve Hot Meals to Children Detained in the Long Beach Convention Center

News

Santa Monica Code Enforcement Officers Plea for Help as ‘Murcia Family Gang’ Protect Up to 50 Street Vendors Around Pier

Interview

‘He Did This to Himself,’ We Spoke to the Black Driver Behind Viral Retired LAPD Detective’s Racist Tirade

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

Salvadoran Woman Is Killed by Police in Tulum After Being Pinned With Knee on Her Neck

Los Angeles

Former Members of Jackass and Sublime Throw A ‘Demolition Party’ In A Vacant Home In Filipinotown