“Sign right there,” LAPD Officer Lockhart ordered. “If you don’t sign, you go to jail, it’s simple.”

Investigations Newsletter: L.A. TACO Reporter Detained While Reporting (Again)

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<p>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.</p>


Lexis-Olivier Ray

Taco Members Only

Investigations Newsletter: Dr. Oz In MacArthur Park

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A Los Angeles police officer stands facing a red, white, and blue mural by the artist Barbara Kruger. The mural asks nine questions: “Who is beyond the law?”, “Who is bought and sold?”, “Who is free to choose?” “Who does the time?”, “Who follows orders?”, “Who Salutes longest?”, “Who prays loudest?”, “Who dies first?” and “Who laughs last?”.

News

LAPD Replaces ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun ‘Known To Maim People’ With Another ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun Capable Of Doing The Exact Same Thing

<p>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.</p>


Hadley Tomicki

Tijuana’s Prized ‘Tacos Varios’ Enter East L.A.

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Myriam Gurba

Personal Essay

Essay: Lindsay Clancy’s Murder Trial Is the Story of La Llorona, All Over Again

<p>Karina Soriano is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers the crossroads of music, food, art, and social issues. She spotlights the everyday people who really keep L.A. moving. Usually, while stuck in traffic, looking for a good place to eat.</p>


Karina Soriano

<p>Julianne Le graduated from UCLA in 2025 with a major in English and minor in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.</p>


Julianne Le

<p>Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).</p>


Javier Cabral

<p>Andrew Bangs, or simply Bangs to his compatriots, is a long-time LA Taco supporter and occasional contributor. He spends a lot of time thinking about his dog.</p>


Andrew Bangs

Chicken wing skewers grilled over charcoals

L.A. Taco Guides

The 21 Best Street Kebabs in L.A.

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.</span></p>


a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

a woman dressed as a clown pulls a ribbon from her vagina as a bit

Party Pics

This Clown Sex Party Creampied 12 Brave Souls in DTLA (for Charity)

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

a drawing of a federal immigration agent behind caution tape

What to Do If a Federal Immigration Agency Kills Your Loved One

L.A.’s Best Arepas Find a Permanent Home In Mar Vista

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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

Food

Mom Channels Grief into New Boba Truck after Firework Tragically Killed Her Eight-Year-Old Daughter

<p>Publisher, L.A. TACO.</p>
<p>I enjoy exploring every corner of Los Angeles, looking for art wherever I can find it.</p>


Blazedale

Pulitzer-nominated illustrator and cartoonist Ivan Ehlers, in a black beanie talking using his hands while seated

Interview

‘I Can’t Stay Away from Abuses of Power:’ Ten Questions with Cartoonist Ivan Ehlers

<p>Joey Scott is an investigative journalist and documentary photographer whose work has been featured in Wired, The Guardian, and Los Angeles Public Press. He covers policing, protests, surveillance, and prisons.</p>


Joey Scott

a man lies on a jail bunk without pants with multiple officers around him, including one kneeling on him

Police Video Shows LAPD Beat Handcuffed Man in Van Nuys Jail Before His Death

<p>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.</p>


Mike Sonksen

Books

From Pasadena to Palmdale: Two Contemporary Noir Novels

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


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

Sam Ribakoff

The Western States Regional Carpenters Union rallies for Council member Nithya Raman next to the competing SEIU 721 rally for Mayor Karen Bass outside the Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center

Politics

Where Do the Candidates for L.A. Mayor Really Stand on Street Vending?

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LAPD motorcycle officers grab journalist's arms and escort him behind police line.