Elvira Arellano and Son. Photo from Daniel Hernandez. The top stories making news in your city today and over the weekend&#8230; TOP STORY: Elvira Arellano Deported to Mexico, Arrested Outside Our Lady Queen of Angels Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who became a symbol in the nation&#8217;s immigration wars after she took sanctuary…

Los Angeles News Roundup ~ August 20th, 2007

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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

Food

Weekend Eats: James Beard-Winning Lakota Chef Sean Sherman Is Coming to Town

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

A Flock license plate reader behind a row of shrubs near the entrance of L.A. State Historic Park. A car drives past the park in the background.

Featured

Flock License Plate Readers Spark Privacy Concerns at L.A. State Historic Park in Chinatown

L.A. TACO STAFF

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

Taco Gobernador with a sliced acovado on top.

Taco Members Only

The 24 Best Fish and Seafood Tacos In Los Angeles, Mapped

Julianne Le is a recent grad from UCLA where she majored in English and minored 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.

Julianne Le

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).

Javier Cabral

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Juan Izguerra is L.A. TACO&#8217;s community coordinator and was born and raised in Pomona, California. As an L.A. resident, Juan enjoys exploring the small, hidden places of the SGV, Inland Empire, and wherever his stomach takes him.

Juan Izguerra

Chinatown's Central Plaza in Los Angeles, with red paper lanters strung over a wide courtyard with pagoda roofs in back.

L.A. Taco Guides

L.A. TACO Neighborhood Guides: Chinatown

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.

a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

A glass display containing loaves of bread in a deli

L.A.’s 12 Best Old-School Italian Delis

L.A.’s 13 Best Old-School Pie Shops

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A.k.a. Afroxander; Weekend Editor at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.

Ivan Fernandez

Culture

The Borderless Legend Before The WWE Mask

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

Daily Memo: ICE Keeps Targeting People at Rancho Cucamonga Court

Lizbeth Solorzano is a graduate student pursuing a Master&#8217;s in Specialized Journalism. As a native to Los Angeles, she loves writing stories about arts, culture, and local news. Growing up bilingual, she loved learning about different cultures and stories around L.A.

a girl smiles into the camera in front of a blue background

Lizbeth Solorzano

News

Scoop: City of L.A. Facing Over 120 Claims For Damages Related To Anti-ICE Protests Amid Financial Crisis

Daily Memo: ICE Returns to Downtown LA ISAP Office, Increases Raids in the Inland Empire

The Best Restaurants in L.A., According to Punks

Former editor of L.A. Taco. I still live in Los Angeles but mainly just hang out at parks and stare off into the distance.