Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—Bellflower: Tacos La Rueda, a new Sonoran taquería in Southeast L.A., was broken into this weekend, with a thief breaking a door and running in, then quickly exiting with money and employee tips. This was the second time the new taco shop. was burglarized in one month. The owner of the small taquería writes on Instagram, "Pero aquí seguiremos dándole con todo. Los de Sonora no nos rajamos. Exito para todos." ("We're going to keep going and giving it our all. Those of us who are from Sonora never give up. Wishing success to everyone.") [Tacos La Rueda]
—Mar Vista: Mar Vista Voice posted a link to a website called Inside Starving that criticizes Mayor Bass' Inside Safe initiative, pressing the mayor to work with the unhoused organizations and community organizations intent on helping them. "Unhoused Angelenos are being displaced all across the city, often several miles from their original encampment location. Not only does this make traveling to work difficult; it disconnects people from their support systems, friends, family and communities," the letter begins. [Inside Starving]
—Compton: Over 100 people were present during a looting at an Arco gas station in Compton after a street takeover early Sunday morning. People were seen smashing the front door, breaking into an Arco gas station, and grabbing drinks, snacks, condoms, and alcohol, with a few dozen inside and at least 100 in attendance in total. [CBS]
—Oakland legend E-40 was kicked out of a Kings/Warriors game this weekend. The rapper says he finally responded to a group of White female fans heckling him, which caused a disturbance, resulting in him being the only one ejected from the game. In an online statement, E-40 wrote, "Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that—despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur—racial bias remains prevalent. Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a White woman and immediately assumed I was at fault." [Yahoo!]
—A British team of forensic researchers that usually investigates war crimes and human rights violations has released a damning report on the Portland Police Bureau's use of chemicals against demonstrators during the June 2020 protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Forensic Architecture determined that police in Portland deployed tear gas nearly 150 times on June 2, 2020, which many involved in the protests call "Tear Gas Tuesday." [Rolling Stone]
—"If you ever want a quick lesson on Structural Racism and Food Insecurity, just do a quick Maps lookup of Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles." [FanBoyCristian]
—Remember all those people who left California in droves because it was too expensive, and Austin/Nashville/Tampa/Reno is so dope? Well, they've had enough of redneck politics and may return to add a few more minutes to your freeway commute. [TMZ]
—UC Riverside vice chancellor Gerry Bomotti was confronted for harassing a street vendor selling fruit and telling her not to return. [FidMart85]
—Indio: Coachella performer Dannylux's dad looks back on the last time he was at the fairground, picking up trash as a janitor. This year, he came to see his son take the stage and play. [Hip Latina]
—Indio: Meanwhile, why did Frank Ocean's set suck so hard at Coachella? It involves ice skaters the singer no longer wanted to perform with him. Or something like that. [LA Kid HQ]
—Temple City: LASD invaded the wrong home where two underage teens were home alone. Police arrested the 14-year-old for filming them on his own property while ignoring the mom, who was talking over the speaker, traumatizing the young girl. [EnamoradoAlex]
