Orange County hip-hop group Imperial Stars, which claims to be on a mission to help homeless children, were arrested after causing a massive traffic jam on the 101 yesterday morning. They took a giant bus and blocked the middle of the 101 in Hollywood and started performing their song &#8220;Traffic Jam&#8221; in front of thousands…

There Is Such Thing as Bad Publicity

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<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

Architecture

UPDATE: Mr.Tempo Cantina Closes Controversial Hollywood Location

<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>


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Lauren Bethke

Food

Your Favorite Jumbo’s Clown Room Dancer’s Favorite Meal

<p>Nya Manneh is a 22-year-old Master&#8217;s student from Minnesota studying at the University of Southern California. She is passionate about writing stories that highlight underrepresented voices and meeting new people from all walks of life.</p>


Nya Manneh

A woman poses in front of the Hollywood sign, but is blurry

Film

With Film Production Down, Is the Sun Setting on the Hollywood Dream?

<p><span class="OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">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.”</span></p>


Janette Villafana

A family member of street vendor organizer Emma De Paz holds up a poster with his grandmother's photo. The words "Come back soon" and "We Miss You" are written across the poster.

Street Vending

Unbroken Spirit: How a Detained Street Vendor Is Now Aiding Detainees From ICE Facility

<p>Lynn Q. Yu is a food and culture writer based out of Los Angeles. You can find her on social media @lynnqyu.</p>


Lynn Q. Yu

Hollywood

Nine Noodle Dishes From Nine Different Regions In Asia  to Try in L.A.

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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

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Myriam Gurba

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Personal Essay

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A New Guatemalan Café In Leimert Park, Self-Funded by Two Sisters, Is Now Soft-Opened

People

How to Really Scare The Hell Out of Someone, According to the Creators of L.A.’s Most Popular Haunts

<p>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.</p>


Izzy Ramirez

Why Is ICE Hiring 5,000 Officers and Borrowing Military Lawyers?

The 54 Best Mexican Restaurants In L.A., Ranked

<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

News

He Was Murdered Over a Pack of Swisher Sweets

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<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>


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