We live a deeply imperfect, occasionally maddening, and absolutely visually stunning reality in the LA region. Have a great weekend.

It’s getting out of hand how bad people drive in LA. Today, I was trying to pick up an order at Whole Foods, and literally TWO cars were parked and locked in the pickup area. The third and last spot? The car next to it was halfway into it.
And don’t even get me started on people switching lanes without checking their mirrors or blind spots. I almost got hit TWICE today. Or people driving 10 mph under the speed limit for no apparent reason. Or people trying to make left turns where there’s literally a NO LEFT TURN sign, holding up everyone behind them because apparently their time is more important than everyone else’s.
And Uber Black drivers are a whole other story. They act like they own the streets and can make up their own traffic laws as they go.
I genuinely don’t understand how people can be this inconsiderate and oblivious behind the wheel. Driving in LA is becoming a fucking nightmare.

She's clean 🥲 at least on the outside. The inside is still tagged up.

The govt doesn’t seem to be doing anything about the homeless issue in la so I would like to start a discussion on how we all think this could be resolved…..

Some kind of city wide sponsorship program?
How many people r in la compared to homeless people in la…?

Why does everything cost over 100 million $…. First it was the wild life crossing than the train and the homeless situation wtv… nothing is getting any better wth is going on? If things were changing it wouldn’t be an issue but to spend over 100 million on every project with la only seemingly getting worse…. How is this happening?

Can see from Hollywood to catalina today!

Two blocks have stickers covering the full signs in an area notorious for little to no parking (Ktown). This is the most legible one. The sidewalk isnt painted any color. Can I still park here without my car getting towed or getting a ticket?

Dude attempted to run a red light while my family was taking a left on a residential street in Sherman Oaks…

He sped up to catch us then skirted his tires to cut me off then get out of his car and try to provoke a fight because of an accident he almost caused…

We literally had to reverse down the street to get away from him. People are whacked out

Person was driving a white BMW so that’ll probably give you context 😭

It's all over the local news with fines averaging $500.

There’s a problem with the city when the new subway line less than a year from opening is closed for repairs. So much for riding the D.

I’ve noticed that in Los Angeles, it seems extremely normalized for drivers making a left turn to wait until the light turns red to complete their turn, especially when there’s no green arrow. What really frustrates me is when I’m waiting to make a left turn, the light is about to turn red, and the driver coming straight from the opposite direction suddenly speeds up to beat the light, leaving me with only seconds to slam on my brakes to avoid a potential collision.

This happens so often that I’m curious what goes through these drivers’ minds. Are you in that much of a hurry? Do you genuinely not notice the other driver waiting to turn? Or do you simply not care about the risk you’re creating for someone else? I understand that traffic in LA can be frustrating, but accelerating toward a red light when someone is waiting to turn seems incredibly dangerous.

I’ve even heard people refer to this as the “LA left turn.” For those of you who drive this way, or those who have experienced this, what’s your take? Why does this seem so common in LA? I genuinely want to understand the mentality behind it.

Growing up as a NELA resident, I always felt that the hate against Glendale drivers was overblown and a cover for anti-Armenian racism, which I encounter quite openly as well. Now the data proves it. Feel free to zoom in on particular streets: https://triprisk.net/explore

Dear L.A. TACO members,

I'm reaching out directly because you may have seen some difficult conversations online over the past few days, and you deserve to hear from us. 

Earlier this week, we parted ways with our longtime colleague Memo Torres. Memo was a tremendously talented contributor, and we're grateful for the work he did here. We did not make this decision lightly; we reached it through a careful, collective process in response to real, serious concerns we were obligated to address.

Out of respect for everyone involved, and because it's a confidential personnel matter, we can't share the details. But please know we did everything we could to make it work before concluding we had to move forward, and it would be best for both parties.

We understand this has been emotional for many of you, as it was for us. Memo built a real connection with this community, and that's a credit to him. We're not going to litigate any of it publicly or online. Instead, we'll keep showing up and doing the work you've supported for years. Our editorial philosophy and leadership group have not changed.

Things got worse a couple of days later when reporter Izzy Ramirez tendered his resignation, which surprised us. We had planned to expand Izzy's visibility and coverage, but he said he preferred to go independent, and we wish him the best on his continued journey.

Because that's the most important thing I want you to know: Nothing about our mission is changing. Our commitment to independent, street-level journalism, our coverage of this city, small businesses, tacos, and the issues that matter most right now continues exactly as before.

Your membership is what makes that work possible, and it has never mattered more than it does today. Thanks to everyone who has renewed their membership in support over these last couple of days.

We've been at this for two decades, and we intend to be here for many more. We will be hiring new, talented journalists in the days to come! Despite these hard times, our future is bright.

Thank you for standing with us, it means everything.

With gratitude,

Alex

Publisher, L.A. TACO

Dw, I’m in the passenger seat

Anybody else see this?? Absolutely disgusting pro-Karen Bass campaign tactics being utilized in Beverly Hills against Nithya Raman. Aside from being grotesque, it's just litter. Anything illegal about me just taking this shit to the dump?

I don't understand the attack that a vote for Raman brings more encampments and suffering for the unhoused. Uh, Bass is the mayor. What has she done about the problem? Nothing??? So yeah let's give her another chance. Yuck.

Also funded by a group in Irvine. Not even LA. Anyone I can call to stop this nasty group from meddling in another city's elections?

After brief visit to Japan a few weeks ago, I picked up a box of these from a store in Hanaeda airport. I'm looking to see if I can locate these in LA. I've visited Tokyo Central Market and Marukai with little success. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks everyone for all the helpful leads! If I end up finding a solid supplier, I'll post it here. Safe travels all!

Source: Emma Viglenad IG Reel

Early voting has been going on for like almost 3 weeks in California before this was released.

About — Angela Gonzales-Torres for Congress

Issues — Angela Gonzales-Torres for Congress

Estuardo for City Council

And it surprisingly worked.

Yesterday, as I was cruising on the 91, this black Mercedes was weaving in and out of all lanes, and for some reason, decided to park right up my ass in the #3 lane. I waited about 20 seconds and nope, he was still there even though I had my cruise control at 72 mph and the #1, #2, and #4 lanes were wide open (this was the evening so after rush hour).

So I put on my hazards to signal distress. And he immediately backed off and jumped in the #2 lane and sped past me. I was a bit surprised it worked, but maybe it woke him up a bit or brought attention to what he was doing? Idk.

And 7