Telling You Today, June 17, 2026
Brief dispatch from the occupied city of Los Angeles. By Thursday last week, LA Taco was reporting that due to fear of workers being disappeared by ICE, taqueros and other vendors were laying low. I drove up Eagle Rock Boulevard, and the usually bustling, factory-scale operation of Angel's Tijuana Tacos was just a memory. The fruit carts were absent. The Cypress Park Home Depot was a ghost town.
We missed the protests Saturday to help Clare's parents move in to their new house in Ojai, but I was happy so many friends and strangers hit the streets. Less happy to see LAPD reign chaotic (and equine) violence on peaceful marchers and then ask us to pick up the tab.
I'm leaving town Thursday for two weeks, and I am happy for a break, but I'm torn, because it's hard to be gone the city is going through another gut-wrenching ordeal. Biking home from work yesterday, I had a thought simply reaffirming what I already knew: the only way to remain sane right now is, of course, in solidarity. I can't attend this rapid response training due to my trip, but if you're like me and walking around in an anxious daze, I'd strongly consider attending and becoming part of CHIRLA's Rapid Response Network. Being equipped to do something might be an antidote to despair.
Oh and as usual, big recommend for the latest LA Podcast if you need help making sense of what's happened in the past week.
