Here’s a birthday blog from me to you on my angst about breaking my nose, AI taking all of our jobs. Then finding the antidote in the amazing art of my friends 🫶 open.substack.com/pub/pacificb...

Scenes from Election Day in Southeast LA in the city of Huntington Park. Latino voters were worried about immigration, local corruption and the middle class squeeze of living in California. Read @lapublicpress.bsky.social’s Election Day coverage at lapublicpress.org/2026/06/la-e...

It's true, LA is busted. I just wrote 2,800 words about why the city can't seem to fix our parks, sidewalks, and lights for @lapublicpress.bsky.social. I'm trying to see something 👀 share pics of the ugliest potholes and sidewalks in your neighborhood! lapublicpress.org/2026/05/la-e...

National media outlets are withdrawing their investment in LGBTQ+ news and queer reporters at a time when trans rights are being increasingly targeted, @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social reports. objectivejournalism.org/2026/04/equa...

Ahead of the 2028 Olympics, sex work has garnered more attention and surveillance. For @lapublicpress.bsky.social I spoke to one of the few sex worker-led mutual aid orgs that fills an important service gap that neither charity nor government services can meet. lapublicpress.org/2026/04/la-s...

It's kind of an iconic Friday workday when you get to interview an anti-corruption blogger, a drag queen who knows everything happening in city hall, and a sex worker mutual aid organizer in one afternoon. I love LA.

There were some technical difficulties last night as people tried to tune in for the first mayoral debate. Lucky for you all, I wrote a summary of the main highlights for @lapublicpress.bsky.social. Stay tuned! I'll be covering this mayoral election cycle. lapublicpress.org/2026/03/la-e...

Over the past five years, LAUSD's Black Student Achievement Plan has weathered DEI backlash and improved academic metrics that activists say prove Black students are succeeding because of intentional support. Here's the latest from me for @lapublicpress.bsky.social: lapublicpress.org/2026/03/la-l...

President Trump has replaced Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma. Revisit Graham Brewer's 2019 profile of the controversial Indigenous lawmaker.

Kristi Noem is out, and Senator Markwayne Mullin seems to be in. If you're wondering who he is, check out this 2019 @highcountrynews.org profile. @grahamleebrewer.bsky.social dove into Mullin's Cherokee upbringing, his voting record, and more as an Oklahoma lawmaker. www.hcn.org/issues/51-21...

Just devastating. A landslide triggered by heavy rains appears to have killed over 200 people, including 70 children, at a mine in the DR Congo. This is about a month after a *different* landslide killed over 200 people at the same mine www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...

I finally have a photo that's not from the 90s (thank you, @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social), and I have finally broken my X habit. Maybe it's time I actually posted something. Hello, Bluesky.

also a great day to revisit another @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social piece! @raeforla.bsky.social may be everyone's favorite "no one's heard of her" candidate but this article was the beginning of her breaking through the noise

new mayoral list just dropped 🗞️ @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social

Climate change contributes to the dangerous working conditions faced by California farmworkers. Uprooter @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social for @sierraclub.org www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...

Who is Rae Huang, the challenger seeking to oust Karen Bass from the left? I get into the meat and bones of her campaign promises and whether she can actually meet the moment that LA is in right now. More in my latest for @lapublicpress.bsky.social and @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/12/rae-...

In September, I spoke to farmworkers in the Coachella Valley who are not only faced with deadly heat and pollution at their jobs, but also ICE raids. I'm very grateful to the @sierraclub.org for commissioning me to write this story for their Winter print issue. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...

Farmworkers Brave Deadly Heat, Pollution, and ICE Raids—Climate change is contributing to the deadly working conditions. According to @noaa.gov the summer of 2024 was the Golden State’s hottest on record… www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-... @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social @sierraclub.org

NEW ANALYSIS: Over half of reported assaults against journalists this year happened in Los Angeles. Powered by data from @freedom.press, my latest for @lapublicpress.bsky.social dives into the challenges freelance journalists face reporting on ICE resistance. lapublicpress.org/2025/11/indy...

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

As a colleague mentioned yesterday, Gamergate is one of the five most significant developments in US politics since the Cold War

Attended Queersurf camp (🥰) in San Diego last month, and had the opportunity to learn from the writer (@bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social) of this article about the pollution in the Tijuana River -- sharing here to spread the word about this still-ongoing crisis in SoCal! www.latimes.com/environment/...

Allegations of mismanagement, overspending in California fire cleanups raised in whistleblower trial: www.latimes.com/california/s...

new job alert! 🚨 I'm going to be working at @lapublicpress.bsky.social through the California Local News Fellowship where I'll be writing stories about issues that matter the most to Angelenos. Tips? You can reach me at [email protected]. fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows/ne...

Against fire, poverty, & political hostility, Serenity House endures—proving that dignity & care save lives. Full story by @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social (5/5)

Just so you know: it’s not anywhere near lunar new year and its not a “cultural thing” to gift red pocket money hidden in chip bags…

NEW: I spoke to SJ Joslin, a park ranger and wildlife biologist who was fired by Yosemite National Park last week for helping to raise a transgender pride flag on the park's iconic El Capitan rock face. For @nbcnews.com: www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...

I'll be super honest. Using this platform feels like the clunkier version of X. It feels less raw and bloggy, and more newsy and serious. Thoughts? I feel like my audience isn't really following me over from other platforms. Does anyone else feel this way?

I'll be on a panel "identifying anti-trans and anti-queer bias" at @aajaofficial.bsky.social this year with these amazing journalists @gracesdeng.bsky.social, @shaanthx.bsky.social, and Hannah Chinn. Don't miss it! Saturday, 9 am at the Redwood. See you there. 😤

And, while not part of the OQC project, @bokchoy-baobei.bsky.social also won - for Excellence in Transgender Coverage - for their great (and fun!) @latimes.com piece on T-boy wrestling. 8/ www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

"ICE is increasingly targeting [..] residents from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos — many of them decades-old refugees — for deportation based on old criminal convictions." "3 to 5 times more likely to be deported." #California #USA #Cambodia #Vietnam #Laos #Incarceration #Deportation #EthnicCleansing

The day Israel and Iran negotiated a ceasefire, ICE escalated deportations of Iranians who posed national security risks. But Iranians told me that many arrested are asylum seekers fleeing religious and political persecution. My story in @lapublicpress.bsky.social: lapublicpress.org/2025/07/iran...

Fix the City, an outside group that backed Cuomo, received nearly $25 million in contributions. $8.3 million of that sum came from Michael Bloomberg.

ICE victims are currently imprisoned in the basement of a DTLA federal building. Access is tightly controlled, and folks seeking to meet with their family members, friends, or clients have to wait in a fly-infested, dark, and seatless concrete hallway exposed to heat and other elements.

Last night at the Los Angeles Press Club awards, I received three awards for my stories as a fellow at @latimes.com. I submitted myself because I was tired of people saying I lacked enough experience for jobs and grants. Well, now you can add award-winning journalist to my resume. 😉

one of my sweetest friends was just diagnosed with an incurable, chronic neurological disorder. she's unable to work and had to leave LA so if you have even just a few dollars to donate to allow her time to rest and recuperate, it would mean the world. www.gofundme.com/f/give-austi...

We’re starting LA’s first and only worker-led newsroom dedicated to investigative reporting because we cannot have billionaires and hedge funds dictating the flow of our information. Subscribe & donate: thesouthlander.com #TheSouthlander

today marks 40 years since Philadelphia police bombed the Black liberation group MOVE's home in West Philadelphia. 6 adults and 5 children burned to death. over 60 homes were destroyed from the resulting fire, and over 250 people left homeless. (resharing @kimkelly.bsky.social in @teenvogue.com)

last weekend i turned 25 on pimu island where i was surrounded by ocean blue, snorkeling with fish and the queers. so i wrote about my love of water on my new(ish) substack <3 angelenoasks.substack.com/p/turning-25...

It’s been 50 years since Cambodians arrived in the US as refugees, but that is not the end of the story. For @us.theguardian.com I documented the 17th Cambodia Town New Year Parade and Culture Festival and how Cambodians shared pride in their cultural heritage. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

At the top of the year, I took a ten-day survivalism course to try and wrangle with my feelings about the apocalypse and our end times. It's here, for free, if you have the time www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/m...

Boba lovers! There's a chance that your favorite tapioca drink will be pricier if tariffs come into effect. In my latest for @businessinsider.com, I talked to boba tea shops who are trying to keep prices steady ahead of potential tariffs on Asia. www.businessinsider.com/tariffs-asia...

In an internal FEMA memo, the Trump administration announced its plans to dismantle the government’s largest climate adaptation initiative.

KELLY MARIE TRAN IS FOR THE GIRLS AND THE GAYS 🗣️ www.them.us/story/kelly-... ty @jamesfactora.bsky.social for keeping us fed!

In my first byline for @lapublicpress.bsky.social, I looked into why LA's Department of Cultural Affairs uninvited local drag queen Pickle and how the threat of losing federal funding is having a chilling effect on local queer arts non profits. lapublicpress.org/2025/04/lgbt...

hello!! Many of you all know that I'm currently the @transjournalists.org's fellow at @businessinsider.com. and right now, I'm working on a story about the financial barriers that exist for transgender people seeking gender affirming care. If that's you, I'd love to chat! Please shoot me a DM. 🏳️‍⚧️

i'm writing a story for Business Insider about international students who've had their visas revoked or funding cut to their program. if that's you, please email me at [email protected] or shoot me a secure tip via Signal at @jdeng.20. 🙏

I am EXCEPTIONALLY excited about this week's @theflytrapmedia.bsky.social, which is an ALL TRANS TRANSIT SPECTACULAR, you do NOT want to miss it, subsribe now so you'll have something nice in your inbox on Tuesday morning!!

The recession indicator is that every gay person I know is learning to DJ

Going back to my Taiwanese roots 🤩🙏