Inside Land Park-Grid February 2023

1918 – 28th Street - $595,000

MIDTOWN HIGHWATER BUNGALOW 2 bed 1 bath over 1500 square feet of living space. Charming coved ceilings, built-in hutch, updated in the right places, kitchen and bath.

STEPHANIE FERRIS 915-402-9213 DRE#02016586

1045 Vanderbilt Way - $479,000

BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS COMMONS END UNIT 2 or 3 bed, 2½ bath in a private location. Recessed lighting, plantation shutters, updated baths and pretty kitchen overlooks patio

DAVID KIRRENE 916-531-7495 DRE#01115041

316 Outrigger Way - $739,000

CLOSE TO GENNEVIEVE DIDION SCHOOL. 3 bed 2 bath Gorgeous remodeled single story home with pool and backyard for entertaining. Breathtaking kitchen

MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375

982 South Beach Drive - $599,000

PARKER-BUILT CUSTOM RIVERLAKE HOME. 3 bed 2½ bath in gated community close to Garcia Bend Park, restaurants and shopping. Walk or bike to Sacramento River MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375

6816 Havenhurst Drive - $620,000

WONDERFUL SPANISH STYLE HOME. 4 or 5 bed, 3 bath. Elegant two-story with many upgrades, bamboo flooring, sophisticated lighting. Backyard oasis with pool

HILARY BUCHANAN 916-397-7502 DRE-01359213

7302 Gloria Drive - $629,000

CUSTOM GREENHAVEN POCKET SINGLE STORY 3 or 4 bed 3 bath. Tastefully updated kitchen, quartz counter, maple cabinets. Great room with fireplace. Bubbling fountain. CONNIE LANDSBERG 916-761-0411

2020 Juliesse Avenue - $373,900

CHARMING SPACIOUS BOHEMIAN HEIGHTS HOME 3 bed 2 bath with beautiful original hardwood floors, vintage built-ins, cozy fireplace, breakfast nook, 2-car garage.

TYLER MONK 916-599-4755 DRE# 02083079

5520 Fruitridge Road - $345,000

TRENDY FRUITRIDGE MANOR HOME 3 bed 1 bath with open living and dining rooms, large dual pane windows, hardwood floors throughout. Recently remodeled kitchen JOSEPH OLSON 9116-835-2968 DRE# 02083344

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ELAINE BOWERS

Land Park watercolor artist Elaine Bowers’ work is on display in "California Perspectives" at the Arthouse at 1021 R St. through Feb. 6. A closing reception is 1–4 p.m. Feb. 4. Her art features realistic watercolors in both aerial and traditional landscape views of the Sacramento Delta and North Valley. Shown: Detail of "Valley Sentinel," watercolor. Visit elainebowersart.com for purchase information.

FEBRUARY 2023 VOL.

EDITORIAL POLICY

Commentary reflects the views of the writers and does not necessarily reflect those of Inside Sacramento. Inside Sacramento is delivered for free to more than 80,000 households in Sacramento. Printing and distribution costs are paid entirely by advertising revenue. Inside Sacramento welcomes readers’ comments. Letters to the Editor should be submitted via email to editor@insidepublications.com. Please include name, address and phone number. Letters may be published as space permits and edited for brevity. No portion may be reproduced mechanically or electronically without written permission of the publisher. All ad designs & editorial—©

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Gabriela Mazzoni

‘People Do Not Feel Safe’

Thien Ho

NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY MAKES HOMELESSNESS, CRIME PRIORITIES

Thien Ho has a mandate. The new Sacramento County district attorney was elected last year by a landslide, defeating Alana Mathews by more than 43,000 votes. Now comes the hard part. Ho must deliver on a promise to make the community safe again.

In a wide-ranging interview before he took office in January, Ho told me his experience as a prosecutor and legacy as an immigrant will guide him through challenges that await.

“We face two huge issues in our community right now,” he says. “No. 1, without a doubt, is the homeless crisis. And second is gun violence. Whether it’s the shootings that happened Downtown, or in other parts of our county, violent crime is escalating.

“These two issues are my top priority. My other priorities are the increase in theft on every level, and the increase in human trafficking that occurs in different parts of our county.”

“The justice system needs to work for all,” he says. “The truth is, people do not feel safe where they live or work, or where they raise their children. That is a huge challenge for society. To me, this is the opportunity to right things like this that have gone seriously astray in recent years.”

Ho’s story helps explain his motivation. He says, “I was born and raised in South Vietnam during the war. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, my family was hunted. So my father organized an escape plan for my mom and sister and me in the middle of the night in a small boat. Numerous times we barely escaped capture and death. It was an experience that shaped my entire life.”

public safety. “I generally believe the government should stay out of people’s lives,” he says. “I’m an immigrant, a refugee. I know what it’s like to be poor and to have nothing. I know what it’s like to be a victim of crime. But I also know the intricacies of working within the system to make sure that all voices of our justice system work.”

Ho succeeds Anne Marie Schubert, who left office after two terms to run for California attorney general, a race she lost. Schubert emphasized her disapproval of Propositions 47 and 57, voter-approved state measures that reduced criminal penalties.

By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

The district attorney’s office’s job is prosecuting criminals. From Ho’s perspective, this means more than guilty verdicts and jail sentences. It means building trust across the county’s diverse neighborhoods.

Those early years left Ho with a bleak view of authoritarian governments such as the one that won control in Vietnam. “Communism has never worked anywhere it has been practiced,” he says. “It is a political structure that requires extreme authoritarian to stay in power. It denies freedom of speech, voting rights, religious liberty, women’s rights. It only enriches those in power.”

Ho is a Democrat but considers himself conservative when it comes to

Ho shares his former boss’ frustration: “Decriminalizing drug use and the evisceration of some of the drug courts brought predictable outcomes that we now see play out on the streets with homelessness and untreated drug addiction.”

He continues, “Homelessness is a complex problem. We have a small population of single mothers without jobs and veterans suffering from PTSD. For those sub-populations, there are a lot of services that have been very effective. But chronic homelessness is most often caused by underlying mental health issues and drug addictions.”

The district attorney mentions synthetic methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico that “causes psychosis with just one use.” He says, “Prop. 57 took away our ability to leverage essentially required treatment, especially for those that engage in criminal activity. It took away one of the most important tools—court-ordered treatment—from our toolbox.”

Last year, Ho toured the open drug market of San Francisco’s Tenderloin. He was joined by developer Mark Friedman, County Supervisor Rich Desmond and Sheriff Jim Cooper.

“We spoke to Tom Wolf, who was a homeless drug addict living on the streets after losing his family. He spent every day in a doorway getting high,” Ho says. “As we looked over and saw drug dealers lined up on one side of the street and the addicts on the other, Wolf explained that he was a mule. He was finally arrested and served 90 days in jail where, off drugs, he was able to clear his head. Wolf was offered and accepted treatment rather than being released back on the streets.”

The field trip confirmed Ho’s dislike for “housing first” strategies used in San Francisco and Sacramento to address homelessness. “It is a federal policy that aims to deliver housing

without requiring drug-addiction or mental health treatment,” Ho says. “And it fails every time despite millions in spending.

“The most successful programs in our county, including the Salvation Army and Saint John’s Program for Real Change, require abstinence and offer treatment programs. If a person is not in their right mental state—either emotionally, mentally, physically, or are drug addicted—it will not work. We’ve seen it again and again.”

Despite the failures of “housing first,” Ho recognizes the need to get people off the street. Public safety depends on it.

“Homeless people were burrowing encampments in the levees, which creates a huge flood risk,” he says. “Then COVID hit and the expanded public health order stopped us from clearing camps. Then came zero bail. The last two years have been the perfect storm for this crisis. We are now the fastest growing homeless population in the state, surpassing San Francisco.”

Despite the challenges, Ho insists he can succeed. He’s encouraged by recent collaboration between the city and county on homelessness, and plans to bring municipal departments together in a homeless summit.

He mentions a River District program that gives homeless people gift cards to pick up trash. “Several folks in the program told me they are, for the first time, optimistic about their own future. One man discovered the power of work on his selfesteem, and now plans to make further changes to get back into society,” Ho says.

It’s a small success. But we need thousands of small successes, backed by effective policies and clearminded leaders, to resolve the biggest crisis in our community.

Readers ask how they can contribute to Inside Sacramento. Here’s how. Visit insidesacramento. com and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Also consider a paid membership starting at $19.95 a year. Every little bit helps us serve our community.

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Jim Hastings

1928-2023

Husband, Father, Friend, Leader Co-Founder of Inside Sacramento

Triple Ace Honor

WWII FIGHTER PILOT RECEIVES BRIGADIER GENERAL PROMOTION

The only living American triple ace pilot, Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, was honorarily promoted from colonel to brigadier general in a historic ceremony at the Aerospace Museum of California.

J L JL

By Jessica Laskey Out & About

Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chief of staff of the Air Force, presided over the ceremony before 200 attendees. Brown called the 101-year-old Anderson a “wrecking ball” of a pilot.

“The impact you had on the history of our Air Force reminds me how fortunate we are to stand on the shoulders of gentlemen like you, and those other ladies and men who have served within our Air Force to make us great,” Brown said.

Anderson began his career at McClellan Air Force Base. During World War II, the fighter pilot flew 116 combat missions escorting bombers into German-occupied Europe. He earned his triple ace status after shooting down 16 enemy aircraft during two tours from 1944 to 1945.

Anderson flew several different P-51 Mustangs, all of which he named “Old Crow” after the cheapest bourbon

Brig. Gen. Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson (right) is congratulated by Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chief of staff of the Air Force (left), and Tom Jones, executive director of the Aerospace Museum of California.

Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson

whiskey available at the time. (It was also served at the ceremony!)

The California native retired from McClellan in 1972. Nearly 50 years later, a group petitioned the secretary of the Air Force for Anderson’s promotion.

Many artifacts, such as his World War II leather helmet, service uniform and other personal items are on display at the Aerospace Museum. For a $100 donation, honor Brig. Gen. “Bud” and help send an underserved child to Aviation Aces summer camp at the museum. For information, visit aerospaceca.org.

THIEBAUD DONATION

The Wayne Thiebaud Foundation has donated the late artist’s iconic 1965 painting “Two Seated Figures” to the Crocker Art Museum in memory of the painting’s subjects: the artist’s wife, Betty Jean Thiebaud, and friend C.K. McClatchy.

The painting is considered the most important single art gift in the museum’s history.

“It is most fitting that two such important Sacramento personalities shall remain here on canvas and in spirit in the city that they called home,” says the Crocker’s Mort and Marcy Friedman Director and CEO Lial A. Jones. “And because it is by Sacramento’s best known and most beloved artist, it will be a pivotal work in the Crocker’s collection for generations.”

LITERARY LEADERS

The award-winning literary performance series Stories on Stage Sacramento is under new leadership. Yours truly and my husband, p joshua laskey, took the helm last month as co-directors of the venerable nonprofit to bring it into its 14th season—and beyond.

SOSS features writing from local, national and international authors read aloud by professional actors in a fun, fast-paced evening held every second Friday at 7 p.m. at the CLARA Auditorium on 24th Street.

The 2023 season kicks off Feb. 10 with the work of Northern California authors Jim Misner, Maureen O’Leary and RoseMary Covington read by actors Sam Misner and series favorite Megan Smith. For information, visit storiesonstagesacramento.org.

HOUSING SUPPORT

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has approved $3 million to help fund transitional housing and services through Women’s Empowerment for women and children experiencing homelessness.

The nonprofit will use the funds to lease 24 cottages to house families that have graduated from its employmentreadiness program with jobs, but still can’t afford housing. This funding complements $50,000 that Women’s Empowerment recently received from Kelly Foundation to sublease other

local housing at a discounted rate for program graduates.

“We are proud of this housing program that provides mothers the critical stepping stone they need to advance in their job, increase their financial stability and prepare to move into market-rate housing,” says Executive Director Lisa Culp.

Women’s Empowerment provides a two-month employment-readiness program, paid job training, childcare and support services to help women and their children break the generational cycle of homelessness.

Since its founding in 2001, the organization has graduated 1,790 women and their 3,849 children. For information, visit womensempowerment.org.

VIOLENCE PREVENTION

NorCal School of the Arts has received a $600,000 federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Program.

NorCal offers socio-emotional theater arts education in area schools that promotes learning, life skills and mental wellness. In-person instruction is provided to more than 7,000 students in 280 classrooms across Title 1 schools in Sacramento City, Folsom Cordova and Twin Rivers unified school districts.

“We know as students experience peer rejection and feel a lack of visibility in their school environment, they become more susceptible to negative influences,” says Executive Director Michele Hillen-Noufer. “In search of validation, students have an increased risk of radicalization, getting involved in gang-related activities, drug use and violence.”

NorCal offers “students a means of establishing healthy connections while learning effective communication, critical thinking and conflict resolution skills,” Hillen-Noufer says. For information, visit norcalsota.org.

FIGHTING HUNGER

The city of Sacramento has awarded $1 million in new grants ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 to 17 organizations to ensure access to healthy food.

City Council member Mai Vang and Mayor Darrell Steinberg spearheaded the effort to address the highest needs. Fifteen of the 17 grants will go toward expanding existing food pantries or food distribution efforts.

Hmong Youth and Parents

United are combining fresh produce distribution with an educational garden project. Health Education Council focuses on Afghan refugees, while Meals on Wheels helps seniors in congregate settings.

Jessica Laskey and p joshua laskey are the new co-directors of Stories on Stage Sacramento.

“Two Seated Figures” by Wayne Thiebaud is now in the permanent collection at the Crocker Art Museum.

“People are really struggling, and being able to provide emergency food assistance to people in our community means they can be strategic about spending the limited resources they have so they can keep the heat on and keep the lights on,” says Julie Rhoten, executive director of Stanford Settlement, one of the awardees.

For information, visit cityofsacramento.org/economicdevelopment.

HISTORIC SNOWPLOW

Back by popular demand, an impressive 251,000-pound rotary snowplow is on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento alongside the exhibit “Snowbound in the Sierra.”

The exhibit highlights the dramatic rescue—using rotary snowplows like the one on display—of 226 passengers and crew members who were trapped on a

luxury streamliner locomotive during a massive 1952 snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada.

Museum admission is $12 for adults, $6 for ages 6–17 and free for children 5 and younger. For information, visit californiarailroad.museum.

NEW CITY COUNCIL

Three new City Council members have been sworn in to represent three redrawn districts encompassing North Natomas, Oak Park and South Natomas.

Lisa Kaplan, a 20-year member of Natomas Unified School Board, represents District 1. Karina Talamantes, Angelique Ashby’s former chief of staff, represents District 3. Caity Maple, a former lobbyist who now runs her own business, represents District 5. The council is now a female majority.

Residents in some “deferred” neighborhoods, including East Sacramento, River District, Valley Hi, Delta Shores and parts of South Sacramento, were moved into new districts, but will not vote for their new representative until 2024. Until then, they are represented by Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Find your council representative at cityofsacramento.org/mayor-council/ find-your-district.

MEASURE U WINNERS

The Measure U Committee has announced the winning projects for $1 million in funding, split equally between the north and south areas of Sacramento.

Eligible residents voted for projects between Oct. 12 and Nov. 11. The winning projects include youth programming, neighborhood cleanups, mobile farmers market, digital skills

training, literacy support, career assistance, transportation and more.

The city will open applications soon for community-based organizations to apply to implement these projects. For information, visit cityofsacramento.org/ pb.

CLARA FUNDS

E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts has received a $1 million grant to complete essential capital projects on its historic building at 2420 N St., formerly known as the Fremont School.

“This building has been providing Sacramento youth with educational opportunities for nearly 100 years and that comes with some pragmatic realities—expensive, long-term facilities challenges that need to be addressed,” says CLARA Executive Director Megan Wygant.

A 251,000-pound snowplow is on display at the California State Railroad Museum. Kasbah’s hummus plate is one delight on SacTown Bites Food Tour Adventures.

The funds directed by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty will seed a series of capital projects for the property, which has been occupied by local groups since it was repurposed as an arts and education center in 2016.

Immediate projects include building an additional studio classroom, replacing the roof and constructing a new grand entrance along O Street. The funds will also help the center complete an outdoor area and pay for permits and drawings for a second expansion phase. For information, visit claramidtown.org.

SACTOWN BITES

SacTown Bites Food Tour

Adventures has been selected for a 2022 Travel & Hospitality Award out of more than 1,200 nominees.

This year’s award recipients were chosen based on reviews by multiple third-party sources. Winning businesses demonstrated uniqueness, quality of services and facilities, and exceptional levels of customer care across a number of categories.

SacTown Bites, run by local foodie Heather Fortes, offers tours and excursions focused on food and beverages that showcase the farmto-fork region. For information, visit thawards.com and sactownbites.com.

HEALTH ADVISERS

The Sacramento County Public Health Advisory Board is looking for new members to help make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors about health-related issues impacting Sacramento County.

Applicants should have an interest in addressing how public health impacts day-to-day lives and the public health needs of minority groups, youth, disadvantaged communities and anyone else who needs representation.

PHAB members are appointed to a three-year term and can apply for a second term. For information or to apply, visit dhs.saccounty.gov and search for Public Health Advisory Board.

SANDHILL CRANES

There are some new feathered residents at Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt. Sandhill Cranes have traveled south to California for the winter and made the preserve their new home.

Roughly 3,000 Lesser and Greater Sandhill Cranes settle at Cosumnes River Preserve every winter. Prime viewing dates are between Oct. 15 and March 1. Dawn and dusk are the best times to observe the greatest numbers of cranes and the widest variety of intriguing behaviors.

Some etiquette when you’re out there: limit your movement, remain quiet and stay at least 400 yards away while watching feeding birds so the flock doesn’t think you’re a threat. For information, visit cosumnes.org.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Time to sell an investment property. Elise was on it totally - comps, promotion, selling docs, inspections, repairs needed - and a timetable for completion. An absolutely seamless process for me - this was not the first sale she's handled for me, nor will it be the last. ~ KC P.

TRADITIONS FOR THE FUTURE

An absolutely seamless process for methis was not the first sale she's handled for me, nor will it be the last.

Sterling Necklaces enlarged for detail

Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (third from left) presents CLARA board and staff with $1 million grant.

Photo courtesy of Tony Nguyen Photography

Judge Not

LEGAL THREATS DON’T CARRY WEIGHT ON PARKWAY

Since 1975, when the city announced plans for the Sacramento River Parkway and bike trail, various people said they would sue to stop it. For 48 years, there were no lawsuits. There was also no parkway.

As the levee parkway and bike path finally head toward completion in the next two years, it’s fair to wonder whether litigation can slow or derail a project that’s already a half-century behind schedule.

Anyone can threaten to sue. As a young reporter at The Bee, I thought I had a scoop when a soccer team owner told me he was going to sue the government for messing with his players’ visas.

An editor told me to forget it, the paper never printed stories about “potential” lawsuits. “We wouldn’t

have space for real news,” he said. My scoop—like the lawsuit—never materialized.

There are several reasons why legal threats from a few people who live near the levee have no more substance than a frustrated soccer entrepreneur. Lawsuits need serious resources. They are expensive and tough to win.

When it comes to the river parkway and bike trail, it’s hard to see anyone making a case to stop construction.

The state owns the levees and controls what happens to them. State water authorities think a paved bikeway is a good idea. It will improve flood safety. The city raised money for the bike path and promises to police it. Everyone’s in agreement.

For generations, residents in Pocket, Greenhaven, Little Pocket, South Land Park and Land Park expected the city to honor its 1975 parkway promise. Opposition comes from a handful of people whose homes back up to the levee. They use the riverfront as their private park. They want the public to keep out.

flood defenses were mostly constructed with public funds.

The farmers didn’t want to maintain the levees. They gave the state unrestricted easements to the long, high dirt mounds that protect Sacramento. Over the decades, land changed hands, subdivisions spread, water access laws evolved and the state gained control.

It’s a stretch to claim a farmer’s 1910 property lines magically transferred to a suburban homeowner who showed up in 1999. But that’s what some households along the levee believe.

These individuals claim to own the levee, despite having no connection to the old farmers, despite there being no question about the state’s authority.

If a lawsuit is filed, plaintiffs near the levee will probably build their case around the word “recreation.” The word doesn’t appear in the easements. Since recreation isn’t spelled out, an attorney might argue recreational access was never granted. Which means no bike path.

began to offer homeowners along the levee cash to sell narrow recreational easements for the levee bike path. Some people took the money, around $25,000. Others refused. The rejectors say the city’s offer proves what they’ve claimed all along, that they really own the levee. There was no legal need for the city to make cash offers. The city was buying something the state already owned. But the City Council made a political decision, not a legal one. The idea was to make a problem go away and avoid lawsuits.

Since the payoffs didn’t work, the city is ready for the next step: eminent domain seizures of recreational easements along the levee. This will be interesting. The city won’t grab real property, but a concept—the fantasy that a few homeowners somehow own the top of the levee.

Eminent domain should be the last step before the bike trail is paved. Don’t be surprised if a homeowner threatens to sue.

By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat

RGIf a lawsuit is filed, it will likely focus on easements granted to state flood authorities around a century ago. The easements were given by farmers who owned the levees, even though the city’s

While the old easements are simple and straightforward and give everything to the state, everything doesn’t mean everything, a lawyer might say. It means everything except recreation.

Several years ago, the city attorney anticipated this argument. The city

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

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Judge Dreadful

Sacramento owes something to Gov. Gavin Newsom, but I’m not sure what. Kings season tickets? A lifetime pass to the State Fair? Dinner at The French Laundry?

It’s not easy to quantify the gift Newsom gave when he lined up Mayor Darrell Steinberg for a seat on the state appellate court. From one perspective, the judicial appointment simply hastens the end of a miserable City Hall performance that would have closed next year anyway.

Then again, maybe not. Despite his public antipathy toward a third term, Steinberg has made stealthy preparations to run again. Given

RG

By R.E. Graswich City Beat

STEINBERG WILL LEAVE A LEGACY OF FAILURE

his influence over local unions and Democratic Party minions, plus his skill at raising money, it’s a good bet he could chase off legitimate candidates and coast to another four years.

Instead, he’s looking at one of the best, easiest and most invisible jobs on the state payroll. Fancy chambers near the Capitol. Staff lawyers to handle research and writing. Free time for tennis and long lunches. Salary of $264,542, almost twice his mayoral pittance.

I could quibble and point out Steinberg is wholly unqualified for the chores of a serious appellate judge. He has zero judicial experience. Evidence of legal writing under his name doesn’t exist. He barely practiced law. He’s a power broker and mediator, but that’s all.

He worked for a labor union soon after getting his bar ticket in 1984, and sporadically dabbled in legal affairs while awaiting political slots in the state Assembly, Senate and mayor’s office. Among his clients were the Maloof brothers, who

subsequently tried to move the Kings to Seattle.

The mayor’s lack of familiarity with judicial details won’t hinder him. The state appellate court doesn’t run like normal courts. His learning curve relevant to law may be more problematic.

Judging from his behavior at City Hall, Steinberg seems to think Martin v. Boise, a federal ruling on homelessness, prevents cities from disturbing homeless people as they commit larcenies petty and large. Other cities don’t believe Martin v. Boise pertains to them. Might they be right?

Steinberg can argue that while he didn’t strenuously practice law, he spent years passing laws. True enough. And he saw justice from both sides. When he ran the state Senate, four colleagues under his rule spent time in jail.

But who’s complaining? The best part about Steinberg’s early exit is his removal from Sacramento politics. He’ll disappear inside those black robes.

While the former mayor will work Downtown and no doubt enjoy his relaxed schedule at local restaurants, most residents will never hear from him again. Unless you’re a lawyer or litigant, the state appellate system is a vortex of anonymity. For the joy of Steinberg’s public evaporation, we can thank Gov. Newsom.

Maybe I’m too cruel. There must be some positive aspect of Sacramento life that flourishes thanks to Steinberg’s six years as mayor. I’m just drawing a blank.

He ran for office in 2016 on a promise to eradicate homelessness, which reached unprecedented numbers after the recession. Citing legislative experience and connections, Steinberg sold voters on his ability to secure resources, cut bureaucratic red tape and get about 2,700 people off the streets.

His failure was monumental. Steinberg found resources and cut red tape and watched the homeless population explode to nearly 10,000. The mayor’s incompetence made Sacramento a global embarrassment.

Darrell Steinberg

He put us on the map. Crime is up, quality of life down. There’s Steinberg’s legacy.

COVID-19 is no excuse. The pandemic produced gushers of federal and state cash, which Steinberg mostly squandered. His master plan to attack homelessness involved eight separate base camps, one in each City Council district, to spread pain across the city.

Like everything Steinberg touches, his homeless strategy was designed with politics, not people, in mind. Doomed from the start, the mayor’s brainstorm provoked predictable “not in my backyard” outrage. It collapsed at the starting gate.

Next comes a special election for mayor. Here’s where I get confident. Whoever wins will be better than the last guy.

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

A Commons Mistake A Mistake

RESIDENTS DON’T WANT THESE OVERSIZED TOWNHOMES

Katherine Bardis and her husband, Bay Miry, are a local development team that does quality work with a good reputation. Born into the building business, they have fathers who ran successful development firms and continue to leave a positive mark on the community.

Working together as Bardis & Miry Development, the couple continues the family legacies with contributions of their own.

From the residential The Mill at Broadway to attractive apartments and gracious renovations in Midtown, their developments fit and wear well.

But the couple’s latest project, a proposed residential development at 707 Commons Drive adjacent to earth-toned townhomes and wooded walkways of Campus Commons, has encountered significant neighborhood resistance.

Not everyone is opposed to the proposal. But if the old real estate adage still stands that a developer’s success depends on location, location, location, this could turn into a rare Bardis and Miry misstep.

Disclosure: My wife and I have lived in Campus Commons for about five years and love the laidback, walkable, tree-rich community.

As described on the Lyon Real Estate website, “Campus Commons is nestled along the American River Parkway between Fair Oaks Boulevard and Howe Avenue. It is one of Sacramento’s most low-key luxury communities surrounded by lush greenery, recreational opportunity and urban amenities.”

G D GD

By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future

Bardis told me she was surprised by the hostile reaction in November when she came to a Campus Commons community meeting to discuss her plans.

The idea is to tear down a nondescript, two-story, mostly empty office building on the 1.5-acre site Bardis and Miry bought last spring for $2.07 million. A slight hill would be flattened and the building replaced with 24 three-story townhomes, featuring three and four bedrooms. Trees would be removed. Other than

garages under the townhomes, there are no plans for additional visitor parking.

Increased traffic and other impacts won’t bother me as much as neighbors along Commons Drive. I live farther away. But from preliminary plans shared so far—densely situated white, multi-level homes close to sidewalks, with little open space—Campus Commons residents I’ve talked to say it’s the wrong development in the wrong place.

“It’s a quality project,” David Lane, chair of the Campus Commons Park Corporation board of directors, says. “For Downtown.”

In fact, the developers say this project is similar to what they built at 1234 U St. in Midtown, a successful townhome cluster called Albright Village. It’s in stark contrast to Campus Commons. In a letter to city planners, Lane says it violates the city’s General Plan.

Albright Village has an urban feel, with tightly packed white townhomes and little open space. It’s fine for U Street. At Campus Commons, it would be an outlier, different from everything around it.

In his letter to the planning department, Lane, a lawyer who lives on Commons Drive and spent years as a contract attorney for towns in the Central Valley, says the Bardis and Miry development “would stick out and be a blight rather than an asset.”

“The current development on this property presents a consistent and conforming appearance,” he writes about the existing Campus Commons community. “There are concerns that the proposed development is not only not consistent in appearance but actually presents a significant conflict

with the entire Campus Commons neighborhood.”

Although Bardis says plans for the project are still being refined, it’s not clear what leverage residents have over the proposal. No zoning change is needed, but developers must receive various approvals from the city, which has promised a hearing on the site plan, tree permit entitlements and urban design issues.

“This project and its impact in the surrounding community is of high importance to us and we are following the issue closely,” KaSandra Soto, district rep for City Council member Eric Guerra, wrote to Lane.

She encouraged residents to send written comments to city planner Zach Dahla at zdahla@cityofsacramento.org and share concerns.

It remains to be seen whether residents can stop or substantially change the proposed development. But based on what I’ve heard around the neighborhood, there’s no doubt they will keep trying.

Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Previous columns can be found and shared InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

CAMP T R O U B I E TROUBIE

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S P O R T S SPORTS CAMPS

BEGINNING JUNE 12: One-week camps for rising 1st to 9th grade girls

A Capitol A

Mardi Gras Mardi

PARADE CELEBRATES WHAT MAKES CITY UNIQUE

Idon’t want to give anything away, but Wes Samms’ outfit for the City of Trees Parade

Feb. 18 is amazing. I got a sneak peek of the sequined suit jacket he had custom-made in Thailand. It’s spectacular.

The word “spectacular” comes up a lot during our conversation. It describes the tradition of Mardi Gras as a “showcase of culture, music and art.” It covers

Sacramento’s diverse talent pool. It includes Burning Man, which plays a part in this month’s festivities.

Most important, it describes the City of Trees Parade.

“Mardi Gras is such a fantastic event,” says Samms, a veteran of 13 New Orleans Mardi Gras. “The perception that outsiders have is completely wrong. It’s not debaucherous, it’s actually quite family-focused.

The Kansas-born Samms grew up in Texas and New Orleans and moved to Sacramento in 2012 for a job. He later tried the Bay Area and realized he missed the City of Trees. He returned eight years ago, vowing to show others what’s special about his chosen home.

“With the City of Trees Parade, we’re celebrating Sacramento culture in the same way New Orleans does,” he says. “Nobody needs that more than Sacramento. We’re so down on ourselves all the time. Sacramento doesn’t believe it’s a beautiful, wonderful place to be. Maybe if we lift it up more and show people what’s right here, people will think, wow, I’m really lucky to live in Sacramento.”

Samms is no stranger to organizing large events. He joined the environmental advocacy group March for Science Sacramento in 2018. He oversaw a 12,000-person protest in 2019 and a youth climate strike in 2020.

The pandemic made operations shrink, but he managed to organize a chalk-out, a mural in Jazz Alley and a 350-person garbage pickup along local waterways.

Craving a change, Samms reincorporated the group as the nonprofit Curiosity Collaborative and brainstormed new ways to gather local people. A Mardi Gras-themed birthday party in 2021 clicked, and soon Samms was planning his first City of Trees Parade for 2022.

Last year’s event drew approximately 15,000 people to Downtown and Old Sac, including 600 paraders. Samms estimates it was the biggest Mardi Gras parade in California. He intends to outdo himself Feb. 18.

This year’s parade features more than 1,000 participants from 28 local groups, including the Grant Union High School Drumline, Sac Dance Lab, Bike Party Sacramento and Krewe of Trees, which anyone can join for a fee to help support the parade.

There’s more: a king and queen nominated by the community and art car floats from Burning Man. Festival favorites Deco Fish and Cuddlepillar will roll. Spectators can enjoy food trucks, community booths, art vendors, live music and an alcoholic beverage garden along Capitol Mall. Once the parade hits Old Sac, the party continues at Louisiana Sue’s Cajun Food and Music Fest, a separate ticketed event run by Mardi Gras aficionado Sue Ramon.

Samms says beads thrown during the parade have been recycled from previous New Orleans Mardi Gras. “We started as an environmental organization, so this feels true to our values,” he notes.

Keep your eyes peeled for Sacramento’s custom throw—100 stuffed Rare Bears handmade by artists at Atrium.

“Seeing that expressiveness coming out is what this is all about,” Samms says. “All of these wonderful things are lying around. You just have to get them together.”

By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Profile

“It’s about kids and high school marching bands, young children sitting on step ladders catching beads while their parents sip beer in lawn chairs watching the parades go by. It’s a community-oriented event where local performing arts groups get to walk out in front of hundreds of thousands of people and show what they can do.”

To sponsor a float, join Krewe of Trees or for information, visit curiositycollaborative.org.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@ gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Wes Samms with partner Sammy Caiola

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Selective Enforcement

CITY NEEDS TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT CLEARING SIDEWALKS

Nobody should have to step into a traffic lane to get around a homeless encampment. That’s why I proposed a sidewalk ordinance during my final year on City Council.

Our children need safe routes to school. We must comply with federal accessibility laws so people with disabilities can stay mobile. My goal with the sidewalk ordinance was to create a safe, 4-foot passage on our sidewalks, even where homeless encampments are set up.

JHBy Jeff Harris City Skeptic

Publisher’s Note: With eight productive years as a City Council member, Jeff Harris left office in December after being redistricted out of the East Sacramento community where he lives. We asked Harris to join us as a monthly columnist reporting on City Hall.

The sidewalk ordinance became law last September. I expected the new rule would make it safe to be a pedestrian again. I’m sad to say that hasn’t happened.

Under the new ordinance, obstructing a sidewalk in Sacramento is a misdemeanor. When we put the rule together, Mayor Darrell Steinberg claimed making obstructions a citable offense was too punitive to homeless people. He wanted enforcement language removed.

City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood and I argued that without an enforcement recourse, the ordinance was meaningless. We won the debate. The misdemeanor language stayed in. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Two councilmembers, Jay Schenirer and Katie Valenzuela, inserted a provision that any possessions a homeless person couldn’t deal with to clear a sidewalk must be bagged, tagged and stored until the individual retrieves them.

The storage requirement creates about $1 million in extra costs for the city. It greatly complicates enforcement of the sidewalk law.

Let’s make one thing clear. The sidewalk ordinance was never intended to confiscate possessions or punish homeless people.

Rather, the goal is to demand that people who live in street-bound poverty exhibit some minimal, basic responsibility as citizens. Simply put, we want them to keep their space more confined for the safety of everyone.

The city did substantial outreach before threatening citations. Many sidewalks were cleared, only to be obstructed again within a few days.

Here’s the reality. A majority of people who live outdoors deal with mental infirmities, drug addiction or both. Asking them to voluntarily comply with the sidewalk ordinance is a zero-sum game, although at least 10 percent happily comply. Like housed residents, the homeless community is a mixed and complex constituency.

SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES AND STAFF ARE NEEDED TO ENFORCE THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE, BUT IT MUST BE DONE.

Significant resources and staff are needed to enforce the sidewalk ordinance, but it must be done.

City Council has been divided over responses to homelessness, with the result that we incrementally lost control of our city. The sidewalk ordinance gives us back some control, 4 feet at a time.

We’ve seen entire blocks decimated by trash and lawlessness, largely in support of drug abuse. Citizens must be proactive in letting their local representatives know that the situation is intolerable, that we want Sacramento clean and safe again!

To enforce the sidewalk ordinance (and other laws) requires more code officers, more community response staff and more coordination with police. Those are expensive realities.

Perhaps a more viable approach is to fund and empower our neighborhood business districts to help with outreach and cleanups. They largely hold the frontlines already, and do an admirable, underresourced job.

City Council must make the homeless crisis its top priority and

act with compassion and a firm hand. City Hall must allocate resources to get the work done.

For decades, we experienced a schism between the city and Sacramento County on where responsibility lies with our homeless response.

I served on homelessness committees with the county for seven years. Late in 2022, we made a breakthrough and forged an agreement that will lead to a collaborative approach for more effective outreach to the homeless and coordinated access to services.

The recent agreement has promise, but will take months or years to take effect. It will not clean up our streets anytime soon.

For now, we need more managed temporary shelter space. We need to address behavioral health issues. And we must enforce the sidewalk ordinance.

Jeff Harris represented District 3 on the Sacramento City Council from 2014 to 2022. He can be reached at cadence@mycci.net. n

Vintage Advantage

COUPLE KEEP THEIR 1920S BEAUTY ALMOST ORIGINAL

Blake and Christine Dugger were married in 2000 and now have three children, Ashby, 11, Penelope, 8, and Crosby, 4½. The kids attend Sacred Heart Parish School. When the school’s fundraiser Holiday Home Tour returned this past December (after a two-year hiatus), the family was ready to showcase its newly remodeled house.

“Four years ago, we moved into this vintage home,” Christine says.

“We lived previously at 45th and D streets in a small, two-bedroom home. We made plans to remodel and expand to accommodate our growing family. We were not even looking for another place.

“My youngest was just a baby, and on a stroller walk I spotted the open house for this home. After a quick tour I called Blake and said we needed to buy this house. It had charm, space and everything we had ever hoped for.”

fixes that tided us over until we could develop a remodel plan.”

The couple hired designer Bree Steele of Doba Design Studio to help envision the kitchen and family room expansion. “We loved her work and as a mother herself she understands family living,” Christine says.

By Cecily Hastings Open House

While the home’s 1,900 square feet were filled with Tudor charm, there was a downside. “Every room reeked of cigarettes and was coated with smoke residue,” Christine says. “Much of the original charm was lost during a 1970s remodel. It also had very little storage.”

Says Blake, “We painted everything and did some cosmetic

The compact original living room contains just a few pieces of furniture to highlight the bay window, and charming stucco and brick fireplace. The focal point is a rattan bar tucked in the stairwell, accented with crystal decanters and bluebirds in the art and lamp base.

The dining room takes center stage with a modern chunky oak table and sleek black and rattan chairs. A huge vintage mirror doubles the visual size.

Artwork by Tracy Tayama

The home’s heart is a classic but modern kitchen with cabinets painted in soft taupe. Handles are unvarnished brass that ages to a patina, a theme carried throughout in handles, lighting and accents. The European gas range is black with brass control knobs.

A square kitchen island in a brushed oak finish creates a dramatic transition between the dining area and kitchen. “The galley kitchen design is wonderful to use, and Bree was masterful in her design of the drawers and cabinet functions,” Christine says.

The designer suggested turning a firstfloor bedroom into an open family room to connect the kitchen to the backyard. The move added interior space that had been a covered porch. “This is my favorite part of the house. I cook and the kids play and do schoolwork along with me,” Christine says.

A pink tribal rug adds a colorful focal point to the linen-upholstered sofa and storage cabinets. French doors open to the compact backyard.

Christine is proud of the first-floor bathroom that remains true to the 1920s vintage. Original green tiles were painted over, so the couple used a heat gun and stripped them to their original color. The floor retains the original green and white hex tiles.

“We accented the vintage tiles with a new, but vintage design, pedestal sink, toilet and accessories,” Christine says.

The family installed vintage-style oak floors with thin strips and a natural finish, similar to the original.

The backyard is small but packed with features. A brick pattern designed by Blake edges the flower beds and decomposed granite walkways. A water fountain trickles. A large, healthy lemon tree drips with luscious yellow fruit.

“I love the history of this home, and that families had occupied this place for decades before us,” Blake says. The couple were delighted recently when members of the original family stopped by and asked for a tour.

“They just nervously knocked on the door and, of course, we were thrilled to show them around,” Christine says.

Bree Steele of Doba Design Studio can be reached at dobadesignstudio.com. Photography courtesy of Nicole Dianne.

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. To recommend a home or garden, contact editor@insidepublications.com. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

CHRISTINE IS PROUD OF THE FIRST-FLOOR BATHROOM THAT REMAINS TRUE TO THE 1920S VINTAGE.

BY STEVE MAVIGLIO

No Kidding

CITY COUNCIL TAKES CHILDREN’S CRUSADE TOO FAR

In November, voters elected three new City Council members. Two represent a new generation of leadership, Oak Park’s Caity Maple, 31, and Karina Talamantes, 33, of Natomas. Both earned their jobs in vigorous campaigns where they reached constituents and gained trust.

Soon, they will be joined on the council dais by another young person with a voice in council deliberations.

But this person will be different: hand-picked, never winning an election, never engaged with Sacramento voters. Why? Because a different City Council, in power days before Maple, Talamantes and Lisa Kaplan came on board, decided it was a good idea to have someone— maybe a high school sophomore—sit alongside them and weigh in on complex issues.

If this sounds like sensible city governance, no one else agrees. When the council considered the idea of seating an unelected young person, city staff surveyed major cities to determine

whether any had taken a similar leap. The answer was no. Of course not. That negative response should have indicated this isn’t the best idea. But the council pressed ahead. The appointment of a “youth advisory liaison” became official. The search is underway.

The council even decided the original proposal didn’t reach far enough into the youthful pool. It lowered the proposed minimum age from 18 to 16. Mayor Darrell Steinberg expressed his preference for a 16- or 17-yearold, saying he would welcome their perspective.

Most parents don’t think their 16-year-old’s views should weigh heavily in major decisions. Our mayor does.

To be clear, this person will not have a vote and will not be permitted to participate in closed sessions, which often involve litigation. But this handpicked child—the council didn’t explain how the choice would take place—will sit with the council, attend staff briefings, ask questions at meetings, and offer thoughts on matters during public sessions. There’s even a stipend.

Why did we bother with recent elections?

Clearly, the goal is to ensure young people have a voice in city government. But offering a token, non-voting seat on the council is not the best way to secure meaningful, representative input.

As former City Council member Jeff Harris says, a better approach would be to empower the city’s Youth Commission, created in 2019, to provide advice to the council on relevant matters.

That body consists of 19 members, ages 14 to 24, from every section of Sacramento. Vetting issues before the Youth Commission would provide more comprehensive input and engage more young people in meaningful civic participation.

City Council member Eric Guerra says a majority of his appointees to city commissions are in their 20s. That approach, he suggests, provides “a fuller perspective” than designating a single young person to sit with the council.

Sacramento makes a significant commitment to youth, one that was adopted by voters in November. Measure L established a guaranteed annual revenue stream of around $10 million for a Sacramento Children’s Fund, ensuring that youth programs will be first among equals when budget cuts are required.

Once this non-voting youth member joins the council, it seems certain other groups will ask for their seats. Seniors come to mind, given that more than one in 10 Sacramento residents are over 65. Advocacy groups will fall in line.

During the discussion of the council’s youth seat, Steinberg asked opponents, “What are we afraid of?”

Here’s what: a governance structure that devalues the democratic process, purports to elevate youthful input when better options are available, and opens the door for a parade of others demanding the same consideration. That’s something to fear.

Steve Maviglio is a Sacramento political consultant. He can be reached at steven.maviglio@gmail.com. n

INSIDE OUT

Winter Storms

PHOTOS BY LINDA SMOLEK

Heavy rains and strong winds brought power outages, fallen trees and structural damage to the Sacramento region last month.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Myers

Photo courtesy of Jeff Myers

2023 Advertiser Hall of Fame

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EAST SAC + LAND PARK/GRID + ARDEN + POCKET

BAD SEEDS

TIME TO UPDATE THAT JURASSIC-ERA LANDSCAPE

Comfy bed pillow, cherished hoodie, coffee with a splash of cream are creature comforts. Familiarity and habits are not demanding. Change is the boogeyman that can stir anxiety and uncertainty.

D V DV

By Dan Vierria Garden Jabber

Perhaps your Sacramento landscape has evolved into a relic, a ’65 Rambler in a Tesla world. Maybe it’s time for change?

Our beloved city enters another season of gardening, signaling renewal and an opportunity to plan for a modern landscape. Increasing cost, scarcity of water and changes in weather patterns make it obvious things aren’t the same.

Central Valley farmers decline to plant some fields because there’s not enough water for irrigation. Water districts raise prices for residential water. The wine industry laments too much heat for certain grape varietals.

As our friend and gardening podcaster Farmer Fred Hoffman says, “If it says ‘full sun’ it should now be ‘afternoon shade’ for warm-season, fruiting vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers. Hell, most of my citrus was sunburned, too. And the persimmons.”

We have options. Remain in the comfort zone and do nothing, begin making landscaping changes that conform to weather patterns, or go with a modern landscape.

“We have found that many people are now open to change in their gardening aesthetic,” says Karrie Reid, horticulture consultant and recently retired UC Cooperative Extension adviser in landscape and urban horticulture.

She cites persistent water restrictions by state and local municipalities and increased population without additional water storage capacity as primary reasons for changing minds. Not everybody is willing to transition their garden.

“Some have only seen poor examples of water conserving landscapes, for others the idea of somebody telling them what to do is an affront,” she says.

“Some just don’t know where to start and fear the cost of the conversion.” Where to start goes like this, according to Reid:

Examine what you have and what you want to keep. Priorities include healthy, mature trees. Get rid of waterguzzling, high-maintenance, unhealthy plants. Keep a few water guzzlers as long as they are grouped together and on the same irrigation schedule.

Assess your current irrigation system. Can it be converted to drip? Does it need replacement? The only sprinklers needed would be for small patches of lawn or low-growing ground covers. Install a “smart” controller so each valve can be efficiently managed. Decide what you want to emphasize, like seasonal color, interesting foliage or pollinator-attracting plants. Search for water-efficient plants.

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

1. Dark brown bark with river rock to hold it down 2. Cistus x pulverulentus ‘Sunset’ (Magenta rockrose) 3. Dianella x hybrid Clarity Blue™ (Clarity Blue™ flax lily)

4. Lomandra longifolia Platinum Beauty™ (Variegated dwarf mat rush) 5. Westringia x hybrid Blue Gem (Blue Gem coast rosemary)

6. Same as 5, just the angle of the light makes it look a different color 7. Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compacta’ (compact Texas ranger)

8. Rhaphiolepis umbellata ‘Minor’ (Dwarf Yeddo hawthorn) 9. Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) 10. Arbutus ‘Marina’ (Marina strawberry tree)

11.Lomandra longifolia ‘Breeze’ (dwarf mat rush) 12. Myoporum parvifolium (There is no widely used common name)

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Once planting and irrigation are complete, apply 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch. Wood chips and bagged bark are common.

Consider installing or replacing concrete pathways with permeable paths. Permeable surfaces include decomposed granite, flagstone, pavers with sand joints, or bark. The goal is a surface that allows water to soak through rather than run off.

Time for some sobering news. Right behind large areas of lawn, those magnificent coast redwoods that dot Sacramento neighborhoods are among the worst landscape choices.

“The United States Forest Service determined that the average redwood in the Central Valley requires 500 gallons of water a day to remain healthy,” Reid says. “That is just mind-boggling. They are terribly difficult to grow anything under because the roots are so extensive and so efficient at guzzling the water around them.”

According to Reid, many of Sacramento’s coast redwoods are in poor health because of drought years. She recommends more water-efficient conifers that adapt to dry, hot summers.

Other poor choices are magnolia trees and big mophead hydrangeas.

“They both suffer without a steady diet of heavy water during our summers,” Reid says. “Better to select trees that are not native to humid, wet summer areas and replace those hydrangeas species with the oak leaf varieties that bloom beautifully but perform well on low water in part shade.”

Research a modern Sacramento landscape online by searching these sites: UC Davis California Center for Urban Horticulture, Sacramento Tree Foundation and Sacramento County Master Gardeners. Not only will you discover in-depth information, but plant lists and recommendations for our region.

Dan Vierria is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Sacramento County. He can be reached at masterg29@ gmail.com. For answers to gardening questions, contact the UCCE Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Scout Cookie online sale starts February 17; scan to find your favorite cookies.

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Registration begins March 1

Browsethecourse descriptions at: cce.csus.edu/youth-programs

csus.edu/cce

No Sitting Still

FORMER FIRE CHIEF DEVELOPS DRUG TRACKING APP

J L JL

By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor

Clive Savacool has a hard time sitting still.

For the first time in years, he only has one responsibility—running LogRx, the narcotics tracking app he co-founded for paramedics—instead of countless demands as a fire chief.

“As a fire chief, you’re always in crisis mode,” says the 44-year-old who lives in Sierra Oaks after resigning from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue last May. “Every day is a form of damage control. You can make great progress forward, but your to-do list is

going to be bigger at the end of the day no matter how much you get done.”

Savacool always thrived in highpressure situations. He says, “The fire service is the kind of career where if you’re willing to go above and beyond, no one holds you back.” From his start in Contra Costa County, he swiftly moved up the ranks.

When Savacool sustained lung damage from a fire in 2011, he created an app called Exposure Tracker. The health and safety program helps firefighters track their exposures to create a medical history they can reference throughout their careers. The app was acquired by a software company in Indiana.

A side interest stimulated Savacool’s tech ambitions. He raced motorcycles and had just won a 2019 American Federation of Motorcyclists championship when a crash sidelined him in 2020.

A fellow racer ran a startup and regaled Savacool with tales of traveling the world to work with clients such as Ducati.

Savacool got jealous—and involved. He started consulting with mobile incident command software company Tablet Command, where he met startup guru Skye Thompson. The two hit it off and partnered on LogRx. The company assists paramedics who must track the narcotics they dispense during medical emergencies.

“LogRx had always been on my mind because everywhere I’d worked, we’d done narcotics tracking on pen and paper,” he says. “I started LogRx in 2016 as a side project to see what I could do with it. But in 2019, I really pushed it forward when I realized how much need is out there.”

When LogRx took off, Savacool was still serving as a fire chief, first

Clive Savacool

Photo by Linda Smolek

Another reason to have the right living trust: A lot has changed since you signed your old will or trust…

• What you wore then, you wouldn’t wear now.

• You’ve moved on from cassette tapes, floppy discs and dot-matrix printers.

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• The laws affecting your estate have also changed.

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at Garden Valley Fire Protection District in El Dorado County and then at South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue. During his time in Tahoe, he secured permanent funding to keep fire houses open, upgraded the agency’s dispatch system and led the region through several natural disasters, including the Caldor and Tamarack fires and a major snowstorm in December 2021.

As LogRx gained clients, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Savacool found himself burning out. He realized he “had to pick one.” He left the fire service and hasn’t looked back.

“I didn’t realize how long my brain had been in crisis mode,” he says. “I got so much gray hair, especially over the last year, that my wife says it’s like now I’m reverse aging. It’s been a relief not to have that kind of burden, but my brain is still adjusting to having just one thing to focus on. I can’t sit still.”

For more information, visit logrx.com.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Seeds Of Tomorrow

DAVIS SCHOOL GARDENS TEACH EDIBLE LESSONS

On a winter’s afternoon, golden light casts shadows over a fence that marks the Harper Junior High School garden. I walk with Meghan Covert Russell, executive director of the Davis Farm to School program, and Garry Pearson, who coordinates garden volunteers. Green tips and soft leaves of garlic, spinach, beets, sugar snap peas, broccoli, radishes and cauliflower unfold on the ground.

As we walk the garden rows, wider than normal to allow access, Pearson says he sees kids with their counselors come to the garden to “just veg out.” Covert Russell explains how the garden, “especially after COVID, connects students to each other and

their school sites again. They get their hands dirty, and have the best time pulling weeds.”

Davis Farm to School, founded in 2000, is community created, sustained and driven. It’s part of Davis Farmers Alliance, which runs Davis Farmers Market. The organization, devoted to maintaining a garden at every school, is run by volunteers and parents.

Pearson has a background in local ag and was raised on a farm. He describes how “some of the volunteers build things, some plant things.” The program benefits every student and “connects all kinds of people in the community.”

Davis Joint Unified students must have two full academic days of outdoor activities each year. Those days often occur in the garden. Photography, art, robotics and biology hold classes in garden spaces. Students taste tomatoes and learn to distinguish farmfresh from commercial produce.

By Gabrielle Myers

Photography by Aniko Kiezel Farm To Fork

Gardens become learning places where students study the basics of plant identification and botany. They receive lessons in photosynthesis and how to care for seedlings. Younger students are taught anatomy of corn and how companion planting with squash and peppers produces higher yields.

Fruits, greens and vegetables go to school cafeteria kitchens and nourish students. Last season at Harper,

Garry Pearson and Meghan Covert Russell

an abundance of eggplant, peppers and tomatoes showed up on pizza.

At Pioneer Elementary, kids pick tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro and borage flowers. They make salsa from the bounty. Second graders visit Fiery Ginger Farm and study flora and how farms operate. In third grade, students visit Davis Food Co-op’s Teaching Kitchen and make a zero-waste Mason jar lunch, a salad in a jar.

Near the carbon-neutral gardens, local landscapers drop materials for compost. For many years, Pearson brought 75 pounds of coffee grounds each week from a local coffee shop to fertilize the gardens.

Fiery Ginger, run by two graduates of the Center for Land-Based Learning’s California Farm Academy, donates transplants and farm equipment. Seed companies donate seeds. Local agricultural businesses give gifts of irrigation and fencing supplies. Excess produced from school gardens is donated to Yolo County Food Bank.

The program is funded through Village Feast, an event held in October. Female chefs from Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Sacramento Chapter use garden produce to create elegant, farmto-table dishes. Money raised covers upkeep of garden plots across the Davis school district.

Covert Russell’s commitment as a mother passionate about education shines through when she says, “With all of the violence and mental health care concerns, we need as many caring adults as possible who can be there for our students.”

I think of Pearson’s comment about students who come to the garden to “veg” out. Here’s how he puts it: “Every time we engage and educate one student, we have achieved a significant moment in the student’s life. Hence, we plant the seeds of past, present and future.”

Sometimes what our kids need, what we all need, is more time in a place where we can touch a kale leaf’s fine ridges, smell mint and decaying compost’s floral bouquet, hear redwinged blackbirds call over broad rows and feel winter sun on our cheeks.

Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Too Many Seeds,” can

be ordered from fishinglinepress.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

STUDENTS TASTE TOMATOES AND LEARN TO DISTINGUISH FARM-FRESH FROM COMMERCIAL PRODUCE.

The Good Book

COPS, CITY TRIED BUT FAILED TO STOP BUTCH NISETICH

Trouble began when Frank Miller, 66, dropped dead from a heart attack while listening to a horse race.

Miller didn’t die at home. He collapsed on the second floor of a bar and cafe called the Equipoise Club at 415 K St., in a room filled with chalkboards, teletype machines, telephones, betting slips, loud speakers and dozens of people. A bookie joint.

Eleven days later, 15 Sacramento police officers rushed into Equipoise, climbed the stairs, blew their whistles and interrupted about 150 racing fans. Eight people were arrested, including the club’s owner, Frank

R G RG

By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

Nisetich, known to family, friends and prosecutors as “Bookie Butch.”

“We’ve got the dope this time,” Police Chief William Hallanan said. “We’ve got them dead to rights with plenty of evidence.”

The raid May 27, 1936, was front page news, complete with photos of skinny men in straw hats blinking at the cameras with dazed expressions. There was one exception. Pictures of Nisetich show a man neither skinny nor stunned. Bookie Butch looks amused.

The Equipoise story fascinates me for a couple of reasons. First, I love tales of Sacramento’s sporting past.

The city once overflowed with sporty types. There were baseball, boxing and wrestling fans. And brigades of horse racing fans. Sports were an essential distraction during the Great Depression and war years. Access was cheap and easy.

My other fascination involves the city’s formal relationship with sports. Access is no longer cheap and easy, but City Hall still loves sports.

Sacramento is waiting to spend millions of dollars to build a soccer stadium. As for the Kings, 26 years remain in the city’s ownership deal at Golden 1 Center. The basketball team has never been on the losing end of a critical City Council vote.

This wouldn’t surprise Bookie Butch. Ninety years ago, Nisetich ran a business illegal under California law. In Sacramento, he operated freely. He competed with at least five other bookies Downtown. None were discrete.

Laz Bloomberg operated at 1021 Second St., Ed Kripp at 603 J St. Joe Gideon ran a book on California Street (today Merchant) between Seventh and Eighth. Pat Hurd and Ed Coleman conducted business a block apart at 625 and 798 K St.

Local bookies took bets from major tracks across the country. But they specialized in two new California plants, Bay Meadows and Santa Anita. Both opened months after horse racing was legalized in 1933.

State law allowed wagers at racetracks, not off site. That hurt Sacramento fans. Bay Meadows was in San Mateo. Santa Anita is near Pasadena. City authorities figured local bookies supplied geographic opportunity. But there were critics.

City Councilman Ray Coughlin was outraged when Chief Hallanan allowed Bookie Butch and colleagues to handle bets. County District Attorney Otis Babcock sided with Coughlin. The law was the law, they said. City Manager James Dean told them to relax.

“I’m not going to let it get here like it is in Los Angeles, where every beer parlor makes horse race books,” Dean said. As for arrests, “It’s impossible to convict a bookmaker.”

Frank Miller’s heart attack heightened the debate. Suddenly betting shops were killing people.

Chief Hallanan finally raided the Equipoise Club. “There were getting to be too many bookies here,” he said.

News clippings from 1936

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Bookie Butch was on trial twice in the Equipoise raid. Both ended with hung juries. He reopened and was arrested again in 1937. This time, his defense attorney Clifford Russell called one witness, Equipoise bartender Ray Keating.

The bartender was asked who he worked for and who signed his paychecks. He answered twice, “I don’t know.” The jury deliberated 15 minutes. Not guilty.

Convicting a bookmaker was impossible. But Bookie Butch needed a new environment. He moved to L.A., opened shop and was bankrupted by a race-fixing syndicate that included jockeys.

He came home, briefly invested in Alhambra Bowl—Butch was a remarkable bowler, especially when people bet against him—and retired to Santa Cruz County. He died at Aptos in 1975, age 89, amused to the end.

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Annual Community Meeting and Board Election

Ann Whitten, DDS General and

Elected representatives from the City, County and State will be present as well as SPD and Parks.

Details available on the website: landpark.org

Event is open to the Land Park Community; members may vote.

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As a dentist, I have

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Show Some Respect

There’s a new vibe at the County Board of Supervisors. Call it more civilized. Rich Desmond became board chair in January, replacing Don Nottoli, who retired after 28 years in office. The newcomer is Pat Hume, a former Elk Grove City Council member. He won election to replace Nottoli.

Desmond’s accession, Hume’s arrival and Nottoli’s departure mean changes in style, philosophy and office space.

A warning sign was issued late last year when supervisors deliberated some controversial county jail improvements. Desmond expressed concern about “the lack of civil discourse in our society.” He meant interruptions caused by opponents of the jail project.

As Desmond spoke, anti-jail agitators tried to disrupt him by making noise. Nottoli chaired the meeting as the antics commenced. Desmond let everyone know disruptive audience behavior was unacceptable.

“That’s not going to happen next year, I assure you,” he warned protesters. Now next year is here and the difference in style under Desmond is apparent.

EX-COP BRINGS DECORUM TO COUNTY MEETINGS

Take public testimony, allocated by time limits, usually two or three minutes. Nottoli often let speakers ignore the clock. Generally tolerant, he rarely cut off people who swore or disrupted meetings.

Things are different under Desmond, a retired CHP officer. He’s a stickler for rules and decorum. He believes in speed limits and stop signs.

Nottoli had one of the prized corners. Senior Supervisors Phil Serna and Patrick Kennedy, comfortable in their corner suites, stayed put. Supervisor Sue Frost claimed Nottoli’s former space.

Frost joined the board in 2017. She outranks Desmond, who arrived in 2021. But Frost’s move wasn’t easy.

Nottoli was elected in 1994. He accumulated lots of stuff. His office was filled with papers, reports, proclamations, certificates, etc.

To get Frost’s new digs ready, Nottoli’s possessions had to be moved into a conference room before he left in December. That didn’t give county staff much time over the holiday break to clean, paint and prepare the office for Frost.

The timing impacted Desmond. When he joined the board, he was assigned the smaller middle office that requires visitors to squeeze past his secretary’s desk to access his private quarters.

With Frost taking Nottoli’s former space, Desmond moved to her exquarters, which are slightly larger. As the rookie, Hume gets stuck with Desmond’s old space.

Hume brings new perspectives, having campaigned as someone “who will do the hard work needed to solve local problems, not divide us with partisan politics.”

That’s welcome news. The board is supposed to be nonpartisan but has strayed lately into left vs. right fights.

By Howard Schmidt Inside The County

Nottoli’s departure forced a change to the physical layout of board member offices. Office moves are like musical chairs. Space is assigned based on seniority. Up for grabs are three corner suites and two less-spacious middle offices.

Howard Schmidt worked on federal, state and local levels of government, including 16 years for Sacramento County. He can be reached at howardschmidt218@aol. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Rich Desmond

INSIDE OUT NatureFest

Yeaw Nature Center offered a feast of wildlife at its recent NatureFest event. The day included encounters with animals, crafts, games and displays of Native American skills.

PHOTOS BY SUSAN MAXWELL SKINNER

Effie

The Nature Center is located in Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael.

No More Bellas

NEIGHBORS HELP STARVING DOG WHEN ANIMAL CONTROL FAILS

By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies

This is about Bella and the system that failed her.

Dec. 4, a neighbor calls 311 about a dog at her apartment complex in South Natomas. The canine is left 24/7 on a small uncovered patio with no food or shelter. Storms are raging, temperatures are in the 30s.

Photos taken over the fence show a short-hair, medium-size, brown dog

on a 3-by-5-foot cement patio. Her ribs protrude. She stands in her feces. The caller reports the “dog looks very skinny and is always hungry.”

Dec. 5, the call is cleared by a Front Street Animal Shelter staffer who mixes up the abuse report with a feces complaint from the same apartment complex. No animal control officer is dispatched.

Dec. 6, the neighbor calls again. Call log states: “Dog still doesn’t have food or water, looks like dog is dying. Severe malnutrition looks like he hasn’t eaten in months. Shows ribs. Maybe a German shepherd. Dog has been outside without a dog house, getting rained on. Crate is full of water.”

Dan Aderholt with Bella

Photo by Linda Smolek

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Again, no animal control officer is dispatched.

Dec. 7, the caller tries a third time. By that evening, still no officer.

Desperate, the caller goes to her neighbors, Dan Aderholt and Claudia Cardoza, who head the nonprofit American River Homeless Crews. They help the homeless and their pets with food, clothing and supplies. They know animals.

Aderholt calls 311. He’s told it will be five to seven days before an officer can respond. “The dog would have been dead by then,” he says.

“I’m not going to leave a dog that is obviously neglected by the system and everybody else,” Cardoza adds. “She had nothing. No bed, no shelter, no food. Nothing.”

Aderholt and Cardoza take matters into their own hands. They knock on the dog owner’s door.

“At first he said he didn’t want any problems,” Cardoza says. “That’s when we saw the opportunity to say, obviously you cannot take care of the animal. Just surrender her to us.”

Not wanting trouble, the man signs a surrender form and lets Aderholt

and Cardoza take Bella. He says Bella is his girlfriend’s dog. They split up. The girlfriend moved out and left the dog behind. He put Bella on the patio and closed the shutters. “Basically, the dog paid the high price of the girlfriend leaving him,” Aderholt says.

Dec. 8, an animal control officer goes out. But Aderholt and Cardoza have already saved Bella.

“We were not able to get to it on the seventh,” says Jace Huggins, chief animal control officer for Front Street. “Based on the information we had at the time, I don’t think we would have found the apartment anyway because of the way the buildings and apartment numbers are.”

When the officer responds Dec. 8, she looks at an outdated map that shows the right building but not the apartment. She phones the caller for clarification, leaves a message and moves on.

Despite four 311 calls in four days regarding a starving dog, the officer does not investigate further. If she went to the building, she would have heard Bella cry and seen the

emaciated, traumatized dog over the patio fence.

“We have 500 other calls pending for service,” Huggins says. “The reality is that everybody feels like their call is an emergency.”

The reality is Bella almost died.

“Use your common sense,” Cardoza says. “You can’t find it on the map, get off your ass, go to the office and ask. If nobody’s there, look for the building, get out of your truck and do your job.

“The fire department has to do it. The police department has to do it. The pizza delivery man has to do it. The Grubhub driver has to do it. For them to give us that lame excuse is not acceptable.”

Under Aderholt and Cardoza’s care, Bella is now thriving. A criminal investigation is pending.

Aderholt and Cardoza shared Bella’s story with Fix Front Street, a local animal group that brings attention to what they call the city shelter’s mismanagement. They say problems at Front Street lead to more euthanasias and fewer animal saves.

“We get stories two or three times a week about stuff that goes on at Front Street because we’re the clearinghouse trying to hold them accountable,” says Julie Virga with Fix Front Street.

Front Street Manager Phillip Zimmerman says there are multiple welfare complaints that animal control officers juggle every day. “You have to make a choice and unfortunately, somebody’s going to have to wait,” Zimmerman says.

In this case, it was Bella.

“We don’t want more Bellas,” Cardoza says. “People get away with things because the laws that are supposed to protect the animals are not being upheld. And they are not being upheld by the entities that are supposed to help them.”

Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@surewest.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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More Than Facts

HONESTY MUST INCLUDE AWARENESS AND RESPECT

To be honest, I hate to hear someone begin a sentence with, “To be honest.”

The phrase seems to say, “Get ready, I’m really going to let you have it.”

Nevertheless, to be honest, I really hate coffee.

I know hate is a strong word coming from a spiritual columnist. But I think it’s best to be straightforward.

I’ll say it again: I hate coffee. I find the aroma revulsive. I won’t consume anything with coffee flavoring in it, such as ice cream, cake or tiramisu.

Yet recently in Jackson, Tennessee, I accepted an invitation for coffee from

the Rev. Mary Beth Eberle, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church. Our meetup was a chance to get to know each other before my scheduled talk Saturday night.

I wasn’t forthcoming about my distaste for the bean. I accepted her hospitality because coffee shops also serve iced tea, hot chocolate or my favorite, a blended ice chai. And Mary Beth did say she was buying.

While waiting in line at the shop, I said I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker. This news seemed unforeseen by my host since we were standing in a java joint.

“I assume they have tea, yes?” I asked Mary Beth.

NB“They do,” she said. Then she ordered coffee for herself and a black unsweetened iced tea for me. She paid for a refill in advance.

As we talked, I quickly drained the modest cup and signaled to the friendly barista for a refill.

By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

A few minutes later, over the noise of a coffee grinder, the barista announced, “Iced tea refill.” Then he slid my cup across the counter to await pickup by the witless chaplain.

I grabbed the cold cup, but before sitting down, I took a giant gulp of something that was not iced tea.

“Coffee! Yuck!” My protests echoed off the stone walls, startling folks who were quietly working or visiting.

“I HATE coffee!” I said, spitting honesty with a rapid-fire “eww!”

The bitter brew was the most coffee I’d had since childhood. Back then, I spit it out. But there were too many witnesses this time.

I had no choice. I swallowed it. I’d have rather swallowed the backwash of my own heartburn.

The barista quickly rounded the counter, gushing an apology for accidentally giving me an iced coffee.

By then, I measured the embarrassment I’d publicly caused myself, and began my own apology for the scene I’d made, a grown man choking on coffee.

The barista replenished my iced tea.

“To be honest,” I said, “I hate coffee.”

“Yeah,” he said, “I gathered that.”

I’m glad we could be honest with one another.

But the incident reminded me that I can’t let honesty cross into rudeness. Honesty can’t be an excuse to slice and dice other people.

Honesty isn’t just the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. And it’s more than telling the facts.

It must include awareness of other people and respect for them. My outburst lacked both.

So the next time I’m tempted “to be honest,” I hope I’ll pause to consider the biblical advice of James 1:26:

“Those who consider themselves religious (or honest) and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”

Easy for him to say. I’ll bet James never drank coffee.

Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. Burkes is available for public speaking at civi organizations, places of worship, veterans groups and more. For details and fees, visit thechaplain.net. n

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THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY

DIGITAL ARTIST FORGES HER OWN PATH

One lesson Christie Martinez’s mom instilled at an early age was “there’s always a way.”

That idea stuck with Martinez as she embarked on a new career path as a digital artist who specializes in pet portraits to raise money for animal rescue organizations.

“It all starts with the thought process of giving,” says Martinez, a Sacramento native who lives in Fair Oaks with her husband and 12-year-old son. “You see all these animals in the shelters. I feel so bad for them, I wish I could take them all home. I thought, if I’m doing pet portraits, how cool would

JLBy Jessica Laskey Open Studio

Christie Martinez with her dog Channing

Photo by Linda Smolek

it be to partner with these organizations and donate? It’s a win-win everywhere.”

Prior to starting her business, The Real Life by Design, Martinez worked in the care industry. She did in-home care, assisted living and worked for seven years with Inalliance, a program that helps adults with disabilities find employment.

She loved the people, but knew “none of that was my passion passion.” That changed when her husband decided to leave his job as a pipefitter to become an arborist. He challenged Martinez to find a more fulfilling path as well.

“For me, my life had been about making sure I was taking care of my kid, doing what I needed to do,” Martinez says. “My husband really encouraged me to start looking for my passion, so I made it a priority for this last year to really change my mindset. I started reading self-help books about mental attitude, manifesting and finding your ‘why.’”

Aside from caring for her son, Martinez’s “why” has been artistic. She’d always loved to write and draw but didn’t have support during her “rough upbringing” to figure out where her talents were meant to go.

Over the past year, she returned to drawing—in digital form—after taking a course on user experience design. She discovered the fun drawing style that characterizes her portraits, along with a knack for web design. Now she helps her sister-inlaw build her massage therapy brand and partners with animal rescue organizations on logos, T-shirts and more.

“When I work with rescues, I offer them two free portraits as digital art files so they

can use it how they’d like,” Martinez says. “The Sacramento SPCA used one for a raffle to raise money and another rescue is having me make a design for T-shirts they can sell. There are so many different avenues. That’s what’s so great about digital. You can go anywhere with it.”

For every purchase made on her website, Martinez donates a portion to one of her partners, which includes the SSPCA, Nana’s Haven, a group that rescues dogs from the international meat trade and The Animal Pad, a San Diego organization that rescues animals from the streets of Mexico.

Martinez is preparing to show her work at a local vegan restaurant and the O Cafe in the Fair Oaks Village. She takes commissions for all animal portraits, not just dogs and cats. “I just finished a monkey. I’ve done bird portraits, horses, bunnies, fish—I love all animals,” she says.

Looking back, Martinez could not have predicted where she would land.

“When I first started reading about manifesting, about looking at your life and what you really want it to be, I had no idea what the path was to this at the beginning,” she says. “It’s all about making that commitment to yourself that you’re not going to stop trying to figure it out.”

For information, visit thereallifebydesign. com.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Artwork courtesy of Christie Martinez

C’est Splendide C’est

FRENCH BISTRO BUILDS ON CASUAL TRADITIONS

No restaurant around Sacramento is quite like Franquette, the Frenchinspired bistro in West Sac’s Bridge District. Combining

French dishes, coffee and wine with a California casualness, this year-old business fills missing pieces in the local culinary scene.

But first a question. Where have all the French restaurants gone? Look around and you need one hand to count the places focused on Gallic gastronomy. Arden-Arcade’s Plan B Restaurant is a standout with its

insanely good mussels. A few others might come to mind.

But since the closure of Café Rolle in 2019, and given the popularity and trendiness of foods from previously overlooked cuisines, French cooking isn’t having a moment.

As I wrote last year, Sacramento has seen an uptick in wine bars. Midtown’s Good News Wine is an exceptional example. But rarely do wine bars create an elegant kitchen menu that’s equal to the wine list.

So, when the team behind East Sacramento’s Canon opened a

French bistro and wine bar in West Sacramento, I headed across the river. After all, Canon rates praise from Michelin’s Bib Gourmand for quality and reasonable prices.

Franquette accomplishes many tasks. The French cooking is off the charts, the marriage of wine, coffee and food a three-way tie for perfection. A casual outpost open daily, Franquette serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ambition on display is unique.

Chef Elena Winks produces impressive cookery in a comically small space. Her kitchen, tucked behind the

wine bar in view of patrons, is a fantasy of cheese, butter, pastry, slow simmering and flavor-packing.

Mornings are where she shows her baker skills, turning out small batches of chocolate croissants, seasonal galettes and a gorgeous walnut croissant. Each dish is paired with expertly pulled coffees.

Lunch and dinner share the same menu, owing to Winks’ lack of space. Classic French fare such as sandwich au jambon, a simple bonding of ham and cheese melted into indulgence on an Acme Bread baguette, work

GSBy Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

Photos by Linda Smolek

alongside beef bourguignon and beef tartare.

My favorite small plate is the boulettes de canard, duck meatballs. Three plump meatballs sit in a silky orange sauce, each topped with chives and orange zest. These juicy orbs playfully reinterpret the classic duck a l’orange for an unfussy dish. The plain presentation belies a talented hand in the kitchen.

Similarly, the warm frisee and lardons look humble in the bowl, but punch way above their weight in flavor. Frisee is not what I’d call pretty. Basically, it’s the salad equivalent of a tumbleweed. Yet Franquette’s bowl of frisee, topped with lardon, poached egg and vinaigrette might be the best thing you can eat alongside a glass of dry rosé.

The vibe is pure casual. Seating can be haphazard and ordering is mostly at the counter. But the Franquette team

went for a modern, almost industrial, feel. No fake Parisian trappings of zinc countertops and belle epoque décor.

Located on a corner, surrounded by West Sacramento’s Bridge District apartments, Franquette is the proper neighborhood bistro for this rising neighborhood. It’s simple appearance and seven-day-a-week spirit make it accessible and unpretentious, words most millennials would not attach to French eateries.

Franquette is at 965 Bridge St., No. 100, West Sacramento; hellofranquette. com.

Greg Sabin can be reached at gregsabin@hotmail.com. Previous reviews can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Mark Bulwinkle: A Retrospective Exhibition

John Natsoulas Gallery

Through Feb. 26

521 First St., Davis • natsoulas.com

This exhibit showcases the artist’s mastery of color and form with his iconic sculptures and prints.

TO DO JL

By Jessica Laskey

Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys

Celebration Arts

Feb. 10–March 5

St. Hope Guild Theater, 2828 35th St. • celebrationarts.net

This production reenacts the young men’s convictions for gang rape— despite evidence of their innocence—through vaudeville scenes. Written by Mark Stein and directed by Anthony D'Juan, with music and lyrics by 2016 Pulitzer Prize nominee Harley White Jr. Tickets are $15–$23.

Second Chances

Sacramento Fine Arts Center

Jan. 31–Feb. 25

5330B Gibbons Drive • sacfinearts.org

SFAC members showcase their art in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramics and more at this annual exhibition.

“The Future is Not Ours To See” by Mark Bulwinkle at John Natsoulas Gallery.

Saturday, March 4 at 8 pm

Stabat Mater – Sir Charles Villiers Stanford

A work of unspeakable beauty and transcendence

Lobgesang – Felix Mendelssohn

Majestic and powerful, Mendelssohn’s masterpiece

Maria Boudart Harris, SopranoChadwick Somers, Tenor Jennifer Mitchell, SopranoCraig Verm, Baritone

Swan Lake

Sacramento Ballet

Feb. 17–19

SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, 1301 L St. • sacballet.org

Artistic Director Anthony Krutzkamp stages Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet with mystery, athleticism, majesty and a live orchestra. Tickets start at $35.

Stories on Stage Sacramento

Friday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.

CLARA Auditorium, 1425 24th St. • storiesonstagesacramento.org

This award-winning literary performance series kicks off its 2023 season with flash fiction by Northern California authors Jim Misner, Maureen O’Leary and RoseMary Covington read aloud by professional actors Sam Misner and Megan Smith. Tickets are $10.

Magnum Opus

Sacramento Fine Arts Center

Feb. 28–March 25

5330B Gibbons Drive, Carmichael • sacfinearts.org

The center’s premier annual exhibit features outstanding art achievements by area artists.

The Flying Machine: The Story of the Wright Brothers

B Street Theatre Family Series

Feb. 11–March 5

The Sofia’s Sutter Stage, 2700 Capitol Ave. • bstreettheatre.org

Follow the Wright brothers as they battle fate, physics and foul weather to become the first to achieve motorized human flight. Tickets are $11–$23.

Road Trip Adventures

Disney On Ice

Feb. 17–21

Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk • golden1center.com

Hit the road with Mickey Mouse and his pals for a high-octane ride to iconic Disney destinations, from London with Mary Poppins to Motunui with Moana.

Lottery for the Arts

Blue Line Arts

Friday, Feb. 10, 5:30–9 p.m.

405 Vernon St., Roseville • bluelinearts.org

This fundraiser provides collectors the opportunity to acquire original works by professional and emerging artists while supporting arts education and community programs. Purchase one or more lottery tickets online. Review the juried art on the website or in the gallery. Place tickets in the spinner. When your ticket is drawn, choose your favorite work of art.

Annual Dinner and Business Awards

Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce

Friday, Feb. 3, 5–9 p.m.

Hyatt Regency Sacramento, 1209 L St. • metrochamber.org/events/annual-dinner-2023

Salute regional leaders for their lifelong dedication to service and inclusion at this celebratory black-tie affair.

Lauryn Winterhalder in “Swan Lake” at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

Photo courtesy of Tony Nguyen Photography

John P. Lamb and Jason Kuykendall in “The Flying Machine” at The Sofia’s Sutter Stage.

Megan Smith in Stories on Stage Sacramento at CLARA Auditorium.

elsewhere: Art by John Angell

Mills Station Arts & Culture Center

Feb. 2–25

Opening Reception Friday, Feb. 10, 5:30–8 p.m.

Artist Talk, 6 p.m.

10191 Mills Station Road, Rancho Cordova • rcmacc.org

More than 70 photo-based encaustic pieces compliment “Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans & World War II,” a traveling Smithsonian exhibit also on display.

Opera! Pagliacci

Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera

Saturday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m.

SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, 1301 L St. • sacphilopera.org

This production by Italian composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo features members of the Sacramento orchestra led by Grammy Award-winning conductor Michael Christie.

February Open Garden

UC Master Gardeners

Saturday, Feb. 11, 9 a.m.–noon

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd. • sacmg.ucanr.edu

Bring samples of your problem plants and insects to the Master Gardeners. Learn how berries are pruned and more gardening tips. The 2023 Gardening Guide & Calendar is available for $10.

Swing Era Love Songs

Twin Lotus Thai

Sunday, Feb. 12, 5 p.m. & 7 p.m.

8345 Folsom Blvd. • twinlotusthai.com

Ace clarinetist Del Gomes and singer Susan Skinner present romantic music for swing lovers with Joe Gilman on piano and Shelley Denny on bass. Two seatings, no cover charge, delicious food.

Crab Feed, Auction & Raffle

Sierra Vista Community Church

Saturday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m.

890 Morse Ave. • sierravistacc.org

This annual event supports the church’s community missions, including Neighborhood Food Closet, Family Promise, 12-step programs, Girl Scouts, 4-H Club, Greer Elementary School, HART and outreach programs in Honduras to build schools. Tickets are $75.

“Takayama Jinya Fountain” by John Angell at Mills Station Arts & Culture Center.

Disney On Ice’s “Road Trip Adventures” at Golden 1 Center.

Conductor Michael Christie leads Opera! Pagliacci at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

Artist Polly LaPorte

PBS KVIE Gallery

Feb. 1–March 31

2030 West El Camino Ave. • kvie.org

The painter’s signature palette is on display with vivid still lifes, pleinair landscapes and more. LaPorte won a Curator’s Award in the 2022 PBS KVIE Art Auction.

A Celebration of Art & Layers of Life

Elk Grove Fine Arts Center

Feb. 4–23

First Saturday Reception & Awards Presentation Feb. 4, 4–7 p.m.

9683 Elk Grove Florin Road • elkgrovefineartscenter.org

Students in the Elk Grove Unified School District come together for an open art competition. In the Foyer Gallery, Gerald (Jerry) Barnes shows photo and mixed-media collages.

Finding the Hardest Ones: 7 Strategies

Genealogical Association of Sacramento

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 11:30 a.m.

Belle Cooledge Library,5600 South Land Park Drive • gensac.org

Take your genealogical research to the next level at this monthly meeting featuring guest speaker Jim Baker.

Wallpapers and Vinyl Dreams with Carol Mott-Binkley

Archival Gallery

Feb. 1–25

Second Saturday Reception Feb. 11, 5–8 p.m.

3223 Folsom Blvd. • archivalgallery.com

View static and kinetic artwork generated through photography and digital-image manipulation. Custom-printed photo images are combined with hanging fixtures that allow the artwork to spin. Also enjoy Valentinethemed work by local artists.

Love is in the Air: Pasta for Two

Aerospace Museum of California

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 5–8 p.m.

3200 Freedom Park Drive, McClellan Park • aerospaceca.org

Enjoy a three-course meal plus a bottle of wine among historical aircrafts and spacecrafts. Price of $120 includes tax and gratuity. Reserve your table and dinner selection by Feb. 8.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Theatre in the Heights

Through Feb. 11

8215 Auburn Blvd. Citrus Heights • theatreintheheights.com

Winner of Tony and Drama Desk awards, this hilarious musical charms audiences with its eclectic group of six mid-pubescents as they vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Tickets are $15.

City of Trees Parade & Mardi Gras Festival

The Curiosity Collaborative

Saturday, Feb. 18, 2–9 p.m.

Capitol Mall at 10th Street • curiositycollaborative.org

Join hundreds of revelers from local performing arts groups as they parade down Capitol Mall to Old Sacramento with live music, decorated floats, dancers, food trucks, a beer garden and beads!

Many Hands and the Marks We Make: Case for Making Collaborative Quilts

Axis Gallery

Feb. 4–26

625 S St. • axisgallery.org

Last fall, Case for Making in San Francisco invited all who have used their supplies or participated in their classes to mail paintings back to the store. The team then assembled large-scale quilts, now on display at Axis, from images of the paintings.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. n

“Lemon Tea” by Polly LaPorte at PBS KVIE Gallery.

“Sacratomato” by Carol Mott-Binkley at Archival Gallery.

These are grown locally year-round, but they are particularly crisp, juicy and mild in flavor when grown in cool weather. They come in multiple varieties, including daikon, watermelon and white icicle.

To eat: Serve with butter and salt for a French-inspired hors d’oeuvre.

To

SWEET POTATO e hor

This large, starchy, sweettasting root vegetable is a great source of betacarotene.

To eat: Roast the flesh and use instead of pumpkin for a delicious Southern pie.

BLOOD ORANGE

This small citrus fruit has few seeds and a loose, puffy orange skin that is easy to peel, making it a popular addition to children’s lunchboxes.

This small is easy to p

Eat it: Peel

Eat it: Peel and enjoy.

Monthly Market

A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN SEASON AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS IN FEBRUARY

MEYER LEMON

This citrus fruit is yellower and rounder than a regular lemon, and its flavor is much sweeter.

To eat: Use the juice to make a sweet curd or a nicely flavored vinaigrette.

This leafy green-, purple or white-colored plant is low in calories and can be pickled, fermented, steamed, stewed, braised or eaten raw. To eat: For a fresh slaw, slice thinly and toss with poppy seed dressing.

This healthful cruciferous vegetable is available much of the year, from September through June. It’s a member of the cabbage family. To eat: Steam or roast at high heat in the oven with olive oil and salt.

61 Mule sound

62 Musician’s big moment

63 “Get some answers!”

64 Highest rating, often

65 Artist and activist Ono DOWN

1 Go over an outline?

2 Navigation aid

3 “44”

4 Seasonal worker

5 Chocolaty coffee drink

6 TV host Jay

7 “Sacre ___!”

8 Pasta type that’s commonly square

9 “Ain’t happening”

10 Top ___ Entertainment

11 LSAT or MCAT alternative

12 Long, predatory fish

14 Bahamas capital

20 Words before “no good”

21 Relaxation destinations

25 Place to dock

26 “I don’t know ___ you, but ...”

27 Participates in a marathon

28 The “T” in MIT, for short

29 Queens tennis stadium name

30 General ___ chicken

31 Tools that can be circular or linear

32 Flair

33 What might have tightly packed quarters?

34 “The ___” (game with virtual people)

35 Hickey site, often

40 One of two in a proton

41 Former slugger

Sammy

42 Warm and cozy

43 50+ group

47 Dots in the sea

48 Disney heroine played by Liu Yifei

49 Blessed sound?

50 Stem for corn

51 “We also want in!” ... and a phonetic hint to what’s found in the starred clues’ answers

52 Forearm bone

53 Some pride letters

54 “Your Majesty”

55 Site with handcrafted items

56 Fruit in a Newton cookie

57 Ambient composer Brian

THEATRE GUIDE

WAIT UNTIL DARK

by Fredrick Knoll

Feb 1 – Mar 5

Sacramento Theatre Company

1419 H Street

916-443-6722

Sactheatre.org

A group of con men attempt to fool a newly-blind woman into handing over a doll full of illegal drugs. When Susy wises up to the charade, she must level the playing field between herself and the three men.

An innovative, highly entertaining and suspenseful thriller, WAIT UNTIL DARK is a game of cat-and-mouse that culminates in a reversal of fortune for the con men as they slowly realize that they have met their match.

THE LAST WIDE OPEN

Thru Feb 26

The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts

2700 Capitol Avenue

Tickets@bstreettheatre.org

A musical love story, THE LAST WIDE OPEN follows the near hits and misses of Lina and Roberto’s relationship. Through three different yet parallel realities, Lina (a waitress) and Roberto (an Italian immigrant) meet and waver between connection and heartbreak. Accompanied by the sweet folk sounds of guitar and ukulele, THE LAST WIDE OPEN is a heart-warming musical about the mystical ways the universe conspires to bring us all together.

THE CHINESE LADY

Live Theatre & Virtually on Demand

Thru Feb 26

Capital Stage

2215 J Street

Boxoffice@capstage.org

Inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to step foot in America, Lloyd Suh’s critically acclaimed play is a tale of dark poetic whimsy and a unique portrait of the United States as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese girl. In 1834, 16-year-old Afong Moy sailed into New York Harbor and was immediately put on display for a paying public who were mesmerized by her exotic ways and horrified by her tiny bound feet. As audiences follow Moy’s travels through America as a living exhibit for decades, THE CHINESE LADY shares her impressions of a young country struggling with how to define itself.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE WITH IAN HOPPS AN ACTOR’S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND PLAYING SHAKESPEARE

Thru Feb 12

Sacramento Theatre Company

1419 H Street

916-443-6722

Sactheatre.org

Does verse give you the Shakes? Are you afflicted with phobia of prose? Well, this course is designed to set the actor up for success in braving the Bard. Under the direction of seasoned Shakeperean Ian Hopps, the class will spend time close-reading and analyzing selected texts and bringing them to life as a collaborative and supportive group of beginning and intermediate actors. The class starts Jan. 8th and runs through till Feb. 12th on Sundays from 5-7pm. Contact Education@sactheatre. org with any questions.

National Award Winners Coldwell Banker

RICH CAZNEAUX 916-212-4444 CALRE #01447558

ANGELA HEINZER 916-212-1881 CALRE #01004189

SUE OLSON 916-601-8834 CALRE #00784986

JEANINE ROZA 916-548-5799 CALRE #01365413

SINDY KIRSCH 916-730-7705 CALRE #01483907

ELISE BROWN 916-715-0213 CALRE #01781942

ONSTEAD TUCKER GROUP 916-601-5699 CALRE #01222608

SIDNEY PORITZ 916-500-1522 CALRE #01848054

DANA HAWKINS 530-219-5076 CALRE #01318897

MARK PETERS 916-600-2039 CALRE #01424396

CHRIS BALESTRERI 916-996-2244 CALRE #01511288

TIM COMSTOCK 916-548-7102 CALRE #01879462

CHRISTINA ELLERMEYER 916-548-2053 CALRE #01714452

“SCOOTER” VALINE 916-420-4594 CALRE #01896468

LIBBY WOOLFORD 916-502-2120 CALRE #01778361

BROOKE CARDENAS 916-835-4453 CALRE #01713305

SABRA SANCHEZ 916-508-5313

TOM LEONARD 916-834-1681 CALRE #01714895

WENDY REINL/ EMILY WELCH 916-206-8709 CALRE #01314052

DOUG COVILL 916-764-5042 CALRE #00800308

CECIL O. WILLIAMS I 916-718-8865 CALRE #01122760

GEOFF WILLIAMS 530-574-0517 CALRE #01460174

WENDY MILLIGAN 916-425-0855 CALRE #01099461

TIM STEIN 916-806-9685 CALRE #01322397

PATRICK VOGELI 916-207-4515 CALRE #01229115

DEE SCHWINDT 916-704-0718 CALRE #00498850

PIERRE VIARD 916-767-6813 CALRE #02128355