Inside Land Park/Grid Feb 2020 by Inside Publications

FEBRUARY 2020

LAND PARK/GRID

SANDY WHETSTONE

LAND PARK • CURTIS PARK • HOLLYWOOD PARK • SOUTH LAND PARK • THE GRID • OAK PARK EAST SACRAMENTO • McKINLEY PARK • RIVER PARK • ELMHURST • TAHOE PARK • CAMPUS COMMONS ARDEN

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2175 Portola Way - $639,000 CHARMING UPDATED HOME CURTIS PARK. 3 bed / 1½ bath with hardwood ﬂoors throughout, , living room ﬁreplace, formal dining room with built-in. TIM COLLOM 916-247-8048 DRE-01304855

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5921 Annrud Way - $499,900 SOUTH LAND PARK HILLS. Easy living 2 Bed / 2 Bath nicely maintained and upgraded. Eat-in kitchen, open concept living & family room. Covered patio, large yard. JAMIE RICH 916-612-4000 DRE-01870143

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2431 Brentley Drive - $323,000 DARLING BRENTWOOD VILLAGE 3 bed / 1 bath. Lovingly care for with new interior paint, new carpet, refinished hardwood floors, new bath vanity, fireplace KELLIE SWAYNE 916-206-1458 DRE-01727644

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1617 Claudia Drive - $420,000 WONDERFUL REMODELED CORUM VILLAGE home in S Land Park 4 bed / 2 bath. Open ﬂoorplan with walls of glass leading to pretty backyard MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 dre-01270375

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5604 Bradd Way - $306,000 CHARMING FREEPORT VILLAGE near James Mangan Park 2 bed / 1 bath with updated kitchen and bath, new appliances, new windows, reﬁnished ﬂoors AMANDA ZIMMERMAN 916-834-6711 DRE-02072145

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2612 Harkness Street - $625,000 CHARMING LAND PARK HOME MOVE-IN READY. Updated 3 bed/ 2 bath. New special designed water efﬁcient landscape with side entertainment area. KIMBERLY SQUAGLIA 916-205-2681 DRE-01887890 TIM COLLOM 916-247-8048 DRE-01304855

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“Growing up in Land Park, my bus stop to Crocker/Riverside Elementary was in front of a beautiful Cape Cod style house that greeted me every day on my way to school. Never, all those years ago did I imagine that one day I could call that house my home. Thanks to Jamie Rich and her attentive, enthusiastic and detailed work, she was able to help me make this my forever home. As my family grows, we are grateful to Jamie for helping to make this incredible dream come true.”

— Terry Schanz

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EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY TO MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD A BET TER PL ACE. FEBRUARY 2020

FEBRUARY 2020

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PATRICIA PRENDERGAST

SANDY WHETSTONE

ARDEN • ARCADE • SIERRA OAKS • WILHAGGIN • DEL PASO MANOR • CARMICHAEL

EAST SACRAMENTO • McKINLEY PARK • RIVER PARK • ELMHURST • TAHOE PARK • CAMPUS COMMONS

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CARMICHAEL

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COVER ARTIST

3104 O St. #120, Sac. CA 95816 (Mail Only)

info@insidepublications.com PUBLISHER Cecily Hastings EDITOR Cathryn Rakich editor@insidepublications.com

SANDY FONG WHETSTONE Sacramento interdisciplinary artist and ESL professor Sandy Fong Whetstone is inspired by the beauty and diversity of nature. She is a ceramic sculptor, painter, printmaker and mixed-media artist. Her work can be found locally at the Sparrow Gallery, Museum Store at the Crocker and Pence Gallery in Davis. Shown (left to right): “Purple Finch,” “House Finch in Saguaro Cactus” and “Townsend’s Warbler,” ceramic, 7 inches by 5.5 inches. Contact Whetstone at sandywhetstone68@gmail.com. Visit sandywhetstone. wixsite.com/mysite or follow her on Facebook @ SandyWhetstoneArt or Instagram @whetstone_art.

PRODUCTION M.J. McFarland DESIGN Cindy Fuller PHOTOGRAPHY Linda Smolek, Aniko Kiezel @anikophotos AD COORDINATION Michele Mazzera, Julie Foster DISTRIBUTION Sue Pane Sue@insidepublications.com ACCOUNTING Daniel Nardinelli, Lauren Stenvick daniel@insidepublications.com

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FEBRUARY 2020 VOL. 23 • ISSUE 1 6 10 14 15 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 46 48 52

Publisher's Desk Out & About Land Park Yes On Measure G No On Measure G Did Measure G Supporter Skim State Funds? Building Our Future City Beat Giving Back Meet Your Neighbor Open House Sports Authority She Takes The Cake Pocket Beat Artful Surroundings Pets & Their People Garden Jabber Farm To Fork Spirit Matters Getting There Open Studio To Do Restaurant Insider

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Working Wonders JOBS PROGRAM GIVES HOPE, DIGNITY TO HOMELESS

ne of the most important questions I recall from childhood is, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” The question was not necessarily about jobs and pay. It was about life. Choosing a field of work defines who we are and how we live. It’s about what we accomplish and achieve. The opposite of work is not leisure or play. It’s idleness. The philosopher Aristotle declared happiness resides in activity, both physical and mental. People who lack the joy of work— the feeling of a job well done—miss something important. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work

CH By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The bipartisan legislation substantially reconstructed the nation’s welfare system. The act ended welfare as an entitlement program. It required recipients to begin working after two years of receiving benefits. And it placed a lifetime limit of five years on benefits paid by federal funds. As he signed the measure into law, Clinton said it “gives us a chance we haven’t had before to break the cycle of dependency that has existed for millions and millions of our fellow citizens, exiling them from the world of work. It gives structure, meaning and dignity to our lives.” So why, as we face the catastrophe of homelessness, is the importance of work rarely if ever mentioned? Commonly referred to as the “homeless” problem, the crisis we face is more accurately described as a problem of addiction and mental health. We need to ask: If we could house everyone on the street, would we solve the crisis? Sadly, the answer is no. The number of folks who receive housing and end up

back on the streets is both telling and alarming. Does having an addiction or suffering from mental illness preclude people from work? To some extent, the answer is yes. But not every addict or mentally ill person is unemployed and homeless. A reader recently shared with me an article about a simple work program created by the former mayor

of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to help homeless people in his city. Throughout his administration, as part of a push to connect the homeless population to services, Mayor Richard Berry—the first Republican elected mayor in 30 years—would drive through his city and ask panhandlers about their lives. The poorest residents told him they didn’t want to be on the streets

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begging for money, but they didn’t know where else to go. Instead of asking them to go out and look for work, Berry’s idea was that the city could bring the work to them. Albuquerque’s “There’s a Better Way” program used this model to hire panhandlers for day jobs beautifying the city. In partnership with a local nonprofit that served the homeless, a van was dispatched to pick up panhandlers interested in working. The job paid $9 an hour, which was above minimum wage, and given lunch. At the end of the shift, participants were offered overnight shelter when available. In less than a year since its start in 2015, the program gave out 932 jobs and cleared 69,601 pounds of litter and weeds from 196 city blocks. More than 100 people were connected to permanent employment. Berry said panhandling was not especially lucrative and it’s demoralizing. But for some people it can seem like the only option. When panhandlers are approached in Albuquerque with the offer of work, most are eager for the opportunity to earn money, Berry said.

Folks in the program said they would rather earn money than have someone hand it to them. The program provided a way to help resolve work impediments, including untreated medical conditions and lack of proper identification. Officials said many people in the work van were not aware of all the services available to them. The mayor who followed Berry is winding down There’s a Better Way, but dozens of cities around the country want to copy the program. It’s a testament, Berry said, to the work mayors do regardless of political party. Most experts agree the homeless crisis is not monolithic. No single magic bullet will solve it—including housing. People suffering from addictions,

mental and physical illnesses, poverty, a lack of housing and work opportunities need separate paths to lead them out of the mess. With all the money spent locally on homelessness, the Better Way program is something Sacramento should consider. People living on the streets and parkways generate huge amounts of trash and garbage. They create a public health crisis in some areas. Providing the opportunity and dignity of work to help clean it up is a win-win. Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

WHEN PANHANDLERS ARE APPROACHED IN ALBUQUERQUE WITH THE OFFER OF WORK, MOST ARE EAGER FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN MONEY.

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When We Were Colored

LOCAL JOURNALIST’S PLAY RESTAGED

Local author Ginger Rutland brings her play, “When We Were Colored: A Mother’s Story,” to the Guild Theater.

hen We Were Colored: A Mother’s Story,” a play by local journalist Ginger Rutland about her upbringing in Sacramento in the 1950s, returns to the stage at the Guild Theater in Oak Park from Feb. 14 through March 14. If the play sounds familiar, it should. “When Sacramento Theatre Company produced my play last spring, I was thrilled,” Rutland explains. “While the audience was more diverse than most professional theater audiences in Sacramento, it was still mostly the usual crowd.” Due to a quick sellout, Rutland realized that patrons who would not

JL By Jessica Laskey Out & About Land Park/Grid

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

normally attend the theater—but who she desperately hoped would see the story—missed out on attending. She decided to restage the play at the Guild, which holds special meaning for her. “Oak Park is where my family went to church, shopped and socialized when we first moved to Sacramento (in 1952),” Rutland says. The play—based on her mother Eva’s memoir—is about what happened to Rutland’s black, middle-class family as they learned to survive and thrive. In this production, Rutland’s niece, LA-based actress Chelsea CarbaughRutland, will play the role of Eva. For tickets and more information, visit

guildtheater.com. The Guild Theater is at 2828 35th St.

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT Two Women’s Empowerment graduates are now working and living as property managers at the brandnew 19j apartments at 19th and J streets, created by building industry wunderkind Nikky Mohanna. Mohanna has committed to hiring five Women’s Empowerment graduates from the nonprofit’s REstart property management paid training program

each year to work and live as property managers at 19j. This year’s graduates are Iyana Blackwell and Katrina Koutchis. Mohanna is also building Women’s Empowerment’s Workforce Housing, which will include her innovative microunit concept—high-efficiency units under 400 square feet that feature builtin furnishings, as well as top-of-the-line finishes—set to begin construction later this year. Women’s Empowerment educates and empowers formerly homeless women with the skills and confidence necessary to secure a job, create a healthy lifestyle and regain a home for themselves and their children. For more information, visit womensempowerment.org or 19jmidtown.com.

SACRAMENTO FILM OFFICE Sacramento is embarking on an exciting new venture that’s been decades in the making. The new Sacramento Film Office launched last month in an effort to draw film production back to the region. After Sacramento native Greta Gerwig filmed almost all of her 2017 Oscar-nominated film “Ladybird” in Los Angeles instead of on location (the story was set in Sacramento) due to a lack of granting opportunities from the city, film industry veterans and officials began looking closely at what it would take to make Sacramento’s film scene more viable. Early last year, the city hired Metris Arts Consulting to conduct an assessment and craft a strategic plan for the new Sacramento Film Office, to be housed in the Convention and Cultural Services Department. The office opened in January with Jennifer West at its helm. “I’m looking forward to putting Sacramento on the map as a viable film location,” says West, who worked in production accounting on feature films, as well as for New Line Cinema, before moving to Sacramento to work for Councilmember Jeff Harris. “Our city has changed remarkably in the last 10, five, even two years, and it’s time the rest of the world knows this as well.” Metris’ assessment report notes that recent changes to the California film tax-incentive program have helped boost film and television production around the state, and that updates to the incentive in 2020 will further prioritize local hires outside of Los Angeles.

The report also outlines an initial plan to be implemented from 2020 to 2025 with the goals of providing a consistent and high level of service, leveraging regional location assets, strengthening local crews, helping local filmmakers thrive and attracting out-oftown productions. For more information, visit cityofsacramento.org/conventioncultural-services/sacramento-film-office.

NEW YOUTH SYMPHONY CONDUCTOR The Sacramento Youth Symphony recently announced its selection of Ryan Murray—an award-winning conductor and SYS alum—as the new conductor of SYS’ Premier Orchestra for the next season beginning in September. Murray currently directs the orchestra and opera at Sac State, is the music director of Opera Modesto, associate conductor of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra and artistic director of Music in the Mountains. While a student at Sheldon High School in Sacramento, Murray played bassoon with SYS and went on to

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Nikky Mohanna (center) joins Women’s Empowerment graduates Iyana Blackwell (left) and Katrina Koutchis on the rooftop of the 19j apartments. Photo by Diana Miller.

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Ryan Murray joins the Sacramento Youth Symphony as the new Premier Orchestra conductor.

Dreaming of a new home in the new year?

graduate summa cum laude from Sac State in bassoon and voice performance. Murray succeeds renowned musical and community leader Michael Neumann, who retires in June after 40 years with the 400-member youth music organization. “I am thrilled and honored to be joining the SYS team,” Murray says. “As a young musician growing up in Sacramento, I was one of the many players to be inspired by my time in SYS. I’m really excited to join the team and continue the fantastic work that has been done by Maestro Neumann.” SYS is now accepting audition applications for the 2020-21 season. To learn more, attend a rehearsal and meet the conductors at an Open House on Feb. 11 (full orchestras and string ensemble) and Feb. 13 (string orchestra and string ensemble) from 6:45–9 p.m. at Rosemont High School, 9594 Kiefer Blvd. For more

information, call (916) 731-5777 or visit sacramentoyouthsymphony.org.

BE A BAD AXE Prepare to take up a wild new athletic activity—axe throwing. Bad Axe Throwing is opening its fourth California location at 2010 K St. with a free open house this month. Marketed as “bowling 2.0,” axe throwing has grown in popularity over the last few years. Bad Axe Throwing is the largest urban axe-throwing company in the world, with more than 40 locations. “Axe throwing is for men and women from 7 to 87 years old and anything in between,” says Blake Bottrill, Bad Axe’s marketing and content manager. “We have awesome coaches that help you through every step of the process so you can learn to throw from scratch or improve on your existing knowledge.”

Bad Axe also offers beer and wine— Bottrill assures us everyone is trained to drink and throw responsibly—and plenty of room for parties, corporate events and even competitive leagues. For more information, sign up for updates at badaxethrowing.com/ locations/axe-throwing-sacramento.

SACRAMENTO YOUTH SYMPHONY IS NOW ACCEPTING AUDITION APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON.

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Bad Axe Throwing opens at 20th and K streets.

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 the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

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EAST SACRAMENTO • McKINLEY PARK • RIVER PARK • ELMHURST • TAHOE PARK • CAMPUS COMMONS

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Yes on Measure G VOTE WOULD LOCK IN MONEY FOR YOUTH PROGRAMS BY JAY SCHENIRER, SOPHIE VANG AND ISRA UZ-ZAMAN

n March 3, Sacramento voters will have the opportunity to make a long-term difference in the lives of thousands of children by voting yes on Measure G. Measure G will help children improve in school, graduate, go to college and gain interpersonal skills. The measure will help reduce neighborhood crime, prevent youth homelessness and decrease dropout rates by funding summer and afterschool programs, tutoring, mental health services, job training and school readiness programs. Through Measure G, we will keep thousands of our most vulnerable children and youth from falling through the cracks. Measure G does not raise taxes. It simply requires the city to set aside a modest amount of existing funding each year, 2.5 percent of its general budget, to support Sacramento youth. The city’s general fund has grown by 44 percent, or $189 million, since 2014. Just as we have found money for a basketball arena and soccer stadium, the city can

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

set aside a modest 2.5 percent of its general fund for our kids. Unfortunately, the city currently does not have a stable funding source for children and youth services. Funding fluctuates based on the politics of the moment and is often cut in response to an economic downturn. For the first time, Measure G will consistently fund children’s services to prevent kids from getting off track, which will save millions down the road. Measure G increases accountability and transparency. The measure will require the mayor and City Council to appoint a volunteer Planning and Oversight Commission—with public health experts, educators, parents and youth—responsible for developing a three-year strategic plan. While the commission is responsible for drafting the plan, the mayor and council have ultimate approval. In addition, the measure will require the city to annually evaluate programs for impact and effectiveness. Both public agencies and nonprofits may apply for funding based on the strategic plan. The city may choose to expand existing city programs that are showing results, as well as to fund some

of our local, outstanding nonprofits. Measure G will enable organizations that put young people in the front and center of their operations to grow and serve more youth. As we support our young people today, we prepare them to lead tomorrow. The funding the city currently spends on children is insufficient. Children and youth often struggle just to get through the day. Forty-four percent of youth report frequent feelings of chronic sadness and hopelessness, while 24 percent report seriously considering suicide in the past year. Twenty-three percent of children live in poverty. Young people currently make up 20 percent of the homeless population. Funding for California schools ranks No. 41 in the nation, limiting funds for arts, career exploration and after-school and summer programming. By reaching these vulnerable youth, we will improve public safety, academic outcomes and the quality of life in our neighborhoods. When economic downturns occur, youth services are generally the first cut. If Measure G passes and a downturn occurs, funding for children and youth will shrink like any other part of the budget, but will not be

entirely eliminated. By setting aside funding for children services in the budget, we are saying that our kids matter; our kids matter as much as sports arenas and other city services. Measure G was developed by Sac Kids First, the city’s largest grassroots coalition made up of educators, youth leaders, pediatricians and law enforcement. Elected officials who support Measure G include Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, Vice Mayor Eric Guerra and Councilmember Allen Warren. Without raising taxes, it’s time to invest in our future by supporting young people through prevention programs that will prevent crime and save us money in the long run. Join us in voting yes on Measure G. Jay Schenirer is a member of the Sacramento City Council. Sophie Vang is assistant program coordinator for the Alliance for Education Solutions/ Sacramento Youth Alliance. Isra Uz-Zaman is executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 1. For information on supporting Measure G, email info@ sackidsfirst.org. n

No on Measure G FUNDING NONPROFITS WITH TAX DOLLARS HURTS THE CITY BY ANGELIQUE ASHBY, LARRY CARR AND JEFF HARRIS

ometimes, a measure appears on the ballot promising easy solutions to difficult problems. It sounds too good to be true. Measure G is one such initiative. It promises endless solutions to challenges involving our most vulnerable young people. But in reality, Measure G would take money from essential city services and funnel public dollars into the bank accounts of privately operated organizations. Behind the appealing rhetoric, Measure G is nothing more than an attempt to fund nonprofit groups with tax dollars from the city’s general fund. Currently, those dollars provide critical services, including police and fire protection, park maintenance and youth services. If Measure G passes on the March 3 ballot, a chunk of funding for essential safety services and quality-of-life amenities—2.5 percent of Sacramento’s annual budget—will be siphoned off to nonprofits. Services will be cut. This isn’t a scare tactic. Voters should understand that 2.5 percent of the general fund is more than just a number. It translates directly

into fulltime jobs for police officers, firefighters, parks workers and other city employees. Another problem with Measure G involves oversight. The creators of Measure G throw around words such as “accountability” and “transparency.” However, they have gone to extreme lengths to push the City Council as far away as possible from an oversight role. Why? Measure G seeks to give city funds to nonprofit groups selected by a committee comprised of nonelected youth and adults. The City Council will receive reports on work conducted by the committee, but will not be allowed to challenge specific decisions made by the group. The process would circumvent the basic oversight process that makes your elected council representatives accountable for how tax dollars are spent in Sacramento. Measure G removes flexibility from the City Council’s budgetary protocol. In times of emergency or recession, the tax “lockbox” created under Measure G would grab 2.5 percent of our general fund and make the money inaccessible to the City Council. As we saw when funds dried up during the Great Recession, Sacramento

could face the closure of fire stations, pools, libraries, community centers or parks programs. The city could reduce ambulance service or require the layoff of city employees—while continuing to foot the bill for nonprofit groups. Another fiction spread by Measure G proponents involves the city’s current spending on youth programs. The measure’s backers want voters to believe that Sacramento neglects its young people and eagerly chops funding for youth programs at every opportunity. This is not true. Here are the facts: Currently, 7.5 percent of city funds are spent on youth services and nonprofits that support after-school programming, workforce development, youth employment, gang-prevention programs, gun-violence-reduction programs, recreation, community centers, libraries, public-safety academies and more. With such generous support for our young people, Sacramento doesn’t need Measure G. And Measure G would not be a temporary experiment. The measure would change our city charter. It could only be undone by another costly general ballot measure.

The consequences of Measure G could reverberate far beyond nonprofits. The measure sets a dangerous precedent by paving the way for any special-interest group to float an initiative, make wild promises and secure permanent, lockedin funding with your tax dollars. Measure G is ballot-box budgeting at its worst. It ties the city’s hands and gives authority to a committee with no budget expertise and no accountability to voters. If Measure G passes, it would negate our ability to increase essential city services such as traffic enforcement, street repair planning, parks programming, library hours, ambulance and fire service, or to invest in our animal shelter. Finally, Measure G would leave no resources for addressing homelessness or affordable housing, which are our greatest needs. Funding nonprofits with your tax dollars is not in Sacramento’s best interest. Please vote no on Measure G. Angelique Ashby, Larry Carr and Jeff Harris are members of the Sacramento City Council. They can be reached at aashby@cityofsacramento.org, lcarr@ cityofsacramento.org, and jsharris@ cityofsacramento.org. n

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Did Measure G Supporter Skim State Funds? ATTORNEY GENERAL WINS $400,000 SETTLEMENT FROM ROBERTS FAMILY

prominent supporter of Measure G, the Sacramento Children’s Fund Act on the March 3 ballot, will pay state authorities $400,000 to settle a lawsuit for allegedly taking public money from migrant housing and spending it on restaurants, hotels, taxes and other personal expenses while overcharging farmworkers for rent. Derrell and Tina Roberts, married co-founders of the Roberts Family Development Center of North

RG By R.E. Graswich

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Sacramento, quietly settled a lawsuit in August filed by State Attorney General Xavier Becerra. The settlement allows the Robertses to avoid a trial. Derrell Roberts is a leading advocate of Measure G, which would hand over 2.5 percent of Sacramento’s general fund to youth service groups such as the Roberts Family Development Center. Roberts declined to speak with Inside Sacramento. In a text message, he

wrote, “I guess Measure G is losing in the polls? Dam politics.” Measure G would divert about $12 million annually in city resources to nonprofits and youth-oriented agencies. The measure would reduce money for police, fire and parks services. Foes of Measure G, including City Councilmembers Angelique Ashby, Larry Carr and Jeff Harris, have warned the proposal lacks accountability and transparency. They

say passage could lead to situations described in allegations against the Robertses. “Measure G is written in a way that does not guarantee transparency,” Harris says. “This is just one reason why voters should reject this ballot initiative.” The state lawsuit and settlement came to the city’s attention in December. The revelations prompted Sacramento authorities to reconsider

The lawsuit, ﬁled in 2017 on behalf of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, said Roberts, his wife and colleagues breached their contracts with the state, diverted funds for personal use and overcharged migrant renters at farm housing centers in the San Joaquin County communities of French Camp and Lodi.

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their longstanding relationship with Derrell and Tina Roberts. Over the past decade, the city has paid the Roberts’ organization about $1.6 million for youth services, officials say. New proposals worth approximately $550,000 have been frozen, and the city plans to audit past dollars given to the Robertses, officials told Inside Sacramento. The lawsuit, filed in 2017 on behalf of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, said Roberts, his wife and colleagues breached their contracts with the state, diverted funds for personal use and overcharged migrant renters at farm housing centers in the San Joaquin County communities of French Camp and Lodi. The state contracted with the Robertses to provide property management at the migrant housing centers. When state dollars arrived, the Robertses mixed the money into personal accounts and paid for “restaurant meals in excess of $7,000, including a $5,116.15 meal in a single instance at an upscale restaurant, Ella Dining Room and Bar, in Sacramento,” the lawsuit said. The Robertses were also accused of using farmworker housing funds

to make “tax payments to the IRS in excess of $25,000,” and spending “in excess of $1,000, including expenses for hotels in Los Angeles, California and Yosemite National Park (far from the Migrant Housing Centers).” The state alleged the Robertses overcharged migrant workers for housing deposits and “accumulated $27,110.50 in overpaid rent” from farmworkers. The lawsuit described the Roberts Family Development Center as a “mere shell” that allowed the Robertses to mix business funds with personal accounts. The attorney general estimated the state lost $650,000 to the Robertses. City officials plan to audit the Roberts Center and determine whether municipal funds have been comingled, skimmed or misused. In the settlement, the Robertses agreed to pay the state $100,000 immediately and make 40 monthly payments of $7,500. The settlement did not require an admission of guilt. R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento.com. n

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BLIGHT TO BRIGHT FINALLY, THERE’S HOPE FOR 11TH AND J

Rendering courtesy of HRGA Architecture.

f the cliché is true that the most important characteristics of a successful real estate project are location, location, location, one has to wonder how the block around 11th and J streets in Downtown Sacramento has been such a disaster. Boarded up old buildings stand across from the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and tantalizingly close to the state Capitol. What The Sacramento Bee has called Downtown’s “most blighted and embarrassing block” has been an eyesore for longer than most people can remember. I confess to dropping some cash at Rodney’s Cigar & Liquor Store every now and then for a good cigar when the weather is warm. But even a modest retail strip will never prosper when a dive like that is the anchor tenant.

GD By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Now, thanks to the vision and persistence of City Councilmember Steve Hansen and some colleagues, the rundown block is finally poised for a rebirth. Anthem Properties, a Canadian developer with a solid reputation and desire to have an impact in Sacramento, has assembled the land. Demolition is expected to start any time now to make way for an attractive, seven-story mixed-use project with 153 apartments and retail space at ground level. “You see a pattern with our most blighted sites,” Hansen says. “Huge aspirations in the early 2000s led to plans that failed, and with several of these sites the common denominator is local folks who own them who do not want to sell them except for maximum profit. So they’ve been bound up in this aspirational failure that occurred 15 years ago most likely, and we’ve all been stuck with the blight.” This particular property sat dormant for so long because rebuilding there is not simple. The city’s original streets are 10 feet underground. To mitigate Sacramento’s perennial flood risk, the city raised the original streets in the mid-19th century. Steel bracing that

runs up to current street level requires extra care. So, too, does dealing with asbestos and lead common in old buildings. “The original owners had lots of people interested but they ultimately walked away because it was too hard,” Hansen says. “It just proved too much of a lift for many of the others who looked at it.” Anthem did its due diligence and understands the challenges. It also purchased 1500 J St. for another mixeduse project in Sacramento’s increasingly attractive core. City Hall has welcomed the developer with enthusiasm. “We’ve worked really hard to get a new owner for J Street,” Hansen says, “and what’s been great is the Anthem folks were really interested in working with the city to figure out what could be built, what we wanted to see built and how they could be good partners.” Hansen has given a lot of thought to the central city he represents and what it needs to succeed. A devotee of the Jane Jacobs philosophy of urban planning who believes tightly knit, diverse, smaller-scale neighborhoods are essential, Hansen was determined to see housing at 11th and J.

“I think where the past city leaders had an oversight was in not building housing in the core to sustain the small businesses and other things that really depend on residents being nearby,” he says. “When people are only coming in for work or a game or something else, it’s not a fully developed ecosystem of a downtown, so we’ve really tried to prioritize housing.” The reasoning is so obvious it makes you wonder how anyone could see it differently, but the market has to be right. These days, people want to live

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License# 1035169 Downtown in a way they didn’t just a few years ago. In the past, property owners tore down buildings we value today. Success with housing in Midtown, the investment in Golden 1 Center and other recent advances have primed the pump for more Downtown housing. For Downtown to be healthy and vibrant, it needs full-time residents and an eclectic mix of amenities and attractions. To have such an eyesore in a prominent location has been more than a nuisance. Now, if this project works out, we can repair that psychological wound and inspire other successes. Nearby properties may finally come alive with something useful. The K Street space that was home to Pyramid Alehouse is getting renewed interest. A city that saw its Downtown population drop from 58,000 residents in 1950 to 24,000 by 1990 seems to finally have its priorities right when it comes to the urban core.

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Running For Change VALENZUELA HAS PLANS FOR HANSEN’S COUNCIL SEAT

Katie Valenzuela

atie Valenzuela saw people struggling to pay rent and buy groceries. She saw taxes going up. She heard promises from City Hall. But the promises were empty. And the problems got worse. For solutions, she looked to her City Council member, Steve Hansen. She heard only excuses. “He always says there’s no money,” Valenzuela says. “But I’ve read the budget, and we just passed Measure U. There is money. But the process is opaque. I had to ask myself: Who is Steve Hansen representing? He’s not representing anybody I know.”

RG By R.E. Graswich City Beat

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The frustration led Valenzuela to make the ultimate political decision. She strategized with family and friends to raise $10,000 and declared herself a candidate for Hansen’s District 4 council seat in the March 3 primary. Recruiting volunteers and

hiring a treasurer, she began to walk neighborhoods, ring doorbells and speak to voters in Midtown, Downtown, Land Park and Little Pocket. “I’m amazed by what I hear,” she says. “People who supported him eight years ago say they haven’t seen him since. They see problems with housing costs and homelessness, and he’s nowhere to be found. They are very frustrated, and who can blame them?” Valenzuela has never run for public office, but she is not a political novice. She moved to Midtown a decade ago while completing her master’s degree in community development at UC Davis. During those 10 years, she was married and divorced, bought a home, lost a home and worked as a consultant to the state Legislature on climate change. Today, she oversees policy and political affairs for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of grassroots organizations. She understands politics and knows how to read a budget. She knows what numbers reveal and what they hide. More than anything, she has learned to love Sacramento and its core neighborhoods—the network of diverse, historic and enlightened communities that comprise District 4. “I love this city,” she says. “I grew up in Kern County, a place called Oildale. Not long ago, I was back visiting family, and my father said, ‘You’re not coming back, are you?’ I had to say no, I am not.” Valenzuela’s background and experience make her a perceptive

candidate. She has worked in state politics but has not grown cynical. She is supported by the Sacramento County Democratic Party, but is not beholden to special interests. Over coffee at Weatherstone, her comments are punctuated by laughter as she considers the challenge of toppling a two-term incumbent. “I’ve had elected officials say they want to endorse me, but they had to endorse Steve for political reasons,” she says. “Some people say, ‘Why don’t you wait until he moves onto the next office?’ But I say, how long am I supposed to wait? He’s had eight years and things have gotten worse. We can’t afford to wait.” Valenzuela focuses her campaign on housing and homelessness, but she also wants to complete the bike trail along the Sacramento River Parkway levee. Hansen has blocked completion of the levee trail through Little Pocket, where about 40 property owners insist on locking out the public. “When Hansen supports a few property owners over everyone else, it’s indicative of how he operates,” Valenzuela says. “How could a City Council member oppose completing the river parkway? It makes no sense.” Hansen says the city lacks money to finish the parkway in Little Pocket—a false claim Valenzuela easily knocks down. “When a cyclist and pedestrian got hit on Sutterville, he said there was no money to improve the intersections,” she says. “Right after that, he votes to spend $27 million to support the soccer team. Don’t tell me there’s no money.”

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

HANSEN, VALENZUELA DEBATE FEB. 5

nside Sacramento is proud to support the Sacramento City Council debate between candidates Steve Hansen and Katie Valenzuela, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the C.K. McClatchy High School auditorium. The event will feature “a true debate, with a moderator Steve Larchent asking pointed questions of each candidate and encouraging give and take,” says Joe Zadeh, vice president of the Land Park Community Association, the debate’s organizing group. Hansen, first elected to the City Council in 2012, is seeking his third term as the District 4 representative in the March 3 primary election. Valenzuela, who has never run for public office, is policy and political affairs director for the nonprofit California Environmental Justice Alliance. The primary focus of the debate will be the homeless crisis, which has exploded across District 4 since 2012. Other issues are expected to include housing costs, crime and the completion of the Sacramento River Parkway through Little Pocket, which Hansen opposes and Valenzuela supports. Start time is 6:30 p.m. For the latest information, visit InsideSacramento.com. –R.E. Graswich

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Woven Together

Lynne Greaves

CARMICHAEL WEAVER SHARES ARTISTRY WITH COMMUNITY ynne Greaves admits that many people think weaving is a lost art, but she and fellow members of the Sacramento Weavers & Spinners Guild are here to show the world that the artform is alive and well.

JL By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Proﬁle

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

“You name it, we can weave it,” says Greaves, a New Jersey native who’s lived in Carmichael for 48 years. “Anything made out of cloth was made by a weaver. In fact, when the commercial industry makes fabric, it’s first designed by hand by a weaver on a handloom, then it’s transferred to a commercial loom. “A weaver uses a loom the way a painter uses paint, it’s just a different medium.” Greaves wasn’t a stranger to fiber arts when she first got into weaving. She’d grown up knitting thanks to her Swedish mother and grandmother. In Swedish culture, it’s the job of the children—especially the girls,

Greaves explains—to knit mittens and socks for the family. When she moved to Sacramento in the 1970s so her pediatrician husband could take a job with Kaiser, Greaves read an article in The Bee about a new weaving store in town. Intrigued, Greaves visited the shop and fell in love with her future pastime. “After visiting the store, I was interested enough to attend the National Weaving Association’s biennial conference in San Francisco that year,” Greaves recalls. “I immediately knew it was for me. I bought a loom that day and have never regretted it.” The artform also introduced her to one of her closest (now late) friends,

a fellow weaver named Arlyn Uslan. Uslan mentored Greaves for years before both women decided to join the Sacramento Weavers & Spinners Guild, a group founded in 1947 to educate the public about fiber arts and bring together practitioners for monthly meetings, conferences and special events. “The main goals of the guild are to educate and do outreach,” Greaves says. “Meetings are open to the community and we welcome guests anytime. The weavers are such a friendly, crossgenerational group. We all share our knowledge equally and we learn from each other, so it’s nice to have new people come in.” To that end, the guild holds open meetings at 10 a.m. at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park every fourth Tuesday from September through May, as well as special workshops three times a year headlined by prominent guest speakers. The group also hosts an open house each February that features demonstrations galore, including weaving, basketry, the spinning of raw fleece into yarn, felting, dying and Navajo weaving taught by a Navajo expert who’s a member of the guild. The event is free and open to the public, and children are welcome. “I’ve been going to the open house for 40 years and I’ve never seen a cranky child,” Greaves says. “They’re fascinated by what we do, watching the looms and the spinning wheels. We’re happy to have them come.” The 200-member guild also donates its artistry to the Sacramento Blankets for Sacramento Kids program, which provides handmade blankets to children in Sacramento and Placer counties who are in hospitals and shelters, involved in domestic disputes or victims of emergencies like Hurricane Katrina. “Having something handmade is just so special,” Greaves says. “That’s why I love the guild—it’s full of such helpful, generous people.” Check out the Sacramento Weavers & Spinners Guild Open House on Feb. 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center at 3330 McKinley Blvd. For more information, visit sacramentoweavespin. org. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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You Got to Have Friends SACRAMENTO RESIDENT SPEARHEADS INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR ALZHEIMER’S CARE

n the 1980s, only 10 federally funded research centers for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia existed—and East Sacramento resident (not to mention former Arden Junior High and Rio Americano grad) David Troxel got to spearhead one of them. “I was the person in charge of creating a network of services at the University of Kentucky Alzheimer’s Research Center,” Troxel says. “Of course, this was in the mid-80s and there was such a stigma around the disease. “There were very few services available and people simply didn’t know much about Alzheimer’s and dementia. People even used to request

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PARK RENOVATIONS brochures of information be sent to them by mail in a blank envelope.” Today, that stigma has faded, yet Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Someone will develop the disease every 65 seconds. No new drugs have been developed to treat Alzheimer’s in roughly 16 years. With his partner Virginia Bell, Troxel decided to focus on developing a new approach to helping those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, which can be as simple as treating them like a best friend. “The Best Friends Approach is the first to try and take a more positive approach to being a caregiver,” Troxel explains. “There’s a lot you can do to bring out the best in a person, to help them feel safe, secure and purposeful. Ultimately, socialization is very important. What someone with Alzheimer’s needs is a best friend. “Our approach encourages knowing someone’s life story well, keeping him or her active and engaged. It’s simple.

If we were friends, I’d know a lot about you and we’d do things together. This engagement can be very powerful.” Many others in the field have used the Best Friends Approach and find it invaluable. “The Best Friends Approach is great for getting staff to really treat those with dementia in an individualized way,” says Nancy Schier Anzelmo, a gerontologist and founder of Alzheimer’s Care Associates in Rocklin, as well as a professor at Sacramento State. “I believe that the Best Friends Approach helps people understand the disease, not treat them like something’s wrong with them. It makes it more humanistic and compassionate.” After finding success with publishing the Best Friends Approach (available in eight languages and found all over the world), Troxel still juggles his own local practice, authors new books, volunteers at Sacramento’s Asian Community Center and enjoys public speaking. Though he travels to speak across the country, Troxel has settled

ALZHEIMER’S IS THE SIXTH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION.

into East Sacramento’s Fabulous 40s neighborhood. “I love the neighborly-ness that East Sacramento brings,” he says. “You can be having a glass of wine on your porch and talk to so many people spur-ofthe-moment. Plus, I love the coffee culture—I’m an addict! You can often find me at our local neighborhood spots like Chocolate Fish or Coffee Works.” Troxel also participates in the Fab 40s 5K run/walk, which benefits the Alzheimer’s Association of California, and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Though Troxel is passionate about treating and tackling the disease, he hopes that one day there will be an end to the fight. “Personally, I dream of the day that I will be put out of business,” he says. “When we cure the disease, maybe I’ll go work at a coffeeshop!” For more information, visit bestfriendsapproach.com. Caitlin McCulloch can be reached at mcculloch.caitlin@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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Tall Order CARMICHAEL HOME CHECKS ALL THE RIGHT BOXES FOR YOUNG FAMILY

t 6 feet 8 inches tall, Dr. Dennis Meredith wanted a new home where he could stroll from room to room without bonking his head on a doorframe. A five-bedroom, five-bath house off a country road in Carmichael fit the bill with an impressive 20-foot-high entryway and 10-foot-tall ceilings throughout the two-story abode built in 2004.

CR By Cathryn Rakich Open House

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

“This was the first house he could walk in and not duck in between doorways,” says his wife, Corona. Dennis, an orthopedic surgeon at Woodland Memorial Hospital, also had a distance limitation from home to hospital. “Carmichael was the farthest we could be when he is on call,” Corona explains. Then there was the 1,000-square-foot game room over the garage—a perfect play space for their two growing boys, Henry, 6, and William, 3. “This is where the kids go crazy,” Corona says. “I think honestly, this is why we bought the house. We could picture the kids here. We hang out here all the time.” With the 4,527-square-foot home sitting on a full acre, Corona’s wish for a big backyard for their two dogs was also met. “At the top of my list was a

‘fetching yard’—where I could be in my pajamas and throw the ball for the dogs off the porch,” she notes. “If I have 10 or 15 minutes in between the kids, I can exercise the dogs in the yard.” Despite the things that were great about the home, there were also elements that needed to change. “We were not in love with the finishes and style,” Corona says. “It was very dark. But we saw potential in the layout.” Among the rooms that needed an update were the kitchen and master bathroom. “The kitchen was probably the biggest change. It was very closed off.” While researching design and remodeling firms, Corona came across Nar Bustamante of Nar Design Group in East Sacramento. “Nar had a vision,” she says. “Now the kitchen works great

for entertaining. We don’t feel like we bump into each other.” Two separate islands allow for plenty of prep space. One is topped with black soapstone. The other is wrapped in slabs of marble that the couple purchased prior to the remodel. “I am kind of an impulse person. We picked up material before Nar had the design. But he made it work.” The marble island, which houses a small drink fridge—“so the kids don’t have to constantly open the big fridge,” Corona says—is connected to a wooden tabletop. The kitchen backsplash is classic white subway tile with beveled edges set in a herringbone pattern. The range hood was custom-created by a craftsman in Illinois whom Dennis

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Corona Meredith with dogs, Willow and Moose.

found on the internet. “Denny sent him a picture of what we were envisioning,” Corona says. A complete redo of the master bathroom resulted in two sinks at different levels—the higher one to accommodate the surgeon’s tall stature. Quartz countertops are made to resemble concrete, and quartz tiles on the wall mimic veined marble. The light fixtures, mirrors, cubed storage and black metal towel racks are ultramodern. A freestanding tub by the window showcases an industrial faucet emerging from the floor. In the family room, the couple used reclaimed barnwood they found in Auburn to create a mantle over the fireplace, which is surrounded in tiny white tiles. The same barnwood was repurposed for shelving on both sides of the fireplace with cabinets underneath that match those in the kitchen. The homeowners lightened their space by painting the walls white and replacing the dark floors with wide-planked white oak. “With kids and dogs, it was just too dirty,” Corona says. “So we picked lighter floors.” All the lights were replaced with modern fixtures and ceiling fans to complement the updated interior, but the couple kept the rich cherrywood window and door moldings. Daphne Elsberry with Exclusive Paint Designs in Rancho Cordova custom stained the new double front doors and garage doors. On the exterior, the couple added stonework to the original stucco and redid the landscape with colorful plantings. “We wanted to soften everything,” Corona says. Five chickens enjoy a backyard coop that provides protection from the wild turkeys, deer, owls and other abundant wildlife in the semi-rural setting. “We love the proximity to Ancil Hoffman Park,” she adds. “This house checked all the boxes,” Corona says. “A spot for the boys to have a play area. The dogs have a yard. The property has mature redwoods, so we feel the privacy. It’s a perfect mix.”

Kitchen and bath photos by Fred Donham of PhotographerLink.

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

To recommend a home or garden for Open House, contact Cathryn Rakich at crakich@surewest.net. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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Got Your Number WHY KINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK BEYOND STATS

eing a Kings fan is one of the toughest jobs in sports. The team is awful. And it’s hard to find relevant, intelligent media. Lots of web platforms carry information on the Kings. But when it comes to deeper insights, the sports media landscape quickly turns barren. Three decades ago, I was The Sacramento Bee reporter assigned full time to cover the Kings. My job was to cultivate insight. Unlike today, when player availability to the media is tightly controlled, access wasn’t a problem. I would attend practice each morning and go to shoot-around sessions on game days. For road trips, I often traveled with the team. I stayed in the team hotel and rode the team bus. Players and coaches

RG By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

were almost always accessible, either around the locker room or the hotel bar. Seeing the same people everyday, it was easy to build relationships. Players knew they could use me to send messages to Kings ownership, coaches, fans and the rest of the NBA. They would tell me things. Many of these conversations were self-serving, but they served me, too—I got plenty of gossip, dirt and scoops. Sports journalism doesn’t work that way today. Fewer professional reporters cover the Kings, and they rarely share beers with coaches and players. Websites such as Sactown Royalty, Cowbell Kingdom, Bleacher Report and SacBee have mountains of Kings content, but most of it reads like devoted fans swapping opinions—a digital sports bar without booze. I had another benefit in the old days: feedback from players and coaches. While I was threatened a few times and physically attacked by one player for something I wrote, the majority of feedback was constructive. Sactown Royalty, the Bee and other media that cover the Kings today could use some of that feedback.

The biggest problem with today’s coverage is the reliance on statistics. Fans love to discern wisdom from arcane numbers. They believe stats make them smart. In fact, citing stats in a game report or social media feed is a bad sign. The reliance on numbers shows how little the writer really knows. Danny Ainge set me straight about stats. Ainge is president of the Boston Celtics, but in 1989 he was a disgruntled Kings point guard. One day he gave me a journalism lesson. He told me I was dumping too many stats into my stories. I was ignoring essential parts of the game. For example, he said certain players would base their performances on stats. Once they hit a certain number of shots, they would stop taking chances. They didn’t want to hurt their average, even if it meant losing. I studied those players over a few games, and Ainge was right. Ainge said many rebounds and blocked shots meant nothing. He said assists and points scored during certain moments were far more valuable than

other assists and points. “That’s what you should write about,” he said. “Don’t get bogged down with stats.” Stats all but disappeared from my reports. I would mention the score (the ultimate stat) and newsworthy numbers, but that was it. I would not write about where the Kings ranked defensively among NBA teams. Instead, I would explain why some players were lousy defenders. When I examined Kings-centric websites, social media and the Bee for this column, I was buried in stats. I found one Kings reporter with real insight and minimal dependence on stats: Jason Jones, a former Bee sportswriter who works for a website called The Athletic. He knows the story is about people, not numbers. The site costs $60 a year. I might sign up. R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be read and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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She Takes the Cake FREEPORT BAKERY DECORATOR BIDS FOND FAREWELL

BY SUSAN BITAR MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR

ittle did she know as a student at McClatchy High School, Carol Clevenger would spend the next 32 years of her life just a few blocks away. As the head decorator at Freeport Bakery in Land Park, Clevenger rejoined the team in 1988, not quite a year after Marlene and Walter Goetzeler bought the bakery (Clevenger also worked for the previous owner). Three decades later, she’ll hand over her spatula this month. In this real-estate-small, yet high-production neighborhood bakery, Clevenger has experienced it all—from “Can you draw a picture of my dog on a cake?” to “Can you make the cake into the shape of my dog?” Which they can do! Cake shaping is one of the biggest changes Clevenger has experienced at Freeport Bakery. “A cake can be (almost) anything you can imagine,” Clevenger says. When Clevenger started at Freeport Bakery, there were six employees. They handwashed dishes and had residential-size refrigerators. Now there are 70 employees, four people who wash dishes (loading high-speed dishwashers) and multiple walk-in refrigerators. Another measurement of growth can be in whipping cream. According to Clevenger, when she started the bakery used one batch of whipping cream a day. Now it uses eight. It’s not as if Clevenger dreamed of being a decorator. But she fell in love with Freeport Bakery, and found that working for the Goetzelers was her calling. Together, they worked six days a week, “but it felt like it was nothing,” says Clevenger, wearing her signature magenta headband. To this day, she loves every minute of it and finds inspiration daily among her colleagues and customers. In college, Clevenger studied music at University of California, Santa Cruz. From there she worked in many roles in the restaurant industry, including as a dishwasher.

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Carol Clevenger

“Carol has been on the roof, she knows what to do when the lights are out, and she is able to fix just about anything,” Marlene says. In her rapid rise of responsibility and leadership at the bakery, Clevenger has trained and mentored dozens of decorators and has compiled a talented team who will fill her role when she officially retires. “Carol is a natural and talented decorator, and provides valuable insight on the baking side of the business,” Walter says. “She is by far one of the most

humble and hard-working people I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.” “The bakery is what it is in large part due to Carol,” Marlene adds. “We could have never done what we’ve done without her.” Susan Bitar can be reached at sabitar@pacbell.net. Previous profiles can be found and shared at the allnew InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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Truth Serum NEIGHBORHOOD G NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP ROUP O OFFERS FFERS L LEVEE EVEE F FACTS, AC T S, N NOT OT F FICTION ICTION

GariRae Gray

he Big Dig planned in Pocket and Greenhaven by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will intimidate residents. The Corps and its contractors are chopping down trees, cutting deep into the Sacramento River levee and building an underground wall to hold back floodwaters. Hundreds of trucks will haul dirt through local neighborhoods. Traffic will snarl. Tempers will boil. But help is here. The volunteers who comprise the Pocket Greenhaven Community Association are determined to make the levee repair project easy to understand and navigate. They are planning a community forum where questions can be answered and facts provided. “Most people don’t realize the impact it’s going to have,” says GariRae Gray, PGCA secretary. “It’s really important that we maintain an open discussion,

RG By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

separate truth from rumor and don’t get into all the hyperbole.” Distinguishing between fact and fiction is just one task for neighborhood associations. Collectively, they play a special role in Sacramento’s municipal governance. There are more than 50 neighborhood and community associations across the city, from Valley Hi to the far suburbs of North Natomas. Some have many active members, others just a handful. Officially recognized by City Hall, neighborhood associations have a direct pipeline to City Council offices. Local politicians ignore them at their peril. Until recently, Pocket and Greenhaven were exceptions to the community association roster. The community had no neighborhood association. The reason was simple: Most residents believed there was no need. Pocket and Greenhaven were among the safest and most affluent neighborhoods in the city. Life was good. For more than two decades, the local City Council member—whether Robbie Waters or Darrell Fong or current representative Rick Jennings—was responsive to citizen complaints and concerns.

About four years ago, several Pocket residents decided to form a neighborhood association, not out of frustration but as a proactive move. Neighborhoods such as Land Park, Sierra Curtis and Midtown had powerful community associations. Why not Pocket and Greenhaven? By 2017, the Pocket Greenhaven group was up and running as a nonprofit. GariRae Gray got involved because, as a retired analyst and project manager for the state, she had expertise and time to give back to her community. “For most of my adult life, I was busy working,” she says. “When I retired, I had to get involved in something.” The timing was excellent. The Big Dig is the largest, most expensive infrastructure project to hit Pocket and Greenhaven since the community’s agricultural fields were plowed under and subdivided. The levee repair work stretches across every level of government—federal, state and local— and will approach $2 billion, with at least $500 million spent around Pocket and Greenhaven. Work has begun with tree removal. Heavier digging will commence in April and continue for most of the year. It’s literally a Big Dig—crews will excavate deep trenches within the levee and

construct slurry seepage walls. In some places, the walls will reach 135 feet below ground. The digging will be done in sections. The depths will depend on engineering assessments. The seepage walls will do exactly what the name suggests—prevent river water from working its way under the levee. The Pocket Greenhaven Community Association provides a grounded alternative to the untethered, alternative reality that can be found on social media platforms such as Nextdoor. “There is truth there on Nextdoor, but also rumors, and people use it to complain a lot,” Gray says. “We are trying to push a broad perspective about what will really be happening.” Before our press deadline, no date had been set for the neighborhood association’s public forum on the Big Dig. We will keep readers informed here and on our website at InsideSacramento.com. R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be read and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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CM By Corky Mau

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

ast the glass lobby doors, you’re greeted by stunning artwork from famed San Francisco artist William Gatewood (1943–1994). Large images of kimonos and Japanese screens, enhanced by splashes of gold and silver leaf, are displayed on the walls. Further into the building, take a stroll along the Sacramento River Delta, courtesy of landscape paintings by legendary local artist Gregory Kondos. No, this is not the Crocker Art Museum. It’s Maple Tree Village, the newest residential community in the Pocket neighborhood that provides assisted-living and memory-care services to older adults. Maple Tree is part of Asian Community Center Senior Services, a nonprofit whose mission for 47 years has been to enhance the quality of life for older adults with culturally sensitive health services and educational programs. Maple Tree will begin receiving residents in early 2020.

Moni Van Camp Kondos, the artist’s wife and longtime supporter of Sacramento community art, led the effort to permanently house a large collection of fine art at Maple Tree. She helped select the artists, artwork and placement of each piece. The Kondos family donated 11 limited edition and signed prints. Moni placed most of her husband’s paintings in the “Blue Jay neighborhood” of the assisted-living area—an appropriate setting as the color blue is a signature for many Kondos pieces. “Gregory is very impressed with the design of the Maple Tree Village community—he can’t stop talking about it,” Moni says. “The river has been a major part of Gregory’s life and he loves that residents will be surrounded by familiar delta images on a daily basis.” Why would the family select Maple Tree Village as the beneficiary of these art pieces? It’s all about relationships. As Moni explains, “I helped my friend, Scott Okamoto, to install some artwork at the Eskaton Monroe Lodge. He moved to Maple Tree Village and proposed a similar, but larger art display at this new residential community. I jumped at the opportunity to make this happen. It’s a great venue to house some of our favorite pieces.” Okamoto is marketing manager for Maple Tree. A tour of the facility brings out his pride in the newly constructed senior community. The village is built around a “person-centered program” philosophy, he says. There are 72 apartments in the four assisted-living “neighborhoods” and 30

in the memory-care neighborhood. Each apartment has state of the art lighting and adaptive living features to ensure a safe and comfortable environment. And there’s the art. “Our residents, their families and the greater Sacramento community will have this extraordinary opportunity to enjoy this special art collection for many years to come,” Okamoto says. Okamoto anticipates acquiring more artwork as other artists express interest to exhibit at Maple Tree. Down the road, he hopes to offer self-guided art tours. With the help of Maple Tree staff, Moni Kondos is creating informative signage to accompany each piece. Many featured artists are local or have roots in Northern California. There are 17 pieces from William Gatewood, who was Moni’s brother. She says, “Billy passed away 25 years ago. To see his Asian-inspired art displayed in this beautiful building is a great tribute to him.” Lotus-inspired artwork from Shimo, a Chinese artist, hangs in the Welcome Center. A Shanghai native, Shimo moved to Sacramento in 2003 and is a good friend of Gregory Kondos. The Midtown gallery Shimo Center for the Arts is dedicated to promoting local artists. “I want everyone who passes through Maple Tree Village to admire the beauty around them, both inside and out,” Moni Kondos says. Corky Mau can be reached at corky. sue50@gmail.com. n

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Making A Difference Kenn Altine with his dogs, LaVerne and Sihki.

FORMER NEWSMAN TAKES HIS PASSION FOR PETS TO SSPCA

ooking as sharp as a Wall Street banker, Kenn Altine hurries into the Sacramento SPCA administration building, three staff members trailing behind him as they listen intently to their boss. A crisp white shirt with French cuffs, traditional cufflinks and an expertly

CR By Cathryn Rakich Pets and Their People

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

knotted tie are the daily norm for Altine, who joined the SSPCA as chief executive director in 2016. “I always wear a shirt and tie. Every day,” says Altine, who previously worked as an editor and executive in journalism for 30 years, including stints in San Antonio, Reno, San Francisco and Houston, before moving into the animal-welfare world. “When you live and work in Houston, there is a dress code. In the middle of summer, you wear a long-sleeve shirt and you never go outside without a jacket. It’s becomes natural,” Altine explains. “What’s going to happen? I’m going to get dog slobber. I’m going to get

cat hair. That’s what dry cleaners are for.” Altine joined the SSPCA after serving as executive director for four years at the Southern Oregon Humane Society, having convinced SoHumane that a former newspaper man could lead an animal shelter. “Do you have to love animals to work in animal welfare? Yes, I think you do,” Altine says. “Do you have to have

animal skills? No, we can teach you that.” As a former business editor for a major U.S. newspaper, Altine understands business. As an administrative editor handling multimillion-dollar budgets, he knows how to manage money. After five rounds of in-person interviews, Altine finally convinced SoHumane to hire him. “In my mind I thought how hard can this be. Ha! It’s a whole other world.

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“Animal welfare is the antithesis of business. But nonprofit does not mean nonbusiness,” adds Altine, who rebranded the shelter, changed its business model, and eventually grew SoHumane’s cash reserves to more than $2 million. But what brought Altine to animal welfare to begin with? In 2005, while still living in Houston, Altine took three weeks off of work to join a friend and fellow editor in Gulfport, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina. The Humane Society of South Mississippi was desperately over capacity with strays and owner-surrenders from families that survived the storm but had no place to take their pets. “It was hard, heartbreaking work,” Altine says. “And the rewards of seeing love come from disaster were equally overwhelming.” Back in Houston, Altine continued to help animals by fostering for a local volunteer-run rescue/adoption organization. Then, in 2010, as newspapers began downsizing and Altine’s executive job included laying off coworkers, he decided it was time to quit—and live in a tent in the woods in Siskiyou County, where he owns 80 acres with his husband. “We knew we wanted to live on the land for a while,” Altine says, while the couple decided where to build a cabin, which is now a vacation home and where they will live in retirement. After 18 months into a two-year period, reality set in. “The bank account said you have to go back to work. Time to climb off the mountain and get back into it.

“I had to decide what next— and quickly ruled out a return to journalism.” That’s when Altine joined SoHumane in Medford, Ore., before accepting his role at the SSPCA after former executive director Rick Johnson retired. “We drove up here and looked around. I was not aware of how massive the operation is. They have all of the things I always dreamed of having in Medford—but on a much larger scale. I said, ‘does this help me make a larger impact on animal lives?’ The answer was ‘absolutely.’” The couple now live in Tahoe Park with “the girls”— LaVerne and Sihki—two Carolina dogs (also known as Reservation dogs or American dingoes), which are found free roaming in the deserts of the southwest. With a specific fondness for the breed, the couple adopted the girls after they were trapped together on a reservation in New Mexico. In his role as executive director, Altine has big plans for the SSPCA, including a new larger spay-neuter clinic, hopefully within the next two years. “You live and breathe your organization. Everywhere you go and everything you do, it’s about the Sacramento SPCA,” says Altine. “It’s all about the animals and the people who love them. Without the people who love them, we just have buildings full of animals.”

TURNING YOUR HOUSE TO HOME

ONE ROOM AT A TIME

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

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Blood, Sweat & Dirt IT’S HARD FOR GARDENERS TO STAY CLEAN

y husband says it’s like being married to Pigpen, the notoriously dirty character in Peanuts. I might be cleaned up and ready to go out for the evening, but then notice a plant that needs water or run into the garden to check something. The next thing I know, my shirt is wet and smudged, my fingernails are grungy and there is debris in my hair. There have been occasions when I have had to wash up and change clothes twice before we finally pull out of the driveway. I simply can’t stay clean. I recently went to a jeweler to have a ring resized. I scrubbed my nails before I left the house, but was abashed that one of my nails was still dirty when I put out my hand for the fitting.

AC By Anita Clevenger Garden Jabber

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

The jeweler assured me that she too was a gardener, and had given up on manicures and spotless nails long ago. We compared hands and talked about how we squished aphids off our roses with our bare fingers. If you see a gardener with greenish nails, it’s probably from bug juice. Rose growers not only get dirty, they get hurt. When visiting a rose garden in Japan, I found it difficult to communicate with my translator until I shoved up my sleeve and showed the scratches on my arm. She beamed, shoved up her own sleeve, pointed to similar marks and declared, “Sisters!” Our conversation flowed after that. No gardener that I know wants to be dirty or injured, but it’s an occupational hazard. The right clothing helps. A garden apron will keep your shirt clean, and give you a place to carry tools and gloves. I wear bib overalls made of tightly woven twill that protect my legs. The overalls have built-in knee pads and ample pockets. Long-sleeved denim shirts shield my arms. I’ve tried many different gardening gloves, looking for styles that are comfortable. Gloves don’t do any good if they are in my pocket or on the ground.

Two different styles work best for me, depending on the job. For weeding and light gardening, I like tough and flexible nitrile-dipped gloves. However, only the fingers and palms of the gloves are coated, so they don’t provide much protection to the backs of the hands. For roses and other prickly plants, I wear rose gloves, which are attached to gauntlets and fully protect hands and lower arms. They come in a variety of materials. My favorites are made of breathable and washable synthetic suede. All gloves reduce your dexterity. I set my cellphone to use voice commands to take a photo or place a call, and pair it to my Fitbit so I can check callers’ identities or read text messages without taking off my gloves. Gloves also make it difficult to tie up a plant. Renowned rose gardener Stephen Scanniello has a partial solution. He cuts off the tips of the thumb, and first and second fingers on his gloves so he can readily tie knots. His exposed fingers may still get stuck, but the rest of his hands stay safe. To deal with dirty or broken nails, I keep nail brushes, clippers and files

in my car and tool bag. I’ve put nail brushes at every sink in the house and in my shower. It’s important to wear sunblock when you are outside, but dirt will stick to it. If you are going somewhere after you’ve been in the garden, be sure to wash your face (and reapply sunblock). Many endeavors are said to require blood, sweat and tears. While we gardeners often have disappointments in the garden, let’s hope our tears are few and bloodshed is at a minimum. Sweat and dirt, however, are inevitable. The next Open Garden will be Saturday, Feb. 8, from 9 a.m.–noon at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Fair Oaks. Anita Clevenger is a platinum Sacramento County Master Gardener. For answers to gardening questions, contact the UC Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338 or mgsacramento@ ucanr.edu, or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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Diamonds in the Rough SACRAMENTO IS HOME TO ALMOND GROWING AND INNOVATION

Maya Erwin and Catherine Campbell

acramento has had its very own rare gem in Blue Diamond Almonds since 1910 when Blue Diamond Growers made its headquarters at 1802 C St. When early California pioneers discovered that the soil and climate surrounding the Sacramento area were ideal for growing almonds, it spurred the launch of a grower-owned cooperative—the California Almond Growers Exchange. The exchange (now called Blue Diamond Growers) was founded in 1910 and adopted the symbol of the blue diamond—the world’s rarest diamond—to represent the co-op’s high quality. Today, Blue Diamond Growers

TMO By Tessa Marguerite Outland Farm-to-Fork

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

is still a nonprofit organization and has expanded from its initial 230 partner growers to more than 3,000 across California. In the 1930s, approximately 20 million pounds of almonds were produced in California each year. Today, the Almond Board of California estimates that the entire state will produce around 2.20 billion pounds in the 2019/2020 crop year. The number is down slightly from the previous cropyear production of 2.28 billion pounds. However, the board confirms that almonds are still among California's top agricultural exports, and the largest tree nut crop in total dollar value and acreage. Blue Diamond Growers represents more than 50 percent of the total growers in California, according to Lynn Machon, director of corporate communications. As production at Blue Diamond increases, so does the company’s dedication to sustainability and innovation. The California Almond Objective Measurement Report, published by the USDA National Agricultural

Statistics Service, states that since 1973 significant advancements have been made in the industry in the areas of water, nutrient management, air quality and honey bee health, increasing farming efficiencies while minimizing environmental impacts. The report adds that for every pound of almond kernels there are nearly three pounds of hulls and shells. “At Blue Diamond we strive for no part of the almond going to waste,” says Catherine Campbell, head of sustainability and social impact. “We find ways to optimize every aspect of the almond.”

Campbell affirms that organic waste, such as the almond coproducts of hulls, shells and woody biomass, does not go to landfills. Instead, it is used for animal feed or soil amendments. California almond growers monitor their orchards' water consumption while using low-volume irrigation methods to maximize harvest efficiency. Blue Diamond Growers also claims to have led the way in the adoption of integrated pest management programs developed by the University of California. The Blue Diamond headquarters in Sacramento includes administrative offices, almond processing, shipping,

THE BLUE DIAMOND ALMOND INNOVATION CENTER OPENED IN 2013 AS THE WORLD'S FIRST AND ONLY RESEARCH CENTER DEDICATED TO ALMOND PRODUCT INNOVATION.

receiving, a nut and gift shop, and the Blue Diamond Almond Innovation Center, the main hub for almond research and development activity. The center opened in 2013 as the world's first and only research center dedicated to almond product innovation, says Maya Erwin, vice president of innovation. “It’s designed for culinary exploration,” Erwin adds. “Think of it as a giant kitchen.” With the center’s staff of master bakers, product developers, process engineers and food scientists, new products and healthy snacks are being made right here in Sacramento every day. Globally, almonds have become a “cornerstone of the snacking market,” according to Food Navigator, which reports news and trends in the food and drink industry. In 2017, almonds in the bar category increased by 53 percent, reports Food Navigator, making almonds the top nut used in health and energy bars. Erwin agrees that almonds play into some of the most competitive food categories, including snacking and non-dairy. “Plant-based food trends are really hot right now,” Erwin says. “Consumers are demanding better and better food. A superfood like an almond

tastes so good and we can shine in those categories.” In an effort to be a competitive player in the market, the center is continually testing out new products and flavors. In March, the center will release a new flavor for snack almonds—spicy dill pickle. As for a new product, soy and whey protein may have met their match with Blue Diamond’s new almond protein powder made from 100-percent almond protein. The product, which comes in chocolate, vanilla and original flavors, boasts 20 grams of plant-based protein per serving. “Trends come and go, and we are trying to find the next interesting thing,” Erwin says. “That’s the life of innovators.” The Blue Diamond Nut & Gift Shop at 1701 C St. is open Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit bluediamond.com. Tessa Marguerite Outland can be reached at tessa.m.outland@gmail.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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Reverence for Rituals MISSPELLING REDEFINES SPIRITUAL CARE

n 2002, I was so thrilled to begin work as a chaplain for Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento that I failed to notice the typo on my ID badge. It took more than a year, but a patient finally spotted the missing ‘r’ in “Spiritual.” She cupped a hand over her mouth and nose, and said, “I probably shouldn’t get any closer if you’re from the “SPIT-ual Care Department.” After we shared a good laugh, I skedaddled downstairs to have human resources correct the badge. Little did I know that 12 years later, the identifier “Spit-ual Care” might be appropriate for my new position as a staff chaplain at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton. One summer day I entered the room of a patient recovering from minor surgery. The man didn’t speak English, but his wife and granddaughter did. After introductions, I learned that the

NB By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

wife was also a shaman. Shamans are spiritual leaders and healers in the earth-based spirituality of southeast Asia. So with careful exploration, I asked what I might do to facilitate their faith traditions. “My grandmother wants to conduct a Hmong ritual.” “Can you say more?” I asked. “The rite involves my grandmother putting water in her mouth and spewing it on my grandfather’s surgical site,” the granddaughter said with little emotion. “Excuse me for a moment,” I said. “Let me ask the nurse how we can do that.” I dismissed myself and ducked into the nurses’ break room to Google the request. My search told me that the patient’s wife was likely blaming “misplaced energy” for precipitating her husband’s illness. She needed the water to perform an “extraction” that would remove the displaced energy that had invaded his body. I slid my phone back in my pocket and stopped at the nurses’ station for a consult. “Can she spit water on the wound without risking an infection?” I asked the startled charge nurse.

She thought for a minute and replied, “Yes. The surgical site is stitched and closed. Just use bottled water.” With that permission, I returned to the room and handed over the sterile water I’d picked up from the nurse. The patient’s wife opened the bottle, held it to her lips and sloshed the water around in her mouth. Then she tilted her head and—"Plah!"—she spat a mouthful on her husband. I tried hard not to show skepticism by allowing my inner Baptist preacher to run amuck. I mean, what just happened? I saw no evil spirits come out of the man and there was no instant healing of the wound. I felt uneasy that this family was relying on such archaic beliefs amidst such modern medicine. My discomfort reminded me of a story from the post-WWII occupation of Japan. An American serviceman was watching a Shinto worshiper distribute rice over his ancestor’s grave and asked, “When do you think your ancestor will eat the rice you left?” The man replied, “About the same time that your ancestors smell the flowers you left.” As simply as the shaman had begun, she concluded. I was thanked for intervening with nursing staff and given a dismissive nod. I returned to

my office cubicle where I sat wondering what I would write in this patient’s chart. I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d accomplished. However, as much as anything, good spiritual care had been merged into the Hippocratic Oath—“First, do no harm.” I had not ridiculed the woman or passed judgment on her request. I had not put up barriers or implied that she was inconveniencing the staff. But more concretely, I noted an observable change in contentedness within the family. Reverence for their request had helped build a sacred, nonjudgmental space for worship. In the midst of medical uncertainty, the family rekindled and celebrated their own truths. The ritual helped them navigate the harsh maze of medicine and restored meaning to their world. And that’s what I charted. Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. Burkes is available for public speaking at civic organizations, places of worship, veterans groups and more. For details and fees, visit thechaplain.net. n

Too Easy Streets LET’S MAKE DRIVING LESS CONVENIENT

or transportation in the United States, convenience makes the world go ’round, not love or money. Generally, cars (in the absence of gridlock) are the most convenient way to get somewhere. Cars provide speed, availability, reliability, door-to-door service with no walking or waiting, the ability to carry passengers and goods, protection from the elements, no crowding or standing, and no transfers, schedules or routes to figure out. Cars have privacy and the comforts of home. In most of America, you’re odd if you don’t drive. Uber, Lyft, and shared bikes and scooters offer their own forms of convenience, but at a price. The accessibility, ease of payment and

WS By Walt SeLfert Getting There

door-to-door service they promise have shifted some trips from other modes— often away from public transit. As yet, they aren’t profitable. Their long-term viability remains to be seen. Given the convenience of cars, it’s not surprising most people choose to drive. We often make that choice without thinking. When people do consider travel options, they make rational choices. If you’ve got the money, it can be rational to pay more for convenience even when driving is costlier than other ways of getting around. Unfortunately, when individuals make a choice that’s sensible for them, it can come at the expense of the common good. There are many reasons why we’d be better off as a society if we cut back on trips made by car. There would be fewer deaths and injuries from crashes, less air pollution, less noise, less resource depletion, less congestion and less climate-altering greenhouse gas. Yet in a nation that prides itself on individualism, the common good doesn’t motivate everyone. There are two ways to change the convenience disparity between car use and other ways of getting around.

One way is to make the alternatives to driving—walking, biking and transit use—more convenient. The other (surely less popular) is to make driving less convenient. We’ve taken some halting steps to make biking more convenient by adding relatively inexpensive things such as bike parking and bike lanes. There’s been only a slight trend upward in bike use. Trillions of dollars have been invested in the vast infrastructure serving our car culture. Transit, walking and biking have, in comparison, received pennies on the dollar. Compact and denser urban areas reduce trip lengths and lessen the need for cars. Sprawl almost mandates driving. Sprawling suburbs put workers further away from urban jobs and consumers further away from the services they need. Without free and plentiful parking, driving becomes more complicated. If paying for parking were part of every car trip, people might think twice about driving. Free on-street parking is an incentive to drive. Policies such as minimum parking requirements for new developments have forced developers to

make driving convenient and increased development costs. The most effective way to address transportation choices is not through convenience, but by managing costs. Automobile use could pay its own way, but doesn’t today. That’s something that should happen—not only out of fairness, but as an economic and environmental necessity. If car costs were assessed on a per-mile basis, such as road-use taxes instead of a gas tax or as a mileage fee for insurance instead of a flat rate, racking up more miles would have a clearer impact on family finances. We’ve focused almost exclusively on improving the convenience of driving. It’s past time to level the playing field and make other, less harmful ways of getting around equally convenient. Walt Seifert is executive director of Sacramento Trailnet, an organization devoted to promoting greenways with paved trails. He can be reached at bikeguy@surewest.net. Previous columns can be read and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

ILP/GRID n INSIDESACRAMENTO.COM

Sounds of Hope

Jon Archuleta, Tom Lazet, Megan Wetzel, Chris Gray and Sohail Al-Jamea

LOCAL BAND EXPLORES THE HEALING POWER OF MUSIC

JL By Jessica Laskey Open Studio

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

hen Sohail Al-Jamea first moved to Sacramento in summer 2017, one of the first things he did was form a band. “Forming a band is the best way to meet people,” says Al-Jamea, a video animator for McClatchy Studios who “city-hopped” from his hometown of Burlingame to San Francisco to New York City to Washington, D.C., before returning to California to be closer to family. “As soon as I get to a new city, I post an ad for bandmates on Craigslist.” Though that may sound like a dicey way of meeting creative collaborators, Al-Jamea has had incredible luck finding like-minded musicians on Craigslist. The band he had in D.C. for three years was assembled the same way, so he was certain this one would be no different. Guitarist Chris Gray was the first to respond and, true to form, he and Al-Jamea hit it off right away. What Al-Jamea didn’t know at the time was how much he was going to need that new musical connection. Just two months later, Al-Jamea’s baby daughter Ivy was diagnosed with Stage 3 lymphoma. Over the next two years of treatment, AlJamea says his daughter experienced “every complication imaginable,” including being put on life support three times. While spending every waking moment at Ivy’s bedside alongside his wife and mother-in-law, Al-Jamea did what made the most sense—he played his daughter music. “Ivy has always loved music,” says Al-Jamea, a guitarist since age 16. (He was hooked on the instrument during high school when his math teacher would play acoustic sets in class every Friday.) “Even when she was in a drug-induced state, I would play and sing to her.” Though Al-Jamea’s plans for the new band had to be put on hold at

the beginning of Ivy’s treatment, he eventually returned to practice with Gray. The bandmates welcomed singer Megan Wetzel the following January and bassist Tom Lazet that spring, and officially named their group Ember Valley after the California wildfires. (They’ve also worked with a revolving cast of drummers, including Jenny Klug of Clevers.) “Music became incredibly therapeutic for me,” Al-Jamea says. “Band practice was the only time during the week when I wasn’t freaking out about my daughter. It was incredibly freeing to be there during such tough times. My bandmates were incredibly supportive, like family.” That musical family was also incredibly helpful for Wetzel, who had survived a head-on collision with a drunk driver just two years prior and had been in a “long musical drought” before joining Ember Valley. Out of those dark times have risen the beautifully hopeful songs collected on the band’s first EP, “Welcome Back,” which was released on all major music-streaming platforms last March. The title song is a tribute to the message hospital staff would leave on the whiteboard for Ivy whenever she returned to the hospital during her illness—a glimmer of hope and connection that meant so much to her family. Likewise, the song “Atmosphere”—which Al-Jamea started composing when Ivy was on life support for the second time— became something of a mantra, a reminder of life’s silver linings. Ember Valley’s unique combination of heartfelt lyrics and classic alternative sound found fast success when an early demo of the first single, “Home,” was commissioned by McClatchy Studios to be the opening theme of the award-winning documentary series “Ground Game: Texas” (a real-time look at the 2018

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MUSIC BECAME INCREDIBLY

THERAPEUTIC FOR ME. BAND PRACTICE WAS THE ONLY TIME DURING THE WEEK WHEN I WASN’T FREAKING OUT ABOUT MY DAUGHTER. IT WAS INCREDIBLY FREEING TO BE THERE DURING SUCH TOUGH TIMES. MY BANDMATES WERE INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE, LIKE FAMILY.

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Texas Senate race between Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz). McClatchy Studios used another Ember Valley song for the theme of its Facebook Watch series “The War Within,” which chronicles three veterans’ struggles to overcome the hidden effects of war. And last summer, the band embarked on a tour of California to celebrate the official release of its five-song EP and bring its message of hope to the masses.

“There are a lot of emotions poured into these songs,” Al-Jamea says. “Hopefully people can feel that.” For more information, visit embervalleymusic.com. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

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“Trencadis 3” by Mariellen Layne at Archival Gallery.

TO DO

“ “Early Spring in the Valley 2” by Michael Hoffee at Archival Gallery.

THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Mariellen Layne: Trencadís & Michael Hoffee: Early Spring in the Valley Archival Gallery Feb. 5–29 Second Saturday Reception: Feb. 8, 6–9 p.m. 3223 Folsom Blvd. • archivalgallery.com Mariellen Layne presents “Trencadís” with mosaics crafted from tile shards and broken chinaware. Michael Hoffee presents large-format floral scenes that evoke memories of his travels through Europe and beyond.

JL By Jessica Laskey

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

When We Were Colored: A Mother’s Story Guild Theater Feb. 14–March 14 2828 35th St. • guildtheater.com Local journalist Ginger Rutland’s play based on her mother Eva’s memoir returns to Oak Park for a special engagement starring Rutland’s niece, Chelsea Carbaugh-Rutland.

22nd Annual Free Museum Day Sacramento Area Museums Saturday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Various locations • sacmuseums.org More than 25 regional museums offer free admission to kick off Sacramento Museum Week (Feb. 2–9). Local restaurants offer discounts and SacRT provides free rides to Free Museum Day attendees.

Whitney Lofrano: What Goes Around Tim Collom Gallery Feb. 4–29 915 20th St. • timcollomgallery.com Whitney Lofrano returns for her second solo exhibition with 45 powerful new works in oil and watercolor inspired by her travels to Australia, London and Madrid.

Youth Concert: Alaina Rose & Abigail Leong Sacramento Community Concert Association Sunday, Feb. 23, 3 p.m. Riverside United Methodist Church, 803 Vallejo Way • sccaconcerts.org Accomplished harpist Alaina Rose and cellist Abigail Leong (who made her debut at Carnegie Hall at age 10) perform. Tickets are $25 general; $5 students ages 5–24.

Vintage Glass, China & Pottery Sale International Depression Glass Club Saturday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St. • idgc.org View and purchase vintage and mid-century glass, china, pottery, jewelry, linens, lamps, kitchenware, silver and more. Admission is $5 if you mention Inside Sacramento. Two-for-one on Sunday. Annual Free Museum Day at Sacramento area museums.

American Expressions/African Roots: Akinsanya Kambon’s Ceramic Sculpture Crocker Art Museum Feb. 2–July 5 216 O St. • crockerart.org Sacramento-born artist Akinsanya Kambon is a former Marine, Black Panther and art professor who started drawing while fighting polio as a child. This exhibition focuses on the artist’s terra-cotta sculptures representing African deities and spirits, American history and religious subjects.

Bill Viola: The Raft

13th Winter Shorts Fest

Pump Boys and Dinettes

Sacramento French Film Festival Thursday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. Tower Theatre, 2508 Land Park Drive • sacramentofrenchﬁlmfestival.org Check out the latest César-nominated short films with English subtitles. General admission is $12.

Crocker Art Museum Feb. 16–May 10 216 O St. • crockerart.org This exhibition marks the first time video and installation artist Viola’s “The Raft” will tour the United States after being commissioned for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It explores human calamity and shared humanity.

Sacramento Theatre Company Through Feb. 16 1419 H St. • sactheatre.org Take a drive down Highway 57 in Grand Ole Opry country for this beloved country rock musical. Tickets are $40 regular; $35 seniors; $25 students.

Storyteller’s Evening with Kevin Marcy Wildwood Performing Arts Foundation Sunday, Feb. 16, 6–8 p.m. Citizen Vine Folsom, 609 Sutter St. • eventbrite.com Enjoy an evening of original music with Nashville singer/songwriter Kevin Marcy accompanied by two of Wildwood Performing Arts’ youth songwriters. Tickets are $35 and include a glass of wine or beer. Proceeds benefit the foundation’s educational programs.

Sacramento County Master Gardeners Open Garden UC Cooperative Extension Saturday, Feb. 8, 9 a.m.–noon Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd. • sacmg.ucanr.edu Check out mini demonstrations on water-efficient landscapes, pruning, herb gardens, composting, grafting and more. Bring your questions to the “Ask the Master Gardeners” table. The free event will go on rain or shine.

Vintage Glass, China & Pottery Sale at Scottish Rite Center.

ILP/GRID n INSIDESACRAMENTO.COM

“Come Fly With Me,” watercolor on paper, by Whitney Lofrano at Tim Collom Gallery.

Akinsanya Kambon’s ceramic sculptures at Crocker Art Museum.

SacTown VegFest 2020

Black History Month Free Family Festival

Sacramento Vegetarian Society Saturday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. McClellan Conference Center, 5411 Luce Ave. • sactownvegfest.org Enjoy 100-percent plant-based food and products from dozens of local vendors. Presentations include “A Cool Diet for a Warming Planet” and “Nutrition Made Simple.” Cooking demonstrations include “Real Thai” and “Maximizing Flavor.” Tickets are $5 adults; $3 children, seniors and disabled.

Crocker Art Museum Sunday, Feb. 16, Noon–4 p.m. 216 O St. • crockerart.org Enjoy a free, festive day of music, food, education and art demonstrations, plus the Black and Beautiful Marketplace.

Sacramento Jewish Film Festival

Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera Saturday, Feb. 1, 8 p.m. Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St. • sacphilopera.org Enjoy Tchaikovsky’s rousing “1812 Overture,” Copland’s “Rodeo” and more with pianist Orion Weiss under conductor Christopher Rountree. Tickets range from $32–$52.

The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region Feb. 19–23 Crest Theatre, 1013 K St. • jewishsac.org/sjff or eventbrite.com This festival presents films with Jewish themes and values that celebrate the diversity of Jewish experiences. Also enjoy music, food and discussions. Individual film tickets are $15 general; $13 seniors/students. Festival Passes and Day Passes are available.

1812 Overture

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

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

READERS NEAR & FAR 1. Greg and Donna Lucas on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. 2. El Camino High School Pep Band at Universal Studio’s CityWalk, their ﬁrst stop on the 2019 Spring Band Tour to Los Angeles. 3. Francisco and Gina Castillon at the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. 4. Stacey and Julie Reardon at The Met in New York City. 5. Elizabeth Fujii in front of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. 6. Jim Simon and Anita Scuri in Bellavista Cloud Forest Preserve neat Quito, Ecuador.

Visit our new website at InsideSacramento.com, under “Near & Far,” for a map with past readers' photos! You can also submit photos directly from our website. It's never been so easy!

Take a picture with Inside and email a high-resolution copy to travel@insidepublications.com or submit directly from our website at InsideSacramento. com. Due to volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee all photos will be printed or posted. Find us on Facebook and Instagram: InsidePublications.

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Seasonal Bounty MIDTOWN STALWART REMAINS TRUE TO ITS FARM-TO-FORK ROOTS

hink back to 2006. What do you think Sacramento saw itself as nearly a decade and a half ago? Where did you see Sacramento’s dining scene? Was farm-to-fork even on your radar? In 2006, Heather Fargo sat as mayor, Kevin Martin led the kings in scoring and Patrick Mulvaney had a clear-eyed vision of what made the dining scene in Sacramento special. He recognized our rich agricultural legacy and year-round seasonal bounty, things we locals took

GS By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

for granted, as unique and something to be celebrated. Nearly a decade and a half later, Mulvaney’s B&L continues to put out high-quality, approachable newAmerican fare that celebrates the fresh and local. Nearly every dish on the menu, a notably dynamic menu that changes daily with the harvest schedule, focuses on ingredients that come and go with the seasons. Under Chef Patrick Mulvaney and his wife Bobbin, the farm-to-fork ethos is clear and present in every dish that hits the table. When looking back, I’m actually surprised that Mulvaney’s has only been open since 2006. It feels like part of the fabric of Sacramento’s dining scene, so much so that I can’t quite picture that scene without it. Patrick and Bobbin are consistent forces locally, whether it’s in championing mental health awareness in the restaurant industry, driving actions for the Metro Chamber or

supporting culinary education through American River College. The physical restaurant is housed in one of Midtown’s oldest buildings, an 1893 firehouse with soaring ceilings, original brick and oodles of charm. The bar, an intricate wooden structure, feels like it was pulled from a goldrush-era mansion. The lively chef’s counter, a marble-topped edifice, feels equally weighty. In fact, every piece of furniture looks like it wasn’t meant to be in a restaurant, yet fits in just fine. The whole space, including the quaint fairy-lit patio, feels, my wife said, like the home of a friend. I second that observation. A dinner at Mulvaney’s is like dining at a friend’s house, a friend with Bohemian taste and deep pockets for sure, but a friend all the same. Since the menu changes so frequently it’s a sure thing that the dishes we sampled over a few visits won’t be available at the time of publishing, but

it’s worth it just to walk through some of the offerings to get a flavor of the kitchen’s approach. One of the regular spots on the menu goes to a traditional smoked salmon with Irish brown bread, capers, hardboiled eggs and a few other tidbits. While no item on the plate jumped out and grabbed me with originality and sophistication, I feel like that was exactly the point. The hominess of the dish, the generous slabs of housesmoked salmon and the precision with which each element was turned out speak to a kitchen where care is the No. 1 priority. A plate of scallops, broccolini and garbanzos could simply not have been better. The scallops tasted of the sea, with a perfect sear and a buttery mouthfeel. The broccolini, so often a terrorized vegetable in my own kitchen due to my clumsy overcooking, came across elegantly. The garbanzos were

pillowy and flavored with every other element of the dish. A salad of chicories was a delight, the kitchen having deftly worked the characteristic bitterness from the small leaves, and highlighted the woody, winter notes. A small plate of squash tortellini showed attention to detail in each beautiful handmade pasta, but the delicate squash filling got overwhelmed by the indulgent butter sauce richly coating the torts.

Grilled swordfish with romesco stood out for its strength of flavor and simple preparation. I’m a sucker for swordfish and this was one of the finest pieces I’ve had in recent memory. The sauce, redolent of fresh bell peppers and winter herbs, seemed an unlikely foil for the swordfish, but instead worked magic into every bite. At every stage of each visit, the service nearly overwhelmed with kindness, good spirit, attention to detail

and professionalism. Beyond just having a good server, we were touched by at least six to eight employees checking in, dropping off plates, picking up empties, delivering drinks and just stopping by to chat. The feel was that of being at a dinner party full of happy strangers who were having as good a time, if not better, than you. If it’s been a while since your friends with good taste invited you over to their fashionable abode for a delightful meal, then let Mulvaney’s be that friend.

Mulvaney’s B&L is at 1215 19th St.; (916) 441-6022; mulvaneysbl.com. Greg Sabin can be reached at gregsabin@hotmail.com. Our Inside Sacramento Restaurant Guide and previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

ILP/GRID n INSIDESACRAMENTO.COM

DOWNTOWN Cafeteria 15L Classic American dishes with millennial ﬂavor 1116 15th Street • 916.492.1960 cafeteria15l.com

Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters Award-winning roasters 3rd and Q Sts. • chocolateﬁshcoffee.com

Temple Coffee Roasters

Farm-fresh New American cuisine 1215 19th Street • 916.441.6022 mulvaneysbl.com

2200 K Street • 2829 S Street 1010 9th Street • templecoffee.com

Ma Jong Asian Diner

Old Soul

A colorful & casual spot for all food Asian 1431 L Street • 916.442.7555 majongs.com

Artisan pastries and roasted coffee 1716 L Street (rear alley) • oldsoulco.com

Mexican cuisine with a wide-ranging tequila menu 1200 K Street • 916.441.7200 experiencemayahuel.com

Taste and compare the region’s best wines 1200 K Street, #8 • 916.228.4518 downtownandvine.com

Old Soul

Ella Dining Room & Bar

Esquire Grill

Mulvaney’s Building & Loan

Casual Mexican in a lovely park setting 917 9th Street • 916.970.5354 lacosechasacramento.com

Mayahuel

Downtown & Vine

New American farm-to-fork cuisine 1131 K Street • 916.443.3772 elladiningroomandbar.com

La Cosecha by Mayahuel

Artisan pastries and roasted coffee 555 Capitol Mall • oldsoulco.com

INSIDE’S

Classic dishes in a sleek urban design setting 1213 K Street • 916.448.8900 paragarys.com

Firestone Public House Hip and happy sports bar with great food 1132 16th Street • 916.446.0888 ﬁrestonepublichouse.com

Frank Fat’s Fine Chinese dining in an elegant interior 806 L Street • 916.442.7092 frankfats.com

Preservation & Company

Preserving delicious produce from local ffarms 1717 717 19th Street #B • 916.706.1044 ti d preservationandco.com

South Timeless traditions of Southern hern cooking 2.9 2005 11th Street • 916.382.9722 weheartfriedchicken.com

THE HANDLE E

The Rind A cheese-centric food and wine bar 1801 L Street # 40 • 916.441.7463 therindsacramento.com

Zocolo Tastes inspired by the town square of Mexico City 1801 Capitol Avenue • 916.441.0303 zocalosacramento.com

MIDTOWN Biba Ristorante Italiano Legendary chef, cookbook author Biba Caggiano 2801 Capitol Avenue • 916.455.2422 biba-restaurant.com rant

Block ock Butcher Bar Specializi in housemade Specializing ouse salumi and cocktails 050 20th Street ree • 916.476.6306 6 1050 blockbutcherbar.com bloc bar.c

Ginger Elizabeth abeth Chocolates

Centroo Cocina Mexicana Cen cana

Unmatched sweett sophisticatio sophistication 7 1801 L Street, #60 • 916 916.706.1738 gingerelizabeth.com

Mexican cuisine in a festive, colorful setting 2730 J Street • 916.442.2552 paragarys.com

Grange Restaurant & Bar

Federalist Public House

The city’s quintessential dining destination 926 J St. • 916.492.4450 grangesacramento.com

Signature woodﬁred pizzas and local craft beers 2009 Matsui Alley • 916.661.6134 federalistpublichouse.com

Lowbrau Bierhalle Modern-rustic German beer hall 1050 20th Street • 916.452.7594 lowbrausacramento.com

Old Soul at The Weatherstone

$3.00 off

any order over $25 Fast & Fresh menu available 11:30am - 2:30pm, Tuesday-Friday . Dine in only. Not valid with any other offers. Must present coupon at time of use. Offer expires February 28, 2020.

(Order over $25 av per person) 1 bowl free per $25, max 4 With purchase of meal. Available until 6pm. Dine in only. Not valid with happy hour or any other offers. Must present coupon at time of use. Offer expires February 28, 2020.

2801 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95816 | 916.451.4700 | www.midtownsushi.net

ILP/GRID FEB n 20

Outstanding dining in a garden setting 2760 Sutterville Rd. • 916.452.2809 casagardenrestaurant.org

Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 2940 Freeport Blvd. chocolateﬁshcoffee.com

Freeport Bakery Award-winning neighborhood bakery 2966 Freeport Blvd. • 916.442.4256 freeportbakery.com

Iron on G Grill A mecc mecca to hearty ty ea eating 2422 13th 13 Street et • 916.737.5115 irong men irongrillsacramento.com

Riverside ve d Clubhouse Trad nal Amercian Traditional A classic menu 2633 Riverside Blvd. • 916.448.9988 riversideclubhouse.com

Selland’s Market-Café Family-friendly neighborhood café 915 Broadway • 916. 732.3390 sellands.com

Taylor’s Market & Kitchen A reputation for service & quality 2900 & 2924 Freeport Blvd • 916.443.5154 taylorsmarket.com

Vic’s Ice Cream & Café

Willie’s Burgers

French inspired bistro in chic new environment 1401 28th Street • 916.457.5737 • paragarys.com

A quirky burger joint 2415 16th Street • 916.444.2006 williesburgers.com

Urban winery and kitchen 2831 S Street • 916.444.7711 • rev.wine

Free Miso Soup

Casa Garden Restaurant

Paragary’s

Revolution Wines

New Fast & Fresh Lunch Menu

LAND PARK

Family owned since 1947 3199 Riverside Blvd. • 916.448.0892 vicsicecream.com

A focus on all things local 2718 J Street • 916.706.2275 • theredrabbit.net

Enjoy all inclusive champagne dinner specials for two!

Classic European with locally sourced ingredients 2000 Capitol Ave. • 916.498.9891 waterboyrestaurant.com

Artisan pastries and roasted coffee 812 21st Street • oldsoulco.com

The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar

Celebrate Valentine’s Week with Midtown Sushi

The Waterboy

Sac Natural Foods Co-Op Omnivore, vegan, raw, paleo, organic, glutenfree and carnivore sustenance 2820 R Street • 916.455.2667 • sac.coop

Sun & Soil Juice Company Raw, organic nutrition from local farms 1912 P Street • 916.341.0327 • sunandsoiljuice.com

Suzie Burger Burgers, cheesesteaks and other delights 2820 P Street • 916.455.3500 • suzieburger.com

Tapa the World Traditional Spanish & world cuisine 2115 J Street • 916.442.4353 tapatheworld.com

Woodlake Tavern 1431 Del Paso Blvd • 916.514.0405 woodlaketavern.com n

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year With Us!

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PENDING ESTATES AT CURTIS PARK! AC A@ 2P%S HM MDV "NLLTMHSX V O@SHN B@Q F@Q@FD @MC A@BJ @KKX @BBDRR Â¨ Veronica Hunter 916.398.0128 DRE#01905685 PENDING Pocket/ Greenhaven home! AC A@ V G@QCVNNC kNNQR CT@K O@MD VHMCNVR CNNQR @MC DWO@MRHUD A@BJX@QC Â¨ Paloma Begin 916.628.8561 DRE#01254423 PENDING WHISKEY HILL CONDO! AC A@ 2P%S +NB@SDC HM ,HCSNVM 4OC@SDR SGQNTFGNTS FNTQLDS JHSBGDM @MC B@Q F@Q@FDÅ¬ Â¨ Sidney Poritz 916.500.1522 BRE#01848054 2 HOUSES ON 1 LOT NEAR UC DAVIS MED CENTER! 1DLNCDKDC AQ A@ VHSG FTDRS PT@QSDQRÅ¬ Â¨ Sidney Poritz 916.500.1522 BRE#01848054 THE VILLAS AT EL MACERO! MDV FNKE BNTQRD UHDV BNMCNR AC A@ %QNL Â¨ Michael Onstead 916.601.5699 BRE#01222608

CURTIS PARK! /@QJ UHDV GNLD AC A@ 2P%S !D@TSHETKKX TOC@SDC HM Â¨ Angela Heinzer 916.212.1881 BRE#01004189

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SACRAMENTO METRO OFFICE 730 Alhambra Boulevard #150 | 916.447.5900

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