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THE MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE, PLACES & CULTURE IN AMERICA'S FARM-TO-FORK CAPITAL

COVER ARTIST Kerri Warner Warner is a Sacramento mixed media artist whose art work is now featured wrapped on an RT Light Rail car. Visit kerriwarner.com.

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

info@insidepublications.com EDITOR Marybeth Bizjak mbbizjak@aol.com PRODUCTION M.J. McFarland DESIGN Cindy Fuller PHOTOGRAPHY Linda Smolek, Aniko Kiezel AD COORDINATOR Michele Mazzera, Julie Foster DISTRIBUTION Sue Pane sue@insidepublications.com ACCOUNTING Daniel Nardinelli, Lauren Hastings

916-443-5087 EDITORIAL POLICY Commentary reflects the views of the writers and does not necessarily reflect those of Inside Publications. Inside Publications is delivered for free to more than 75,000 households in Sacramento. Printing and distribution costs are paid entirely by advertising revenue. We spotlight selected advertisers, but all other stories are determined solely by our editorial staff and are not influenced by advertising. No portion may be reproduced mechanically or electronically without written permission of the publisher. All ad designs & editorial—©

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Face the

FACTS

THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR MONGERING ITSELF

W

e all have fears, and as we mature we learn to live with most of them.

But we now have a

CH

By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

media that thrives on fear mongering.

It’s part of the great polarization of our society and has contributed greatly to it.

People trying to make a case for their side do their best to raise fears about what the other side is proposing. In the past year, this has risen to proportions that would be almost comical if it weren’t so harmful and sad for our country.

In our community, one of people’s biggest fears is that of encountering

others who are homeless, drug- and alcohol-addicted and mentally ill. The problem affects almost every aspect of our civic life: public health and safety, economic development, even the garbage that this group of people generates.

I live in the McKinley Park neighborhood and help run a nonprofit that manages Clunie Community Center and McKinley Rose Garden. On a daily basis, we

encounter problems with homeless people in McKinley Park facilities.

As avid cyclists and walkers, my husband and I were excited about the city’s recent announcement of the Two Rivers Trail. The project, now in its second phase, will extend from Sutter’s Landing Park to the H Street Bridge, alongside the River Park neighborhood. The trail project was

TO page 8

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Call or Text Me...916-698-1961 /LWWOH5(6 FRP + 6WUHHW FROM page 7 planned and approved as part of the county’s parkway master plan in 2006 after extensive community outreach.

It joins the 23 miles of parkway trail already in existence.

The trail will provide a safe, off-street bicycle-and-walking link between Sac State, River Park and Midtown. The ADA-compliant trail will be built on the river side of the levee. Wherever possible, the trail is designed to avoid natural areas and the top of the levee, in order not to interfere with critical levee maintenance.

City Councilmember Jeff Harris, who lives in River Park, believes that this project will provide significant benefits for the broader community.

But a small opposition group recently formed to stop the trail from being built. The group generated a petition signed by about 200 folks who also oppose the project. “Unfortunately, the information they used to get the signatures was based on a flyer that made fear-producing statements not based on fact,� said Harris. As a councilmember, he carefully considers opposition and works to keep an open mind, even on a project he sees as beneficial.

The group claims that the trail will increase car, cycle and foot traffic, which in turn will increase crime and lower quality of life in the neighborhood. It also compared photos of a pristine American River scene with a homeless camp along the river near Downtown, implying that the trail will attract homeless people and their camps to River Park. The

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group invited people to join a private Facebook page to help oppose the project. (Only opponents of the trail are allowed to see the content.)

Harris recently met with the group and included city officials to address each of its claims. He noted that the group then seemed to shift its objection; some said they simply did not want the existing dirt trail to change. “I can actually understand some folks just wanting to maintain the status quo. It is not unreasonable at all,� said Harris.

When neighbors who support the project found out about the petition to oppose it, they started their own protrail petition. It attracted hundreds of signatures in just a few days.

The project goes before the City Council in a few months for approval.

Harris said the council will weigh the costs and benefits and make a decision based upon the benefit to the entire community. He will hold a community meeting on the subject in River Park in early April. “It is my belief that this trail will provide a scenic experience without intruding on the privacy of neighboring property owners,� said Harris. “Trails have been identified as one of the most desired community amenities by the National Association of Home Builders. Improving the trail and increasing the users to provide ‘eyes on the trail’ is one of the most effective ways to reduce crime.�

Fear mongering affects just about every neighborhood at some time or another. In the Pocket, homeowners along the Sacramento River levee fought for decades to deny public

access near their homes because of their fear of the “undesirable elements� bringing crime. Our son bought a condo at The Mill at Broadway in Upper Land Park and said that a master planned city park in the development has opponents who fear it will become a homeless camp.

I’m glad the experience we have had with 23 miles of trail over three decades will help guide our civic decision makers on the wisdom of expanding the trails with this project.

I’m also happy that we didn’t have this type of fear mongering—made much worse by both traditional and social media—in those early days when our civic leaders made the decision to develop the gorgeous parkway, often described as the “jewel in the crown� of our region.

Our publications have given us the benefit of covering land-use decisions for the past 25 years. This experience has led me to see a pattern of opposition based primarily upon fear mongering.

I recall the cataclysmic neighborhood changes some people feared would result from the expansion of Mercy General Hospital and Sacred Heart Parish School.

Early in the process, neighborhood groups raised some potential problems. The developers were responsive and made changes that helped make the project much better.

But that didn’t stop opposition from a small group that continued unabated for years. It is now hard to even imagine the beautiful East Sacramento Mercy campus as

BRE #01437284

anything but a huge neighborhood asset.

More recently, that pattern of fear mongering was repeated before the city’s decision to approve the McKinley Village housing project.

The opposition group claimed the development was certain to become an urban ghetto, and that traffic on neighborhood streets (including my own) would be gridlocked.

If you haven’t seen McKinley Village, go see for yourself how beautiful the award-winning development is.

There is no doubt that homelessness has caused myriad problems for our region. But I am—for the first time—guardedly optimistic that our local governments and the private sector, working together, will be able to make a significant dent in the problem, given the funding and attention it has generated. It would be a shame to see public-policy decisions about our long-term civic future shaped by this current problem.

While social media offers benefits to some, it also contributes to fear mongering in our communities that wouldn’t have been imaginable a decade ago. We all need to stay fairminded and try to carefully sort out the facts from the fears.

For more information about the Two Rivers Trail project, go to tworiverssac.org.

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. n

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Signs of the Times LAVENDER HEIGHTS GETS NEW STREET SIGN TOPPERS

O

n Jan. 25, Midtown business owners and community leaders gathered at the intersection of 20th and K streets for the unveiling of new Lavender Heights sign toppers demarcating Sacramento’s historic LGBT neighborhood.

JL

By Jessica Laskey Life on the Grid

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about maintaining a sense of community. “SacYard is designed to be welcoming to everyone, including kids and dogs,” Melody says.

SacYard was built on the site of a former automotive garage. It has SacYard Community Tap House recently opened in a unique half-dome roof and glass East Sacramento. garage doors designed by Jake Moss of DIY Network’s “Yardcore.” intersections all over the area, which “The signage alerting visitors SacYard’s outdoor beer garden is home to many LGBT-owned clubs, they’re in Lavender Heights will features farm tables, a communal fire restaurants, galleries and shops. attract more visitors, bring more pit and games such as cornhole and For more information, visit traffic to local businesses and boccie. The owners plan to feature rainbowchamber.com. capitalize on the LGBT tourism live entertainment, such as acoustic boom,” says Paul Weubbe, former performances and stand-up comedy. president of the Sacramento Rainbow Food is sold on-site from food SACYARD TAP HOUSE Chamber of Commerce, who helped trucks. There is also a small selection OPENS IN EAST SAC lead the campaign to install rainbow of sandwiches, pasta salads and crosswalks at 20th and K in 2015. charcuterie prepared by Sacramento East Sac just got a hot new “Even more importantly, it will Natural Foods Co-op and Corti gathering spot. SacYard Community be a way of connecting with and Brothers.

Tap House opened to the public on instilling pride in future generations SacYard Community Tap House is Jan. 24. as a symbol of the history and open Tuesday through Thursday from SacYard offers a rotating selection accomplishments of the leaders who of 24 craft beers on tap and wine from 3 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday have gone before us.” from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday the Western United States.

The street sign toppers—approved from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Owners Dan and Melody Thebeau by the Sacramento City Council It is at 1725 33rd St. For more share a love for craft beer and the last November—will be installed at neighborhood, and they’re passionate information, visit sacyard.beer.

Carl Kowall's new book tells the story of the community of El Dorado Hills.

BENEFIT EVENING AT 24TH STREET THEATRE On Friday, March 2, 24th Street Theatre in Curtis Park will hold a benefit dinner and concert.

Patrick Landeza, a chef and Hawaiian slack key guitarist, will cook a Hawaiian dinner at 6 p.m., then give a concert at 8 p.m. Tickets are $60.

Proceeds will go toward replacing the theater’s seats, carpet, stage, signage and roof.

The theater was designed by Dean & Dean and constructed in 1929.

For tickets to the March 2 event, go to sierra2.org/hawaiianshow.

The theater is at 2791 24th St. For more information, go to sierra2.org.

SOUTH LAND PARK AUTHOR PUBLISHES BOOK In his new book, “The Story of El Dorado Hills,” 87-year-old author Carl Kowall details how the community of El Dorado Hills almost never came to be.

“My wife and I were one of the first four families who volunteered to set up a mobile home park so we could establish residency,” says the real estate broker, who now lives in South Land Park. “It was pretty rustic—my other car really was a horse. But it gave us the start we needed to make the idea of El Dorado Hills come to life.”

The development was the vision of Kowall’s boss, Allan Lindsey, who decided to build a “modern community for a modern time” on 10,000 acres of rolling hills just east of Sacramento.

It was no simple process. Buying the land in the first place was tricky, as was obtaining water rights. When building began, the first development plan was rejected, and the area’s rocky terrain presented such a huge obstacle that the developers had to

create a new way to dig water and sewer lines.

When the bottom fell out of the local real estate market in 1967 and the project’s financial partners pulled out, the land sat idle for almost a decade.

“The community of today is Allan’s legacy. It’s a vision that can still help guide the future,” Kowall says.

“The story of what he created there deserves its place in history.”

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n

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Tax Tsunami MULTIPLE TAX-HIKE PROPOSALS ARE LOOMING

H

ere’s the good news: 80 percent of all Americans will get a tax cut under the recently enacted federal income tax-reform bill, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. But before you start spending your tax cut, you should prepare yourself for local governments in Sacramento to take it all away (and perhaps more) through a number of tax-hike proposals over the next two years.

Here’s the story: When city voters in 2012 approved a half-percent “temporary” salestax hike, known as Measure U, city officials said it would raise $28 million each year. They money, they promised, would be spent to restore positions lost to layoffs during the Great Recession, and it would not be used to fund salary

CP

By Craig Powell Inside City Hall

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hikes or employee pension costs.

Measure U was sold as a six-year gap filler, needed only until the city’s other revenues recovered from the recession. In fact, due to an estimation error by city officials, Measure U actually brought in $41.5 million in 2015. This year, it’s expected to bring in $45 million.

Measure U expires on March 30, 2019. Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento City Council and The Sacramento Bee editorial board all seem determined to see it renewed— if not doubled and made permanent— by voters this November. So much for promises that Measure U would be a temporary tax. The political establishment is so committed to keeping Measure U in place that they’ve used their considerable clout to persuade other local taxing agencies to keep pending tax-hike proposals off the ballot until 2020 lest they overwhelm city voters with a tsunami of tax-hike measures.

The handwriting has been on the wall for some time. City politicians consistently rejected staff advice over the past few years to set aside a portion of Measure U revenues to help

the city wean itself from reliance on Measure U revenues in its final years.

Councilmembers were even overheard discussing plans to renew Measure U just days after the measure passed in 2012. It’s been Sacramento’s most open political secret. Everyone seemed to know about it except the average voter.

WHAT WILL MAYOR STEINBERG DO? What we don’t know at this point is whether Steinberg will follow through with his recent talk of possibly seeking a doubling of the Measure U tax hike, raising it from a half-percent to a full one percent sales-tax hike, as well as not just extending the tax but making it permanent. What we do know is that Steinberg has been promising to move forward on the funding of a number of new and expensive projects, including a $120 million expansion/renovation of the Sacramento Convention Center, a $90 million rehab of the Community Center Theater, a $25 million rehab of Memorial Auditorium, a $30

million construction subsidy for Powerhouse Science Center, a $25 million investment in riverfront development, ill-defined subsidies for a new convention center hotel and $21 million to build 1,000 tiny homes for the homeless. Whew!

To fund all these projects, he’ll need gobs of borrowed money. His challenge is that the city’s bonding capacity (its ability to borrow more money) is pretty much tapped. He wants more city tax revenue to support more borrowing. The problem is that city debt levels have exploded in recent years, rising from $1 billion in 2010 to nearly $3 billion today, due to rising bond debt (remember the arena bonds? utilities bonds?) and escalating unfunded retirement liabilities. State Sen. John Moorlach— the Legislature’s only CPA and a former Orange County treasurer— recently issued an analysis of the financial condition of California’s 482 cities, ranking them from best to worst. Sacramento came in at a dismal 427 in the fiscal rankings.

City tax revenues from non-U sources have fully recovered from recession-era levels. Measure U has

performed its intended function as a budgetary gap filler: making up for the city’s revenue losses until economic recovery restored the city’s non-U revenues. So why should it be extended, let alone doubled? Frankly, it’s because our city leaders have little to no control over their spending appetites.

There was a time when oldfashioned liberal politicians cared about the impact of tax hikes on average working families, the poor, seniors and those on fixed incomes.

That’s why they were instinctively opposed to increases of regressive taxes, such as the sales tax. Such tax hikes have little impact on the lifestyles of the wealthy while doing real harm to those who lack the discretionary income to bear the burden of higher taxes. But today’s progressive politicians don’t think like old-fashioned liberals. They push for regressive tax hikes that harm the poor and working families while scrambling to find ways to ease the impact of federal income tax increases on a much smaller number of California’s affluent taxpayers.

So much for caring about the “little guy.”

POLITICALLY HANDICAPPING MEASURE U Until 2016, Sacramento’s political class thought voters had an inexhaustible appetite for tax hikes. But in November 2016, voters narrowly rejected the two tax-hike measures on the ballot: Measure B, which sought to double the one-half-percent countywide

THE GAS-TAX REPEAL MEASURE IS PROVING QUITE POPULAR AMONG CALIFORNIA VOTERS, ACCORDING TO RECENT POLLING.

transportation sales tax, and the city schools’ Measure G, a $75 parcel-tax hike. Both those measures required a two-thirds majority for passage.

A renewal or increase of Measure U will be structured, as Measure U itself was, as a general tax increase, requiring only a simple majority vote for passage. Measure U passed very comfortably in 2012 with 63 percent of the vote. But will it pass again, now that the recession is over? Will Sacramento voters swallow a doubling of the Measure U tax hike if the City Council asks for it? It’s not clear.

At this point, it appears likely that the statewide initiative sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to repeal last year’s hike in the state gas tax will qualify for the November 2018 ballot. The gas-tax repeal measure is proving quite popular among California voters, according to recent polling.

While we have no data on how Sacramento voters feel about the gastax repeal, past elections show that Sacramentans vote pretty much like the rest of California voters do. Will local voter enthusiasm for repealing the gas-tax hike impact how city residents vote on extending or even doubling Measure U? Very possibly.

It’s also possible that the presence of the gas-tax hike repeal measure on the ballot will drive up turnout among anti-gas-tax hike voters, which could diminish support for an extension or doubling of the Measure U tax hike.

All of the taxing jurisdictions that are holding off placing tax-hike proposals on this year’s ballot will be back in force in 2020 with a number of tax-hike proposals. Yes, Steinberg is already lining up support for a “housing tax” measure in 2020, along with a housing bond measure of an uncertain amount to finance the construction of affordable and/ or homeless housing. (A proposed $4 billion housing bond will be on the statewide ballot this year.) The housing tax measure will likely take the form of a parcel tax, but it could be framed as a sales tax, depending on which polls better with voters.

In 2012, LA voters approved a $2 billion housing bond, as well as a onehalf-percent sales-tax hike to fund

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homeless programs. It’s likely that our mayor is casting covetous eyes on those election results.

TRANSPORTATION SALES-TAX HIKE The Sacramento Transportation Authority will try in 2020 to avenge the 2016 loss of Measure B, its proposal to double the existing Measure U one-half-percent countywide transportation sales tax. However, a “Son of Measure B” proposal will have to overcome the fallout from the transportation authority’s serious management problems, including its 40 percent overestimation of revenues from Measure A, which led it to overspend and overborrow against future Measure A revenues over the past decade, as I reported last month. One update to my most recent column: The amount by which the transportation authority overestimated its Measure A revenues was not $1 billion, as I’d reported.

According to a more recent staff

5900 Elvas Avenue Sacramento, CA 95819 www.stfrancishs.org/summer report, the authority’s overestimate was $1.94 billion.

The transportation authority will also face the claim that it’s being greedy: It’s already collecting 60 percent of what it sought with Measure B from money it’s receiving from the recently enacted statewide gas-tax hike.

CITY SCHOOLS TAX HIKE In November, following the negotiation of a new labor contract between Sacramento City Unified School District and Sacramento City Teachers Association, Steinberg, who played a major role in bringing the feuding parties together, pledged to back a 2020 city schools tax measure that would fund arts, music and sports programs.

Sac City Unified, like almost every school district in the state, is facing severe fiscal pressure from underfunded teacher pensions and rapidly escalating annual pension payments to CalSTRS, the teachers’ TO page 14

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FROM page 13 retirement system. Sac City Unified is known for providing a relatively rich benefits package to its teachers, including generous retiree health care benefits. (Its unfunded liability for retiree health care costs now exceeds $700 million.) The district has also historically had a salary structure, banged out in bargaining with its teachers union, that compensates its senior teachers more generously than most other area districts, making it difficult for Sac City to compete for and attract the most qualified new teachers.

ROADMAP TO A POSTMEASURE-U WORLD Eye on Sacramento (the civic watchdog group I founded and head) is launching a new project called A Roadmap to a Post-Measure-U World, which will outline ways in which the city can adapt to the loss of Measure U revenues. It’s designed to be a collaborative effort with the community. If you’d like to participate

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Call today for a FREE in-home consultation 916/215-9293

in the project and offer suggestions for ways the city government can reduce costs, I encourage you to contact me and share your ideas.

At Eye on Sacramento, we try not to just criticize the actions and policies of local governments without offering our own alternative policy solutions—solutions that offer people the opportunity to keep more of what they earn and that require local governments to function more effectively and efficiently in the delivery of vital public services. We welcome your input! We plan to widely distribute our roadmap well in advance of the November election.

Please let me know if you’d like a copy. Or you can sign up to receive updates at eyeonsacramento.org.

Craig Powell is a retired attorney, community activist and president of Eye on Sacramento, a civic watchdog and policy group. He can be reached at craig@eyeonsacramento.org or (916) 718-3030. n

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15

Mixed Blessings BOLD DEVELOPERS ARE THE KEY TO SOLVING HOUSING CRISIS

I

n “The End of the Affair,” author Graham Greene writes that stories don’t really have beginnings or ends, only “the moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” Similarly, it’s impossible to bookend Sacramento’s current housing crisis.

Do we begin before or after the 2007 recession? Or in 2011, when Gov. Jerry Brown drastically cut funding to redevelopment agencies?

Or in 2015, when former mayor Kevin Johnson launched his “10,000 housing units” initiative? Each provides context for the story, but characters really tell the tale. Enter Ali Youssefi of CFY Development, the developer behind a mixed-use, mixed-income project that will be built at 1717 S St.

JV

By Jordan Venema Building Our Future

Ali Youssefi of CFY Development Inc. at his company's develpment downtown.

16

ILP MAR n 18

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Youssefi describes CFY Development, which his father founded in the 1980s, as an “an old-school, vertically integrated company.” CFY serves as developer, contractor and property manager for mixed-income housing, which includes both low-income and market-rate units.

In housing discussions, “low income” refers to 80 percent or less of the region’s Area Median Income (AMI), determined annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sacramento’s AMI in 2017 was $52,000, so low income is considered $41,600 or less. In Sacramento, a one-bedroom unit renting at 100 percent AMI would cost $1,392 a month, while that same unit would cost $1,114 a month or less for low-income tenants. Rent for market-rate units typically begins at 120 percent AMI. CFY projects like 700 K Block and 800 Block challenge the stereotype of what low-income housing can achieve architecturally and aesthetically.

Projects such as these are integral to

the redevelopment of Sacramento’s city center.

“Large projects like you see in Detroit and New York,” says Youssefi, “you don’t see anymore. Affordable housing is better integrated into communities, and our goal is to design projects that look like normal marketrate apartments.”

As Youssefi puts it, mixed-income housing is “diversifying at the micro level.” By creating housing for the barista and the CEO, Youssefi believes mixed-income development encourages increased tolerance for socioeconomic diversity while providing better amenities and higher-quality housing for low-income tenants.

Typically, mixed-income developments like 800 Block, 700 K Block and 1717 S St. include more market-rate than low-income units. Another of CFY’s projects, Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street, is an exception: 75 percent of its units are considered low income. Though unusual, the high ratio of low-income units allowed CFY Development to

take advantage of the federal LowIncome Housing Tax Credit program, which funded nearly $20 million of WAL’s $41.2 million budget. Youssefi expects to receive approximately $4.5 million in tax credits for the $63 million project at 1717 S St., because only 20 percent of its 159 units will be for low-income tenants.

Once tax credits are approved, developers like Youssefi sell them to third parties, such as banks or companies like Google, which then become partial owners of the project.

“From Google’s perspective, you’re either giving $20 million to the government or $20 million to mixedincome housing with added benefits,” explains Youssefi. “But for us, one of the major consequences of the recent tax reform is that, by dropping the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, all of a sudden Google doesn’t need those tax credits. We just took a major blow, because now those tax credits aren’t as valuable.”

Which raises another problem developers face when financing mixed-income projects: For projects

that include low-income units, they can apply for federal tax credits or low-interest loans through the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. But they have less incentive to build units in the 80 to 120 percent of AMI range, which aren’t considered low income.

That hasn’t stopped Youssefi from including 32 units of the 1717 S St. project that will rent to tenants earning 120 percent AMI or less (in addition to the 32 units rented at 50 percent AMI or less). But the remaining 95 units will rent at unrestricted rates to justify the cost of construction.

In recent years, Sacramento consistently has ranked high among major U.S. cities for the highest increase in rental rates. According to research firm Yardi Matrix, Sacramento’s occupancy rate hit 96 percent in 2017. With such high demand, Sacramento developers should be lining up for new projects.

This would be good news for tenants if more units translated to more TO page 19

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

17

Cleanup Crew

HE FIGHTS TO KEEP THE AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY SAFE FOR ALL

S

ierra Oaks resident and capacity building consultant David Lukenbill loves the American River Parkway. In 2003, he founded the nonprofit American River Parkway Preservation Society to make sure it stays as safe as possible.

Here, he discusses the future of the region’s favorite outdoor playground.

How did you get inspired to found ARPPS? I’ve been involved with nonprofit work most of my adult life, and I’ve always spent a lot of time in the parkway and on the river. I was president of the board of the American River Natural History Association about 20 years ago and was contacted by developer Bob Slobe, who wanted our help dealing with illegal camping in the North Sacramento Cal Expo area

JL

By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Profile

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of the parkway. I was unaware how deeply illegal camping was degrading the parkway in that area and how seriously it was impacting the adjacent neighborhoods and businesses. After meeting with Bob and doing some research on my own, I asked the ARNHA board if they were willing to become advocates for the parkway. They decided it was outside their turf, so I left the ARNHA board and formed ARPPS. (Lukenbill serves as the founding president, CFO and senior policy director for the organization.)

Why do you think stewardship of the parkway is so important?

It is one of the most valuable and enjoyable river parkways in the country. It’s a relatively natural area in a suburban setting, providing a real getaway from the workaday world for walkers, runners, bike riders, dog walkers, photographers, artists and just plain sightseers. Right now, most of the parkway from Cal Expo up is pretty user friendly and safe, with occasional exceptions. But the area of focus needs to be on what we refer to as the parkway skid row, from Discovery Park to Cal Expo. With

our efforts, we hope to see the laws regarding illegal camping strictly enforced and to see the parkway expand—both of which, in our opinion, can only be satisfied through daily management by a nonprofit organization, like it’s done with Central Park in New York City.

How has illegal camping degraded the parkway?

In just the past three months of Parkway Ranger reporting, 508 unlawful camping sites have been discovered. All of those hundreds of people—plus many more whose campsites have not yet been found— use the parkway as a bathroom, kitchen (cutting wood for campfires, many of which wind up burning parts of the parkway), bike chop shop and general trash dump.

How do you plan to relocate the people who are camping there?

Our concern is with the devastation that illegal camping has been causing to the parkway, rather than determining the fate of the homeless when and if they are ever fully removed from the parkway. However,

we suffer when thinking about the misery and destitution that is part of the fabric of living without a home.

We’re a big proponent of the Housing First approach: that until homeless people are actually housed, they will not have the internal resources to devote toward rebuilding their life.

ARPPS is advocating the creation of a homeless transformation campus based on the model of Haven for Hope in San Antonio, Texas, which is the largest and most comprehensive homeless transformation campus in the United States. It provides residence to approximately 1,600 individuals on any given night across 15 buildings on 37 acres with almost 500,000 square feet of service space under roof. And, of course, if all of the improvements Mayor Darrell Steinberg is proposing actually come to pass, that will be of great benefit.

Hope springs eternal. We believe that local leaders are operating with good intentions and will eventually get the job done.

For more information about the American River Parkway Preservation Society, visit arpps.org. n

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FROM page 17 affordable rates. But Youssefi says a general shortage of skilled laborers is both slowing down development and pressuring developers to increase rent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t justify new development otherwise,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now, there is a shortage of construction laborers, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m running into an issue where I go out to the market to get proposals for a project, and they have all the leverage,â&#x20AC;? says Youssefi, noting that Sacramento developers have to compete with Bay Area developers for contractors and construction workers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Bay Area rates] set a price for construction thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost unfeasible for us to work with here in Sacramento, and market-rate housing developers had been waiting for rent to get to a point that it justifies construction. They have no other choice, and the pieces fall into place only when you can afford to pay the framer whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing jobs in Oakland to stay and do jobs in Sacramento.â&#x20AC;?

Which introduces a housing Catch-22. Supply and demand should dictate that more units will lead to lower rents, but to justify more housing, rents have to increase first.

One solution, Youssefi suggests, would be for local and state agencies to offer better financial incentives for development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more favorable the terms of financing, the less pressure on developers to underwrite projects at higher rent levels,â&#x20AC;? he says.

Or, like CFY Development, developers could explore financial opportunities and incentives to

construct successful mixed-income housing projects like WAL. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If developers were to set aside a portion of their units for low-income tenants, as we are doing at 1717 S, then they could qualify for additional funding like tax credits or lowinterest loans,â&#x20AC;? says Youssefi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But right now, those funding sources are predominantly available for just the lowest income targets. One way to increase production would be to expand the types of units that would qualify for below-market-rate financing.â&#x20AC;?

That, practically speaking, would benefit the average Sacramentanâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the teacher, laborer, artistâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;who exists just above the â&#x20AC;&#x153;low-incomeâ&#x20AC;? threshold but cannot afford rent at 120 percent AMI. From a civic standpoint, the push for new housing to attract new residents is a push for more tax revenue. But if new housing comes at the cost of increased rent, which threatens to push out current residents, does it exist for the Sacramentans of today, or the Sacramentans of tomorrow?

More than ever, the city of Sacramento needs to explore how to incentivize developers to think beyond the market-rate tenant.

Because an even rarer commodity right now than skilled labor is developers like Youssefi who have the experience and conviction to build housing for the entire spectrum of tenants in Sacramento. They are the characters who will play an important role in how the story of housing in Sacramento develops.

Jordan Venema can be reached at jordan.venema@gmail.com. n

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The Hotel Next Door HOW TO DEAL WITH AIRBNB IS AN ISSUE FOR RESIDENTS AND GOVERNMENT City Councilmember Jeff Harris

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o city wants to develop a reputation as being unfriendly to business.

But there are exceptions. What if the business is disruptive to neighborhoods? What if the business is all about quick profit and minimal returns for the community? What if the business is parasitic?

Such is the dilemma faced by Sacramento regarding the short-term home rental trade, typified by web platforms such as Airbnb.

It’s called the “sharing economy,” which sounds so friendly and benign.

But in some cases, the only thing shared within the shared economy is headaches.

RG

By R.E. Graswich City Beat

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ILP MAR n 18

Under the storybook scenario, Airbnb gives homeowners a chance to share their homes. They make some extra cash by renting out a room or granny flat. In the worst cases, the property owner lives in another state, ignores local ordinances, habitually breaks the law and removes desperately needed housing stock from the market. Some landlords are a little of both.

All of this has been very much on the mind of City Councilmember Jeff Harris. Among his eight elected colleagues, Harris has been the loudest and most articulate voice willing to discuss the neighborhood scourge of pop-up hotels as represented by the Airbnb phenomenon.

Harris is alarmed because he’s researched the damage Airbnb-type rogues have inflicted on other cities, often places with more robust tourist markets than Sacramento. As the city’s popularity grows, he knows the same things can happen here.

“I want the bad actors, the bad operators, to know I’m coming after them,” he says. “We’ve had plenty of warning about what can happen when the Airbnb thing takes off and they spring up all over your city.

In Sacramento, it hasn’t taken off like a rocket ship, and that’s a good thing. But we want to have the right ordinances in place in case it does.”

Sacramento already has rules to cover the short-term hotel game. But the rules are vague and practically impossible to enforce. Neighborhood residential hotels are required to apply for business permits. They are limited to 90 days of guest visits per year, with never more than six guests at a time. Anything beyond 90 days and the innkeeper must seek a conditional-use permit, which requires public hearings and provides an opportunity for community opposition.

Harris has tried to maintain an open mind about Airbnb-type hotels, but the more he learns about

them, the more he leans toward a stricter approach to governing them.

Ultimately, the direction he may favor involves banning any Airbnb-style hotel that doesn’t have an owner living in the house full time.

“We really have to ask ourselves if we even want off-site operators at all,” he says. “Do we want to support that kind of business?”

HARRIS IS ALARMED BECAUSE HE’S RESEARCHED THE DAMAGE AIRBNBTYPE ROGUES HAVE INFLICTED ON OTHER CITIES.

Absentee landlords have been the problem child in Airbnb controversies around the world. Aside from suctioning up valuable housing inventory, off-site operators often seem blissfully unwilling to play by municipal rules. And why should they? Many cities—Sacramento included—lack the code-enforcement personnel to track down and prosecute violators.

Locally, the permit program won’t even begin to pay for itself until more than 2,500 short-stay hotels are registered in the program and generating the mandated temporary occupancy taxes. The city figures there are about 400 Airbnb homeowners currently selling room nights around town. Maybe 15 percent have even bothered to pull a business permit.

“These people are clever,” Harris says. “They know what they are doing and what they can get away with.

They are thumbing their noses at us.”

City Hall hasn’t been inundated with complaints about neighborhood Airbnb hotels, which explains why Harris has been a lonely voice of

alarm. Other councilmembers express concern when they hear stories about bad innkeepers, but they don’t want to slow Sacramento’s momentum as it strives to become a destination city.

Harris is sympathetic to homeowners who try to cash in on the rental bandwagon—at least the homeowners who actually live in their mini-hotels. He’s a small-business man himself. But he’s also been subjected to the community upheaval that takes place when a good neighbor sells his or her house to an absentee Airbnb landlord.

The councilmember recalls a long night suffering through a Sacramento State party held at an Airbnb house near his home in River Park. He speaks from experience as he says, “When it happened to me, I thought, if this was my next-door neighbor and a bunch of Sac State students were carrying on out of control all night, I’d be going ballistic. Nobody should have to live with that. I’d call my councilmember.”

R.E. Graswich can be reached at reg@graswich.com. n

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21

From Page to Stage LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT BRINGS FIRST FULL-RUN PLAY TO HOWE AVENUE THEATER

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ast month brought a lot of firsts for Arden Park resident Irwin Rosenblum. His first full-length play, “Family Cabins,” enjoyed its world premiere. The show also marked Rosenblum’s first time producing, as well as the first full-run production at Howe Avenue Theater on Cottage Way. “I’m so excited to bring this production here,” says Rosenblum.

“It’s really a neighborhood theater.

People don’t expect to see a show at the park across the street from The Home Depot.”

The theater recently underwent a $100,000 renovation so that it could accommodate live theatrical productions, as well as the cultural festivals, weddings and bingo nights it was already hosting. Upgrades were made to the lighting, sound, acoustics and flooring. Rosenblum will be one

JL

By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor

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ILP MAR n 18

of the first to benefit from the new facility.

Rosenblum, who grew up in Carmichael, calls himself a “software manager by trade, playwright by passion.” On New Year’s Eve 2016, he made a resolution: write a play by the end of the year. He followed through, writing not only several short plays but also the first draft of “Family Cabins,” a family drama.

He held readings of the play with friends and at Playwrights Collaborative, a Sacramento group that meets once a month to workshop and discuss new plays in progress. “It got a lot of positive response, which was very encouraging,” he says.

“Family Cabins,” which contains strong language and mature content, is about a family trying to help a loved one cope with mental illness.

Rosenblum plans to donate all profits from the production to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

“I have a personal connection to mental illness, and I tend to write things that are familiar,” he explains. “I saw the subject matter as something that could be very dramatic onstage, but also an area I haven’t seen dealt with in the way I’m dealing with it. I decided to take it on.”

Irwin Rosenblum Rosenblum decided to produce the play himself—without any prior experience.

“I figured that the only way I’d get it produced is if I did it—no one’s knocking on my door,” Rosenblum says with a self-effacing laugh. “I’ve seen other people produce their own plays, so I said to myself, ‘That’s the way you’ve got to do it if you want to get it done.’”

Like any smart producer, Rosenblum surrounded himself with other talented people. He asked veteran playwright, director and producer Leo McElroy to direct the production, secured his female lead

long before auditions, asked his friend Erik Finnerty (who runs FatCat Bakery) to donate baked goods for concessions to maximize profits for NAMI, and enlisted childhood friends to design poster art and compose original music for the show.

“It’s a nice way to start,” Rosenblum says. “Everyone is very enthusiastic, which just makes me even more excited.”

“Family Cabins” runs the first two weekends in March at Howe Avenue Theater, located at 2201 Cottage Way. For more information, visit familycabinsplay.com. n

LIKE ANY SMART PRODUCER, ROSENBLUM SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH OTHER TALENTED PEOPLE.

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ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

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Back in Sac THIS COUPLE MOVES HOME TO NEIGHBORHOOD THEY LOVE

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By Cathryn Rakich Home Insight

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ILP MAR n 18

M

usic plays an important role in Tom and Kellie Hallenbeck’s remodeled East Sacramento home. Classic rock flows through a multi-room stereo system. Musical instruments are prominently displayed in the living room. A downstairs office hides away a hightech sound system, set up for all types of musical mediums, including vinyl.

“It was important for Tom to have speakers in all the rooms,” says contractor Joedy Zapara, of Sacramento-based JAZ Developments, whose workers benefited from the Hallenbecks’ taste in tunes.

“Homeowners can make an amiable environment for the contracting crew by including classic rock on demand,” Zapara adds with a smile.

The Hallenbecks purchased the five-bedroom, two-bath home in 1995 when their third child was on the way and they needed to upsize.

“I’ve always liked the older homes, the established areas,” comments Tom, an engineer who retired from Caltrans. “I wanted to ride my bicycle to work and the farmers market.”

But just as the couple was beginning to think about remodeling the 1924 home, Tom’s job offered him an opportunity in Bishop, a small town in Inyo County. “I accepted the job with the idea that we would come back in about two years,” Tom notes. So the family rented out their East Sacramento home and bought a second house in Bishop. “But we fell in love with the town. … So we stayed there for 17 years.”

The family, however, never stopped thinking about their home in East Sacramento, and they finally moved back in 2015. “We wanted to come back,” says Kellie, who grew up in Sacramento and worked for Tower Records in its “heyday.” “It felt like home,” adds Tom. “The trees, the diversity of housing, the neighborhood, the people.”

At first, the changes to the 2,800-square-foot home seemed simple: expand and remodel the galley-style kitchen and add a bathroom off the master suite. But as they considered the requirements of an older home, the remodel “just grew,” sighs Kellie.

“Since we were remodeling the kitchen and adding a bathroom, as an engineer, I knew that was a good time to do the plumbing,” Tom points out.

“But I was not too keen on rewiring the house. Everything works fine; just don’t touch it,” he adds with a laugh about the original knob-and-tube wiring. “But I wanted to respect this house. This was the opportunity to give it a new lease on life.”

Tom admits that the rewiring was more than they bargained for.

Channels had to be ripped in the lath-and-plaster walls throughout the house. “At some point, the whole thing just exploded,” says Zapara.

“Every wall surface, every piece of trim, every ceiling got touched.”

The couple also lived in the home throughout the 15-month remodel.

“It became ridiculous after a while,” laments Tom. “As they tore up a room and went to the next one, we would have to vacate it.” The couple “made the most of a fairly traumatic environment,” adds Zapara.

In the end, all the trials and tribulations were worth it. The kitchen now features quartzite countertops, porcelain tile floors, custom cabinets, under-counter and recessed lighting, and new windows and appliances. A wall was pushed out 10 feet to create an additional

“IT FELT LIKE HOME. THE TREES, THE DIVERSITY OF HOUSING, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THE PEOPLE.”

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200 square feet. A brass foot rail was added under the sink cabinet for Tom to rest his foot on while washing dishes.

The couple also credits interior designer Roxanne Stellmacher, who helped with many of the decorative decisions. “I told her I wanted my bathroom to be like the Fairmont in San Francisco,” says Kellie. Now, the homeowner enjoys a freestanding bathtub (complete with a crystal chandelier), a steam shower, heated floors and towel rack, a closet with a built-in vanity, and a bidet.

The living room maintains its 1920s character with the original ceiling light fixture, red oak floors, glass doors leading to the dining area and a wood-burning fireplace.

The couple added a guest bathroom upstairs and a wraparound deck off the kitchen with built-in seats, a hot tub and storage. In addition to electrical, the utility and

infrastructure upgrades included new high-efficiency heating and air conditioning, a water heater, sewer and water lines, underground cable and a whole-house fan.

What would the Hallenbecks do differently? “Maybe not live through it,” says Tom. “The first year, Tom went to work, and I would take off with the dog,” says Kellie. “We scheduled a number of things around the dog’s mental health,” Zapara adds.

But the Hallenbecks could not be happier being back in East Sacramento. “Even though it’s a big city, we knew this neighborhood would make us feel like we were part of a smaller town,” says Tom. “Like Sacramento is at its heart.”

If you know of a home you think should be featured in Inside Publications, contact Cathryn Rakich at crakich@surewest.net. n

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COACHING PARENTS ON HOW TO NOT BE ‘THAT DAD’

Zach Streight

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By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

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T

here is something about sports that can turn parents into fools. Consider the ride home after a kid’s soccer or softball or Little League game. Win or lose, the best thing a parent can do is say something like, “Hey, how about a little detour for some ice cream?”

But no, this is when parents become fools. They squeeze the steering wheel and look into the rearview mirror and say, “I can’t believe you missed that open goal (or dropped that pop fly or struck out).”

Fortunately, there is help for those of us—raise your hand if you have grilled your child after a game—who, despite our best intentions, simply can’t help ourselves

from blundering into the realm of post-match commentary after the final whistle. It’s natural. And it’s devastating.

“The No. 1 mistake we make as parents is the postgame analysis in the car ride home,” says Zach Streight, executive director of the Sacramento chapter of Positive Coaching Alliance, a national nonprofit dedicated to turning kids into better athletes and better people. “All the kid hears is, ‘When we get home, you’ve got to work on your hitting.’ Those encounters in the car are the leading reason why kids drop out of youth sports.”

Positive Coaching Alliance is not a therapy session for wounded parents. It’s based on academic research (many of the strategies were designed at Stanford), with strong influences from the disciplines of psychology and philosophy.

The idea is not to turn young athletes into wimps or indifferent losers, but rather to encourage athletic participation by making the games fun and challenging.

“We embrace competition,” Streight says. “Our programs encourage them to be more competitive and better athletes, but also better people. The goal is to keep kids healthy and active and to teach integrity, sportsmanship and character—all life lessons.”

Working with local youth sports organizations and schools to reach coaches, parents and young athletes,

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Basically, people with fixed mind-sets are afraid of failure.

The possibility of failure becomes paralyzing, thus guaranteeing the outcome that was feared in the first place. Conversely, the growth mindset hardly recognizes failure, even when clobbered by it.

The growth mind-set tries to figure out new strategies to overcome setbacks, believing that if one approach didn’t work, another might.

“The growth mind-set knows it takes hard work to succeed,” Streight says. “But they never really consider failure. They just say, ‘OK, what can I try next?’”

The Sacramento chapter of Positive Coaching Alliance has taken some of its own medicine. The local group opened shop about 10 years ago after getting its start in the Bay Area.

It had some success but eventually foundered beneath a model based

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on one-time coaching seminars and lectures. Today, the group seeks to build years-long relationships with middle and high schools and youth sports organizations, delivering follow-ups and reaffirmations of lessons learned.

Streight himself is a story of how the fixed mind-set can transform into growth. He studied business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and earned an MBA at UCLA. He moved into software development and management with no thought of working for a nonprofit.

But as he reached his 40s, he felt burned out and, with his family’s support, decided to try something completely new. During the arduous interview process for a management position with Positive Coaching Alliance, he realized he had discovered his calling.

“We deal with some pretty deep stuff,” he says. “People don’t set out to mess up their kids, but we all have blind spots.”

Streight had his own blind spots, residue from his days as a high school athlete. He was able to apply

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Positive Coaching Alliance lessons to his relationship with his own son, who struggled with fear of failure.

Together, they found pathways to success.

“I’ve always been supercompetitive.

I want to win,” he says. “And it’s OK if your definition of success is wanting an athletic scholarship for your kid.

But you have to figure out how to use that in a positive way.”

Few of the young athletes who benefit from Positive Coaching Alliance actually win athletic

scholarships, and even fewer earn their living from sports. Not surprisingly, former college and pro athletes are among Streight’s favorite encounters. They know exactly what he’s talking about.

“College athletes and beyond are the easiest people in the world to work with,” he says. “After a game, they ask their kid, ‘What kind of ice cream do you want?’”

R.E. Graswich can be reached at reg@graswich.com. n

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ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

29

Beer Booster

HE CREATED INNOVATIVE PASSPORT PROGRAM FOR LOCAL BREWERIES

BY DANIEL BARNES MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR

A

Aaron O'Callaghan

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ILP MAR n 18

s Aaron O’Callaghan returns to the table with a glass of hazy IPA in hand, he pauses to smile and survey the room.

It’s one of those this-is-why-I-do-it moments. The noisy and bustling scene at the Track 7 taproom in Curtis Park includes two bawling babies, several breeds of dogs and a cacophonous children’s birthday party. It’s a microcosm of the allinclusive, family-friendly craft beer scene that inspired O’Callaghan to create Sacramento Beer Frontier, a local “brewery passport” program.

“I have a 2- and a 4-year-old, and I don’t know that this project would have happened without them,” says O’Callaghan. “I wanted to make a small contribution to the landscape.”

A collaborative project with the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, the brewery passport is a 28-page, pocket-sized passion project with a foldout map and a list of every local craft brewery. After purchasing the passport, customers must visit area breweries to get their books stamped, collecting various prizes along the way. “It speaks to that excitement you get when you stamp your passport in a foreign country,” says O’Callaghan.

“There’s a little bit of a game to it.”

The project was fully funded through Kickstarter, and the finished product debuted in early 2017.

O’Callaghan originally expected to sell 500 or 600 passports by midyear but instead sold nearly 2,000. He planned to update the passport twice a year, but given the current rate of brewery churn, Callaghan will make quarterly

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He also included blank pages so that customers don’t have to buy a new edition every time a brewery opens or closes.

It all started with a simple map.

Back in 2014, O’Callaghan was drinking beers with his friend Trent Yackzan, the co-owner of Sudwerk Brewing Co. Yackzan was a member of the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, which had been discussing the idea of creating a brewery map for Beer Week 2015. “The idea behind the map was to turn Sacramento into a global beer destination, to get people out and about and remembering that beer is social,” says Yackzan. “It’s hard to drink beer over the internet.”

A longtime cartography enthusiast, O’Callaghan volunteered to create the map, figuring it would be a fun little project for Beer Week. “I think I printed a stack of 200 posters and posted them around town, and they were getting stolen off walls,” says O’Callaghan. “Everyone was excited about this map, and that resulted in doing a Kickstarter campaign, which

ultimately resulted in developing this passport program.”

For Daniel Moffatt, brewer and co-owner at Hollywood Park-based Fountainhead Brewing Co., their spot on the 2015 map was a sign that they had arrived. “At the time, we were a couple months old, so it was super exciting,” says Moffatt. “It made us feel like we were on the scene, that we had been recognized and validated.”

The brewery passport also helped boost recognition for the fledgling brewery. “Every weekend we get people who have never been here, getting their stamp for the first time,” says Moffatt.

Before O’Callaghan could kickstart his Kickstarter, though, he needed to get all 50-plus local breweries on board. “Getting in touch with all the breweries was hands-down the most difficult part of the project, and ultimately came down to me going to every single one, just showing up in the taproom,” says O’Callaghan.

Industry support proved invaluable and helped O’Callaghan end his 30day campaign in three weeks, with

www.PalomaBegin.com several local breweries taking to social media to nudge it over the finish line.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Sacramento Beer Frontier is that it’s a brewery booster created by a customer, rather than someone with a monetary horse in the race.

According to Yackzan, that speaks to O’Callaghan’s legitimate passion for craft beer and community. “The guy is so naturally enthusiastic and authentically fired up, not just about beer but about his town,” says Yackzan.

The success of Sacramento Beer Frontier has led to offers for O’Callaghan to host events, create an app, write a blog and more, but for now he’s content to keep churning out passports. “It exists, people are enjoying it, and I’ve been printing passports way faster than I ever imagined,” he says. Many people claim that the Sacramento brewery market is already oversaturated, but O’Callaghan points out that there are still blank areas on the map.

“Sacramento can probably support more, if breweries are smart about what they do,” he says. “I don’t

think it works if you just hang your shingle.”

To that end, the most recent edition of the brewery passport is already out of date, not reflecting several recent surprise closures. “In some ways, the passport serves as a guide book, but it also serves as a reference book,” says O’Callaghan. “It marks a place in time.

Daniel Barnes can be reached at danielebarnes@hotmail.com. n

O’CALLAGHAN ORIGINALLY EXPECTED TO SELL 500 OR 600 PASSPORTS BY MIDYEAR BUT INSTEAD SOLD NEARLY 2,000.

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

31

What Lies Beneath KNOW WHAT’S UNDERGROUND BEFORE YOU START DIGGING

I

t was just a matter of moving and create several new garden areas. a rose a few feet in my garden, Throughout the years, we’ve added making way to change a pathway. brick pathways, put in lighting and As we worked to dig it out, we planted compulsively and intensively. uncovered three irrigation pipes, both As we embark on this new project to solid and corrugated drain lines, a improve drainage and irrigation, we drain inlet, some bricks and a layer find that we can’t remember where of broken concrete. Our house is 80 everything was installed and when. years old. Did this all get installed We can only find some of the old during the four decades that we’ve records, and they are incomplete. lived here? Is any of it still functional?

Garden plans are good, but things My landscaper said, “We’ve dug often change as a project progresses. several archaeological layers deep.

We need to document “as built,” not Some of this could have been here just “as designed,” using photos, before you.” Maybe it was, and sketches and notes to record what’s maybe it wasn’t. In any case, I don’t been done. This time, we have remember. made final payment contingent on Memory is a tricky thing. After complete documentation of what’s all, I usually can’t find all of the been installed and how it works. What Christmas decorations from one year parts of the irrigation system does to the next. No wonder I can’t recall each valve control? Where are the what has been done in my yard over irrigation lines, and what are their so many years. specifications? Where are the wires We are currently finishing our for the lighting? Where are the new fourth major backyard project. We drain lines, and how do they tie into installed perennial the existing ones? We beds and a deck 35 need a record of all years ago, then redid that. much of the yard after Even if you building a masterare starting with bedroom wing a dozen a clean slate in years later. It wasn’t your landscape,

By Anita Clevenger long before we decided it is possible that Garden Jabber to take out the pool there are surprises

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They will ask you to mark the area where you will be excavating with white paint.

Document where your meters, control panels and water shut-offs are located. Where are your outside electrical outlets and hose bibs? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to write these important things

down and have the information in a central file.

Whether you are digging for a major project or just doing routine gardening, proceed cautiously. If your shovel scrapes something, explore what you are finding before you do damage. As weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done this project, our contractor checks to make sure that he understands how each new thing that we discover is connected.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like finding a puzzle piece and trying to figure out how it fits.

Drip irrigation has many virtues, but it often disappears under mulch and plants. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much too easy to damage it when you dig, weed or do other work in the yard. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t count how many times I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve encountered a root, only to realize that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve punctured or cut through irrigation. Take time to locate the lines before you work in an area. If you damage a line and have to repair it, be sure to flush out the system to ensure that dirt does not clog the system.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to remember where bulbs or perennials have been planted when they are slumbering during their

dormant periods. Take care not to weed them out, dig them up or plant on top of them. Flags, tags, photos, notes, lists and garden sketches can serve as reminders.

Better documentation will help my husband and me manage our landscape, but we are increasingly aware that we wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be here forever.

Will the next people who live and garden here want to keep, modify or change the landscape altogether?

Good records will assist them.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no way that we will ever document everything buried underground. There is a certain thrill and mystery in discovering something and asking, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What have we here?â&#x20AC;? In a way, all gardeners are archaeologists and explorers, probing the unknown.

Anita Clevenger is a Sacramento County UC Master Gardener. For answers to gardening questions, call the UC Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338 or go to sacmg.ucanr.edu. n

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

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Hometown Heroes MOMS OF EASTWOOD FILM STARS SAY ‘THEY’RE STILL OUR BOYS’

The heroes enjoy a ticker-tape parade in Sacramento.

I

n August 2015, the lives of three young Sacramento men changed forever. Traveling from Amsterdam to Paris by train, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler foiled a terrorist attack and saved countless lives. International fame, a book and now a movie followed.

Life with never be the same for their moms, either. Carmichael residents Joyce Eskel (Stone’s mother) and Heidi Hansen (Skarlatos’ mom) have a hard time believing their

SM S

By Susan Maxwell Skinner

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ILP MAR n 18

sons are the stars of “The 15:17 to Paris.”

Directed by film legend Clint Eastwood, the movie opened nationally on Feb. 9. Weeks before, Stone, Skarlatos, Sadler and their families enjoyed a private screening in Sacramento. “The boys had seen the movie once before,” says Eskel. “They were extra nervous when we were all there. We were anxious too. We were seeing our lives exposed for all the world to see.”

“The boys are still in awe that they’ve made a movie with Clint Eastwood,” says Hansen. “He’s their hero.”

Eastwood befriended the men after he presented them with a Guys Choice award in 2015. The irrepressible 22-year-olds suggested he should make a movie from the

book they wrote. Eastwood read “The 15:17 to Paris” and struck a deal. His casting people considered many actors to portray the heroes, but Eastwood liked Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler as is. “He loved the connection between them and felt it might translate well to screen,” explains Hansen.

The men asked if they should get acting lessons. “Clint said no,” says Eskel. “He wanted them to be themselves. He took a risk, but he was right. The boys did a great job. The way they interact on screen is exactly how they are together. They hardly had to act at all.”

The 90-minute drama leaps from their childhood to August 2015.

At the time, Sadler was at college in Sacramento; Skarlatos was in the Oregon Army National Guard; Stone was serving in the U.S. Air

Force at Travis. Stone and Skarlatos had been inseparable since grade school. They’d played war games in Schweitzer Grove and been on the Del Campo High football team. “The script explains how they grew to trust each other, how they always had each other’s back,” says Eskel. “Though Anthony Sadler and his family lived farther away, the three boys had been friends most of their lives.”

The Carmichael scenes were filmed in an Atlanta neighborhood. The two Carmichael moms and Sadler’s dad, Pastor Anthony Sadler, were portrayed by actors. “They never met us or got a chance to get to know us,” says Eskel. “Heidi and I are always laughing. The two screen moms are so serious. But we accept the movie’s a drama. Actors have to play the script they’re given.”

Carmichael neighbors for 20 years, Heidi Hansen (left) and Joyce Eskel are the mothers of Paris train heroes Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone.

The re-enacted train attack was painful for all the parents. “It brought back how Aug. 21 could have been the worst day of my life,” explains Hansen.

Watching the same scene, Pastor Sadler reached for his son’s arm. “I was aware of the violence from what the guys had shared with me,” he says. “It was challenging to watch.

I really felt how close we came to losing Anthony. Our pride in him is secondary to our gratitude to God for saving his life.”

“The moment when the attacker lifted his gun to Spencer’s face and pulled the trigger was overwhelming,” says Eskel. “Even though I knew the terrorist’s gun malfunctioned on the train, it was awful watching all his other weapons come out and seeing him slash my son. It was a miracle everyone survived. Spencer called and told me they planned on taking that train to Paris. I was uneasy; I knew with virtually open borders, Europe wasn’t the safe place it used to be.

There had been so many terrorist incidents. I tried to tell him France wasn’t so great. Who needs the Eiffel Tower? But he wasn’t listening. I put

down the phone and asked God to watch over those boys. That was the day before the attack.”

The morning after the Sacramento film preview, the young men attended Pastor Sadler’s Shiloh Baptist Church in Sacramento. All three were raised in Christian homes and believe providence shaped their lives.

Before Skarlatos served his 10-month National Guard tour in Afghanistan, his mom asked for divine protection.

“I prayed and felt God telling me Alek would be all right in Afghanistan,” says Hansen. “But He also told me that something very exciting was in store for him. I told Alek this.

“After the train attack, Joyce and I flew to Paris and met the boys at the American Embassy. I remember running up the embassy stairs, holding my son and saying, ‘This is what God was talking about.’ Alek just smiled.”

Both now 25, Skarlatos and Stone have been honorably discharged from military service. Skarlatos placed third in TV’s “Dancing With the Stars” and has returned to Oregon.

Stone bounced back after a stabbing incident outside a Sacramento

THE MEN ASKED IF THEY SHOULD GET ACTING LESSONS. “CLINT SAID NO,” SAYS ESKEL. “HE WANTED THEM TO BE THEMSELVES.”

Anthony Sadler with his father, Pastor Anthony Sadler. restaurant; he now lives in Southern California. Sadler, also 25, graduated from Sacramento State University with a degree in sports medicine. All three are interested in careers in the movie industry. For now, they are traveling to promote the Eastwood movie.

“They’re living exciting lives, and it’s thrilling we get to share it,” says Eskel. “But our sons are still the boys

they always were. When they visit, they sleep in their own beds. I still tell Spencer to pick up his room.”

“Alek leaves candy wrappers around,” reports Hansen. “America may see them as heroes and movie stars, but to us, they’re just our boys.”

Susan Maxwell Skinner can be reached at sknrband@aol.com. n

LIKE

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35

Doggy in the Window THIS FRIENDLY PIT BULL BRINGS JOY TO HER HUMAN COMPANIONS

W

hen walking—or even driving—by Paul and Erin Riches’ home in Land Park, it is almost impossible not to notice the 70 pounds of furry happiness staring out the front window. Bam Bam, a 5-year-old American bulldog mix (aka pit bull), hit the jackpot when Paul and Erin adopted her at 10 months old from the Sacramento SPCA. “She’s a neighborhood fixture,” says Erin. “She’s always standing in that window.”

Only four months before the couple took Bam Bam home, the couple said goodbye to their 14-year-old pit bull mix, Angus, who they adopted as a puppy from the Front Street Animal Shelter. “We did not set out to get another pit bull because we were so emotionally attached to Angus,” Erin confesses.

But something about Bam Bam caught their attention. “We really liked her look because she has a little heart shape on her nose,” says Erin, who first saw the white-and-blackspotted pooch on the SPCA website.

“They brought her out and she climbed into Paul’s lap, and that was pretty much it.”

FURRY ALARM CLOCK Bam Bam does not start out sleeping on the couple’s bed at night.

She has her own dog bed on the floor.

CR

By Cathryn Rakich Pets and Their People

36

ILP MAR n 18

Bam Bam’s second favorite toy is the triple-stitched stuffed monkey, built for dogs who chew and tear, notes Paul, who buys them in quantity at Costco. “There are half a dozen monkey parts around the house she keeps as old friends.”

A LOVER, NOT A FIGHTER

Paul & Erin Riches with Bam Bam “Try to sleep with 70 pounds leaning on you,” Paul says with a laugh. “It’s very uncomfortable. And she snores like a train.” But by 5 a.m., Bam Bam is ready to snuggle. “She has her own alarm,” Paul adds. “She decides in the wee hours of the morning when she wants to get up on the bed.” Erin smiles in agreement. “She gets up and sticks her nose in our face. We say ‘go away’ and she settles down at the end of the bed.”

PLAYFUL SIDE Bam Bam shows her playful, silly side when the toys come out. “She is very toy-focused,” comments Paul.

Her favorite toy is the tug rope. “She loves tugging,” says Erin. “That’s how you make friends with her. She doesn’t want to win; she just wants to tug.” But as fixated as Bam Bam is on tugging, as soon as Paul commands “drop it,” she stops. “It’s all about the training,” says Paul. “I can put my hand in her mouth and take stuff out.

With any dog, you have to train them about what is OK and not OK.”

As intimidating as 70 pounds of pure muscle can be, Bam Bam is a total lover. “She is a useless watchdog,” Erin reports. “She barks at the mailman and that’s about it.

With everyone else, she stands in the window and wags her tail. She loves people.”

She also has a doghouse, custom built by Paul, that looks out on the street. “She likes to sit on top of the doghouse, bask in the sun and watch everybody go by,” says Paul. “She thinks her doghouse is one of the best places on the planet.”

Now that Bam Bam has outgrown her puppy stage, she has full run of the house and yard while her humans are away. The Richeses, who both work full time for the state Legislature, have a dog door that leads to a backyard run. “She doesn’t destroy things anymore,” sighs Erin.

“When she was a puppy, she chewed a couple of door frames,” laments Paul.

“Our contractor said Bam Bam was his kid’s college fund.”

But with age and training, Bam Bam’s inappropriate chewing is a thing of the past. “Once they have something else in the house to chew on that they know is theirs, it’s not a problem anymore,” says Paul. And with Land Park right across the

street, she gets a lot of exercise. “Dogs don’t let you get away with more than a couple days without a walk,” adds Erin. “Whether you want to or not.”

building full of people who love her.

When they do something she doesn’t like, like a shot, she will just lick them to death.”

LONG-TERM INVESTMENT

IRREPRESSIBLE CHARACTERS

When Bam Bam started limping at about 2 years old, the Richeses knew exactly what it was. Just like Angus before her, they made sure Bam Bam received TPLOs (tibial plateau leveling osteotomies). “It’s basically knee-replacement surgery,” explains Erin. “The vet tech says you can always tell a TPLO dog because they are bow-legged.”

Keeping Bam Bam’s weight down is critical, as well as feeding her a prescription food specifically for dogs with arthritis. “She’s kind of a chunky girl by nature,” jokes Paul, adding that Bam Bam also has had three cancerous tumors removed.

“They are dangerous if you don’t get them early. Now she has her pirate scars.”

Yet, despite all her medical issues, Bam Bam is not afraid of the vet. “A lot of dogs are unhappy at the vet,” says Erin. “But she sees the vet as a

After volunteering at the Sacramento city shelter for a year and half, walking and socializing the dogs, Paul knows firsthand about the plight of homeless animals. “There are so many good dogs that don’t have homes,” he comments. “Why wouldn’t you rescue somebody?”

“Life is better with a dog,” Erin adds. “I can’t imagine not having a dog greet me when I come in the door at the end of the day. She’s a family member. She is always happy. She is so affectionate. She always wants attention.”

“We joke that we don’t know what people with normal dogs laugh at,” Paul says. “Pit bulls are irrepressible characters.”

“We are spoiled for life now,” agrees Erin.

Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@surewest.net. n

THEATRE GUIDE ]A RAISIN IN THE SUN

GANDHI

Divergent dreams and conflicts abound within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis, and matriarch Lena. Lena will soon receive insurance money because of her husband’s death. She has dreams about how she will use the money, including buying a home in a better area. But her son has other plans. The tensions and prejudice the family faces form a classic American drama. The Younger family’s heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.

A middle school boy in detention learns deeper values in life when forced to read the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

A delightful tale of awakening set to Hip Hop and Indian Classical music.

Celebration Arts Theatre Thru March 24 2727 B St, Sac 455-2787 Celebrationarts.net

MACBETH

Sacramento Theatre Company Thru Mar 18 1419 H St, Sac 916-443-6672 SacTheatre.org After receiving a prophecy from a trio of fantastical witches claiming that he is fated to be King of Scotland, Macbeth becomes consumed by the prospect of political advancement. Spurred to action by his equally ambitious wife, something wicked this way comes when Macbeth proves not a man worthy of the Kingship, but an immoral and tyrannical madman.

BACHELORETTE

Big Idea Theatre March 9 – April 7 1616 Del Paso Blvd, Sac 960-3036 BigIdeaTheatre.org Sir Robert Chiltern’s perfect life centers around his successful political career, his loving and brilliant wife Gerturde, and his supportive and quick witted sister Mabel.

Lord Arthur Goring’s perfect life centers around lounging, partying, flirting with Mabel, and avoiding his father’s instance that he should marry. Life is easy! That is until the perfect world of these men is turned upside down by the arrival of old acquaintance Mrs. Laura Cheveley who has come with blackmail in mind. As gossip and lies begin to fly, it’s revealed that the man thought to be perfect is flawed, the man with all the flaws must do something right.

The question remains: what makes an ideal husband?

B Street Theatre Thru Mar 11 2711 B St, Sac 443-5300 BstreetTheatre.org

19th ANNUAL SAC JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL Crest Theatre April 19, 21 and 22 1013 K St, Sac CrestSacramento.com

19th Annual Sacramento Jewish Film Festival at the Crest Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 19, 21 and 22, 2018. Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel Independence Day, the festival will showcase six feature films: * Hummus! The Movie * Epilogue: Ben-Gurion * Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story * Fanny’s Journey * Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema and 1945 (based on the acclaimed short story “Homecoming” by Gábor T. Szántó).

OPENING NIGHT – Friday, April 19 will feature a hummus and pita reception with The KlezMeerkats of Sacramento performing Israeli and Klezmer music.

The band will also perform on stage between the films. A special short film, Gefilte Fish, will be shown before Hummus: The Movie. Saturday, April 21 will welcome filmmaker Alexandra Dean who will introduce her film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and lead a post-film discussion. A reception, catered by Solomon’s Delicatessen, and a Havdalah service will precede the film. The festival closes on Sunday, April 22 with screenings of Fanny’s Journey, Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema and 1945.

Prior to Shalom Bollywood, dance troupe Arts of India will perform on stage. Central Valley Holocaust Educators’ Network (CVHEN) President Liz Igra will also lead a discussion after the 1945 showing.

SUBMIT EVENTS TO ANIKO@INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

37

Making Sac Safe POLICE ASSOCIATION WORKS TO FOSTER CONNECTIONS

L

SC

By Scot Crocker Inside Downtown

38

ILP MAR n 18

Timothy Davis, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, chats with a bike patrol sergeant.

ike many police departments across the country, the Sacramento Police Department has at times been knee-deep in controversy in recent years.

Issues have included lack of transparency and questionable police officer actions in lower-income and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

As the head of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, Timothy Davis works to create connections between police officers and the community.

SPOA does more than negotiate pay, benefits and staffing levels for its members. It is as much a fraternal organization as it is a union. It awards scholarships, provides crisis relief for its members and the community, and supports charities and athletic activities.

“We don’t see ourselves as a union,” says Davis. “We don’t require anyone in the department to be a member, but we have almost 100 percent of all active officers as members. They see the importance of what we do overall.”

For Davis, the connection between law enforcement and the community is personal.

“I grew up in Sacramento, went to high school here, and my dad was in the police force,” says Davis, who worked in the ranks of the police department and later received a law degree before being elected president of SPOA. “I have family here, and I want Sacramento to be as safe as it can be for the longtime residents, new residents and visitors.”

The Great Recession that started in 2007 hit Sacramento hard. The city was cutting budgets across the board, and the police department had to cut budgets, too. Layoffs hurt the department.

“We lost a generation of peace officers,” Davis explains. “In California during those years, no one was hiring.

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Art Preview GALLERY ART SHOWS IN MARCH

b. sakata garo will exhibit works by Betsy Kendall through March 31. Shown above: “Collage Dogs With Eugene.” 923 20th St.; bsakatagaro.com

Artistic Edge Gallery is featuring works by Ron Hall, Diana Ormanzhi, Jonathan Lowe and Carol Brown through March 31. Shown above: “Hanging on a Blue Note” by Ron Hall.

1880 Fulton Ave.; artisticedgeframing.com Sparrow Gallery presents “Crow Show,” a group show curated by artist Judy Knott, through April 6. Featured artists include Paula Wenzl Bellacera, Bob Androvich, Barbara Sebastian, Charlotte Cooper, Jill Allyn Stafford, Susan Silvester, Taylor Gutermute, Nicky Ruxton and more. Shown right: “In Harmony” by Barbara Sebastian.

1021 R St.; sparrowgallerysacramento.com

An exhibit of contemporary artwork called “Earthen Abstracts” will be at CK Art through March 31. The exhibit features the works of Anthony Maki Gill, Sandy Parris, Julie Maren, Peter Foucault, Nick Lopez and Jonah Ward. Shown above: a piece by Julie Maren. 2500 J St.; ckart-gallery.com JAYJAY presents “Monumental: Larger Than Life” through April 28. It features large-scale works from the gallery’s stable of modern and contemporary artists, including Suzanne Adan, Roger Berry, Trent Burkett, Mark Emerson, Stephen Giannetti, Anne Gregory, Ian Harvey, Michaele LeCompte, Peter Wayne Lewis, Jeff Mayry, Joan Moment and Koo Kyung Sook. Shown right: a large-scale acrylic by Rick Siggins.

5524B Elvas Ave.; jayjayart.com

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Those who might have considered law enforcement chose other careers and won’t likely ever go into law enforcement.”

As jobs returned, recruitment became competitive, and Sacramento wasn’t keeping up with compensation offered by other police and sheriff’s departments in the region. Quality applicants went elsewhere.

At the end of last year, the city and SPOA reached an agreement for a pay and incentive package. The first increase in many years, it brought Sacramento in line with other law enforcement agencies.

While the new contract and higher pay have had positive impacts on morale, it’s not the cure-all for a department and community still trying to communicate and connect with each other.

“We know the majority of Sacramento supports us,” says Davis.

“Police officers are like any other human beings. They want to do a good job and want the recognition by the people they serve. We (law enforcement) don’t sign up for a job and a paycheck. Service to the community is a noble profession. We want those who want to serve, and we want diversity in the department.”

Davis says it is disconcerting when small, vocal groups criticize law enforcement. “To our detractors, I say come join us,” he notes. “Let’s work together.”

Davis worries that if segments of the community continue to harbor negative feelings about law enforcement, quality candidates from those communities won’t join the

ware store! rd a h a n a th re o So much m

police department and help shape the future from inside.

“On a daily basis, our officers make countless sacrifices to ensure our community stays safe,” says Vance Chandler, a police department spokesperson. “It is imperative for our officers to connect with the people in our community to show how much we care about the people we serve.

We appreciate the support we have from many community members and leaders.

“We serve our community with great compassion and professionalism to ensure every person, in every neighborhood, has the opportunity to thrive in our city,” he adds.

Davis says the department is changing the way it works.

“Technology is helping us do things faster and better,” he says. “It’s giving us more transparency with the community. We embrace these changes.”

The police use cameras to monitor public areas and capture crimes in progress. Officers use body cameras and drones. Sound-recording equipment enables law enforcement to hear gunshots in real time and not wait for a 911 call.

“After the Sept. 11 tragedy, we were able to upgrade to a state-ofthe-art communications center,” says Davis. “We really don’t even know what might be next with technology to allow us to be more responsive to the communities we serve.”

Even with technology, Davis says, officers on the street are critical to law enforcement. They learn the neighborhoods, know the residents and can identify problem areas. “If

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5303 Freeport Boulevard • 916-455-6488 an officer responds to three separate car crashes at the same intersection, then the officer is going to take action.

They don’t want to see a fourth crash,” says Davis. “The officers are vested in the community personally and professionally.”

Davis is quick to point out that police officers are human.

“I remember when I was an officer,” he says. “I’d get upset over things at home, even small things like a broken washing machine. It’s hard not to bring frustrations to work sometimes. We try not to let these things affect us at work. We do our best, but we are only human and we will make mistakes.”

For the Sacramento Police Department, recruiting the very best candidates is a high priority. The hiring process is complicated and includes polygraphs, psychological testing, background checks and training at the academy. Most candidates don’t make it through.

“When it comes to new employees, we look for integrity,” says Davis.

“That’s the most important trait. You just can’t show up and get a badge.”

Davis is confident and upbeat about the direction of the Sacramento Police Department. He points to renewed optimism in the department under the leadership of Sacramento’s new police chief, Daniel Hahn.

“We all just want to make Sacramento safe,” he says.

Scot Crocker can be reached at scot@crockercrocker.com. n

THE HIRING PROCESS IS COMPLICATED AND INCLUDES POLYGRAPHS, PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING, BACKGROUND CHECKS AND TRAINING AT THE ACADEMY. MOST CANDIDATES DON’T MAKE IT THROUGH.

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

41

My Kind of Town

SACRAMENTO’S STATUS ISN’T LOFTY, BUT IT SUITS US JUST THE SAME

T

his month, there’s a good possibility that a film set in Sacramento will be awarded an Oscar for the best picture of 2017.

“Lady Bird,” written and directed

by Sacramento native Greta Gerwig, has gotten a lot of attention since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September. The film has been lauded for its writing, its direction, its acting and its sense of place. But two weeks after “Lady Bird” was released, another film

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By Kevin Mims Writing Life

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about Sacramentans was released nationally. “Brad’s Status” got nowhere near as much attention as “Lady Bird” and has largely been forgotten. I probably wouldn’t have bothered renting it from Netflix if I hadn’t been goaded into it by an old schoolmate of mine from Portland, Ore. After watching the film, he sent me a series of snarky text messages, just to get my goat: “Just watched a flick called ‘Brad’s Status.’ In it, one character describes Sacramento as a “second-tier city filled with mediocre people.

“Later, Michael Sheen tells his old college buddy Ben Stiller, ‘You had such promise when you graduated from Tufts, but then you just gave up and moved to Sacramento.’

“In this film, Sacramento seems to be a codeword for ‘Loserville.’”

I hadn’t seen the movie at this point, so all I could do was offer a

generic defense of Sacramento. I told my friend I don’t mind living in a second-tier city like Sacramento.

“World-class cities like New York and Paris and San Francisco have all kinds of distractions to amuse you,” I texted. “Sacramentans know how to amuse themselves. Sure, we have live theater and top-notch restaurants and professional sports teams and the Crocker Art Museum, but most of the Sacramentans I know are good at keeping themselves entertained without the advantage of a nearby Central Park or Disneyland or Eiffel Tower or Fisherman’s Wharf. They gather in knitting groups and book clubs. They build wooden boats in their home workshops. They play in local bar bands. They volunteer at their church. They compete at weekly trivia contests. They take flying lessons. They take guitar lessons. They take cooking lessons.

They enjoy fly-fishing. They raise orchids. They raise show dogs. They keep bees. They are tennis players.

They are photographers. They are plein air painters. Sacramento is a city of people who know how to do for themselves and don’t need the distractions of a New York City to keep them from dying of boredom.”

My friend texted back: “Fair or unfair, I doubt that people across the globe think ‘achievements’ when they think of Sacramento.”

I reminded him that four of Hollywood’s fastest-rising young actresses—Gerwig, Jessica Chastain, Brie Larson and Analeigh Tipton— hail from Sacramento. To which he responded: “How many of them live there vs. how many are FROM there?

Nothing wrong with civic pride, but c’mon. It would be an interesting game to ask people around the

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Sacramento has produced its share of high-flying celebrities. With a bit of luck, one of them might be picking up a statuette for best director and/or best picture at the Academy Awards on March 4. But the best thing about this city has always been the people who live here and work here and marry here and have children here and volunteer here and engage in civic activities here and, eventually, die here. Our lives may not look that envious when viewed on Facebook.

Our names are not nationally known.

Our bank accounts wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make anyone on Wall Street or in Beverly Hills jealous. Our mantelpieces arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sagging under the weight of all the awards that have been heaped upon us. But we know who we are, and we are happy with our status.

Kevin Mims lives in Land Park.

He can be reached at kevinmims@ sbcglobal.net. n

insidepublications.com

seems to be saying that the lives of â&#x20AC;&#x153;ordinaryâ&#x20AC;? Americansâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;i.e., people who are not rich and famousâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;can be every bit as meaningful and valuable as the lives of the most glamorous celebritiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and perhaps even more so.

In January, Amazon premiered a new anthology series called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Philip K. Dickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Electric Dreams.â&#x20AC;? The best episode is called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Commuterâ&#x20AC;? and stars Timothy Spall as a man named Ed, a station agent for a commuter railroad (spoilers ahead). Ed and his wife live with their adult son, Sam, a violent young man who suffers from mental illness. Caring for Sam has made life hard for Ed and his wife.

One day, Ed discovers a mysterious stop on the train line, a stop not listed on any map, a place called Macon Heights. When he disembarks the train at Macon Heights, Ed enters an alternate world where he and his wife never had a child, a world where life is so much quieter and nicer and more comfortable than the real world.

At first, he finds himself attracted to the peaceful world that Macon Heights offers him. His wife is a bit saddened by the fact that she never had a child, but all in all, life in Macon Heights seems pretty good to Ed. Eventually, though, he realizes he has made a mistake. All the things that made his old life so difficult are missing from Macon Heights.

And without those things, he seems to have no purpose. In the end, he abandons the perfection of Macon Heights and returns to the hard, messy life whence he came.

Like Brad Sloan, he realizes that the difficult challenges of the daily grind arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something to escape from; they constitute life itself.

Without them, life would simply be a permanent vacation from nothing.

Better to live in a tough little town like Scranton or Omaha or Sacramento than in a fantasyland like Macon Heights.

In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Status,â&#x20AC;? filmmaker Mike White uses Sacramento as a stand-in for Anytown, USA, the kind of middle-class, middle-American town where hardworking people get up every day, go about their jobs in a quiet and competent manner, raise

VISIT

country what comes to mind when they think of Sacramento.â&#x20AC;?

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about as far as the discussion could go at the time, because I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Status.â&#x20AC;?

Recently, though, I watched the movie and noticed something that my friend neglected to mention in his snarky texts. Although some of the movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characters refer to Sacramento as though it were indeed some sort of bastion of mediocre people, the film itself doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take that position.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the story in a nutshell (spoilers ahead). Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) is a 47-year-old Sacramentan who runs his own one-man nonprofit organization, which links up wealthy benefactors with needy charities. His wife (Jenna Fischer) works for the state of California in some generic office job that appears to pay reasonably well.

Their 18-year-old son is a musical prodigy who hopes to attend Harvard.

While accompanying his son to Massachusetts for a meeting with the Harvard admissions committee, Stiller reflects on his life, comparing his own small accomplishments with those of his more successful college buddies: a nationally famous political pundit (Michael Sheen), a billionaire hedge-fund manager (Luke Wilson), a movie director (Mike White, who also wrote and directed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Statusâ&#x20AC;?) and a retired internet millionaire who lives in Hawaii and leads the life of a debauched playboy (Jemaine Clement).

At first, Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reflections make him feel bad. He canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help checking in on Facebook and seeing what larger-than-life, glamorous existences his ex-classmates are leading. They live in expensive enclaves of the rich and famous (Hollywood, New York, Maui, etc.) and Brad lives in, well, Sacramento. By movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end, however, Brad appears to be undergoing a change of heart. It seems to be slowly dawning on him that wealth, celebrity and a glamorous address are not the best measures of a life well-lived. He has a solid, loving marriage. He is a good father and has raised a son who is smart, well-mannered and talented.

He has a nice house and, yes, he lives in a nice town. Without spelling it out in so many words, screenwriter White

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

43

Pay It Forward ONE WAY IS TO BRING BOOKS TO HONDURAS

I

t’s early January when my wife and I land at one of the most treacherous airports in the world in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. The final approach is so

NB

By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

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ILP MAR n 18

nightmarish that passengers often post YouTube videos of the harrowing descent through a twisted ravine before landing on a way-too-short runway.

The airport is in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. With 1.3 million people, the city is best known for its crime, corruption and nearly the highest reported murder rate in the world.

Becky and I are here through the end of March to help our daughter Sara with the humanitarian project she started in 2014.

Sara named her undertaking Chispa Project, pronounced cheezpah, meaning “spark” in Spanish.

Hondurans use the word to describe people with spark or drive. Sara chose the name because she believes that education will spark the sustainable change Honduras needs.

Chispa has a simple mission: to start children’s libraries and equip them with quality books in Spanish.

She accomplishes the mission in three ways: She solicits donations, coaches teachers and sponsors international volunteer projects to Honduras.

Sara’s secret to success is her ability to inspire communities to design, fund and run their own libraries. Local people do the work and supply a small portion of the funding to maintain the libraries.

During our second week here, we set out on a three-hour, roughroad drive into the high mountains outside La Esperanza, Honduras, to Southwest Bilingual School.

Fortunately, our daughter Sara is driving, leaving my wife and me bouncing in our seats like popcorn.

We are transporting 100 pounds of books—the second half of the 1,300 books bought with stateside donations.

Every weekday, the students here ride five miles on a school bus that navigates the twisted and rutted dirt roads. The only thing that might prevent their journey is when heavy rains make it impossible for the bus to climb the 7 percent grade of a cratered road. Maybe it’s this tough terrain that inspired the name of the school’s mascot: the Wildcats.

Sara parks inside the school compound, and we walk to the faculty lounge, hoping to recruit help to unload. Inside, we meet Edmundo, a science teacher who’s writing his lesson plans.

The teachers are grateful to see us because Spanish books are rare and costly to purchase in-country. Most children grow up without a culture of reading in the home.

“As a kid, I was bored with reading,” Edmundo says. “We had only reference books, and I’d fall asleep reading them. The books you bring will inspire our students to read.

“Muchas gracias,” he adds.

“De nada,” I say. Literally translated, it means “It’s nothing,” an informal expression for “You’re welcome.”

The vice principal, Corita Warner, a tall, take-charge American, enters the lounge. She quickly organizes a gaggle of seventh-graders to help us unload.

We make our way to the library, where the kids tear open the boxes, nearly inhaling the titles. One girl shrieks when she finds a Harry Potter book, while another begins devouring “Moby Dick.”

Justin, a focused 12-year-old, picks up Sean Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.”

Justin speaks excellent English because he was born in the United States and returned to Honduras when he was 7.

He asks if the book will help him succeed. I allow a “maybe,” then point out Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prizewinning book, “Angela’s Ashes.”

Justin asks if McCourt’s Pulitzer won him a lot of money.

It’s a typical question from a 12-year-old, more so from those without money. Southwest may be a private school, but money remains a concern for the middle-class parents who send their children there.

Corita explains to me how the school was founded by three couples who wanted to bring subsidized education to the town. Many kids attend with scholarships, and the founders are working toward offering full scholarships to all their students.

I’m not sure why, but their generosity brings moisture to my eyes and memories to my heart.

I recall growing up in a pastor’s home, living on the edge of poverty.

Like Justin’s mom, my mother made many meals of beans and corn and fried baloney. We did without many things, but no one ever told me that I couldn’t have a good education.

In 1975, I was accepted to Baylor University, a Texas Baptist school.

Through the generosity of anonymous benefactors, I took home a bachelor’s degree four years later. The generosity continued into seminary, from which I graduated in 1983 with a tuition-free master’s degree. These

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law office of brian d.wyatt ,PC opportunities came from people who thought education was worthy of their contributions.

Their charity recalls Jesus’ words: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”

In other words, we must “pay it forward.”

A few days later, as we prepare to leave Southwest Bilingual School, several children gather to thank us.

My eye moisture returns.

All I can manage to say is “De nada,” because for all that’s been given to me, it’s nothing for me to do this for Justin and his classmates.

Go, Wildcats!

Chispa Project is a nonprofit organization with a governing board.

If you want to join the board, donate or land a mission team on the most maddening runway in the world, visit chispaproject.org.

Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. n

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Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Sales Closed February 1 - 16 95608

4535 WOODFAIR WAY $421,000 5014 CRESTVIEW DR $450,000 2626 RIVERPINE CT $495,000 6112 VIA CASITAS AVE $173,000 4747 COURTLAND LN $265,000 7108 LINCOLN AVE $479,000 2239 SEABLER PL $650,000 6253 SAINT JAMES DR $395,000 3713 HOLLOWAY LN $340,000 3626 AFFIRMED WAY $405,000 4830 COURTLAND LN $250,000 5287 HERITAGE DR $449,000 6305 PERRIN WAY $486,500 5708 PARKOAKS DR $265,000 3089 STANTON CIR $335,000 3751 DELL RD $515,000 3617 CASA ROSA WAY $329,000 5727 CROFTERS LN $560,000 2332 VIA CAMINO AVE $213,000 5944 CAMRAY CIR $426,500 3316 VIENNA AVE $470,000 6032 COYLE AVE $280,000 5418 WOODLEIGH DR $332,000 6419 PALM DR $380,000 7148 SUTTER AVE $1,650,000 5805 NORTH AVE $262,000 4019-4019 EASTWOOD VILLAGE LN $322,000 6326 APPIAN WAY $342,750 4617 STOLLWOOD DR $345,000 4526 NORTHAMPTON DR $450,000 5904 ADANA CIR $349,000 6824 LANDIS AVE $385,000 6608 STANLEY AVE $380,000 1819 JAY CT $662,000 6092 VIA CASITAS $210,000 3336 MARSHALL AVE $349,950 2827 ROOT AVE $265,000 6430 TEMPLETON DR $307,000 1900 ROLLS WAY $629,000

95811

1801 G ST

95814

1018 VANILLA BEAN LN 1014 VANILLA BEAN LN 306 CITY FLAT LN 302 CITY FLAT LN 500 N ST #609 1010 MUD PIE LN 1022 VANILLA BEAN LN 1511 P ST #47 1221 G ST

95815

208 SOUTHGATE RD

95816

1516 24TH ST

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$720,000 $610,000 $640,000 $645,943 $647,000 $440,000 $507,115 $596,568 $425,000 $482,500 $450,000 $325,000

ILP MAR n 18

720 26TH ST $489,000 1508 37TH ST $1,510,000 2117 S STREET ST #206 $475,455 3233 L ST $315,000 3367 FORNEY WAY $662,752

95817

3433 7TH AVE 3540 38TH ST 3532 43RD ST 3102 40TH ST 3433 7TH AVE 3540 38TH ST 4043 12TH AVE 3625 9TH AVE 3515 38TH ST 2932 38TH ST 3982 8TH AVE 4116 3RD AVE 3800 3RD AVE 2108 36TH ST 3530 MULE ALLEY 3525 3RD AVE 6001 1ST AVE 3011 10TH AVE 4525 V ST 3004-3012 4TH AVE

95818

2016 U ST 2217 18TH ST 1760 VALLEJO WAY 2664 9TH AVE 1838 CARAMAY WAY 2620 NICASIO LN 2782 SAN LUIS CT 2787 SAN LUIS CT 2030 VALLEJO WAY 2786 VALLEJO WAY 1006 YALE ST 940 4TH AVE 3305 CROCKER DR 1051 SWANTSON DR

95819

1122 58TH STREET 638 55TH ST 1537 48TH ST 5214 C ST 1617 53RD ST 5328 L ST 5516 SPILMAN AVE 1305 60TH ST 6023 M ST 1320 55TH ST 1400 57TH ST 1463 46TH ST

95820

4406 18TH AVE 3241 24TH AVE

$206,000 $210,000 $185,000 $199,900 $206,000 $210,000 $210,000 $241,888 $255,000 $277,000 $277,500 $289,000 $390,000 $396,000 $425,000 $462,900 $470,000 $645,000 $650,000 $850,000 $348,000 $355,000 $462,000 $465,000 $472,500 $490,000 $505,500 $520,000 $550,000 $555,000 $620,990 $715,000 $718,005 $775,000 $385,000 $399,000 $454,000 $459,000 $475,000 $495,000 $605,000 $625,000 $632,500 $790,000 $809,000 $1,325,000 $133,000 $140,000

3832 35TH ST 3216 25TH AVE 4901 ROOSEVELT AVE 5090 WARWICK 4015 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD 3748 20TH AVE 5520 79TH ST 3401 28TH AVE 4801 48TH ST 7361 25TH AVE 4973 TORONTO WAY 4990 ALCOTT DR 5250 78TH ST 5551 STANDISH RD 7630 25TH AVE 5448 10TH AVE 4417 MELLO CT 4951 73RD ST 4826 61ST ST 5220 59TH ST 4411 60TH ST 4625 61ST ST 4510 60TH ST 4234 60TH ST 3090 29TH AVE 3952 57TH ST 4320 53RD ST 6121 15TH AVE 4709 7TH AVE 5614 7TH AVE 4231 63RD ST

95821

2264 DUNLAP DR 3813 PASADENA AVE #31 3331 WHITNEY AVE 2625 CASTLEWOOD DR 3805 WHITNEY AVE 3220 BROPHY DR 2843 BARBARELL WAY 2528 EASTERN AVE 4617 ROBERTSON AVE 4213 ANNETTE ST 3620 WILLIAM WAY 4201 ANNETTE ST 3533 LYNNE WAY 4417 BELCREST WAY 4341 ROBERTSON AVE 3224 CHENU AVE 3432 DEL MESA CT 4527 EDISON AVE

95822

$170,000 $180,000 $188,000 $190,000 $195,000 $195,000 $197,000 $205,000 $220,000 $250,000 $250,000 $252,000 $255,000 $255,000 $257,000 $260,000 $264,000 $273,500 $286,000 $303,000 $319,000 $322,500 $325,000 $327,500 $332,000 $339,000 $345,000 $350,000 $365,000 $367,000 $375,000 $229,000 $245,000 $250,000 $299,900 $303,000 $310,000 $313,600 $315,000 $319,000 $320,000 $330,000 $365,000 $380,000 $400,000 $410,000 $420,000 $449,950 $500,000

6060 GLORIA DR #9 $140,000 7450 WINKLEY WAY $158,000 7209 TAMOSHANTER WAY $162,000 11 PULSAR CIR $172,500 7 PULSAR CIR $175,000 2762 WOOD VIOLET WAY $181,500

6473 ROMACK CIR 7382 STRATFORD ST 6037 MCLAREN AVE 7493 RED WILLOW ST 6716 DEMARET DR 2125 47TH AVE 7536 18TH ST 7509 BALFOUR 7349 STOCKDALE ST 2208 67TH AVE 6594 GOLF VIEW DR 2711 50TH AVE 2081 WAKEFIELD WAY 2299 67TH AVE 7324 WILLOWWICK WAY 1820 60TH AVE 7515 GEORGICA WAY 7576 TWILIGHT DR 7517 GEORGICA WAY 7040 21ST ST 7333 BENBOW ST 7018 MIDDLECOFF WAY 5887 KAHARA CT 5870 GLORIA DR 7692 ADDISON WAY 1740 67TH AVE 3245 TORRANCE AVE 1640 SHIRLEY DR 2205 16TH AVE 5635 SURF WAY 2360 IRVIN WAY 6081 HOLSTEIN WAY 1112 34TH AVE 5000 EUCLID AVE 6053 13TH ST 4121 MOSS DR 1025 PIEDMONT DR

95825

$190,000 $209,000 $210,000 $210,000 $212,000 $216,000 $219,000 $235,000 $239,900 $250,000 $251,300 $255,000 $258,500 $260,000 $268,000 $269,000 $280,000 $282,000 $285,000 $290,000 $295,000 $296,000 $299,000 $310,000 $317,000 $331,000 $339,900 $345,000 $368,350 $387,500 $390,000 $470,000 $492,000 $505,000 $610,000 $670,000 $880,000

989 FULTON AVE #479 $121,000 2470 LARKSPUR LN #360 $140,000 2464 LARKSPUR LN #35 $155,000 536 WOODSIDE OAKS #8 $160,000 2411 POST OAK LANE $217,000 2032 FLOWERS ST $219,000 512 WOODSIDE OAKS #1 $235,000 2116 BOWLING GREEN DR $240,500 1049 BELL ST #8 $256,000 2141 WINAFRED ST $260,250 2254 WOODSIDE LN #6 $272,500 1429 GANNON DR $282,500 1928 W KINCAID WAY $289,000 2045 ERNEST WAY $293,000 2298 SIERRA BLVD #C $310,000 536 HARTNELL PL $330,000 1531 HESKET WAY $349,000 2029 WOODSTOCK WAY $350,000 2262 SWARTHMORE DR $375,000 1330 VANDERBILT WAY $395,000 2401 HURLEY WAY $415,000

2116 WELDON WAY 3233 COTTAGE WAY 2430 PAVILLIONS PLACE LN #311 2430 PAVILIONS PLACE LN #405

$416,000 $465,000 $540,000 $565,000

95831

710 MELANIE WAY $272,500 1211 ALDER TREE WAY $330,000 17 LOS GATOS CIR $365,000 6481 SURFSIDE WAY $367,500 7400 WINDBRIDGE DR $370,500 7581 SAILFISH WAY $399,000 530 SHAW RIVER WAY $400,000 279 BREWSTER AVE $415,000 936 GREENSTAR WAY $429,000 205 RIVERBROOK WAY $439,000 108 EL SERENO $448,500 392 AQUAPHER WAY $455,500 7583 SAILFISH WAY $481,000 1180 56TH AVE $492,500 7472 DESERTWIND WAY $500,000 6361 14TH ST $510,000 33 PORTO SANTO CT $510,000 35 SHADY RIVER CIR $519,000 6499 PARK RIVIERA WAY $561,250 7748 S OAK WAY $637,700 47 PINIOS RIVER CT $1,203,000

95864

3432 WEMBERLEY DR 3226 MAYFAIR DR 1328 GREENHILLS RD 2209 AVALON DR 3200 CHURCHILL RD 2304 AVALON DR 2408 ROSLYN WAY 2040 MARYAL DR 3641 CODY WAY 4341 FIGWOOD WAY 3537 EL RICON WAY 1604 STEWART RD 630 CASMALIA WAY 4500 MORPHEUS LN 1460 STEWART RD 3020 SIERRA MILLS LN 453 WYNDGATE RD 825 LAKE OAK CT 4325 LAS CRUCES WAY 2801 SEVILLA LN 360 CLAYDON WAY 4324 VALMONTE DR 3240 NORTHROP AVE 2890 NORTHROP AVE 760 REGENCY CIR 579 KEVINGTON COURT

$249,900 $255,000 $285,000 $290,000 $290,000 $302,500 $305,000 $328,000 $339,000 $388,000 $400,000 $420,000 $429,630 $435,000 $465,000 $490,000 $525,000 $580,000 $612,500 $665,000 $667,000 $676,000 $699,000 $700,000 $799,500 $950,000

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Ted@TedRussert.com ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

47

Irrational Fears WEIGH THE FACTS BEFORE WORRYING

I

WS

By Walt SeLfert Getting There

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ILP MAR n 18

n his 1933 inaugural address, Franklin D. Roosevelt said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear is a powerful emotion that can cloud the mind and make difficult judgments even more difficult. Fear often plays a role in how we get around and how people feel about transportation projects that directly affect them.

Fear is based on a perception of danger or some other negative consequence. It is frequently difficult to assess the real risks of danger, particularly if risks take a long time to manifest themselves. Most of us don’t consider all pertinent risks or know the odds of particular outcomes, good or bad.

Sometimes people fear things that are unlikely or unimportant.

Sometimes they don’t fear things that are probable and significant.

People seem not to fear the threat to the planet of climate change, or the health consequences of air pollution and physical inactivity. Over a lifetime, these are real and serious risks. Yet like the frog in the slowly warming pot put on to boil, we seem not to notice because they happen so gradually.

Fear prevents many people from bicycling to get around. Many fear being injured or killed in a traffic collision, so they are unwilling to bike on the streets. While there are far too many bicyclists (and motorists) injured in crashes and we should make streets safer for everyone, the risks of inactivity far outweigh the risks of being involved in a car/bike crash. That’s hard to conceptualize because of the feeling of vulnerability we get riding a bike and our strong visceral response to bicycle crashes.

People also fear the social stigma of bicycling. While this attitude may be gradually changing, many still consider bicycling as not only unconventional but downright weird. Despite the good bicycling does for people’s health and the health of the planet, in the United States, it remains clearly abnormal behavior.

It accounts for only about 1 percent of all trips.

People fear taking transit. Some are worried about their personal security and afraid of their fellow passengers. Others have more mundane fears: concerns about walking to a bus stop in bad weather or getting someplace on time. Even the presence of transit can be feared. When Regional Transit built the light rail line to the east toward Folsom, some residents feared that having a station near them would be a negative instead of a positive, bringing an undesirable element into their neighborhoods.

Right now, most people fear self-driving cars because of the lack of hands-on control and the possibility of bugs in the technology. Surveys show that fear is decreasing even though autonomous cars are being used only in test programs in limited numbers and locations. Perhaps familiarity with the concept and increased press coverage about these vehicles have been enough to allay some concerns.

2318 J Street, Suite B Sacramento, CA 95816 Info@haberdasherie.net |

@haberdasherieshop

haberdasherie.net

John Cleese

Live on Stage plus a Screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail WED, MAR 28

Buy early for the best seats!

A not-to-be-missed evening pairing a cult classic film and an audience Q&A* with comedy royalty.

John Cleese will tell stories of his life and career, and you just may finally find out the air-speed of an unladen swallow.

(Coconuts NOT included in ticket price.) * Absurd and/or ridiculous questions only are requested, please.

FEAR PREVENTS MANY PEOPLE FROM BICYCLING TO GET AROUND. MANY FEAR BEING INJURED OR KILLED IN A TRAFFIC COLLISION, SO THEY ARE UNWILLING TO BIKE ON THE STREETS. People definitely fear transportation and development projects. Sometimes those fears are greatly exaggerated, but other times they are based on a coldeyed assessment of realities. Some East Sac residents feared the potential vehicle traffic generated by the McKinley Village project and mounted a campaign against it. Others fear sprawl, which results in more costs, damage to the environment and traffic than any infill project such as McKinley Village.

Typically, residents fear new bike trail projects in their neighborhoods, believing that they will result in increased vandalism, crime or impacts from the homeless. Yet there is considerable evidence that trails decrease crime and increase property values. Greenway trails are an amenity that benefits those nearby not just in the worth of their homes but in their quality of life. The larger community benefits as well.

Fear can be irrational, but that doesn’t make the emotion any less strong.

Before we flee or fight when confronted by a possible danger, whether it’s related to transportation or not, we should weigh all the facts to see where the balance is between good and bad. Our ability to reason, as well as our emotions, is what makes us human and gives us a way to conquer fear.

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. n

U.S. PREMIERE!

Compañía Nacional de Danza Carmen SAT–SUN, MAR 3–4 Johan Inger’s Carmen is a visionary retelling of mythic and universal elements of passion and violence. This contemporary Carmen tells the tale through the eyes of a child, with its heroine a courageous and modern woman.

Zurich Chamber Orchestra DANIEL HOPE, MUSIC DIRECTOR AND VIOLIN

MON, MAR 19 The orchestra pays tribute to Yehudi Menuhin with Daniel Hope treating audiences to Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Bechara El-Khoury’s Unfinished Journey for Violin and String Orchestra as well as violin concertos from Mendelssohn and Bach.

mondaviarts.org ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

49

Team USA: Paul Carras, Craig Deihl, Lothar Erbe, Ryan Butler, John Fink with Danny Johnson in front.

The Meat Olympics LOCAL BUTCHER LEADS U.S. TEAM IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

T

eam USA, with local butcher Danny Johnson at the helm, will travel to Northern Ireland in March to take part in the biennial

AK

By Angela Knight Farm to Fork

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ILP MAR n 18

World Butchers’ Challenge. This is the first time that newcomer USA will compete in this arena, and the stakes are high.

The team—made up of Johnson and Paul Carras of Taylor’s Market in Land Park, along with four other skilled butchers from around the United States—will compete against 11 countries at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast on March 21.

France, the reigning champ, might

be the team to beat, but Johnson says their competitors are worried about what the United States can do.

Team USA has asked for and received some rule changes. “We have them scratching their heads,” he says.

Writer Jenn Rice described the World Butchers’ Challenge “as the butcher industry’s Summer Olympic Games” in Food & Wine magazine.

Despite the hyperbole, the event has gravitas in the meat business. “This

thing is a big deal for Paul and I, and for Sacramento,” Johnson says. “[It’s] the opportunity to do something in your trade on another continent.”

How does the competition work?

Each team has three hours and 15 minutes to perform butchering magic on a side of beef and a side of pork, a lamb carcass and five chickens. They will be judged on craft, creativity, time and a whole lot of other stuff.

Johnson says all of the team members

have woken up in the middle of the night thinking about the competition.

He may have meant “worrying” rather than “thinking,” but I didn’t press him.

Before heading to Belfast, Team USA will have practiced five times.

The practices usually take place over two days at Taylor’s. The meat has to be purchased beforehand. The meat has to be sold afterward. Strategies have to be developed.

Unlike some teams, which receive government stipends and can afford to choose alternates and hire coaches and managers, Team USA is selffunded and self-motivated. Despite tremendous support from customers, friends and family, the team is short on funds, but Johnson doesn’t seem too worried. Taylor’s is selling caps and T-shirts that say “Meat us in Belfast” to beef up funding.

They need to shave 15 minutes off their practice time, but Johnson doesn’t seem worried about that, either. He filmed the last practice, but you won’t find the video on social media. Everything is top secret prior to the competition. Team USA has a few tricks, but Johnson won’t share them.

So what is Johnson worried about?

“We want to win,” he says. “Winning would be the cherry on the sundae.”

He also wants to promote a positive image of Americans. In light of the current world opinion of the United States, that might be better than winning.

Let’s step back from the stage and focus on Johnson, the team’s captain.

He wasn’t practicing for the big event when we spoke; he was painting trim. In 2007, Johnson and his wife, Kathy, became sole owners of Taylor’s

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT NEWCOMER USA WILL COMPETE IN THIS ARENA, AND THE STAKES ARE HIGH.

Market and Taylor’s Kitchen. He began working at Taylor’s in 1983 when he was 19. You can find him behind the meat counter most mornings, or with a paintbrush in his hand, but he says he does more dishes than butchering.

“It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do,” he says when I ask why he became a butcher. He also wanted to be a professional baseball player, but his other career has worked out well.

Young Danny Johnson couldn’t wait to run to the butcher shop when his grandfather brought him into town. It didn’t hurt that the butcher gave him hot dogs. His happy place is behind the meat counter, even though fish is his preferred protein these days.

For a while, “butchering kind of went away in the United States,” says Johnson. Factory farms, chain stores and shrink-wrapped meat were a huge blow to the profession. When he graduated in 1982 from Oregon Meat Cutting School, there were about eight butcher shops in Sacramento.

Today, there are three: Taylor’s, V. Miller Meats and Corti Brothers.

After Time magazine came calling in 2010, Johnson was featured in an article about butchering’s comeback.

It’s one of his proudest moments.

Despite his dedication to the craft, it took convincing to bring Johnson on board. He and his wife were on vacation in France when he got the email from Tia Harrison Holmes, cofounder of The Butcher’s Guild in San Francisco, about forming Team USA and taking on the World Butchers’ Challenge. His wife encouraged him to compete. Now, he’s looking forward to the clock starting so the team can go to work. “Cutting meat is the easy part,” he says.

The folks behind Visit Sacramento hope to host the next World Butchers’ Challenge in Sacramento. If their bid is accepted, 20 countries are slated to compete in Sacramento during the farm-to-fork celebration in 2020.

For more information, go to worldbutcherschallenge.com, thebutchersguild.org or taylorsmarket. com.

Angela Knight can be reached at knight@mcn.org. n

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TO DO THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Theater Galatea is producing “Julius Caesar & Macbeth.”

jL

By Jessica Laskey

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ILP MAR n 18

“Julius Caesar & Macbeth” Theater Galatea March 29–April 7 William J. Geery Theater, 2130 L St. • theatergalatea.com Theater Galatea’s groundbreaking new production of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and “Macbeth” will be performed in two acts with only four female performers. Use code “INSIDE” for $5 off your ticket.

William Ishmael Tim Collom Gallery March 6–April 5 Opening reception Saturday, March 10, 5:30–8:30 p.m.

Rhoades' artwork will be on display this month at E Street Gallery.

915 20th St. • timcollomgallery.com Artist William Ishmael’s solo exhibition includes colorful works, mirrored works, translucent plastic printmaking sheets, sand-colored pieces, a 7-foot metal grid and an installation of metal tubes to explore emptiness and the lack thereof.

“Messiah” Camerata California Sunday, March 25, 4 p.m.

Books Before Bedtime Celebrating Dr. Seuss Fairytale Town Friday, March 2, 6–8 p.m.

First United Methodist Church, 2100 J St. • cameratacalifornia.net Parts Two and Three of Handel’s iconic “Messiah” will be performed in the chamber tradition of the Dublin premiere by this professional chamber choir.

3901 Land Park Drive • fairytaletown.org Don your pajamas to celebrate Theodore Seuss Geisel’s 114th birthday with Seuss-themed hands-on activities, bilingual story time, poetry, arts and crafts, and more.

“The Cycle”

Youth Art Month

Crocker Art Museum March 25–July 15

Crocker Art Museum March 8–April 1

216 O St. • crockerart.org In this new exhibition, sculptor Cyrus Tilton explores the world’s burgeoning human population and the trend of mass consumerism using the locust as a cautionary metaphor.

216 O St. • crockerart.org Youth Art Month, a statewide program presented by the California Art Education Association, celebrates exceptional arts education programs in this exhibition of student artwork.

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

53

Winter Shorts Fest Sacramento French Film Festival Saturday, March 3, 7 p.m.

Crest Theatre, 1013 K St. • sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org The Sacramento French Film Festival will present this year’s Césarnominated short films, complete with a wine and champagne bar.

Classical Concert Bring the kids to Fairytale Town for some Easter fun at the spring Eggstravaganza, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1.

Photo courtesy of Greg Flagg.

“Spring Fling” Sacramento Symphonic Winds Sunday, March 18, 2:30 p.m.

Crowne Plaza Northeast, 5321 Date Ave. • sacwinds.org This family-friendly concert features trombone soloist Tony Collins playing “Colloquy” by W. L. Goldstein, “The Hounds of Spring” by Alfred Reed, symphonic dance music from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein, “Mock Morris” by Percy Grainger, and more.

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ILP MAR n 18

Crocker Art Museum Sunday, March 11, 3 p.m.

216 O St. • crockerart.org Sacramento soprano Susheel Bibbs will perform art songs built around the theme of “Songs of Love and Parting.” Bibbs will be accompanied by baritone Omari Tau and pianist John Cozza.

“Color Fields” E Street Gallery March 4–31 Second Saturday reception Saturday, March 10, 6–9 p.m.

1115 E St. • (916) 214-3496 Abstract painters Matt Rhoades and Cherie Hacker present spirited, emotional pieces that explore the dialogue between the artist and the painting.

Spring Eggstravaganza Fairytale Town Saturday, March 31, and Sunday, April 1, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

3901 Land Park Drive • fairytaletown.org This fun-filled family weekend features egg hunts, prizes, handson activities and visits with Peter Cottontail. Daily egg hunts are held at noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Puppet Art Theater Company will perform “Bunny Bootcamp” in the Children’s Theater at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.

Sharing Session Genealogical Association of Sacramento Wednesday, March 21, 12:30–2 p.m.

Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive • gensac.org Bring your genealogy problems, questions and puzzles for a sharing session to help ease research roadblocks.

Behind the Cellar Door 2018 Amador Vintners March 2–4, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Various locations • amadorwine.com More than 40 Amador County wineries will participate in this weekend event, which will include food pairings, live music, a silent auction, educational seminars, and demonstrations and tastings galore.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n

William Ishmael will be on exhibit at Tim CollomGallery in Midtown.

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

55

BY DANIEL BARNES ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Sole Practitioner THIS ARTIST PAINTS ABSTRACTS, NOT RIVERS AND TREES

56

ILP MAR n 18

I

t is important for any artist to feel at home in his studio, but Andy Cunningham managed to take the concept to a whole new level.

A prolific Sacramento painter who was tired of sharing Downtown studio space with artists and bands, Cunningham created his own studio by building a quasi-house on a corner lot in the northernmost reaches of East Sacramento. The former owners split the property into two parcels and sold what was once the backyard to Cunningham, who built a structure with enough amenities to pass inspection. He doesn’t live in the space, but building codes still required him to include a bathroom and a barebones kitchen.

Otherwise, he left the studio largely an unfinished shell, more of an oversized man cave than a home, with paint-splattered cement floors, makeshift plywood tables and a garage overflowing with old paintings.

“It gives me space to think,” says Cunningham, who recently brought his works to China as part of a show of Sacramento and Chinese artists. “I like to keep my head down and keep going forward, and this space allows me to do that.”

Isolated and unique, the studio makes an almost-too-easy metaphor for Cunningham’s position in the local arts scene. An abstract artist who specializes in nonobjective explorations of color and shape, Cunningham often finds himself on the outside of a mainstream Sacramento art world that favors representational images of rivers and trees. And although he made a

striking contribution to last year’s ArtStreet, an art pop-up event held in and around an old warehouse near Broadway, he also doesn’t fit the mold of the urban artists and muralists who are driving change in the local scene.

“Sacramento desperately wants to be a city, but the city is not the dirt and earth anymore. It’s an abstracted experience,” says Cunningham, whose work is influenced by “hard-edge abstractionists” like Frank Stella and Brice Marden. Although he remains an outlier in the Sacramento scene, he sees hope in the change brought by groups like M5 Arts and Verge Center for the Arts. “I definitely see the needle moving more toward not necessarily abstraction, but anything other than cows and rivers and sunsets,” says Cunningham.

Born in New York and raised between there and the Bay Area, Cunningham was back in New York City attending graduate school at Hunter College when his wife became pregnant with their first child. The new family returned to Northern California, eventually settling in Sacramento, where Cunningham played the role of “artist and at-home dad” and found a job teaching art at Sacramento Country Day School.

The busy schedule didn’t do much to raise his profile. “Come 8 o’clock on a Friday night, I was reading ‘Harry Potter’ to my kids,” says Cunningham.

“I didn’t have the energy or the desire to be out shaking hands, so I figured I would spend more time in the studio.”

Cunningham describes his work as “colorful and whimsical,” and the many paintings that cover his studio

walls attest to his love of “color for color reasons,” as well his obsession with exploring shapes.

Rather than chasing trends, Cunningham has preferred to chase his own muse, no matter where it leads him. “Throughout time, many of the great experimenters have nearly killed themselves with explosions, and in that they found a whole new thing,” says Cunningham. “By making work in a serious progression, just keeping my head down and moving forward, that’s going to get me where I want to go.”

Cunningham concentrates almost solely on paintings, but he stepped outside of his comfort zone for ArtStreet, creating a playful yet powerful piece featuring nine shrinkwrapped wheelbarrows sitting atop spray-painted wooden plinths. “He has always stuck to his guns,” says Cunningham’s friend and fellow artist, Salvatore Victor. “He’s somebody who doesn’t get caught in a formula.”

ArtStreet also helped connect Cunningham with Lin Fei Fei, the artist who sponsored the East Meets West show, held this past

July in Shenyang, China. Already off from work for summer vacation, Cunningham seized the opportunity to travel to Shenyang for the exhibit, carrying his artwork as luggage.

“I don’t know if I’ve sold anything because of the show, but it was a oncein-a-lifetime experience,” he says.

Back in Sacramento, his studio remains a hive of activity. Next to the stairs sits a cardboard tube filled with artwork that Cunningham is sending to a show in Los Angeles, and he sent two other paintings to Connecticut just the day before. “His work is vastly recognized outside of here and amongst his peers, but he doesn’t get the recognition in Sacramento that I think he deserves,” says Victor.

“Maybe my market is somewhere else. Maybe I don’t have a market,” says Cunningham. “I’m just going to keep funneling artwork into my garage, if that’s what it takes.”

To see Andy Cunningham’s art, go to saatchiart.com/andyc.

Daniel Barnes can be reached at danielebarnes@hotmail.com. n

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

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Beer on Broadway OAKHAUS IS A NEW-STYLE HOFBRAU AND BEER HALL

A

neighborhood more than a century old, Oak Park was a “streetcar suburb,” easily reachable by streetcars that were first drawn by horses and eventually ran on electricity. At the turn of the last century, the neighborhood was a thriving center for arts, culture, shopping and dining.

Throughout the 20th century, events conspired to bring Oak Park down. The freeway building boom of the 1950s and ’60s dealt a double blow to Oak Park, cutting it off from

GS

By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

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ILP MAR n 18

adjacent neighborhoods and allowing middle-class and prosperous residents to move out to the more remote suburbs farther from the city center.

Recent revitalization efforts, however, seem to be taking hold. A handful of businesses have staked their claim around the newly named Triangle District, and their fortunes are on the rise.

This isn’t luck or good timing, however. Many of the businesses nestled in the crook of the triangle, around 35th Street and Broadway, are serving quality food and drinks.

They’re the kind of places that would be successful no matter where they set up shop.

Two such spots are La Venadita, a Mexican restaurant, and Oakhaus, a hofbrau-style German bar and restaurant. Both are owned by Tom Schnetz, a successful Bay

Area restaurateur who grew up in Sacramento.

Schnetz was raised not far from Oak Park and now owns a house just a few blocks away from his two restaurants. He grew up in a family with both Mexican and German roots, and his Sacramento restaurants bring together the national strains that make up his background.

As a native of Sacramento, I grew up going to Sam’s Hof Brau with my grandmother, and I still love going there today. Oakhaus’ take on the hofbrau is more modern and streamlined. Think ’50s German electronics and kitschy midcentury beer posters in place of red velvet wallpaper and gilt-framed portraits of Rubenesque ladies.

A large, sunny patio stretches along Broadway and is a perfect place for soaking up the sun and downing a

liter of fine German beer. Oakhaus pours multiple German beers—lager, Pilsner, Kolsch, Dopplebock—along with a wide selection of California brews. Some of these local offerings are in the German style, while others are strikingly American. In the fridge sits a vast array of imported beers brewed throughout Germany.

Between tap and bottles, Oakhaus has one of the best German beer selections in the area.

On the menu, you’ll find a host of German favorites like schnitzel, the pounded/breaded/fried pork cutlet nearly synonymous with Central European cuisine. Oakhaus’ take on the old standard is pretty standard.

The fry is crisp and the pork tender.

Add to it a side of vinegary-tart potato salad and you’ll be singing David Hasselhoff tunes in no time.

Fat’s

HAS GONE BANANAS

for a good cause!

MARCH 2 THROUGH MARCH 10 $1 from the sale of every slice of Banana Cream Pie and $10 from the sale of every whole Banana Cream Pie from any of the Fat’s Restaurants VHKK ADMDjS 2@BQ@LDMSN 2SDOR %NQV@QC @ MNMOQNjS organization committed to ending homelessness in our region SGQNTFG BNKK@ANQ@SHNM HMMNU@SHNM @MC BNMMDBSHMF ODNOKD SN RDQUHBDR Join us March 2nd, at 6 pm at Fat City in Old Sacramento for our 4th Annual Banana Cream Pie Eating Contest!

fatsrestaurants.com

What is a German eatery without sausage? Here, the tube meat comes from V. Miller Meats in East Sacramento. Have it on a roll with an overly generous spread of mayo and mustard, and topped with a particularly aggressive sauerkraut.

Or opt for the sausage plate with condiments and a side of that great potato salad.

Small bites might be the best thing on the menu (as well as the best thing for riding shotgun to your lager). The house-made pretzel is simply the best pretzel I’ve had in recent memory.

It’s especially delightful with a side of cheese sauce and mustard. And the “kraut balls”—small morsels of sauerkraut and carrots, breaded and fried—are a winsome treat. They’re a perfect accompaniment to a dark schwarzbier or earthy maibock.

Oakhaus typically has at least one kind of cupcake at the ready for those

with a sweet tooth, but since it's only a few minutes from Gunther’s Ice Cream, there’s no need to put on a big show for dessert.

Unpretentious and casual, Oakhaus provides a relaxing space in which to meet, mingle and kibitz with friends over a fine German beer and a small bite or two. Although it’s much less traditional than the hofbrau you might expect, the same feeling of conviviality makes Oakhaus a worthy overseas cousin to the beer halls and drinking tents of Germany.

Oakhaus is at 3413 Broadway; (916) 376-7694; oakhaussac.com.

Greg Sabin can be reached at gregsabin@hotmail.com. n

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

59

INSIDE’S

Centro Cocina Mexicana

Freeport Bakery

2730 J St. • (916) 442-2552

2966 Freeport Blvd. • (916) 442-4256

L D $$ Full Bar Patio Regional Mexican cooking served in a casual atmosphere • paragarys.com • centrococina.com

$ Award-winning baked goods and cakes for eat in or take out • freeportbakery.com

Easy on I 1725 I St. • (916) 469-9574 L D $-$$ Full Bar American eats, including BBQ, local brews & weekend brunch • easyoni.com

DOWNTOWN

OLD SAC

Cafeteria 15L

Fat City Bar & Cafe

1116 15th St. • (916) 492-1960

1001 Front St. • (916) 446-6768

L D $$ Full Bar Classic American lunch counter with a millennial vibe • cafeteria15l.com

L D $$-$$$ Full Bar American cuisine served in a casual historic Old Sac location • fatsrestaurants.com

Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters

Rio City Cafe

400 P St. • (916) 400-4204

1110 Front St. • (916) 442-8226

Small-batch coffees brewed from beans harvested within the past 12 months • chocolatefishcoffee.com

L D $$ Full Bar Bistro favorites with a distinctively Sacramento feeling in a riverfront setting • riocitycafe.com

de Vere’s Irish Pub

The Firehouse Restaurant

L D $$ Full Bar Family-run authentic Irish pub with a classic menu to match • deverespub.com

1112 Second St. • (916) 442-4772

1200 K St. #8 • (916) 228-4518 L D $$ Educational tasting experience of wines by the taste, flight or glass with tapas and small plates • downtownandvine.com

Ella Dining Room & Bar 1131 K St. • (916) 443-3772 L D $$$ Full Bar Modern American cuisine served family-style in a chic, upscale space • elladiningroomandbar.com

Esquire Grill 1213 K St. • (916) 448-8900 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Outdoor Dining Upscale American fare served in an elegant setting • paragarys.com • esquiregrill.com

Firestone Public House

2009 N St. • (916) 661-6134 L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Wood-fired pizzas in an inventive urban alley setting • federalistpublichouse.com

Hot Italian 1627 16th St. • (916) 444-3000 L D $$ Full Bar Authentic hand-crafted pizzas with inventive ingredients, gelato • hotitalian.net

Mulvaney’s Building & Loan 1215 19th St. • (916) 441-6022

1521 L St. • (916) 231-9947

Downtown & Vine

Federalist Public House

L D $$$ Full Bar Global and California cuisine in an upscale historic Old Sac setting • firehouseoldsac.com

Ten22 1022 Second St. • (916) 441-2211 L D $$ Full Bar American bistro favorites with a modern twist in a casual Old Sac setting • ten22oldsac.com

Willie’s Burgers 110 K St. • (916) 573-3897 L D $ Great burgers and more • williesburgers.com

R STREET Café Bernardo

CURTIS PARK

L D $$ Full Bar Fabulous Outdoor Patio.,California cuisine with a French touch • paragarys.com

2700 24th St. • (916) 451-2200

Revolution Wines 2831 S St. • (916) 444-7711 L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Urban winery and tasting room with a creative menu using local sources • revolution-wines.com

L D $$ Beer/Sake Inventive Japansese-inspired seafood dishes • skoolonkstreet.com

2820 P St. • (916) 455-3500

1601 16th St. • (916) 452-7594

Grange Restaurant & Bar

L D $$-$$$ Wine/Beer Seasonal menu using the best local ingredients • magpiecafe.com

Shoki Ramen House

B L D $$$ Full Bar Simple, seasonal, soulful • grangesacramento.com

1201 R St. • (916) 441-0011 L D $$ Beer/Wine Japanese fine dining using the best local ingredients • shokiramenhouse.com

Hock Farm Craft & Provision

MIDTOWN Biba Ristorante

South

2801 Capitol Ave. • (916) 455-2422

2005 11th St. • (916) 382-9722 L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Timeless traditional Southern cuisine, counter service • weheartfriedchicken.com

L D $-$$ Wine/Beer/Sangria Spanish/world cuisine in a casual authentic atmosphere, live flamenco music • tapathewworld.com

Café Dantorele B L D $$ Beer/Wine Outdoor Patio Seasonal menu features crepes and more in a colorful setting • cafedantorels.com

Pangaea Bier Café 2743 Franklin Blvd. • (916) 454-4942 L D Sunday Brunch $$ Beer/Wine Outdoor Patio A curated tap list dedicated to only the finest of brews • pangaeabiercafe.com

Shoki Ramen House 2530 21st St. • (916) 454-2411 L D $$ Beer/Wine Japanese fine dining using the best local ingredients • shokiramenhouse.com

Gunther’s Ice Cream 2801 Franklin Blvd. • (916) 457-6646 L D $ Long-standing landmark with retro decor supplying homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors plus soup and sandwiches • gunthersicecream.com

OAK PARK La Venadita 3501 Third Ave. • (916) 400-4676

Thai Basil L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Patio Housemade curries among their authentic Thai specialties • thaibasilrestaurant.com

L D $$ Full Bar Authentic Mexican cuisine with simple tasty menu in a colorful historic setting • lavenaditasac.com

Oak Park Brewing Company 3514 Broadway • (916) 660-2723

The Waterboy L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Patio Fine South of France and Northern Italian cuisine in a chic neighborhood setting • waterboyrestaurant.com

LAND PARK

Café Bernardo

2760 Sutterville Rd. • (916) 452-2809

B L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Casual California cuisine with counter service • cafebernardo.com

ILP MAR n 18

2115 J St. • (916) 442-4353

L D $$$ Full Bar Upscale Northern Italian cuisine served a la carte • biba-restaurant.com

2726 Capitol Ave. • (916) 443-1180

60

Tapa The World

2000 Capitol Ave. • (916) 498-9891

1415 L St. • (916) 440-8888 L D $$-$$ Full Bar Celebration of the region’s rich history and bountiful terrain • hockfarm.com

L D $ Beer/Wine Classic burgers, cheesesteaks, shakes, chili dogs, and other tasty treats • suzieburger. com

2431 J St. • (916) 442-7690

926 J St. • (916) 492-4450

2924 Freeport Blvd. • (916) 443-5154

1401 28th St. • (916) 457-5737

L D $$ Beer/Sake Humble Hawaiian poke breaks free • fishfacepokebar.com

L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Cuisine from Japan, Thailand, China ad Vietnam. • majongs.com

Taylor’s Kitchen

Paragary’s

Suzie Burger

Magpie Cafe

L D $$ Full Bar Upscale American cuisine served in a contemporary setting • riversideclubhouse.com

L D $ Great burgers and more. Open until 2:30 am on Friday and Saturday • williesburgers.com

1104 R St. Suite 100 • (916) 706-6605

1431 L St. • (916) 442-7555

2633 Riverside Blvd. • (916) 448-9988

2415 16th St. • (916) 444-2006

L D $$ Full Bar Sports bar with a classical American menu • firestonepublichouse.com

Ma Jong’s Asian Diner

Riverside Clubhouse

L D $$ Full Bar All things local contribute to a sophisticated urban menu • theredrabbit.net

Fish Face Poke Bar

L D $-$$ Full Bar Gastro-pub cuisine in a stylish industrial setting • ironhorsetavern.net

L D $$ Full Bar Featured on Diners, DriveIns and Dives. Dine in or take out since 1986 • jamiesbroadwaygrille.com

Willie’s Burgers

2319 K St. • (916) 737-5767

1800 15th St. • (916) 448-4488

427 Broadway • (916) 442-4044

2718 J St. • (916) 706-2275

Skool

L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Chinese favorites in an elegant setting • fatsrestaurants.com

Jamie’s Broadway Grille

The Red Rabbit

B L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Casual California cuisine with counter service • cafebernardo.com

Iron Horse Tavern

L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Upscale neighborhood steakhouse • irongrillsacramento.com

D $$$ Wine/Beer Dinner served Wed. through Saturday. Reservations suggested but walk-ins welcome • taylorskitchen.com

1431 R St. • (916) 930-9191

806 L St. • (916) 442-7092

13th St. and Broadway • (916) 737-5115

L D $$$ Full Bar Modern American cuisine in an upscale historic setting

1132 16th St. • (916) 446-0888

Frank Fat’s

Iron Grill

Casa Garden Restaurant L $$ Wine/Beer • Lunch menu varies weekly.

Operated by volunteers to benefit Sacramento Children’s Home. • casagarden.org

L D $$ Full Bar Award-winning beers and a creative pub-style menu in an historic setting • opbrewco.com

Vibe Health Bar 3515 Broadway • (916) 382-9723 B L D $-$$ Clean, lean & healthy snacks. Acai bowls are speciality. Kombucha on tap • vibehealthbar. com n

Construction Is Underway The City of Sacramento, Department of Utilities and its construction contractors are working on water meters, water mains, and water service lines in the area.

Visit www.MetersMatter.org to learn more about the project and to find out what may be happening in and around your neighborhood.

This work may result in: • Traffic delays • Sidewalk closures • Construction-related dust and noise This work addresses the State’s mandate for water meters to be installed on all water services.

Thank you for your cooperation on this very important project.

Contact us for more information: www.MetersMatter.org Meter Information Line: 916-808-5870

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

61

NOBODY IN THE WORLD SELLS MORE REAL ESTATE THAN *Broker Metrics 1/1/17 - 12/31/17

RE/MAX GOLD & Kim Pacini-Hauch

SOAR Above the Competition SACRAMENTO, PLACER, EL DORADO & YOLO COUNTIIES

#1 Real Estate Brand in the World • • • • • • • •

#1 Real Estate Brokerage* #1 Top Producing Agent*

RE/MAX Gold‘s sales volume is greater than any other company in Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado Counties* #1 Independently Owned Real Estate Company in California Second largest RE/MAX franchise in the world Sold $49.5+ Billion in Real Estate in the last 24 years Over 167,000 closed transactions in the last 24 years Companywide sales nearly $5.4 Billion in 2017 58 locations in 19 counties throughout Northern + Central California Our “Miracle Agents” raised over $205,000 for Children’s Miracle Network during 2017

Congrats Kim! “Kim exemplifies the very best of our industry. We are so proud of her hard work and outstanding results that have earned her the spot of Top Producer in the quad county area once again! We couldn’t be happier that Kim partners with RE/MAX Gold, and that we share this accomplishment of being #1 in the quad county area.” Ʌ Keith Ard, Executive Vice President of RE/MAX Gold

#1 Top Producer for the Past 2 Years in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado & Yolo Counties

LUXE LIVING

$115MILLION SOLD IN TRANSACTIONS from 2016-2017 * SOURCE: BROKER METRICS

916.204.8900 | KimPaciniHauch@gmail.com | www.KimPacini.com | BRE 00997109 |

877.78REMAX www.REMAXGold.com

62

ILP MAR n 18

Sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premier Antique & Design Center Over 120 Dealerss 45,000 sq ft

IN BUSINESS OVER 40 YEARS

4 Star Dining FREE CUSTOMER PARKING

FULLY AIR CONDITIONED for Shopping Convenience & Design Center

Amorini Antiques 455-1509

Sassi Salon 739-0878

Aquila Fitness 207-7500

Fifty-Seventh Street Antique Mall 451-3110

The Ruralist 761-6442

Evanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen 452-3896

Nephesh Pilates 220-7534

Mike & Greg The Pottery Guys 731-4556

Sekulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 712-8303

sekulas.com

Design Alchemy Deborah Costa 337-4434

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The Lighting Palace mikeandgregs.com 769-4857 - Sales and Repair Picket Fence Antiques 817-9625 Inside 455-6524 Sacramento

855 57th Street (Between J & H Streets)

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Coldwell Banker

#1 IN CALIFORNIA

POPULAR PARKER HALF-PLEX! 3bds/2.5ba home with open kitchen and family room.

Lovely updates and river access. $395,000 WENDY KAY 916.717.1013 CalRE#: 01437903 TREMENDOUS SACRAMENTO RIVER! 2 parcel totaling 1.7 lush river front acres w/380ft of river frontage. Marina operation with 350’ dock for large and small boats. 2bd/2ab, approx. 1800sqft hm w. sep. guest qrtr & office. $1,899,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608 CLASSIC SPANISH STYLE HOME! Located in the heat of College Plaza Tract in Land Park. Prime area with 2bd/1ba/1145sqft, great bkyrd and 2 car garage. $575,000 TOM LEONARD 916.834.1681 CalRE#: 01714895

PENDING

ADORABLE SPANISH REVIVAL! 3bd/2ba/1667sqft w/ arched windows in living rm, Frplc, spacious dining rm, ¼ bsemnt, blt-in salt-water pool & 2 car gar. $689,000 SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986

PENDING

L STREET LOFTS! Majestic 2-story penthouse loft w/balcony, 18 ft ceilings, huge windows, marble baths, hrdwd flrs, frplc, granite & stainless kitch. $1,000,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608

MARVEL AT THIS MIDTOWN BEAUTY Boulevard Park Highwater Bungalow w/elegant entryway, chef-level kitch w/dining bar, remote master suite w/frplc. STEPH BAKER 916.775.3447 CalRE#: 01402254

MIDTOWN CHARMER Midtown home with two roomy bedrooms, updated kitchen, broad porch & sizeable backyard. Steps to the great offerings of Downtown & Midtown. STEPH BAKER 916.775.3447 CalRE#: 01402254 FREEPORT VILLAGE COTTAGE! Roomy 3bed, 2bath home with hardwoods, fireplace, many charming details, bonus room & 2 car garage on a great street. $289,900 PALOMA BEGIN 916.628.8561 CalRE#: 01254423 GRACIOUS CRAFTSMAN IN MIDTOWN'S POVERTY RIDGE! Gorgeous new hdwd floors, 3 BD, 2 BA, finished basement w/den, kitchenette and possible 4th bdrm! $685,000 STEFFAN BROWN 916.717.7217 CalRE#: 01882787

BOULEVARD PARK Lovely 2bd/2ba, 1920’s Victorian offers convenience & Opportunity w/high ceilings, orig. features, lush patio & full bsmnt. STEPH BAKER 916.775.3447 CalRE#: 01402254

MIDTOWN'S FINEST COMMUNITY 2BD/2BA Sutter Place condo w/private patio overlooking pool. Steps to Midtown's best retail, restaurants & arts outlets.

STEPH BAKER 916.775.3447 CalRE#: 01402254

CHARMING COTTAGE IN LAND PARK! 4bd/3ba/ 1940sqft. Spacious LR w/frplc, over-sized frml DR, Orgi. kitch w/dining space, covered patio, & det. 1 car gar w/wrkshop. $699,500 SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986

ACROSS FROM DEL PASO COUNTRY CLUB! Gated, lovely 2b, 2ba hm w/lrg den located in this gated community. Spacious liv rm, frml din rm w/gas frplc. Rmdld approx. 10yrs ago w/many custom features. Bkyd w/2 brick patios perfect for entertaining. $535,000 JAN LEVIN 916.341.7883 CalRE#: 00672462 BEAUTIFUL MIDTOWN BROWNSTONE Charming treelined T St within Tapestri Square.

3bd/2.5ba apprx. 2150sqft, elevator, roof deck. $799,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608

JEWEL OF THE SAC RIVER! Waterfront estate w/boat dock set on nearly 2 acres. Single stry, 4 car gar, gst qrtr, pool/spa. $2,395,000 MAGGIE SEKUL/RICH CAZNEAUX 916.224.5418 OR 916.212.4444 CALRE#: 01296369/01447558

SIMPLY SWEET IN ELMHURST 2BD/1BA vintage starter home on 7,841 sq ft lot. Short bike ride from UCDMC, Corti Brothers & Trader Joe’s. $349,950 POLLY SANDERS & ELISE BROWN 916.715.0213 CalRE#: 01157878/01781942

DESIRABLE POCKET LOCATION! Lovely 4bd/3ba in cul-de-sac w/access to the Sac River levee. LR & FM w/ frplc, dining area, spacious kitch & lndscpd bckyrd. $735,000 SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986

SACRAMENTO METRO OFFICE 730 Alhambra Boulevard #150 • 916.447.5900

TAHOE PARK 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch with wood floors, garage, bonus play room. Newer HVAC. Come and take a look!

STEPH BAKER 916.775.3447 CalRE#: 01402254

ColdwellBankerHomes.com

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Lrgest single level Plan @ the L St Lofts w/12064sf & great views. Hdwd flrs, 1.5 bath. $759,500 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608

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©2017 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each ColdwellBanker Residential Brokerage Office is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage or NRT LLC. CalBRE License #01908304.