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SOUTH LAND PARK Timeless Mid-Century Ranch where the sun Àows in and makes your life bright and beautiful. 3 bedrooms 2 baths, 1724 square feet of living space; quality detailing, amazing landscape and walls of glass. You might call it paradise! Close to Land Park, Midtown, the bike trail and the Sacramento River. All it needs is You! $599,500 SHEILA VAN NOY 916-505-5395

pending

SOUTH LAND PARK DUPLEX Amazing interior street with large corner lot. 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2-car garage on one side, and. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1-car garage on the other side. Both units have yards with patio. Upgrades: some electrical, sewer line, paint in and out, some carpet and linoleum. Bike to downtown, city college or walk to William Land Park. $650,000 MONA GERGEN 916 247-9555

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LAND PARK SPANISH Stunning home in Land Park! Tastefully remodeled with old-world charm, it offers all the modern amenities, including a large kitchen with Viking appliances, butler’s pantry with wine fridge, and a family room leading to the backyard. 4 bedroom, 3½ bath; large master suite with Juliet balcony and more! $1,365,000 JAMIE RICH 916-612-4000

DOWNTOWN TRIPLEX BUILT IN 2009 Income producing! Amazing downtown triplex built in 2009. Attached garages and inside laundry for each unit. 2-car driveway for additional parking. Fantastic shape with great park across the street. New Àooring, fans, appliances, paint and lighting. Rare opportunity to own such a spectacular property in the highly desired downtown area. $999,000 MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555

sold

LAND PARK GEM! This home has been in the family for decades. Original Land Park Spanish charm featuring a living room with ¿replace, large dining room, breakfast nook, galley kitchen, and central hall Àoor plan. You’ll love the beautiful hardwood Àoors with inlay and large backyard just waiting for your touches. Plenty of storage throughout. Great location! $425,000 KELLIE SWAYNE 9166-206-1458

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SWEET SOUTH LAND PARK What a sweet home! Walls of windows ¿ll this home with light. Rich newer wood Àoors, updated kitchen with brand new range, updated bath and 5-year old roof are just a few of the features that make this home special. Huge yard with spacious patio, pond and putting green invites you to enjoy the evening breezes. $340,000 PAULA SWAYNE 916 425-9715

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pending

SOUTH LAND PARK TERRACE 4 bedroom 2½ bath home with soaring ceilings in the living room and master bedroom. Master looks out to the treetops! Two ¿replaces, renovated kitchen, big game room, plus a remote of¿ce off the garage.

Deep backyard too! Just minutes to William Land Park, Midtown, shopping and the bike trail. Your treasured memories start here! $650,000 SHEILA VAN NOY 916-505-5395

pending

LAND PARK CHARMER! You will love this 2 bedroom, home remodeled and loaded with charm!

Formal living room with ¿replace and large leaded glass window.

Formal dining room next to large kitchen nook with leaded glass builtins and Àat screen. Kitchen remodeled in 2016, separate large family room, quarter basement, 2-car garage. $525,000 BETH HARNEY 916 995-4120

pending

EDGE OF CURTIS PARK Edge of Curtis Park....Enjoy this 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1192 square foot home with 1-car garage. This home, built in 1991, has dual pane windows, central heat and air, extensive use of tile, great room concept Àoor plan with ¿replace, covered patio and generous lot size. Easy access to McGeorge. Don’t miss this one! $319,000 PATRICK VOGELI 916-207-4515

916.612.4000 | JamieRich.net MIDTOWN • LAND PARK • CURTIS PARK EAST SACRAMENTO • HOLLYWOOD PARK BRE No. 01870143

Jamie Rich is what we would call a "best-in-class" Realtor® and always went above and beyond our expectations. She brings her long-time expertise in the market and helped us see the potential and opportunity in every house we saw.

Not only did Jamie help us see our vision, she was our advocate, cheerleader, and teammate through the entire buying and selling process.

She made us feel comfortable and at ease during what could be a very daunting and overwhelming experience.

Buying/selling your house can be stressful—but be conÀdent that if you choose Jamie Rich as your Realtor®, she will always have your best interests in mind!

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EAST SACRAMENTO McKINLEY PARK RIVER PARK ELMHURST TAHOE PARK CAMPUS COMMONS

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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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Unrealized Promise of Proposition 47

T

Anne Marie Schubert

DA SHUBERT EXPLAINS WHY PROPERTY CRIME HAS RISEN

he weeks after two police officers fatally shot unarmed Stephon Clark have been heartbreaking for Sacramento. The case is undergoing investigation by the Sacramento Police Department and District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. The state attorney general’s office also plans to conduct its own investigation and review.

The Sacramento County DA is the elected chief law enforcement officer of the county and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases. I interviewed Schubert just after Clark was shot. But that was not the reason for our interview.

Instead, I wanted to get Schubert’s take on the region’s homelessness problem. A number of people have recently suggested that the situation worsened after state voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014. The proposition’s official title was “Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties.

Initiative Statute.” Supporters referred to it as “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” and that is the name that appeared on the ballot. But the reality is not what that name promised to state voters.

The proposition reclassifies some previous nonviolent felony offenses into misdemeanors. These offenses include shoplifting, writing bad checks and drug possession.

The proposition allows individuals to steal up to $950 repeatedly, with only misdemeanor consequences. The measure also requires that money saved as a result of the measure be spent on school truancy and dropout prevention, victim services, mental health and drug-abuse treatment, and other programs designed to keep offenders out of prison and jail. It was also designed to reduce prison populations and save the state money.

Schubert and almost every other DA and law enforcement agency in the state opposed Proposition 47. Opponents of the measure said it would make our neighborhoods and schools less safe and would make meaningful prosecution of certain crimes less likely.

CH

By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

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“I believe in reforms, and when it passed we vowed to follow the new law,� said Schubert. “Prop. 47 promised money for individuals with drug problems, but they have not yet benefited from any money in our county.�

Schubert explained that Prop. 47 created state funding for treatment programs through a grant process.

She said that while Sacramento County submitted an outstanding grant application, it was never awarded a dime. “It also took away the tools we had to incentivize folks to accept treatment programs,� said Schubert. “Incarceration is an important tool to help drug users get into treatment.

Prop. 47 makes it more difficult to get those folks treatment. “We are definitely seeing an uptick in reported property crimes in the county and all over the state. And that is just with reported crimes.

Many victims don’t even bother to report crimes because there are no consequences.�

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With the felony threshold at $950, small-business owners have told me that thieves are careful not to exceed that limit when they commit crimes.

The business owners don’t even bother to report such crimes because they are considered misdemeanors. “People supported Prop. 47 because they thought we could get people off drugs,� said Schubert. But recent experiences make one wonder if Prop.

47 has brought about more drug use and crime. “I’ve attended community meetings in diverse areas all over the county,� said Schubert, “and the complaints are always the same: homeless populations increasing, plus more garbage, drugs and alcohol and crime on the streets.� Schubert said these civic problems exist across all race, ethnicity and income demographics. “There is little doubt that with more individuals on the street, there will be more crime. I’m all for rehabilitation. But with Prop. 47, we now lack the incentives to get people back on track.�

“WE ARE DEFINITELY SEEING AN UPTICK IN REPORTED PROPERTY CRIMES IN THE COUNTY AND ALL OVER THE STATE. AND THAT IS JUST WITH REPORTED CRIMES. MANY VICTIMS DON’T EVEN BOTHER TO REPORT CRIMES BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES.�

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People tend not to get involved in public-safety issues until they have been personally affected. More and more people are being personally affected.

“Prop. 47 is just one challenge we face,” said Schubert. “We also have Prop. 57, which lessens prison sentences and terms of parole, and now the legalization of recreational marijuana.”

One thing is for certain: There are always unforeseen consequences with all well-meaning reforms.

Schubert has been the district attorney for almost four years and is up for re-election this June. She is a career prosecutor with 28 years of experience. When she first ran in 2014, her platform was Prosecution, Prevention and Innovation. I asked her about some of the things she has done to improve life in Sacramento.

“We’ve done a great deal, including developing programs to reach atrisk kids early on that we know are working,” said Schubert. “In the last year, we have developed a chronic nuisance-offender program that works

with the Sheriff’s Department to deal with repeated low-level criminals.”

Countywide, there are dozens of programs and partnerships for youth, small businesses, neighborhood resources, combatting human trafficking and more. Many are new under Schubert’s leadership; others continue the work of her predecessor, Jan Scully. Statewide, Schubert is known as an innovative DA. Schubert grew up in Sacramento and said she has no ambitions beyond her current position, which she said she loves. She strives to build good relationships and works with officials on both sides of the political aisle.

Shubert has been endorsed for reelection by the city's mayor and every member of the city council.

She is certainly tough on crime but is more socially liberal. And she’s a mom to two growing sons. “My hope is to continue to be a part of improving the lives of all the children in our community,” she said.

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

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Five Thiebaud paintings will be preserved through the Crocker Art Museum conservation project.

Art for The Ages CROCKER TO PRESERVE THIEBAUD PAINITNGS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

JL

By Jessica Laskey Life on the Grid

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C

rocker Art Museum is conducting a conservation project of five iconic paintings by one of America’s most beloved artists, Sacramento native Wayne Thiebaud.

The oil-on-canvas paintings contained in the Crocker’s permanent collection are being glazed and reframed, thanks to a $15,000 contribution from Bank of America.

Known for his bright palette, consumerist imagery and graphic presentation of food, common household objects and landscapes, Thiebaud paints using a thickly layered process called impasto, which requires careful preservation for the paintings to both age and travel well.

Two of the paintings are scheduled to travel to Museum Voorlinden in the Netherlands later this year.

Each of the paintings will be placed behind Optium Museum Acrylic, which is nearly invisible and protects the paintings from dirt, excessive exposure to light and touching.

“If we take preventive steps now, we can protect these treasures so that future generations will be able to enjoy and appreciate them just as we do today,” says the Crocker’s

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associate director and chief curator, Scott A. Shields.

For more information, visit crockerart.org.

FREE YOGA EVENTS OFFERED IN MIDTOWN If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a way to try out yoga, check out the free yoga classes in Fremont Park on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6 p.m.

The classes are a partnership between Midtown Association and Yoga Moves Us, a nonprofit organization that champions yoga and healthful habits.

The partnership also offers First Friday Flow yoga events at 6 p.m.

on the first Friday of each month starting May 4 on the exterior grounds of Sutterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fort State Historic Park. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always looking for fresh ways to invite the community to explore what we have to offer, experience our uniquely Midtown vibe and linger longer in our amazing district,â&#x20AC;? says Emily Baime Michaels, Midtown Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s executive director.

Both events are free and open to people of all ages and ability levels.

Attendees are encouraged to bring yoga mats and water bottles. Classes will continue through September.

Fremont Park is at 1515 Q St. Sutterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fort is at 2701 L St.

For more information, go to facebook.com/miyosacramento or exploremidtown.org.

MIDTOWN FARMERS MARKET GROWS The Midtown Farmers Market recently expanded with more offerings and space.

The market, which was launched in 2013, grew a half-block in size to accommodate up to 90 farmers, growers and vendors.

The market, which takes place on 20th Street between J and L streets, now extends from J Street to Kayak Alley. The market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, go to exploremidtown.org.

NOT SO AWESOME Awesome Video, one of Sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last video rental shops, is closing its doors after 24 years.

Owner Maithu Bui says sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sad to be closing, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;video and movie streaming services have made it impossible to continue.â&#x20AC;? She encourages customers to drop in to say farewell, as sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to see the families sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s served for more than two decades before the doors close for good.

The store stopped all rentals on April 9 and reopened April 15 to sell its inventory. This is good news

for film buffs who want to add to their personal archives: The store is well known for its collection of rare DVDs and boasts a large collection of documentary, foreign, classic and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s films.

The store will remain open every day from noon to 6 p.m. until all the movies are sold or Memorial Dayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; whichever comes first.

Awesome Video is at 4524 Freeport Blvd.

YOUNG MAKERS LEAVE THEIR MARK Square Root Academy hosted its second annual Great STEM Summit on March 24 at Sam & Bonnie Pannell Community Center.

Square Root Academy is a nonprofit organization based on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). It educates underrepresented youth on the fundamentals of STEM while emphasizing collaborative learning, innovation and academic excellence.

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit featured a maker zone and workshops from engineering firm Brown and Caldwell, Intel and Square One Clubs.

For more information, go to squarerootacademy.com.

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

Check out free yoga in the park classes.

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An Incendiary Tragedy

SACRAMENTO IN TIMES OF PROTEST AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

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he death of Stephon Clark was pure tragedy.

The facts are well known: A late-night call to 911 on March 18 reported that someone was breaking car windows on a street in Meadowview. A sheriff’s helicopter was dispatched to the area, spotted the suspect and reported by radio that he had a “tool bar.” Two Sacramento police officers then chased the suspect until they cornered him in a

CP

By Craig Powell Inside City Hall

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backyard, where the police believed he was trying to enter a home through a sliding glass door.

The officers, one white and one black, rounded the corner of the house into the backyard and spotted the suspect near the house. They briefly retreated back around the corner of the house before quickly re-entering the backyard and yelling “Put your hands up! Gun!” That was followed immediately by the officers firing 10 shots each (emptying their clips) in Clark’s direction. The officers said they saw him threatening them with a gun. The backyard was very dark, lit up only by the officers’ rapidly moving flashlights and a roving spotlight from the helicopter above.

The episode was captured on both officers’ body cams, as

well as the video recorder on the sheriff's helicopter. Both the police department and the sheriff’s department released all of the video recordings in just three days, much faster than the 30-day video release requirement the City Council imposed last year as a package of police reforms adopted in the aftermath of the much-criticized police slaying of Joseph Mann, a mentally ill man who was wielding a knife on the streets of North Sacramento on July 11, 2016.

The sheriff’s prompt release of the helicopter video of the Clark shooting came as a surprise as it has been the department’s practice not to publicly release video in officer-involved shootings.

According to a private autopsy ordered by the Clark family, eight

of the 20 shots struck Clark, one striking him in the neck and likely spinning him around, resulting in six bullets striking him in the back and one in his left thigh. (The county’s official autopsy report and toxicology screen had not been released as of our print deadline.)

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTING The officers waited an excruciatingly long time before approaching and examining the supine and nonresponsive Clark, and they waited even longer to call for emergency medical response.

When the officers finally turned Clark over, they found his cellphone lying underneath him, but no gun.

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Six minutes after the shooting, the officers turned off the mics to their audio recorders for reasons so far unknown.

The police department has not disclosed what the officers say they said during the time their mics were muted. Three weeks after the shooting, police chief Daniel Hahn ordered his officers to never mute their body mics until the conclusion of an incident and its investigation, except under narrowly defined circumstances, such as receiving the permission of a superior officer.

Officers muting their mics must now record why they’re muting their mics before they do so.

Clark, just 22 years old, was a graduate of Sacramento High School, where he played cornerback and wide receiver. He was the father of two children. Since 2014, he’d been charged in four criminal cases, including robbery and battery of a cohabitant. The home he was trying to enter on March 18 belonged to his grandparents. These are all interesting facts, but none is relevant to the question of whether the police

shooting of Clark was lawful or appropriate. The police didn’t know of Clark’s criminal record, nor did they know that the home he was trying to enter belonged to his grandparents.

Since the audio recordings didn’t capture any statements by the officers that identified them as police, some believe that Clark may not have been aware that he was being pursued by the police. That is possible, but it’s hard to give the view much credence given the continuous presence of a helicopter hovering directly above Clark, shining its spotlight down upon him as he fled his pursuers.

Nevertheless, to eliminate even a shadow of doubt in the mind of a suspect over who is pursuing him, it seems to me that officers should always loudly and, if possible, repeatedly identify themselves as police to the person they’re pursuing—except when a stealthy pursuit and capture is warranted by the particular facts, such as in a hostage situation.

PROTESTS, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND THE RULE OF LAW In the days and weeks following Clark’s death, Sacramento was convulsed with angry and sometimes unruly, even ugly protests, primarily in Downtown. But for the most part, the marches were peaceful.

For several afternoons, protestors effectively ruled the streets of Downtown; police did nothing to keep protestors from blocking the streets. In fact, the police frequently moved ahead of the protestors to shut down intersections in the path of the crowd, inconveniencing a significant number of drivers. On the first night of marches, protesters invaded the ramps of I–5 at I and J streets and shut down all freeway traffic for a mile in each direction.

Shutting down freeways is a popular protest strategy of Black Lives Matter, the global activist movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. Blocking freeways certainly draws greater public

attention to BLM grievances. The Sacramento Bee has published dozens of articles on the street protests and blockages. But drawing attention to a cause is quite different from getting people to sympathize with your cause, particularly those you keep captive in their automobiles or prevent from attending basketball games at Golden 1 Center. Protestors unlawfully blocked ticketholders from attending two Kings games on successive nights.

The blockages stopped only when the Kings owners agreed to help fund the education of Clark’s two children.

Black Lives Matter protestors have been arrested in other California cities for blocking freeways, but local police are, by and large, loath to arrest otherwise peaceful protestors, rightly concerned that arrests could inflame an already combustible situation. A retired Sacramento police officer told me that in dealing with protestors, “You have to decide what hill you’re willing to die on.

Yes, they’re violating the law, but we have to use our best judgment in the moment. Will arrests turn a largely peaceful protest into a potentially

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Following the shutdown of I–5 on the first evening of protests, the California Highway Patrol the next night deployed a phalanx of officers at the base of I–5 ramps at I and J streets. Protestors declined to cross the CHP lines and freeway traffic was unaffected. Street blockages from protests, on the other hand, continued periodically for weeks following the shooting.

on duty largely retreated inside, leaving the outside metal detector unattended.

The meeting itself was disrupted when Clark’s grief-stricken brother, Stevante Clark, charged through the council chambers, climbed up onto the dais and sat directly in front of the mayor while addressing the packed council chambers. When the mayor tried to speak, Stevante Clark told the

mayor to “shut the f--- up!” No officer intervened. When protestors outside the chambers continued to bang loudly on the windows of the council chambers, the mayor adjourned the council meeting and abruptly left the chambers with his council colleagues.

Stevante Clark subsequently apologized to the mayor for his behavior and sought mental-health help in dealing with his brother’s death.

A few days later, the mayor promised that “never again” would he allow a council meeting to be so disrupted. True to his word, at a council meeting on April 10, the mayor did not hesitate to have the police eject the first protestor who sought to disrupt the meeting. No further disruptions ensued.

THE ROAD FORWARD If the March 27 meeting was the council’s low-water mark, the April 10 meeting was perhaps its high-water mark so far this year. The council asked Hahn to address 11 questions on the minds of councilmembers, all of which mirrored public concerns with the shooting death of Stephon Clark. They included questions on protocols for chasing suspects, de-escalating confrontations with suspects and using lethal force; the intensity of officer training programs; and rules on providing emergency lifesaving medical care to injured suspects and for muting audio mics.

CITY HALL MELTDOWN The scene at the March 27 meeting of the Sacramento City Council was a stunning and chaotic spectacle— and a low-water mark for order, decorum and safety at a council meeting. In anticipation of a large crowd of protestors, metal detectors were set up at two locations: one at the regular location just outside the council chambers and a second one just outside the courtyard entrance to City Hall. When the crowds surged the exterior doors to City Hall, the undermanned squad of police officers

14

ILP MAY n 18

THE COUNCIL EXPRESSED ALMOST UNIVERSAL SUPPORT FOR A RETURN TO NEIGHBORHOOD- OR COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING TO RESTORE COMMUNITY TRUST AND ALLOW OFFICERS TO GAIN GREATER FAMILIARITY WITH THE COMMUNITIES AND CULTURES IN WHICH THEY WORK.

Hahn answered all of the questions candidly and thoroughly.

He then cataloged the extensive and impressive number of police reforms that have been implemented by the council and his department in the aftermath of the police slaying of Joseph Mann nearly two years ago.

The tragic subtext of his comments, however, was that these reforms did nothing to prevent the tragic death of Stephon Clark.

The council expressed almost universal support for a return to neighborhood- or community-oriented policing to restore community trust and allow officers to gain greater familiarity with the communities and cultures in which they work.

The police chief acknowledged that the number of police officer positions currently authorized—745—is 55 officers below the number employed by the city eight years ago. But even when the police department employed 800 officers, Sacramento was substantially underpoliced, with fewer police officers per capita that other U.S. cities of comparable size.

The most impactful comments, I think, came from the council’s oldest councilmember, Larry Carr, an African-American and a former career intelligence officer with the U.S. Army who represents Valley Hi and Meadowview, where Clark lost his life. Carr said, “There’s not a black person I know who doesn’t have a ‘story,’” meaning a story of an unjust encounter with the police. He also said he doesn’t “know a parent who hasn’t had ‘the talk’ with their children.” He was referring to black parents talking with their children about not putting themselves in a position of being unjustly harmed by the biased perceptions of the police on account of their race.

Sobering and consciousness-raising comments from perhaps the council’s most respected member.

Craig Powell is a retired attorney, businessman, community activist and president of Eye on Sacramento, a civic watchdog and policy group.

He can be reached at craig@ eyeonsacramento.org or (916) 7183030. n

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Gala To Benefit Nature Center PARKWAY GEM HOSTS JUNE 9 FUNDRAISER

By Susan Maxwell Skinner

Canvases donated by high-profile Sacramento artists like (from left) Pat Mahony, Marcy Friedman and Boyd Gavin will be auctioned for the benefit of Effie Yeaw Nature Center.

E

ffie Yeaw Nature Center will hold its annual Art Where Wild Things Are fundraiser on Saturday, June 9, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Tickets are $100.

The event includes an art show, auction and gala with a sunset supper on the grounds of the nature center.

Artist Pat Mahony and her husband, Randy Getz, are this year’s honorary chairs.

The auction will feature works by Mahony, Boyd Gavin, Jian Wang, David Peterson, Gregory Kondos, Maria Winkler and Terry Pappas.

Celebrated landscapist Earl Boley will be remembered with a canvas donated by his widow, Susan Leith. Keith McLane of KLM Auctions will oversee the auction.

From May 15 to June 2, Sacramento Fine Arts Center will

hold a juried Art Where Wild Things Are exhibition, with Gavin and Marcy Friedman serving as jurists.

The nature center and its preserve welcome almost 100,000 visitors a year. “The center has a special history in this community,” says retired Effie Yeaw executive Betty Cooper. “Caring supporters keep us open and available for future generations.” Part of the funds raised on June 9 will provide free nature enrichment programs for schools that could not otherwise afford them.

For more information about the gala, go to sacnaturecenter.net. To learn about the Sacramento Fine Arts Center exhibition, go to sacfinearts. org.

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

A study of Carmichael Creek by Jian Wang will be auctioned at the June 9 gala.

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ILP MAY n 18

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By Bike or Trike MERCY PEDALERS PROVIDE SUPPLIES AND COMPASSION TO THE HOMELESS

ichael Saeltzer has done plenty of volunteer work in his time. He’s helped out at his kids’ school, and he founded East Sac Give Back, which raised money to rebuild McKinley Park Playground when it burned to the ground in 2012.

But he didn’t feel satisfied.

“I wanted to go out there and do something more profound and intimate—to give back in a tangible, meaningful way that nourished me at the same time,” he says.

So when the East Sac real-estate broker read about Sister Libby Fernandez, who served as executive director of Loaves & Fishes before founding Mercy Pedalers in 2017, something clicked.

“After 25 years serving the homeless at Loaves & Fishes, she decided she needed to look beyond that and reconnect with the people she’d been serving for so long,” Saeltzer says. “The Mercy Pedalers do just that: We’re a hyperlocal bicycle ministry that goes out and meets people on the street. I always say that I don’t represent an organization; I’m just a Mercy Pedaler. I’m here to give you a cup of coffee and items you might need like socks, sunscreen and mosquito repellent.”

Mercy pedalers are bicyclists and tricyclists who ride around town and reach out to people experiencing homelessness on Sacramento streets. Their primary goal is to call them by name and share a moment of true connection—something that deeply satisfies Saeltzer in a way he didn’t expect.

“For me, it’s a sacred interaction with someone I wouldn’t ordinarily come across,” Saeltzer says. He’s involved his daughters in the effort; they send donations they collect to Sister Libby and accompany Saeltzer on his rounds down Alhambra Boulevard to hand out bags of supplies they prepared at home. “When we pass homeless people now, my daughters talk about them differently,” he says. “It helps humanize things. They feel like they’re making a real difference.”

Volunteering for Mercy Pedalers allows him to see the impact he can make in a small, meaningful way. Unlike some volunteer organizations, Mercy Pedalers doesn’t have a quota of hours a volunteer must work. There are no set working hours as long as service falls between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saeltzer says this takes the pressure off and allows him to simply be present with the people he’s serving.

“If you want to do it, you can,” he says. “You do it when you can, and when you can’t, it doesn’t count against you. The whole goal is to take the time to approach people with dignity and build trust and offer help. Just a little tiny help—that’s all you need.”

For more information about Mercy Pedalers, go to mercypedalers.com.

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

JL Michael Saeltzer

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ILP MAY n 18

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19

The June Election INCUMBENT JAY SCHENIRER FACES OPPOSITION IN RUN FOR COUNCIL SEAT

Tamika L’Ecluse

J

ay Schenirer remembers when life as a Sacramento City Council member wasn’t so good.

The economy had collapsed and the city’s budget was a mess, with substantially more money flowing out than coming in. Police officers were being laid off. Fire stations were

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ILP MAY n 18

closed. Parks were neglected. The Kings’ owners were trying to sell and move the basketball team. Plans for a new arena in the Downtown railyards were going nowhere.

If that wasn’t enough bad news, homeless people were camping on Downtown streets. Storefronts were

boarded up. Local schools were failing to educate the neediest kids. And City Council members were fighting among themselves.

Such was life eight years ago, when Schenirer arrived at City Hall after a surprising victory in the District 5 council race. He wasn’t supposed to win. Despite experience as a member of the Sacramento City Unified School District’s Board of Education, Schenirer was a political outsider.

Labor unions and many local elected officials endorsed his opponent.

Today, Schenirer is running for a third term. He says, “It’s an exciting time to be on the City Council. The council is working together. We are moving the city forward and getting some exciting work done.”

Schenirer has been an active member of the council. He helped guide the city back to solvency, pushed millions of dollars into District 5 for parks and sports fields, promoted health services in Oak Park with a program called WayUp Sacramento, created youth programs such as Summer @ City Hall, and worked on solutions for homelessness.

Still, he faces opposition in the June 5 primary. Schenirer is challenged by an energetic preschool teacher, Tamika L’Ecluse, who is supported by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a former City Council colleague. Also running is Joseph Barry, a graduate student at Sacramento State University.

Barry says Schenirer has done “an inadequate job” representing residents.

L’Ecluse isn’t making it personal.

“If I make it to City Council, I want

to take my direction from the people of District 5,” she says. “There are so many people who have been left out of the recovery. I want to focus on homelessness and accessibility to jobs, and restore bus routes that were cut.”

L’Ecluse has a compelling personal narrative, but she’s a novice in the political arts. She has been active as a community organizer and with Oak Park Neighborhood Association but has never run for public office.

Born into a military family at Mather Air Force Base, she looked after herself from a young age.

Her father abandoned the family when L’Ecluse was a child. When the Air Force sent her mother on deployments, L’Ecluse lived with various families and eventually settled into the International Baccalaureate program at Mira Loma High School.

By age 17, she was living alone in an apartment at 17th and N streets, working as a restaurant server and attending community college. An interest in early-childhood education led her to the Montessori Training Center in Shingle Springs, where she was certified to work with preschoolers. She worked 10 years at a Montessori preschool in Midtown.

L’Ecluse’s focus on homelessness and public transportation is familiar to Schenirer. He worked

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with former Mayor Kevin Johnson on homelessness and holds a collaborative role with Mayor Darrell Steinberg, whose flagship mission is getting people housed.

As for Regional Transit, local elected officials rotate through the authority’s board. Schenirer was chair two years ago, when general manager Mike Wiley was replaced by Henry Li. “My two-year term as board chair at RT is probably the most important work I’ve done, but very few people know about it,” Schenirer says. “The agency was in far worse shape than most people realized, including the board. We spent an incredible amount of time and energy putting things back in the right direction.”

Schenirer’s biggest missteps have been political. He picked fights with Curtis Park developer Paul Petrovich and the watchdog group Eye on Sacramento, whose founder, Craig

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“Looking back, there are a few things I would do differently,” Schenirer says.

The candidates have worked hard to run their campaigns on issues. While L’Ecluse promotes her eagerness to listen, Schenirer emphasizes his plans for economic development, opportunities for young people and housing.

When L’Ecluse says, “I want to get people involved with changing their city in a positive way,” she gets no argument from the incumbent.

“I’m proud of my contribution, especially each time I leave the arena and walk down K Street after a Kings game,” Schenirer says. “But a lot of the work we started isn’t finished.”

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S Donovan Lee

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U S UA L N U T A MOS N I S RK HE WO

Dk

By Duffy Kelly Meet Your Neighbor

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ILP MAY n 18

WAY

omewhere between the plant kingdom and the world of Homo sapiens resides a very rare specimen: Sacramento landscape architect Donovan Lee. This eccentric, nearly nocturnal plant genius-slash-artist is a man for the ages. The Michelangelo of the residential garden may not be too far off a description.

Over the past 40 years, this UC Berkeley-trained landscape architect has designed more than 2,000 residential gardens in the Sacramento area, hand drawing intricate, beautiful plans that include all types and styles of plants and hardscapes. His home office is lined with his works of art. Plans are rolled up and piled high along the walls.

His closets are filled with drawings so detailed that some show pets lounging in the backyard, even etched glassware and elaborate utensils on the patio dining tables. Some plans are painted and ablaze in color. Hundreds more are simply filed away not by the homeowners’ names or addresses but in the order they were created. Files are stuffed with sketches organized chronologically so that Lee can easily put a finger on a specific plan simply by remembering the day he drew it. Never mind it may have been 35 years ago.

He can find it in a snap. He has a mind that puts the computer to shame. He’s

a low-tech lover of the arts who prefers everything the old-fashioned way.

Case in point? Records show he used a cellphone exactly one time last year.

“People talk about missing craftsmanship. That’s why they collect older things. Maybe I am like an

ancient dinosaur,” he says. “Maybe drawing with my hands is harder work than using a machine to do the drawing. But I would rather work with my hands. Do people cook with machines? What’s more valuable?

Something made by hand or by machine?”

Lee is a second-generation Sacramentan. Both his parents are of Chinese descent. “My mother grew up poor on 5th and P streets,” he says.

“There were rats in the house, no air conditioning, no college. I was the first generation to go to college—very fortunate to be born when I was. With racial discrimination, the Chinese could not buy a house in South Land Park until it opened up in the 1960s.” That’s when the family bought the South Land Park home where his 93-year-old mother still lives. His father has since passed away. (Lee bought a house not far from his childhood home.)

He credits his mother’s love of plants for his passion. “South Land Park landscapes at that time were thrown together,” he explains. “But she cared for plants, and while she was taking me to McClatchy High School, driving through neighborhoods, I would see these very nice yards in Old Land Park.

They looked so cheerful and beautiful.”

After graduating from Cal, Lee moved home and started working part time, drawing backyard designs for a swimming pool company.

He made $5 a drawing and was paid an extra $5 if the customer bought the pool project.

His parents’ government jobs did not interest him.

He wanted something

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“Sometimes I would stay up all night drawing a plan. Sometimes I never got paid a penny for a job I did. But money wasn’t my motivation. I wanted to make the world a better place. That’s what I put on my Berkeley application, and that hasn’t changed. I like people, nature, art and psychology. What I do combines all those things.”

Soon, the homeowners who saw his backyard swimming pool drawings began referring him to friends and neighbors. “It was all word of mouth.

I have never advertised,” he says. One referral led to another, and his business grew from Sacramento to the foothills and the Bay Area.

“I wondered at one time, how will I make money? I have no vacation leave, no sick leave, no retirement benefits, but I don’t worry about it. I never worry about paying the bills because I am frugal and I manage my money wisely and, yes, you can succeed in America by working hard.”

Frugal and quirky, humble and a self-described introvert, Lee has a style that puts him in the “artist” category.

This slight man, all of 123 pounds, loves leftovers and eats the same thing every single day, only changing his lunch selection once a year. In winter, it’s tuna. In summer (because the heat might spoil the tuna), he switches to cold canned spaghetti. “Tomato sauce is good for you,” he says. Why doesn’t he heat the spaghetti? It takes too much time away from creating. Breakfast is always the same: cereal, banana and toast. For his 2 a.m. dinner, he eats the same meat nine nights in a row. (His record is 14 nights, but only because the meat he’d cooked didn’t spoil.)

He loves black olives and Lay’s potato chips, which he eats 365 days a year, 366 in leap years. These habits, he says, save time and spare his creative mind from having to come up with new recipes. “I’d rather think about plants,” he says. He sets aside 90 minutes each day for reading the magazines and newspapers he’s subscribed to for more than 30 years.

About 15 years ago, the waiting list for his full-scale design work was a year

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long and growing. But in about 2008, he came up with an idea: How about spending one entire day on a single project, not leaving the job site until the plans were complete? That would mean interviewing homeowners about their tastes and goals, surveying the site and drawing the whole thing right on the spot. This would become his new business model.

“It’s economical at $65 per hour for the homeowner, and since I’m frugal, I like working with frugal people,” he says. Lee shows up in the morning with his colored pens and pencils, tape measures, sketch pad, lawn chair and ice chest packed with tuna or canned spaghetti and doesn’t leave the location until very late at night, if not early the next morning. Only occasionally does he come back a second day. “Usually one of the homeowners goes to bed, and the other waits up on the couch until I’m done,” he says. “My record is after 2 a.m.”

More than just a designer, Lee is a plant man who knows as much as anyone about plants. He shows homeowners photo albums of plants and gauges their reaction to colors and

5900 Elvas Avenue Sacramento, CA 95819 www.stfrancishs.org/summer garden styles before choosing what would work best for his clients.

“I don’t want to weaken marriages,” he says. “I want to strengthen them.”

Often, a husband and wife want different things, Lee says. “So I have to take what he likes and what she likes and blend that with what I know works and stay away from anything that might offend either party. The end product is a design that’s really a fusion of three different minds.”

Lee has been known to show up during the planting process and measure how far apart the plants are planted. According to installers Mike and Alex Anicich of Anicich Landscape, Lee will come back years later, point to a plant and say, “I didn’t call for that there. It needs to be moved two inches over.”

In the past 12 years, Lee has not raised his rates. Asked if he might raise them by even a few dollars, he says, “No way.”

Donovan Lee can be reached at (916) 452-5413.

Duffy Kelly can be reached at dk@ insidepublications.com. n

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

23

Big Dreams COUPLE’S NEW HOME IS INSPIRED BY FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE

B

efore the drywall went up in the master bedroom of their new home in Carmichael, Tom King and Evelyne Jamet inscribed their first names and a heart between the two-by-fours.

Married only four years, the couple made the symbolic gesture as a testament to their love as well as their

CR

By Cathryn Rakich Home Insight

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ILP MAY n 18

journey to create a life together. “We were obviously very happy building our dream home,” says Jamet.

King and Jamet, who both work in the world of real-estate mortgages, began looking for their “married home” in Carmichael and the Arden area not only so they could stay close to their jobs, but because they love the location. “We were thinking about buying an existing home,” notes Jamet. “We looked at some lovely houses, but nothing was sticking out.

We never thought of building until we came here.”

Jamet first spotted the new subdivision, dotted with decades-old olive trees, while driving by on Fair Oaks Boulevard. Inspired by the French countryside, the small enclave

is slated for 13 semicustom homes.

“The next thing you know, we started talking to the architect,” says Jamet.

On what was a vacant lot when the couple purchased it now sits a 4,100-square-foot two-story home with four bedrooms, each with its own dedicated bathroom, plus a powder room off the kitchen. Because the homes are semicustom, the couple had the opportunity to choose several of the exterior finishes and to virtually customize the interior. “It was fun to be able to create and choose everything inside,” comments Jamet.

The French-country theme was especially important to Jamet, whose parents are from France and came to the United States in their 20s. Following that concept,

Jamet incorporated special touches throughout the home, such as a polished marble farmhouse kitchen sink embellished with a raised floraland-leaf pattern. “I just love it. It looks so French to me,” she says with a smile. Even the exterior landscape was designed with European flair.

“When everything grows in, I hope it has a French-country-garden feel.

That’s the goal.”

Other touches include cathedral ceilings with large wooden beams, smooth plaster walls, natural stone floors and countertops, and an abundance of windows that let in natural light. An open-concept living area has room for two large dining tables. “We like to entertain and have parties for dinner, so it was important

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

25

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ILP MAY n 18

to have a big dining room,” remarks King. A professional-grade kitchen, wine room, pantry, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and covered patio with an outdoor fireplace create the ideal home for entertaining.

As empty nesters, the couple did not set out to own such a large home.

“But we really love it,” says Jamet. “We thought when our kids are home, we will have space for them.

And if we need space for our parents as they age, we will have it.”

After a full 16 months from purchase to completion, the couple and their two miniature Australian shepherds, Sadie and Cooper, were ready to move in. King and Jamet credit the smooth process to architect Mark Grohm and builder Steven Evans. “He was amazing to work with,” Jamet notes about Evans. “He was very upfront with us,” adds King. “He said this is hands-on, so I need your input throughout the way. He was fantastic.”

“People say it is really stressful to build a home,” comments Jamet. “There are so many decisions. But it was a lot of fun for us.” King is quick to give his wife much of the credit. “Evelyne has a lot of contacts in interior design. So many people offered to help, but she said, ‘I think I got this.’ Every single touch in this house—from light fixtures to tile—has Evelyne on it.”

“And luckily Tom likes my taste,” Jamet points out. “It’s not always easy to fill a house or to remodel if you don’t have a good relationship with your spouse.”

“As I say,” adds King, “she has never had a swing and a miss.”

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

27

The King of Local Sports

Del Rodgers

TV SPORTSCASTER DEL RODGERS FOCUSES ON THE HOMETOWN

D

el Rodgers has been broadcasting sports news on KCRA for 21 years, and during that impressive run, no high school athlete in the Sacramento region has dropped a pass, struck out, missed a layup or fumbled.

At the same time, countless local young athletes have intercepted passes, scored game-winning shots and hit towering home runs. When Channel 3 cameras capture those feats, Rodgers is delighted to describe

RG

By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

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ILP MAY n 18

the action. But proudly and decisively, he has never embarrassed a high school student by highlighting their mistakes.

“Somebody had to throw the pass that got intercepted, but I will never mention that kid’s name,” Rodgers says. “That kid feels bad enough. His teammates know it. His friends and family know it. I was a high school athlete, and I know how it feels.”

Rodgers was more than a high school athlete. He was a star running back at The University of Utah and reached the NFL. He played for the Green Bay Packers under Bart Starr and the San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh. He won a Super Bowl ring in 1989.

It was at the Super Bowl where Rodgers’ new career took flight. A TV station in his hometown of Salinas

asked him to serve as a correspondent and conduct interviews with teammates. The material he created was fun and unique. The station asked him to consider a broadcasting career as his playing days wound down.

“I had no interest in journalism or communications,” Rodgers says.

“But I talked to Bill Walsh, who was getting ready to retire. He and George Seifert, who was going to replace Bill, told me I had a year or two left, but a TV career would be for life.”

The problem was, a full-time broadcasting job was nothing like the stuff Rodgers produced at the Super Bowl. As a professional sportscaster, Rodgers found himself barely able to speak on camera. He didn’t know how to dress for TV. He froze.

“It was pretty rough,” he says.

Fortunately, Rodgers was friendly with two politicians who hung around the 49ers and did know how to speak on camera: Rusty Areias and Willie Brown, both in the state Assembly at the time.

“Rusty was always making speeches at places like the Dairy Farmers Association of Los Banos and the Kiwanis Club of Modesto, and he took me with him,” Rodgers says. “He made me get up and speak.

I was really nervous. Unbelievably nervous.”

Rodgers sweated out three “very rough” years in Salinas and was hired

by KIRO in Seattle. Continuing to improve, he began to attract national attention and moved to WXIA in Atlanta. Finally, Channel 3 recruited him as sports director.

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CallingAllDreamers.org After working in big markets filled with major-league teams, Rodgers had to adjust to Sacramento. He decided to focus on high schools and local colleges and did something rarely seen on local TV: He made time for women’s sports.

The emphasis on high schools, UC Davis, Sacramento State University and women’s sports would serve Rodgers well. Social media disrupted traditional media and made it easy for fans to follow major-league sports without watching local TV. “We’ve stayed relevant because we focus on the locals,” he says. “High school football is king, but women’s softball is huge here. There’s a ton of interest.”

Despite his love of local sports, Rodgers isn’t afraid to criticize when he sees something wrong. He gets angry about the number of football games played by high school teams, believing it harms players.

“Folsom played 16 games this past season,” he says. “That’s what NFL teams play, and they have training staffs to help players recover and

SACRAMENTOCHORAL.COM prevent injuries. Why are kids playing 16 games? That’s too many.”

And there’s the Kings. Like other Sacramento sports fans, Rodgers has grown tired of watching the team instantly fall apart in every new season. But he believes Kings ownership should be patient with its coach and top players and blend veterans with young talent—even though it’s tough on fans.

“I know the fans don’t want to hear about being patient. They are paying top dollar for their tickets. Being patient isn’t easy when you’re paying big money,” he says.

Beyond local sports and the Kings, Rodgers knows his viewers want some enjoyment from his broadcasts. He always tries to close with something humorous.

Rodgers is 57 and getting stronger as a broadcaster. He’s never bored and still has fun at work. After 21 years in one market and one station (an extraordinary feat in TV), the nervousness is mostly gone.

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

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Counting Sheep HIGH-QUALITY SLEEP SYSTEMS FOR THE HEALTHIEST ZZZ’S

S

ince 2002, European Sleep Design and its owners, Jill and Chip Huckaby, have offered the greater Sacramento area something that every one of us desperately needs: a good night’s sleep. The Folsom-based store specializes in California-made, high-performance mattress systems designed in the European style with Europeansourced components that are engineered for ergonomic support, luxurious comfort and value. Here, Jill Huckaby explains why their sleep system is where you need to lay your head tonight.

What makes your mattress systems different?

We start with a zippable cover and an open mattress design. You won’t find plastic foams, fillers or vinyl airbags in our mattresses—only breathable and resilient natural Talalay latex, organic stretch cotton and wool for breathability and temperature regulation. We don’t use chemical fire retardants—wool is a natural fire barrier—so you won’t be exposed to harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds). We use a highly flexible, European pocketed-coil and microcoil system, which allows hips and shoulders into the mattress while contouring to your lower back. We use a flexible, adjustable slat system

JL

By Jessica Laskey Shoptalk

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ILP MAY n 18

below the mattress that moves with the shifting planes of your body for greater pressure relief—it gives you a “floaty feel.” My clients who are big-hipped, smallwaisted women often mention that they’ve never felt this kind of conformation to their bodies.

Why are those features so important?

The ingredients in your mattress make all the difference in the world, from how it is able to support you in a neutral spinal alignment to how long it’s going to be able to do so. You have to ask yourself what is important to you. Is avoiding VOC off-gassing or sleeping hot—which can raise your resting heart rate—important to you?

Then you may not want memory foam in your list of ingredients.

How long do your mattresses last?

Our mattresses are functionally designed with long-life components to resist premature wear and hold their shape for years longer. When customers come in every few years to replace their Oxygen Pillows and we ask them how their mattress is doing, sometimes 13 years down the road, they’re happy to report that it’s still

Chip and Jill Huckaby

going strong. It’s very rewarding to know how durable and comfortable our design and materials remain.

What do I need to know if I’m in the market for a new sleep system?

We’ve done the research so you don’t have to. Our articulate, noncommissioned staff have a sincere interest in helping you. We understand body mechanics and how to assess proper alignment and support. We even take you through a “personal fitting.” Dress comfortably and we’ll do the rest.

What else does your store carry?

We love our Oxygen Pillows, which are specially designed to properly support the head and neck for better

breathing because they’re personally fitted to each person. (There are 15 different sizes.) We also carry eco-certified bedding, locally made hardwood bedroom furniture and we’ve recently built out the store to expand our motorized adjustable bed offerings—conditions like sleep apnea and acid reflux can be greatly improved just by elevating the head of your mattress. After 16 years in business, our product line hasn’t changed a lot because we know what we do and we do it well.

European Sleep Design is at 6606 Folsom-Auburn Road. For more information, go to sleepdesign.com.

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

The Garden of Good WHAT GROWERS CAN LEARN FROM SACRAMENTO’S CASA GARDEN

I

n the early 1970s, a group of women approached the Sacramento Children’s Home board with a fundraising idea: Why not build a restaurant and garden on a vacant lot next to

AC

By Anita Clevenger Garden Jabber

the home on Sutterville Road and staff it with volunteers? The board didn’t expect the venture to last but agreed to give it a try. They funded construction of a building that could be converted to other purposes when the endeavor came to what they felt would be its inevitable end. Casa de los Ninos opened in May 1974, and it still thrives today as Casa Garden.

Over the years, its parent nonprofit, Los Ninos Service League, has contributed more than $2.9 million to the home, working to address the needs of children and to strengthen

families. Nearly 300 volunteers plan and prepare the food, serve in the dining room and maintain the gardens. The facility has just two paid staff positions: a professional chef and restaurant manager.

While a restaurant can’t succeed without good food, the name Casa Garden reflects the integral part that the gardens play. They were planned along with the construction of the building. The gardens have always been designed and led by a volunteer, usually a woman. The current garden manager is Carolyn Horn. “The

gardens are what draw people here,” she says.

Plantings are designed to provide color all year long. Flowers greet you as you enter the grounds, surround you on the terrace (used for weddings and other events), adorn the event center courtyard and brighten the view from every window in the restaurant. It feels like a “secret garden,” says Horn, adding, “It’s labor intensive but worth it.”

Many of the mature plants reflect what was in style in Sacramento more than 40 years ago, when azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons were in vogue. Spring is when they are at their peak. These plants hearken back to a simpler time when many homes had azalea foundation plantings and Sacramento was known as the Camellia City. A large white dogwood is spectacular in spring and has maroon leaves and bright-red berries in the fall, when the Japanese maples are at their colorful best. A ginkgo glows brilliant yellow then, too. Horn considers these shrubs and trees the garden’s “foundation.”

Fashions change, driven in part by water shortages. These are not drought-tolerant plants, although mature specimens do surprisingly well with regular, modest amounts of water and mulch to keep soil cool and moist. Decades ago, the garden relied on beds and containers of thirsty annuals to provide color. Horn has replaced them with a variety of bulbs and drought-tolerant perennials.

Some containers are placed in strategic locations, filled with what Horn calls “soft perennials.” Fibrous begonias bloom for months and return year after year. Cyclamen brighten dull winter months. Dianthus work

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well, too, in containers or in the ground.

Horn is self-educated in horticulture, but she brings a lifetime passion for gardening to her task. She also uses considerable organizational skill to lead about 30 equally passionate garden volunteers who work in teams, usually for a few hours two mornings a month.

As with most volunteer efforts, this is a multitalented group. One is a UC Master Gardener. The oldest volunteer is 87 years old and comes to prune armed with her own reciprocating saw.

What can a home gardener learn from this garden? Try to retain established shrubs and trees, which can give year-round structure and seasonal color to a garden. You can make your garden more water efficient by planting areas with drought-tolerant plants. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t design your landscape to be seen only from the outside. Instead, consider the view through your windows. Create a garden that has surprises and discoveries around the corners. Draw the eye with flower-filled containers.

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You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to rely on a garden professional for design. Trust your own ideas and make your garden your own.

Passionate as the garden volunteers are about plants, they share their passion for the mission of Casa Garden with the restaurant volunteers. Many of the gardeners also help serve and cook.

May is the time when the azaleas finish up their spring bloom and late-blooming bulbs such as crocosmia and Scottish bluebells (Campanula rotundifolia) form a naturalized carpet through the grounds. Visit the Casa Garden website, casagarden. org, for information about the restaurant, special events such as Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day brunch, and bookings.

You can also sign up to volunteer.

Sacramento Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home is one of Sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest charities, founded in 1867. Help keep it going.

Anita Clevenger is a Lifetime 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

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Power to the People

Bina Lefkovitz (right) with student Henna Ye

T

he URL for Bina Lefkovitz’s campaign for the Sacramento County Board of Education tells you exactly what you need to know about her: bina4ourkids.com.

Lefkovitz is most certainly “for our kids”—in more ways than one.

JL

By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor

Working for the city of Sacramento in finance, redevelopment, city management, youth development and, eventually, as the founder of the Summer @ City Hall program, Lefkovitz has made sure that students know how to make their voices heard.

“It’s very simple, really,” Lefkovitz says over her favorite chai tea at Peet’s on Alhambra Boulevard. (She and her husband, City Councilmember Jay Schenirer, live nearby in Curtis Park.) “If kids have emotional and physical safety, a connection to caring adults, even if that’s just at school, and if they’re

SHE ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN GOVERNMENT

given a sense of agency, there’s no end to how they can impact their community. They just have to learn how.”

The “how” is where Lefkovitz comes in. After leaving the city in the early 1990s, Lefkovitz consulted with Sierra Health Foundation to study youth in the community. In 1999, she founded the nonprofit that eventually became known as Youth Development Network to train hundreds of agencies around the state to support young people in school, at work and in the community.

“Young people are resilient,” says Lefkovitz, who has two sons. “If given the right conditions, they can thrive.”

Over the past two decades, classes in civic education have all but disappeared from local public schools, which Lefkovitz believes is a great detriment to the student body.

“The civic piece is so important,” the Chicago native says. “If you look at the youth voting pattern, it’s staggering: In 2014, only 8.2 percent of young people voted, and only half of those eligible to vote are even registered. That’s very alarming, especially when you consider that there’s a high rate of poverty in public schools and most voters are middleclass white people. Our job is to figure out how to help young people who face a lot of odds feel agency. Civic education is the key.”

In 2010, Lefkovitz started the Summer @ City Hall program, a six-week internship for high school students that includes classroom learning as well as hands-on work experience with the city and other local organizations.

“The underlying goals of Summer @ City Hall are to connect the city and the school districts as partners in education,” Lefkovitz explains, “as well as to teach young people how their local government works and to get them interested in working there.

Municipal government offers good jobs with excellent benefits, but kids don’t even know what ‘working in government’ means—even though it encompasses every job you can think of, from trash collection to engineering.”

Summer @ City Hall has proved immensely effective, so Lefkovitz has expanded the mission to include other cities, providing free online toolkits and other resources for anyone interested in giving kids access to municipal entities.

In addition to presenting at conferences all over the state to encourage participation in the program, Lefkovitz also advocates to get civic education reinstituted in public-school classrooms through her position on the Sacramento County Board of Education. (Last summer, she was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board.)

She’s working with school districts to help students register to vote.

Since the education code allows schools to register students as young as 16 twice a year, Lefkovitz thinks there’s no better time to get young people involved in deciding their own futures.

“We’re doing everything we can to help kids understand the importance of voting and being involved,” Lefkovitz says. That includes hosting mock elections and forums with elected officials at area schools. “We want to equip young people to be problem-solvers, to know when to say ‘I need help’ and where to go to get it.

To advocate for themselves and see the impact they can have if they use their voice.”

For more information about Bina Lefkovitz, go to bina4ourkids.com.

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

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Remembering Ali A VIBRANT YOUNG DEVELOPER HELPED BUILD UP SACRAMENTO

Ali Youssefi at WAL when it first opened

JV

By Jordan Venema Building Our Future

I

n February I reached out to local developer Ali Youssefi to talk about mixed-income housing for an article. Though we’d exchanged emails and sometimes spoken by phone, we’d never actually met in person. Youssefi was diagnosed with cancer in July, but he still suggested we meet over coffee.

I didn’t know Youssefi personally, and except by reputation I hardly knew him at all. Youssefi had always been thoughtful and considerate, but in person he exuded a magnetic

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ILP MAY n 18

and subtle quality that I’ve struggled since to define. It was like discovering an old friend.

That meeting would be both our first and our last, and a month later Youssefi lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 35. The news of his death took the breath out of me.

I read the quickly published articles and flood of tributes on online, and though I wanted to share my own thoughts, I decided to leave those

words to the people who knew him better.

Two weeks after Youssefi’s death, I was speaking with Rob Watson, one of the co-owners of Camellia Coffee Roasters, a company that for two years had been trying to open a brickand-mortar operation Downtown.

According to Watson, the delay was causing Camellia to lose wholesale accounts to other roasters.

“We needed a saving grace,” he said.

That grace came suddenly as a lease in Youssefi’s WAL Public Market, where the roasters opened in mid-February. I asked Watson how, after nearly two years waiting to open at another location, they so quickly and easily settled in WAL. But I already knew the answer. Youssefi had a way of making things possible for others.

“You would never have thought Ali was the landlord,” said Watson. “He made us feel comfortable.”

And that was Youssefi’s way, which I had often heard about secondhand but discovered personally when we met in February. Though an incredibly busy and successful developer, he didn’t just give others his time and attention—Youssefi believed in them, and he worked for their success.

“He was there to help us like a good parent,” Watson recalled. “He just made it very easy. He didn’t have to, but he legitimately wanted to.”

Trisha Rhomberg, co-owner of Old Gold, another business in WAL, agreed.

“Most people only care about the bottom line, but he gave a shit, and I am grateful for that,” she said. “Ali went above and beyond to make people happy, and he desired to improve the quality of life for all people in Sacramento.

“You just never have that relationship with a developer,” she

added through tears. “But I felt like we were on the same team, and so I was motivated to do things because I wanted to make him happy and to know that he was appreciated for all he gave us.”

You see, Youssefi didn’t just develop buildings: He created community.

“I’m grateful that I’ve had a place that feels like home, and I wouldn’t have that or a sense of family and community if it weren’t for Ali,” said Rhomberg, who also lives at WAL. Last year, Roger Klein traded his La Jolla beachside bungalow for a humble unit in WAL. Though he has worked in London and Hollywood, designing clothing for the likes of David Bowie and Elton John and managing artist Charming Baker and photographer Chris Levine, Klein said he’s never been happier.

“For the very first time in my 65 years of life, I feel safe and looked after and that I belong to a kind, giving community,” he said. “I feel like I came home.”

When we met in February, Youssefi expressed his desire to build for all Sacramentans by creating inclusive environments where people could thrive. With WAL, he flipped the model of mixed-income housing, offering 75 percent of its units at low-income rates. His goal wasn’t just to make rent affordable but also to

make Sacramento cool, a place where people wanted to be.

Youssefi’s cousin, Ali Setayesh, whose business Kechmara Designs also leases in WAL, posted a tribute on Instagram that perhaps most perfectly and succinctly captures Youssefi’s significance to Sacramento and Sacramentans.

“My little brother, the most beautiful soul in the entire universe,” wrote Setayesh, “every time I wanted to leave Sacramento you built me something just to keep me here beside you.”

“He was like a brother to me,” Setayesh said over the phone. “Ali was the best human being in this world. Hands down. And people don’t even really know.”

Setayesh was right. I don’t know, and yet not knowing, I could already agree with him. There was something about Youssefi and his presence that his death left Sacramento feeling a bit empty.

As Rhomberg said, “I’m just not as motivated because now I don’t feel like anybody cares, and I knew he really did.”

Klein, who had applied for a vacant seat on the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, agreed.

“I had written Ali about [the application a week before his death], but now that he’s now longer around, it just doesn’t seem as important,” he said.

Anecdotes can only hint about his character, that in his last weeks Youssefi was buying thank-you cards at Old Gold, emailing letters of introduction on behalf of Klein and meeting with an impetuous writer over coffee to talk about the future of the city to which he had dedicated his all-too-short life. We have those anecdotes, but otherwise a summingup of Youssefi is difficult to put into words.

“I can’t really describe to you that feeling I got from Ali, even knowing him for a short amount of time, the amount of respect and love that I had,” agreed Watson, his voice trailing off. “For me, you just can’t really describe it.”

But I understand what Watson meant. Before I met Youssefi, I respected him; by the time we parted, I felt an affection that I can only describe as a kind of love.

After our interview, I asked about his health, and he explained that he had changed his diet and begun meditating as soon as he received the diagnosis. He looked healthy, I said, and I felt convinced he would

beat this. Already 15 minutes late for another meeting, Youssefi offered, “Let me know if you want to get together again, and feel free to send me an email or set up another time to talk.” That was Ali: always giving.

I grew up religious, and I kept that conviction sincerely most of my life.

But other than for my son before his bedtime, I hadn’t prayed for anybody, or in general, in years. After we said goodbye and I got in my car, I said a prayer for Ali. My prayer wasn’t answered, but in that moment a man I hardly knew rekindled in me a part of myself that I had thought was dead. It seems like such a small thing when compared to everything he’s done for this city, the structures that he has built, but that was Ali’s way: improving Sacramento and the lives of those in it. For that he will be remembered, and also sorely missed.

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

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No Kidding TWO LOCAL MOMS CREATE A BOOK ON THINGS TO DO IN SAC

BY STEPHANIE M. BUCK MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR

A

Sabrina Nishijama with sons Milo and Andrew.

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ILP MAY n 18

fter her first son was born, Sabrina Nishijima hated how much time she spent on her phone. She wasn’t idly scrolling through Facebook or laughing at memes; she was looking for fun things to do with her child in Sacramento. Even after she’d stumble across an activity or two, she’d feel indecisive and frustrated.

“What are you looking at, Mom?” her son, Milo, finally got old enough to ask. Then he started looking over her shoulder at the phone, too. So Nishijima gathered some promising outings into a spreadsheet for quicker reference. To cut down on screen time, she printed off the pages. That worked better, but it still wasn’t easy to flip through on the run.

“I didn’t want to write a book,” says Nishijima. But she’d already started. She self-published “1,001 Things To Do in Sacramento With Kids (And the Young at Heart)” on Valentine’s Day. Now, a day rarely passes when she doesn’t flip through her own book for ideas.

Nishijima lives a few blocks east of McKinley Park with her husband and two boys. Milo is now 7, and Andrew is 3. In the eight years they’ve owned their home, the family has installed a tire swing and a free little library topped with potted succulents. The boys play badminton on a portable net in the driveway. Their three-legged long-haired Chihuahua sniffs on a long pink leash. The front yard alone is full of life.

But boredom can come on fast with young children. That’s one of

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the reasons Nishijima left the book’s adventures in random order. “We do a lot of things on the spur of the moment,” she says. Flipping through one or two pages is all she has time for. “I don’t think it’s only me. I think all parents are spontaneous all the time.”

Among the hundreds of entries, parents will find options for all weathers, seasons and energy levels.

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5303 Freeport Boulevard • 916-455-6488 A mother of twin girls, Golden captured the unpretentious, whimsical spirit of the book and its author with a tribute to Sacramento recreation. On the cover she sketched both women’s dogs, a flock of swans and lots of trees. (Nature experiences are prominently featured in the book.)

“It’s just about family and fun,” says Golden.

But “1,001 Things To Do” doesn’t only highlight destinations around town. It was important to Nishijima that families know “it’s OK to hang out at home alone.” In her household, picking and juicing oranges from their backyard tree amounts to a simple, almost mystical experience that her boys adore.

In the end, one of Nishijima’s few criteria was that an activity or location had to appeal to adults as well as children of all ages.

(She tucked in listings for kidfriendly wineries.) Should a family miraculously make it through every entry, a bonus section lists 101 destinations for daylong or weekend excursions around Northern California.

Given another year, Nishijima believes she could amass an additional 1,000 or so ideas. She plans to include these on the book’s website, in newsletters or in future print editions. After all, the less scroll time, the better.

“1,001 Things To Do in Sacramento With Kids (And the Young at Heart),” written by Sabrina Nishijima and illustrated by Sarah Golden, costs $16.95. Buy it online or see a list of vendors at sactownkids.com.

Stephanie M. Buck can be reached at stephmbuck@gmail.com. n

AMONG THE HUNDREDS OF ENTRIES, PARENTS WILL FIND OPTIONS FOR ALL WEATHERS, SEASONS AND ENERGY LEVELS.

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

37

Writing Sacramento NOBODY’S GOTTEN RICH CHRONICLING LIFE IN OUR TOWN

Q

uick, name a great American novel set in Sacramento.

You couldn’t do it, could you? Don’t feel bad. I’ve lived here for almost 40 years and I can’t name one either. The best-known California novelists—John Steinbeck, Jack London, Frank Norris—have had little or nothing at all to say about the state’s capital city. Southern California has been immortalized in the works of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald, as well as in such Hollywood novels as “What Makes Sammy Run” and “The Day of the Locust.” The San Francisco Bay Area has its signature novelists: Dashiell Hammett, Richard Brautigan, Armistead Maupin, Amy Tan. Even Fresno has a signature fiction writer in William Saroyan. But Sacramento?

Not so much.

K

m

By Kevin Mims Writing Life

38

ILP MAY n 18

Perhaps the most famous writer ever born here is Joan Didion. She has written some excellent nonfiction about Sacramento, much of it collected in her book “Where I Was From.” But Didion was an army brat who spent much of her childhood moving from town to town. And she left Sacramento permanently in 1952, at the age of 18, when she went off to college at UC Berkeley. After college, she moved to New York, and her life since then has been pretty much evenly divided between stints in New York and stints in Southern California. Sacramento claims her, if only because it has so few other famous writers it can lay claim to, but very little of her work is set here.

Sacramento also claims Mark Twain, even though he spent very little time here. In 1866, he was hired by The Sacramento Union newspaper to write a series of dispatches from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). This gig lasted but four or five months, during which time Twain was stationed 2,500 miles from Sacramento. He never actually worked in The Sacramento Union building, but the city has been claiming him as a former resident for the past century and a half. That’s

how desperate we are for famous writers.

Currently, the city’s most famous literary resident is William T. Vollmann, a National Book Award winner for his novel “Europe Central” and a much admired writer of fiction, nonfiction and journalism. But Vollmann is a peripatetic writer who has lived all over the country—LA, Indiana, New York, Berkeley—and spends much of his time traveling outside the United States to places such as Russia, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Somalia and Iraq.

To my knowledge, he has written next to nothing about Sacramento.

His best-known works about California are the novel “The Royal Family,” which is set in San Francisco, and “Imperial,” a nonfiction account of life in Imperial County, which is located farther away from Sacramento than any other county in California. Although he lives less than a mile from my house and I occasionally pass him on the street, I do not think of Vollmann as a Sacramento writer. He is a worldclass writer who, for the time being, just happens to reside in Sacramento.

Despite being affiliated with a few famous names (Didion, Twain,

Vollmann), Sacramento has no signature writer. And that’s just fine with me. In fact, I prefer it that way. At the 2000 Squaw Valley Writers’ Conference, I made the acquaintance of an excellent young writer who happened to have been born and raised in Fresno. Whenever he submitted a story for review, our workshop leader would say something like “I see you striving here for a certain Saroyan-like expansiveness” or “I detect a heavy debt to William Saroyan in this piece.” The young author confided to me that he had never read a word of Saroyan’s, had in fact studiously avoided Saroyan’s work so as never to be guilty of attempting to imitate it.

Nonetheless, Saroyan and Fresno are so conflated in the minds of most literate people that it is impossible to write about the city without being compared to its most famous chronicler. If you write about Salinas or Monterey, you are likely to find yourself always compared with Steinbeck—and found wanting. Set a crime novel in or around LA and you will not be able to avoid comparisons to Chandler and Macdonald. But set a short story or a novel in Sacramento and, well, you are covering virgin

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^ƵŵŵĞƌ ĂŵƉ ;WƌĞƐĐŚŽŽů Ͳ ϱƚŚ 'ƌĂĚĞͿ tĞĞŬ ϭ͗ ŝŐŐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĂƌƚŚ tĞĞŬ Ϯ͗ &Ăƌŵ ƚŽ &ŽƌŬ &ŝŶŐĞƌ &ŽŽĚƐ tĞĞŬ ϯ͗ ϭ͕ Ϯ͕ ϯ ĂŬŝŶŐ tĞĞŬ ϰ͗ KŶ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ZŝǀĞƌ tĞĞŬ ϱ͗ WĂŝŶƚ zŽƵƌ ,ĞĂƌƚ KƵƚ tĞĞŬ ϲ͗ DĞƐƐLJ ^ĐƵůƉƚƵƌĞ tĞĞŬ ϳ͗ ĂŶĐŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĞĂƚ ŽĨ ŵLJ KǁŶ ƌƵŵ tĞĞŬ ϴ͗ WƵƉƉĞƚƌLJ ĂŶĚ ƌĂŵĂ ϵĂŵ Ͳ ϭƉŵ ǁͬ ĞdžƚĞŶĚĞĚ ĐĂƌĞ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ

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WƌĞƐĐŚŽŽů ͻ ůĞŵĞŶƚĂƌLJ ͻ DŝĚĚůĞ ^ĐŚŽŽů ϳ ϳϰϱϬ WŽĐŬĞƚ ZŽĂĚ ͻ ;ϵϭϲͿ ϰϮϳͲϱϬϮϮ ͻ ǁǁǁ͘ĐĂŵĞůůŝĂǁĂůĚŽƌĨ͘ŽƌŐ territory as far as most literate Americans are concerned. The city has no signature writer.

I’ve published crime fiction in venues such as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. When people hear that I write mysteries set in Sacramento, they tend to assume that my stories are political fictions. When I attended the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in 2012, the mere mention of my hometown was likely to trigger responses such as “Gee, I’ll bet you get a lot of inspiration from all the political intrigue that goes on out there” and “When are you going to produce a California version of ‘All the King’s Men’ or ‘The Last Hurrah’?”

But the truth is that I have little interest in state politics. I don’t know if it’s possible to live in Washington, D.C., and have no acquaintance with anyone who holds a political position, but it is certainly possible to do so here in Sacramento. Political life doesn’t dominate Sacramento the way it does D.C. It’s possible to spend 37 years here (as I have)

without making the acquaintance of a single officeholder or even anyone who works for an officeholder. State senators and assemblymembers don’t have the celebrity of U.S. senators and congressmen. If a state senator has ever dined next to me at a restaurant, I was unaware of it.

Officeholders are not treated as rock stars in Sacramento. Perhaps that’s why, when he was governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger never even bothered setting up a home here. Instead, he stayed in a hotel across the street from the Capitol building.

In addition to fiction, I also write a lot of personal essays, like the one you are reading now. The Sacramento I know and write about is a city of working-class families struggling to survive the collapse of various economic bubbles, of poets and writers who live far from the nation’s East Coast publishing hub and are resigned to toiling in obscurity much of the time, of 20-something college grads working at service jobs, of small-business owners who operate used-book stores, antiques shops, publishing ventures and brew pubs

that bring their proprietors more personal satisfaction than wealth.

I have written a half dozen novels set in Sacramento and have found a publisher for none of them. New York literary agents and editors don’t seem interested in California stories that have no movie stars or internet billionaires in them. Set a story in Silicon Valley or Hollywood and you will be considered an authentic California voice. Set a story among the working-class people of Sacramento and, well, you won’t be considered at all. But that’s OK. I know a lot of local writers who take a certain stubborn pride in being snubbed by the mainstream.

Like local writers all over America, we publish our works in obscure regional quarterlies, we do readings at small coffeehouses or nonprofit poetry centers, and we write mainly for the satisfaction of producing a well-wrought sentence, an intriguing story, a moving essay or a poem that perfectly captures a unique experience.

There is little money and no fame to be gotten by being a Sacramento

writer. Thirty-plus years of writing in Sacramento has brought me hundreds of bylines and precious little else. But each byline represents a story, an essay or a poem that I lovingly brought into the world. You often hear rich and famous writers say that they would have stuck with their writing even if it had brought them little in the way of money or attention. There’s no way of knowing if that is true. But those of us who work the literary fields in places like Sacramento, toiling as freelancers in cities that pay very little for freelance writing, at least know for certain that our literary impulses have little to do with a desire for wealth and fame, and everything to do with the satisfaction that comes from writing that’s done for the sheer joy of immersing oneself in words.

Kevin Mims lives in Land Park.

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

39

Re-engineering Religion HOW TO MAKE THE CHURCH MORE REAL

I

n 1991, I made a career shift from Southern Baptist pastor to interfaith hospital chaplain. My decision brought this promise from a close colleague. “If you ever return to the ministry, I’ll help you find a new church.”

“I’m not leaving ministry,” I said.

“Hospital chaplaincy is still the ministry!”

He reluctantly agreed, but it seemed he thought my choice betrayed my ordination vows.

Since then, I’ve served 25 years in both military and hospital chaplaincy.

During those years, I’ve often wondered what I might do differently if I ever returned to the pastorate. I know I’d change at least four things.

First, I wouldn’t be so insistent that parishioners attend every church service. I would preach that church

NB

By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

40

ILP MAY n 18

is a place to restore what’s broken before we return to life. It’s not our destination. I’d challenge members to make “church” happen outside the walls, visiting the sick, housing the homeless and sheltering the refugee.

Second, I’d be less demanding on congregants to give their entire charity dollar toward church maintenance. If I reassumed my pastoral role, I’d remind members of our duty to also clothe the poor, feed the hungry and bring justice to the oppressed.

My wife says I became a preacher because I couldn’t sit still in the pew.

Therefore, my third change would be to redesign nearly everything about the Sunday service around people who need movement to learn.

I’d replace hardened sanctuary pews with clusters of love seats and padded chairs. In this setting, I’d use small groups to discuss my sermon points and problem-solve life issues.

I’d place booths alongside the walls where people could get counseling and prayer or sign up for outside ministry.

I’d do away with loud music that isolates people, keeping them from acknowledging those around them.

I’d use some hymns, but I’d challenge folks to discuss their meaning. I might even insert a few secular songs that encourage people to extend God’s work outside the church. We’d finish the day with a large meal.

Finally, my biggest change would be to preach R-E-A-L sermons.

R is for relevant. I’d still preach about Samson, Moses and the virgin birth, but I’d make those stories relevant to today’s life. I’d compare Samson’s failure of strength to times my strength has failed me. I’d tell how Moses dealt with the rejection of his own people. And I’d talk about a young couple who must have been scared to death with their first child.

E is for empathetic. I would try to demonstrate that I not only understand the people but feel their hurt. If I were preaching again, I’d tell a modern story that shows I know the pain that life can put us through and the thrills it can immerse us in.

A is for authentic. If I pastored again, I’d share more of my own failures and heartbreaks. I’d share the contradiction I feel between personal fear and the scriptural admonition for us not to be afraid. I’d share the

defeat I feel over unanswered prayers and my frustration in loving the unlovable.

L is for language. A friend of mine once promised he’d join a church where the pastor was allowed to say “damn.” OK, no, I wouldn’t start cussing from the pulpit, but I would work harder to communicate in everyday language. I’d avoid trying to prove I graduated from the seminary with words like Christology, eschatology and ecclesiology.

After reading this, you might be thankful I’m not your pastor. If my old friend reads this, he’ll likely withdraw his offer to help me find a new church.

No matter. I’m not looking to pastor again. However, I would like for you to share this column with your pastor and see if we can help the church become just a bit more R-E-A-L. Norris Burkes has returned to Sacramento for the summer. If you would like to have him speak at your church, school or organization, contact him at norris@thechaplain.net or (843) 608-9715. n

Art Preview GALLERY ART SHOWS IN MAY

Sparrow Gallery presents “Tropic of Cancer,” featuring works of Adele Shaw, from May 11 to June 1.

Shown above left: “Light Study.”

1021 R St.; sparrowgallerysacramento.com Artistic Edge Gallery presents work by Jonathan Lowe, Carolyn Junge, Cynthia Hayes and Bill Reed through May 31.

Shown above right: “Spring Flowers” by Junge.

1880 Fulton Ave.; artisticedgeframing.com Tim Collom Gallery presents an exhibition called “Abstract Beauty” with Deborah Rhea’s photography and multimedia installations and Daniel Schoorl’s oil paintings and whimsical assemblages. Shown right center: “Bumpass Hell 4” by Rhea.

915 20th St.; timcollomgallery.com An exhibit of artwork by Christopher Douglas will be at CK Art through May 31.

Shown right bottom: “Azteca.”

2500 J St.; ckart-gallery.com Northern California Arts presents “Artistic Journey,” a juried membership show, through May 13 at Sacramento Fine Arts Center. Shown below: “Leaving the Village” (best of show) by Steve Memering.

5330 Gibbons Drive; sacfinearts.org

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

41

We’re Local.

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ILP MAY n 18

Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Sales Closed March 16 - April 13 95608

5818 HESPER $345,000 4732 JAN DR $349,000 6345 EDGERTON WAY $319,900 3104 WALNUT AVE $545,000 3955 OAK VILLA CIR $237,500 5533 CLARK AVE $355,000 6221 DAWNRIDGE WAY $395,000 6809 STANLEY AVE $1,387,000 6325 MADISON AVE $283,000 3221 GARFIELD AVE $340,000 6141 LINCOLN AVE $400,000 2304 GUNN RD $460,000 5132 EL CAMINO AVE #201 $269,000 6400 BELGROVE WAY $359,500 4304 KILCHER CT $435,977 76 RIVERKNOLL PL $509,000 5430 BENTLEY WAY $815,000 5524 WOODLEIGH DR $336,000 4712 PAXTON CT $409,000 5140 KEANE DR $1,649,000 3109 LAMADA CT $360,000 4239 STOLLWOOD DR $475,000 4841 ANDREW CIR $425,000 6938 SUTTER AVE $799,000 4959 HEATHERDALE LN $385,000 5412 ALDER GLEN CT $819,000 3424 FARID CT $237,000 5136 WHITNEY AVE $265,000 5112 BELLWOOD WAY $304,000 6248 TEMPLETON DR $295,000 5046 MARTIN WAY $328,500 5511 MILLBURN ST $330,000 5549 BARBARA WAY $450,000 6996 LINCOLN CREEK CIR $455,000 3001 PARKWOOD CT $679,900 4256 PARADISE DR $325,000 3304 MCCOWAN WAY $425,000 5143 PATTI JO DR $399,000 6304 HILLRISE $415,000 4830 CAMERON RANCH DR $449,000 4749 MARLBOROUGH WAY $741,500 3311 PARKS LN $320,000 3967 BECKY CT $359,000 7110 STELLA LN #11 $199,000 4750 LOCH LOMOND DR $435,000 3626 DUCA LN $480,000 6830 LANDIS AVE $510,000 6990 WISE CT $725,000 3824 OLIVEBRANCH LN $305,000 5219 SIRBUCK WAY $335,000 4534 MARBLE WAY $385,000 5539 ARDEN WAY $580,000

95811

1724 N ST 2020 RICE ALY 2008 T ST 1818 L ST #415 611 19TH ST 2017 T ST

95814

1609 10TH ST 308 CITY FLAT LN

95815

562 GARDEN ST 998 LOCHBRAE RD 682 BLACKWOOD ST

95816

2705 F ST

$1,500,000 $740,000 $760,000 $416,000 $485,000 $910,000 $290,000 $689,978 $100,000 $319,000 $335,000 $630,000

1525 37TH ST 3349 FORNEY WAY 1324 37TH ST 3155 O ST 1808 26TH ST 3312 S ST 318 27TH ST 3124 DULLANTY WAY 3337 FORNEY WAY 3324 S ST 3112 DULLANTY WAY 1528 35TH ST 1564 34TH ST 727 22ND ST 521 30TH ST 1818 22ND ST #103

95817

4865 V ST 14 APPRENTICE CT 2141 34TH ST 3315 33RD ST 2739 KROY WAY 4155 3RD AVE 6230 4TH AVE 5917 2ND AVE 3735 Y ST 4064 11TH AVE 2801 61ST ST 3025 MARSHALL WAY 3533 33RD ST 344 FAIRGROUNDS DR 22 APPRENTICE CT 2828 43RD ST 3042 7TH AVE 3319 4TH AVE 6123 TAHOE WAY 2938 39TH ST 3509 43 RD ST 3528 1ST AVE 2923 39TH ST 2836 38TH ST 3431 36TH ST 3072 8TH AVE

95818

3517 CROCKER DR 1082 6TH AVE 1600 12TH AVE 2208 24TH ST 1901 MARKHAM WAY 3221 19TH ST 1639 7TH AVE 1714 3RD AVE 1731 BIDWELL WAY 1831 BIDWELL WAY 1213 ROBERTSON WAY

95819

296 SAN ANTONIO WAY 1524 CHRISTOPHER 5342 CAMELLIA AVE 1215 43RD ST 824 47TH ST 1205 56TH ST 1231 JANEY WAY 801 48TH ST 4216 T ST 380 MESSINA DR 1609 55TH ST 5656 CAMELLIA AVE 1135 JANEY WAY 4910 JERRY WAY 4835 T ST

$1,330,000 $593,214 $662,000 $487,000 $530,000 $419,000 $428,000 $582,084 $658,737 $414,000 $665,856 $674,000 $540,000 $685,000 $440,000 $404,000 $505,000 $506,608 $380,000 $276,000 $338,000 $355,000 $355,000 $421,000 $362,000 $192,000 $380,000 $500,500 $245,000 $522,770 $577,369 $395,000 $267,500 $362,000 $399,000 $360,000 $235,000 $367,000 $395,000 $220,000 $285,000 $319,000 $697,468 $745,000 $857,000 $645,000 $545,000 $1,471,052 $975,000 $815,000 $572,000 $735,000 $999,000 $570,000 $495,000 $525,000 $1,210,000 $729,000 $435,000 $525,000 $660,000 $535,000 $565,000 $415,000 $556,000 $700,000 $440,000 $560,000

1700 40TH STREET 1201 41ST ST 1216 64TH ST 906 43RD ST 629 55TH ST

95820

4408 MELLO CT 5405 56TH ST 3405 50TH 3025 53RD ST 4221 43RD 5100 60TH ST 4791 65TH ST 4024 58TH ST 4013 33RD ST 4007 E NICHOLS AVE 3845 33RD ST 3731 60TH ST 4970 71ST ST 3904 65TH ST 3391 26TH AVE 2601 PHYLLIS AVE 4101 60TH ST 5081 TORONTO WAY 4523 14TH AVE 5112 TORONTO WAY 5020 LIPPITT LN 6921 MCQUILLAN CIR 4213 28TH ST 4732 BAKER AVE 4547 BRENT CT 4820 BRADFORD DR 4998 64TH ST 5501 56TH ST 101 BRADY CT 4625 13TH AVE 4850 11TH AVE 5501 PRISCILLA LN 5021 ORTEGA ST 7509 MARIN AVE 5701 13TH AVE 5615 SIERRA VIEW WAY 5404 11TH AVE 5000 QUONSET DR 4230 14TH AVE 5941 18TH AVE 5824 MARK TWAIN AVE

95821

$695,000 $1,200,000 $521,000 $1,001,000 $422,250 $281,000 $301,000 $321,000 $400,000 $161,000 $320,000 $335,000 $365,000 $168,000 $228,000 $235,000 $338,000 $247,000 $565,000 $210,000 $265,000 $285,000 $248,000 $250,000 $263,000 $287,500 $378,500 $260,000 $219,000 $245,000 $228,000 $250,000 $270,000 $362,500 $225,000 $260,000 $265,000 $269,000 $289,000 $353,150 $375,000 $545,000 $254,000 $330,500 $350,000 $372,000

2540 BELPORT LN $365,000 3915 NORRIS AVE $725,000 2591 FULTON SQUARE LN #85 $150,000 3745 EL CAMINO AVE $279,900 4103 MELZENDA WAY $530,000 2445 TOWN CIR $370,000 3408 SHANNON ST $475,000 2424 EL CAMINO AVE $275,000 3532 NORRIS AVE $367,500 3532 NORRIS AVE $367,500 3230 CHENU AVE $369,900 3221 MORSE AVE $580,000 3450 EDISON AVE $260,000 2149 RASSY WAY $250,000 3813 PASADENA AVE #44 $260,000 2466 TOWN CIR $319,900 3809 KINGS WAY $350,000 3010 TIOGA WAY $525,000 3413 GABILAN $339,500 2591 BELL ST $305,000 3913 ROSEMARY CIR $302,000 3965 ROSEMARY CIR $339,000 4532 WOODSON AVE $419,200 2100 RED ROBIN LN $226,000

3640 DOS ACRES WAY 4005 CUEVAS CT 3749 BECERRA WAY 2812 BARBARELL 3620 POPE AVE 3831 PAYTON ST

95822

1809 WAKEFIELD WAY 2327 66TH AVE 1437 ATHERTON ST 2260 KNIGHT WAY 5617 23RD ST 1512 32ND AVE 5417 CARMEN WAY 2106 BERNARD WAY 7337 TILDEN WAY 4406 ATTAWA AVE 1443 STERLING ST 2421 39TH AVE 6725 21ST ST 967 PIEDMONT DR 7427 21ST ST 5628 LA CAMPANA WAY 6680 GOLF VIEW DR 1631 59TH AVE 5905 GLORIA DR #4 1449 STODDARD ST 2006 STOVER WAY 7690 ADDISON WAY 1149 BROWNWYK DR 7522 LOMA VERDE WAY 7079 WILSHIRE CIR 1060 APPOLLO WAY 1412 LOMAS WAY 7517 BALFOUR WAY 7521 SCHREINER ST 1237 NEVIS CT 2247 S 68TH AVE 4744 DEL RIO RD 2140 AMANDA WAY 2115 57TH AVE 60TH AVE 3835 BARTLEY DR 6117 24TH ST 7573 SKELTON WAY 7466 21ST ST 2509 51ST AVE 7463 TISDALE WAY 1935 NIANTIC WAY 2120 18TH AVE 5540 DANJAC CIR 5652 NOLDER WAY 6041 ANNRUD WAY

95825

$302,000 $400,000 $439,888 $303,500 $325,000 $490,006 $236,000 $245,000 $260,000 $262,500 $310,000 $365,000 $400,000 $290,500 $295,000 $309,000 $265,000 $287,000 $289,000 $745,000 $235,000 $244,000 $245,000 $357,000 $215,000 $240,000 $350,000 $394,000 $519,000 $265,000 $365,000 $410,000 $261,000 $269,000 $270,000 $564,525 $233,900 $619,000 $245,000 $285,000 $292,000 $649,000 $147,500 $230,000 $245,000 $245,000 $300,000 $245,000 $349,000 $560,000 $299,900 $505,000

1019 DORNAJO WAY #244 $184,900 907 VANDERBILT WAY $405,000 971 FULTON AVE #572 $156,500 1611 UNIVERSITY AVE $495,000 2413 PENNLAND DR $305,000 2202 WOODSIDE LN #3 $152,500 1916 UNIVERSITY PARK DR $414,500 2360 ALTA GARDEN LN #B $148,000 2307 MEADOWBROOK RD $311,500 971 FULTON AVE #569 $110,000 957 COMMONS DR $399,000 941 COMMONS DR $505,000 979 FULTON AVE #494 $140,000 3225 VIA GRANDE $242,500 2430 PAVILIONS PLACE LN #301 $595,000 2331 AMERICAN RIVER DR $420,000 2201 WOODSIDE LN #9 $147,000

2280 HURLEY WAY #21 1019 DORNAJO WAY #115 3020 GERALD AVE 1019 DORNAJO WAY #225 1350 COMMONS DR 2454 LARKSPUR LN #329 523 WOODSIDE OAKS #8 2319 MEADOWBROOK RD 2252 UNIVERSITY AVE 2011 EDWIN WAY 894 WOODSIDE LN #5 2428 DRAYTON DR 1019 DORNAJO WAY #163 524 WOODSIDE OAKS #6 1505 HOOD RD #A 1528 HOOD RD #B

95831

7425 DELTAWIND DR 40 SOUTHLITE CIR 19 WINTERMIST CT. 7075 EIDER WAY 7511 SALTON SEA WAY 3 MARINA BLUE CT 6781 LANGSTON WAY 1043 JOHNFER WAY 227 RIVER ACRES DR 752 SHORESIDE DR 6945 ARABELLA WAY 51 RAMBLEOAK CIR 7084 LAZY RIVER WAY 7015 RIVERCOVE WAY 41 RIO VIALE CT 18 RIVERSHORE CT 7516 DELTAWIND DR 7049 LAZY RIVER WAY 6750 RIVERSIDE BLVD 6645 FORDHAM WAY 6738 PARK RIVIERA WAY 6452 RIVERSIDE BLVD 7621 RUSH RIVER DR 1201 MONTE VISTA 7353 RUSH RIVER 42 LANYARD CT 1380 TUGGLE WAY 7244 GLORIA DR 788 STILL BREEZE WAY 7734 EL DOURO DR

95864

4404 ARDEN WAY LAS CRUCES WAY 161 MILLS RD 1709 ADONIS WAY 3720 SAN YSIDRO 4009 RIDING CLUB LN 1959 SANTA MARIA WAY 4130 ELDERBERRY LN 4505 COTTAGE WAY 3932 EL RICON WAY 4609 ULYSSES DR 2016 ADONIS WAY 100 MERING CT 4540 MILLRACE RD 2250 MORLEY WAY 4604 ASHTON DR 1836 MARYAL DR 2670 KADEMA DR 2105 EDITH ST 3941 CRONDALL DR 3684 FAIR OAKS BLVD 801 CROCKER RD 1729 DEVONSHIRE RD LATHAM DR

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

$175,000 $189,900 $350,000 $192,000 $437,000 $129,000 $165,000 $360,000 $380,000 $258,000 $152,000 $368,000 $145,000 $165,000 $170,000 $200,000 $345,000 $413,000 $422,500 $476,500 $335,000 $499,000 $467,000 $290,000 $560,000 $895,000 $328,000 $368,000 $375,000 $390,000 $479,000 $750,000 $385,000 $428,500 $449,500 $450,000 $456,000 $334,000 $427,500 $350,000 $355,000 $392,000 $590,000 $435,000 $969,000 $619,900 $430,000 $486,000 $702,000 $375,000 $460,000 $1,620,000 $740,000 $1,500,000 $414,000 $455,000 $365,000 $426,000 $815,000 $495,000 $620,000 $665,000 $470,000 $869,950 $377,000 $1,125,000 $1,225,000 $1,975,000 $502,500 $714,000

43

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Cars Versus People

IN THIS BATTLE, THE CARS ARE WINNING

T

he Terminator” movie series was based on a war between humans and machines. Are we already in such a war? Despite the conveniences that cars provide, they often seem pitted against humans.

The struggle rages on many fronts and is literally a matter of life and death.

If we are at war, it’s pretty clear which side is winning. The casualties on the human side are staggering.

Around the globe, 1.25 million people are killed in vehicle crashes each

WS

By Walt SeLfert Getting There

year. In the United States, more people have been killed and injured in vehicle collisions than in all U.S. wars combined. According to Wikipedia, there have been 666,000 U.S. combat deaths in American wars from the Revolution nearly 250 years ago to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In just the past 20 years, more than 700,000 Americans have died in traffic crashes, and 50 million more have been injured.

Cars are inanimate. Drivers are people, so they are involved on both sides in this war. We decide how we want to travel. Americans vote for cars with their dollars and usually veto walking with their feet. We own millions of cars and don’t walk or bike much. There are more than a quarter billion registered vehicles in the United States—more vehicles than licensed drivers. Most trips are made

by car. Across the country, only about 15 percent of trips are made by foot, bike or transit.

But the battlefield has long been tilted toward cars. Huge resources have been allocated to widening roads and building new freeway interchanges. Meanwhile, pedestrian and bicycle projects have been underfunded, getting a smaller share of money than their proportion of trips. Automobile parking, while never free to provide, is almost always available at no cost and represents a substantial subsidy and incentive to drive. Gas taxes don’t cover the costs of road construction and maintenance, so car use has been further subsidized by sales and other taxes.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Americans who always drive at home find that when travelling in Europe,

they can easily get around without a car by using trains, public transit and walking. A car there can be a costly encumbrance instead of a convenience. In Europe, 70 percent of trips shorter than a mile are made by foot, bike or public transportation. In the United States, 70 percent of those short trips are made by car.

The Greenlining Institute, an Oakland-based advocacy group, recently issued a report: “Mobility Equity Framework: How To Make Transportation Work for People.”

Report author Hana Creger says, “Good transportation planning starts with human needs and figures out how to meet those needs. Too often, planners have focused on cars, resulting in projects that actually harm communities rather than meeting their needs.”

TO page 47

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45

Jason Levens, CEO and chief grower, with son Aldon

He Puts Water To Work

THIS HYDROPONIC FARMER GROWS TENDER GREENS WITHOUT SOIL

I

’m inside a shipping container located in a residential neighborhood. On both sides of the aisle, rows and rows of tender plants—heads of lettuce, herbs and microgreens—grow in trays. They bask under energy-efficient LED lights, which bathe everything in a red-tinged glow. A thin film of water flows past the plants’ roots, providing nutrients, while fans circulate the air. Jason Levens, 36, the founder of Aldon’s Leafy Greens, spends a lot of time in this engineered environment, tending his hydroponically grown charges, but he loves the work.

“Every single plant in here I’ve seeded,” he says.

When I Google “hydroponics,” I discover it comes from the Greek words for water and work: water working. It is a way to grow plants in water, without soil.

Levens and his wife, Sophia, purchased property in Fair Oaks, called Urban Art Farm, more than a

AK

By Angela Knight Farm to Fork

46

ILP MAY n 18

year and a half ago. Along with the shipping container and a cottage, it supports 22 olive trees and various pieces of outdoor art. They live in a modern home on the property, which was designed by Sage Architecture for the original owners. A gallery space runs through the middle of the house, but the walls are a blank slate. The couple’s young son, Aldon, uses the hallway like a track.

A large red yo-yo hangs from a tree in the backyard. It belonged to the previous owners, but the Levenses wanted to keep it. A flock of chickens, as well as a collection of red wigglers (Levens is also into vermiculture, a method of decomposing organic waste using worms), reside nearby. Next year, Levens wants to start an annual canning party to preserve the olives from their trees. He also plans to develop a soil-based garden to grow edible flowers as well as different kinds of vegetables for his family. For now, the company’s edible flowers are grown off-site.

Before they moved to Fair Oaks, he and his wife were living in a tiny apartment in Noe Valley. That shipping container is miles from San Francisco and Levens’ “corporate job” at Shaw Industries; he gave up city life and a sales career to move back home and start an urban-agriculture

business. “I got tired of the whole corporate market,” he says. He grew up in Folsom and attended Fair Oaks Elementary School. He’s pursuing a degree in applied horticulture, and he’s working on becoming a master gardener. In the future, he wants to be a consultant for other indoor growers.

A taste test revealed that I’d likely fail at identifying greens. To my embarrassment, carrot tasted like celery to me, but thankfully pea shoots looked and tasted like peas; nasturtium shoots were strong tasting, as you might imagine, so Levens saved them for last.

I savored too many varieties to keep track, and I was busy chewing, but some stood out: red-veined sorrel and romaine, wasabi and daikon radish. Everything was crisp and fresh and red, under the lights, and I pictured the microgreens topping everything from sushi to dessert. Levens says he can identify the plants he grows based on taste and can identify the seeds by sight.

Local chefs occasionally drop by the shipping container to sample product.

I’m sure they could pass the taste test.

The budding business means a lot to Levens. “It’s my baby,” he says. He brushes his hand across the microgreens, as if smoothing a young child’s hair. This Renaissance man grows 25 or so varieties of microgreens, four or five varieties of lettuce and about 10 herbs in that engineered space, using nutrient film technique, or NFT.

Mark Levens, business partner and right-hand man

Here’s a simplified explanation of NFT: The plant roots absorb necessary nutrients from a thin film of water, which is circulated by pumps. Microgreens are grown on what Levens calls “baby blankets,” or organic fibers, while lettuce is nestled in rock wool—a growing medium.

According to the company’s website, Levens uses products approved by

OMRI, the Organic Materials Review Institute. And he’s picky about his greens. “I feed my son this,” he says.

The system can be controlled from a control panel or Levens’ iPhone.

He changes the water every month, but contrary to the hydro part of the word, hydroponics uses very little of the stuff. Levens’ father, company cofounder Mark Levens, estimates the ship shipping container can yield the same amount of p produce as an acre

of land over a year. It’s also cool in the summer, which is an advantage.

Other potential advantages? A sterile environment with no pesticides, herbicides or GMOs; the ability to grow greens year-round; it uses less space and less water than traditional soil-based gardening; and there are no weeds. Potential disadvantages?

It’s expensive to set up; it requires constant monitoring; there can be a huge learning curve.

Red romaine under LED lights

You can taste Aldon’s greens at local restaurants, including Mulvaney’s B&L, Kru, Mother and Localis, and purchase them at Taylor’s Market in Land Park.

Find Aldon’s Leafy Greens on the web at aldonsleafygreens.com.

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

Microgreens Red-veined sorrel

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U

FROM page 45 The toll of the car-versus-people battle is not measured in human casualties alone. Besides the direct effect on human life, our focus on cars degrades neighborhood quality of life through noise, health and aesthetic impacts, harms the environment and, not trivially, consumes huge portions of individual and government budgets. Car use contributes to social isolation, limiting people’s interactions with their neighbors.

The Sacramento region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan and companion Sustainable Communities Strategy have many high-minded policies related to environmental quality, economic vitality, financial stewardship, equity and access, and mobility. Those are fine goals, but at the same time, the California Environmental Quality Act, in a legal misstep, perversely made car needs and drivers’ comfort more important than real environmental impacts and effects on human lives.

That’s an example of the disconnect between transportation planning and fundamental human values such as caring for the planet

and our own health, happiness and overall well-being. A continuing problem is translating ideals into actual transportation projects and then building the projects that do the most good. Cars have too often been prioritized over people. It’s hard to see a car-oriented strip mall as a thing of beauty or a community enhancement. Being able to drive as fast as we want on local streets or finding a free, convenient parking space isn’t essential to our pursuit of happiness. Car-centric transportation not only doesn’t create livable neighborhoods; it may prevent them from existing.

Cars should be our servants, not our masters. Until we put people first and human values foremost, we can’t expect to wind up with the kind of safe, serene and attractive places where most people truly want to be.

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

47

Theatre in the Heights will perform “Twelfth Night” this month.

TO DO THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

“Twelfth Night” Theatre in the Heights Through May 20 8215 Auburn Blvd. • theatreintheheights.com Under the direction of Blake Flores, one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies of mistaken identities, love and high jinks comes to life.

jL

By Jessica Laskey

48

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“Modern Masters: Red Hot” Sacramento Ballet May 25–27 The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave. • sacballet.org The ballet’s annual salute to new choreography will get your blood pumping. The program will feature Ma Cong’s “Blood Rush,” set to music by Latin composer Astor Piazzolla, Ron Cunningham’s “Bolero” and “Fluctuating Hemlines,” an irreverent collision of 1960s fashion and 21st-century mores.

“Praise and Jubilation” Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra Saturday, May 12, 8 p.m.

Community Center Theater, 1301 L St. • sacramentochoral.com Give Donald Kendrick a warm send-off at his Sac State farewell concert after 33 years at the helm. Program highlights include the West Coast premiere of Dan Forrest’s “Jubilate Deo,” Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances” and guests Sacramento Children’s Chorus and Sacramento State Choirs with soloists Rachel Songer, Anne-Marie Endres and Shawn Spiess.

“Abstract Beauty” Tim Collom Gallery May 8–31 915 20th St. • timcollomgallery.com This exhibition features Deborah Rhea’s photography and multimedia installations along with husband Daniel Schoorl’s oil paintings and whimsical assemblages.

Author E. S. Wynn will participate in a reading with the Queer Sacramento Authors Collective.

Author E. S. Wynn Queer Sacramento Authors Collective Friday, May 25, 7–9 p.m.

Lavender Library, 1414 21st St. • qsac.rocks Join this newly formed group—founded by author J. Scott Coatsworth—of Sacramento-area queer and/or queer-fiction authors for four readings a year.

This reading features E. S. Wynn.

“Becoming a Woman in the Age of Enlightenment: French Art from The Horvitz Collection” Crocker Art Museum May 13–Aug. 19 216 O St. • crockerart.org This exhibition examines the many paths and stages of women’s lives in the art of 18th-century France through works by Fragonard, Boucher, Watteau, Greuze and others.

Opportunity Drawing Fundraiser Mercy General Hospital Guild Wednesday, May 23 Casa Garden Restaurant, 2760 Sutterville Road The all-volunteer guild’s major annual fundraiser will offer prizes that include a one-week vacation in Sonoma wine country and one night at Hotel Donatello in San Francisco. The event raises money for scholarships for junior volunteers as well as specialized equipment to enhance patient care. For tickets, call Vicki Diepenbrock at (916) 201-8041.

Daniel Schoorl's artwork will be on display at Tim Collom Gallery in Midtown.

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49

Grace Hudson’s untitled painting from 1898 will be auctioned off at Witherell's.

RSVP Spring Concerts benefit future farmers.

Judy Bujold in Conversation

The American West at Auction

Genealogical Association of Sacramento Wednesday, May 16, 12:15 p.m.

Witherell’s Auction House Preview: Tuesday, May 8, 1–4 p.m.

Live and online: Thursday, May 17, 10 a.m.

Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive • gensac.org Speaker Judy Bujold will share tips on how to preserve, scan and organize family photos.

Jazz Night at the Crocker Crocker Art Museum Thursday, May 17, 6:30 p.m.

216 O St. • crockerart.org Kick off this summer’s Jazz Night at the Crocker series with Capital Jazz Legacy, the original seven members of Capital Jazz Project, which was formed in 1997 with a mission to bring high-quality music to the Sacramento region.

50

ILP MAY n 18

1925 C St. • witherells.com Bid on a newly discovered painting by Thomas Hill, a Grace Hudson oil painting of a Pomo child and a Hawaiian landscape by Horatio Nelson Poole, among other artworks.

The Sacramento Saturday Club Presents Scholarship Winners Crocker Art Museum Sunday, May 13, 3 p.m.

216 O St. • crockerart.org The Sacramento Saturday Club—the oldest musical organization in the city—selects five worthy piano, vocal, string, woodwind and brass students from area colleges each year to perform a classical repertoire.

Image of Square Root Academy.

Image of Midtown Farmers Market.

“Concert of Remembrance”

“I Will Sing a New Song!”

Camerata California Sunday, May 27, 4 p.m.

River City Chorale Friday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.

First United Methodist Church, 2100 J St. • cameratacalifornia.net This performance will feature Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3235 Pope Ave.

Sunday, May 6, 4 p.m.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 7869 Kingswood Drive, Citrus Heights • rivercitychorale.org This spring concert celebrates the community choir’s 41st year performing in the region and features music by composers Thompson, Copeland and Rutter as well as Verdi’s “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” sung in Italian. The Friday performance will also showcase the Arden Middle School Choir.

Modeling Hope Fashion Show Fundraiser FosterHope Sacramento Thursday, May 24, 5:30–8 p.m.

Macy’s Downtown, 414 K St. • fosterhopesac.org This event will feature wine, hors d’oeuvres and Macy’s fashions modeled by locals to raise money for the nonprofit California foster family agency FosterHope Sacramento.

Spring 2018 Concert Series Reconciliation Singers Voices of Peace May 11–19 Multiple locations • rsvpchoir.org RSVP’s free spring concerts will raise money and awareness for the Center for Land-Based Learning, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating future generations of farmers, agricultural leaders and natural-resource stewards.

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

Crocker exhibit showcases women of 18th century France.

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Doing the A

Hustle

JOSE DI GREGORIO WORKS HARD TO MAKE ART

rtist Jose Di Gregorio is a big fan of the h-word: hustle. The Puerto Rico native uses hustle in every aspect of his daily life—as an artist, a father of two girls, a resident of Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street and a member of Hacker Lab, a maker and coworking space.

“With art, you don’t ever clock out,” says Di Gregorio. “I can’t not do it—it becomes so innate.”

Di Gregorio, who moved to California at age 4, didn’t intend to become an artist. A skateboarding and snowboarding aficionado, he was more sports oriented until a ruptured Achilles tendon at age 25 sidelined him. Out of boredom, Di Gregorio started to draw and write poetry. That led to a fascination with film and photography. Before he knew it, he was earning a bachelor’s degree at Herron School of Art & Design at Indiana University-Purdue University.

“I never took school seriously as a kid,” Di Gregorio says. “But when I not only got into art school but also received scholarships and grants, I started to evolve.”

In 2004, Di Gregorio was accepted to a summer program at the PontAven School of Contemporary Art in France. Traveling around Europe and taking in the art at landmarks like the Louvre, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel caused him to consider just what kind of art he wanted to make.

“I started with figurative because I had the technical skills to render a figure with accuracy,” Di Gregorio says. “But seeing all the art throughout Europe made me realize that I didn’t really have an aesthetic that I truly believed in. I started

JL

By Jessica Laskey Artist Spotlight

52

ILP MAY n 18

doing nonrepresentational line work and drip paintings—more organic and curvilinear in nature. I loved the process of seeing the paint move around.”

After finishing school in 2006, Di Gregorio moved back to California and continued to work on his newfound medium. When traveling with large-scale drip paintings became difficult, he scaled back to drawing, creating mock landscapes with “crudely drawn rainbow lines.”

From there, he started to focus on the lines themselves, creating technically accurate patterns that look like the geometry of a computer program but are done completely freehand.

Di Gregorio’s use of clear, crisp measurements to make his paintings look even more mechanical caught the eye of Hacker Lab co-founder Eric Ullrich.

“Eric said, ‘You create this rad work. Let’s see how that translates from paint markers and wood panels to acrylic plastic and laser cuts,’” Di Gregorio recalls. He started a residency at Hacker Lab around the same time he became one of the first residents of WAL, the subsidized artist apartment complex completed in 2015. “I’m taking my images a step further now in mechanical renderings

of my work. I put an image of my work into Photoshop, then create a vector file, then I laser cut that.

That’s what’s so incredible about Hacker Lab: It gives you access to all of these amazing tools.”

Di Gregorio also paints murals. He participated in last year’s Sacramento mural festival, Wide Open Walls, painting a wall outside Beatnik Studios. And in 2016, he helped out on a mural by Portuguese artist Add Fuel (Diogo Machado) on the east wall of Faces nightclub on K Street.

“I pride myself on my versatility,” Di Gregorio says. “I try to schedule time for a little bit of everything. If a project comes up, I take it.”

The 44-year-old artist is preparing for several big projects this spring, including shows at First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco and Anohaao Gallery in Goteborg, Sweden; a show and mural workshop in Helsinki, Finland; and a show and mural in Cleveland, Ohio. Add to that commissions and plenty of projects in process and you can tell why Di Gregorio is such a fan of the h-word.

“I’m really fortunate to be in a place where I can sustain myself just enough to work on my next project,” Di Gregorio says. “It’s fantastic for my daughters to see the inner

workings of everything—to see what it takes to sustain yourself. If you fail, keep going. You do what you gotta do.

Art encompasses everything I do and who I am.”

To see more of Jose Di Gregorio’s work, visit josedigregorio.com.

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

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

53

Mas Mexican NEW OUTPOST OF ZOCALO DOESN’T DISAPPOINT

T

he UV shopping center at Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard has had its share of good dining over the decades. When

GS

By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

54

ILP MAY n 18

I was growing up, Chinois, the first restaurant in the area to use the word “fusion” on its menu, called it home.

Later, the incomparable Bandera moved in, and it still thrives, serving slabs of rotisserie meats and the best French dip on the planet. For thirsty diners, Capitol Beer and Tap Room, one of the best beer rooms in the city, moved in a few years ago.

Recently, after an extensive, yearslong renovation, the dining scene moved up yet another notch. Along with a few fast-casual spots, The UV

now sports a Zocalo to anchor its west side.

This is the third location for the local Mexican eatery. Opened more than a dozen years ago in Midtown, the original Zocalo offers a sophisticated take on Mexican dining along with a dramatic design and impressive interiors. In 2012, the second Zocalo opened in Roseville in the Fountains shopping center.

This new location is deceptively large. From the outside, you’d be forgiven for thinking the space might be a little cozy. But open the

front door and you’re met with an enormous dining room and huge patio. There’s a four-sided bar with room for 40, and a kitchen big enough to handle all the traffic easily.

The space is impressive, and not just because of its size. Stamped ceilings, wall sculpture, room-high columns and other epically sized design elements make you feel like you’re somewhere. The four-sided bar with its oversized four-sided television offers a happening place to watch a game with some friends.

Specializing in making

Mothers happy for 71 years

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Relles

Florist & Gifts The menu is roughly the same at each of the three Zocalos. It features a substantial selection of Mexican favorites with a smattering of specialty dishes and upmarket offerings.

On the more pedestrian side, you’ll find things like a taco salad—better than most, but not a showstopper—as well as quesadillas with cheese and chicken. My fairly picky friend, Mel, opted for the taco salad and loved it.

The rest of the table went a little off the beaten path.

The fish tacos are some of the best in town. Fried Baja style, they’re fresh, hearty and bright, with just a touch of acid and a touch of heat.

They come pretty close to matching my favorite fish taco in town, at Midtown’s Cantina Alley.

A significant amount of care goes into the enchiladas. Topped with house-made mole (a savory Mexican sauce made with chilies, chocolate, dried fruits and nuts) or a surprisingly complex red chili sauce, the dish is simple but well prepared.

Sometimes, you find an item at a restaurant that’s too good. “Too good” means you order that one thing each time you eat at that restaurant and

never try anything else. For me, at Greg Sabin can be reached at Zocalo, that’s the cochinita pibil. It’s gregsabin@hotmail.com. n a stunning piece of pork, smoked and lacquered in a sauce made of achiote, citrus and herbs. The gorgeous chunk of meat is topped with fresh arugula and pickled red onions. The whole thing is a masterpiece: tender, spicy, sweet, citrusy and indulgent. I most likely will never order anything at Zocalo again now that I have tasted its glory.

The bar menu is what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant: heavy on the margaritas. But a selection of tequila- and mezcal-based drinks, including a cheeky tequilabased Old Fashioned, rounds out the cocktail menu nicely. You’ll also find a surprisingly robust wine list and a few obscure Mexican craft brews that are both difficult to find and top-notch.

For a restaurant open only a few months, the service is on point and the kitchen well organized. It’s what you would expect from a restaurant group with more than 20 years on the local restaurant scene and a reputation for quality.

rellesflorist.com

2400 J Street 441-1478

Zocalo is at 466 Howe Ave.; (916) 252-0303; zocalosacramento.com.

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55

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

Federalist Public House 2009 N St. • (916) 661-6134 L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Wood-fired pizzas in an inventive urban alley setting • federalistpublichouse.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 1521 L St. • (916) 231-9947

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

Downtown & Vine 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

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

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

R STREET Café Bernardo 1431 R St. • (916) 930-9191

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

806 L St. • (916) 442-7092 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Chinese favorites in an elegant setting • fatsrestaurants.com

Ma Jong’s Asian Diner

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

1431 L St. • (916) 442-7555 L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Cuisine from Japan, Thailand, China ad Vietnam. • majongs.com

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

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

MIDTOWN Biba Ristorante 2801 Capitol Ave. • (916) 455-2422

South 2005 11th St. • (916) 382-9722

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

L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Timeless traditional Southern cuisine, counter service • weheartfriedchicken.com

Café Bernardo 2726 Capitol Ave. • (916) 443-1180 B L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Casual California cuisine with counter service • cafebernardo.com

56

ILP MAY n 18

2820 P St. • (916) 455-3500

Tapa The World 2115 J St. • (916) 442-4353 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 2431 J St. • (916) 442-7690 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

Grange Restaurant & Bar 926 J St. • (916) 492-4450

2319 K St. • (916) 737-5767

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

Shoki Ramen House

2924 Freeport Blvd. • (916) 443-5154

1401 28th St. • (916) 457-5737

Iron Horse Tavern

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

Taylor’s Kitchen

Paragary’s

Suzie Burger

1601 16th St. • (916) 452-7594

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

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

Magpie Cafe

2633 Riverside Blvd. • (916) 448-9988

2415 16th St. • (916) 444-2006

1104 R St. Suite 100 • (916) 706-6605

Frank Fat’s

Riverside Clubhouse

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

L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Outdoor Dining Upscale American fare served in an elegant setting • paragarys.com • esquiregrill.com

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

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

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

427 Broadway • (916) 442-4044

2718 J St. • (916) 706-2275

Fish Face Poke Bar

1800 15th St. • (916) 448-4488

Jamie’s Broadway Grille

The Red Rabbit

1213 K St. • (916) 448-8900

1132 16th St. • (916) 446-0888

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

Skool

Firestone Public House

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

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

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

Esquire Grill

Iron Grill

The Waterboy 2000 Capitol Ave. • (916) 498-9891 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Patio Fine South of France and Northern Italian cuisine in a chic neighborhood setting • waterboyrestaurant.com

LAND PARK Casa Garden Restaurant 2760 Sutterville Rd. • (916) 452-2809 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

“

After a year, you realize it takes time to rail against injustice, time you might better spend questioning fondue or describing those ferrets you couldn’t afford.

“

—David Sedaris, Theft by Finding: Diaries

CALL FOR ARTISTS Verge Center for the Arts is proud to present Sac Open Studios, the 13th annual, month-long art event in September showcasing over 150 emerging and established artists in their studios across Sacramento County and West Sacramento, September 8-9 and September 15-16, 2018!

Buy ear ly for the best se ats!

Sign up at https://events.eply.com/sacopenstudios2018 Thanks to our sponsors:

An Evening with David Sedaris WED, MAY 9 With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s preeminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

Couch potato no more.

VOLVO OWNERS ONLY

Sacramento’s top-rated independent Volvo service and repair since 1980.

Experts in ALL Volvo makes and models.

• Experienced technicians • Complete repair & maintenance • Expert diagnosis & consultation • Shuttle service (just ask!)

• Plush waiting lounge with wi-fi, coffee and movies • The power of product knowledge

Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra FRI, MAY 11 One of the finest jazz groups working today, the orchestra thrives on crosscultural collaboration and cutting-edge improvisation.

How may we help you?

New Century Chamber Orchestra WED, MAY 16 This program pairs J. S. Bach and Philip Glass, with pianist Simone Dinnerstein performing Glass’ newest piano concerto and Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in G Minor.

San Francisco Symphony THU, MAY 24 After a one-year interlude, the symphony returns to the Mondavi Center, this time under the baton of Maestro David Robertson with award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein.

mondaviarts.org

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INSIDE PUBLICATIONS

“Sacramento’s Volvo Service” 2009 Fulton Ave. Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 971-1382 svsauto.com

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

57

Get in your garage. Every Time.

Opens and closes your door...even when the power is out!

The Battery Backup System ensures your garage door opener continues to work.

WORKS EVEN WHEN THE POWER IS OUT.

Powerful DC motor belt drive system is durable, ultra-quiet and maintenance-free. MyQÂŽ technology enables you to close your garage door or turn the lights on or off using a smart phone or computer from anywhere

Model 8550 Includes:Smart Control Panel

3-Button Premium Remote Control

Lifetime motor and belt warranty

916-245-6343 www.sacslocksmithgaragedoorrepair.com CA LCO LIC# 5940 CSLB LIC# 1006444

Mention this ad & receive a free remote w/installation of a garage door opener.

Your Carriage House Door Professionals

58

ILP MAY n 18

Brunch JOIN US FOR...

C H A M P A G N E

F A T 'S

CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH BUFFET

ASIA BISTRO

Mother’s Day, May 13, 2018 Father’s Day, June 17, 2018

MODERN ASIAN CUISINE. TIMELESS TRADITION.

Make your reservations early.

Folsom 916-983-1133|Roseville 916-787-3287 www.fatsbistro.com

8th Annual Fundraiser Benefiting Triumph Cancer Foundation

JUNE 9TH

&KDUDFWHU &RPSHWHQFH &RPPLWPHQW &RPPXQLW\

5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Join us at Helwig Winery for a special evening.

Enjoy great food, wine & music while supporting a local nonprofit dedicated to helping cancer survivors!

“6WH൵ DQ ZDV D GHOLJKW WR ZRUN ZLWK +H ZDV LQIRUPDWLYH DQG RQ WRS RI HYHU\ LVVXH +H ZDV SDWLHQW DQG JXLGHG XV WKURXJK WKH HQWLUH SURFHVV , ZRXOG JODGO\ UHFRPPHQG 6WH൵ DQ WR DQ\ RI P\ IULHQGV DQG XVH KLV VHUYLFHV LQ WKH IXWXUH ´

Gourmet Picnic Dinner Selland’s Market & OBO Italian

7HUU\ %UHQQDQG

Featuring Foreverland!

A 14-piece Tribute to Michael Jackson!

Premiere Sponsors Wells Fargo . Kaiser Permanente . Ten2Eleven . Socotra Capital Western Health Advantage . Sage Architecture . Alli Construction Carrington College . Interwest Insurance . Hanson McClain Sactown Magazine . Helwig Winery . Skyline Scaffold Inside Publications . UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center

916-717-7217 steϑan@SteϑanBrown.com www.SteϑanBrown.com CalDRE #01882787

Buy Tickets Online at triumphfound.org Tickets must be purchased in advance. Sales close June 7th

ILP n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

59

COLDWELL BANKER BEAUTIFUL 1890 VICTORIAN HOME! Lovingly maintained and preserved piece of Sacramento history. 4BD/2BA with 2268sqft of living space, classic style with modern conveniences. LINDA PERRY 916.524.2020 CalRE#: 01407797 DESIRABLE POCKET LOCATION! Lovely 4bd/3ba in cul-de-sac w/access G to the Sac River DIN levee. LR & FM w/frplc, area, spacious kitch & E Ndining P lndscpd bckyrd. $709,500 SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986 APPEALING LAND PARK DRIVE! Stunning hm w/ updated Kitch, Brkfst Nk, DP wndws, Hrdwd krs & gorgeous yard w/iron gate. $595,000 WENDY KAY 916.717.1013 CalRE#: 01335180

PENDING

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 CHARMING HOME IN HOLLYWOOD PARK! 3BD/1BA, 1079sqft w/hdwd krs. Picture window in living rm looks out to lndscpd bkyd w/fruit trees. CH&A, whole house fan, newly painted outside, new roof & double pane windows. $374,900 CINDY LEATHERS 916.803.5381 CalRE#: 02014889 ADORABLE HOME! Welcome to this cute 3bd/1ba home in Fruitridge Park.

Situated on a large lot with CH&A, dual pane windows, 2 car garage and covered back patio, storage shed and fruit trees. $225,000 ELISE BROWN & POLLY SANDERS 916.715.0213 CalRE#: 01781942/01158787

SPACIOUS CURTIS PARK TUDOR! Rare 5bd, 2.5ba Tudor, over 2600 qft, updtd electric & copper plumbing, & new sewer line. Great location.

PALOMA BEGIN 916.628.8561 CalRE#: 01254423

SOLD

SOLD

ENCHANTING CURTIS PARK TUDOR! 3BD/2BA, 1559SF w/hdwd krs, modern kitch, rmdld hall bath & vintage master. Bonus ofjce/rm upstrs. $649,900 STEFFAN BROWN 916.717.7217 CalRE#: 01882787

L STREET LOFTS! Premium majestic 2-story penthouse loft w/ balcony, great living space, 18’ ceilings, huge windows, granite & stainless kitch. $977,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608

WONDERFUL TREE-LINED STREET IN LAND PARK! 3 lrg bdrms, 3 full baths, an ofjce adjacent the master suite & charming yard w/brick patio.

SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986

PRESTIGOUS RIVERLAKE IN POCKET AREA! Gated w/24hr roving security. Recently updated halfplex w/3bd, 3ba, 1934sq ft. Frml living rm, lrg dual sided rock frplce. Frml dining & gorgeous kitch. $489,000 DEE SCHWINDT 916.704.0718 CalRE#: 00498850

RIVERFRONT ESTATE! Outstanding 1.5ac property w/200ft of Sac River frontage. 1400sqft hm+lrg guest house, pool & close to Scott’s on the River. $1,799,000 PALOMA BEGIN 916.628.8561 CalRE#: 01254423

PRESTIGIOUS POCKET AREA! Beautifully kept 2-story home with 3BD/2.5BA, 1490sqft with separate living room and formal dining, country kitchen and professionally landscaped yard. $389,000 DEE SCHWINDT 916.704.0718 CalRE#: 00498850 TREMENDOUS SAC RIVER PROPERTY! 2 parcels totaling 1.7 acres w/380 feet of river frontage.

This lot has 153 feet of frontage. Marina operation w/350' dock. 2bd/2ba approx 1,800sf hm, sep guest qrtrs & ofjce. Detached garage buildings, RV storage. $1,899,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608

CURTIS PARK GEM! Charming original 2BD/1BA, 1041Sqft with 2car garage and Move-in Ready. $335,000 ELISE BROWN & POLLY SANDERS 916.715.0213 CalRE#: 01781942/ 01158787

STUNNING SACRAMENTO RIVER! Ideally situated between the majestic Sacramento River and Teal bend Golf Course. 2 bdrms w/open krpln, jnished concrete krs, skylights & lrg deck. $530,000 MAGGIE SEKUL 916.224.541 CalRE#: 01296369

STORYBOOK COTTAGE! Located on tree-lined Swanston Dr, this lovely 3BD/1.5BA Hm is nearly 1800sqft, lrg dining w/private bckyrd & patio. $679,000 TOM LEONARD 916.834.1681 CalRE#: 01714895

DESIRABLE GREENHAVEN! Sophisticated living adjacent to the Sacramento River.

One year old Tri-level hm w/4bd/3ba. Low maintenance yards. $489,000 DEE SCHWINDT 916.704.0718 CalRE#: 00498850

SACRAMENTO METRO OFFICE 730 Alhambra Boulevard #150 | 916.447.5900

LOVELY LAND PARK! Well maintained with charming curb appeal, this 4BD, 2BA hm ideally located on a lrg lot is a winner! ELISE BROWN & POLLY SANDERS 916.715.0213 CalRE#:01781942/ 01158787

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM

©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 OfŰce is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. Real estate agents afŰliated 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.