6 bed, 3 bath with open floor plan and large yard with private wood deck. New interior paint, updated kitchen. Move in ready. MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375
7486 Amonde Way - $998,000
TAYLOR MORRISON BUILT ON LARGE CORNER LOT
5 beds 4½ baths. Attached ‘In-Law’ quarters with separate entrance. Soaring ceilings, custom window blinds. SARAH MOON 916-743-4157 DRE-02088696
7615 West Vista Way - $1,250,000
ORIGINAL OWNER HOME WESTSHORE AT RIVERLAKE 5 beds, 3 baths, 4090 square feet, timeless architecture, curved glass staircase, pool, 3-car garage, fabulous yard MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375
3517 Eisenhower Drive - $495,000
LOVINGLY MAINTAINED ROSEMONT HOME. 3 beds, 2 baths with fresh interior paint, new light fixtures, gleaming hardwood floors. Low maintenance. Backyard with RV parking. PAULA SWAYNE 916-425-9715 DRE-01188158
3328 Forney Way - $1,200,000
STUNNING McKINLEY VILLAGE LUXARY AND COMFORT
4 beds, 3½ baths, 2 balconies, a loft and a Study. Gourmet chef kitchen. Outdoor kitchen. Added garage storage. HILARY BUCHANAN 916-397-7502 DRE-01359213
7 Park Vista Circle - $655,000
SINGLE STORY GREENHAVEN/POCKET HOME
3 beds, 2 baths, with resurfaced pool and close to Greenbelt and Saramento river. Dual pane windows and laminate floors. MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375
4601 Breuner Avenue - $649,900
RIVER PARK HOME JUST BLOCKS FROM CLAVARELLA FIELD 3 beds, 2 baths. Beautifully landscaped with flowers and fruit bearing trees. Sunny interior with solar tubes. DAVID KIRRENE 916-531-7495 DRE=01115041
4939 – 48th Street - $395,000
NICELY REMODELED LAWRENCE PARK HOME. 2 beds, 1 bath with new kitchen, bathroom, floors, electrical. Granite countertops in kitchen. Close to Colonial Heights Library JOSEPH OLSON 916-835-2968 DRE-02083344
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Erin Martinelli is a Northern California artist who finds her inspiration in animals, nature, abstract and architecture genres to create brilliant acrylics, etching prints and scratch art. Her California Superblooms collection was inspired by years of drought followed by atmospheric rivers in Northern California. Shown: “Superbloom,” acrylic and oil on canvas, 22 inches by 28 inches, in a private collection. Visit erinmartinellifineart.com or @erinmartinellifineart.
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High and Dry
I’ve met
Mark
I met
for decades.
By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk
CITY FAILURES HURT OLD SAC, SOUTHSIDE AND MORE
Rio City has the best river views in town, just north of Tower Bridge.
“The deck location has been the site of so many community memories, from parties to wedding proposals,” Stephanie says.
The Millers are smart, hardworking, hands-on owners. Now they face a challenge that seems insurmountable.
Rio City has a landlord problem. The landlord is the city. The Millers pay $250,000 a year in rent. They paid during lockdowns, unlike most Old Sac tenants on city property.
The Millers have approximately 4,000 square feet of indoor dining space. The outdoor deck adds 3,200 feet. The deck was built in the 1990s, when the city was eager to revitalize Old Sac. Trouble began this year. The city shut Rio City for six weeks to repair main sewer lines in front of the restaurant. Actual work required just one week, but Rio City lost its Mother’s Day bookings. “That closed us from April 13 to May 24,” Stephanie says. “But gratefully, we managed to survive.”
In early June, the city declared the deck unsafe. There are no plans for repairs. Or money.
“Given the gorgeous views and the cool breeze over the water, the deck represents up to 70% of our food revenue,” Mark says.
The city is contractually required to maintain the deck. In 2022, the City Council directed staff to bid the project and finish repairs this year.
The city spent two years and $1 million planning a new deck. Construction costs added another $4 million. But this summer, the City Council approved a five-year capitalimprovement program with zero dollars for Rio City deck repairs.
The deck is part of $1.4 billion in unfunded deferred maintenance projects. Unfunded employee pension and retiree obligations add another $1.6 billion. The city’s annual budget is $1.6 billion.
As former City Council Member Jeff Harris has written in our pages, the city’s budget deficits extend beyond the horizon.
Mark Miller submitted an engineering and construction proposal to strengthen the deck with steel beams. The city found the proposal workable but wouldn’t approve the $800,000 cost as an interim fix.
The Millers think the city cut the legs out from under their business. Closing the restaurant would cost hundreds of jobs. And leave another empty shell in Old Sac.
“For years the city has told us that they were serious about revitalizing Old Sac. But now that promise certainly rings hollow,” Stephanie says.
A few miles away sits another municipal failure. For the second year, Southside Pool is padlocked, thanks to resurfacing delays. After last year’s closure, the city promised the pool would reopen in 2024.
Last summer, mayoral candidate and Assemblymember Kevin McCarty delivered a giant replica check for $500,000 in state funds for Southside Pool repairs. Residents were thrilled. Despite McCarty’s state money, the city hasn’t delivered.
hundreds of small business owners in almost three decades as publisher of Inside Sacramento.
and Stephanie Miller, coowners of Rio City Café, are among my all-time favorites.
Stephanie in 2015, when the Millers arrived from Denver to run Rio City. Mark’s father owned the restaurant
Mark and Stephanie Miller
Photos by Aniko Kiezel
“The search for a qualified pool designer with the availability to promptly complete the design took longer than expected,” says Gabby Miller, parks department spokesperson. “High demand made commercial pool designers difficult to secure. This delayed the overall timeline for the project.”
Documents tell another story: needless delays caused by bureaucratic process. Records show a gap of more than 90 days between when the city received design drawings and opened bids. More than another month passed before the City Council approved the contract. One contractor said the city failed to act with efficiency or urgency.
City officials say they might open Southside Pool this fall. They promise to extend the season. Meantime, a neighborhood suffers sweltering heat without a pool.
Which brings me to Measure L, approved by voters in 2022. Mayor Darrell Steinberg sold Measure L as a permanent $10 million diversion from the general fund to help children. Why can’t Measure L funds cover transportation for Southside kids and families to other pools?
Kevin McCarty
City Council Member Katie Valenzuela, who represents Southside, was tossed out by voters in March. She insists real estate developers deserve blame for not paying development fees. She also voted—repeatedly— to raise municipal salaries, even as the city sped toward a fiscal cliff.
Rio City Café and Southside Pool are just two examples of civic failure. There are many others. Cities fail slowly, then all at once. In Sacramento, I’m sad to say, the decline is precipitous.
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Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook and on Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
No Substitutions
ANTI-TRAIL GROUP BACKFIRES WITH DEL RIO ALTERNATIVE
They’re making it worse for themselves. I’m talking about a handful of residents near the Sacramento River who want to delay the levee parkway and bike trail.
For their latest misfire in community relations, the no-trail group has quietly begun to promote the city’s new Del Rio Trail as a suitable alternative to the levee bike path.
The claim goes like this:
When the river levee parkway opens next year or 2026, it will connect Meadowview to the river bike path through Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex on Freeport Boulevard.
The trail will carry cyclists, runners and pedestrians from Freeport to Old Sacramento and along the American River to Folsom.
RG
By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat
But people in Meadowview and South Pocket don’t need to access the river levee. Instead, they can cycle or walk to Land Park via the new Del Rio Trail.
As those residents grow accustomed to the Del Rio option, any urgency to finish the levee bike trail north through Pocket disappears.
Without the need for an equity trail from Meadowview, the levee between Garcia Bend and Zacharias Park can remain a fenced, private waterfront paradise for a few Pocket homeowners.
Bottom line: Meadowview and South Pocket don’t need a levee bike trail. Those people can use the Del Rio “inner city” bike path.
Now for the reality.
Citing the Del Rio Trail as a substitute to the levee goes beyond arrogant. The words “separate but equal” jump to mind.
Meadowview is an underserved, minority-majority community. To suggest people who live there should seek an alternative recreational trail and stay off the river parkway is shameful.
But the word is out. The Del Rio option gets mentioned at meetings with city officials and community members. I ignore social media, but hear it surfaces there, too.
This is not a criticism of the Del Rio Trail. The new path connects diverse neighborhoods from Meadowview and Pocket to Freeport Manor, South Land Park and Land Park. It follows an abandoned railroad.
Del Rio runs 4.8 miles. Schools, retail centers, parks and homes are accessible from the pathway. The new bike trail is a welcome, communityfirst upgrade to a transportation route that served the city a century ago and became obsolete.
The old tracks sat empty for decades. Now the railway is a paved trail. Cyclists and pedestrians enjoy an environment where ballast, ties and rails supported agriculture and industry.
But a successful Del Rio Trail is no substitute for a paved pathway along the Sacramento River. The levee parkway, which transforms a gravel top into a first-class bike path, links Pocket and Land Park with a regional network.
The levee trail’s ambitions fly far above the benefits of the Del Rio Trail. The region deserves a completed river parkway. Meadowview included.
The no-trail group has been up to other mischief. A no-trail organizer sent an email to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board last year
suggesting that City Council Member Rick Jennings supported fences to keep people off the levee.
The email was untrue.
In fact, Jennings said he was OK with construction fences along the levee while Army Corps of Engineers contractors made repairs. Jennings said nothing about private fences.
“We do not support cross-levee fences, and we never have,” says Dennis Rogers, chief of staff for Jennings. “That is not our position. To say otherwise is disingenuous. Our only interest was getting some sort of vehicle barrier, such as a pipe gate, to stop people from taking motorbikes up on the levee.”
Unclear is whether the dishonest email influenced flood board executive officer Chris Lief, who authorized several temporary levee fences in apparent violations of state law. Lief says the private fences are “minor alterations” and thus legal.
He was new to the job last year. Still learning who not to trust.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Friends Carolyn Tucker, Verona Mhoon and Randy Leefeldt enjoy the Del Rio Trail several times a week.
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
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Book ’Em
THIS CLUB LOVES TO WINE, DINE AND READ
Lynn Matsuda exited the corporate world in 2015 with an idea. She wanted to gather women together, but how? She considered two distinct alternatives—
By Corky Mau Pocket Life
bunko group and book club. Matsuda settled on books. To make things even more interesting, she added wine and dinner.
The first meeting of Reading Between the Wines started with five of Matsuda’s friends, each of whom invited another friend. Several charter members still live in Greenhaven and Pocket. They have a special reason to celebrate this month. Aug. 9 is international Book Lovers Day.
Reading Between the Wines currently includes 16 people. Spreadsheets track when a member
hosts a meeting and chooses a book. Another tracks each book.
Meetings open with a social hour— the wine part—followed by dinner and a book discussion. Club members or the book’s author think up questions, which are written and dropped into a jar. When dessert arrives, members take turns choosing a question for feedback.
“I think our book club succeeds on many levels,” Matsuda says. “The group is ethnically and professionally diverse. Some are retired and some still work. We’ve shifted from being strangers to being friends.”
Members agree. “I really enjoy this energetic group of women,” Thalassa Naylor says.
Members have interesting connections. Shari Pedroncelli and Toni Sarrica are sisters-in-law. Robin Shimizu and Cathy Palmer are best friends. Janice Thompson and Natasha Boyd are published authors.
Betty Hill and Boyd met more than 20 years ago at a book club for new moms. They are still members of that club.
Guidelines are sensible and simple. Avoid politics and religion. Try to select books fewer than 350 pages. Members
Back Row: Dr. Felicia Haecker, Kay Riley, Toni Sarrica, Tricia Rosenbaum, Shari Pedroncelli. Front Row: Georgia Nakashima, Lynn Matsuda, Judi Eidam, Cathy Palmer.
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
JUNE 30 – OCTOB ER 20, 2024
aren’t penalized if they skip or don’t finish a book.
Tricia Rosenbaum says, “I offered to quit the club because I had a hard time finishing the book each month. They wouldn’t let me quit.”
Local authors Kiyo Sato (“Kiyo’s Story”), Brenda Novak (“Secret Sister”) and Patti Palamidessi (“The Other Four-Letter Word”) have shared works. Felicia Haecker invited author Abdi Nor Iftin (“Call Me American”) to attend via Zoom. Inspired by his story, members collected money for his village in Mogadishu. The gift enabled villagers to buy several goats.
Books are a form of communication, you and the page, a silent discussion in your head. These club members like to share what they discover between the covers.
The club is more than ticking off New York Times bestsellers. It’s about sisterhood and finding common ground through the magic of books. Good thing Matsuda chose books over bunko.
MUSIC & DINNER
Face Down band performs Friday, Aug. 9, from 5–9 p.m., at Elks Lodge No. 6. Set up lawn chairs and enjoy
music with dinner. Tickets are $15 per person. For information, contact the lodge at (916) 422-6666.
PAINT & SIP
Join Carrie Posey for an art class at Device Brewing Company on Sunday, Aug. 11, from 2–4 p.m. No experience necessary. Each $30 ticket includes a $5 credit toward food and beverage. For tickets, visit allevents.in under Fine Arts.
VINTAGE CARS
Check out vintage cars and hot rods on Fridays, Aug. 2 and 16, at Device Brewing Company. Stroll among the classics from 4–8 p.m. in the parking area along Windbridge Drive. For information, contact Ben Valencia at (916) 698-7507.
Corky Mau can be reached at corky. sue50@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Raúl Gonzo (American, born 1979), Pan Am, Part 1 2018. Digital print on archival paper, 26 x 20 in. Crocker Art Museum, gift of the Artist, 2021.23.2
the
GBREAK A SWEAT TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE ARTS GROUPS
et a workout while supporting local nonprofit arts organizations at the 25th Race for the Arts. The 5K Run/Walk and Kids Fun Runs are Saturday, Aug. 24, at William Land Park.
Participants will enjoy entertainment throughout the day—on the racecourse and stage—plus an arts festival with food, hands-on activities and more.
Collect pledges for any California literary, performing, cultural, visual or culinary arts organization or school program, then enjoy a day of free festivities with fellow fundraisers. Arts
JBy Jessica Laskey Out & About
groups and school programs receive 100% of pledges.
Pledges are not required to race, but they’re a great way to support your local arts groups.
Registration is $25–$40 (depending on age and date of entry). Teams of 10 or more receive a 20% discount.
Registration includes an event T-shirt, refreshments and a commemorative finisher medal. For information and to register, visit raceforthearts.com.
CHALK IT UP!
The annual Chalk It Up! art and music festival is back Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at Fremont Park.
Enjoy three days of live music, vendors, food trucks, kids’ activities and hundreds of volunteer artists creating stunning works of art on sidewalks around the park.
“We are so excited to bring the festival back for our 33rd year,” says Chalk It Up! Executive Director Christy Jourdan. “We are one of the last free, family friendly festivals in
the region and we are grateful to our community—volunteer artists, volunteer musicians, and especially our generous sponsors and donors— who are key to keeping this tradition alive since we started back in 1991.”
Since 2012, Chalk It Up! has awarded more than $70,000 to local schools and nonprofits, such as River City Theatre Company, Leading Edge Academy Expressive Arts and San Juan Unified School District Foster Youth Services. For information, visit chalkitup.org.
RIVER CITY SINGERS
Calling all singers! River City Chorale invites singers to an open rehearsal 7–8:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, where they can practice with the entire choir before auditions.
Auditions are 6–9 p.m. (by appointment) Monday, Aug. 26, at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Auditions include singing from measures 1–21 of the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “The Messiah”
(with sheet music and provided accompanist), the singer’s short memorized selection and a voice assessment.
For sheet music, recordings, information and to schedule an audition appointment, visit rivercitychorale.org.
JAPANTOWN MURAL
A mural honoring Sacramento’s historic Japantown neighborhood has been unveiled at 301 Capitol Mall.
The “Sakuramento Mural” honors the country’s fourth largest Japantown, destroyed when residents were sent to internment camps in the 1940s. After World War II, citizens returned and tried to rebuild the area, but were again displaced in the name of redevelopment.
The mural depicts Japantown’s history, celebrations and businesses through painted panels that resemble Hanafuda cards. Roseville artist Karen Tsugawa created the mural with help from volunteers.
Race for
Arts is Saturday, Aug. 24, at William Land Park. Photo courtesy of Race for the Arts
Reclaim Sacramento Japantown, which chronicles the history of the area on its website, organized the mural. For information, visit rust-sunfish-7ntg. squarespace.com.
GUITAR EXHIBIT
“America at the Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation,” a traveling exhibit from the National Guitar Museum, is on view through Sept. 1 at the California Museum.
The traveling exhibit showcases 40 instruments, from the vihuela of the 1500s to a modern steampunk guitar, and examines historical events such
as European colonialism, westward expansion, introduction of electricity, the Great Migration, Cold War, teenage rebellion and the rise of video games.
The Sacramento stop features the role of California guitar makers and musicians in popularizing the instrument in the 20th century. View guitars played by Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Eddie Van Halen and Los Tigres del Norte.
The California Museum is at 1020 O St. and open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $8–$10. For information, visit californiamuseum.org.
AMERICA’S MONSTERS
The Sacramento History Museum’s new exhibit “America’s Monsters, Superheroes and Villains: Our Culture at Play” is on display Aug. 9 to Jan. 7.
The exhibit features more than 400 vintage and original toys, comic books, games, posters, packaging and more from SuperMonster市City! co-founder David Barnhill’s private collection.
Visit iconic monsters, superheroes and villains such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Joker, Storm, Green Goblin and Captain Marvel. The exhibit profiles creators, designers and artists including Stan Lee, Bob Kane and Todd McFarlane.
Sacramento History Museum is at 101 I St. at the Old Sacramento Waterfront and is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, visit sachistorymuseum.org.
5 OVER 50 AWARD
Sacramento County’s Adult and Aging Commission has honored five volunteers with the 5 Over 50 Award. The commission selects winners based on nominations from county
residents. Nominees must be more than 50 years old, volunteer each week and demonstrate how getting involved impacts the community.
District 1 winner Ana Marcelo volunteered at South Natomas Library for more than 15 years.
District 2 winner Margarita Chavez participated in more than 300 trash cleanups with River City Waterway Alliance.
District 3 winner Adele Kruger, at nearly 90 years old, is volunteer coordinator for American River Parkway Foundation.
District 4 winner Wayne Watts spent more than 40 years volunteering and is a member of River City Waterway Alliance.
District 5 winner Faye Gaines feeds thousands of people each month as CEO and director of Sunshine Food Pantry & Resource Center in Galt.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
“America at the Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation” is on view at the California Museum.
Photo courtesy of the California Museum
“Rat Fink Pin” is on display at “America’s Monsters, Superheroes and Villains: Our Culture at Play” at the Sacramento History Museum. Photo by Steven Zerby
residents endure
heat in Sacramento several days after Supreme Court decision.
Photos by Aniko Kiezel
Big Decisions
MAYORAL VOTE WILL DETERMINE HOMELESS POLICIES
No more excuses. No more hiding behind legal interpretations. No more ignoring crime-ridden, third-world conditions in homeless camps around town.
And no more pretending unhoused people are a special class immune from laws.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg and friends at City Hall finally ran out of excuses this summer when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned two cases involving homelessness in Boise, Idaho, and Grants Pass, Oregon.
The court’s majority rejected arguments that homeless people could build camps wherever they wished on
RG
By R.E. Graswich
public land if cities lacked sufficient shelter space to accommodate everyone.
The decision ended a social experiment across nine western states that allowed indigents to camp on city streets, exempt from local ordinances and personal responsibilities.
In Sacramento, mayhem and suffering were acute. Homeless counts swelled from 2,700 to almost 10,000 during eight years of Steinberg’s administration. The city earned global media recognition for all the wrong reasons.
What happens next? It’s up to voters. A new mayor will replace Steinberg after the November election.
The outcome will help establish whether Sacramento begins a new era of cleaner streets and new treatment opportunities or continues to welcome homeless camps and the chaos that comes with them.
Inside asked the two mayoral candidates, Kevin McCarty and Flojuane Cofer, about their thoughts on the Supreme Court decision. Their responses revealed a gulf.
McCarty worked on homeless remedies as a state assemblymember, including efforts to open Cal Expo as a services site.
He knows nine justices in Washington can’t magically solve Sacramento’s problems. But the city can finally enforce its ordinances while working toward long-term housing and rehabilitation solutions.
“I support the Supreme Court decision to allow cities to enforce prohibitions on homeless encampments,” McCarty says. “We need to use every tool to tackle the problem of homelessness, and this decision gives us another tool.”
Cofer reached the opposite conclusion. As policy director for a public health advocacy group, she believes camps are acceptable if shelters fall short. She also thinks homeless people should reject services they find restrictive or inadequate.
Blaming “the Trump-stacked Supreme Court,” she says the justices “just poured fuel on the fire of our homelessness crisis. Arresting people who have nowhere to go and cycling
them in and out of our jails every few days is a costly endless exercise. Our tax dollars would be much better spent on permanent solutions to keep our communities safe.”
But nobody’s talking about jail. I’m not aware of anyone involved with homeless policies who thinks cities can arrest their way out of the problem.
At the same time, every member of the community, regardless of housing status, must consider themselves as citizens subject to laws and ordinances. Or face legal consequences.
No city can function if special groups live by their own rules in parks, on sidewalks, under freeways and along the river. Aside from the health traumas caused by street living, the presence of tent communities means other residents lose access to civic amenities.
To borrow McCarty’s words, now the community has more tools to keep its streets safe while seeking solutions.
For example, San Diego passed an ordinance banning street and sidewalk camping if there are shelter beds
Homeless
triple-digit
available. City officials removed unsafe camps. Shelter capacity expanded. A similar ordinance was planned for Sacramento City Council’s law and legislation committee—first step for new rules.
But Steinberg removed Councilmember Lisa Kaplan from the committee. Kaplan supported the proposal. The ordinance was shelved. Kaplan was replaced by Caity Maple. Let’s hope the plan resurfaces. What are homeless rights? Same as housed individuals. Should we carelessly cycle homeless people through jail? No. Does expecting responsibility and lawful compliance by the unhoused equate to criminalizing homelessness? No.
Sacramento must create alternatives for people who lack shelter. The city needs pathways to housing, programs for mental infirmities, and mandated treatment for drug addiction. Most of all, we need citizens who follow laws.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
River Rebound
HOPE MEETS HURDLES AT PROPOSED WATERFRONT TOWERS
Renderings courtesy of LPA Design Studios
Sacramento needs new housing in all varieties, locations and price ranges. This reality is part of what makes the American River One high-rise apartment proposal on the American River near Downtown so intriguing.
The 3-acre site at Bercut Drive off Richards Boulevard was home to the Hungry Hunter and Rusty Duck restaurants, torn down years ago.
Now, property owner Steve Ayers, who also owns the Elks Tower, has city approval to build four residential apartment towers ranging from 11 to 18 stories in a city that hasn’t exactly embraced high-rise apartment living.
The area known as the River District became desirable for developers in recent years with a new state office complex and Kaiser Permanente’s planned hospital. But much of the
G D GD
By Gary Delsohn Building
neighborhood remains industrial and rundown.
The area around Ayer’s project is a magnet for homeless people, thanks to its isolation along the river.
Not long after he bought the property, Ayers sued to block a proposed city project for homeless residents across from his land. The plan never came to fruition.
Recently, the 825-unit development proposed by Ayers became the target of a lawsuit filed by the Save the American River Association.
The suit claims the city improperly exempted American River One from the comprehensive environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act, primarily because of its proximity to light rail and location within a transit corridor.
The attractive mixed-use project, about a half mile from light rail, has merit. American River One is designed by the respected architectural firm LPA Design Studios. The proposal includes four residential towers with a variety of public spaces, two stories of indoor parking, retail, restaurant, gardens and decks at multiple levels with views of Downtown and the rivers.
If developers and their partners want to invest in a much needed and ambitious project in a challenging
neighborhood, why not give them a shot?
Ayers calls his site “one of the best blank canvases in the entire city of Sacramento,” but declined my request for an interview.
He was in the news several years ago when the California Gaming Control Commission rejected his application for a card room at the Elks Tower after a state background check concluded he lacked “good character.” Ayers appealed and sued, but never got his gambling license.
His troubles seemed to stem from two past convictions for driving under the influence and a 2017 domestic dispute concerning a public confrontation with his wife. In his
appeal of the gaming commission’s ruling, Ayers, a successful local businessman, testified he often socialized with clients and “sometimes I drink in excess of what I should.”
Others testified for Ayers and said he completed an alcohol recovery program and made generous donations to Loaves & Fishes and other charities. News reports highlighted contributions he made to the community.
Anthony Scotch, longtime local real estate broker and development coordinator for American River One, tells me in an email Ayers is “not interested” in talking publicly. Scotch insists the project pencils out nicely.
“We had a marketing report done several years ago that indicated there
would be a rental interest in a project like this,” Scotch says. “With the recent completion of the state office complex and the future plans of the Kaiser facility in the River District, the need for living units in this area is real.”
As for the neighborhood’s current state, Scotch says: “As is typical of older blighted neighborhoods, new projects tend to bring new life, population and other monies to improve the area.”
I like what I’ve seen and heard about American River One and the positive impact it can make on its surroundings. Being a builder in California requires patience and persistence. This proposal
has been in the works for years. Like Ayers, it continues to encounter and overcome obstacles.
A vacant, sketchy 3-acre parcel leaves the River District worse off. Settlement of the lawsuit must recognize that reality. If the suit resolves without scuttling American River One, we’ll see if Ayers is committed enough to pull this off.
Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Brought to you
Page T ur ners
BOOK DEN VOLUNTEERS KEEP COMMUNITY READING
If you want to be overwhelmed—in a good way—visit the Book Den warehouse.
The unassuming building on Belvedere Avenue is a booklover’s paradise, where thousands of donated books organized into genres await readers.
“It just hooks you,” says Diane Sabo, Book Den’s volunteer coordinator. “And if you like books, it’ll hook you even more.”
Book Den is volunteer-run and operated by Friends of the Sacramento Public Library. Sales of used books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and computer games support the library and many community groups.
“We have over 100 active volunteers spread out through the week,” says Sabo, who started volunteering at Book Den after retiring in 2013. “The biggest number—about 75%—are sorters.
“When donations come in, they’re put in the sorting room with long tables. The first sorters put everything into categories. This is where a lot of (volunteers) start because it’s a great way to get an idea of the whole process.
Second sorters are volunteers who’ve been there for awhile and they take over a category and decide what should go into the warehouse and the store.”
Sabo is a second sorter for literature. Her colleague, Pam Whiteley, is a second sorter for drama and manages Book Den.
a.m. to noon. Others maintain the warehouse—85,000 volumes shelved by subject. Some work as cashiers in the store, open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Others oversee Book Den’s internet storefronts.
“Amazon sells individual items, eBay sells sets,” Sabo says. “They have to package and ship everything, too. They work hard.”
Book Den offers opportunities for young people looking to fulfill community service hours and disabled adults seeking work experience. And it’s perfect for retired people.
“When you retire, the most important thing you can do is volunteer,” Whiteley says. She gives time to the Friends committee to advocate for Proposition E, renewal of the parcel tax that covers 24% of the library budget, on the November ballot.
“It keeps you out among other people and it keeps your mind sharp. It gives you something to look forward to and a way to know you’re making a difference, no matter what you’re doing as a volunteer. It gives your life a lot more meaning.”
JL JL
By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Profile
“This is a labor of love and something I thoroughly enjoy,” says Whiteley, who joined the team after retiring around the same time as Sabo. “We have the best customers, and the other volunteers are amazing. They’re here because they enjoy it.”
Book Den volunteers do multiple tasks. Some take in donations on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9
Book Den hosts a twice-yearly antiquarian sale for serious collectors, seeded almost entirely by Dr. Joanne Murphy, a former ER doctor who collects ephemera, such as a vintage dissecting kit—complete with dead frog—a Playboy magazine in Braille and rare books, like a copy of Dante’s “Paradise” that sold for $800 last fall. The sale helped the store reach $300,000 gross in 2023.
Successful sales mean Book Den can donate to dozens of local schools, organizations and outreach programs, including the library’s summer reading program and Book First, which provides high-need first graders with their first book.
Book Den is at 8250 Belvedere Ave., Suite E. For information, visit saclibfriends.org/book-den.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Diane Sabo and Pam Whiteley
Photo by Linda Smolek
Disney theme parks introduced a new ride this year to replace the old Splash Mountain. The attraction—Tiana’s Bayou Adventure— opened in Florida and debuts in Anaheim this winter.
For me, the updated ride can never match the magic I felt on my first visit to Disneyland decades ago. I arrived with my church youth group, led by our volunteer leader, James Newman, known as JE.
As we waited for opening gates, JE suggested we voice a prayer of thanks. His prayer went something like this:
“Dear God, thank you for safe travel today and our wonderful youth group. But most of all thank you for putting Disneyland here just for us! Amen.”
Riding High
DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE LEAVES A DEEP IMPRESSION
By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters
Before any of us had time to blink, the other youth sponsor, Mrs. Obenshain, blurted her astonishment.
“JE! Why would you say that? God didn’t make Disneyland. Mr. Disney did.”
Knowing JE, we knew to expect a well-thought answer. JE was a Ford auto mechanic who had some practical ideas about God. He didn’t claim to know how this universe worked, but he could explain other realities.
“Sure he did!” JE insisted. “God created Mr. Disney’s mind, right?”
“Well, yes, but JE, honestly,” declared Mrs. O. “You can’t really conclude that ...”
JE was undeterred. “If God made Mr. Disney’s mind, then God must have created the picture of Disneyland in his mind long before Mr. Disney could draw it, right?”
“But JE…” Mrs. O was wavering.
“Look,” JE said in his Oklahoma twang. “Don’t the Bible say, ‘All good things come from God?’”
Mrs. O was slack-jawed. JE continued, “And ain’t Disneyland a good thing?”
Deterred by logic too simple to be wrong, Mrs. O simply muttered something like, “Well, I guess so.”
I remember JE’s theology because I’ve heard it from many patients over the years. They spoke with assurance that God made a certain hospital just for them. Or they believed God placed a certain doctor or medicine to specifically help them.
A father told me how a surgeon was going to reach into the center of his 2-year-old daughter’s brain and pull out a tumor.
The dad’s theology: “God put this surgeon here for my daughter.”
His declaration, like JE’s, sounded more self-centered than God-centered. Or maybe not.
What I found astounding about both men was how they relied on an innate understanding of the works of God. Neither had graduated from a theological or philosophical school. Yet they identified “goodness” as one of the most important attributes of God.
The dad didn’t need to be a philosopher to acknowledge his good fortune at finding a talented surgeon. JE didn’t have to be a Bible professor
to recognize that Disneyland might provide one of many tools he could use to mentor and instruct our youth group in God’s ways.
We often search far and wide to understand God. We read so much and attend every sort of lecture. Yet I believe most of the time God manifests his goodness in those people and things he puts directly in our paths.
In the end, Mrs. O couldn’t refute JE’s theology.
Finally, she mumbled, “Do you have our tickets, JE?”
Her request signaled the end of the theological debate, and we rushed to get in line. Like JE, we all knew goodness when we saw it.
Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. Burkes is available for public speaking at civic organizations, places of worship, veterans groups and more. For details and fees, visit thechaplain.net. n
Cider Rules
TWO RIVERS PUTS LOCAL HARVEST INTO ITS DRINKS
The local climate produces visionary farm-to-table approaches. You can find a fine example at Two Rivers Cider Co., where the region’s apples, pomegranates, mandarins, yuzus, kumquats, cherries, melons and huckleberries create diverse cider offerings.
Founded in 1996 by Vincent Sterne, Two Rivers in Hollywood Park helped pioneer the cider revolution. As people became more aware of food allergies, cider—gluten-free and with a real fruit base—became the alcoholic beverage of choice for many.
Sterne developed Two Rivers after working at Rubicon Brewing Company. He wanted to start a business in the fermentation industry but wasn’t sure which approach worked best.
After studying winemaking, he recognized the connections with cider making. Sterne decided to focus on cider. He introduced several original and exciting fruit pairings under the Two Rivers brand.
He traveled to England, Spain and France, and studied cider production. With his knowledge of cider, Sterne became a founding member of the American Cider Association, now 6,000 strong.
He marketed and sold Two Rivers ciders to local breweries around Sacramento and the Bay Area. Most sales came from brew pub taps.
The pandemic closed 90% of these accounts. Two Rivers shifted strategies and started selling cider in cans.
Today many supermarkets and beverage stores around Norther California carry Two Rivers cans.
With easy access to orchards around Apple Hill, along with abundant local fruits, Two Rivers has one of the widest selections of cider varieties.
When asked about his favorite Two Rivers ciders, Sterne says he’s “fond of the single varietals, especially the Black Twig and Macintosh apple varieties when I can get them. Another one of my favorites is our Bone Dry. Just apples, fermented.”
My Two Rivers favorites are pomegranate, huckleberry and yuzu.
By Gabrielle Myers
Kiezel
Photography by Aniko
Farm To Fork
Vincent Sterne
All feature healthy local fruit juices in a dry cider, never too sweet.
From my perspective, poor cider is oversaturated with artificial sugars. Compared to mass-produced commercial brands, artisanal cider is dry, not too sweet and made from real fruit juice.
Two Rivers doesn’t add extra sugar. Nor does Sterne add artificial flavors. There are no chemicals in the brewing process. Steam sanitizes and cleans the production area.
Sterne often rides his bike to sales calls, tries to recycle as much as possible and uses biodiesel in his delivery trucks when the fuel is available. Apple pumice, a byproduct from apple pressing, is fed to animals by Sterne’s apple suppliers.
What’s next for this pioneer in the orchard-to-can (or tap) movement?
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Sterne is developing a local sake product.
He says, “We will be doing the same thing with sake that we do with our cider. Sake is exciting, and we will use local rice in the sake. The only byproduct is something called sake kasu, which can be used to make drinks and to marinate fish or food. Kasu can be resold to the Asian market.”
Highlighting the region’s abundant rice production, Sterne’s sake label will celebrate his approach of capturing the local bounty.
Ever the inventor and curator of good times, most nights the Two Rivers taproom presents acoustic jazz, ukulele lessons, line and samba dancing, and open mike events.
For information, visit tworiverscider. com. Visit the taproom at 4311 Attawa Ave.
Cecily Hastings Publisher
Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Break Self: Feed,” is available for $20.99 from fishinglinepress.com. Previous
columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Split Personality
CITY NEVER BETTER, NEVER WORSE, STILL INSECURE
Iknow a guy who knows more about Sacramento than anyone. Spent his life here. Sees things, talks to people, thinks deeply about what he observes.
That’s why I thought it was significant when he told me the town was never better than right now.
I knew what he meant. He wasn’t talking about new pavement on Interstate 5 that replaced shattered chunks of concrete between Meadowview and Sutterville on-ramps. Or a casino in Elk Grove.
RGBy R.E. Graswich City Beat
He meant the evolution of city life, delights that come from extraordinary meals in unexpected places, butternut squash at Canon on 34th Street, cannellini beans and roasted branzino at Hook & Ladder on S Street.
He meant the Midtown Farmers Market and new apartments and condos in former warehouses along R Street. He meant a city where people savor life and thrive.
My friend made his comments while we drank beer at Ice Blocks. Earlier that day, I walked from the train station to Downtown Commons. I wandered south to Q Street, then north to the Capitol. The journey left me more depressed than weary.
It was a sunny weekday morning. Streets were deserted. I saw security guards and homeless people. Nobody else.
At the base of the Sacramento Valley Station sign at Fifth and I streets, I watched a man sit amid trash and use a plastic spoon to scoop something from a paper cup.
This must be what social scientists talk about when they discuss doom loops. Sacramento has never been better. Downtown feels like it’s never been worse.
The pandemic sent 70,000 local public employees home. Don’t count on them all coming back.
Eight years of incompetent management by Mayor Darrell Steinberg and City Council let the homeless population explode from 2,700 to 10,000. Don’t count on homeless camps disappearing.
A mayoral election is a good time to consider the contradictions. It makes no sense that a perceptive observer finds the city better than ever while Downtown streets are abandoned on nice weekday mornings.
But it makes sense when you realize why some cities rejuvenate and others languish. Sacramento always struggled, long before COVID-19 and the scourge of homelessness.
One reason is insecurity.
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
Neighborhoods thrive when an equilibrium exists between residents, jobs and services. People are happy and content when they live near their workplace and commute on foot or bicycle or brief, convenient public transit rides.
Insecurities fade when residents gain economic power and find good places to spend money and time. They don’t worry about how provincial they might appear to friends in San Francisco or Los Angeles or San Diego. Secure people don’t compete.
Sacramento always had an inferiority complex. Government town. Boring. Nice place to raise kids. Near top destinations. Dull, but better than Fresno.
The city is relatively small. Its legacies and entrepreneurial wealth swirl around a hundred or so families. State workers don’t build creative communities. Talented youngsters— Joan Didion to Greta Gerwig—grab the first plane out.
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Sacramento spent decades trying to distinguish itself. But nobody cares about steam engines. Old Sac evolved as a middle-class tourist stop. Ag history devolved into a marketing slogan. Farm to fork was adopted and monetized by other cities. The pandemic changed everything. People realized San Francisco and Los Angeles were messy, crowded and overpriced. Sacramento had charm. Easy to love. The town’s moment arrived, especially Midtown. Developers created smart new living spaces. Terrific restaurants opened. When my friend was a teenager, the hottest place in town was Zorba’s at 12th and K. The owner was Nick Galaxidas. He drew crowds by dancing with a table in his mouth. Drove a Ben Hur chariot pulled by Arabian horses. Confident cities savor cannellini beans and roasted branzino. They don’t chase a Ben Hur chariot down K Street.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
NO Dope
CHEATERS TRY EVERYTHING, BUT THE DOCTOR KNEW BEST
There was a time when writing about sports meant more than watching games on TV and holding up iPhones at press conferences. Old sportswriters like me sometimes got to hang around with people they wrote about.
My top three hang outs were Jesse Owens, Bill Russell, Willie Mays and Mario Andretti. No introductions needed.
But there was another sports figure who made a big impression. His name was Dr. Donald H. Catlin. The doctor taught me lots about sports and the drive to win at any cost.
Catlin was a plainspoken physician who understood the terrible choices athletes make to win. Many are prepared to destroy themselves. Catlin spent his career trying to prevent these suicidal motivations.
Catlin died this year with dementia at 85. The arrival of the Paris Olympics
made me think about his work. I wish he were around to help the Summer Games advance with fair play and sanity. Without him, the Olympics are in trouble.
Today we have the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global authority in testing.
The agency’s negligence helped Chinese swimmers cheat at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Eleven of those swimmers are in Paris.
I got to know Catlin in the 1980s, when his UCLA lab became the world’s barrier against performance-enhancement drugs.
The lab tested athletes at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Records are imprecise, but Catlin disqualified between nine and 18 Olympians. The Soviet Union boycotted L.A., no doubt lowering the numbers.
Catlin’s main targets were anabolic steroids. Eventually, the cheater’s pharmacy included compounds harder to detect and sophisticated in their impact.
I met Catlin several times. There was a brief interview at an NCAA convention in San Diego. Next came an invitation to his UCLA testing lab. He journeyed to Sacramento for several speeches.
By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority
One evening found the doctor at The Ram restaurant on Watt Avenue, where he addressed the Sacramento Section of the American Chemical Society.
At his UCLA lab, Catlin described the eternal nature of his pursuit. He said, “They’re always coming up with ways to mask performance-enhancing substances to fool the test. But we stay one step ahead.”
Before meeting Catlin, I didn’t think much about the problem of athletes using chemicals to improve strength, speed and endurance. Drugs and sports were best friends.
Baseball players went to work drunk in the early 20th century. Football players in the 1960s swallowed handfuls of painkillers. Visit many pro locker rooms in the 1970s and find cigarette butts and empty beer cans.
Catlin explained the distinction between old-school narcotics, booze and steroids. Playing drunk is dangerous. Steroids and various performance enhancements destroy athletic integrity. They force everybody to cheat.
He told me, “If the person you compete against takes enhancement drugs, you’ve got a choice to make. Either you start taking similar drugs, or you lose your job. You can’t compete against it.”
He was talking about high school kids but could have meant athletes in Paris going against Chinese swimmers. Beyond disrupting fair play, drugs impose serious
health consequences. Catlin’s tests helped guarantee clean, honest games.
Then and now, coaches were a problem. Coaches play dumb, but they know when athletes use performance enhancements. Muscles, speed and attitude change in telltale ways. Catlin exposed what coaches try to hide.
Around the time I met Catlin, my newspaper published a series of stories on the scourge of drugs in local sports.
We talked to Dave Hotell, football coach at Sacramento High School. Like many coaches who began careers in the 1950s, Hotell was more worried about whiskey and cannabis than steroids.
When he confronted suspected teenage drug users, Hotell struggled to believe his athletes needed any more stimulation than pure competition.
He said, “If they admit to being on something, I thank them for being man enough to admit it and then clean out their locker. I just don’t understand it. I get 30-feet high when they’re playing the national anthem.”
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Dr. Donald H. Catlin is pictured in 2001. Photo by Damian Dovarganes/AP
In Sync
THEY WANTED TO CREATE TOGETHER, AND THEY DID
Like many couples who meet, marry and combine households in middle age, Elaine Lintecum and Anthony Herrera wanted a new home unique to them.
Lintecum, retired CFO of McClatchy Corporation, and Herrera, a retired state manager, took the challenge and made decisions together.
As a single woman, Lintecum purchased and remodeled a McKinley Park Tudor. Herrera lived in South Natomas. Together, they decided they wanted a one-story house for Herrera’s two dachshunds. Stairs are not a good
idea for the sleek low-to-the-ground breed.
They also wanted a home where they could age in place.
The couple toured properties and, in 2006, discovered something unique, a home at 46th and M streets different from other stately homes in the Fab Forties. It was a mid-century modern from 1959, set among large Tudors and Spanish-style designs.
While modern outside, the home’s former owner decorated in a traditional style with ornate brass chandeliers and decorative touches not consistent with the design roots. To the couple, it presented a design disconnect.
By Cecily Hastings
Aniko Kiezel
“The home once had a room and bath for a nanny near the garage, but we used that space to expand the kitchen and create a small home office,” Lintecum says. “We followed this game plan of reconfiguring spaces as we worked over the years on a series of remodeling projects.”
Photography by
Open House
Anthony Herrera and Elaine Lintecum
They worked within the original 3,200-square-foot size with three bedrooms and baths. The house is U-shaped around a pool and covered patio. Situated on a corner, an attached garage opens onto the street.
“Anthony has a huge family and grandchildren, and we wanted to be able to have them visit and be comfortable,” Lintecum says. “Plus, we are often the family’s home for the holidays.
“From a design viewpoint, we both agreed to take the home back to its mid-century roots. But we also appreciate artisan touches and a more eclectic design approach.”
They took their time to remodel. The 2007 recession affected both careers. By 2010, they started a series of home projects, keeping in mind their design direction.
First, they added the pool, patio and new landscaping for the backyard. “It improved the view from every room as they all open up to the backyard with glass doors,” Herrera says.
The kitchen features mahogany custom cabinets, stainless-steel appliances and a sandstone pattern tile backsplash. A huge island defines the room and the entire end of the living area. Leather counter stools provide
island seating. Contemporary glass pendants light the island’s quartzite counter.
Local sculptor Marc Foster created custom design details. “We hired him to create a custom TV cabinet,” Lintecum says. “But we liked it so much we hired him to create custom cabinets for the bathroom renovations and other projects.”
In 2016, they renovated the exterior, adding a lovely front patio surrounded by an open wood fence with horizontal slats. New landscaping by Change of Seasons complements the mid-century design.
“My favorite room is the master bath, one of our last projects,” Lintecum says. “We positioned the soaking tub inside corner windows overlooking the pool, fountain and backyard. It’s makes for a wonderfully serene bathing experience.”
For Herrera, the home’s generous size is important. “When the pandemic forced us to work at home, I really appreciated that we had enough room
to be comfortable and were not on top of each other’s business.”
Together, Lintecum and Herrera are proud to accomplish their mission: create a home that perfectly reflects them as a couple.
To recommend a home or garden, contact cecily@insidepublications. com. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Neighborhood Real Estate Sales
95815
AVE $420,000
TROON WAY $425,000
DARNEL WAY $430,000
HOGAN DR $430,000
WACKER WAY $440,000 7381 TILDEN WAY $450,000
95819
95816
95821
95817
95818
ARDMORE RD
3088 YELLOWSTONE LN
3920 LORETO WAY $495,000 3501 ARDMORE RD $515,000 4416 ELIZABETH AVE $520,000 2810 WALTON WAY $550,000 2641 MARYAL DR $585,000
4510 PASADENA AVE $649,000
3953 MILMAR WAY $725,000 4601 VANDER WAY $735,000
95822
2000 KIRK WAY $285,000
5881 GLORIA DR #8
95825
989 FULTON AVE #479 $200,000 2460 LARKSPUR LN #339 $225,000 706 WOODSIDE LN #10 $240,000 792 WOODSIDE LANE EAST #9
$275,000
2237 WOODSIDE LN #5 $278,000
VIA GRANDE $295,000
VIA GRANDE $303,050
ALTA GARDEN LN $329,000
VIA GRANDE $335,000
SIERRA BLVD #E $350,000 3247 VIA GRANDE $350,000 2105 CORTEZ LN $405,000 1604 CLINTON RD $430,000
95831
Path of Destruction
ARMY CORPS PROJECT PUTS WESTERN POND TURTLE AT RISK
The slightest noise—heavy footstep, rustling branch, loud whisper—will send the northwestern pond turtle off a sunlit log and into his safe place, the cool waters of the American River.
He’s a shy creature. The booming sounds of heavy machinery tearing up his riparian habitat will not bode well for him.
Next summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin another phase of its erosion-control project along the lower American River from the Howe Avenue bridge to east of Watt Avenue.
Trucks, tractors and excavators will bulldoze through the wild and scenic parkway landscape.
Just in time for northwestern pond turtle nesting season.
The turtles mate throughout spring and summer. Females lay eggs on land, sometimes as far as 500 feet from water. They pack soil and vegetation over the eggs, making nests almost impossible to detect.
“If construction begins, the turtles’ dirt-covered nests will be in the path of destruction,” says Dr. Michelle Stevens, professor of environmental studies at Sacramento State University.
The hatchlings remain in their terrestrial nests over winter. When they emerge in spring, they are the size of a quarter. Their shell is soft. “Those hatchlings are trying to make their way to the water. So that’s also a risky time for them,” says Sac State grad student and senior research assistant Lexi von Ehrenkrook.
Stevens and von Ehrenkrook’s comment letter to the Army Corps notes hatchlings are sensitive to disturbances. They are at risk of falling into construction excavations and being crushed by equipment.
The Army Corps reports, “Unfortunately, wildlife is often displaced as a result of vegetation removal in advance of construction activities.” The Corps says those activities are timed for fall and early winter, “typically the non-breeding season, when the level of impact/ displacement to wildlife would be minimal.”
a restoration project at Bushy Lake, habitat to hundreds of turtles on the American River near Cal Expo. “If the turtles are in a state of dormancy, any in the riverbanks or river’s edge would be squashed.”
To avoid conflicts with heavy equipment, the comment letter recommends an on-site monitor during construction, and stopping work during turtle brumation and nesting.
Steven’s team recommends fencing around the construction area for a year to keep turtles out and prevent nesting.
Does the Army Corps have plans for fencing? “Oh, heck no,” Stevens says.
Last month, Stevens and her team began nest surveys to determine how many northwestern pond turtles will be affected by the erosion-control work.
“You need to know the site and know how different species are using the area,” von Ehrenkrook says. “If there is an important site they return to and that’s suddenly gone, what are they going to do? Having information and surveying is critical.”
footprint.” It says the displacement will be temporary.
“We have such a truncated, fragmented corridor for wildlife habitat anyway,” Stevens says. “It’s been disturbed and destroyed by wildfire, homeless encampments. We have so little left.
“Where do they think they’ll go?”
To mitigate the impact, the Army Corps reports “two to three times the amount of habitat will be replaced and protected.”
“How can they possibly say that?”
Stevens asks. “Are they going to use a magic wand and take out all the houses? The animals are just going to move up and down the river? I think not.”
For now, the turtles’ fate is in the hands of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last September, the federal agency proposed listing the northwestern pond turtle and southwestern pond turtle as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies
Fall through winter is when the adult turtle metabolism slows (called brumation). They burrow in mud, close to water’s edge, making the reptile difficult to detect.
“Turtles are cold-blooded animals,” says Professor Stevens, who heads up
Stevens calls the Army Corps’ Environmental Impact Report convoluted, confusing and difficult to analyze. “It was remiss in its investigation and consideration of the impact on wildlife, and in particular the turtles.”
The Army Corps says wildlife will “move to adjacent habitats upstream and downstream of the construction
The Fish and Wildlife Service cites habitat loss and fragmentation, drought and predation by invasive species. The turtles have an “increased risk of extinction.”
An endangered listing would provide immediate protection for the turtles. Conservation efforts include enhancing, protecting and restoring pond turtle
Northwestern pond turtle on the American River Parkway.
Photo by George Nyberg
Who Loves Their Garage Door Guy?
We got back from a trip around 5pm on Monday and discovered the coils on the rail had broken and we could not open our garage door. We called and spoke to Russ. He was able to come over and do an after hours service call. He xed the coils and completed all repairs in less than an hour. We found their prices reasonable and they provided excellent customer service. He was very thorough and helpful. I had a great experience.
- Ana K. on
habitat—the opposite of the Army Corps’ erosion-control plan.
Under the ESA, actions by federal agencies—such as the Army Corps of Engineers—cannot impair essential behavior patterns, including breeding, feeding and sheltering.
Status of listing the western pond turtle as threatened is pending. “It’s a lengthy process. But if they do get listed, it’s going to be a game changer,” Stevens says.
“Food, water and shelter for northwestern pond turtles and southwestern pond turtles are becoming scarce across the western United States,” says Paul Souza, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Southwest Region.
Souza says, “We need everyone’s support to help them thrive in the wild.”
Did Fish and Wildlife forget to tell the Army Corps?
Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@surewest.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Door Center Sacramento is owned and operated by local expert Russ Fuller. Why go to a big box store when you can receive superior service from someone with decades of experience? Russ will not only walk you through your options, he is also the one that puts on the tool belt to get the job done right. He treats his customers like family.
EFrom The Ground Up
SALVATION ARMY GARDEN HELPS RESIDENTS GROW CONFIDENCE
always took time to maintain his home garden in Mariemont. His tomato plants are prolific. He brings large batches of fruit to the emergency shelter.
In 2018, Wirz started in The Salvation Army garden by planting vegetables, including tomatoes, potatoes, squash, green beans, sweet peppers and cucumbers. Residents were encouraged to help plant the seeds, water the plants and share in the bounty come harvest time.
“The garden beautifies the area and teaches residents a valuable skill,” Wirz says. “I am convinced that many of those we serve in The Salvation Army can benefit from having their own garden. In Sacramento, we are blessed with ample water, good soil and great climate. We can grow anything.”
bouquets of flowers from the garden to spruce up the office. “Thanks to Henry and his continuous dedication to our program, our landscaping is always so beautiful.”
Wirz does it for more than just beauty. The service gives him an invaluable perspective.
“I love having the opportunity to speak directly to the people we’re serving. It’s important to hear their voices,” Wirz says. “It enhances my understanding of what we’re trying to do, how successful we’re being. You can donate and volunteer all you want, but if you’re not interfacing with the people you’re trying to benefit, you’re not getting the information you need and the encouragement and motivation to continue doing it by seeing you’re actually doing some good.”
verybody talks about having a green thumb, as though that implies it takes something special to make things grow,” Henry Wirz says. “Anyone can have a green thumb. A garden is not that difficult if you do the basics. And once you start, you develop a lot of confidence.”
Wirz uses his green thumbs to beautify the garden and help residents
J L JL
By Jessica Laskey
Meet Your Neighbor
at The Salvation Army’s E. Claire Raley Transitional Living Center. It’s a place where struggling families get back on their feet through structured programs and safe housing.
Wirz joined The Salvation Army Advisory Board in 2014 after receiving the organization’s Spirit of Caring Award for community outreach as the longtime CEO of SAFE Credit Union.
When the Army’s Major Martin Ross heard Wirz was a gardening whiz, he asked the former board chair if he would consider taking over the center’s garden, which had gone fallow.
It didn’t take much to convince Wirz, who earned his bachelor’s degree in botany at UC Davis. He planned on pursuing a master’s in environmental horticulture before a mentor suggested he look into an MBA.
Throughout his career in finance— including 32 years as the head of one of the country’s top credit unions—Wirz
Wirz expanded the garden to include fruit trees and ornamental plants, such as Dortmund roses, mostly from clippings taken from his yard. He reinforced the fencing and became the center’s de facto landscape manager. He prunes, mows, waters and weeds multiple times a week.
“The E. Claire Raley Transitional Living Program has been so fortunate to have Henry contribute his time to the garden,” says program supervisor Samara Brown, who regularly takes
He adds, “Here, we have the opportunity to turn people around, make them independent again, give them a better life. If they have a better life, that’s better for all of us.”
For information, visit sacramento. salvationarmy.org.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
I LOVE HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE WE’RE SERVING. IT’S IMPORTANT TO HEAR THEIR VOICES.
Henry Wirz
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
CROSSWORD
whose letters appear in “exterminate”
66 Turndowns
67 Cry from Homer Simpson
68 Device for texts but not calls
69 Defib expert DOWN
1 Payment option 2 Vegas casino with an operatic name
3 Amish or Quakers
4 “That’s hilarious!”
5 Appliances at some bakeries
6 When signaled 7 Loyal Japanese dog
8 Plums that flavor gin 9 Boy toys? 10 It’ll get a few laughs 11 Animated character 12 Like a bad genius 13 “And ___ more” (birthday song addition)
24 Before now 25 Feel unwell
26 Island country northeast of Australia
27 Was wrong
28 Frame for a pane 30 “Don’t be so chicken!”
31 Spots to hang Christmas lights
32 Finn’s neighbor
35 ___ Romeo (Italian car)
36 Gravy thickener
37 Mean giant 40 Drive-in burger chain
42 Gave in
47 Listing agent’s client
48 Fla.’s “Sunshine City”
51 Computer command after cut
53 Less typical
54 “Attack” on the fridge
55 Voice above tenor
56 Without a doubt
57 Footnote abbr.
58 Dorm division
59 Remove from power
62 Ultimate fighting sport, for short PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
Mitch Weathers saw his multi-language students struggle in school and asked himself one question: What helps students be successful?
Thus began a quest to identify the most significant impacts on academic achievement and success.
The result is Organized Binder, a program that helps teachers create predictability as they help students develop executive function skills.
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By Jessica Laskey
Meet
Your Neighbor
“If you go class to class and each has wildly different procedures and you’re a multi-language student, that’s a huge cognitive load and mental calories you’re expending just getting through the school day,” Weathers says.
“The short-term memory is finite. The more you tax it, the less available it is to focus on learning. But if you adopt a routine, you can free up mental calories.”
Appropriately, Organized Binder uses a binder as the central tool.
“I firmly believe students need to see (organization) modeled. Time and task management, how to keep a calendar, how to keep yourself organized, set goals,” Weather says. “The binder brings clarity to executive functioning within the context of what they’re trying to learn.
“There’s something about that physical color-coded binder,” he continues. “If you hold students
Get
Organized
EDUCATOR OUTLINES KEYS TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS
accountable organizationally and they can participate in the routine, then you’re laying the foundation for success. It all comes back to that binder as a way to make it far more likely you’ll develop the skills and habits for academic success and the empowerment that comes with that over time.”
Weathers admits school was never a strong point for him, which is why he finds empathy with struggling students.
He graduated from Del Campo High School and studied geology in college, assuming he would become a high school science teacher. After getting married and running a nonprofit for at-risk kids, he realized he needed time to figure out his path. He and his wife traveled Europe by rail until they ran out of money.
The time away allowed Weathers to figure out he wanted to work in classrooms. He earned his teaching credential and master’s degree in cross-cultural pedagogy while working as a long-term substitute teacher.
He and his wife spent 15 years in the Bay Area until family called them back to East Sacramento 10 years ago. By then, Organized Binder was taking shape. Weathers tested different binder configurations on students to see what worked best.
“It started to coalesce around routine,” he says. “There can be gray areas of undefined time in lesson plans. Some students can ride through that, but for others, they feel lost
with too much ambiguity. Classroom management issues breed there.
“I needed to figure out how to paint these gray areas black and white to reduce ambiguity and bring about clarity. Then engagement goes up and management issues go down.”
Organized Binder has spread across the globe. There’s a Spanish program for the U.S. and Guatemala. The company is launching a French pilot in Ontario, Canada.
In March, Weathers published a companion book, “Executive Functions for Every Classroom.” His timing was impeccable. Parents and educators saw students struggle with self-regulation and motivation coming out of the pandemic. The book addresses these issues in a relevant, practical way. The book hit No. 1 on Amazon its second week.
“Regardless of what continent you were on, the pandemic paused life and interrupted learning,” Weathers says. “It was a reminder that what we do as teachers matters. We were collectively seeing that we needed to focus on executive function skills, and the book answers how to do that. Schools in China are contacting me to say, ‘We’re all reading your book!’ It’s a weird little vehicle for this universal message.”
For information, visit organizedbinder.com.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Mitch Weathers
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
1. Cindy
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READERS NEAR & FAR
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Take a picture with Inside and email a high-resolution copy to travel@insidepublications.com or submit directly from our website at InsideSacramento. com. Due to volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee all photos will be printed or posted. Find us on Facebook and Instagram: InsideSacramento.
Colinge at the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces in Bali, Indonesia.
Christine Fitzpatrick and Camille Horton in Havana, Cuba.
Beatrice, Hanspeter and Henning Walter-Pickens at The Ledge on the 104th floor of the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago.
Maya and Anne Kitt at the Christmas Market in the Riverside District of Savannah, Georgia.
Lauri Massey, Diane Thomas and Lynn Liptak in Oklahoma City for the Senior Marathon. The sisters are in their 70s.
Lily, Zach, Mari and Gigi Turpen at the azulejos-tiled train station dating back to 1864 in Aveiro, Portugal.
NEVER LET RIPE LOCAL PRODUCE GO TO WASTE
BGetting Fresh Fresh
asil summons memories of Biba Caggiano, the late Sacramento restaurateur, author and TV personality.
Once my basil plants demand a leaf harvest, I revisit Biba’s pesto recipe.
On page 159 of her cookbook “Northern Italian Cooking” is Biba’s pesto sauce recipe. My book page is yellowing and stained with extra virgin olive oil drippings from decades of use.
The recipe barely fills a third of the page, but always exceeds my pesto needs throughout the summer and all winter in my freezer.
Just heed Biba’s wisdom, “If you plan to freeze the sauce, add the cheese after the sauce has thawed.”
Pesto (basically basil, garlic, cheese, olive oil and pine nuts), is merely one of many delicious treats from local summer gardens. A cantaloupe right off the vine, an ear of grilled sweet corn,
a bite of ripe peach and our incredible tomatoes are reasons enough to live, garden and eat here.
I enjoy fresh produce every summer. Those who don’t grow their own can support local farmers markets. We’re a farm-to-fork city, but often you don’t need a fork. Farm-to-fingers works fine. Pick it. Eat it. Repeat.
My burden is feeling fresh produce must not go to waste. It’s valuable and delicious and must never be allowed to expire like a quart of milk. Vacations and lapses in harvest and maintenance are a challenge, especially for prolific edibles such as zucchini.
My garden’s first zucchini was diced, sauteed and used with other vegetables in a 12-egg breakfast bake. I enjoy cooking and am always searching for new ways to use summer produce.
Zucchini can quickly fill a vegetable bin. Zucchini boats will empty the bin and fill your stomach.
Slice zucchini lengthwise, scrape out the middle to create a cavity, fill with any variety of tasty ingredients (cheeses, veggies, eggs, sausage, etc.), and bake or grill. Before cooking, brush zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
By Dan Vierria Garden Jabber
Zoodles, or noodles made from zucchini, are another option. For dessert there is the classic zucchini
bread or even better—chocolate zucchini bread. My friend Kathy Morrison makes a world-class version of chocolate zucchini bread. The recipe is on her Sacramento Digs Gardening blog site (sacdigsgardening. californialocal.com).
The season’s first garden tomato is a celebratory moment, screaming success and hinting at a bountiful harvest in coming days. Mine appeared just shy of Memorial Day, an Early Girl hybrid tomato about the size of a golf ball.
I surgically carved four slices and arranged them atop a hamburger patty. If you are a Tomato Head, you are nodding approval.
That first tomato of the year is a holiday for gardeners. It also marks tomato sandwich season.
In the South, the traditional tomato sandwich is simply cheap white bread, mayonnaise and slices of ripe tomato seasoned with salt and pepper. The bread is soon soaked through and soggy from juicy tomatoes. Best enjoyed leaning over the sink.
On the West Coast and inland regions like Sacramento, the tomato sandwich can be many variations. I have used toasted garlic nan, sourdough and whole grain bread. Toasted bread limits the soggy mess, but ripe tomatoes are going to drip.
Instead of mayo on both sides, some of Biba’s pesto adds a flavor bomb.
Stack slabs of tomato as high as you can handle for a tomato sandwich. A triple layer of tomatoes just adds more nutritious goodness to the diet.
Garden tomatoes are not just for sandwiches. Gazpacho, bruschetta, salads, soups, salsas, sauces, tasty BLTs are among dishes that come from summer produce.
Send me your favorites!
Attend Harvest Day 2024, Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center (behind Fair Oaks Park). The annual event offers vendors, speakers, demonstration gardens, educational tables, food trucks and other attractions for Sacramento gardeners. Starts at 8 a.m. and wraps at 2 p.m.
Dan Vierria is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Sacramento County. He can be reached at masterg29@gmail.com. For answers to gardening questions, contact UCCE Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
CARROTS
This root vegetable is packed with beta carotene. Classically orange in color, it also comes in white, red, yellow and purple varieties. Look for tender baby carrots at the market.
To eat: For a cooling summer soup, make carrot vichyssoise.
PLUMS
This delicious stone fruit is a relative of the peach, nectarine and (surprise) almond. When dried, it’s a prune.
To eat: Eat out of hand, or slice and bake for a cobbler, pie or upside-down cake.
OKRA
This vegetable gets a bad rap for its sometimes-slimy texture. It’s a staple in Southern cuisine, particular gumbo. It’s low in calories— as long as you don’t fry it!
To eat: Grill, roast or pickle.
FIGS
Monthly
Market
A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN SEASON AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS IN AUGUST
CANTALOUPE
This melon has antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. It belongs to the cucurbit family of plants, which includes cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes.
To eat: Using cantaloupe, Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis makes an unusual and tasty dish called Spaghetti al Melone.
This Mediterranean fruit is sweet and chewy, with tiny, crunchy seeds and a smooth skin. It’s a great source of dietary fiber and potassium.
To eat: Sacramento’s now-defunct Fat Face restaurant used to serve poached figs inside a grilled brie sandwich.
GRAPEFRUIT
Pucker up: This citrus fruit is tart and tangy. It’s rich in vitamin C and the antioxidant lycopene. It comes in white, pink and red varieties.
To eat: Broil grapefruit slices until warm for a quick, healthful dessert.
Living Color
PHOTOGRAPHER CREATES FANTASTICAL WORLDS THROUGH IMAGES
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By Jessica Laskey Open Studio
Raúl Gonzo
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
Ayoung woman looks up from her TV dinner. A yellow car crashes through her blue wall. The room fills with clouds of white cotton smoke from a cherry-red TV set. The image, playful and dramatic, tells such a story that you can stare for hours and see new details.
This is one of the many wild and wonderful images from multidisciplinary artist Raúl Gonzo, a West Sacramento resident and former music video producer whose first museum exhibition, “Color Madness,” runs at Crocker Art Museum through Oct. 20.
Growing up in Southern California, then Wheatland and Yuba City, Gonzo recalls his first encounter with a camera.
“My family was very poor, but somehow my parents got three of us five kids Kodak cameras that took cassette film,” he recalls. “I shot some pictures on that and when I developed them, my dad and stepmom kept looking at mine. I thought I was in trouble! They ended up telling me they were really good, with really good composition.
“It’s funny,” he continues. “My dad always told me that I would arrange things by color and size. I always wanted things to be centered because it felt better balanced. Something about my brain said to put things in these places.”
A sense of composition serves Gonzo well in his career as a visual artist. His interest in photography led him to classes at Yuba College, then an internship at a TV news studio at age 23. Soon he landed a job teaching photography at the Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts.
Inspiration followed.
“I learned so much from and because of the students,” he says. “I felt the obligation to know things and be even better at my craft.”
He experimented with music video production. That led to signing with a production company in Los Angeles where he produced videos for The Goo Goo Dolls, Kat Von D, Jacob Collier, Kimbra and I Don’t Know How But They Found Me.
Music video success prompted Gonzo to quit teaching. But the creative itch continued.
“When I was pitching (music video) work for production, 90% of it was
rejected,” Gonzo says. “I had all these crazy ideas and I was depressed they weren’t getting used. So after seven or eight years, I decided to try and shoot them as still photographs.”
What emerged was his series “Color Madness.” Gonzo plans out a scene in sketches then builds a set, typically painting it a monochrome color to offset the model who is posed playfully and dressed in bright, often retro clothing.
With inspiration from theater dramas and old Hitchcock films, Gonzo creates images in vibrant Technicolor that examine American culture, consumerism, beauty standards and more.
“I thought I’d do a few and be done with it, but I really fell in love with it,” he says. “It’s a series, but it’s also now my brand. This is all I want to do, and I’ve done it for 10 years.”
When COVID-19 arrived, Gonzo approached the Crocker about an exhibition. Accustomed to pitching music videos, he prepared an 80-page presentation that caught the eye of Associate Director and Chief Curator Scott Shields, who passed it along
to Curator Francesca Wilmott, who worked with Gonzo to create the artist’s first exhibition.
“Color Madness” includes photos from the past decade and an installation where visitors can pose on a colorful set. Gonzo took inspiration from his 2016 installation at Art Hotel, where he loved watching visitors interact with his all-red bathroom.
“My approach to everything is you just have to go out and make yourself known,” Gonzo says. “If you don’t, nothing will ever happen. It could go horribly, but you will never regret it. It’s not about win or lose, it’s just about trying.”
“Color Madness” is at Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St., through Oct. 20. For information, visit raulgonzo.com or Instagram @raulgonzo.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
ART
TO DO
THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Moods & Memories: Steve Memering
ARTHOUSE Gallery
Aug. 9–Sept. 9
Opening Reception Saturday, Aug. 10, 5–8 p.m. 1021 R St.; arthouseonr.com
This new collection of oil paintings includes local Sacramento landscapes and other areas of the world. Resident artists open their studios to the public at Saturday reception. “
By Jessica Laskey Calendar Editor
Raúl Gonzo: Color Madness
Crocker Art Museum
Through Oct. 20
216 O St.; crockerart.org
Feast your eyes on the bold, campy and colorful photographs of the Sacramento-based photographer, with a new immersive installation of Gonzo’s technicolor dream world.
Second Saturday clayARTstudio814
Saturday, Aug. 10, 4–8 p.m. 814 Alhambra Blvd.; clayARTstudio814.com
Peruse original sculptures, wall hangings, vases, plates, kitchenware, encaustic, decorative prints and more from the studio’s 16 working artists.
Naomi Bautista
PBS KVIE Gallery
Aug. 6–Oct. 11
Artist’s Reception Thursday, Aug. 15, 5–7 p.m.
2030 W. El Camino Ave.; kvie.org/gallery
View luscious landscapes, florals and figures from the 2023 PBS KVIE Art Auction Best of Show winner.
Will Peterson and Maria Winkler
Archival Gallery
Aug. 1–31
Second Saturday Reception Aug. 10, 5–8 p.m.
3223 Folsom Blvd.; archivalgallery.com
Peterson’s exhibit “No Rewind” is a series of wall hanging and freestanding architectural sculptures. Winkler shares a new series of acrylic and watercolor landscapes in “The Grape Escape, California Vineyards.”
Norma Roos
Twisted Track Gallery
Aug. 2–Sept. 1
First Friday Reception Aug. 2, 6–9 p.m.
Second Saturday Reception Aug. 10, 5–8 p.m. 1730 12th St.; (916) 639-0436 or (916) 769-2700
Retired teacher Roos presents a new collection of abstract acrylic paintings.
BIG Art
Elk Grove Fine Arts Center
Aug. 3–29
First Saturday Reception Aug. 3, 4–7 p.m. 9683 Elk Grove Florin Road; elkgrovefineartscenter.com
This annual competition fills the walls of the main gallery with oversized landscapes, still-life and figurative paintings. In the Featured Gallery, Velma Davidson presents “The Joy of Landscapes: Color for Every Season.”
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Hansel & Gretel
Sensory Friendly Dance
Saturday, Aug. 3, 1 p.m.
The Sofia (2700 Capitol Ave.); sensoryfriendlydance.org
Tickets: $5
This 30-minute ballet choreographed by former Sac Ballet dancer Christopher Nachtrab features an ASL interpreter and inclusive theater environment for the neurodiverse community.
Tower ” by Steve Memering “Tower” Steve Memering at ARTHOUSE Gallery at ARTHOUSE Gallery.
Past Due: Tales of Daughters, Duty, and Difficult Decisions
Stories on Stage Sacramento
Friday, Aug. 9, 7 p.m.
The Auditorium at CLARA (1425 24th St.); storiesonstagesacramento.org
Tickets: $15
Hear written pieces by RoseMary Covington and Alberta Nassi about what we owe our ancestors read aloud by professional actors Jude Owens and Janis Stevens.
Mud, River, Stone
Celebration Arts
Aug. 9–Sept. 1
2727 B St.; celebrationarts.net
Tickets: $25 general, $20 seniors, $15 students
Follow an African American couple’s adventure while vacationing in Africa in this play by Lynn Nottage and directed by Nashell Lynem.
Monster Jam
Golden 1 Center
Aug. 16–18
500 David J. Stern Walk; golden1center.com
Tickets and pit passes: $28–$120
Experience adrenaline-charged fun featuring world-champion athletes and their 12,000-pound monster trucks.
Movies Off the Wall: Lady Bird
Crocker Art Museum
Thursday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m.
216 O St.; crockerart.org
Tickets: $16
Watch the last movie of the summer film series showcasing movies by Sacramento native Greta Gerwig.
Hey Day Quintet’s Tony Marvelli, Brandon Au, Joe Gilman, Tom Hannickel and Tim Metz join vocalist
Susan Skinner for selections from jazz stars like Harry James, Duke Ellington, Les Brown, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie.
COMMUNITY
Stash to Treasure Yarn Sale & Auction
Camellia City Stockinettes/Sacramento
Knitting Guild
Saturday, Aug. 24, Noon–4 p.m.
Advent Lutheran Church (5901 San Juan Ave., Citrus Heights)
Admission: free with food closet donation
Check out 45 live auction items, 100 silent auction lots and marketplace goods for sale. Proceeds go to the Guild, whose members craft items for charity.
Hack the Park Festival
Square Root Academy
Saturday, Aug. 10, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Esther’s Park (3408 3rd Ave.); htpfest.com
Bring the family to this free STEAMtastic wonderland featuring live science experiments, interactive booths, mural painting, food trucks and more.
Twilight on the Bufferlands Bufferlands
Thursday, Aug. 8, 6–9 p.m.
Sacramento Area Sewer District, Elk Grove; sacsewer.com/bufferlands
Explore Central Valley habitats at dusk for a chance to see beavers, river otters, muskrats, raccoons, owls and more. Admission is free. Advanced registration required. Email Chris Conard at conardc@sacsewer.com.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
“Lakeview”
Monster Jam at Golden 1 Center.
by Naomi Bautista at PBS KVIE Gallery.
By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider
Surf’s Up
MIDTOWN RESTAURANT FEELS LIKE A VACATION
This tastes like vacation,” my wife says as she takes the first bite. It does. Everything about Octopus Baja, the new Mexican fusion restaurant in Midtown, feels like a step away from the ordinary, a mile from the everyday.
Octopus Baja is the latest from restaurateur Ernesto Delgado. Other sites include Tequila Museo Mayahuel, Mesa Mercado in Carmichael and Sal’s Tacos in West Sacramento.
Having eaten at most of these establishments, I can say Delgado’s businesses share the same DNA: mix familiar with creative, traditional with modern, and do it with exceptional service.
Octopus Baja is a happy place. Music is happy, servers are happy, even the decor is happy. The brightness of the drinks, brightness of the dishes and brightness of the setting sun over Sutter’s Fort provides a joyous, lighthearted atmosphere.
Yes, it’s like being on vacation. Even for people not familiar with the food and culture of Baja California, Octopus Baja transports the sensibilities of our state’s southern neighbor. The food and vibe feel far removed from the streets of Midtown.
Not long ago, this small concrete block building at 28th and K streets was a Blimpie sandwich shop. (It was the only Blimpie I ever saw.) When the sandwich shop shuttered, various businesses were proposed but none took hold.
The busy corner stood idle and forlorn until March, when Delgado and crew opened Octopus Baja.
Today the corner is alive with vivid blue walls and striped umbrellas. Inside, the bar is backed by fish-scale tile in a dozen shades of blue. Murals of sea creatures, each the size of an economy car, decorate the walls.
Soft lights surrounded by Mobius strips of wicker hang over every table.
Photos by Linda Smolek
Seafood dominates the menu. The mahi-mahi aguachile is the bite to begin with and get your bearings. A punchy mix of mahi-mahi, seaweed, avocado and serrano chilies create an intense introduction to the meal.
Next, try the octopus. My rule is if the dish features in the restaurant’s name, order it. You can’t lose. This dish just reinforces the rule. Braised octopus served next to crumbled chorizo, mango and avocado purée is a winner. It’s as tender and flavorful a bite of octopus as I’ve ever enjoyed.
Dessert is no afterthought. The butter cake especially impresses. A crumbed brown butter cake features raspberry purée and mango gel topped with a dollop of pistachio ice cream. You’ll crave it.
For many travelers, nothing tastes like vacation more than an idealized cocktail. The bar focus is tropical and
indulgent. With a concentration on mezcal, tequila and rum, the bar puts out sophisticated yet fun party drinks that taste like lounging near the ocean under an umbrella with your feet in the sand. The coconut-pineapple smash is my favorite.
Octopus Baja’s sister restaurant, Octopus Peru, opened in April across from Cesar Chavez Plaza and another Delgado establishment, La Cosecha. It focuses more on Peruvian preparations with an eye toward fusion cooking.
With reasonable prices (cheaper than a flight to Cabo) and a winning feel, Octopus Baja is a one-night vacation to check out.
Octopus Baja is at 2731 K St.;
(916) 754-2172.
Greg Sabin can be reached at saceats@gmail.com. Previous reviews can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Even oafish writers knocking their heads on the hanging lamps can’t diminish the cheerfulness.
