Inside pocket dec 2014 by Inside Publications

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I N S I D E P U B L I C A T I O N S . C O M

DEC 2014

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POCKET GREENHAVEN SOUTH POCKET

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N E I G H B O R H O O D

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CRAFTMANSHIP FROM A BYGONE ERA Beautifully renovated from head to toe - The Didion House - Rich wood, ¿ne detailing and spacious rooms. Historical in in both style, heritage and culture. 4 bedrooms 2 full baths and 2 half baths with new kitchen, three Àoors, including media room, and a full basement. $1,395,000 SHEILA VAN NOY 505-5395

AMAZING REMODEL Recently remodeled 3 bedroom 2 bath home in the Didion School boundaries. New kitchen, electrical, baths, Àoors, windows, doors, paint in and out, baseboards, lighting, (includes LED lights), ceiling fans, landscaping, quartz counter top, farm house sink, designer tile Àoors and much more. $395,000 MONA GERGEN 247-9555

pending

sold

CONVENIENT ROUNDTREE Cute 2 bedroom, 1.5 baths. Tile Àoor, fresh paint, new hot water heater. Two patios. Covered spot is right in front of the back door patio. Laundry facilities are just at the side of the carport. Grounds are well maintained with a beautiful pool area. Great little starter place! Easy commute to downtown $102,000 LISA McCAULEY 601-5474

RIVER OAKS IN THE POCKET Amazing remodeled kitchen and home, mahogany Àoors throughout, stainless steel appliances, double oven, built-in fridge, granite counters, high quality custom cabinets, butler’s pantry. 4 bedrooms 3½ baths, custom bar with cabinets, sink and wine fridge. Master suite with ¿replace. $415,000 MONA GERGEN 247-9555

GREAT GREENBELT ACCESS 3 bedrooms, 2½ baths, an oversized pool/spa combo for summer fun AND RV access and storage. Lower level has a great circular Àoor plan that includes the living and dining rooms, kitchen and adjoining family room. Upper level has 3 good sized bedrooms. An extra deep garage has additional work area. $385,000 CHRIS BRIGGS 834-6483

pending

WONDERFUL S LAND PARK Sharp 3 bedroom features new roof, Àoors, granite counters and master bath remodel. Nice location close-in, with easy access to both 99 and I-5. Screened-in Florida room for relaxing with those Delta breezes. Family room / kitchen / dining area, and generous sized living room with ¿replace. $345,000 MIKE PUENTE 395-4727

sold

SHERMAN ISLAND RETREAT A special property across the road from the River on Sherman Island. Custom built … it’s the perfect home-away-from-home! Currently 1 bedroom, 1 bath; easily be converted back to a 2 bedroom home. Owner had plans to build up and create a river view. This is a kiteboarder or Windsurfers dream! $205,900 JAMIE RICH 612-4000

NEWER POCKET AREA HOME 3 bedroom 2½ bath home, perfect for busy lifestyle. Walk to restaurants, store and bank. Steps to public transportation. Close to the river and easy trip to downtown. 9 foot ceilings, low maintenance yards, CAT 5 wiring, designer tile, granite counter, tile roof, master suite with huge master bath. $299,000 MONA GERGEN 247-9555

for current home listings, please visit:

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POC DEC n 14

CLASSIC SPANISH IN LAND PARK Traditional features include hardwood Àoors, beautiful front picture window, vaulted ceilings, gas ¿replace, formal dining room, custom kitchen tile, one-of-a-kind decorative stairway, tile roof, dual pane windows and storage galore! 3 or 4 bedrooms 2 baths and drought tolerant landscaping! $575,000 KELLIE SWAYNE 206-1458

COVER ARTIST David Lobenberg Lobenberg is an international published and exhibiting watercolor artist in Sacramento. His work has been published in Plein Air Magazine, The Art of Watercolour Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine, and Pratique Des Art Magazine. Visit Lobenbergart.com

EAST SACRAMENTO

L A N D PA R K

ARDEN

POCKET

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DEC 2014

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Marybeth Bizjak mbbizjak@aol.com M.J. McFarland Cindy Fuller, Daniel Nardinelli Linda Smolek, Aniko Kiezel Michele Mazzera Jim Hastings, Daniel Nardinelli 916-443-5087 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 65,000 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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POC DEC n 14

Deputies Honored TRAGIC SHOOTINGS SHINE LIGHT ON IMMIGRATION POLICY FAILURES

BY CECILY HASTINGS

PUBLISHER’S DESK

ur region was shocked and saddened when Sacramento County Deputy Danny Oliver and Placer Deputy Michael Davis Jr. were brutally murdered on Oct. 24. Oliver, a 15-year veteran, cared deeply about the Sacramento neighborhoods he served as a problem-oriented policing deputy. It was in that community-focused role that Oliver lost his life. Authorities say he approached Marcelo Marquez and Janelle Marquez Monroy in their car at a Motel 6 parking lot near Arden Way. Marquez allegedly shot and killed Oliver with a rifle, carjacked another vehicle and later killed Davis in Auburn. A third Placer deputy was injured and a motorist gravely injured in what turned into a 30-mile crime spree. As a result, thousands of schoolchildren spent the day either in lockdown or sheltering in place, and neighborhoods were evacuated. Eventually, sheriffs from Sacramento and Placer counties somberly announced that they both had lost deputies. Davis’ father, Michael David Davis Sr., was a Riverside sheriff’s deputy

killed in the line of duty 26 years earlier to the day. No family should have to endure that amount of pain. As a law enforcement family, we are heartbroken for the family, friends and co-workers of the slain officers. Our son has been a deputy sheriff for just under two years. It was the first law enforcement death in Sacramento since he joined the force, and our emotions are still running high. The following Sunday, our Fremont Presbyterian Church held its annual Scottish-themed service called Kirkin’ of the Tartan. When the service was dedicated to the memory of the slain deputies and the bagpipe band struck up “Amazing Grace,” I lost all control of my emotions. Even as I write this, I am on the verge of tears.

As the holiday season approaches, please keep these devastated law enforcement families in your hearts and prayers. A friend of my son’s from his police academy was shot in the line of duty and later died during his recovery earlier this year. Alex attended the funeral and later said, “Mom, it was the saddest moment of my life.” An employee of ours whose husband is a Sacramento deputy brought us a blue light bulb to display

in our porch light as a memorial—just as they had done. The crime spree dramatically illustrates how dangerous police work can be and how grateful the community needs to be that men and women step up to do this job. In recent months starting with the Ferguson incident last summer, I have listened to those who criticize both law enforcement efforts and even the officers themselves. But no

doubt the thousands of citizens across two counties, terrified in their homes, schools and stores, were happy to have these brave officers protecting them from possible harm on that fated day. But there is another important part of this story. The next day, local officials announced that Marquez was in this country illegally and had been twice deported to Mexico. Yet he was PUBLISHER page 7

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Motorcycle Madness POLICE TAKE SERIOUSLY THE PROBLEM OF SPEEDING CYCLISTS

BY R.E. GRASWICH POCKET BEAT

ocket residents know the sound: a distant, mechanical whine and the snap-snapsnap shifting of gears. It builds with intensity and finally erupts, screaming at high speed a block or two from your peaceful home. You glance at the clock. It’s 9 p.m. The motorcycles are back. Greenhaven and the Pocket have always had motorcycles, at least since the Portuguese farms began to give way to meandering streets and suburban cul-de-sacs almost 50 years ago. But for decades, nobody noticed motorcycles in the Pocket. Bikes fit in, quietly. No longer. This year, something changed. Motorcyclists became relentlessly loud and obnoxious in the Pocket—especially at night. To be honest, I’ve had a motorcycle and scooter in my Pocket garage since 1991. But I’ve never rolled a bike out after dark, revved the engine and seen how fast I could go down Pocket Road or Windbridge or Rush River drives. I’ve never tried to ride with one wheel in the air. And I’ve never wanted to race anybody. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.

POC DEC n 14

Noise from motorcycles is becoming a nuisance for residents in the Pocket

Or maybe there isn’t. The phenomenon of reckless, stupid speed on a motorcycle late at night doesn’t seem to attract guys like me, older, happy and fat with a kid in college and one soon to graduate from high school. And here’s another confession: Speeding around on motorcycles has never interested me, not even when I was 18 and cruising on a new red Honda 175 with the blue ink still damp on my Class 4 motorcycle license. That was long ago. The rules I followed no longer seem to apply. The change came suddenly, like a black Kawasaki Ninja 650 with fuel

injection and six-speed transmission that wasn’t there an instant ago. For the first 22.5 years I lived in the Pocket, I didn’t hear motorcycles screaming about in the dead of night. Now I hear them—the whine, the shifting gears, the screaming engine— all the time. I thought it would be a good idea to check in with the Sacramento police department about the obnoxious new world of nocturnal motorcycles. For a moment, I worried the cops might tell me I was hearing things or overreacting to routine disturbances caused by juveniles. But that’s not what the cops told me. “We are very aware of it,” Police Lt. Jason Morgado said. “We’ve been

getting complaints about motorcycles in the Pocket for about six or seven months. We’ve deployed several enforcement strategies on swing shift and graveyard, between about 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.” The lieutenant then passed along some information that made me feel better. When I asked him about motorcycles racing in the Pocket (I would have bet money I heard races), he corrected me. As far as the police can tell, there’s no organized motorcycling racing going on in the Pocket, no underground band of two-wheel speed lunatics invading our quiet neighborhood because of the opportunities presented by wide,

straight, unobstructed stretches like Pocket Road. Instead, the noise appears to be the work of two or three idiots. “We don’t believe it’s motorcycle racing per se,” Morgado said. “After we did some investigating into the complaints, one of our officers was able to contact a certain individual who has motorcycles. The individual has some issues with his license, and we made him aware of that, and the fact that we are aware of him.” Another problem, Morgado noted, are motorcycles speeding up and down Interstate 5. The geography of the Pocket can make traffic noise from the freeway sound like it’s coming from Pocket Road. Such challenges add to the difficulties of law enforcement. “We’ve used the helicopter and several patrol teams on traffic enforcement,” the lieutenant said. “Unfortunately, it can be difficult to pinpoint the location exactly in a timely manner.” Some residents try to alert authorities about loud motorcycles by

posting alerts on Nextdoor Pocket, the social-media site where no observation, relevant or otherwise, goes unmentioned. But the cops don’t monitor Nextdoor Pocket. Talking to Morgado, I felt a little better about the motorcycle noise. I was glad to hear it wasn’t organized racing. That sort of thing is far more dangerous than one or two dumb riders. Some time ago, a firefighter told me they scrape two distinct types of motorcyclists up from the pavement: a middle-aged guy with a new Harley who thought he could navigate a tight turn after a few beers, and a 20-yearold who wrapped his screaming Ninja around a tree at midnight. “Since you’re not either one of those, you’ll be fine on your motorcycle,” he told me. Which makes me think our motorcycle problem might just take care of itself one of these cold winter nights. R.E. Graswich can be reached at reg@graswich.com n

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PUBLISHER FROM page 5 running around California with a gun after having left Utah. In an interview on national television, Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones later said Marquez was deported four times starting in 1997. He had at least 10 different encounters with law enforcement. Federal law makes returning to this country after you are deported a felony punishable with two years of prison. Yet Marquez served no time in jail ever. Lots of people all over the country have had their lives turned upside down by the federal government’s refusal to enforce immigration law in collusion with sanctuary states and cities. This includes victims of DUI and hit-and-run accidents all over our state. Gov. Brown has been a champion of rights for the undocumented. He’s allowed them a whole host of rights and responsibilities and has ordered authorities not to detain dangerous criminals.

Lots of people all over the country have had their lives turned upside down by the federal government’s refusal to enforce immigration law in collusion with sanctuary states and cities. This includes victims of DUI and hitand-run accidents all over our state.

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On the national front, President Obama will not enforce immigration

law, either. Like all the presidents before him, he has not secured our border. This failure has led to chaos, violence and death. Since President Obama was elected, deportations have increased substantially and much of the effort is focused on criminals. About 60 percent of the people deported in 2012 and 2013 had been convicted of a crime. But neither this administration nor previous ones has been able to stop many of those deported from getting back into the country. The nonprofit Migration Policy Institute reports that 1.1 million people removed from the country between 2003 and 2010 had previously been deported. But sanctuary states and cities have decided they are not going to tell the federal government that these criminals have returned. And to be realistic, Attorney General Eric Holder doesn’t want to enforce them anyway. In his national interview, Jones explained that the problem “stems from the unwillingness of both state and federal legislators to have the political courage to address this critical situation.” Jones has done a great job recruiting, hiring and training officers like Oliver who love working in their communities. Will our political leaders honor these and other fallen law enforcement officers with a change of policy? I wish I were more hopeful. It was reported that Gov. Brown attended the funerals, so maybe he will better understand the life-shattering consequences of his sanctuary policies. As the holiday season approaches, please keep these devastated law enforcement families in your hearts and prayers. And never forget the brave men and women who risk their lives to keep us safe. They rightly deserve every possible honor we can offer for the indescribable courage they offer each and every day. Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com n

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The Sound of Music KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL BAND KEEPS MARCHING ALONG

All of those nails, staples, tacks and screws used to fasten signs can cause serious injury to line workers who climb the wooden utility power poles every day. When the signs fall off or are removed, the fasteners often remain in the pole, causing line workers to get cut or injured. Nails and staples can obstruct climbing gear, which can cause workers to slip or fall as they climb. SMUD urges residents not to post signs on utility poles. The next time the urge comes over you to nail a sign to a pole, why not utilize new technology such as Nextdoor.com?

BY SHANE SINGH POCKET LIFE

e have had reports from neighbors living near Florin Road and Gloria Drive that they have been hearing the sound of lively music some weekday evenings. We caught up with John F. Kennedy High School marching band director Jeremy M. Hammond, who told us that marching band season runs from August to November, with competitions taking place in October and November. This is Hammond’s second year as band director at Kennedy. He’s been teaching band at Sam Brannan Middle School for 10 years. Kennedy’s marching band and color guard participated in five band competitions this season. Says Hammond, “The band recently participated in the Del Oro Band Spectacular in Loomis, where they placed first in the 5A division and fourth overall out of 20 bands. Our color guard took second place overall, and our drum major, Andy Vang, took third overall.”

LOCAL PIT MASTERS

The John F. Kennedy High School marching band and color guard participated in five band competitions this season

The band has 120 students. For more information, go to jfkennedyband.com

MORE PIZZA DELIVERY We have seen construction going on for a new Domino’s Pizza at the strip mall at Windbridge and Greenhaven drives. Neighbors recall the Domino’s that once operated in the same shopping center and near the Bel Air on Rush River. The takeout pizza chain is making a comeback in the Pocket. We’ll bring an update on this new business once the grand opening approaches.

POLE AXED We are fortunate in PocketGreenhaven that we have a small number of utility poles. Most of our phone, data and power lines are underground. We do have a few lines above ground in certain portions of our community. And in other parts of town, poles are everywhere—and some people think utility they can double as personal billboards. You see it daily: utility poles plastered with signs and notices for lost animals, yard sales and events. The signs and handbills are more than an eyesore. The messages present serious hazards for utility workers who climb the poles.

In August 2012, Matt and Sandie Burgess, along with Matt’s twin brother Jon and his wife Piper, opened Burgess Brothers Burgers on Sutterville Road. The business was the result of a sibling contest over who could grill a better burger. Matt is an officer with the California Highway Patrol, and Jon is with the Sacramento Fire Department. According to Matt, their best seller is the Smokehouse Burger, an Angus beef patty topped with cheese, bacon, crispy onions and the brothers’ famous patrol sauce. When asked if he is a better cook thank his twin, Matt brags, “I'm of course the better all-around cook. However, Jon is great on the grill.” Burgess Brothers has three signature sauces: BBQ, patrol and first alarm. The BBQ sauce is in the process of being bottled. Matt notes,

POCKET LIFE page 10

POC DEC n 14

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POCKET LIFE FROM page 8

we have re-entry and jobs programs for these offenders. As taxpayers, the last thing we want them to do again is reoffend. We also need to make sure there is adequate funding coming from the state to our local jurisdictions. I want to make our community as safe as possible.”

“We hope to have it available in stores sometime after the first of the year. It will definitely be sold at the restaurant prior to us selling it in the grocery stores.” Among new items on the menu, the 5150 fries are a new customer favorite. But, says, Matt, “everything on the menu is good: ribs, burgers, pulled pork, brisket and the homemade desserts: peach cobbler and sweet potato pie.” For more information, go to burgessbrothersburgers.com

The Pocket, Greenhaven and South Land Park are some of Sacramento’s nicest neighborhoods .

NEW COUNCILMEMBER On Nov. 25, Rick Jennings was sworn in to represent us at city hall. Jennings was elected to the District 7 city council seat in the June primary election. In the next three months, Jennings plans to meet with each neighborhood association to learn about neighborhood issues, concerns, history and opportunities. He will also meet with community business leaders, churches leaders and heads of local sports programs. You can follow Jennings on Twitter @rick4council or email him at rickjenningsforcitycouncil@gmail

NEW ASSEMBLYMAN Jim Cooper was elected in November to represent PocketGreenhaven in the State Assembly. He says his priorities are “creating jobs and creating a more business-friendly environment in Sacramento. We have not done enough at the state level to spur job growth in our region. We need to make it easier for businesses to do business.” In addition to jobs, Cooper believes in early-childhood education. “We need to make sure our children are reading at grade level by the time they are in third grade,” he says. “We have an obligation to our children. Universal preschool and full-day kindergarten is a step, but we must do more. I am looking forward to working with education experts to

POC DEC n 14

Stop by Burgess Brothers Burgers for a meal

Jim Cooper

find out what is working and what is not.” As a captain in the Sheriff’s Department, Cooper is keen on law enforcement issues. “We are

Rick Jennings

still dealing with the issues of realignment,” he says. “Now with the passing of Prop. 47, we will see even more offenders let out into our streets. We need to make sure that

We asked Cooper if he has a special message for residents of our community. “The Pocket, Greenhaven and South Land Park are some of Sacramento’s nicest neighborhoods,” he says. “But as you’ve seen, crime is on the rise with burglaries, home invasions and other property crimes. This is a result of several police layoffs over the past few years. With the passage of Measure U in 2012, a lot of the officers are being restored, but they are not hitting the street fast enough. Also, I am very supportive of the proposed bike trail, but at the same time we need to protect property owners’ rights. I am not a fan of eminent domain. I look forward to working with Councilmember Rick Jennings and Councilmember Steve Hansen to find out the best solution going forward.” Cooper says he plans on being very accessible to his constituents. “The best way for my constituents to contact me will be via my district office by email or phone. I will have staff that will take constituent inquires, and I will then follow up with the constituents.” Cooper also plans to hold monthly mobile-district offices. He concludes, “I am here to serve you!” Shane Singh can be reached at shane@shanesingh.com n

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Water Wise? MASSIVE WASTE REPORTED IN CITY’S METER PROGRAM

BY CRAIG POWELL INSIDE CITY HALL

t is not too often that I publicly applaud the work of a fellow journalist, but we may all end up owing a huge debt of gratitude to investigative journalist Joe Rubin for his lengthy Nov. 13 cover story in Sacramento News & Review on the apparent massive waste in the city’s program to install water meters at every Sacramento home, a project now half completed. The magnitude of the reported waste is eye-popping, amounting to several hundred million dollars of needless construction costs and several hundred million dollars more in interest costs on city utility bonds sold to finance the work. According to numerous industry experts, officials from other California cities and a former city utilities engineer interviewed by Rudin, Sacramento’s Department of Utilities is making two key, very bad decisions: It is abandoning, en masse, perfectly good cement and cast-iron water mains in folks’ backyards and tearing up city streets to install new water mains—unnecessarily—in city streets in front of homes; and it is installing water meters in city sidewalks, which requires tearing the sidewalks

POC DEC n 14

up and rebuilding them, instead of inexpensively placing the meters in homeowners’ yards. The decision to install meters in sidewalks will cost $50 million, while the decision to jackhammer up the streets and replace water mains will cost $350 million. Interest on long-term city bonds issued to pay for the work adds several hundred million more to the tab borne by city ratepayers. So just how out of whack is Sacramento’s spending on water meter installation? Well, Fresno installed an almost identical number of water meters (105,000) in just two years at a cost of $73 million—$400 million cheaper than Sacramento’s 20-year meter installation plan (not counting interest costs). Fresno left backyard water mains alone and installed water meters in homeowners’ yards, not in city sidewalks. But Rubin’s story involves more than just profoundly bad decisions by city officials. He reported on an effort by DOU staff to manipulate a supposedly independent review of the water meter project by engineering firm CH2M HILL, which initially sought to explore whether Sacramento’s water mains needed to be replaced at all. A DOU engineer responded in an email to CH2M HILL, “Justifying the mains to be replaced is our highest priority and should be the first task completed.” At the behest of Councilmember Steve Cohn, a focus group of homeowners was convened in 2005 to learn where they preferred water meters to be placed: in their yards or in their sidewalks. The then-director

of the DOU, Gary Reents, told the city council that the focus group “unanimously, overwhelmingly chose the sidewalk option.” The DOU, however, was unable to provide Rubin with a copy of the focus group’s findings. But Rubin obtained a copy of an executive summary of the findings from the city clerk’s office. It reported that the focus group favored placing meters in their yards, not in city sidewalks, once they were informed of the higher cost. Rubin also reported that one of the city contractors working on the meter project, T & S Construction, cut two gas lines in the past two years, one in Curtis Park and the other in East Sacramento, leading to home evacuations. A PG&E official said the gas line breaks were the fault of the contractor and could have led to the kind of explosion that leveled a house and damaged neighboring homes in Rancho Cordova in 2008. Astonishingly, the DOU’s current acting director, Bill Busath, was unaware of the gas line breaks and customer evacuations until Rubin informed him of the incidents. It gets worse. A senior DOU official who played a role in convincing the city council of the merits of the sidewalk plan back in 2005 was then the city’s water superintendent, Barry Holland. What became of Holland? Well, in 2008, following an FBI investigation, he was sentenced to federal prison, having pled guilty to taking kickbacks for selling used city water meters to an unscrupulous contractor, which raises the obvious next question: If he admitted to taking kickbacks for selling used water meters, might he also have

taken kickbacks from contractors to sell the city council on the higher-cost plan to install waters meters in city sidewalks? The city council is known for the blind trust it places in DOU staff, only to be shocked when scandal ensues. This is true despite a long history of recurring DOU scandals. (In 2012, an Eye on Sacramento report characterized the DOU as the city’s “reliable scandal generator.”) The city council and successive city managers have historically managed the DOU with far too light a touch, intervening only when the train goes off the tracks. It is not as if city management wasn’t warned. In its 2012 report on the city’s water and sewer infrastructure upgrade plan, EOS urged the city to engage outside firms to conduct comprehensive, independent technical and financial assessments of the DOU’s plans. EOS also warned the city council that the DOU management lacked the experience and expertise to provide adequate oversight over a massive infrastructure program that was slated to cost more than $2 billion, the largest infrastructure project in city history. In both instances, EOS’s warnings were ignored. In 2011, the city’s auditor, Jorge Oseguera, who answers solely to the city council, audited the DOU and found that backyard meters were being abandoned regardless of their condition. He called on the DOU to stop the practice and install water meters in backyards, not in sidewalks. His warning was ignored by the city

CITY HALL page 14

INSIDE

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dreamerswelcome.org CITY HALL FROM page 12 council, the city manager and, of course, the DOU. What action should the city now take in response to Rubin’s stunning revelations? First, it should impose an immediate moratorium on all water meter installations pending a full investigation of the matter by qualified outside consultants who have no past or future financial interest in city business. Second, it shouldn’t resume installing meters until it changes its plan and leaves backyard mains intact (unless they’re actually shown to be failing) and halts the current practice of tearing up sidewalks to install water meters. Third, it should terminate DOU staffers who played any role in the promotion of the policy to abandon backyard mains or install meters in sidewalks, as well as those who misled the city council (and the public) into adopting the program or who played any role in tampering with the

assessment of the program by CH2M HILL. Fourth, it should require that, in the future, every city staffer who addresses the council be sworn to tell the truth under penalty of perjury, as administration officials who testify before congressional committees have long been required to do. Fifth, the council should end its unhealthy (and undemocratic) practice of delegating policy responsibilities to four-member ad hoc council committees that conduct their work entirely outside of public view. The ad hoc committee on the city’s utilities infrastructure plan met behind closed doors with DOU staff for more than five months in 2012, concocting the current plan with zero public scrutiny or input. The public was not even aware that such a plan was being contemplated until it was announced as a fait accompli. By that point, councilmembers had been sold on the plan by DOU staff and had closed their minds to contrary views. Instead of engaging in a real public CITY HALL page 19

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CITY HALL FROM page 14 debate, the council approved spending $200,000 of ratepayer money on a PR firm to get the public to accept the multiyear, double-digit water and sewer rate hikes called for under the plan. Sixth, it should cooperate fully with any civil and criminal investigations that may ensue, including the very real possibility of renewed FBI interest in the DOU. The silver lining is that Rubinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revelations might actually lead to the city modifying its water meter program and reducing the future cost burden on city ratepayers by several hundred million dollars. If so, you can thank Joe Rubin for it.

SHORT TAKES

he city is gearing up to raise garbage and recycling rates by 3 percent, 2 percent and 2 percent over the next three years, according to a staff presentation last month to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Utilities

Rate Advisory Commission. The DOU is expected to seek much more substantial multiyear rate hikes for water and sewer service effective July 1, 2015, with hearings on the proposed hikes expected in the spring, although the scandal in the water meter program could derail that plan. The city has raised water rates by 10 percent in each of the past three years while raising its sewer rates 14 percent in each of those years, on top of major sewer rate hikes imposed by the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District to pay for a new $2 billion tertiary sewage plant. In the aftermath of the election, support is growing for the adoption of the ethics and transparency reforms that were part of the defeated Measure L (the strongmayor initiative). Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his support last month for an ethics committee, an ethics code, an independent redistricting commission, a sunshine (transparency) ordinance and funding CITY HALL page 19

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Making Connections SHE BRINGS BUSINESSES AND CHURCHES TOGETHER TO FIGHT HOMELESSNESS

BY TERRY KAUFMAN LOCAL HEROES

wo are better than one: This simple truth from Ecclesiastes 4:9 forms the underpinnings of E49, a local organization that’s trying to change the world one life at a time. It began about five years ago when Tammy Vallejo, an East Sac real estate agent with lots of business experience, sat in her church on a Sunday morning and had an epiphany. “I belonged to Restoration Life in Elmhurst,” she says, “and I realized that we needed to take the idea of working in God’s image with purpose into the community and unite people outside of the church to meet the needs of our community.” Vallejo felt that if business and religious leaders were brought together for a common purpose, nothing was impossible. She founded E49 to make and grow those connections. Today she runs it with a staff of five. “Nonprofits and churches exist to meet the needs of the community,” says Vallejo, “but business people are finishers. This needs to be somebody’s business, so we made it ours.” People tend to focus their attention on other parts of the world, says

POC DEC n 14

Tammy Vallejo is the founder of E49

Vallejo, when there are critical needs at our own doorstep, such as homelessness, sex trafficking and hunger. “There are 2,500 chronically

homeless in Sacramento,” says Vallejo, “and 85 percent of them would like to be in homes. These are not huge numbers from a business

standpoint.” Vallejo has used her Real Estate with Purpose business to create a private response to homelessness. The company donates a percentage of its gross revenue to subsidize E49. It has partnered with a handful of nonprofits to purchase five homes that provide temporary or permanent housing to homeless individuals. It also matches homeless people with local churches so they can receive the support they need to get back on their feet. Vallejo believes that unless society looks at the bigger picture, such problems will only get worse. “You really can’t make a dent in their problems if you don’t address the whole person, the whole issue,” she says. Vallejo cites the sex-trafficking business. “I was driving my kids to West Campus one day and I saw a 14-year-old out there,” she says. “I thought: This could be my daughter. It’s not OK. The problem is that there are so many other issues wrapped up in it, you need to get to the real root of the issue.” According to Vallejo, the foster care system is part of the homeless problem. Locally, 2,500 children are placed in foster care. At 18, children “age out” of foster care and have no support. “We have a world of adult orphans,” says Vallejo. “They’re homeless on the street at 18. If you rescue them from the street but don’t connect them with a job, then you really haven’t solved the problem.” With about 1,200 churches and thousands of businesses, says Vallejo, the Sacramento region should be able to respond to the crisis in a more meaningful way. “It doesn’t get solved

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just with housing,” she says. “It’s ultimately about relationships.” Working with City Pastors Fellowship, an organization of 400 senior pastors from 42 areas, E49 connected their churches with more than 260 nonprofits, most of them faith-based. Additionally, it introduced business people into the mix to build a stronger cord. “We have 35 organizations in this space, but it’s starting to multiply,” says Vallejo. “We’re at the crux right now.” Among E49’s business partners are such household names as Wells Fargo and Walmart. Additional support comes from smaller businesses that have taken advantage of Suite 210, E49’s headquarters at 2830 G Street in Midtown. E49 leases space in the suite to entrepreneurs who share E49’s vision and mindset. “Our job is to be an incubator, to help businesses grow while coaching them to serve the community,” says Vallejo. For more information, go to e49corp.org n

CITY HALL FROM page 17 of a city budget analyst position. Councilmember Steve Hansen, the leader of the opposition to Measure L, also signaled his support for adoption of the reforms and asked city staff to come up with plans to create a broad-based task force to develop the proposals. The mayor is taking a different tack, designating a four-member ad hoc committee of four council members (made up of his closest council allies) to work on the reforms. Meanwhile, EOS announced its plan to help organize a broad coalition of groups and community leaders to draft and promote meaningful and effective ethics and transparency reforms in the coming year. On Nov. 13, the city council approved new labor contracts with the city’s largest bargaining unit, Local 39, and with the politically juiced plumbers and pipefitters union. The agreement with Local 39 will increase wages by more than 7 percent over the next 18 months, leading to an increase in the city’s projected general

Sac / Elk Grove (916) 399-1900 Davis / Woodland (530) 662-1900 fund deficit of nearly $4 million by 2016. During the recession, the city offered unions the choice of forgoing contractually scheduled wage hikes or facing employee layoffs. While almost all city unions agreed to skip wage hikes to avoid layoffs, Local 39 took the opposite tack. It pocketed the wage hikes for four years of its five-year contract and saw large numbers of its younger members given pink slips. Its decision had two major impacts. While the senior members of Local 39 (park workers, utilities workers, etc.) saw their pay shoot up almost 20 percent during the recession (its benefits shot up even more), its junior members were laid off in droves, leading to a hollowingout of park maintenance staffs and other city departments. Why city management chose to reward such selfish behavior with another round of wage hikes is anyone’s guess. But to hand out hikes in the face of looming general fund deficits is frankly inexcusable. What is particularly troubling about the city’s latest round of wage

BergamoSchools.com hikes for city unions is that city management has failed to disclose to either the council or the public the “echo effect” such hikes will have on the city’s pension costs and unfunded pension liabilities. Since pension benefits are determined by final salary levels, a boost in wages has an outsized effect on lifetime pension costs, particularly wage hikes for older workers who are nearing retirement, as many Local 39 members are. The city is already facing an expected 50 percent hike in its required annual pension contribution to CalPERS over the next five years—a major factor in the projected “fiscal cliff” the city will hit in four years. To add to that burden with wage hikes without even bothering to compute their impact on city pension costs is inexplicable. Craig Powell is a local 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 718-3030 n

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Learning Curve HEADMASTER OVERSEES A DECADE-PLUS OF IMPROVEMENTS AT COUNTRY DAY

BY JESSICA LASKEY SHOPTALK

hen you think about building a school, you have to take a multipronged approach,” says Stephen T. Repsher, the headmaster of Sacramento Country Day School. “It’s a combination of a number of things: You have to have strong programs, outstanding, dedicated, enthusiastic teachers and, most important, those teachers must have the ability to inspire enthusiasm in others. That’s what drew me to this school in the first place.” Repsher is now in his 12th year as the head of the Arden-area school, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year of providing independent, academically and culturally enriched education to the Greater Sacramento region. In fact, it’s the only true independent, pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade school in Sacramento, according to Repsher. Its small class sizes, academically rigorous curriculum and hands-on, experiential learning have drawn hundreds of students since its inception in 1964 (including yours truly; I’m what they call a “lifer,” someone who attended SCDS all the way from kindergarten through high school). “I wanted to work at a school where I saw more opportunity to create something and help the school grow and thrive,” Repsher says. “Here at SCDS, I saw the opportunity to really achieve something special. It clearly had a long and rich tradition in independent school education, and

POC DEC n 14

Stephen T. Repsher is the headmaster of Sacramento Country Day School

I felt it could become an even stronger school in Sacramento. It was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.” Repsher came to SCDS in the summer of 2003 following long stints at other independent schools around

the country. After the upstate New York native earned his bachelor’s degree at Union College, majoring in modern languages and spending a year abroad in Madrid, he moved on to the graduate program at New

York University, where he had the chance to return to Madrid and travel around Europe for nearly three years. But when it came time to start his teaching career, his native state called him home. “I applied to teach in public schools in the mid-Hudson Valley, but I didn’t have a teaching credential,” Repsher recalls. “I lacked just 12 credits, but that turned out to be a blessing because I met a fellow who places educators at independent schools.” His first teaching job was at a boarding school in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he taught Spanish and French for six years. After getting married, he and his new wife moved to Southern California so Repsher could take a position at HarvardWestlake School, where he stayed for five years. He headed the upper school at Viewpoint School in Calabasas for 11 years, where he made the acquaintance of a certain Dr. Dan White, a former SCDS headmaster who would help change the course of Repsher’s career. “Dan served on the board of trustees at Viewpoint when he was head of The Webb Schools,” Repsher says. “Later on, he told me such good things about Country Day. I had landed my first headship in Santa Barbara. I was there for six years. But when the headmaster position at SCDS opened up, I left and came to Sacramento.” Under Repsher’s ambitious leadership, the past 11-plus years have seen significant growth at SCDS, including the development of the physical plant (the campus started out in the 1950s with temporary buildings that have been steadily replaced with

Sacramento Country Day School is at 2636 Latham Drive.

GOING TO THE DOGS

Robert Espinosa opened Grateful Dog in Midtown in 2009

brick-and-mortar classrooms over the past decade) and the continued expansion of the academic program. “I spend a significant amount of my time between December and April looking for the best teachers in the nation,” Repsher says. “It goes hand in hand: First you need an outstanding program/curriculum, but you also need facilities that reflect the quality of your education. At some point, when buildings begin to collapse and the termites take over, you have to do something.” Repsher took action, and now the SCDS campus boasts its own wireless network and school-owned tech devices for all middle and high school students; the multi-lab, state-of-theart Frank Science Center; a two-story Lower School building that houses a library and spacious classrooms; an Early Childhood Center for prekindergartners; updated high school and middle school quads and

classrooms; and the newly remodeled middle and high school Matthews Library. Repsher also has plans to finish work this year on the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology and a “maker space” where students have access to all kinds of cool equipment, from art supplies and sewing machines to robotics and engineering apparati, with many more projects to come. “Country Day education is experiential,” Repsher explains. “Our students engage actively, use their hands, think and create. All of that together helps us to position the school for the next 50 or 100 years and provide the best possible education. I look forward to many more years to come.” Interested in starting your student at SCDS? Call 481-8811 or go to saccds.org

There aren’t many jobs where a client might get a belly rub at the end of a long day, but not every workplace is Grateful Dog Daycare, the only cage-free dog day care and boarding facility in Sacramento. “Dogs are social animals,” says owner Robert Espinosa, who opened Grateful Dog in Midtown in 2009. “They want to interact. It’s my belief that healthy social interactions and regular exercise make for a happier companion. “When I first started Grateful Dog, I looked to model the business on the way I wanted my own dogs to be cared for: free to play all day and sleep in a comfortable room with other dogs and humans, free of cages. “When dogs have freedom, boarding is less stressful. Traditional kennels are incredibly loud, but here, it’s not. There’s so much less barking that people can’t believe we have 80 to 90 dogs onsite every day.” Espinosa has been the “leader of the pack” since the mid-1990s, when he and his wife started doing casual foster and rescue work out of their home in San Francisco. When a Craigslist job for a dog day care employee in the East Bay popped up, Espinosa jumped at the chance to make his love for canines into a career. “The core of my knowledge about dog day care comes from my work with Lauren Westreich at Every Dog Has Its Day Care in Emeryville,” Espinosa says. “I learned how dogs interact, the psychology of dogs, how to safely run group play, and I just fell in love with it. I decided I wanted to open my own.” Espinosa and his wife moved to Sacramento in 2000 to be closer to their families, and nine years later Espinosa took the plunge. “In Sacramento, dog day care was not as popular as it was in San Francisco or Los Angeles,” he recalls, “so there was an empty niche to fill. I knew day care really well from doing it for so long, but when I opened, I hired a really good groomer to help

me build a grooming department. We also offer overnight, cage-free boarding, which is unconventional and novel. Most people don’t even know it exists.” Now more than five years into business, Espinosa has a staff of 26 and a diverse clientele of pups and their parents who stop in for everything from day care to grooming (there’s even a self-service bath area, if you’re so inclined) to environmentally friendly pet products. The facility boasts multiple play yards, indoors and out, where dogs can hang out. “We separate dogs into different play groups so similar dogs can be together,” Espinosa explains. “That way smaller, mellow dogs can have their space and so can the larger, more physical dogs. Just like humans, dogs are dynamic and always changing. Some dogs are wallflowers, and that’s just fine. We provide for all dogs’ needs.” Potential clients must also undergo a behavior evaluation before they’re admitted to Grateful Dog, which keeps the cage-free atmosphere safe and fight-free. “Dogs must be social and nonaggressive,” Espinosa says. “We also have 24-hour supervision. Our staff is trained to watch the dogs’ behavior to head anything off before it starts. For overnight boarding, we’re the only kennel that has someone sleep with the dogs in every room, making sure everyone is comfortable and safe, like home.” At Grateful Dog, it really is a dog’s life. What could be better than that? Need a place where Fido can feel at home while you’re working or traveling? Contact Espinosa and his staff at 446-2501 or info@ gratefuldogdaycare.com to schedule an evaluation. For more information, go to gratefuldogdaycare.com Grateful Dog Daycare is at 430 17th St.

HAVE MERCY It may seem strange to hear a CEO say that he hopes to be put out of business, but when you’re Kevin SHOPTALK page 22

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SHOPTALK FROM page 21

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Duggan, president and CEO of Mercy

do far more good if he brought his

Foundation, that goal makes a lot

business acumen to the not-for-profit

more sense.

sector.

“Our 60th anniversary tagline is

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‘From 1954 until the end of need,”

MIND Institute, an international

Duggan explains. “It would be

research center that is committed

wonderful if there were no longer

to the prevention, care and cure of

a need, but until that time, Mercy

neurodevelopmental disorders such

Foundation will continue to work

as autism. Once MIND Institute took

with generous donors to meet our

off, Duggan was invited to serve as

community’s needs.”

the executive director for Society for

Duggan has made a pretty storied ork sign W All De ouse. d In-H te le p Com terior ed In ﬁ ti r e C Staff er on n ig s De

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career working to meet the needs

the Blind. “Society for the Blind couldn’t

of the underserved throughout

serve as many people as needed to be

the region. The Bay Area native

served,” Duggan says. “We set out

began his philanthropic path as an

to raise funds to buy and renovate

undergraduate at UC Davis, where he

a new facility. We ultimately raised

worked his way from administration

about $3.5 million and moved to a

to becoming the head of the

20,000-square-foot training facility,

Chancellor’s Club, an honorary giving

quadrupling our size.”

society that recognizes donors who

Clearly, Duggan has a knack for

give more than $1,000 a year to the

helping worthy causes find funding, so

school’s annual fund.

when Mercy Foundation came calling,

While at UC Davis, Duggan decided to pursue his master’s degree in

77 5.25 2 9 . 916

Duggan helped found the UC Davis

he was more than ready. “Growing up in an Irish-Catholic

business administration, but come

family, I was very familiar with the

graduation, he realized he could

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Kevin Duggan is the president and CEO of Mercy Foundation

others,” Duggan says. “When I was

care and education ministries: the

approached about working with them,

completion this year of Alex G.

I jumped at the opportunity.”

Spanos Heart and Vascular Center

Mercy Foundation is a sponsored

at Dignity Health Mercy General

ministry of the Sisters of Mercy,

Hospital in East Sacramento and

meaning it’s a separate nonprofit

the ongoing campaign to provide

entity that raises funds for

Cristo Rey High School, a college-

community causes that the Sisters

preparatory school for low-income

have held dear since they arrived

students, with a much-needed new

in Sacramento more than 150 years

campus.

ago. Their ministries include health

“Completing the project will be

care, education, housing and care for

a huge accomplishment,” Duggan

the poor and the elderly, causes that

says. “It greatly enhances the Sisters’

Mercy Foundation has continued

ministry of education in the region.

to support during its 60 years of

“As for me, I’ve been very, very

operation. “Supporting all of the Sisters’ local

lucky to work on things that are extremely meaningful to me. If

ministries is an important part of the

you’re philanthropic in nature, it’s

foundation’s mission,” Duggan says.

very likely that Mercy Foundation

“Thanks to an operating grant from

supports something you’re interested

Dignity Health, the Sisters’ health

in. It’s a privilege to serve in this

care ministry, 100 percent of every

position.” If you’re interested in supporting Mercy Foundation and its many ministries, call 851-2700 or go to supportmercyfoundation.org n

gift goes to the program of the donor’s choosing.” In his two-and-half years as CEO, Duggan has overseen some very exciting projects in both the health

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On Track AMBITIOUS RAILYARDS REDEVELOPMENT IS CHUGGING ALONG

BY SENA CHRISTIAN BUILDING OUR FUTURE

t’s not hard to tell that the Sacramento Valley Station on the edge of downtown was once a truly beautiful and grand train depot. Built in 1926, the station at 5th and I streets has lost some luster over the years, after decades of deferred maintenance. But it’s set to grow as the second phase begins in a project to create a world-class regional transportation hub. As it now stands, Sacramento’s depot is the seventh-busiest rail passenger terminal in the United States, second only to Los Angeles among the 74 Amtrak stations in California. The city down south sees 1.6 million visitors to its train station yearly, while Sacramento sees nearly 1.2 million. Visitors entering Los Angeles Union Station, which opened in 1939, pass through the exquisite historic concourse on their walk to the tracks, which connect to Amtrak, metro rail and buses. Along the way are opportunities for dining and other commerce. When both of these California depots opened many decades ago, arriving passengers were greeted with a dramatic scene, says local historian William Burg. The city of Sacramento aims to reclaim that excitement. “It’s that sense of drama, that sense of arrival,” says Burg, president of Sacramento Old City Association. “Equally important was (the station’s) historical function.”

POC DEC n 14

Sacramento Valley Station is getting a major overhaul. The depot is the seventh-busiest rail passenger terminal in the United States.

The final plans incorporate the architectural restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Sacramento Valley Station

That recognition—the need for a updated and expanded station to meet the growing demand for mass transit—motivates efforts to overhaul the historic depot as part of the

three-phased Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility project, located on the 240-acre Union Pacific railyards site.

Design renderings for the depot’s renovation were unveiled in June; construction is set to begin this summer. The $30 million renovation is scheduled to be finished in 2016, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the station’s opening. The third and final phase of the project should be done in 2019. The historic depot will be the gateway to a concourse connecting to all modes of transportation: train, light rail, bus, bicycle, taxi, car and pedestrian. (There are also plans to connect the site to high-speed rail when it becomes a reality.) The original waiting area, ticketing counter and dining room will be restored. “The building, its original design and workmanship, is really remarkable—the more so as one works with it, discovering great details and nuances,” says Sacramento Preservation Commission director Roberta Deering. “In my mind, it is one of Sacramento’s most important buildings. Sacramento is very lucky that such a fine structure was built here.” It’s also fortuitous, Deering said, that the city was able to acquire the building in 2006 and pull funding together from all levels of government to pay for the expensive endeavor. The first phase of the project cost $70 million and involved moving the freight and passenger rail tracks 500 feet north to accommodate longer passenger trains, more efficient travel, safer ways to cross the tracks and connect the downtown with the railyards site. Three passenger tunnels were constructed, and new

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phase will finally open up the entire building again, as the upper floors were left vacant for many years. “(This) is a project that will do justice to this spectacular building, ensuring it will have a strong foundation and systems that will allow it to function for another 90 years or more,” she says.

Cantus FRI, DEC 5 • 8PM All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Through a mix of holiday songs, readings from war journals, poetry and period radio broadcasts, the all-male a cappella vocal ensemble captures the true meaning of the season.

Sena Christian can be reached at sena.c.christian@gmail.com n

Mariachi Sol de Mexico SUN, DEC 7 • 3PM A Christmas Spectacular

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roofing and abatement of hazardous materials was completed. A $10 million structural retrofit was finished this spring in preparation for the next big step. The second phase includes the more extensive refurbishing and rehabilitation of the historic depot. The third stage is the intermodal project. About a decade ago, when the city council first approved the concept to develop a regional transportation hub, early drafts involved taking the old depot out of service completely. Members of Sacramento Old City Association rallied to save the historic rail depot and ensure it became part of the intermodal station, Burg says. “Ten years ago, a lot of depots across the country were vacant and just sitting silent and very underutilized,” he says. With encouragement from Sacramento Old City Association, the final plans incorporated the architectural restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Sacramento Valley Station. Those plans include tenant improvements, mechanical and electrical upgrades, artwork preservation, new dining terraces, landscaped seating areas, new bike storage and rental, improved lighting, upgraded ticketing machines and new retail and offices. According to Burg, the association had a lot of foresight to see the value of preserving the historic depot to help meet the growing demand for train transit throughout the United States; Amtrak ridership is at an alltime high. Deering says this second

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Dr. John & The Nite Trippers WED, DEC 3 • 8PM Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and New Orleans music legend.

Brad Mehldau Trio THU, DEC 4 • 8PM “One of the most consistently fascinating voices in current jazz.” –JazzTimes

Mike Birbiglia WED, DEC 10 • 8PM Thank God for Jokes A full list of the 2014–15 season is available at mondaviarts.org

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Working Together IMPROVING SOUTH OAK PARK/FRUITRIDGE POCKET IS A GROUP EFFORT

BY PHIL SERNA COUNTY VIEWPOINT

eighborhoods don’t ascend to greatness without the concerted effort of many varied interests. Chief among them must be people like me who possess a constituency’s confidence to do everything possible to improve the communities we serve. It is a rightful expectation. But how can I alone help achieve greatness for a community? Admittedly, the truth is … I can’t do it alone. I’ve yet to meet an elected official who can. Even our strongest past and present local elected leaders would agree, I’m sure. In recent weeks, much has been written about the effort to improve the unincorporated South Oak Park/ Fruitridge Pocket community. This is the area generally located east of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, south of 14th Avenue, west of Stockton Boulevard and north of Fruitridge Road. Following a visit to the neighborhood this summer, I have worked to marshal county resources to better address everything from illegal dumping to crime prevention to animal control, and everything in between. Nearly all of the local services provided to residents living here come from the county of Sacramento. It’s a working-class neighborhood with a rich history. And like many other local communities, its residents are what make it so special. I know firsthand how special it is because I spend time there. At least three times a week, I’m in the neighborhood talking to folks, checking up on service calls or even

POC DEC n 14

giving tours to prospective partners like other elected officials and nonprofit service providers. Each time I’m there, I’m reminded that this effort is fundamentally about people: those who live, work and play in the neighborhood, but also the dedicated public servants whom we count on to help effect the changes we desire as elected officials and as constituents. Consequently, improving the community will only succeed if both groups are genuinely invested in doing so, and that’s where I come in.

Following that neighborhood visit back in July, I reflected on why my office received such disproportionately low numbers of calls, emails and letters relative to what I had witnessed. Simply put, I see myself as part of a team (our executive staff and department heads being my teammates), and we are all responsible for ensuring county service providers enjoy a respectful and productive relationship with the people we serve. To be certain, this does not mean I strive to micromanage delivery of services, but

it also means I will not be complacent with existing service delivery models if neighborhood conditions tell us something is obviously amiss. Furthermore and perhaps most importantly, I am most responsible for making sure my constituents don’t abandon hope and lose faith in their county government. Following that neighborhood visit back in July (the one that inspired this intensified effort to improve the quality of life for area residents), I reflected on why my office received such disproportionately low numbers of calls, emails and letters relative to what I had witnessed. In other words, I struggled to understand why I wasn’t hearing from concerned, even outraged residents as much as I thought I should given unacceptable conditions like rampant illegal dumping, nearby squatter “shooting galleries” and even the number of offleash dogs roaming the streets. The conclusion I reached is that residents must think seeking assistance using our 311 and 211 systems, or by other means, including directly contacting their county supervisor, would be futile. Why call to demand better service if you believe no one is listening, right? Of course, this wasn’t and isn’t the case. Our office spends most of our time and energy assisting constituents who need help, and we strive to enhance that part of what we do. But it was one of the most demoralizing experiences I’ve had during my first term: to think my constituents may have given up on the same county government they perceived as giving up on them.

At that moment, my role in this whole initiative came into clear focus. A couple weeks later, during National Night Out, I spoke with approximately 200 residents from South Oak Park/Fruitridge Pocket and explained all the things the county of Sacramento is doing to help turn the neighborhood around. Things like installing 250 high-intensity, low-wattage LED streetlights, resurfacing streets, organizing neighborhood watches, enhancing code enforcement operations, sponsoring neighborhood cleanups, coordinating more regularly with the probation, district attorney and sheriff’s departments; and even the possibility of siting a healthcare clinic somewhere within the community.

And even though many of the changes we all want to see happen will take time to implement, the neighborhood is already beginning to see positive changes. All of these and other measures have been set in motion, and thankfully every Sacramento County department head and manager from whom our office has sought assistance

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has been incredibly responsive. And even though many of the changes we all want to see happen will take time to implement, the neighborhood is already beginning to see positive changes like dangerous, abandoned homes coming down and more aggressive code enforcement activity getting the upper hand on illegal dumping. This all amounts to a good start, but it will be neighborhood residents who decide the greatness (or not) of their community once all is said and done. Today, South Oak Park/Fruitridge Pocket residents have a county supervisor whose No. 1 priority is improving their quality of life. As such, I have said publicly on more than one occasion “hold me accountable” to underscore my earnest commitment. Words, however, won’t be the measure of success. My constituents want results, and that’s what I and our entire county team are aiming for. Making South

Oak Park/Fruitridge Pocket a great neighborhood will necessarily mean residents—whether owner or renter, people of color or not, rich or poor, young and old, male and female— must invest themselves. The current interest expressed by one person does not make for a sustainable future, as it relates to almost anything, and it is especially true when it comes to something as complex as restoring people’s confidence in their own local government. I remain convinced that with the committed help of neighborhood residents and our dedicated county public servants, not to mention private and nonprofit partners with whom I’ve been discussing the community’s needs, South Oak Park/ Fruitridge Pocket can and will be the great neighborhood we all know it can be. Phil Serna represents District 1 on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. He can be reached at SupervisorSerna@saccounty.net n

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Nuts For ‘Nutcracker

BALLET EXTRAVAGANZA, SUGAR PLUM FAIRY TEA MAKE FOR A MAGICAL MONTH

BY JESSICA LASKEY RIVER CITY PREVIEWS

re visions of sugarplums dancing in your head yet this holiday season? They will be soon: The Sacramento Ballet has two magical entertainment offerings this month, the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea and Ron Cunningham’s legendary production of “The Nutcracker.” If you have an aspiring ballerina or balletomane at home, don’t miss the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the Capital Plaza Ballroom. Guests will be treated to a sandwich and dessert buffet— complete with tea or hot chocolate, of course—and the chance to meet and greet the beloved cast of characters. Take home a beautiful memory book and collector’s ornament as well as your own photo with the Sugar Plum Fairy herself for a $10 donation to keep the magic alive long after you’ve left. Want to see that talented cast in action? Cunningham’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” returns to the Community Center Theater with breathtaking ballet, stunning sets and homegrown talent. Five hundred local children perform in the production each year. And back by special request, select

POC DEC n 14

The Sacramento Ballet has two magical entertainment offerings this month, the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea and Ron Cunningham’s legendary production of “The Nutcracker.”

performances will be accompanied by a live orchestra. Performances with live music are as follows: at 3 p.m. on Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13, at 1 p.m. on Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 20, and at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 21. If you happen to fall in love with one of the four-legged cast members you see prancing across the stage, there’s good news: Thanks to a new creative partnership this year between the ballet and the Front Street Animal Shelter, each performance will feature an adoptable

dog from the shelter as well as other shelter pets available for adoption during intermission. Talk about a show souvenir. For tickets and more information for either event, call 552-5800 or go to sacballet.org The Capital Plaza Ballroom is at 1215 J St. The Community Center Theater is at 1301 L St.

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX You know what they say about one person’s trash. See what the talented artists at Archival Gallery have done with upcycled cigar boxes at the exhibition The Box It Came In, on display all this month. Participating artists include Gary Dinnen, Carol Mangan, Tim Collom, Eric Dahlin, Maureen Hood, Patricia Altschul, Cindy Wilson, William Ishmael, Mariellen Layne and more. PREVIEWS page 30

Wells Fargo ome for the Holidays

Saturday, Dec 13 at 8:00 PM Sacramento Memorial Auditorium 1515 J Street, Sacramento Special Guest Artist Julie Miller, Mezzo, Lyric Opera of Chicago Guest Chorus

Sacramento Children’s Chorus Lynn Stevens, Conductor

Guest Bell Choir Christ Community Church

Julie Miller

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TICKETS CCT Box Office 916.808.5181 or TICKETS.com Donald Kendrick, Music Director

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PREVIEWS FROM page 28 For more information, call 9236204 or go to archivalframe.com Archival Framing and Gallery is at 3223 Folsom Blvd.

HAPPY HOLIDAZE Crocker Art Museum knows how to do the holidays. Check out its awesome offerings this month, starting with Art Mix Holidaze from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. Instead of a classic Christmas theme, the Crocker is shaking it up and getting groovy with a psychedelic celebration, including a glowing winter wonderland complete with kooky trees in the courtyard, a “bizarre bazaar” curated by Trisha Rohmberg where you’re sure to find the funkiest gifts, music to free your mind by Massive Delicious and DJs DoofyDoo and Chic Fillet, as well as ornament decoration, five-minute art talks and more to make for one trippy, totally rad Thursday. The event is free for museum members, $10 for nonmembers, with a $2 discount for college students. Drinks are under $5 all night. If you’re yearning for a return to the classics, be sure to check out the Classical Concert featuring the Bel Tempo Ringers at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14. This family-friendly performance by Sacramento’s own handbell choir is sure to “ring your bell” with holiday songs as well as contemporary tunes. Space is limited, so advance reservations are recommended. Call 808-1182. Who can resist a few of “My Favorite Things?” Don’t miss the do-re-mi’s that have minted Julie Andrews fans for decades when the Crocker presents “The Sound of Music” Sing-Along at 2 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 26. This Sacramento tradition includes a screening of the film (singing along is encouraged, of course), a costume contest, door prizes, goodie bags, yodeling and more. The sing-along often sells out early, so avoid being a “Lonely Goatherd” and buy your tickets early. Call 808-1182 or go to the Crocker’s website.

POC DEC n 14

Do you struggle to stay awake until the clock chimes midnight on New Year’s Eve? The Crocker has solved that problem with an event that’s sure to please youngsters and yawners alike: Noon Year’s Eve, a Free Family Festival, kicks off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31 and lasts till 2 p.m. The free noontime fiesta is a nod to the Crocker’s current Latino artist exhibition, so you can be sure the event will be fun and festive. Say “bienvenido” to the new year while enjoying live music and dance performances as well as art activities throughout the museum. (The museum will remain open with free admission until 5 p.m.) For more information on all Crocker events, call 808-1182 or go to crockerartmuseum.org Crocker Art Museum is at 216 O St.

MUSIC FOR (AND BY) ALL AGES Hear young voices rejoice at the Sacramento Children’s Chorus 22nd annual holiday concert, “On This Night,” on Dec. 6 and 7, as well as on Dec. 13 during the Sacramento Choral Society’s “Home for the Holidays” concert at Memorial Auditorium. “On This Night” will feature all five choirs under the direction of SCC founder and artistic director Lynn Stevens, along with Julie Adams and Melanie Huber. “We’ll feature traditional Christmas chants and carols, some jazz arrangements, a lovely Hanukkah ballad, and lighter offerings such as ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’ and songs from the movie ‘Frozen,’ ” Stevens says. Just a few days later, keep the holiday glow going with the Sacramento Choral Society’s “Home for the Holidays” concert, featuring the SCC as well as guest artist Julie Miller (a mezzosoprano from the Chicago Lyric Opera), the bell choir from Christ Community Church, a candlelit procession, and an audience sing-along that’s guaranteed to make your spirits bright. The SCC’s “On This Night” concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 at Westminster Presbyterian

The Crockett-Deane Ballet Company and the Deane Dance Center will present the tandem production of “Christmas Angels” and “The Nutcracker”

Church (1300 N St.) and at 4 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Carmichael Seventh Day Adventist Church (4600 Winding Way in Carmichael). For more information on the SCC concert, call 646-1141 or go to sacramentochildrenschorus.org The Sacramento Choral Society’s “Home for the Holidays” concert will be performed at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium (1515 J St.). For tickets and more information, call 536-9065 or go to sacramentochoral.com

TUTU-FOR-ONE Who wouldn’t want two terrific ballets at one entertaining event? The Crockett-Deane Ballet Company and the Deane Dance Center will present

the tandem production of “Christmas Angels” and “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 20 and 21 at the Center at Twenty-Three Hundred. “Christmas Angels” features the retelling of the nativity through beautiful dance choreographed by one of the company’s founders, Don Schwennesen, to the traditional Christmas carols we all know and love. Next, stay tuned for a narrated, one-act production of “The Nutcracker” set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s score, complete with vibrant costumes and perfect pirouettes. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21. For tickets and more information, call 453-0226 or go to deanedancecenter.com

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MAY YOUR DAYS BE ‘MARRY’ See the magic that happens firsthand when a real-life married couple tackles Stephen Sondheim’s poignant musical “Marry Me a Little,” running Dec. 11-21 at New Helvetia Theatre. Bradford and Kiera Anderson, married stage and screen performers, will portray two urban singles looking for love on a Saturday night. (In fact, it’s a family affair: The show is directed by Kiera’s brother and New Helvetia founder, Connor Mickiewicz.) The bittersweet musical revue features songs that Sondheim culled from his own shows, including “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Follies,” “Company,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “A Little Night Music.”

Due to more mature subject matter, the show is recommended for audience members ages 13 and older. For tickets and more information, call 917-0024 or go to newhelvetia.org New Helvetia Theatre is at 1028 R St.

MASTER CLASS Listen to the “masters” of their craft at the Sacramento Master Singers' performances of their popular holiday concerts, “A Celtic Christmas” on Dec. 13, 14, 18, 21 and 23, and “Jingle All the Way” on Dec. 21. “A Celtic Christmas” will feature beloved Christmas carols as well as special guests Men of Worth, a hilarious Scottish/Irish folk duo. Also on tap are a selection of Irishstyled ancient chants from Michael McGlynn, regional premieres of work by contemporary British composers Cecilia McDowall and Paul Mealor, and the world premiere of a special

arrangement of the Welsh carol “All Through the Night,” composed by Sacramento’s own Clifford Shockney. For young carol connoisseurs, the Sacramento Master Singers will also present the special family concert “Jingle All the Way,” featuring Men of Worth and plenty of tyke-friendly tunes. “A Celtic Christmas” will be performed at 8 p.m. on Dec. 13, and at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18, 21 and 23 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church (1066 26th St.), as well as at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Folsom Lake College’s Harris Center for the Arts (10 College Parkway in Folsom). “Jingle All the Way” will be performed at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21 at St. Francis of Assisi. For tickets and more information, call 788-7464 or go to mastersingers. org

HOWDY, NEIGHBOR! Rub elbows with the talented folks behind Celebration Arts at the theater company’s festive Neighbors’ Night from 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. Enjoy complimentary dessert, wine and coffee while chatting with Celebration Arts’ board members, volunteers, artistic staff and the cast of “A New Song For Christmas,” artistic director James Wheatley’s original production just in time for the holidays. Stick around and take in the show for only $8. Just interested in the entertainment? “A New Song for Christmas,” Wheatley’s dramatic musical about a small-town church choir in conflict while its members prepare for their annual Christmas program, runs Dec. 6-21. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Dec. 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20; and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 13, 14 and 21.

PREVIEWS page 32

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PREVIEWS FROM page 31 For tickets, reservations for Neighbors’ Night and more information, call 455-2787 or go to celebrationarts.net Celebration Arts is at 4469 D St.

4. Hours are 4:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday

senses will include world premiere

the 1960s and ’70s, including 1964’s

through Thursday, 4:30 to 11 p.m.

dance pieces as well as traditional

“Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Friday and Saturday. For more

crowd-pleasers such as “Danza de los

(based on the song of the same name

information, go to globalwonderland.

Viejitos” (“Dance of the Old Men”)

and narrated by Burl Ives), 1970’s

com

and an audience sing-along to Cantos

“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”

de Navidad (Christmas songs sung

and 1974’s “The Year Without a

AND THE BAND PLAYED ON

Blvd.

and played by Vinic-Kay). The show

Santa Claus.” The concert will

ends with a Mariachi Christmas

include a variety of traditional

from the state of Jalisco and a post-

and contemporary holiday classics,

performance piñata for the kids in

including a mash-up arrangement

Cal Expo is at 1600 Exposition

Looking for a mélange of music

ON THE TOWN Ring in the season right here

the lobby. Small treat bags will be

of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and

than the Sacramento Concert

in River City with the River City

provided by the Hispanic Chamber of

“Little Drummer Boy” by acclaimed

Band’s free holiday concert at 7:30

Chorale’s holiday concert on Dec. 5,

Commerce.

composer/arranger David Maddux.

p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15 at Christ

6 and 7 at various venues throughout

Community Church in Carmichael.

the Sacramento area.

to tap your toes to? Look no further

Now in its 46th season, the 50-piece

Under the able baton of director

For tickets and more information, call 599-3441 or go to calidanza.org The Crest Theatre is at 1013 K St.

band is composed of members who

Richard Morrissey, the chorale will

range in age from 22 to 92, which

perform seasonal pieces in new

might explain the group’s eclectic

arrangements, as well as excerpts

musical selections. The holiday

from John Rutter’s “Magnificat, ”

concert will include pieces from

African folk tune “Bethelehemu,” and

old-fashioned holiday tunes? The

musical theater composer Richard

a French carol, “Il Est Né Le Divin

Sacramento Symphonic Winds concert

Rodgers (“There Is Nothing Like a

Enfant.” The chorale is rounded out

“Holiday Visions!” will have just what

Dame,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune”

by Kathy Earl on piano, the musicians

you need at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday,

and “Climb Every Mountain”),

of the River City Chorale Orchestra

Dec. 14 at Crowne Plaza Sacramento

classical tunes, traditional Christmas

and guest performers from the Bel

Northeast.

and Hanukkah music and more.

Tempo Handbells.

Performances will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5; at 3 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6; at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7; and at 8 p.m. on

ARTISTIC VISION(S) Are you hankering for some good

The 60-piece adult symphonic

Tuesday, Dec. 9. For tickets and more information, go to sacgaymenschorus. org First United Methodist Church is at 2199 J St.

SING IT SWEET Enjoy the sweet sounds of the Sacramento Valley Chorus, a chapter

Performances will take place at

band directed by Dr. Les Lehr will

of Sweet Adelines International, at

donations are gladly accepted to

7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 at Christ

delight with selections that include

the annual show “MGM Grand to

help feed the hungry. For tickets

Community Church in Carmichael

“White Christmas” by Irving Berlin,

Winter Wonderland” at 2 p.m. on

and more information, go to

(5025 Manzanita Ave.); at 7:30

the music and narrations of Sergei

Sunday, Dec. 7 at the Sheldon High

sacramentoconcertband.org

p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Faith

Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,”

School Performing Arts Center.

Presbyterian Church in South

“Tubby the Tuba” by George

Sacramento (625 Florin Road); and at

Kleinsinger, “Carol of the Bells”

composed of 96 women from all

4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7 at the First

by Mykola Leontovich, “Christmas

over the Sacramento region and

Baptist Church of Fair Oaks (4401

Sing-Along” by David Lovrien, and

specializes in four-part harmony a

San Juan Ave.). For tickets and more

lots more.

capella singing, complete with cool

The concert is free of charge, but

Christ Community Church is at 5025 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael.

SEE THE LIGHT Make like Santa and travel around

information, go to rivercitychorale.org

the world in one magical night at Global Winter Wonderland, a lantern festival and multicultural theme park at Cal Expo through Jan. 4. Feast your eyes on 16 acres of larger-than-life lantern designs

For tickets and more information, call 489-2576 or go to sacwinds.org

DANCE, DANCE REVOLUCIÓN Nothing could be more festive than a program entitled “Festejos!” The

Crowne Plaza Sacramento Northeast is at 5321 Date Ave.

AS SEEN ON TV Celebrate the Sacramento Gay

Calidanza Dance Company presents

world, enjoy entertainment on two

this two-hour holiday ballet folklórico

Men’s Chorus and its 30 years

stages (including Global Winter

at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at

of fantastic entertainment and

Wonderland’s Circus of Light), taste

the Crest Theatre.

community support for local gay and

Calidanza’s 22 dancers, under

lesbian people with the “Holiday

shop for unique items at the holiday

the direction of Steven Valencia,

Spirit” concert Dec. 5-9 at First

bazaar, even visit Santa at the North

will bring the vibrant movement of

United Methodist Church in midtown.

Pole!

Mexico to Sacramento audiences,

This year’s scripted concert, “A

accompanied by the award-winning

Gay-Mation Special,” is a playful

open Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 12-14, and

San Francisco acoustic folkloric

take on the stop-motion and clay

daily starting Dec. 19 through Jan.

group Vinic-Kay. The feast for the

animation holiday TV specials of

Global Winter Wonderland is

POC DEC n 14

choreography, and a wide range of material, from Broadway to ballads to blues. You just have to hear it to believe it. For tickets and more information,

of landmarks from around the

delicious international delicacies,

The award-winning group is

go to sacramentovalleychorus.com The Sheldon High School Performing Arts Center is located at 8333 Kingsbridge Drive. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Please email items for consideration by the first of the month, at least one month in advance of the event. n

DECEMBER 26–JANUARY 4 Community Center Theater Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Ofﬁce (916) 557-1999 Convention Center Box Ofﬁce (916) 808-5181 Groups 12+ (916) 557-1198 BROADWAYSACRAMENTO.COM

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Holiday Delight EAST SAC STUNNER WILL BE OPEN ON ANNUAL CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR BY JULIE FOSTER HOME INSIGHT

hen Heidi Cordeiro was asked to participate in Sacred Heart’s Holiday Home Tour, she asked her husband Neal what he thought, then consulted with her friend, designer Denyse DesJardin. The timing was perfect.

POC DEC n 14

“This is a time-honored tradition that supports a good cause, and we tried very hard to represent the tour in the best possible way.”

“It worked out fortuitously. We could just decorate for the tour around what we had already done,” she explains. “This is a time-honored tradition that supports a good cause, and we tried very hard to represent the tour in the best possible way.”

The Cordeiros purchased their East Sacramento home in August 2013. Built in 1926, the original structure was a one-story cottage. “You would never recognize the home from old photos,” Cordeiro says. Over the decades, previous owners extensively remodeled the house. Today, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 3,000 square feet of living space. But Cordeiro felt the traditionally decorated interior needed a bit of freshening up. “In deciding on a style for the redecorating, we tried very hard to honor living in this fabulous neighborhood using traditional elements yet bringing modern touches into the décor to reflect Neal’s and my style,” she explains. Their plan involved paying homage to the formal spaces in HOME page 36

POC n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

Implementing DesJardin’s ideas

her decorating scheme. A long-held

meant painting the interior, adding

family tradition involves giving each

new light fixtures for dazzle and pops

of her children decorations every

of color throughout.

Christmas. “This was so they could build up their collections when they set up their own homes,” she explains.

HOME FROM page 35 the front of the house, such as the entry and living room, while moving toward a more natural, organic and casual feeling for the rooms in the

rear of the home. They used wood and metal accents along with traditional

“Because I am a layperson when it comes to decorating, it was important to engage the help of a knowledgeable person, a skilled designer to help me achieve the look I wanted.”

furnishings for a chic, urban look.

POC DEC n 14

them. Cordeiro offers a host of tips for happy holiday decorating. Start your planning early, be open to new ideas, think things through, have a plan for implementing your ideas, and have a theme. She stressed that her participation in the home tour was minor compared to DesJardin, comparing herself to a surgical nurse handing off instruments to a surgeon. comes to decorating, it was important

For the tour, Cordeiro had to incorporate fresh holiday ideas into

house, their ornaments went with

“Because I am a layperson when it

“It reflects the way we live in the house,” says Cordeiro.

So when her children, now young adults, recently moved out of the

to engage the help of a knowledgeable

person, a skilled designer to help me

elements such as birch chargers

achieve the look I wanted,” she says.

and moss with modern side plates,

Elements of urban-chic style greet tour goers at the front

flatware and glasses. In the living room, a Christmas tree

entryway, where the suspended light

is decorated with old cameras, clocks

fixture features traditional crystal

and abstract art pieces. DesJardin

surrounded by metal. Additional

created the eye-catching stockings

crystals were added for the tour. The

hung from the fireplace mantle from a

banister’s garland is classic except

burlap table runner from West Elm.

for the copper- and peacock- colored decorations laced throughout. A metal art tree on the entry chest mixes modern elements with time-honored Christmas ornaments. “The dining room represents a great transition from the more formal living room into the organic and relaxed family room,” Cordeiro explains. The round dining table and chairs

“We hope people enjoy our home as well as all the homes on the tour this year,” says Cordeiro. “We are blessed to be a part of it.”

coupled with silk drapes provide a classical feeling, while the custommade wall sconces reflect a more modern vibe. Ornaments, both eclectic and traditional, hang from branches suspended from the ceiling. The table setting mixes organic

Situated in a large planter and topped with cotton balls still on their stems, the family room Christmas tree is draped with models of old cars and planes, antique printing plates and grinders. Mixed in are metal initials representing couple’s names. Splashes of color from traditional Christmas ornaments and antlers tinted a vibrant shade of eggplant complete the look. DesJardin explains that by elevating the tree in a large container, gifts don’t spill out into the room, and you can get by with a smaller tree and fewer ornaments. In the backyard, a living succulent wall is outlined with holiday lights. “Denyse and I have enjoyed every moment working toward this. We hope people enjoy our home as well as all the homes on the tour this year,” says Cordeiro. “We are blessed to be a part of it.” Sacred Heart’s Holiday Home Tour takes place Dec. 5-7. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 on the days of the tour. For more information, go to sacredhearthometour.com If you know of a home you think should be featured in Inside Publications, contact Julie Foster at foster.julie91@yahoo.com n

POC n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

The Final Play HOW MEASURE L GOT SWATTED AWAY

BY R.E. GRASWICH SPORTS AUTHORITY

wenty-one years ago in Phoenix, Kevin Johnson’s dream of winning an NBA

championship ended when he sprinted to the free-throw line and pulled up for a jump shot. Before Mayor Kevin Johnson

Johnson could fire, Horace Grant swatted the ball away.

I spent almost four years working

The play, in the last instant of Game 6, gave Michael Jordan and the

as Johnson’s special assistant during

Chicago Bulls a 99-98 victory over

his first term at city hall. I helped

Johnson and his Phoenix Suns and a

smooth out early drafts of Measure L

third consecutive title for Chicago.

and wasted countless hours fretting over messaging and lobbying and trying to make people believe how

His competitive intensity—straight from the gym—guided every step at city hall.

wonderful Sacramento might be if the city would just stand back and let Kevin Johnson run things. Yet when the time finally came to me to cast my ballot for Measure L, I voted no. While the concept of executive mayor delivered an appeal of accountability, I was repelled by

This November, Sacramento voters handed Johnson another crushing

Measure L, which would have given budgetary and hiring powers to Johnson and subsequent mayors, was rejected by 57 percent of the voters

defeat when they rejected his six-year quest to become the city’s executive

Johnson and subsequent mayors, was

There will be no Game 7 for strong

mayor. Measure L, which would have

rejected by 57 percent of the voters.

mayor, and probably no third term for

given budgetary and hiring powers to

In basketball terms, Measure L was a 20-point thumping for Johnson.

POC DEC n 14

Sacramento’s sportsman-mayor.

the thought of Johnson actually being in charge: no coach to call the play, no referee to blow the whistle, no Horace Grant to swat the ball away, just Kevin. From experience, I can tell you the mayor’s office would have been

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a train wreck if we had executive

mayor shot—the game winner—to

terms can be described in sporting

of stadium public finance deal had

authority when I worked there. I saw

another player. He wanted it for

terms, which is fitting and ironic.

strong mayor passed.

no evidence that Kevin had become

himself.

less stubborn or more willing to compromise over the last two years.

Of course, his legacy will be the

It was Johnson’s fate to be a

Kings and their new arena, which

sportsman-mayor. His status as a

opponents were so effective when

rises from the rubble of Downtown

sports celebrity carried him into

And that’s why Johnson’s they deployed the “power grab” label

Plaza. The irony is that Johnson ran

office. His competitive intensity—

mayor was best for the city, and he

against Measure L. With its rhetoric

for office to prove he was something

straight from the gym—guided every

obviously was sincere. But his love for

and window dressing stripped away

other than a basketball player,

step at city hall.

Sacramento and desire to see the city

and Johnson angling for a third term,

to demonstrate his leadership,

thrive were inevitably overshadowed

Measure L looked an awful lot like a

to educate children in neglected

sports history, he couldn’t let it go.

by his private ambitions.

power grab. The voters could smell it,

neighborhoods and coax distant

When people asked him about tough

and that was that.

corporations to set up shop in

political decisions, he would say, “It’s

Sacramento.

not really that big of a deal compared

He always said he believed strong

Ambition and self-determination, which carried Johnson from Oak Park

He ran for mayor to get away from

to the University of California and into the NBA Finals against Michael Jordan and the Bulls, prevented him from declaring he would let strong mayor take effect with his replacement. He wanted the boss job for himself—that was the whole point. Johnson once told me he would resign if it would help strong mayor

“It’s not really that big of a deal compared with trying to guard Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals.”

sports, yet wound up right back in the arms of free throws and field goals. In recent months, Johnson warmed He encouraged several CEO friends to invest in the Sacramento Republic soccer team, which would have been ridiculous a year ago. (Johnson rolled his eyes in 2012 when several interns

didn’t mean it. Instead, he teased

in the mayor’s office mentioned With strong mayor dead, now is a

with trying to guard Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals.” Then along came Measure L, and it was, only worse.

to his legacy as our sportsman-mayor.

become law in Sacramento, but he around about running for a third term

Even as he ran away from his

the idea of a soccer stadium in the

if executive mayor became reality. He

good time to begin the assessment of

railyards.) My guess is he would have

couldn’t bear to pass up the strong-

Johnson’s mayoral career. His two

helped the Republic arrange some sort

R.E. Graswich worked as a special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson from 2009 to 2012. He is the author of “Vagrant Kings: David Stern, Kevin Johnson and the NBA’s Orphan Team.” He can be reached at reg@ graswich.com n

POC n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

Festive Foliage DURING THE HOLIDAYS, BRING NATURE’S BEAUTY INDOORS

BY ANITA CLEVENGER GARDEN JABBER

eople have been decking the halls with boughs of holly since ancient times. There’s something about the winter solstice that led Druids and other Europeans to bring greenery inside to celebrate the lengthening of days and promise of spring. Until explorers brought plants from the Americas and Asia, Britain had only four native evergreen trees: holly, Scotch pine, yew and box. No wonder these plants came to symbolize life and hope. Holly, with its shiny leaves and bright berries, was honored the most. In the words of an old Christmas carol, “Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.” Ancient Romans, too, used holly to decorate for December’s Saturnalia festivities. Romans and Sacramentans may not grasp just how cold, bleak, colorless and forbidding midwinter can be in less temperate zones. Despite the bare branches on our deciduous trees, Sacramento’s winter landscapes are lush with green grass, evergreen plants and flowers. You may already be growing many plants in your yard that can be cut to decorate your house for the season.

POC DEC n 14

Look for beautiful leaves or needles, berries, flowers, cones or pods. You will probably be surprised at the possibilities. I first became aware of how greens could serve as holiday decorations during an East Sacramento holiday home tour more than 25 years ago. This was the time of Martha Stewart’s ascendancy, and decorators sprayed just about everything from pinecones to magnolia leaves with gold paint. However, they didn’t spray all of the greenery. Swags draped the railings. Wreaths hung in the windows and on the doors. Boughs were piled onto mantels and atop buffets, and branches were stuck into vases. Inspired, I bought a can of

paint, came home, got out the loppers and brought inside everything that was green and potentially decorative. My house looked and smelled wonderful. However, I learned a few lessons. It’s best to wash off the foliage and let it dry outside to remove dust and insects. If you are planning to leave your decorations up for a couple of weeks or more, choose evergreens that hold their berries and leaves. Deodar cedar and Italian cypress shatter quickly, and you’ll be finding their needles for months to come. Pyracantha berries rot. Even holly’s leaves and berries will turn brown after a week inside unless put into water.

I still bring in greenery for the holidays, sometimes scavenging tree lots and green waste piles for promising materials. At home, I cut big, shiny leaves and interesting pods from my southern magnolia, M. grandiflora, and clip bits of pittosporum from my backyard. In recent years, I’ve been inspired by Janice Sutherland, who helps create fragrant, colorful natural decorations lining the center of the tables at the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club’s annual dinner. “I’ve been cutting greens for a long time,” Sutherland says. “I like growing plants that can be used for holiday decorations and as fillers in bouquets. I plant things to have

berries for the birds and to bring inside.” One of her favorite sources of greenery is the common myrtle, or Myrtus communis. Dwarf varieties are more popular, but Sutherland’s full-sized shrub stretches to the rooftop. Myrtle is fragrant with dark, shiny evergreen leaves and dark-blue berries. Other berry-bearing plants that Sutherland loves for decoration include Cotoneaster x ‘watereri,’ which has arching branches and bright-red berries, and Euonymus fortunei ‘Green Lane,’ with pods that open up with orange to red berries inside. “Another plant I like to mix in with greens is the snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus, for its white, round berries on bare branches,” she says. Sutherland also uses dried hydrangea flowers, crab apples and rose hips to add color to arrangements. Sutherland makes wreaths and other decorations from long-lasting cedar, bay and boxwood. She’s learned that she can augment artificial

garlands with natural materials, more easily creating a lavish display. When the season is over, she tucks dried bits of cedar into her boxes of Christmas decorations to keep bugs away. Once you start evaluating your evergreen shrubs and trees for their possible decorative contribution, you may gain a new appreciation for how handsome they look in your landscape. They provide year-round color and form, with the added benefits of flowers for bees and berries and shelter for wildlife. Gold paint went out of style along with big hair and shoulder pads, although I sometimes can’t resist gilding an occasional leaf or cone. Natural greens are always in fashion and make your home look much more festive. “Holly” rhymes with “jolly,” after all. Anita Clevenger is a Sacramento County UC Master Gardener. For answers to gardening questions, call 875-6913 or go to ucanr.edu/sites/ sacmg n

POC n INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

Pickup Lines FIVE GREAT ALTERNATIVES TO ‘HOW’S YOUR DAY?’

BY NORRIS BURKES SPIRIT MATTERS

ow do people answer you when you ask, “How are you?” My guess is that, no matter how they’re feeling or what difficulty they’re facing, they respond with the obligatory “Just fine. How are you?” That’s because the question doesn’t seek an honest answer. In fact, it often means “I don’t have time for an honest answer, so please just say ‘Fine’ and let’s get on with our day.” While the salutation is perhaps a cultural nicety, I’d like to suggest some alternatives that I call “spiritual pickup lines.” I’m not talking about

the happy hour kind of pickup line. These are intended to “pick up” the spirit of the fellow strugglers we meet in our daily journey. Why this kind of advice in a spiritual column? Because, as Jesus suggested in Matthew 5:47, people of faith should dig deeper into relationships than a typical hello. “If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.” I propose we adopt these five questions to supplant the traditional “How are you?” 1. What’s new in your world?” This is my daily favorite because it usually prompts people to share a short story about fun, faith or family. If they deflect the question by saying, “Oh, not much,” I prompt them with “Come on, there’s got to be something new.” Stressing the word “new” allows people to share how the sacred has recently intersected their ongoing story. 2. “Tell me about your …” My wife, who spends most of her day greeting schoolchildren, has taught me to start with observations,

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not conclusions. For instance, instead of asking a child, “What are you drawing?” she’ll say, “Tell me about your drawing.” I sometimes use this greeting on people who appear different than me. I ask them to tell me about their distinctive T-shirt, their religious jewelry or their tattoos. I think it says, “I’ve noticed you are different, but I want to understand and respect your difference.” If you really want to take this greeting to another level, say, “Tell me about your smile today.” Or “Tell me about your tears.” 3. “What’s your plan today?” or “What’s your day looking like?” This is a deeper alternative to the insincere grip-and-grin that often accompanies “What’s up, dude?” This greeting hints that you’d like to help make the other person’s day better. It’s also a question that sets up the last two on my list. 4. “How can I help make this a good day for you?” If you honestly seek to know about a person’s well-being, then you must be willing to help. This is the philosophy Jesus employed when he asked the blind roadside beggars in Matthew 20:32, “What do you want me to do for you?” When they told Jesus, “We want our sight,” he miraculously restored their sight. Spiritual people must also ask, “How can we can help others to see?” That leads to my most sincere greeting: 5. “What are you praying for?” or “What are you hoping for?” If you ask this question, you demonstrate two things. First, you

get the person to examine his greatest needs. Second, and more importantly, you declare your willingness to enter a spiritual covenant that will help the person attain his greatest need.

I think it says, “I’ve noticed you are different, but I want to understand and respect your difference.” If you’ll ask these five questions of five people today, I can almost promise you that, by the end of the day, when someone asks, “How are you?” you’ll be able to say much more than “Just fine.” Norris Burkes is a chaplain, syndicated columnist, national speaker and author of the book “No Small Miracles.” He can be reached at ask@TheChaplain.net n

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Art Preview

GALLERY ART SHOWS IN DECEMBER

Artistic Edge Gallery will feature works by several local artists in a theme show called “Snowmen and Reindeer.” Shown: “Morning Frost” by Bob Tonjes, acrylic reverse glass. 1880 Fulton Ave.; artisticedgeframing.com

An exhibit of the work of Peter Wayne Lewis will run through Dec. 20 and include temporal paintings and new work. Shown above: Lewis and his paintings. 5520 Elvas Avenue; jayjayart.com

Archival Gallery presents a group exhibition called “The Box It Came In,” featuring painted and decorated cigar boxes to benefit the Artists in Crisis Fund. Through Dec. 31. Shown is a work by Maureen Hood. 3223 Folsom Blvd.; archivalframe.com

Blue Moon Gallery features as group show with work by Margaryta Chaplinski, Viktor Verhovod, Oleg Turan, Valery Kazak, Max Komissarchik, Vasily Vdovichenko and Vladimir Yatchuk. Shown: “Swan” by Oleg Turan. 2353 Albatross Way; bluemoongallerysacto.com

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Smart Gifts HOW TO CHANNEL YOUR SCIENTIFIC SANTA

BY DR. AMY ROGERS SCIENCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

’ll bet science wasn’t on your holiday shopping list last year. This year, how about adding science to the season while supporting local businesses or nonprofts? I present to you my ideas for science-y gifts from Sacramento. At the top of my list is a handson adventure at The Discovery Museum’s Challenger Learning Center (3615 Auburn Blvd.; the discovery.org). Totally entertaining for adults and kids as young as middle school, these Friday-night simulations ($20) let you pretend you’re in Mission Control managing a rendezvous with a comet, or you’re on a spacecraft headed for the Moon. I’ve done it twice with my tweens and we loved it. Reserve tickets for the next mission on Jan. 2 as a one-of-a-kind gift. Parallax Inc. (parallax.com) is a local tech company that makes electronics. While most of its products are for dedicated hobbyists or professionals, the Scribbler 2 robot ($130) is designed for beginners who want to get into robotics. The Scribbler is a sturdy wheeled robot that is prebuilt and preprogrammed

POC DEC n 14

for eight modes, including the ability to follow a line, avoid objects and draw. If your gift recipient is more interested in machines that fly, you can buy a model rocket or quadcopter at RC Country (6011 Folsom Blvd.; rccountryhobbies.com). Sacramento’s best local science is found in the region’s natural world. Make it easy for a friend or a whole family to explore nature along the American River Parkway. Give an annual Sacramento County Regional Parks parking pass ($50) or

a membership in Effie Yeaw Nature Center ($30; includes parking at the center). The Yolo Basin Foundation (yolobasin.org) offers nature-themed workshops of high quality and limited size. Reserve a place for your loved one who is curious about birdwatching in A Big Day of Birding on Jan. 24 ($75). Or how about a chance to learn how to use that fancy digital camera at the Nature Photography workshop on Feb. 7 ($100)? Other workshops focus on honey and local

pollinators, and the ecology of Putah Creek. You can buy a Yolo Basin bat T-shirt now and promise your giftee an extraordinary Bat Walk and Talk. These sellout events led by local bat celebrity Corky Quirk begin in June with signups months ahead. Technology rules at Midtown’s Hacker Lab (1715 I St.; hackerlab. org). Perhaps your gift recipient would enjoy a one-night introduction to 3D printing, laser cutting, SCIENCE page 47

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Beat of Her Own Drum TIFFANY TAMARIBUCHI BLAZED A PATH AS THE FOUNDER OF SACRAMENTO TAIKO DAN

BY JESSICA LASKEY ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

iffany Tamaribuchi’s artistic philosophy can be summed up in four words. “Will drum for food,” she says, laughing. But she’s not joking. As the founder and artistic director of Sacramento Taiko Dan, the region’s premier Japanese drumming group, Tamaribuchi has put in more than her fair share of sweat equity to get the group going. “From childhood, I had wanted to play taiko,” Tamaribuchi says. (In Japan, “taiko” refers to a number of percussion instruments, but outside the country, it’s often used to refer to ensemble taiko drumming.) “There’s a festival called Obon where people gather every summer and drum and dance. From the time I could walk, my mom said I would stand in front of the big drum. I grew up wanting to do it.” But the road was not going to be easy for the aspiring artist. “Back in the early 1970s, everyone said, ‘You’re too young’ and ‘You’re a girl,’” Tamaribuchi recalls. “I tried to join Bay Area taiko groups in high school, but it was too difficult to get back and forth.” Undiscouraged, she remained an avid taiko player and started doing accompaniment at the Odon festival in 1986. A year later, while attending a performance of San Francisco Taiko Dojo at Sacramento State, she had a chance encounter with the group’s founder that set her artistic future in motion.

POC DEC n 14

Taiko drummer Tiffany Tamaribuchi

“I asked if he would consider starting a group here,” Tamaribuchi recalls. “He said, ‘No, but I’ll teach you.’” That’s all the encouragement she needed. Tamaribuchi spent the next year traveling back and forth to San Francisco to learn all she could about the fascinating art form. In 1988, she founded an all-women ensemble

called Jodaiko and, the following year, Sacramento Taiko Dan. “As soon as I started taking classes, I started handing out fliers about the group I wanted to start here,” Tamaribuchi says. “Because I was so young, people kept saying, ‘Who are you, kid? How are you going to pay rent or insurance?’” But her persistence paid off.

“The reverend at the Japanese United Methodist Church called and said, ‘I heard you want to start a group,’” Tamaribuchi says. “He said I didn’t have to pay rent or insurance until I could.” And thus, Sacramento Taiko Dan was born. When it first started in August, Tamaribuchi had 12 students. By the time October rolled around, she was teaching 40, and the group has only grown from there. “There was a real demand for it at the time,” Tamaribuchi says. “I think it was because a lot of taiko groups in California only allow you to join if you’re a member of their church. With us, you can just come on down.” They did, in droves, and now Tamaribuchi teaches about 80 students ranging in age from 7 to over 70. “Part of the reason I started this group was because I wanted to do community outreach,” Tamaribuchi says. “I wanted to put a human face on my culture. I wanted to show that it’s accessible, that you can be happy, tapping your feet, having a good time. We’re not silent. We’re vibrant, happy humans. I was kind of weird when I was a kid: I really liked Japanese cultural things, and I took traditional classes like flower arranging. It’s a real shame other kids aren’t into that stuff anymore, so I was hoping taiko could be the gateway. “It’s an exciting Japanese art form, not long and slow and boring like a tea ceremony,” she continues. “Many of my students have actually gone on to study other Japanese cultural things. Everyone’s looking for a connection to their cultural heritage.”

Tamaribuchi certainly found hers. She’s toured the world with the group Za Ondekoza, won the All Japan Odaiko Competition (where she was the only female competitor) and performed at Carnegie Hall, as well as in Europe and Japan. She’s helped local churches start their own taiko groups and she teaches workshops all over the world. (She just got back from a stint in Maui.) “I’m one of the few women who teaches in California,” Tamaribuchi says. “It’s been challenging because I play more power-style, which definitely breaks some gender barriers. I’m 47 now, and I’m the one who drums at the big festivals because the guy who used to do it finally retired. And there are more women getting into taiko now than ever, which is humbling, cool and kinda freaky.” For more information about Sacramento Taiko Dan, go to sactaiko. org n

SCIENCE FROM page 44 computer programming or sewing. Your giftee is already part of the maker movement? Buy a month of access to Hacker Lab’s metal and wood shops, welding, soldering and more. For kids, look at Hacker Lab’s ongoing series of classes organized by Kids Electronics Lab.

Sacramento’s best local science is found in the region’s natural world. Books make great gifts. The American River Natural History Association (arnha.org) publishes several nature books of local interest. “An American River Almanac” is its newest release, featuring color photos and essays celebrating local wildlife. “The Outdoor World of the Sacramento Region” is a musthave reference for local naturalists, covering animals and plants you’ll

see along the river and in our region. Other great science books with a local focus include “The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada,” “Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region” and “California Rocks: A Guide to Geologic Sites in the Golden State.” For fiction, give a science-themed thriller by local best-selling author James Rollins. His newest actionpacked title “The 6th Extinction” includes settings you might recognize (Bodie, Lee Vining and Yosemite). Or consider “Reversion,” my new science thriller about a rabies virus that both kills and cures. Looking for a local science book for children? Woodland resident Kristine Duehl writes the Budding Biologist series of accurate, beautifully illustrated books, with titles like “Am I an Insect?” Also, if you have children on your list, you might give them a session at a science-themed camp. Explorit (explorit.org) in Davis offers threehour science exploration workshops during winter break for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade ($45). Effie Yeaw Nature Center (effieyeaw.org) in Carmichael offers Winter Under the Oaks camps for only $25. Got preschoolers? Give a group of up to 10 kids a special storytime at Splash Center (sacsplash. org) with a chance to meet creatures that live in vernal pools ($75). Planning ahead for summer vacation, give a gift certificate for Destination Science (destinationscience.org), which offers weeklong summer day camps at Sac State for kids 5 to 11 years old. For kids ages 7 to 17, consider iD Tech’s computer and technology summer camps (idtech. com), which are also held on the CSUS campus. If none of these works for your inner Santa, go global for your science gifts. Hit the Internet and find DNA earrings, a pi ice cube tray, plush microbes, a chemistry-inspired cocktail set or a periodic-table shower curtain. For presents, science beats sweaters and slippers any day. Amy Rogers is a novelist, scientist and educator. Contact her at Amy@ AmyRogers.com or learn more at her website, AmyRogers.com n

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Delish Dinners TASTY BOOKS SERIES HIGHLIGHTS COOKBOOK AUTHORS AND THEIR AMAZING RECIPES

BY GREG SABIN RESTAURANT INSIDER

n a recent fall evening, I joined 20 or so Sacramento food fans for a dinner featuring the recipes of a standout California chef. Held at The Porch, the excellent Southern food restaurant on K Street, the event celebrated Tanya Holland, owner/chef of Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen and BSide BBQ. The menu included apple and spinach salad, white gumbo, Creole meatloaf and other creative dishes. The recipes came from Holland’s new book, “Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland.” The event also featured an opportunity to eat with and chat with Holland herself. The evening was part of the Tasty Books series of cookbookthemed dinners put together by local writer and food expert Ann Martin Rolke. A Land Park resident, Rolke graduated from Duke University with a degree in literature and attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She spends her time writing restaurant reviews for Sacramento News & Review, editing cookbooks, testing recipes and, with her husband Bob, raising her highspirited daughter Eva. Over the past few years, Rolke has been hosting writers from around the world at various restaurants throughout the Sacramento area. Each event focuses on a chef’s most recent cookbook and pairs that chef with the most capable kitchen in town to bring that chef’s recipes to life.

POC DEC n 14

Macarons from Ginger Elizabeth is a light and sweet finish to any meal. Coffee caramel, vanilla almond and snickerdoodle are some of the flavors available at the shop.

Several of the events have been hosted at Mulvaney’s Building & Loan. The highly regarded Midtown restaurant did well with the recipes of Cheryl Sternman Rule, author of “Ripe,” a cookbook about eating produce with an eye toward color.

Patrick Mulvaney and his crew also did well with the dishes of Boston chef Joanne Chang. Her South End bakery and cafe, Flour, is an awardwinning establishment, and her latest cookbook, “Flour, Too,” offers a variety of creative baked goods as well

as innovative savory dishes. Having had the opportunity to visit Flour during my last trip to Boston, I can say with experience that Mulvaney’s takes on Chang’s recipes did them justice. While not carbon copies of the dishes served at Flour, Mulvaney’s interpretations showed off the chef’s personality while paying tribute to Chang’s ideas. Rolke teamed up with fellow Sacramento News & Review writer Garrett McCord last year to feature his first cookbook, “Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.” Taylor’s Kitchen worked with McCord and his co-author, Stephanie Stiavetti, to create a gooey, sumptuous evening of mac-and-cheese overload and wine tasting. While not exactly a doctorapproved evening, nearly every food writer and local food fan was in attendance. Last summer, author Jennie Schacht featured recipes from cookbook “I Scream Sandwich!” at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, the unparalleled chocolate maker and confectioner on L Street in Midtown. Normally, I don’t need an excuse to eat ice cream sandwiches, but when an ice cream sandwich cookbook author teams up with one of the finest purveyors of sweet treats in the United States, it’s an event not to be missed. In the case of Tanya Holland, The Porch seemed a perfect fit for her creative Southern recipes. The Porch’s staff carried off the event with flair, especially nailing Holland’s smoked mashed sweet potatoes and caramelized banana pudding. The potatoes were beautifully smoky RESTAURANT page 50

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Stop by Mulvaney's B & L in Midtown for lunch or dinner

RESTAURANT FROM page 48 and indulgently velvety. The banana pudding was familiar yet exciting with the addition of a rum-caramel base and homemade vanilla wafers. But more than just the food, the large dining table and convivial atmosphere gave diners an opportunity to chat with Holland, to pick the brains of staffers at The Porch, and to interact with each other. Many of us were strangers when we entered The Porch that evening, but we all left as friends. I got to chat with Holland about some of the old standout restaurants in Oakland from my time there 20 years ago. I also got to chat with Bob Rolke at The Porch’s bar over a couple of stiff Dark ’n’ Stormies. This is what the Tasty Books dinner series gets so right. More engaging than a simple book signing, more adventuresome than dinner

POC DEC n 14

at a familiar restaurant and more educational than an evening out with friends, these events bring together all the best elements of communal dining. Moreover, they also allow our local kitchen talent to team up with nationally recognized chef/authors, growing our town’s culinary cred while exposing area diners to outof-town stars they may not yet have discovered. Using her background in cooking, writing and cookbook editing, Ann Martin Rolke has found a fantastic way to satisfy all her passions while letting us share them. To join Tasty Books’ mailing list, email tastybooks@yahoo.com

French-inspired pastries, cakes and breads handcrafted on-site every morning by artisan bakers and chefs!

FRIDAYS Doughnut Day &

SUNDAY Croixnut Day (ﬂavor changes every week)

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

FRENCH TEA SERVICE $25/PERSON Set menu includes: tea sandwiches, assorted pastries, macaroon, tarts and choice of organic tea (reservation required)

Located on the corner of 9th & K in downtown Sacramento M-F 7-6, Sat 8-6, Sun 8-4 | 551-1500 | info@estellspatisserie.com

MICHELLE WONG

JUDY CUONG

ANNA HUANG

GABRIEL WITKIN

ELIZABETH VELASCO

JENNIFER ALBIANI

GIL ALBIANI

ELK GROVE

KARAN SCHLAGEL

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS. RE/MAX Gold agents in your community are here to serve you this season and throughout the year. We take this opportunity to thank you for your business and wish you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

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3620 FAIR OAKS BLVD #300 SACRAMENTO, CA 95864 916.609.2800

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CARMICHAEL

Desirable Cameron Ranch. Open Àoor plan, large yard, built in pool, spa, large covered patio, fruit trees & mature landscaping. 4 Beds, 2 bths, new roof, corner lot. Easy access to transportation, schools, parks & shopping. $427,500 DAVID OHARA 916-600-9495

RANCHO CORDOVA

Model-like home. The chef’s kitchen has stainless steel appliances, granite counters, cherry cabinets & huge island. This 3-4 bed, 2.5 bth solar home has a tranquil backyard w/ pond & professional landscaping. $332,000 BRANDON SHEPARD 916-479-1936

EAST SACRAMENTO

3 bed, 1.5 bth on a large corner lot. Family room w/ ½ bath, ¿replace & built in bookshelves & 2 car garage. All beds have new paint, overhead fans, new blinds & wood Àoors. Living & Dining rooms haveswood Àoors as well. Covered patio. $399,500 NICK LAPLACA 916-764-7500

ELK GROVE

Super clean & ready for one lucky buyer! This 3 bed, 2 bth has fresh paint inside & out, great Àoor plan & sit on one of the largest lots in the subdivision. Backyard has complete privacy, patio cover, built in bbq & lots of trees! $279,900 BRANDON SHEPARD 916-479-1936

ELK GROVE

This Cresleigh Ranch beauty boasts 3 beds, 2 bths & a spacious den with double doors. The kitchen opens to the family room & consists of granite counters, stainless steel appliances, closet pantry & bar area that accommodates 4 bar stools. $345,000 BRANDON SHEPARD 916-479-1936

POCKET AREA

3 bd, 2.5 bth w/formal living & dining rooms. Fabulous family room addition open to the kitchen. Big yard w/patio. Upd roof in 2013. New carpet in 2014. Laminate Àooring in living, dining & family rms. $320,000 BILL BONNER 916-320-1888/NICK LAPLACA 916-764-7500

HOLLYWOOD PARK

3 bed, 2 bth, single family home in the heart of Hollywood Park. Roof & gutters approx. 2 years old, dual pane windows throughout, updated kitchen and bath. Close to neighborhood schools! $289,950 JOHN WONG 916-531-7150

POCKET

3 bd, 2.5 bth with remote controlled gate for privacy! Kitchen remodeled in approx. 2008 with custom cabinets & quartz countertops, laminate Àooring thru-out, large living and family rooms, tile roof, HVAC in 2013, 3 car garage and so much more! $399,000 LYNN LUK LEE 916-628-2843

GRANITE BAY

Ashley Woods! Spacious Àoorplan w/sep living & family rms, lge open kitchen w/granite countertops & stainless steel appliances, double ovens & wine refrigerator. Private backyard with built in pool, wet bar & personal spa. $594,900 JOLEEN DUNNIGAN 916-717-3559

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