4 bed 3½ bath. Spacious family room, dining area, kitchen and nook. New roof, new primary bathroom. Covered patio and BBQ MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-1270375
PENDING
1170 Cedar Tree Way - $525,000
PARK PLACE SOUTH HALFPLEX 2 or 3 beds, 2 baths, den with wetbar, built in desk, can be office or 3rd bedroom. Open living space with vaulted ceilings, fireplace. Covered patio MARY LEE 916-425-3749 DRE-00866853
63 Lakeshore Circle - $675,000
CLASSIC COMFORTABLE GREENHAVEN HOME 3 beds, 2½ baths near Seymore Park. Light and bright with many view of lush yard with pool. Rich dark wood floors, plantation shutters PAULA SWAYNE 916-425-9715 DRE-0188158
PENDING
5201 Laguna Oaks Drive #174 - $324,000
CONVENIENT COMFORT ELK GROVE CONDO
1 bed, 1 bath in a great location close to transportation and shopping. Fresh paint, new carpet and sunny balcony CONNIE LANDSBERG 916-761-0411 DRE-00850625
7609 Fey Way - $859,000
STUNNING ZGRAGGEN RANCH SINGLE STORY 5 beds, 4 baths, only a couple of blocks from Oasis Park. Includes a rare Casitas with kitchenette. Big living room dining room area. Much more SARAH MOON 916-743-4157 DRE-02086696
7000 Prazzo Way - $645,000
WELCOME TO ELK GROVE COMFORT & CONVENIENCE
4 bed, 3 bath with formal living and dining rooms, high ceilings and plenty of light. Enclosed sunroom and fruit trees JOSEPH MAGANELLO 916-952-4933 DRE-02069277
2140 Murieta Way - $585,000 SWEET REMODELED HOLLYWOOD PARK HOME 3 beds 1 bath. Original hardwood floors, striking fireplace, custom finishes remodeled kitchen and bath. Garage worshop STEPHANIE GALLAGHER 916-342-2288 DRE-01705253
7024 Wilshire Circle - $415,000
GOLF COURSE TERRACE MID-CENTURY MODERN.
3 bed, 1 bath. Quality updated home with RV access, newer wood laminate floors and refreshing deep built-in pool MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-1270375
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“My work is often inspired by my love of nature and my bicultural background. In my mixed-media and assemblages, I combine images of nature and Japanese culture with found elements, such as leaves, stone, bone, shell and papers. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.” Shown: “Noh Mask 2,” mixed media and collage, 12 inches by 15 inches. This piece is for sale at $250. Elk Grove Fine Arts Center presents “Susan Taira Worlds Apart,” Jan. 4–23. First Saturday Reception is Jan. 4 from 4–7 p.m. Visit @tairafineart and elkgrovefineartscenter.org.
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LNEIGHBORLINESS TAKES WORK, BUT IT’S WORTH IT
Welcome Home
ast year’s elections showed city voters are almost divided over how we want municipal leaders to address local challenges.
Mayor Kevin McCarty and Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum both won tight races. They bring fresh perspectives to City Council, along with newly elected Councilmember Roger Dickinson.
Whether your candidate won or lost, we should all hope and pray the new
By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk
council can tackle the problems facing our city.
Political lawn signs are a local tradition. But knowing the person next door disagrees with you politically doesn’t mean you can’t be good neighbors.
If anything, now is the perfect time to improve your neighborly relations.
Being a good neighbor is simple. It means being the sort of neighbor you want to have next door.
I’ve lived in two neighborhoods during my 35 years in Sacramento. For the first three decades, I moved just once—to a different house on the same street near McKinley Park.
When we arrived, most of our neighbors were elderly. They’d owned their homes for decades.
They were pleasant but not particularly welcoming. We tried to make acquaintances but never connected. It wasn’t until I had a baby and started meeting other young parents that I made neighborhood friends.
When a young couple moved in next door, they became change agents. The
young man organized weekly Friday luncheons for neighborhood men. They visited restaurants and enjoyed fun and laughter. I got the scoop from my husband Jim on what was going on every Friday.
Almost four years ago, we moved to the new Sutter Park neighborhood— the opposite of where we spent three decades.
This time, my experience was different. Jim had dementia. I was more homebound and preoccupied.
But the new neighborhood was an equalizer. Everyone was new and ready to make friends.
When we moved in, we were only the third family amid empty lots. Over the next couple years, other homes were completed and neighbors arrived.
Now the empty lots on our court are filled. Neighbors can get to know one another.
My goal for 2025 is to help start the casual get-togethers that created bonds with my McKinley Park neighbors. I know my neighbors’ names and occupations, but that’s about it. I hope to create a list of information to share
as an informal Neighborhood Watch group.
Other parts of my neighborhood have active social events in the lovely public spaces built by developer Randy Sater of Stonebridge. I’m thrilled Randy moved in next door to me.
My partner Steve is a terrific social connector. He loves to meet people and learn their stories. Like Steve, I’ve learned lots about neighborliness over the years.
Little things are important. Be friendly, smile, nod and wave. If you see someone who might need help, jump in and offer.
Sometimes you don’t have to say a word. Nothing fosters good neighborhood relations better than keeping your property neat and tidy.
It’s helpful to recognize what your neighbors might be going through. Maybe something positive—a new baby, wedding or graduation. Or maybe an event not so happy—illness or injury. Send a text or leave a note. Say you are thinking of them.
Lending or borrowing between neighbors is a nice way to connect.
Healing hearts. Expertly. Compassionately.
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Learn more at DignityHealth.org/HeartandVascular.
Leaf
My late husband Jim would loan anything to anybody. But he was never comfortable borrowing. That was my job.
I only had one stipulation when it came to lending tools. After two power washers we loaned came back broken, I insisted the gear never leave our garage again.
My new neighbors are terrific. I let them know via text when we’re traveling and share contact information.
The new year is a perfect time to improve relations with neighbors, especially those who just arrived and could use a special welcome.
Readers ask how they can contribute to Inside Sacramento. Here’s how: Consider a paid supporting membership starting at $19.95 a year. Use the QR code and help support our mission to deliver local news. Sign up for our weekly newsletter at insidesacramento. com.
Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Cecily Hastings Publisher
Readers ask how they can contribute to Inside Sacramento. Here’s how. Consider a paid supporting membership starting at $19.95 a year. Use the QR code and help support our mission to deliver local news. Sign up for our weekly newsletter at insidesacramento.com.
Criminal Intent
CITY BREAKS LAW BY HIDING BRIDGE RECORDS
One difference between City Hall today and a dozen years ago when I worked there is we tried to follow the law.
I can’t say we followed every rule to black-letter perfection. But we respected our civic duties. Most of the time.
OK, we took liberties with personal phones. We pretended anything texted or emailed on our private, non-city phone accounts was off-limits to snoops who file public records requests.
We were wrong to hide city business on personal phones. We broke the rules. Shame on us.
These days, City Hall is far more brazen when it comes to violating state
RG
By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat
laws that guarantee public access to public documents.
Now if the city doesn’t like your records request, the strategy is to stall and make up reasons to hide information. A favorite trick is to bury embarrassing material under a tombstone called “exempt” communications.
What’s an “exempt” communication? Anything the city wants to conceal.
Public records aren’t complicated. They include texts, emails, reports, phone logs, agreements, meeting notes and photos produced by bureaucrats, consultants, contractors and elected officials doing public business.
For the past six months, my friend Jim Geary has tried to obtain city documents about the Interstate 5 Land Park bicycle bridge fiasco.
The city continues to play games with Jim. First, he was told there’s nothing to see. Case closed. Then he was informed there might be records. But only “non-exempt” records.
You know about the bridge. It’s supposed to connect the Sacramento River Parkway levee bike trail with the Del Rio Trail. The $12 million structure is next to a 1970s railroad span over
the freeway and Riverside Boulevard near Land Park.
When the bike bridge was supposed to open last summer, the city realized something was wrong. Officials examined the new span and discovered—surprise!—inferior concrete and rebar.
What to do? Tear the bridge down and start over, the city told the contractor.
My friend Jim is a retired lawyer with a curious mind. He figured there must be bridge documents swirling around City Hall that would make interesting if not incriminating reading.
Jim wants to know how the city blundered into the bridge mess. He wants to know who’s responsible.
He—and everyone reading this—has a right to those records. State law falls heavily on disclosure’s side.
Residents have a right to learn how their city allowed unacceptable concrete and rebar to find its way across a 10-lane freeway. Citizens have a right to know why months passed before anyone figured out something was wrong.
When Jim began chasing documents, the city posted a public notice: “We understand the frustration and desire for greater communication and transparency, but we also need to manage legal risks in disclosing information prematurely.”
Jim smelled a rat. He says, “‘Legal risks’ is simply a scam to avoid disclosure. How can there be a risk of disclosure of communication between the city and the bridge builder, other than the risk to make the city look bad?”
He reviewed the California Public Records Act and confirmed his suspicions. The law says, “A document
A FAVORITE TRICK IS TO BURY EMBARRASSING MATERIAL UNDER A TOMBSTONE CALLED
Riverside bridge
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
is protected from disclosure only if it was specifically prepared for use in litigation.”
Jim wants records dating back several months. None were prepared for litigation purposes.
The city’s “legal risk” makes disclosure essential. Jim tells me, “The public interest in the activities of a public agency is quite likely to be highest when the agency is being sued. That is exactly the time when members of the public become aware of possible misdeeds or undesirable practices on the part of the agency.”
The city’s refusal to release embarrassing documents about the bike bridge—excuses cloaked in garbage about “non-exempt” communications and “legal risks”—is a coverup.
A dozen years ago at City Hall, we hid political stuff on personal phones. We burned some bridges. But never across a freeway.
R.E. Graswich was special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson 2009–2012. He can be reached at regraswich@icloud. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Who Done It?
POCKET AUTHOR KEEPS HER READERS GUESSING
love a good mystery, especially when the main characters are small town newspaper reporters.
Set the story in the Sacramento Delta and I’m hooked.
By Corky Mau Pocket Life
Award-winning author Michele Drier writes to my tastes. A longtime Pocket resident, she’s produced 18 books that
include mysteries and paranormal romance.
I met Drier at the State Fair. She was part of a program where authors introduce their books to the public. When Drier mentioned living in Pocket, I had to learn more.
A fifth-generation Californian, her family settled in San Francisco in 1849.
Born in Santa Cruz, she was named Michael, after actress and writer Blanche Oelrichs, who wrote under the name Michael Strange.
“Eventually my mother changed my name to Michele so people would know I was a girl,” Drier says.
Drier spent several years as an investigative reporter at the San Jose Mercury News. She also edited newspapers in Modesto and Lodi.
She loves talking about writing and helping authors. In 2020, she co-chaired Bouchercon, the oldest and largest convention for authors and fans of mystery and detective fiction. Drier is past president of Capitol Crimes, a local group for mystery lovers.
A history buff, Drier spends hours researching historical locations and events for her books. Characters include bits and pieces of herself and acquaintances.
In “Labeled for Death,” she mentions the Grands, Sacramento women savvy in local politics. The group is based on real women Drier met through a neighbor, Illa Collin, the late former county supervisor.
“I used them in the book because it seemed sensible that Amy Hobbes, the editor of a local newspaper, would relish a chance to get behind-the-scenes information about local politics,” Drier says.
The book is part of the “Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries,” published in 2011. Characters in the three-book series are based on Drier’s newspaper coworkers.
“The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles” are 11 books in the paranormal romance genre. “My heroines are modern-day women who travel to Budapest, where they fall in love with men who just happen to be vampires. My vampires don’t kill anyone. There’s more sex on the page than violence,” she says.
In 2019, Drier published “The Stained Glass Mysteries.” She says, “I wanted to write a cozy mystery with an edge.”
These days, she’s busy with critique circles and speaking engagements. Of her work habits, she says, “I wish I were a more disciplined writer. I’ll set aside two or three days a week
Michele Drier
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
to write. In my head, I usually know the beginning and ending of a story. The middle evolves as I write. I often lull myself to sleep creating the next chapter.”
Drier always finishes one book before she starts another. She’s writing the 12th book in the vampire series, with plans for another mystery. The plot involves tracking down stolen art around Europe. Her memoirs are also planned.
The books are available on Amazon and in local libraries. For information, visit micheledrier.me.
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Registration for Pocket Girls Softball spring season ends Friday, Jan. 10. Player selections take place Jan. 16–31. For information, visit pocketgirlssoftball.org.
Corky Mau can be reached at corky. sue50@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Studio Series
PBS KVIE BRINGS ICONIC PERSONALITIES TO TOWN
PBS KVIE has launched a new Studio Series with live conversations, lectures and Q&As with four celebrities with a California connection.
The series includes travel show host and guidebook author Rick Steves, Emmy Award-winning comedian Jack
Gallagher, Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and James Beard Awardwinning television host and chef Pati Jinich.
“The Studio Series offers a rare opportunity for our audience to engage with these celebrated figures in an intimate and dynamic setting,” says Kathleen Richards, director of development and marketing.
DINE DOWNTOWN
Bring your appetite for the culinary event of the year—Dine Downtown returns Jan. 10–19.
for creating, advancing and displaying art.
An aging warehouse on the south end of campus was reimagined by architectural firm HGA into a 25,000-square-foot, $18.5 million contemporary lab to support Sac State’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts and prepare students for careers as professional artists.
JL JL
By Jessica Laskey Out & About
Speakers share career stories, discuss current projects and answer questions from the audience. Steves is the first speaker Monday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. For tickets and information, visit kvie.org/ studioseries.
This annual eating extravaganza features prix-fixe, three-course meals for $45 at more than 20 restaurants across the central city. For nearly two decades, Dine Downtown has generated more than $6 million for participating restaurants and donated tens of thousands to local charities.
For information and a list of restaurants, visit downtownsac.org/ downtown-sac-experiences.
ART STUDIO LAB
Sacramento State has opened Art Studio Lab, a multifunctional building
The lab features painting, drawing and sculpture studios, wood and metal shops, exhibition and community space, and individual studios for graduate students. The building includes a covered production area for ceramics kilns and other large equipment, and a publicly accessible sculpture garden for installations and gatherings.
PBS KVIE’s Studio Series features Rick Steves, Jack Gallagher, Kristi Yamaguchi and Pati Jinich.
SHOP 916 GIFT CARDS
Shop local—and get bonus bucks—by purchasing Shop 916 electronic gift cards for more than 110 participating businesses.
Buy a $25 gift card, get a $10 bonus card; buy a $50 gift card, get a $25 bonus card; buy a $100 gift card, get a $50 bonus card. Bonus cards expire March 31.
Gift cards are available through Feb. 15. For a list of participating businesses or to buy a gift card, visit shop916local.com.
CHILDREN’S MUSICALS
NorCal Arts and Fairytale Town have partnered to provide fun, free and engaging live musicals and plays at the popular children’s park.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Fairytale Town to introduce little guests to the magical world of live performance that we hope will foster a big love of the arts,” says Michele Hillen-Noufer, NorCal Arts’ executive director.
Now playing is “Little Bird’s Second Chance” created by NorCal Arts playwright Dorothea Bonneau and composer and musical director Rob Broadhurst. The 25-minute musical is perfect for children ages 2–6.
Performances are weekends at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. in the Children’s Theater and are free with park admission. For information, visit norcalarts.org and fairytaletown.org.
OLD HANDWRITING
This month’s Genealogical Association of Sacramento meeting features Glenda Gardner
Lloyd explaining how to read old handwriting.
The meeting is open to the public at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Belle Cooledge Library. For information, visit gensac.org.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY CONCERT
Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy performs live renditions of hit soundtracks from two Marvel Comics films.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2” will be Jan. 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. at Harris Center in Folsom. For more dates and locations, visit sacprepmusic. com.
The academy is known for delivering full-album concert experiences from The Beatles catalog over the last eight years with The Beatles Guitar Project.
REBELLIOUS ART
Don’t miss “Rebellion,” an exhibition by street artist, engineer, architect, pilot, rebel and provocateur David Černý at Crocker Art Museum through Jan. 12.
More than 25 large-scale works, including a life-size vehicle hanging from the courtyard wall and 11foot faceless babies crawling across balconies, are on display.
Černý is recognized for his monumental sculptures in public spaces that protest authority through satire and derision. For information, visit crockerart.org.
SIERRA 2 CLASSES
Does the start of the new year have you looking for a new hobby? Check out Sierra 2 Center, run by Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association.
In its historic building on 24th Street, the nonprofit offers classes and activities on music, art, martial arts, fitness, dance and more. Sierra 2’s Senior Center has free weekly activities for the older set. For information, visit sierra2.org.
ARDEN PARK TREE PICKUP
Scouts of America Troop 53 offers free Christmas tree pickups Saturday,
Jan. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon throughout Arden Park.
Donations benefit the troop. To schedule a pickup, email ardentroop53@gmail.com.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Now playing is NorCal Art’s “Little Bird’s Second Chance” at Fairytale Town.
“Albert Einstein” by David Černý is on display at the Crocker Art Museum.
Sky High Sky
AEROSPACE MUSEUM GETS KIDS HOOKED ON AVIATION
If you haven’t visited the Aerospace Museum of California, January is the perfect time.
The Smithsonian-affiliated Aerospace Museum is the greatest aviation show in town.
Located on 7 acres at McClellan Business Park, the museum showcases planes from past to present. There are rockets, space travel displays and World War II aircraft.
Flying has long been part of my life. A pilot for 42 years, I’m on the museum
board. I wish I had a museum like this to visit when I was a kid.
The museum inspires pilots and aspiring pilots. You can even learn to fly. In 2024, the Aerospace Museum partnered with the Ellsworth Hovey Getchell Foundation to give $12,500 scholarships for young people to obtain pilot’s licenses.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for aspiring pilots ages 16–22. I mentored our first scholarship recipient, age 17. This year, we have three scholarships. Applications open in January and must be received by Feb. 15. Check the museum website for details.
If you’re not aiming for a pilot’s license, the museum still has much to offer. With 40 aircraft to explore, visitors experience aviation and aerospace history in an interactive setting. The museum is a treat for the imagination.
By Jeff Harris City Realist
Among the highlights is Flight Zone, where guests sit in a simulator and get the feel of flying an airplane. You take off, fly and land at various airports. No harm done if you crash.
The museum blends aviation with science, technology, engineering and math.
“Our mission is simple but powerful: using the wonders of aviation and aerospace to inspire curiosity and a love for STEM in everyone who walks through our doors,” says museum director Tom Jones. “This museum belongs to the community, and with your support we can keep sparking imaginations for generations to come.”
The museum attracted nearly 80,000 visitors in 2024 and hopes for 100,000 this year. Volunteers and docents keep the displays in great shape and answer questions.
Special events include summer camps for kids and educational programs for girls and young women ages 11–18.
The goal is to help people become educated, inspired and involved in aviation.
In years past, most commercial pilots came from the military. These days, many airline pilots are hitting mandatory retirement age. Aviation has tremendous job opportunities for young people. It’s a wide-open field. The Aerospace Museum can unlock the door.
For information, visit aerospaceca. org.
Jeff Harris represented District 3 on City Council from 2014 to 2022. He can be reached at cadence@mycci. net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
The Placemaker
FORMER MAYOR EXPANDED OPTIONS FOR TECH, FUN
After eight years as mayor, Darrell Steinberg knows the homeless crisis will be part of his legacy regardless of the resources, energy and political capital he put into the search for answers.
“I know two things,” Steinberg says. “I think I have been hurt by the expectations I set for myself and I readily acknowledge it. I came in as president of the Senate, author of the (state’s) Mental Health Services Act, and I pushed really hard, and I think the fact that it grew worse not just in the city but in the entire state, people said, ‘Come on. You said it was going to get better,’ and I have to own that.”
While critics tend to overlook his tangible results as mayor—1,200 more shelter beds, partnering with the county for services, and eventual enforcement
G D GD
By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future
against large encampments—there’s another part of Steinberg’s legacy I believe is more impactful.
Steinberg, who left office in December, scraped, clawed and finessed his way through the constraints of political leadership to leave a lasting imprint that will pay dividends for years.
At the UC Davis Health Center campus on Stockton Boulevard, Steinberg mediated the settlement of two neighborhood lawsuits and, with UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and others, paved the way for Aggie Square.
The $1.1 billion innovation hub is projected to generate nearly $3 billion in annual economic activity, with potential for scientific breakthroughs.
Steinberg was a driving force behind the project’s community benefits agreement to bring affordable housing, jobs and other enhancements to people near the health campus.
At the Downtown railyards, Steinberg, Republic FC soccer team and Wilton Rancheria, the tribe that
owns Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, announced plans for a 12,000-seat expandable stadium.
The proposal also envisions a separate entertainment district that would include a hotel, housing, concert venue and other amenities for an investment of more than $320 million.
Much of the infrastructure will be funded by expanding an existing Stadium Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District over the entire railyard site, something pushed by Steinberg and others.
On his way out, Steinberg announced a revamped plan to upgrade the Old Sacramento Waterfront. An earlier effort was derailed by the pandemic, but the city now can leverage some $47 million in hotel tax revenues.
Those funds are available thanks to Steinberg’s championing of a 2022 voter-approved measure allowing the money to be used for “economic development projects.” The waterfront proposal includes a new hotel.
Steinberg’s role in promoting Downtown dates to before he became mayor. In 1997, when Steinberg was a City Council member and the late Joe Serna was mayor, they engineered a $74 million loan to the Kings. Team owners said the bailout was needed to balance their books and keep the Kings in town. The loan was paid back.
When Steinberg was state Senate president in 2013, Sacramento was again in danger of losing the Kings. Steinberg carried legislation to make it all but impossible to delay construction of Golden 1 Center under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Some of Steinberg’s actions were controversial. Some required slick political maneuvering. So what? That’s what it takes to get things done in a modern American city. Steinberg deserves credit for helping drive it all to fruition.
“At the end of the day, there are only two things that matter,” Steinberg said. “What you get done and how people feel about the way you did your job. I think on both counts, I’m leaving with my head very high despite some of the criticism. It’s been messy. It’s been hard. I have made my share of mistakes, no question.
“But the main job of a mayor of modern Sacramento is to aspire and achieve more places for people to have fun. To grow the economy. To build communities. To create memories. That’s why sports and music and art are so important. In a modern growing city, the mayorship is about placemaking, and we’ve done a lot of that.”
Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
STEINBERG, WHO LEFT OFFICE IN DECEMBER, SCRAPED, CLAWED AND FINESSED HIS WAY THROUGH THE CONSTRAINTS OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP TO LEAVE A LASTING IMPRINT THAT WILL PAY DIVIDENDS FOR YEARS.
Darrell Steinberg
Service Plan
NONPROFIT HELPS HOMELESS
VETERANS FIND SELF-SUFFICIENCY
By Jessica Laskey
It took Jay Walker two years to lose his job, marriage, house and car. He called it a run of bad luck.
Problems began when the Army veteran found himself miles from home. After 18 years of sobriety, he went on a “weeklong drunk,” he says, before securing a shelter bed in North Sacramento.
The shelter was good for a cot and meals, but not much else.
“At 6 a.m. during the weekdays, they’d kick you out,” Walker says. “We all used to go down to Loaves & Fishes to hang out.”
At Loaves & Fishes, Walker learned about Nation’s Finest, a nonprofit that provides a comprehensive approach to housing, health and employment for homeless veterans. He filled out an application.
Then Walker was hospitalized with congestive heart failure. He went to Palo Alto for testing through the Veterans Administration, which led to open-heart surgery. From there, he was approved for placement at Nation’s Finest Mather location.
“These people saved my life, make no mistake about it,” Walker says.
Now he looks healthy, seated in the office of program support specialist Kerry Navarette. “They gave me a safe, clean environment to recover in and I’m getting better all the time,” Walker says. “I’m even in the process of getting my own home.”
Navarette says Walker’s story describes why the program exists.
“How to get the veterans we’re serving here to be self-sufficient enough to go from transitional housing to permanent housing and sustain living in permanent housing? Whatever that looks like for them is where my head goes every day that I come into work,” Navarette says.
The first step for veterans seeking assistance is to meet a case manager. A service plan is created with objectives related to substance abuse, mental health, medical, finances, education, employment and housing.
The nonprofit runs more than 30 locations in California, Arizona and Nevada, including one in South Sacramento and one in Mather that serves Mather Veterans Village, the first permanent supportive housing development for homeless and disabled veterans in the region.
“They have a lot of stuff for personal growth and improvement,” Walker says. “When I had a relapse, I needed to plug myself back into recovery mode. Nation’s Finest helps me walk away and stay sober today. I don’t want to go back (to addiction).”
Each site employs administrators and staff who run programs from recovery to suicide prevention. They rely heavily on volunteers.
“It’s not only monetary donations,” Navarette says. “Organizations come and donate materials and time. We have a volunteer that comes to repair bikes. The Kings and Raley’s donated a garden so residents can grow their own food. Hills Church do a monthly brunch where they give out food and talk to residents to see how they can help.”
Eleven months into his stay at Nation’s Finest and celebrating his 63rd birthday, Walker recognizes what got him there and how glad he is to find a new path.
“Speaking to vets out there, sometimes we think we’re owed something and we have a negative attitude,” he says. “But when we’re humble and grateful, things have a tendency to work out much, much better. For everyone out there in a situation, go into things realizing that you were part of the problem at a minimum, and be grateful you’re not sleeping outside.”
For information, visit nationsfinest.org and @nationsfinest1972 on Facebook and Instagram.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Giving Back: Volunteer Profile
Kerry Navarette and Jay Walker
Photo by Linda Smolek
Long Goodbye
THINKING ABOUT RETIREMENT, BUT NOT YET
Last month, before I was to speak at the Sacramento Rotary Club, my wife Becky asked, “Do you think you’ll ever fully retire?” I answered, “Definitely! Mostly. Maybe?”
She asks because she knows I sometimes struggle to write this column, travel for speaking engagements and pastor a small church. It’s all rewarding, but a lot of work.
To explain my reticence, I simply say, “I’m just not sure of the best timing.”
In past years, Inside readers sent many emails with positive responses to my writings. You rolled out the red carpet for me during our dozenplus years together. You hosted me for speeches at colleges, hospitals, churches and civic organizations.
You traveled with me to Honduras for Chispa Project, the charity my daughter Sara created to bring libraries to Honduran elementary schools.
When I think of full retirement, I’m struck with a case of FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. I don’t want to forego more wonderful exchanges, meetings and friendships.
By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters
So, I’ve come up with a compromise for retirement, with ways to stay in touch when I fully retire.
First, consider signing up for my column by email. Inside publishes my
thoughts each month, but I write a weekly version for syndication.
If you’d like the weekly edition, email me at comment@thechaplain. net and I’ll put you on the list. Or sign up at my website, thechaplain.net/ newsletter.
You’ll find my four books on the website—collections of my columns.
“No Small Miracles” contains stories I wrote as a pediatric hospital chaplain at Sutter Memorial. “Hero’s Highway” recounts my deployment to a combat hospital in Iraq.
“Thriving Beyond Surviving” includes columns about faith, family, fun and forgivingness. My most recent book, “Tell It to the Chaplain” recalls my chaplain experiences in the hospital, hospice and military.
The last section of “Tell It to the Chaplain” tells the story of Chispa Project. Thanks to readers like you, we’ve helped more than 22,000 kids in Honduras get their first books by
Finally, know that no matter what I say, I’m not completely retired. I remain pastor of Community Church in Nevada City. The congregation is patient with me, and I miss everyone when travel takes me out of town for at least eight Sundays a year.
As a new year begins, please keep me in your prayers and thoughts as I will for you. Thank you for your faithful reading and support.
Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. Burkes is available for public speaking at civic organizations, places of worship, veterans groups and more. For details and fees, visit thechaplain.net. n
creating school libraries with my daughter’s charity.
Animal Farm
PLEASANT GROVE MAKES ROOM FOR CROPS AND CRITTERS
In golden light surrounded by fields of plump rice and recently harvested corn, beans and wheat, wildlife pecks on dinner.
This is Pleasant Grove Farms, 3,000 acres in the wetlands north of Sacramento. Owners Ed and Wynette Sills drive me around the parcels that comprise the farm.
The test of a healthy farm is the presence of wildlife. While this might seem counterintuitive, farmers who practice organic and regenerative agriculture try to create spaces where crops and other living beings thrive in harmony.
At Pleasant Grove Farms, the Sills love the land and the animals that share it—an obvious love as I see a deer, blue herons, geese, ducks, egrets and cormorants foraging in the dimming light.
Ed’s father Tom Sills founded Pleasant Grove Farms in 1946. Ed took over after graduation from UC Berkeley with a degree in forestry. His studies sparked an interest in sustainable ecosystems. In 1985, Pleasant Grove became an early bearer of the certified organic label.
Wynette Sills went to UC Davis and studied pest management. She met Ed when she worked as a master farm adviser. He asked her out to dinner and wouldn’t stop talking about his organic farm. That was 35 years ago. The couple runs Pleasant Grove Farms together and raised three children there.
Love of the land pushed them to become a certified Regenerative Organic Farm. The regenerative label means the Sills prioritize soil health crop rotations that vary the food grown on specific plots of land.
Pleasant Grove rotates heavy and poorly drained soils in two-year cycles. Lighter and more porous soils rotate in three- or four-year cycles.
By Gabrielle Myers
Aniko Kiezel Farm
In the winter, fields are sown in vetch, a nitrogen fixing legume popular for its ability to repair and replenish soil. Stalks and unharvested plant parts stay in fields after harvest. Turning organic material back into the soil replenishes it.
The couple use water to control weeds by flooding or drying fields. GPS-guided tractors pull weeds and push them back into the dirt. Thus,
Photography by
To Fork
Wynette and Ed Sills
Pleasant Grove avoids herbicides, fumigants and pesticides.
Regenerative farming addresses the health of wildlife. Wynette says, “We will do anything we can do enhance the habitat.”
She recently planted milkweeds to attract monarch butterflies in partnership with the Monarch Preservation Organization. With several butterflies and chrysalises spotted on the farm, the milkweed project helps this threatened butterfly make a comeback.
Milkweed and other pollinatorfriendly plants line the banks of what Wynette and Ed call “Willow Pond,” a place created by field runoff. Beavers and catfish live in the pond. Excess water goes into Auburn Ravine, a wild salmon habitat.
The couple partner with local organizations to promote pollinator-friendly plants. They flood fields in early fall to attract shore birds and work to identify and collect mallard duck eggs. Once hatched, the ducklings return to the fields.
Regenerative farming asks farmers to consider themselves and their workers as part of the system they invest in. With this approach, farm workers are treated with respect, paid sustainable wages and not exposed to harmful chemicals.
Pleasant Grove Farms sells popcorn, corn, rice, wheat, triticale, oats, and kidney, black, mung and urad beans wholesale to Lundberg Family Farms, True Origins Foods, Amy’s Kitchen, Comet Corn and Giusto’s Fine Foods, among other food producers.
For information, visit pleasantgrovefarms.com.
Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Break Self: Feed,” is available for $20.99 from fishinglinepress.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Linotype machine in 2100 Q St. lobby speaks to building’s obsolete past.
Photo by Dick Schmidt
The good stuff is gone. The presses were dismantled and sold for scrap in 2021, the handpainted honeybee wallpaper stripped from the cafeteria decades ago.
Last time I peeked through the windows at 2100 Q St., a Linotype machine gathered dust in the deserted lobby. I bet the owners of the old Sacramento Bee building would donate that 2,000-pound monument to
RG
By R.E. Graswich City Beat
Fresh Start
2100 Q ST. DESERVES AN AMBITIOUS FUTURE
moveable type if someone would haul it away.
There’s no good reason to save the two-block manufacturing site where the Bee was published for almost seven decades. The building’s goals survive elsewhere, on life support. Its practice, methods and influence are dead.
I have former newspaper colleagues with nostalgic feelings for 2100 Q. I worked there for 35 years and share those feelings. But it’s time to call the wrecking crew.
The Bee building was a freak from birth, a vague Streamline Moderne design grafted onto midcentury brick factory. It was never beautiful.
Willful ugliness consumed the plant in the 1980s, when walls were knocked out for pressroom expansion. The Bee barricaded 22nd Street with a threestory printing plant hidden behind more bricks.
In 1950, the McClatchy family wanted a sensible, contemporary home
for its flagship newspaper. Something functional, dependable and steadfast. Eleanor McClatchy, a humble woman, was boss. Her new headquarters would reflect her image of Sacramento.
The building’s designer was Eleanor’s friend, an artist named Dunbar Beck. He drew lines to meet her ambitions and pretentions. Famously, she lacked both.
Eleanor’s headquarters wouldn’t compete with Harry Chandler and his monumental Los Angeles Times command post, or even Charlie Prisk, the Grass Valley boy who built a Beaux Arts stunner for his Pasadena StarNews.
Eleanor meant it when she said, “I was taught that newspaper people should never push themselves forward.”
Miss McClatchy died in 1980. Heirs sold the building in 2017 and went bankrupt in 2020, flushing five generations of leadership.
Now a hedge fund owns the McClatchy name. The Bee’s print circulation, once 300,000, is below 18,000.
The Bee was ruined by mismanagement, arrogance and obliviousness. The company expanded when newspapers were sinking. It took on impossible debt, panicked and stripped the product. The end.
Now comes a new reckoning for 2100 Q. The largest brewery on the West Coast stood there before the Bee. Tomorrow, the address is destined for housing. Times change.
An Irvine property developer called Shopoff owns 2100 Q. Like most real estate companies, Shopoff bought the Bee’s headquarters to flip it.
Shopoff knows there’s money in housing. The company seeks to build homes on the 5½ acre site. The city needs homes. But you can’t always trust developers to create the right product.
Who Loves Their Garage Door Guy?
Russ is the the friendliest and most professional garage expert in town. The only problem is that you will only see him once, because your garage door won’t break ever again. He is one of those people that take their job very seriously, as it is their own home. Thank you, Russ!
- Pablo G. on
Question is, what kind of housing best serves the city at 2100 Q? Here’s where things get tricky. The planning commission and City Council decide what’s best for Midtown. Not the developer.
Shopoff first proposed a high-density mix of 538 apartments spread across two buildings. The plans complemented a successful housing complex on the southwest corner of 21st and Q. Last year, Shopoff junked the first plan and replaced it with a lowerdensity, semi-suburban proposal that involves 122 townhomes and singlefamily dwellings. The company gave no explanation.
Shopoff recently sold part of 2100 Q with plans for 48 townhomes. The company expects to sell the rest by March. “We are very encouraged about the market and are pleased with our progress and partnership with the city,” says Brian Rupp, Shopoff executive vice president.
But the lower density plan lacks inspiration. Townhouses are more appropriate for Watt Avenue than 2100 Q. Low-density developments don’t belong at 21st and Q.
Maybe City Hall thinks townhomes and single-family houses will promote
the Midtown aesthetic—vintage, green and neighborly. I prefer density. Either way, 2100 Q St. is history. What happened there—seven decades of civic leadership, journalistic pride and sins—is old news.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Sacramento is owned and operated by a local expert and Sacramento native. Why go to a big box store when you can receive superior service from someone with decades of experience? Russ will not only walk you through your options, he is also the one that puts on the tool belt to get the job done right. He treats his customers like family.
FThink Small
SOCCER STADIUM PLAN MAKES SENSE, SORT OF
Mayor Darrell Steinberg gave the city a sporting gift on his way out the door. The city needs to decide whether to accept Steinberg’s present or return it.
The gift is a term sheet for a minorleague soccer stadium in the Downtown railyards.
In theory, the proposal paves the path for a public-private partnership between Republic FC and the city to build a 12,000-seat soccer grounds in a former toxic waste dump.
Months of negotiation await. Nothing may happen. But the deal is tempting.
The yards’ forlorn eastern corner holds no promise for commerce or homesteads. The land sits abandoned almost three decades since Southern Pacific ceased operations and sold to Union Pacific, which hammered the final rusted spike into the city’s railroading history in 1999.
Now the soccer team and its new majority owner, Wilton Rancheria, dream of a $227 million stadium
where leaky, belching locomotives once roamed.
Wilton Rancheria is a tribe that owns a casino in Elk Grove. Those 2,100 slot machines mean the soccer team can cover debt service on stadium bonds.
But sports investors always try to minimize financial exposure. Here’s where the city comes in—a partner in risk erasure and cost reduction.
Under Steinberg’s plan, the city will reimburse Republic FC for at least $42 million in infrastructure costs.
The former mayor boasts the city won’t write a check for $42 million. Technically, he’s not lying. But over time the city will give Republic FC $42 million and more.
Instead of writing a check, the city will funnel money to the team through a gimmick called an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District—a governmental smokescreen that distributes property taxes from a specific site.
This infrastructure financing district is 220 acres of old railyards, with potential to generate $518 million in property taxes over 45 years. Republic FC grabs the first $42 million.
Soccer and Republic FC are bizarre obsessions with Steinberg. He tried to negotiate the team’s elevation to Major League Soccer, but failed when he couldn’t conjure hundreds of millions of dollars needed for expansion fees and a big-time stadium.
With hours ticking down on his second term, Steinberg faced the humiliation of leaving City Hall with no legacy project and zero policy accomplishments beyond a couple of sales tax hikes, which he and his City Council partners squandered.
Steinberg was never a big soccer fan. Our kids played on the same team as teenagers. Darrell was tranquil on the sideline, often on his phone, quiet and supportive—never an obnoxious youth sports parent.
My guess is Steinberg and the City Council are haunted by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s ability to build Golden 1 Center and stop the Kings from moving to Anaheim or Seattle.
Steinberg was in the state Senate when the NBA drama played out. He
was tranquil on the sideline, often on his phone.
Republic FC is a minnow compared to the whale at Golden 1 Center.
The city’s two public-private sports partnerships, Republic FC and Kings, have nothing in common.
The city owns Golden 1 Center and contributed $223 million in construction bonds. Private developers own the railyards. The soccer team will buy the land and build the stadium.
It’s nice having Republic FC around. But a minor league soccer team isn’t critical to the city’s pride and identity.
Still, here’s why I like the stadium proposal:
I’m tired of seeing an empty toxic wasteland along North B Street. A tidy little soccer pitch is better than nothing.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority
That’s not all the soccer team gets. The city throws in $3 million for police and emergency services over 10 years. And the city lets Republic FC build seven digital signs without rent or fees. Also, City Hall helps the team win construction grants.
The signs and grants pencil to an extra $9.7 million for Republic FC.
THE FORMER MAYOR BOASTS THE CITY WON’T WRITE A CHECK FOR $42 MILLION. TECHNICALLY, HE’S NOT LYING. BUT OVER TIME THE CITY WILL GIVE REPUBLIC FC $42 MILLION AND MORE.
Proposed future field of FC Republic
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
ormer
Why would the city bother with a minor league soccer team and has-been mayor?
READERS NEAR & FAR
3.
1. Christina Kashiwada and her mom, Margie Wing, at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France.
2. Roz Goldenberg and Mandy Davies in Antarctica.
Florrie Matsueda in Osaka, Japan.
4. Sandra Bauer (center) with her granddaughters, Alexa Bauer and Blythe Bauer, in Tromso, Norway, to view the Northern Lights.
5. Melissa Torres-Montoya and her mother, Martha Torres-Montoya, in Teotihuacán, Mexico.
6. Delaney Schmitt and Grace Wilgus at a Mt. Cross education trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Living History
LAND PARK HOME HONORS ARCHITECT WHO SHAPED THE CITY
The 1937 Spanish Revival-style duplex in Land Park is the perfect place for retired architect Peter Saucerman and his wife Susan Twining.
The house features an owner-occupied unit of 2,200 square feet and another 1,100-square-foot rental. The owner’s side has three bedrooms and two bathrooms on two floors connected with a curving staircase, plus a two-car garage.
Local architect Leonard F. Starks designed the property for himself and his wife Eleanor. One of
the city’s most prolific architects, Starks designed the Elks Tower, C.K. McClatchy High School, Downtown Post Office and Alhambra Theatre, the latter demolished but still missed.
Starks lived in the home until his death in 1986 at age 94. Saucerman bought the property in 1995 after it sat for nine months and was nearly repossessed by a bank.
Saucerman was smitten the moment he walked in and saw the luminous windows and woodbeamed living room ceiling. “The details were just amazing,” Saucerman says. “The light was so interesting since it came from various directions.”
By Cecily Hastings Open House
by Aniko Kiezel
He was stunned when he realized the connection to Starks. “I found that Starks had been a founder of the architectural firm Nacht & Lewis, where I once worked. But I had never met Leonard. I remember that architectural partner Dick Lewis used to visit him and look out for him.”
Saucerman was in no rush to update the home, but that changed when he and Twining married in 2003. The couple started with a kitchen remodel
Photography
Peter Saucerman and Susan Twining with Gracie, their dog.
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2429 50TH AVE $265,000 7268 LOMA VERDE WAY $325,000 6661 CARNATION AVE $332,000 2005 FRUITRIDGE RD $360,000 2050 MANGRUM AVE $365,000 5617 EL GRANERO WAY $369,000
FLORIN RD $379,000
TAMOSHANTER WAY $380,000 2615 TOY AVE $390,000 7024 WILSHIRE CIR $415,000 7563 32ND ST $435,000 1450 FRUITRIDGE RD $457,000 4949 HELEN WAY $465,000 4700 ATTAWA AVE $475,000 6240 25TH ST $570,000
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3932 WHITNEY AVE $200,000 3721 WHITNEY AVE $320,000 2850 BELL ST
3709 BROWNSON ST $376,000 3411 LERWICK RD $384,000 4220 EDISON AVE $391,000 2809 AVALON DR $400,000 2377 CARLSBAD AVE $405,000 3506 LEATHA WAY $420,000 3116 CREST HAVEN DR $420,000 3000 FAIRWAYS CT $420,000 3771 N EDGE DR $440,000 3601 DOS ACRES WAY $450,000 2530 CASTLEWOOD DR $459,500 3130 LERWICK RD
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975 FULTON AVE #487 $207,000
1019 DORNAJO WAY #224 $213,000
2424 LARKSPUR LN #215 $230,000
1019 DORNAJO #115 $230,000
2424 LARKSPUR LN #217 $240,000
1019 DORNAJO WAY #152 $240,000
2430 LARKSPUR LN #280 $257,950
2280 HURLEY WAY #33 $259,000
2237 WOODSIDE LN #4 $268,900
841 E WOODSIDE LN #1 $272,500
2280 HURLEY WAY #68 $290,000
2290 WOODSIDE LN #3 $310,000
203 ELMHURST CIR $330,000
2064 JOAN WAY $354,950
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that honored the architectural heritage. Later they remodeled the upstairs bathroom with the same respect for history.
The kitchen remodel opened the closed, dark space to the dining room. The dining room ceiling beams have the same stenciled designs as the living room.
“Before and after our wedding and honeymoon, we were busy finishing all the cherry cabinets in the kitchen by hand,” says Twining, a retired nurse. “We had the cabinets custom made but we were very particular about the exact finish.”
The home faces Riverside Boulevard and has a tiny yard. The couple turned the yard into an outdoor patio. They built a painted brick wall to match the home’s white exterior, added concrete pavers and a semi-circle fountain to extend the planter detailing.
Lush landscaping with climbing vines and sago palms creates an interesting green backdrop. A seating area for dining and relaxing highlights the area.
“Getting the duplex onto the Sacramento Register of Historic Resources in 2022 was a pandemic-era project for me,” Saucerman says.
He was encouraged by his friend and neighbor Curtis Popp, a designer who did the same for his Art Moderne home down the street. Saucerman worked with Don Cox and Paula Boghosian, a husbandand-wife team who owned Historic Environment Consultants.
“This home always represented an opportunity for us, but also a responsibility to preserve it into the future,” Saucerman says.
Starks helped with the historic registration process. He left a trove of drawings and photo
albums dating from 1915. The treasures showed people and projects from the architect’s life.
“On many occasions I referred to his original drawing to make decisions on things to restore,” Saucerman says. “Susan and I act more like curators than anything else. We never felt a need, or even really a reason, to do any great remodels or big changes to it. Painting, repairs and HVAC upgrades are really all we’ve done. Even the windows are mostly original.”
Now in their early 70s, the couple plans to age in place as Starks did. “We have a small bedroom and full bath on the lower level if we ever need it,” Twining says. “Otherwise, we can easily accommodate a
chair lift on the staircase. And right outside our door is a bus stop to get anywhere.”
When it’s time to pass along their perfect place, Saucerman says, “We hope the next owner will continue to honor the magnificent history of this home. And love it as much as we do now.”
Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. To recommend a home or garden, contact cecily@insidepublications.com. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Day Tripping
COUNTY PROGRAM GIVES SHELTER DOGS A BREAK
Cinnabon is a cinnamon-colored pit bull, all muscle with a tongue that dangles from a smile stretching the limits of her wide jawbones.
C R CR
By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies
Okapi, a solid black German shepherd, has gigantic puppy paws that, at 4 years old, she has yet to grow into.
Tom is a senior—an 8-year-old mix of rottweiler, shepherd, perhaps a little pit bull.
All three dogs are gentle, calm and curious. They are ideal candidates to get out of the county animal shelter and walk a park trail, lounge on shaded grass, sneak favors on a restaurant patio—even for just one day.
Last year, the county’s Bradshaw Animal Shelter launched Barks & Recreation, a program that gives shelter pups a daylong break from kennels, a respite from the stress of living behind bars.
“Barks & Recreation is not just about giving dogs a break from the shelter—it’s about enriching their lives and preparing them for a forever home,” Shelter Director Annette Bedsworth says.
Field trips help dogs develop social skills and meet potential adopters. “Plus, it’s a great way for the public to enjoy the company of a loving dog without a long-term commitment,” Bedsworth adds.
Appointments to pick up a dog are seven days a week, every 30 minutes from 9–11 a.m. Up to five dogs get outings each day.
To ensure a good dog-to-person fit, questions include preferred size and breed. Shelter staff pre-select well-mannered canines who are less likely to be adopted and have been at the shelter for long stretches. Shepherds, huskies and pit bulls dominate.
“Small dogs are eligible for the program but are adopted quickly,” Bedsworth says. “Medium and large dogs, who are often overlooked and stay in our care longer, benefit the most.”
Matches are made based on the canine’s energy level and the person’s handling experience. Will the day’s activities be couch cuddling at home with a movie, short strolls and people watching, or long hikes and maybe some swimming?
Cinnabon’s day began with a 3-mile trek around Ancil Hoffman Park, followed by lunch at La Bou in Carmichael and squirrel surveillance at William B. Pond Recreation Area.
Okapi crossed Tower Bridge to walk along the West Sacramento waterfront, toured Old Sac, took treats on Selland’s patio on H Street and strolled around McKinley Park.
Tom led the way along the American River Parkway near Nimbus Dam, made friends at Jack’s Urban Eats in Gold River and wandered the Old Fair Oaks shopping district.
Bradshaw provides a backpack with dog treats, collapsible water bowl, poop bags and emergency contact information.
Dog parks and interactions with other animals are off limits, but human encounters offer hope for adoption. Bedsworth says, “Barks & Recreation showcases their wonderful personalities to potential adopters one adventure at a time.”
Make an appointment to take a dog out at animalcare.saccounty.gov, under “About.”
Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@ surewest.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Cinnabon enjoys a day out at Ancil Hoffman Park.
INSIDE OUT
Sacramento Police Department was victorious in this year’s Heroes Cup, a friendly soccer tournament between law enforcement agencies and fire departments from Northern California. The event raises money for Firefighters Burn Institute.
For information, visit ffburn.org.
Heroes Cup
PHOTOS BY AUBREY JOHNSSON
If there’s one thing Kamika Hebbert knows it’s this: “It doesn’t matter what you come from, you can be the change. Don’t let your negative circumstances be your outcome.”
She could be speaking about herself. Hebbert grew up between foster care and her biological family. Many of her relatives were incarcerated. At age 9, she started writing letters to family members behind
J L JL
By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor
Voices Unlocked
bars to provide them with an emotional connection, care packages and even financial support.
“Nobody asked me to do it,” says Hebbert, who moved with her foster family to Elk Grove from East Palo Alto as a child. “When you’re incarcerated, you’re just thinking of what you need to survive. You don’t think about the individual you’re asking. You don’t realize they have a job or school.”
Despite the challenges, Hebbert found her light— literally.
“Theater is what saved me,” she says. Hebbert was a student at Sacramento City College when theater professor Luther Hanson asked his class to write a play. Hebbert penned “In By Chance, Out By Choice” about a youth in foster care. She became hooked on dramatic authorship.
“When you find something you’re passionate about writing about and you can visualize the characters, it comes with the snap of a finger,” Hebbert says.
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER USES LIFE’S CHALLENGES TO CONNECT
The first play led to her second, an exploration of her childhood letter writing titled, “We’ve Been Sentenced.” When she performed it at The Center at Twenty-Three Hundred, the response was positive.
“It showed me how impactful the message is, even for people who’d never experience that life. It was eye opening to them,” Hebbert says.
One of Hebbert’s supporters, Phyllis Needelman, introduced the young writer to San Diego producer Amy Krause, who thought the material could be adapted for the screen. Hebbert created a documentary that incorporated her story and narratives of formerly incarcerated individuals.
The documentary premiered at the Guild Theater in May and spawned workshops in a communityimpact project led by Hebbert.
“My heart and soul are so into this movement,” she says. “In our workshops, we show the documentary and invite the community to come out and have talks. The cast is part of the panel discussion. They’re people who were formerly incarcerated and are now doing wonderful things out in the community.”
Hebbert’s Write on Time workshops are presented through Kamika Speaks, her motivational speaking brand, hosted at the creative writing nonprofit 916 Ink. She’s in talks with local school districts and hopes to work with young people in juvenile hall.
“It’s so enriching,” she says. “We’re in the community making change. I want more and more people to hear about this so they can help. My story might not touch somebody, but somebody might have a story that can touch somebody. I want that ripple effect to make the world a better place.”
For information, visit wevebeensentenced.com and @kamikaspeaks on Instagram.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@ gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Kamika Hebbert
Photo by Linda Smolek
Gumbo vegetable
introduced
Lead-in to “call”
“Dear ___ Hansen”
Like racehorses’ hooves
___ jockey
Instrument with pipes
Bermuda or brown vegetable
Intended
Whichever
Aluminum wrap
Soccer stadium shouts
School grp. for adults
Agcy. that issues nine-digit IDs
Purchase
TO DO
THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS
By Jessica Laskey Calendar Editor
COMMUNITY
Northern California Home & Landscape Expo
Gary Brown Enterprises
Friday, Jan. 31, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 1 & 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Cal Expo (1600 Exposition Blvd.); homeandlandscapeexpo.com
Admission: $10 general; free for kids 12 and younger; discounts for seniors, first responders, medical heroes and military
Peruse hundreds of exhibits showcasing everything for the home and garden, plus workshops, speakers, chats with industry experts and a chance to win giveaways.
¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues
California Museum
Through Jan. 19
1020 O St.; californiamuseum.org
Admission: Free for members; $10 adults; $8 seniors, military and youth; free for kids 5 and younger
Don’t miss this Smithsonian
Institution traveling exhibit that shows how generations of Latinos and Latinas helped make baseball the game it is today.
Glass, China & Pottery Sale
International Depression Glass Club
Saturday, Jan. 18, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 19, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Scottish Rite Center (6151 H St.); idgc.org
Admission: $6 ($5 if you mention Inside Sacramento); 2-for-1 on Sunday
See and purchase vintage and midcentury glass, china, pottery, jewelry, linens, kitchenware, silver and more.
A New Year’s Taste of the Classical Congregation Beth Shalom
Sunday, Jan. 12, 4 p.m.
4746 El Camino Ave.; cbshalom.org/event/ concertseries
Tickets: $20 adults (includes reception); free for students/kids
Enjoy classical music from Johannes Brahms and Pable de Sarasale featuring Anita Felix on violin and Miles Graber on piano.
Sacramento Chocolate Salon
International Chocolate Salon
Sunday, Jan. 26, 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
The Citizen Hotel (926 J St.); sacchocolatesalon. com
Tickets: $19.95 adults in advance; $25 adults at the door; $11 kids 6–12; free for kids 5 and younger
Discover, taste and savor the finest in artisan, gourmet and premium chocolates and confections.
This multi-cultural dance and music showcase features African, Mexican, Chinese, Ukrainian, Hmong, Brazilian and Aerial Aboriginal performances.
Beethoven, Brahms, and Hadelich
Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera
Saturday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 26, 2 p.m.
SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (1303 L St.); sacphilopera.org
Tickets: $35–$115
Principal Conductor Ari Pelto leads Beethoven’s boisterous “Symphony No. 7.” Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich joins for Brahms’ “Violin Concerto.”
Garrison Keillor Tonight GD Theatres
Saturday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Crest Theatre (1013 K St.); crestsacramento.com
Tickets: $56–$78
Enjoy an evening of stand-up, storytelling, song and poetry with the iconic “one man, one microphone.”
Northern California Home & Landscape Expo at Cal Expo.
John McCutcheon
The Sofia
Saturday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m.
2700 Capitol Ave.; bstreettheatre.org
Tickets: $33.50
This Grammy-nominated multiinstrumentalist/folk musician/storyteller celebrates his 45th album, “Field of Stars.”
Kimberly Akimbo
Broadway Sacramento
Through Jan. 5
SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (1303 L St.); broadwaysacramento.com
Tickets: $42.25–$109
Sixteen-year-old Kim navigates family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush and possible felony charges in this 2023 Tony Award-winning musical.
ART
Sketchy x 3: Sean Bonito, Mary Czechan Coldren and Brad Morlock
Twisted Track Gallery
Jan. 3–Feb. 2
First Friday Reception Jan. 3, 6–9 p.m.
Second Saturday Reception Jan. 11, 5–9 p.m. 1730 12th St.; (916) 639-0436 or (916) 769-2700
Bonito uses graphite pencil to render animal portraits, Coldren creates stunning animal skull pictures with pastels and Morlock shows brick charcoal images on paper.
Survey 2025
Archival Gallery
Jan. 4–25
3223 Folsom Blvd.; archivalgallery.com
This group exhibition celebrates the eclectic mix of Archival’s stable of more than 30
Northern California artists working in diverse styles and techniques.
City of Trees & Axis Mundi
Axis Gallery
Jan. 3–26
Second Saturday Reception Jan. 11, 5–8 p.m.
625 S St.; axisgallery.org
Artist Frank J. Stockton shares his love letter to the Sacramento horizon. The East Gallery features work by Molly Champlin and Mirabel Wigon.
Path to Illumination: Kristine Bybee
ARTHOUSE
Jan. 10–Feb. 2
Opening Reception Jan. 11, 5–8 p.m. 1021 R St.; arthouseonr.com
The artist’s paintings of rivers and mountains illuminate the natural world and capture moments with gold, silver and copper leaf.
Jill Estroff
Jane Gallery
Jan. 3–Feb. 18
First Friday Reception Jan. 3, 4–6 p.m.
Opening Reception Jan. 11, 5–8 p.m.
1000 Alhambra Blvd.; janegallery.com
Revel in the artist’s loose, abstract style with vivid color and texture at this new gallery owned by artist Jane Mikacich next door to the Limelight.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
“Aspens in a Cloud of Silver” by Kristine Bybee at ARTHOUSE.
“Brushing Up” by Jill Estroff at Jane Gallery.
“Feed Me” by Sean Bonito at Twisted Track Gallery.
IRescue Mission
SAVING THAT PLANT IS EXCELLENT FOR THE SOUL
cannot repair a modern appliance. Troubleshooting computer problems, reprogramming the home security system and installing child car safety seats stump me. Shameful.
My feeble attempts at Mr. Fix-It are soon abandoned, followed by a call or text to my son or daughter-in-law. It begins with, “Do you know how to…?” When your 8-year-old granddaughter is better at operating the TV remote control, you admit shortcomings.
Plants are my strength. I am a plant rescuer. I can fix a plant, and nurture it to health and long life. Herbaceous or woody, deciduous or evergreen, once a plant enters hospice care, I perform miracles.
Buying plants is costly. Recently, I spent $32 on a Rose of Sharon hibiscus and nearly $30 on two lavenders. Perennials are not forever. Like humans, some live long lives,
others succumb to growing conditions, diseases, pests or neglect. Annuals and biennials have the shortest lifespans.
Nurseries sometimes group the lopsided, the intensive-care, the pathetic runts on a table far removed from the bold and beautiful plants. Pounce on the bargains.
Opportunity may knock while visiting a neighbor or friend. You may happen upon a plant in critical condition. Often, it’s a houseplant, maybe even an orchid. Casually ask about the plant to nudge a reply of, “Why? Do you want it?” Score!
If you are friends with serious gardeners, you may be able to nurture their donations. Iris, daylily, canna, chrysanthemums and ornamental grasses are plants that should be divided after a couple of years. Dividing plants is lifting the clump from the soil and separating into several plants with roots to ensure rejuvenation and survival. More plants, too.
Dividing is not difficult but requires attentive home care until each youngster matures.
By Dan Vierria Garden Jabber
Sad looking plants may be rejuvenated simply by moving to another location. Not enough sun, too much sun, too much water, soggy soil or not enough water may cause decline.
Prepare the new planting hole before removing the sickly plant. Should the plant need urgent care, temporarily house it in a large nursery pot and tend to it until it rebounds for replanting.
Before replanting, research the ideal growing conditions. Does it prefer full sun, partial shade, regular waterings or occasional irrigation? The right plant in the right place is a useful guideline.
Fading container plants may be rootbound. Remove them from the pot and examine the roots. If roots are circling the bottom of the root ball or there is more root than soil, cut off an inch or two of roots, gently spread out the remaining roots and replant in a slightly larger container with fresh potting soil.
Container plants suffer from clogged drain holes. A rotten egg odor indicates a water-logged pot not properly draining. Tilt the container and examine the drainage holes. You can clear them by pushing a metal cooking skewer up the holes. If the soil is soggy and has an unpleasant odor, repot the plant in fresh potting soil.
Plants are not shy about sending up red flags. Yellow or dry, shriveled leaves are a warning. Be aware that yellowing leaves on lower stems may be normal aging, while yellowing throughout the plant may indicate a problem.
A plant in need of special care is likely to have some root damage. Prune dead parts to encourage new growth. Reducing the plant also reduces the workload of damaged roots.
Weed around ailing plants. Weeds are competition for soil nutrients and water.
Weak plants attract damaging insects. Examine leaves a few times a week, inspecting the underside of leaves.
Fertilizers can boost plant health, but feed in moderation, use the proper fertilizer and always follow label directions. Feed plants after thorough watering.
Saving them all is not possible. Yet even one plant resurrection nourishes the soul. Now, go forth and heal your plant babies.
Dan Vierria is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Sacramento County. He can be reached at masterg29@gmail.com. For answers to gardening questions, contact UCCE Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
RADISH
These are grown locally year-round, but they are particularly crisp, juicy and mild in flavor when grown in cool weather. They come in multiple varieties, including daikon, watermelon and white icicle.
To eat: Serve with butter and salt for a French-inspired hors d’oeuvre.
SWEET POTATO
Toe To e hor
This large, starchy, sweettasting root vegetable is a great source of betacarotene.
To eat: Roast the flesh and use instead of pumpkin for a delicious Southern pie.
BLOOD ORANGE
This small citrus fruit has few seeds and a loose, puffy orange skin that is easy to peel, making it a popular addition to children’s lunchboxes.
This small is easy to p
Eat it: Peel and enjoy.
Eat it: Peel
Monthly Market
A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN SEASON AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS IN JANUARY
MEYER LEMON
This citrus fruit is yellower and rounder than a regular lemon, and its flavor is much sweeter.
To eat: Use the juice to make a sweet curd or a nicely flavored vinaigrette.
CABBAGE
This leafy green-, purple or white-colored plant is low in calories and can be pickled, fermented, steamed, stewed, braised or eaten raw.
To eat: For a fresh slaw, slice thinly and toss with poppy seed dressing.
BROCCOLI
This healthful cruciferous vegetable is available much of the year, from September through June. It’s a member of the cabbage family.
To eat: Steam or roast at high heat in the oven with olive oil and salt.
Deep Impression
CHRIS DAUBERT INSPIRED GENERATIONS OF ART STUDENTS
Chris Daubert had a great attitude.
“Chris was exciting to be around,” says artist Jill Estroff, who met the late artist, educator and curator in Daubert’s art
J L JL
By Jessica Laskey Open Studio
history survey class at Sacramento City College.
“His boundless enthusiasm for art infused his classes and everyday conversation with an energy that was catching and gave students courage to develop their skills and put their work out there.”
Over the decades, Daubert inspired countless students and fellow creatives. When he died of organ failure in May 2023, he left an impression on the local artistic landscape that continues today. He was 72.
“His best work was reliant on his manipulation of how we perceive the world and art,” says artist Fred Dalkey, a longtime Sac City colleague.
Daubert’s work included drawings, paintings and large-scale mixed-media installations. Estroff remembers one exhibition that involved an “environment of entangled branches that emitted almost musical and haunting sounds as you wandered. Another creation was activated by movement and sound. These experiences stayed with you.”
Several Daubert pieces were displayed in a memorial exhibition at Twisted Track Gallery on R Street in December, curated by Nisa Hayden, who adored the artist.
“Chris hadn’t had a solo show in Sacramento for some years and I felt it would be appreciated,” Hayden says. “He was such a beloved figure in the
art community. I also hoped—and do hope—that some of the work sells and finds a home outside of his studio.”
While Daubert’s work has been celebrated, his gifts as a person and mentor stick most with people.
“In addition to being an artist whose work we both deeply admired, he was a wonderful person and so giving of his time and expertise to many,” says Victoria Dalkey, longtime art critic and wife of artist Fred Dalkey. “He was a superb artist and teacher and a mentor to many artists who were just starting out.”
Estroff recalls Daubert’s efforts to support colleagues and his community, including helping build a studio for a
Chris Daubert
Photo by Andres Alvarez
fellow artist and an entrance ramp for a friend injured in a fall.
He curated more than 100 exhibitions for educational institutions and galleries, including Beatnik Studios, Richard L. Nelson Gallery at UC Davis and Sac City’s Gregory Kondos Gallery where he served as curator for 12 years.
Daubert and his wife of 50 years, Dana, donated $1 million to establish
the Christopher D. and Dana Daubert Endowment for Art Education to support the Gregory Kondos Gallery.
His death spurred remembrances and tales of the artist’s keen eye, honesty, generosity and creativity that still inspire.
“Mentor and dear friend, he nurtured so many people’s dreams for a creative life,” Estroff says. “His presence will long linger and influence
those of us lucky enough to have known him.”
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous
profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Champions of Breakfast
TWO MIDTOWN WINNERS START THE DAY RIGHT
Vegan and gluten-free pandan waffle with ube coconut buttercream, almonds and praline dust at
Two Midtown breakfast spots span the spectrum from oldfashioned to new-fangled. Both create delightful mornings with excellent cooking.
THE MORNING FORK
The Morning Fork opened on 21st Street in 2019. Owners Keith and Jennifer Swiryn took over the site occupied by Lucky Cafe. They updated the menu, dining room and experience.
The Morning Fork is one of the most popular breakfast restaurants in town.
One glance tells the story. Open the front door and notice every stool taken along the counter. You’ll find steaming cups of coffee on every table. You’ll see the grill get a workout, producing fried eggs, pancakes and crisped hash browns.
Service is prompt and friendly. The morning shift brings a ray of sunshine with them. Coffee is fast and frequent. Check-ins are quick and casual.
Breakfast standards arrive in abundance. Eggs and bacon, waffles and French toast, biscuits and gravy all succeed. But the menu goes beyond the familiar delights.
A standout fried chicken is a favorite. The batter is spiked with sage and more than 11 herbs and spices, the perfect combo of crispy and juicy.
By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider
There’s more. Alongside the chicken is an indulgent side of sausage gravy
that puts every bite over the top. A piece of Morning Fork’s fried chicken smothered in homemade gravy is the stuff of breakfast dreams and cardiology nightmares.
Other creative offerings arrive from the sweet side. The “Waffle Queen”
takes a thick Belgian waffle and tops it with marshmallow butter, banana, dark chocolate shavings, toasted coconut, Reese’s crumbles and rainbow sprinkles.
Not recommended by dentists, it’s a favorite of sweet breakfast lovers.
The Morning Fork.
Photos by Linda Smolek
The Morning Fork
The Morning Fork is tuned into what this breakfast diner wants: a classic, retro, homey spot with dialed-in modern cooking.
SUNNY SIDE BREAKFAST & ASIAN FUSION
Two blocks away, a new breakfast and brunch restaurant opened in October and is generating buzz. Sunny Side Breakfast & Asian Fusion combines traditional American favorites with breakfast and brunch treats from Asia.
Sunny Side is on 19th Street at Capitol Avenue. Gelato lovers may remember the location as home of Devine Gelateria. Gone are the cold cases and Italian street scene photos. New are TV monitors playing footage of waterfalls and lush foliage.
If you don’t follow food trends on social media, you might not know Asian breakfast is having a moment. Sunny Side draws influence from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and throws in a Hawaiian flair.
The hallmark is omurice. The Japanese dish, featuring a pile of rice topped with a soft omelet and sauce, is an internet star.
Start with a pile of fried rice, add a spiral-swirled “tornado omelet,” add a piece of grilled eel, then finish with eel sauce, and garnish with micro greens and sesame seeds. The dish is no small undertaking to make or devour. It’s delicious.
Don’t overlook Sunny Side’s version of Loco Moco, Korean fried chicken and waffles, and Korean noodles with pork belly and fried egg. All exciting dishes, done well.
The Morning Fork is at 1111 21st St.; (916) 476-6765; themorningfork.com. Sunny Side Breakfast & Asian Fusion is at 1221 19th St.; (916) 594-9384.
Greg Sabin can be reached at saceats@gmail.com. Previous reviews can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
Salsa omelette with biscuits and gravy on the side at The Morning Fork.
Carnitas and peppered bacon burrito at The Morning Fork.
Enjoy Our Newly Designed Interior, New Bar and Craft Cocktails Menu & Same Great Fresh Local Fare
Pardon our dust at Selland’s East Sacramento, we’re crafting the same fresh updates!
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Yifoo Dean SooHoo, Seller
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