-Monica and Andrew H. Meet Mona Gergen -helping se llers and buyers since 1999
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Arsen Asatrian shares a floral and mixed-media collection of blue and red poppies with metallic themes along with figurative works that evoke dreams and cultural images. A native Armenian, Asatrian studied fashion design, and now lives and paints in Sacramento. Archival Gallery presents an exhibition of works by Asatrian and Jill Estroff through March 29. Shown: “Blue Poppies,” acrylic, 36 inches by 48 inches. This piece is for sale at $2,300. Visit archivalgallery.com.
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Fight Or Flight Fight Or Flight
BIRD HABITATS
Sunset along the lower American River. Hundreds of doublecrested cormorants perch high among cottonwood and black locust trees. The birds fly in nightly during winter to roost in a grove between Howe and Watt avenues.
The roost supports as many as 225 cormorants, likely the entire population on the lower American River, says Dan Airola, conservation chair with Central Valley Bird Club.
When Airola began observing the cormorants in 2019, there were 25 to 30 birds.
“It’s a very important place for this bird,” says Airola, also a member of the Sacramento Audubon Conservation Committee. “If you go anywhere along the river in the evenings, you will see cormorants flying both downstream to here and upstream to here.”
Yet, if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest erosion-control work along the lower American River proceeds, hundreds of trees, including the cormorants’ roosting sites, will be bulldozed and replaced with rock and rubble.
The project, called Contract 3B, runs from the Howe Avenue bridge to east of Watt Avenue.
By Cathryn Rakich
Although the cormorants could relocate, “they have chosen this site, which indicates that it is better for
them than any available alternative site,” Airola says.
Open branches jet out over the river and provide sturdy perches for the cormorants to plunge into the water to feed on fish, dry off and rest.
“They like the trees that hang out over the water,” Airola says. “If anything disturbs them, they just dive off. They can get away quickly.”
The lower American River supports more than 200 bird species with its diverse habitats, including ponds, riparian vegetation, oak woodlands and grasslands.
The trees are important to ducks, herons and egrets who rest on logs and shorelines where foliage provides overhead protection. Birds such as hawks and magpies nest in branches. Resident, migratory and wintering birds forage in trees for insects and acorns.
Numerous species, including wood ducks and mergansers, nest in cavities of mature tree trunks near the river’s edge.
“The proposed Army Corps erosion project is slated to remove nearly all of these large, mature, streamside trees for riprap (large angular quarried rock) in this area,” says Candice Heinz, an environmental scientist who works in water resources.
The project targets more than 700 trees, including 300-year-old heritage oaks, for destruction.
“Some trees and shrubs located in the project footprint will need to be removed prior to the start of construction,” reports the Corps, adding that each site will be revegetated with “appropriate native species.”
“The proposed on-site replanting will consist primarily of small willows and coyote brush, and will not replace the habitat that these precious birds
Double-crested cormorants on lower American River.
Photo by Tony Whetstone
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rely on,” Heinz says. “In addition, some studies suggest that the jagged riprap will likely never support the necessary root growth of large, mature trees again.”
Airola notes that mitigation plantings will take decades to replace the foraging habitats. “Oaks typically don’t begin to produce acorns until 15 to 20 years old,” he says.
Another impact on birds is the proposed removal of Urrutia Pond near Discovery Park. For mitigation, the large permanent pond will be replaced with seasonally flooded vegetation.
During the day, cormorants, gulls, geese, ducks, coots and other waterbirds feed and rest at Urrutia Pond. At dusk, hundreds of wintering birds arrive to roost on the calm water after feeding on the lower American River.
“The environmental and birding community understand and support the need for flood protection,” Airola says. “But we have not been given adequate information to convince us that the proposed flood-protection designs, which will destroy important habitat for birds and a variety of other wildlife, must be so damaging.”
After receiving more than 1,900 comments from the public and local agencies, the Corps has delayed Contract 3B until 2026. However, vegetation clearing begins this fall.
For information, visit americanrivertrees.com and spk.usace. army.mil.
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
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Cultural Collisions, Irreverent Masterpieces
THROUGH MAY 4, 2025
Civic Dashboard of City and County Projects
Local Government Accountability & Monitoring by Inside Sacramento
FRONT STREET ANIMAL SHELTER
Increased euthanasia rates, animals released without spaying/neutering, healthy cats turned away, 1,000plus service calls awaiting a response.
EMPTY OLD SAC WATERFRONT SITE
Rio City Cafe closed after landlord—the city—failed to maintain outdoor dining deck. City loses $250,000 annual rent from mothballed restaurant. Eighty jobs lost.
SOUTHSIDE POOL CLOSURE
Public pool serves low income and minority residents. Closed by city for repairs in 2022. As Assembly member, Mayor Kevin McCarty secured $500,000 to
PEDESTRIAN DEATHS
More than 250 people killed by vehicles since 2017, fatalities and serious injuries on city streets by 2027.
AMERICAN RIVER LEVEE
Up to 700 trees and miles of habitat face destruction on American River Army Corps project, threatening wildlife and recreation. Residents want less disruptive approach to flood control
TINY HOMES FOR UNSHELTERED
houses for homeless people in 2022, but the dwellings sit empty due to red tape and location disputes.
BICYCLE BRIDGE OVER I-5
City ordered $12 million bike bridge at I-5 and Riverside demolished because of substandard concrete and rebar. City won’t explain why quality control procedures didn’t work.
SAC RIVER LEVEE PUBLIC ACCESS
Levee parkway and bike trail promised to PocketGreenhaven community in 1975, still not completed. City fearful of lawsuits by handful of anti-river access residents.
Use this QR Code to link to our webpage tracking the history, documents and updates to these projects each month. For more information contact publisher@insidepublications.com
Einar and Jamex de la Torre (born Guadalajara, Mexico, 1963 and 1960, respectively), Nueva Generación, 2021. Blown-glass, mixed-media sculpture, 22 x 10 x 22 in. Courtesy of Einar and Jamex de la Torre and Koplin Del Rio Gallery.
Hide And Seek
CITY BRIDGE DOCUMENTS TELL AN INCOMPLETE TALE
The city doesn’t know how to tell a story.
In January, I asked the city for documents related to the Del Rio Trail bicycle bridge across Interstate 5 and Riverside Boulevard.
You know the bridge.
It’s the $12 million span that never opened. The one with wooden construction forms still hanging above the freeway. Built with substandard concrete and rebar. Now facing demolition.
And begging questions about how the city waited until last summer, when the bridge was ready for its ribbon cutting, before anyone started screaming about the problems. That bridge.
A month after making my public records request, the city responded with 1,898 pages of emails, maps and photos. I turned every page and learned a few things.
For instance, I learned city public works staff and bridge contractors had a $600 lunch at Hook and Ladder on S Street in January 2023. They called it a “partnering meeting” to celebrate the start of the bridge project.
I don’t know who paid the tip.
Being charitable, I’d say about seven of the 1,898 pages help explain how substandard concrete and rebar ended up in a bridge that spans California’s premier interstate.
There are many pages about drainage ditches on the Del Rio Trail and a street light erected in the wrong spot. There are pages about upcoming meetings, but nothing about what happened in those meetings.
Digesting 1,898 pages, I came away with three possibilities: The city doesn’t know how the bridge got built. The city knows but doesn’t want to admit it. The city knows but doesn’t want the public to know.
Of the seven helpful pages, one proves the city was worried about the bridge’s concrete even before it was poured.
Another page indicates that by July 2023, after the deck was partly poured, the city realized there was trouble. Concrete core sample tests showed the mixture failed to meet Caltrans standards. The city suspended further pours.
What happened next is unclear. The city and its bridge contractor and concrete supplier—Mountain Methods of Sonora and Elite Ready Mix—spent the next six months debating whether the concrete is OK.
Mountain Methods and Elite wanted their own strength tests. There was talk about fly ash from different sources being commingled at uncontrolled ratios. Emails note bleed water and creep coefficient, thankfully not defined.
At one point, somebody from the contractor side mentions maybe changing the specifications.
Something else happened in December 2023. Contractors scanning for rebar in the bridge discovered the steel was a problem. Why substandard rebar wasn’t discovered earlier isn’t explained by my documents.
Nor is what happened between December 2023 and August 2024, when the bridge was set to open.
One document comes closest to telling the story, a June 2024 email from Tony Powers, senior engineer at Dokken Engineering, to Adam Randolph, city senior engineer.
By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat
The first bridge deck pour, scheduled May 18, 2023, was canceled because the city feared the weather was too warm. Apparently, concrete cracks when poured on hot days.
By December 2023, it’s clear the concrete is bad. A Caltrans engineer with oversight responsibilities writes, “I recommend that the concrete should remain rejected and that the contractor should prove the material won’t cause a longterm durability issue.”
The Caltrans engineer says the bike bridge is expected to stand for 75 years. Then again, because it’s attached to a 50-year-old railroad bridge, he admits 75 might be optimistic.
It says the rebar “was placed too low,” or the concrete “slab was poured thicker than per plan, with the extra concrete on top. Indirect measurements of the slab thickness indicate that the latter is unlikely. In either case, this directly impacts either the loading or the capacity of the (bridge) and compounds any issues related to low concrete strength.”
Nothing else in 1,898 pages tells how the bridge got so screwed up. I guess the city forgot to redact that last email.
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
Del Rio Trail bicycle bridge on Riverside Blvd.
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
Takedown Team
KENNEDY GIRLS WRESTLE FOR STRENGTH AND CONFIDENCE
John F. Kennedy High School
Coach Mike Taniguchi invited me to campus to learn why girls are falling in love with wrestling. It’s the nation’s fastest growing prep sport.
“Wrestling was traditionally considered a male sport because of its combat nature and physical demands. But the sport also offers benefits to girls,” Taniguchi says. “They’ll acquire a skill set that can be used in selfdefense situations. Girls can move through life with confidence, physical strength, grit and mental toughness.”
Taniguchi is a rookie coach, but he knows wrestling. He was two-time state champion as a teen at Iolani School in Honolulu.
Girls aren’t new to high school wrestling. Generations ago, they joined boys teams and competed against males. Today, most states sanction allgirl tournaments.
Amaya Noble grew up in a wrestling family. Her father and uncle participate in mixed martial arts. Her three brothers wrestled in high school. Older brother Jordan is a volunteer coach for the Kennedy boys.
Noble is ninth grade class president and competes in volleyball, soccer and wrestling at the 105-pound level. This season, she won a silver medal at the West Coast Tournament of Champions in Roseville.
“I like the mental and physical challenges of wrestling,” she says. “I admire Olympian wrestler Amit Elor. She’s from California and posts tips about improving grappling techniques on YouTube.”
By Corky Mau Pocket Life
Noble’s practice partner is Daniella Lopez-Garcia, who competes at 100 pounds. “This is the first sport I’ve ever tried,” Lopez-Garcia says. “I thought wrestling could help me get stronger. I got sick and cried after the first
practice. I was uncomfortable touching people and being aggressive. I almost quit but was determined to stick it out.”
Daily workouts are grueling, designed to build endurance and learn techniques. In four months, Taniguchi watched Lopez-Garcia advance from timid to fearless.
“Now Daniella has that steely gaze when she faces opponents,” the coach says.
“I lost a lot of matches before I won one,” Lopez-Garcia admits. “I’m OK with that. Losing just means I have more training to do. Wrestling has boosted my self-esteem. I’ll return next season.”
Gia Smith was a judo standout before wrestling became a passion. The work paid off when Smith opened the season with a 14-1 record at 130 pounds. “Wrestling is fun,” she says. “Before a match, I tell myself I won’t get beat. I rely on my fast reflexes and moves to win.”
Beyond wins and losses, Taniguchi sees the wrestlers growing personally and on the mat. The girls have become the sport’s ambassadors at Kennedy.
BEATLES NIGHT
Travel back to the British Invasion when Ticket to Ride Electric-Acoustic band plays Beatles music at Elks Lodge No. 6 Saturday, March. 8, from 7–10 p.m.
Dance-only tickets are $20. Or enjoy a pasta dinner before the dance at $35 per person. Prices rise to $40 after March 6. Call (916) 422-6666 for information.
CRAB FEED
Everyone is invited to Portuguese Hall’s crab and shrimp feed Saturday, March 22. Festivities start at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. For $75, guests get endless crab, shrimp and Italian dishes. For tickets, visit sphsscrabfeed. simpletix.com.
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
Wrestling coach Mike Taniguchi with girl's wrestling team.
Back row (left to right): Daniella LopezGarcia, Naylah Oliver and Kylie Dunlap. Front row (left to right): Gia Smith, Amaya Noble and Sophya Sanderford
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
End Of An Era
MIDTOWN FIXTURE READIES TO CLOSE ITS DOORS
After almost five decades as Sacramento’s go-to gift store, Mixed Bag in Midtown will close at the end of March.
Mixed Bag is known for fun, engaging merchandise, including cards, candles, ornaments, holiday décor, home goods, personal care items, toys and more.
Linda and Tom Novi bought the store, located at the corner of 24th and K streets, in 2019 from its original owner Susan Larson.
“We purchased Mixed Bag with a five-year game plan,” Linda says. “We are tired now and ready to sit back and
JBy Jessica Laskey Out & About
enjoy the family.” The store’s lease runs out March 31.
“We tried to sell but have not been able to,” Linda adds. “It’s tough retail out there. So many people are buying online.”
Linda and staff invite shoppers to stop in and say goodbye. “Our customers have been so loyal and supportive,”
Linda says. “Six months after we bought the store COVID hit. If it hadn’t been for our loyal customer base, we never would have made it through.”
Mixed Bag is open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free parking.
STEM AT SEA
St. Francis High School alumnae Siena Marois has earned her sea legs.
The UC Davis freshman was one of 12 young people to complete Columbia University’s STEMSEAS Student Experiences Aboard Ships. The sixday geoscience and oceanography
exploration took undergraduates aboard a National Science Foundationfunded research ship.
Marois joined a vessel south of Honolulu to study ocean technology, which she discovered as a member of the St. Francis robotics team.
“I hadn’t even heard of the ocean tech industry before joining the team and I thought it was super cool,” says Marois, who wants to start an ocean tech company to address whale disentanglement, ocean restoration and marine ecosystem protection.
BLACK STUDENT SUCCESS
Sacramento State is one of the first California colleges designated a Black-Serving Institution to recognize universities that excel at supporting Black students.
The initiative is overseen by the California State University Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of
Black Student Success, located at Sac State. Key initiatives include reducing barriers to success, creating safe spaces on campuses, developing culturally relevant curricula, and enhancing recruitment and retention efforts for Black faculty and students.
The Black-Serving Institution’s eligibility criteria includes maintaining a Black student population of at least 10% or 1,500 students and implementing robust Black student success programs. For information, visit csus.edu/president/inclusiveexcellence/black-student-success-co.
THEATER HONORS
B Street Theatre has received the National Theatre Conference’s 2024 Outstanding Theatre Award for artistic innovation and organizational excellence.
As part of the win, B Street was asked to name the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Professional Award. The theater selected James Ellison,
Mixed Bag owner Linda Novi closes gift store at the end of March.
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
artistic director of Celebration Arts, for his “deep commitment to storytelling and community,” says Lyndsay Burch, B Street’s CEO and executive artistic director.
“This recognition celebrates the shared vision of both B Street Theatre and Celebration Arts to enrich our community through storytelling and connection,” Burch says.
For information, visit bstreettheatre. org and celebrationarts.net.
WILDLIFE BABY SHOWER
It’s baby season. To help orphaned critters, the Wildlife Care Association invites the public to a Wildlife Baby Shower & Open House on Saturday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every year, the volunteer-based nonprofit cares for more than 7,500 ill, injured and orphaned animals. The majority arrive during this critical time and require extra care for a fighting chance to return to the wild. The baby shower raises funds for specialized formulas, syringes, incubators and more.
The event includes facility tours, raptor education, children’s activities, merchandise and a taco food truck.
To sign up for a free tour ($10 donation is encouraged), visit eventbrite.com and search for Wildlife Baby Shower. Find a wish list of items to donate at wildlifecareassociation. com. The Wildlife Care Association is at 5211 Patrol Road at McClellan Park.
READING SERIES
CapLit, a new reading series and literary organization, brings writing and acting together for live literary performances.
The first event features readings from “Sacramento Noir,” an anthology of detective and mystery fiction, Friday, March 7, from 7–8:30 p.m. at the CLARA auditorium at 1425 24th St. The series continues in May, July, September and November. Admission is free ($10 donation is suggested).
CapLit also is a hub for writers, providing workshops, panels and opportunities to socialize and network. For information, visit caplit.org.
SPANISH CLASSES
Hoping to improve your Spanish skills? Practice in a low-pressure environment with Roberto Romero, former research librarian for The Sacramento Bee.
“Anybody with a desire to learn is welcome,” Romero says. “There is no age limit or required language level, just show up ready to learn.”
Classes are 6 p.m. every Tuesday beginning March 4 for eight weeks at 6925 Havenhurst Drive in Greenhaven. For information, email Romero at rhrg18@yahoo.com.
ART AFTER HOURS
Crocker Art Museum has launched Art After Hours, an artmaking program.
Participants meet fellow creators and instructors at stations throughout the museum for a “uniquely Crocker” craft night. Artists explore different mediums and leave with a completed artwork.
The first event is Thursday, March 6, from 6–8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for members and $25 for nonmembers. For information, visit crockerart.org.
BUSINESS TOOL
Do you own a small business or hope to start one? Take advantage of the city’s free online tool, SizeUp Sacramento.
SizeUp provides small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with market research and data.
“In today’s data-driven economy, access to actionable information is vital for small business success,” Assistant City Manager Mike Jasso says. “This software ensures that every entrepreneur in Sacramento has data to compete and thrive.”
Users analyze business performances with industry-specific data. They identify customers, suppliers and opportunities, and optimize marketing strategies for target audiences. Information includes local spending habits and demographics.
For information, visit cityofsacramento.gov/city-manager/oied/ businessassistance/business-data.
FREE FORMALWEAR
Sacramento Public Library hosts free prom giveaway events across the region.
Students ages 13–19 can browse the libraries’ formalwear collections and take home an outfit for their special night. More than 900 teens shopped the prom giveaway last year.
For dates and locations, visit saclibrary.org/prom.
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
Wildlife Baby Shower raises funds for orphaned animals.
Photo by Paige Fandrei
STEMSEAS student Siena Marois pilots a remotely operated vehicle at World Championships.
Lyndsay Burch with B Street Theatre accepts National Theatre Conference’s Outstanding Theatre Award. James Ellison with Celebration Arts receives Emerging Professional Award.
LDollars A nd Sense Dollars And
INTERIM MANAGER KNOWS HER WAY AROUND FINANCE
eyne Milstein has her work cut out for her. Appointed interim city manager after Howard Chan’s dismissal, Milstein is guiding Mayor Kevin McCarty and the City Council through a difficult budget cycle.
A $77 million deficit looms, less if state funds for homelessness materialize.
Milstein is the most dedicated city employee I know. She’s been on the job for more than 20 years. We talked about the budget, her interim role and the future.
“I love this city,” she says. “I have stayed because I love the mission of following the money and making Sacramento a better place.”
Milstein became interim manager thanks to her budget experience. She became the city’s finance director in 2008 and has been running budget preparations since 2017. She knows where the skeletons are buried, unlike an external candidate.
As assistant city manager for finance, she warned the City Council its spending trajectory would lead to deficits.
Her words of caution weren’t appreciated. At least one councilmember and a union representative suggested Milstein wasn’t being honest about the deficit.
Undeterred, she says, “I have a professional and ethical responsibility to tell the truth.”
As a former councilmember, I agreed with her budget assessments. Other members and former Mayor Darrell Steinberg disagreed. Unfortunately, Milstein was right. The city faces its largest deficit in history.
Under state law, the city must balance its budget. Options include seeking concessions from public safety unions, laying off employees, reducing city services, increasing service charges or cutting programs.
“As interim city manager, my focus will be on working closely with the City Council to balance the budget while safeguarding vital programs and services,” Milstein says. “I deeply value the dedication of our employees and am committed to supporting them through this transition.”
She continues, “At the same time, I remain focused on doing the right thing for our city and its future. These times may require hard choices, but I am confident that, together, we will navigate this transition and continue to best serve Sacramento.”
and approved unsustainable wage and benefit increases.
Changing the city charter to remove binding arbitration for public safety unions would provide leverage to negotiate affordable contracts. But that’s a bold move councilmembers probably won’t make. They typically support and fear unions at the same time.
Milstein is presenting options to City Council through April, with the goal of approving a balanced budget this summer. “They need to understand this universe much earlier in the budget process,” she says.
One option Milstein won’t present is to compete for permanent city manager.
By Jeff Harris City Realist
Although revenues are high, sales tax revenue is declining. As President Donald Trump’s tariffs and deportations hit home, more reductions in revenues are expected.
Beyond the current budget troubles, outbound years show deficits with dwindling revenues, the CalPERS discount rate, union negotiations and City Council expenditures. The new city manager—a search is underway— faces these challenges.
Nine city unions are negotiating new contracts. In past years, the council succumbed to union pressure
“No,” she says. “I want to finish my career in Sacramento as an assistant manager.”
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
2025 Advertiser Hall of Fame
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Sensible Approach
NEW PROGRAM AIMS TO TREAT HOMELESS WITHOUT ER
G D GD
By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future
There are many reasons for Sacramento’s homeless crisis, and Dr. Gregory Kann, county director of emergency services, has come up with a plan that sounds like it can make a difference. It’s called TAD, for “Triage to Alternate Destination.” It could be shorthand for “empathy and common sense.”
In the past, when people living on the streets engaged with the 911 system, they were taken to an overcrowded hospital emergency room. Federal law requires they cannot be turned away without treatment. For this and other reasons, including how a growing number of people visit emergency rooms because doctor appointments are often booked up far in advance, ERs have, as Kann says, “become a public health emergency.”
Emergency departments aren’t equipped to provide meaningful treatment to people with alcohol, substance-abuse or other behavioral and psychiatric health issues—common among people living on the streets.
“The amount of time these patients can take up in an emergency department is stunning,” Kann says. “We do what we can. They may get some medicine and then often times they’re discharged, or it can take days to get them to a psychiatric care center. They’re able to go to a shelter for a day or two, but typically they are back on the street and homeless without having their underlying psychiatric illness addressed.”
The triage program is just starting. It allows paramedics—newly trained to recognize and deal with psychiatric issues and substance abuse—to deliver patients to one of three care facilities better equipped to meet their specific needs: Sacramento County Behavioral Health Treatment Center for behavioral health services, Sierra Vista Hospital for mental health, and Wellspace Health for alcohol or substance abuse.
“An effective triage program where our medics out on the street are trained and savvy enough to recognize who these people are so we can get them directly in front of trained psychological professionals can consistently make a difference,” Kann says. “I honestly don’t think we are providing them a service in the emergency department.”
Kann is known for his thoughtful approach to solving problems. He led efforts to improve the dismally slow process of offloading ambulance patients to area hospitals. Sacramento County had one of the worst records in the state, 97 minutes for people not suffering acute trauma. Delays have been reduced by more than half.
Sacramento County had 6,615 people experiencing homelessness in 2024, a 41% drop since 2022 for those not in shelters. Estimates vary on how many have substance-abuse, alcohol or psychiatric disorders.
But doing quick math, Kann says he expects county paramedics could take four or five patients a day to the treatment centers.
Spread out over time, the numbers are significant. They mean fewer people in emergency rooms. And if patients land back on the streets, they will at least have received some targeted treatment and maybe a better shot at breaking the homelessness cycle.
In October, when the county announced a $50,000 training grant to start the triage program, it listed several benefits, such as better patient outcomes and freeing up hospital space and resources. Also noted were greater patient satisfaction and community health benefits.
“We’ve been searching for decades really for some type of program where we can get people who need the services directly to a psychiatric care facility,” Kann says. “The vast number of these patients who we have been seeing in the emergency room need nothing from me as an emergency department doctor. Now that we have the legal ability to do so, with this program, we can get them to the place they need to be at the right time they need to be there.”
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
Gregory Kann
Photo by Linda Smolek
Mural by Jose DiGregorio
Treasure Hunter
KAYAKER REUNITES RIVER VISITORS WITH LOST ITEMS
If you’ve ever lost something on the American River, Karl Bly can help find it.
The kayaker and founder of American River Lost & Found made it his mission to reunite owners with items lost in the currents. It’s his obsession.
“My dad introduced me to the river,” Bly says. “He would go out diving and I would kayak or canoe above him and follow his bubbles around. By the time I was 6 or 7 years old, I could paddle a boat.
“My dad was a treasure hunting explorer. Anything he found with a name on it—a wallet, a fishing license—he would pull out the phone book and call everyone with that last name until he found the owner.”
Bly’s first big find of his own was a wallet in a pair of cutoff jeans. He was 10.
“Treasure of treasures!” he says.
The wallet contained a driver’s license and CHP ID. Following his dad’s process, Bly called everyone with that name. The grateful traffic officer gave him a CHP baseball cap.
“It was the first big thing I found and returned. It made me feel like part of the community,” Bly says.
Since then, whenever Bly finds something, he posts it to his Facebook page—a faster process than the phone book.
Bly’s posts went viral with a unique discovery. Kayaking near Rio Americano High School with his son, Bly spotted a GoPro camera. He retrieved the camera and posted some of its 16,000 pictures.
The device belonged to a young woman who traveled the world with the camera. The post received 15 million views in three days. Bly says, “The next thing I know, people are trying to follow my personal page, interested in what I’m doing.”
He started a separate Facebook page called American River Lost & Found in 2017, and got thousands of new followers. Now he was obligated to go out and find things.
“It’s a feedback loop: you find something, you find the owner right away and it’s encouraging to go out and find more stuff,” he says. “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a full-fledged addiction.”
These days, requests arrive almost daily for sunglasses and cell phones. His strangest finds? Prosthetic legs. It happens more than you think.
Bly’s familiarity with the river lets him assist law enforcement when they search for drowning victims. His advocacy for waterway safety was learned the hard way.
“I do know more about this river than most people, so I can take a better stance,” Bly says. “When people lose stuff, I have to know where the trouble spots are where people are wiping out.”
Bly’s best advice?
“If you’re bringing it on the river, make sure it floats.”
By Jessica Laskey
For information, search American River Lost & Found on Facebook and follow @arkayaker and @american_river_lost_and_found 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
Giving Back: Volunteer Profile
Karl Bly
Photo by Linda Smolek
Verbal Sparring
Imet Bill at Baylor University. He was a fellow ministerial student who imprinted his fraternity shirt with a mock Latin phrase, “Quid tibi est?”
In 1978, Google was a long way off, so my fellow pledges asked him to translate it.
“What’s it to you?” he asked. “Oh, come on,” we said. “Just tell us what it means.”
Mocking us as lowly plebes, he weighted the last two words, “What’s it TO YOU?”
This game went on for a few minutes until we heard the literal translation: “What’s it to you?”
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By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters
SOME SPIRITUAL QUESTIONS DON’T DESERVE ANSWERS
Game, set match. He had us. I shrugged it off because I’d dealt with people like him before— sanctimonious, self-proclaimed experts who never offer any level ground to those of us who search.
One such encounter involved a church youth group leader named Sherry.
She always flashed a bright smile before she pitched her loaded question, “Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit?”
The question is a trap, much like, “Have you stopped beating your wife?”
It was impossible to give Sherry the right answer. If I said, “Yes, I’m full of the spirit,” she’d lay out her Bible like a religious yardstick to determine if my holy spirit measured up to hers.
If I said, “No,” I confirmed her impression I wasn’t a good Christian.
Worse yet, a “no” brought the worst question from Sherry: “Do you want to speak in tongues?”
This question was a reference to the ecstatic and unintelligible language spoken by people in charismatic churches. Another linguistic trap set by Sherry.
I bring up Bill and Sherry because I suspect some of you have been turned off to religion by such people. If so, you’re the victim of loaded questions fired at innocent bystanders by pious church goers.
These inquisitors want to reduce your spirituality to some kind of test only they can pass. They ask questions such as: “Don’t you believe in Jesus?
Don’t you want the spirit in your life?”
Or, “If you were to die tonight, did you know you’ll go to hell?”
How do you answer questions like that from folks like this?
Advice columnist Carolyn Hax suggests we regard people’s “nutritional label” and ask if they are worth the time. If not, she says, “Friends with a low decency content need to be treated as junk food.”
This rule also holds in our efforts to find a spiritual community. Some people and places are junk food. But we can find quality people when we make the effort to look for them.
Spiritual junk food doesn’t fill you up any more than Sherry’s version of the “holy” spirit. You only encounter God through a spiritual relationship.
As in all successful relationships, you ask questions, engage in dialogue, maybe even lose your temper, but also learn to laugh at yourself and forgive others.
Meantime, to all you who’ve had someone discourage you from involvement with the local church, I offer a strategy suggested by another pseudo-Latin phrase, “Illegitimi non carborundum.”
It roughly means, “Don’t let the idiots get you down.”
Google it and you might find a more colorful translation. But that’s enough Latin for one day.
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
C A N C E R C A U S E T O CANCER CAUSE TO
IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT CANCER
Although some $2 trillion has been spent on research since 1971, cancer remains a leading cause of death in the United States.
Ijaz S. Jamall and Bjorn Brücher have extensively researched the causes of cancer and believe there might be a more effective way to treat the disease, prevent its spread, and reduce the number of deaths. Jamall and Brucher are co-founders of the Cancer Metastases Research Fund (CMRF), a
support studies on the development of cancer, its treatment, and its spread.
Both men are members of the European Academy of Sciences. Jamall, a toxicologist, is a former professor at St. John’s University, who was also an associate clinical professor in the volunteer clinical faculty of the UC Davis School of Medicine. Brücher, a cancer scientist and surgeon, is a professor at the Medical University Lausitz-Carl Thiem in Cottbus, Germany.
Jamall and Brücher maintain that current cancer treatments—
R K RK
By Rebecca Kuzins Sponsored Content
I M A G I N E W O R L D W I T H O U T C A N C E R
chemotherapy, radiation, and immunology—do not provide long-term
cancer mortality rates for most solid cancers remain relatively unchanged over the past 80 years with some gains from the decline of smoking for lung cancer, and early screenings for breast and prostate cancers.
During a recent interview at his home, Jamall discussed the CMRF’s research. The diagnosis of cancer, he explained, is based on pathologycharacterizing the abnormal appearance of a tumor cell under a microscope.
“Pathology makes the diagnosis from a tissue biopsy specimen. However, there is a misconception that this can explain what causes the disease or even how cancer progresses from its early stage to the more advanced state,” he said.
The progression of cancer is subclinical - meaning patients usually do not have any symptoms at various stages of development of the disease. By the time symptoms appear and cancer is diagnosed, the disease is in an advanced
majority of cancer cases – 80 percent –are diagnosed in an advanced stage.
Jamall and Brücher argue that physicians should adopt a cause-based approach to cancer treatment instead of the current symptoms-based approach. A cause-based approach could enable physicians to diagnose cancer before it manifests itself as a disease, which could buy time to treat the disease in its
earliest forms with far better outcomes for cancer patients.
“There are two primary questions that form the basis for understanding the development of cancer and these have not been elucidated for
question is how the majority of cancers arise. The second question is which explained.
Through their research, Jamall and Brücher discovered the plausible origin cell.
They have concluded that the majority of solid cancers (epithelial cancers make over 80% of all cancers) develop in response to a six-step sequence. Jamall said the disease can likely be blocked or treated at any stage in this sequence.
In step one, a pathogen (diseasecausing stimulus), such as a bacterium, virus, or carcinogen, leads
the affected tissues take defensive measures to heal.
A stimulus that is untreated and unabated can result in chronic can be healed; but if it is not healed, it of scar tissue inside the body, but this because its molecular signaling is altered. “Think of it as a nest of
cancer development,” said Jamall. The generation of this precancerous niche is step four.
a ‘chronic stress escape strategy’. This response can return the body’s cellular functions to normal. But, if the response fails, a normal cell becomes a cancer cell - step six.
Jamall and Brucher have published 17 papers about their discoveries during the last 10 years and the CMRF now plans to conduct clinical trials on medications that might more effectively treat cancer and its spread (metastases).
CMRF is seeking to raise a minimum of $2 million to fund these trials.
If you would like to contribute to CMRF, you can make a donation on its website https:// cancermetastasesresearchfund. org; click on the word “donate” on the home page. You can also send donations to the CMRF at 3929 Las Pasas Way, Sacramento 95864.
In addition, you can contact Jamall at the website or address if you would like him to describe CMRF’s work to an interested group. n
Dr. Ijaz S. JamallBjörn Brücher, MD.
Hopped Up
ALARO BREWS WINNING TOUCH WITH BEER AND FOOD
Alaro Craft Brewery and gastropub expands the long history of Midtown microbreweries with a farm-to-fork emphasis.
In the old Rubicon brewery location on Capitol Avenue, owners Ray and Annette Ballestero built an elevated beer experience with Spanish-style tapas and small bites, along with classic pub offerings such as burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads.
At Alaro, the Ballesteros decided to “highlight classic beer styles.” While beer doesn’t always have a culture that connects with dining, the couple developed cohesive pairings between beer and food.
Alaro opened in June 2018 and became a favorite for its causal atmosphere, excellent food and award-winning beers.
The menu by Chef David Santana, formerly of The Waterboy next door, includes elegant Spanish
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By Gabrielle Myers
Kiezel
classics such as pulpo Gallego (Galician-style octopus), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), hogs and rocks (pork cheeks and clams in a paprika broth with aioli), patatas bravas (crispy potatoes with Spanish sauces), croquetas, marcona almonds, marinated olives and house-made chicharrones.
I’ve visited Alaro for the pulpo Gallego several times. It’s a tender and crispy octopus dish with molho cru, an olive oil-based sauce with onion, garlic, parsley, red peppers and an acid—usually lemon or vinegar.
Santana confits the octopus in olive oil with shallots, lemon peels and rosemary. He gently cooks in the oil bath, letting the olive oil penetrate and tenderize the meat. The final stage requires a quick sear to order.
Having enjoyed octopus at fine dining places in town and many restaurants around the world, I say Alaro’s pulpo Gallego ranks among the best with a tender, savory appeal and well-matched sauce.
The kitchen keeps things local with Ray Yeung’s Yolo County tomatoes, plus regional kale, radishes and butter lettuces.
In a nice touch, Alaro offers Spanish seafood tins—canned sardines, mussels, smoked trout, mackerel and squid. And there’s organic soft-serve ice cream made by Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma.
Photography by Aniko
Farm To Fork
Ray Ballestero
Ray Ballestero is a master brewer with more than 40 years of experience. Before opening Alaro, he brewed for three decades as a hobby and became a beer judge. He studied at the UC Davis Master Brewers program, supplementing his background in nutritional medicine and integrative health.
Annette was among the founders of River City Brewing Company and has been involved in the fair trade business
for years. The food, drinks, uniforms, ceramics and even decor at Alaro show concern for the social, environmental and financial situations of their small producers.
The brewing team, led by Chris Keeton and assistant Jason Martinez, helped guide Alaro to a 2024 U.S. Open Gold Medal for La Boheme beer, named “Best Pilsner in the World” by Forbes magazine. Castillo Classic IPA, which Ray has brewed for more than
30 years, won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest.
Alaro beer styles range from pale ales and pilsners to saisons, stouts, porters and lagers. While beer on tap is available, customers can get 500 ml bottles, squealers, growlers and kegs to go. There’s wine, too.
Alaro Craft Brewery is at 2004 Capitol Ave.; (916) 436-7711; alarobrewing.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
Honest Day’s Work
CAN MAYOR KEEP HIS WORD, PLUS BREAK A SWEAT?
Never expect perfection from an elected official. But it’s nice to see honesty and diligence. By this measure, Mayor Kevin McCarty is off to a rough start.
His honesty rating deflated one week into the job. Reversing position, McCarty voted to fire City Manager Howard Chan. The flip-flop forced the city to find a new top manager while wrestling with a $77 million budget deficit.
Next comes diligence, which really has me worried.
Throughout McCarty’s campaign, I couldn’t shake the memory from those four years I spent working down the hall from him at City Hall.
The image was a locked and darkened office.
McCarty was a City Council member. I was special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson. One of my jobs was to chat up councilmembers and
RGBy R.E. Graswich City Beat
their staffs, learn where they stood on issues, understand their passions and weaknesses, and reduce grievances they held against Johnson.
Naturally, councilmembers expected the mayor to speak to them personally on important matters (without violating the state’s open-meeting laws). But they were available for me, too.
With one exception. Kevin McCarty.
The problem wasn’t that McCarty tried to duck me or Johnson. The problem was McCarty wasn’t there. For much of the workweek, his office was closed.
His staff always turned up on Tuesday mornings before council meetings. McCarty would arrive in the afternoon, a few hours before Johnson was scheduled to gavel meetings into session. That was about it for McCarty.
If I had anything to say to him, I had to move fast. Or I’d miss him.
Word around City Hall was McCarty didn’t work too hard. An easy assumption, maybe not a fair one.
Under the city charter, council positions are part time. Only the mayor is required to “devote his or her fulltime attention” to the office.
During McCarty’s 10 years as a councilmember, he was under no obligation to show up every day—or
show up at all, other than to attend City Council meetings.
It’s accurate to say Johnson went missing, too. He hated City Council meetings and often managed to be out of town on urgent business when Tuesday evening rolled around. But nobody could say Johnson didn’t work hard.
With McCarty, working hard as a councilmember was less clear. He had a full-time lobbyist job with an organization that supported preschools. Advocacy chores kept him busy.
Everyone around City Hall knew McCarty was politically ambitious and plotting a career in the state Legislature. His City Council job was a steppingstone.
McCarty was lucky to represent a low-maintenance City Council district. His constituents—many from blue collar neighborhoods on the southeast side, from Tahoe Park to Lemon Hill— didn’t expect or want much from their councilmember.
His most passionate project at City Hall was something that didn’t happen. McCarty tried to stop the city from partnering with the Kings on Golden 1 Center. Good sense abandoned him.
Had McCarty succeeded in blocking the arena, the Kings would play today in Anaheim or Seattle. Seventh and
K streets would house a boarded-up shopping mall.
McCarty showed more diligence once he reached the state Assembly.
He called out University of California chancellors for selling seats to wealthy foreign students while rejecting qualified California kids.
Local residents with children seeking UC admission should thank him.
He rallied to open a comprehensive homeless facility at Cal Expo, making righteous use of that obsolete 1960s theme park. Unfortunately, the homeless center plan collapsed amid political disagreements. I hope Mayor McCarty revives it.
None of this is to say McCarty was a lazy councilmember and will be a lazy mayor. A decade passed since he left City Hall. No doubt he matured in the Assembly.
What I am saying is McCarty’s mayoral success or failure won’t come down to his competency. For this new mayor, the story will be all about honesty and diligence.
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
Kevin McCarty
Photo by Aniko Kiezel
READERS NEAR & FAR
8. Steve Williamson and Cecily Hastings on a Milford Sound Cruise after hiking the Milford Track in New Zealand. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Karl Reiber in Avebury, home to one of England's many ancient stone circles.
2. Mónica Vázquez and Elizabeth Fujii at Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán, Mexico.
3. Tracie Haidle and Manya Edwards at the southern tip of South America in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
4. Debbie Silva , Neil Ross and Kathy Gaddi at the Leault Farm in Kincraig, Scotland.
5. Murray and Margie Ng on the Canada side of Niagara Falls.
6. Tom Nardinelli at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Oahu, Hawaii.
7. Donna Ouchida and Andy Dong at Lake Pehoé in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.
Major League Insults
DON’T FORGET HOMETOWN BASEBALL, IN BLACK AND WHITE
People are excited about the team once known as the Oakland A’s playing home games in a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento. Not me. This fascination with the A’s and Major League Baseball is a sucker’s game, a modern version of the old carnival stall hook-a-duck.
The A’s are carpetbaggers. They swoop into town in search of accommodation, untethered to commitment. They linger as long as convenience allows, then vanish into
African American papers. Sacramento wasn’t big enough to support a team. But the local market had baseball history and resources worth remembering.
The Larks and San Francisco Sea Lions scheduled a dozen games at Edmonds Field, the Sacramento Solons’ home at Riverside Boulevard and Broadway.
The West Coast Baseball Association charged ticket prices equal to the Solons. This was serious baseball, not a discount show.
League president was Abe Saperstein, who managed and promoted the Harlem Globetrotters. Olympic track hero Jesse Owens was vice president.
In a demonstration of the league’s legitimacy, Gov. Earl Warren threw out the first pitch in San Francisco on May 12, 1946, for a game between the Sea Lions and Los Angeles White Sox. The home team won 11-3 before 705 fans.
The Sea Lions had two stars, pitcher Art “Smokey” Demery and outfielder Jesse Alexander. Demery was a big leaguer. He played outfield for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League. Alexander excelled in center field despite having only one arm.
The West Coast league folded after two months. Integration was finally coming to the majors. Jackie Robinson suited up for Brooklyn in April 1947.
Last year, Major League Baseball recognized statistics from the Negro Leagues. Stats are sacrosanct with baseball people. Acknowledgement of Negro League numbers starts a tentative acceptance process, if not full apology, by the gatekeepers.
By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority
the night. They won’t even mention their stopover city’s name.
Smart people tell me the A’s threeseason residency makes Sacramento a contender for big league permanence, either through expansion or the A’s themselves. This is nonsense.
The team’s new $1.5 billion stadium breaks ground next month in Las Vegas. Once the A’s depart Northern California, under no circumstances will the San Francisco Giants allow an expansion team into the territory.
The River Cats are original tenants of the little ballpark on the marshy side of the river. They thrived there for 25 years.
But if local baseball fans put their financial muscle behind the A’s and run out of nickels and dimes for River Cats tickets, damage will be long-term. The River Cats will play in a ballpark filled with empty seats.
Sacramento is a small town, baseball wise. There are only so many fans. Traditionalists—the kind of people who look at a scorecard and know what 6-4-3 means—are dying. There are too many seats for sale with two teams in West Sac.
Which means you won’t find me attending A’s games. I’m boycotting the pit stop. Saving my love for the River Cats.
Another thing I plan to do is learn everything about another Oakland baseball team that played in Sacramento, the Oakland Larks.
The Larks were members of the West Coast Baseball Association, a professional league formed in 1946 for players barred from the majors. Black players.
The West Coast league was a big deal. Newspapers from Seattle to San Diego covered the games, not only
For now, comprehensive Negro League individual game statistics are beyond reach of official records. But research continues. The West Coast Baseball Association was declared a minor league, so Larks and Sea Lions stats won’t count.
That won’t stop me. I want to learn about those dozen Larks and Sea Lions games at Edmonds Field. How Jesse Alexander played outfield with one arm.
With stories like that, who needs the Philadelphia Kansas City Oakland West Sacramento Las Vegas A’s?
In scorekeeping, 6-4-3 means a double play, shortstop to second to first.
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
The Oakland Larks played several home games in Sacramento. From left, Charles “Specs” Roberts, Joe Plate, John Litzie.
GET READY TO SELL
MARKET & COMMUNITY SALE
Saturday, May 17 | 9 am to 2 pm
SHEPARD
GARDEN & ARTS
CENTER
HEPARD & ARTS IN MCKINLEY PARK M INLEY
Do you have useful and/or interesting items to sell? Makers and vendors - bring your artistry, crafts, and designer items. that no longer serve you and reserve your table today.
Join us at our 4th annual event. We are expanding to include a Makers Market this year. Join us at our 4th annual event. We are expanding to include a Makers Market this year.
To reserve your table(s) at the early bird price $35, please contact: sgaccommunitysale@gmail.com or 916-457-2721
Sponsored by Ikebana International, Sacramento Chapter #26 and Friends of East Sacramento
INSIDE OUT
Mercy celebrates 100 years
BY
ANIKO KIEZEL
Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital recently celebrated 100 years of providing care to the Sacramento community. Mercy Foundation President and CEO Kevin Duggan hosted the event. Community members and local officials joined in the celebration. The event also featured a performance by the Sacred Heart Parish School Choir and a display of historic photographs and memorabilia.
PHOTOS
Hospital president Steven Foster
Mercy Foundation President and CEO Kevin Duggan
Sacred Heart Parish School Choir
The Keeper
CURTIS PARK TOUR FEATURES ‘ART GALLERY’ HOME
Andy Harris was a pioneer house flipper. By 1988, he was on his third house. He bought them, made repairs and resold for profit.
But he knew the Curtis Park home was special. It was designed by Earl Barnett, the architect who conceived Memorial Auditorium, Sutter Club, Westminster Presbyterian Church and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
It was no candidate for flipping.
“Being young and ambitious, I restored this house over two and a half years,” Harris says. “I did a little bit of the work myself but hired out the rest to experts.”
CBy Cecily Hastings Open House
Photography by Aniko Kiezel
The home is just over 2,000 square feet with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two bedrooms and a bath are upstairs. The other bedrooms and bath are on the first floor. Harris uses one as a guest room and the other as a home office for his legal services business.
The plans drawn by Barnett are in the basement. The architect designed more than 100 local homes.
Harris’ work expanded the small original kitchen using space from the laundry room. “I added a full bath and completed the two bedrooms upstairs to what was once was an unfinished second floor,” Harris says. He matched the bath fixtures and octagonal ceramic tiles to the original first floor bathroom.
the edges. Harris declined the tour invitation but relented the next year.
Harris wasn’t always committed to the home. “In the early 90s, I tried to sell it,” he says. “But it, like many of the homes in that market, languished without any offers. Even if it had sold, I would not have even broke even.”
In 2010, he was invited to join the Curtis Park Home Tour. Almost 20 years had passed since the renovation, and the house was rough around
“With more time and money, I decided to renovate it once again. This time I was going to get exactly what I wanted,” he says. “Which was an art gallery of a home!”
In other words, a beautiful home nobody would want to live in.
He hired a designer and selected a unique color palette. He sought a minimal approach
Andy and Kristy Harris
Neighborhood Real Estate Sales
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2110 AARON WAY $325,000 2827 MEADOWVALE AVE $359,000 2560 FERNDALE AVE $367,000 1409 STODDARD ST $370,000 2021 BERG AVE $385,000 1949 NEWPORT AVE $397,500 7514 LOMA VERDE WAY $400,000 7408 AMHERST
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to furnishings and commissioned several custom pieces.
“I wanted every detail perfect,” Harris says. “I was completely starting over, so I put almost everything in the house on Craigslist and started with an empty palette. I did, however, keep a couple things that I truly loved, like the Persian rug in the living room and a Moroccan tribal rug in the guest room.”
He visited galleries with his designer, bought two large abstract paintings by Bernie Weston and commissioned other art.
In 2017, he got married. Kristy Harris gained a husband plus a showcase home.
“The first time I walked in Andy’s home, I thought, this man is terrific and he has really great taste. How could I be this lucky?” she says. She has zero desire to change anything. “Andy’s positively influenced the minimal side of my personality.”
I always ask homeowners what projects they have in store for their home. Almost everyone describes something they hope to change.
Andy Harris is the first homeowner to answer, “Nothing.” He says, “After 37 years, I finally love it just the way it is.”
The Harris home is featured in this year’s Curtis Park Home
Tour showcasing five homes and gardens Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets—$25 in advance and $30 the day of tour—are available at sierra2.org or the Sierra 2 office at 2791 24th St. The event is presented by Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association and features food trucks, live music, home and garden vendors, picnic
tables and chairs at the north end of Curtis Park.
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
Unit y Unity Academy
EAST SAC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL HELPS STUDENTS BE THEIR BEST
For LuTisha McGregor, principal at Umoja International Academy in East Sacramento, it’s all about love.
“I lead with love,” says McGregor. “I tell my students and staff I love them every day and the parents every week.
JBy Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor
That’s the type of leader I am. I want to come on campus and feel and see the love.”
Leading with love led to the school’s name change. Long known as Kit Carson, the combination middle and high school was one of three Sacramento City Unified School District campuses renamed in what Sac City officials call a “commitment to address school facility names that do not support the district’s values.”
As McGregor puts it, “Changing the names from horrible white men who killed people.”
Sutter Middle School became Miwok Middle School. Peter Burnett Elementary School changed to Suy:u Elementary School. Kit Carson transformed into Umoja, thanks in large part to McGregor.
“We’re a school with a Black woman principal,” says McGregor, a selfdescribed “Sac City kid” who attended Phoebe Hearst Elementary and John F. Kennedy High School before college at Alabama A&M University and earning a doctorate in educational leadership at Argosy University.
“I understand the suffering of the Native Americans, but (Black people)
suffered, too,” she says. “I brought up the name Umoja, which is the first foundational principle of Kwanzaa that means ‘unity’ in Swahili. That’s what I wanted: unity as it relates to education, making sure we’re all one, united and collaborating for everyone.”
The name captures the environment of a school that’s become a hidden gem in East Sac.
“Very few people know the school exists,” says parent Linda Smolek, Inside’s photography coordinator who has two kids at Umoja. “Even people in East Sac give me a blank look when I tell them where my kids go to school. I often get asked if it’s a private school.”
McGregor explains that for middle schoolers (seventh and eighth grade), Umoja is a school of residence, drawing students from within the district. As a high school, it’s a school of choice, without residential boundaries.
Umoja is also an International Baccalaureate World School, where students can earn IB diplomas. For students whose interests might not include college, the school will offer a trade-tech career pathway this fall.
“It’s a great environment to be in,” McGregor says. “It’s rigorous with high expectations, but we have all kinds of support and resources, like counselors and a full-time social worker on staff. The IB mindset is about developing the whole child.”
It’s also about community. When McGregor transitioned into administration from her career as a physical education instructor, she worried she would lose connections. That’s proven far from true.
“It’s actually better for me because I’m the support not only for the kids— they always come to my office—but I also support the adults,” she says. “We have a calming room with massage chairs that’s for everyone. I’ll even cover classes so (teachers) can take a
LuTisha McGregor
Photos by Linda Smolek
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
moment. If you’re not well, you can’t be well for your kids.”
She continues, “There are only 500 kids at our school, so we have small class sizes with more focus on instruction and relationship building. Everybody knows your name. We’re a family. We’re about accountability, getting the work done and holding each other up.”
For information, visit umoja.scusd. edu.
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
Door Center 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.
It’s The Law
UNWANTED ANIMALS SOAR UNDER FRONT STREET MANAGEMENT
There are many ways to work around the law. Let’s start with the nearly 600 dogs and cats in “foster to adopt” at the city’s Front Street Animal Shelter, headed by Manager Phillip Zimmerman.
The concept is simple. California law requires shelters to spay or neuter animals prior to adoption. Under “foster to adopt,” animals are released to “adopters” as “foster pets.”
As foster pets, they don’t need to be altered before leaving the shelter.
The foster parent/adopter agrees to bring the animal back for spay or neuter when a surgery appointment is available. Then the official adoption can take place.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Front Street’s spay/neuter appointments are delayed up to six months. If you want to adopt today, the surgery date would likely be August.
C R CR
By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies
The gestation period for a dog or cat is approximately two months. That’s the problem. Zimmerman “is using ‘fostering’ like most shelter directors use the term ‘adoption’ so he can release without spay and neuter,” animal advocate and attorney Hilary Bagley Franzoia says.
“California shelter laws are designed to curtail the unwanted surplus by only releasing—via legal adoption where ownership changes hands—with alteration. Without this mandate, breeding and the surplus of unwanted pets increases,” Bagley Franzoia adds.
Yet Front Street sends out unaltered animals daily. If the “foster pet” is lost, dumped, rehomed or bred, there are no repercussions. What if the animal bites someone, attacks another dog or is injured?
“Legally, the city still owns those animals,” says Bagley Franzoia, who headed the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Animal Cruelty Unit and Animal Cruelty Task Force.
Front Street has one full-time employee to oversee both the dog and cat foster programs, including the hundreds of unaltered animals in so-called “foster to adopt.” Part-time interns pitch in. A former Front Street volunteer calls the tracking system “abysmal.”
Zimmerman blames the spay/neuter backlog on resources—a nationwide shortage of veterinarians and vet technicians. Yet Front Street has three
full-time vets, access to contract veterinarians and significant financial assistance from its nonprofit arm, Friends of Front Street.
“The lack of prioritizing spay and neuter has contributed to this crisis of unaltered animals,” says local animal advocate Julie Virga with Fix Our Shelters, a nonprofit watchdog group.
In the coming months, Front Street will partner with a national mobile spay/neuter clinic to alter “foster to adopt” animals. But what about animals who continue to flood the shelter? What are the longterm plans?
“When offered high-volume spay/neuter surgical teams to alter the backlog of shelter pets, Front Street management had no interest,” Virga says. “If you don’t have a permanent, functioning spay/neuter program, you’ve got a problem.”
Zimmerman also embraces “community sheltering” and “finder fostering,” ideas pushed by UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program as part of its “reduced intake model” to keep shelter numbers down.
“For the last five years, animals in our community have been breeding out of control due to ‘reduced intake’ programs,” Virga says.
The numbers tell the story. In 2022, Front Street took in 6,309 strays—and euthanized 747. In 2023, the shelter took in 7,727 strays and euthanized 1,132.
In 2024, the numbers grew—8,457 strays, 1,462 killed.
“By never catching up with his legal obligation to spay and neuter before ‘giving away’ animals, he increases the unwanted, unplaceable surplus—the very thing he complains about, and the thing the public works so hard to reduce,” attorney Bagley Franzoia says.
Then there’s Front Street’s policy to turn away strays. Posted on the shelter’s website: “Just because a cat is outdoors doesn’t mean that it is lost…. For this reason, we do not accept healthy stray cats.”
Front Street instructs people to return stray cats and kittens, many as young as 8 weeks old, to where they were found, regardless of whether they are spayed or neutered.
A recent court ruling in San Diego found turning away stray animals, or dumping them in communities to fend for themselves, violates California law that says shelters must receive and care for animals. “It is one of their primary duties,” Bagley Franzoia says.
“Leaving animals to suffer and die on the streets due to starvation, vehicles, predators and lack of shelter is not a humane solution,” Virga says. “Shelters have a legal obligation to accept stray animals and provide them with necessary care.”
It’s time to stop releasing unaltered animals, stop turning away stray pets and prioritize spay/neuter.
The City Council, Mayor Kevin McCarty and the next city manager must protect homeless animals by forcing Front Street Animal Shelter to follow the law.
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
CROSSWORD
3 French city on the Rhone 4 Olive lover in cartoons? 5 “What?!” 6 Its owner shells out for shells 7 Meg of “When Harry Met Sally...” 8 Debate topic 9 Haikus, odes, etc. 10 “My parents are gonna kill me!” 11 Star readings? 12 Arctic mass
13 Mostly poisonous evergreens 15 Australian city on the Tasman Sea 21 Cornmeal treats originally baked on farm tools 23 Swaziland, today 25 Once around the track 26 Where to exchange dinars for dinners 27 PowerPoints or handouts, e.g.
The Rink Studios (1031 Del Paso Blvd.); valerieamyband.com
Tickets: $25–$172
This Santa Cruz-based band, fronted by powerhouse vocalist Elsa Cedeno, pays tribute to the soulful hits that define Amy Winehouse.
Visions
Sacramento Ballet
March 21–23, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The Sofia (2700 Capitol Ave.); sacballet.org
Tickets: $35–$75
Be dazzled by an innovative program featuring four world premieres by internationally acclaimed choreographers.
California Capital International Documentary
Film Festival
March 7–9
Rancho Cordova City Hall (2729 Prospect Park Drive) & Rancho Cordova Youth Center (10455 Investment Circle); calcapdocfest.org
Tickets: $7 general, $15 for three, $30 virtual, $50 all-access
Check out 45 international and local documentaries.
Romantasy! – Songs of Romance and Fantasy
Sacramento Master Singers
March 15–16, 3 p.m.
First United Methodist Church (2100 J St.); mastersingers.org
Tickets: $37 adults, $15 students
This concert blends the enchanting elements of romance and fantasy.
Cavalleria Rusticana
Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera Saturday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.
SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (1301 L St.); sacphilopera.org
Tickets: $40–$115
Step into a passionate world where love, betrayal and honor converge in a Sicilian village.
European Masterworks
Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra
Saturday, March 1, 3 p.m.
SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (1301 L St.); sacramentochoral.org
Listen to works by Morten Lauridsen, Samuel Barber and Franz Joseph Haydn.
A Place for Us: A Leonard Bernstein Tribute
Sacramento Symphonic Winds Sunday, March 9, 2:30 p.m.
Capistrano Hall, Sac State (6000 J St.); sacwinds.org
Tickets: $15 general, $10 students, free for 8th grade and younger
Enjoy Bernstein classics, including the “Candide” suite, “On the Town,” “West Side Story” and more.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth in Concert
GD Theatres
Valerie: A Tribute to Amy Winehouse at The Rink Studios.
“Dinky Diner” by Kathy Dana at Twisted Track Gallery.
Tuesday, March 25, 7–9 p.m.
Crest Theatre (1013 K St.); crestsacramento.com
Tickets: $66–$103
Experience Jim Henson’s magical movie with a band performing in sync with David Bowie’s original vocals.
ART
Marvin Lipofsky Blows Glass Crocker Art Museum
March 9–Aug. 17
216 O St.; crockerart.org
Examine this pioneering Californiabased glass artist’s career and contributions.
Jill Estroff and Arsen Asatrian Archival Gallery
Through March 29
Second Saturday Reception March 8, 5–8 p.m. 3223 Folsom Blvd.; archivalgallery.com
Jill Estroff presents a floral collection of bold expressionistic brushwork and color. Arsen Asatrian shares a mixed-media collection of poppies along with figurative works.
Glass Ceiling Axis Gallery
March 1–30
Second Saturday Reception March 8, 5–8 p.m. 625 S St.; axisgallery.org
Explore how women are treated in the workplace through a variety of art mediums.
Escapism 2.0: John Horton
ARTHOUSE Gallery
March 6–April 7
Opening Reception March 8, 5–8 p.m. 1021 R St.; arthouseonr.com
This series represents an evolution from the painter and sculptor’s previous work, building on familiar ideas.
SheVisions
Twisted Track Gallery
March 7–30
First Friday Reception March 7, 6–9 p.m.
Second Saturday Reception March 8, 5–9 p.m. 1730 12th St.; (916) 639-0436 or (916) 7692700
Enjoy work in various mediums by 11 female artists.
Unfolding Layers: Carlaina Brown janeGallery
Through March 16
1000 Alhambra Blvd.; janegallery.com
Explore complex, layered compositions by this Sacramento artist.
Dear Mum: Loraine Watson-Fox
The Art Studios
Saturday, March 29, 2–8 p.m.
Sunday, March 30, 1–5 p.m. 1727 I St.; the artstudiossacramento.com
Mixed-media pieces offer a window into a mother and daughter who share anxiety, depression and undiagnosed ADHD.
DECOLONIZATION
Verge Center for the Arts
Through March 23
625 S St.; vergecontemporary.org
This solo show features monumental paintings by Spencer Keeton Cunningham, a member of the Colville Tribe.
Student Awards Show
Kondos Gallery
March 24–April 10
Sacramento City College (3835 Freeport Blvd.); scc.losrios.edu/about-us/kondos-gallery
This juried exhibit showcases art in various mediums by Sacramento City College students.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Sacramento Jewish Film Festival Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region Streaming through March 9 sacjewishfilmfest.org
Tickets: $15 general, $5 Next Gen, $125 allstreaming, $50 Next Gen all-streaming Stream 14 films from all over the world that celebrate the Jewish experience.
Rise Against Hunger
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
Saturday, March 29, Noon–2 p.m. 2140 Mission Ave.; stmichaelscarmichael.org
Help pack meal bags that reach hungry people throughout the world.
Spring Sale
Shepard Garden & Arts Center
Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday, March 16, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 3330 McKinley Blvd.; sgaac.org
Shop for plants, jewelry, crafts, flowers, pottery, textiles, food and more at this free event.
A Free Talk on Christian Science
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Sacramento Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.
Scottish Rite Center (6151 H St.); (916) 4428220
Hear Alexandre Fischer, a Christian Science practitioner and lecturer, speak
on “Is Jesus’ healing work a model for today?”
Camellia Show
Camellia Society of Sacramento
Saturday, March 1, 3–6 p.m.
Sunday, March 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Scottish Rite Center (6151 H St.); camelliasocietyofsacramento.org
Explore displays of camellias in all sizes and colors.
Signs of Spring
Bufferlands
Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m.–Noon Sacramento Area Sewer District, Elk Grove; sacsewer.com/bufferlands
Take a 2-mile guided hike to view wildflowers, migrating birds and other signs of spring. Free but registration is required by emailing Chris Conard at conardc@sacsewer.com.
Winter Shorts Fest
Sacramento French Film Festival
Saturday, March 1
Tower Theatre (2508 Land Park Drive); sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org
View screenings of silent comedies from the 1910s, and films nominated for Oscars and César Awards (French Oscars).
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
“Blue Poppies” by Arsen Asatrian at Archival Gallery.
“Patterns of Interference" by Carlaina Brown at janeGallery.
Skinny Delight
IBy Dan Vierria Garden Jabber
n the age of Ozempic and Sono Bello, The Skinny Garden is trendy and unique. It was always skinny, stretching two football fields along the backside of Sacramento Charter High School in Oak Park. At its skinniest, the ribbon of plants measures 10–12 inches wide and squeezes between a chain-link fence and sidewalk along V Street.
The garden boasts hundreds of perennials, small trees and art.
Wood-plank paintings by neighborhood children line the fence, along with decorative framed mirrors and signs to discourage littering and flower picking. Many plants are identified by metal labels, others go unnamed.
V Street resident Anne Fenkner created the garden. Fenkner is an urban forester for The Davey Tree Expert Company, a certified arborist and UC Master Gardener.
“It has become a popular walking route,” says Fenkner, who hears compliments from passersby when tending the garden. “I consider it neighborhood improvement.”
Her inspiration sprouted from respectful and dignified interactions between Sac High staff and students.
“Ten years ago, I would sit on my porch and watch students lineup at the old, rusty gate across the street,” Fenkner says. “The students would respectfully wait for the staff to open the gate to begin the school day. They would unlock the gate and politely welcome each student. They had so much respect for the kids.
“It was dignified, even though they were entering the school along this crappy fence. That got me thinking about the ugliness of the fence and how I might introduce nature around it and give the area a more restorative, dignified appearance.”
Neighborhood walkers, runners and parents pushing strollers are drawn to the sidewalk fronting The Skinny Garden. A few neighbors pitch in to help maintain the garden. The relationship with the school has been mostly cooperative, with an occasional hiccup.
Zelkova, Chinese pistache, cork and valley oaks are among The Skinny Garden trees. Fenkner hopes her tree planting serves as an example to improve school greening efforts and inspire others to take advantage of the California Schoolyard Forest System initiative.
The statewide effort aims to increase tree canopy on school properties, providing shade to protect students from heat caused by the changing climate. Fenkner says studies show when viewing vegetation, student stress levels decrease while test performances and attitudes improve.
Anne Fenkner
Photo by Linda Smolek
LONG, THIN GARDEN BRIGHTENS OAK PARK CAMPUS
“Personally, I am passionate about expanding tree canopy on every California schoolyard,” she says. Before planting trees, there were years of digging planting holes. Fenkner unearthed plants from her yard and transplanted them along the fence.
“My idea was to make an organic garden and keep it heavily mulched with woodchips,” she says.
Depleting her home-grown plant supply, she bought plants at nurseries and plant sales, especially UC Davis Arboretum sales. Friends and neighbors donated plants. She estimates her expenditures in excess of $7,000. One day the bill at Annie’s Annuals & Perennials in Richmond was $700.
Trial and error ensued. Perennials became preferred over annuals, although annuals such as zinnias often color areas where needed. Asters, cannas, yarrows, salvias, roses and butterfly bushes are among the plantings.
“Perennials make it easier to maintain,” Fenkner says.
She gave up on vegetables after repeated attempts. The soil was not conducive to edibles. One possible
reason: the Sac High oval track merges with The Skinny Garden.
“The soil is bad, the vegetables had no taste,” she says.
Uneasy about campus maintenance crews spraying chemical herbicides on her newly planted garden, Fenkner asked the head of maintenance to not spray Roundup near The Skinny Garden. She quotes his response as, “I won’t if I don’t see weeds. Keep them off the fence.” A lasting agreement was reached.
Her most time-consuming task is watering. Two hours of watering a day during the hottest months is mandatory. The garden abruptly stops at the end of a hose that cannot be tugged another inch. For now, The Skinny Garden is on a restrictive diet.
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
Late Bloomer
OCTOGENARIAN PAINTER FINDS NO LIMITS ON SUCCESS
David Sobon, who founded Wide Open Walls mural festival, has something special on his own walls.
“As I gaze at two of my Norma Roos paintings in my living room, I see something different every time I spend time with them,” Sobon says. “The passion, emotion and skill that she has in her abstract work just boggles my mind.”
Sobon is not alone. Roos, 88, is having commercial succcess with art that’s lived in her soul since childhood. Her abstract paintings sold fast in two solo shows at Twisted Track Gallery on R Street.
mobiles and collages and studying different artists. I developed their creativity alongside my own. Creativity is limitless.”
Roos’ professional path didn’t include art until later in life. She attended Sacramento City College, then received a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from Hayward State and a master’s from UC Davis.
A dozen years ago, Roos tried to get her work into local galleries. “There was a lot of rejection,” she says. An encounter with David Sobon proved serendipitous.
JL JL
By Jessica Laskey Open Studio
“I love creativity,” Roos says. “I drew a lot as a young child. In junior high, an art teacher saw potential in me and told my mom she should put me in art classes. That never happened. My mom was a single mom doing the best she could. So I did it on my own, studying art history and different art concepts.”
As Roos educated herself, she brought her findings to work—a kindergarten classroom.
As a teacher for more than 30 years, Roos did “a lot with my students to help them love and appreciate art. We did art projects every week, from painting portraits and finger painting to making
When she started “taking art more seriously,” she returned to Sac City to study with Fred Dalke, Michaele LeCompte, Teiko Sasser, Laureen Landau, Terry Peterson and Marcelle Wiggins.
As someone who believes “there’s always room for improvement,” Roos dedicated herself to exploring different mediums, including vibrant abstracts in color and black and white.
“At our first chance meeting years ago, I was immediately attracted to the kind, soft-spoken beautiful person she was,” Sobon says. “I was immediately invited to come take a look at her work in her home and I instantly became a collector.”
Sobon helped Roos hold an art auction in 2018. Roos says the event “didn’t take off,” but Sobon introduced her to the team led by Matt Haines at Twisted Track Gallery. They saw star talent.
In 2022, Roos had her first Twisted Track show, which Sobon reports made her “the bestselling artist ever in Twisted Track Gallery history.”
Norma Roos
Photo by Linda Smolek
After her second show in September, Roos returned to her home studio to brainstorm her next project. She’s excited to try metallics and muted colors.
“You can plan it all out, but there are always changes. You have to be
flexible,” Roos says of her painting process, which usually includes listening to jazz.
“I go into my soul and go as deep as I can possibly go. I’m a very spiritual, religious person. I ask for help when I’m doing each and every painting,
guidance and delivery to do my very, very best and to enjoy what I’m doing.”
Find Roos on Instagram @ normasroos. Twisted Track Gallery is at 1730 12th St. For information, visit twistedtrackgallery.life.
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
Raise A Pint
R STREET’S BELOVED PUB HITS 50-YEAR MILESTONE
IG
SBy Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider
n 1975, Bill and Denise Dalton opened an English-style pub at 10th and R streets. The building was a warehouse and factory, more than 60 years old, fronted by bricks with high ceilings.
It was an unlikely setting, a traditional English pub in an industrial part of town.
Fifty years later, Fox & Goose Public House is a permanent fixture. The pub helped launch music careers, political careers and hospitality careers. It inspired convivial evenings of laughter and friendship for generations.
Named after Bill Dalton’s hometown pub in Yorkshire, Fox & Goose is more than a good bar, more than one of the
city’s best breakfast spots. The Goose’s dedication to community, arts and Downtown is exceptional.
Throughout my life, Fox & Goose has been part of the city scene. I’ve eaten plenty there, drank many pints, performed at open mic, won a pub quiz, lost several pub quizzes, and broke bread with family and friends in nearly every decade.
The first thing to notice at the Goose is the unparalleled conflict between cozy trappings of a traditional English pub and the soaring vastness of an old warehouse. Ceilings reach to unnatural heights. Old posters advertising English cigarettes, beers and various
sundries are placed high enough to put a crick in your neck.
Yet the old brick bar lined with British ale handles and the preponderance of wood create a coziness unexpected. Metal framed industrial windows let in more light than any drinking establishment in town.
Pubs in England are known for food, some notoriously so. Others adopted the ethos of the “gastropub” as the English food scene improved. At the Goose, the dinner menu offers serviceable fish and chips, a fine hamburger and worthy shepherd’s pie. Breakfast made the Goose legendary.
Pub Burger and Sunrise Mimosa
Photos by Linda Smolek
The crumpets and olallieberry scones are worth the visit. A housemade corned beef hash, full English breakfast—with fixings from tomatoes to beans—or the rarebit omelet pull customers through the door.
One recent Wednesday morning, I almost couldn’t get a seat. With politicians and office workers dining alongside residents of revitalized R Street, busy mornings at the Goose are standard.
The bar is a treat. Beside traditional lagers and ales, a decent wine selection is available. Creative cocktails move beyond standard two-ingredient pub drinks.
The Goose is a cultural institution. Open mic night was a proving ground for Jackie Greene, Cake and other acts that became famous. The monthly traditional Irish jam is a can’t-miss for fans of Emerald Isle music. The run of
musical performances from folk to jazz and more make the Goose a landmark.
Current owners Peter Monson and Jessa Berkey continue 50-year-old traditions without a hitch. Monson started working at the Goose more than 25 years ago as a busser and host. When he and Berkey took over in 2013, it was a passing of the torch.
I’m not alone in wishing Fox & Goose Public House a happy 50th. Raise a pint to one our city’s cornerstones next time you’re in the neighborhood.
Fox & Goose Public House is at 1001 R St.; foxandgoose.com; (916) 443-8825.
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
Full English breakfast
1999 when completed in Elk Grove’s “Sheldon Pointe” community. Asking $499,900 Better hurry!
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