Inside Pocket March 2024

LINDA LOUIE

SOUTH POCKET

POCKET

6966 Bobolink Way - $475,000

SPECTACULAR GREENHAVEN POCKET HALFPLEX 2 bed 2½ bath. Each bedroom has its own bath. Updated kitchen and spa.

CONNIE LANDSBERG 916-761-0411 DRE-00850625

JOSEPH OLSON 916-835-2968 DRE-02083344

1162 Lancaster Way - $765,000

AMAZING SOUTH LAND PARK TERRACE DUPLEX.

Two 2 bed 1 bath units with HVAC, covered patio and parking for each. Close to William Land Park and Sacramento River.

MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375

22 Lanyard Court - $482,000

GORGEOUS UPDATED POCKET GREENHAVEN HOME 2 bed 2 bath with new kitchen counter tops, luxury vinyl floors, carpet and lights. Garcia Bend Park is close by MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375

4731 Baker Avenue - $399,000

REMODELED CHARMER WITH OPEN ROOM CONCEPT

3 bed, 1 bath, kitchen features granite counters. Gazebo with electricity and stock tank dipping pool, relax unwind.

HILARY BUCHANAN 916-397-7502 DRE-01359213

1373 – 40th Street - $999,900

GREAT EAST SACRAMENTO LOCATION FOR THIS CHARMER

4 bed 3 bath, spacious rooms, downstairs bedroom and bath, hardwood floors. Half basement, upgraded electrical DAVID KIRRENE 916-531-7495 DRE-01115041

7351 – 21st Street – $420,000

NICELY RENOVATED HOME WITH BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN.

3 bed, 2 bath, new laminate flooring, raised panel doors, LED recessed lighting, large living room. Dual pane windows

SARAH MOON 916-743-4157 DRE-02086696

1806 O Street - $680,000

BEAUTIFULLY UPDATED IN THE HEART OF MIDTOWN.

3 bed, 2 bath, floor to ceiling stone in kitchen and bath, built-ins throughout. Wrap around patio offers outdoor living TYLER MONK 916-599-4755 DRE-02083079

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LINDA LOUIE

Linda Louie is a Sacramento native. Her art is an eclectic blend of impressionism that is colorful, expressive and fluid. Shown: “Capitol Facades,” oil on panel, 9 inches by 12 inches. This piece, for sale at $450, is a gesture of the multi-colored floral arrangements visitors experience on walks through some of Sacramento’s community parks and neighborhoods. Visit lindalouie.artcall.org or contact the artist at mzlinlou@gmail.com.

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Dignified Ending

HOW HOSPICE CARE DELIVERS PEACE AND COMFORT

Early last year, I needed hospice care for the end of my husband’s long life. I asked Jim’s doctor for YoloCares hospice. He said it was a good choice. He heard good reviews about YoloCares, especially in grief support services.

My decision was personal. It was a tribute to how Jim and I built our

By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

business for 27 years. Yolo was our largest advertiser. I learned about their services from ads. Jim always wanted to support businesses that supported us.

Jim’s hospice care was less than five days. He was 93 and suffered four years of worsening dementia after a car accident that caused a brain injury. His wishes were clear. He was ready to go.

Still, I underestimated what hospice care offers. And I was grateful that YoloCares is a leader in wrap-around grief support. My year of grieving brought much insight.

I recently sat down with YoloCares CEO Craig Dresang to learn more.

“Both my mom and my first partner were both diagnosed with terminal cancer the same year. She was in her 50s and I was 28. She was first diagnosed when I was 8. My partner was 34,” Dresang says. “My career in Chicago at the time had nothing to do with health care or hospice, so it was a total shock to me.”

Dresang endured completely different experiences when his mom and partner died.

“My mother wanted no extreme intervention and yet it was forced on her,” he says. “All they did was in fact counter to her wishes. She died in a hospital room pumped up with devices and not one bit of peace.”

In contrast, Dresang’s partner Danny died according to his own plans.

“He died comfortably and peacefully at home and holding my hand. And it was really a beautiful and meaningful way for him to transition out of this world,” Dresang says. “And I remember that year thinking someday I want to do something for this program called hospice.

“Many years later, when the president of the university I was working for was retiring, I took a call from a headhunter. The position he offered me was in hospice.”

Dresang took the job and built a new career around his deeply personal experiences.

Hospice and palliative care are similar. Hospice begins when a person’s diagnosis leaves them six months or less to live. If patients live

longer, palliative care keeps them as comfortable as possible, without medical intervention to extend life.

Many hospital chains have financial motives not always aligned with the best interests of the dying patient. Dresang explains, “My mom died in a hospital, and my partner died in independent hospice. That’s why their experiences were so different.”

Doctors need to better understand end-of-life decisions and offer patients options, from aggressive care to comfortably closing their lives.

“Not enough doctors clearly and compassionately convey the negative side of continuing life-saving treatments,” Dresang says. “Only when tradeoffs are openly discussed will quality of life at the end truly improve.”

Jim made his end-of-life decisions when first diagnosed with dementia. I found a dementia advanced care directive that let Jim decline life-saving treatments. He believed it was in everyone’s best interest to let his body go peacefully when his mind could no longer function.

Craig Dresang

Jim’s brief hospice was a beautiful experience for our family. It gave Jim time to say goodbye and let us return the love and gratitude for what he brought to our lives.

Jim’s coffee group came by one morning. I’ll never forget the laughter coming from the bedroom as they shared memories, inspiration and gratitude for a life well lived.

YoloCares professionally prepared us, then took the hands-off approach we requested. They were a phone call away when we had questions.

When the time came, Jim departed this world with a huge smile. And with his family and beloved dog by his side.

After Jim died, YoloCare’s grief program came into my life. There were phone calls, cards and emails with gentle invitations for counseling, grief support groups and more. I felt they cared as much about those who survive as the patient who passes.

“As much as we love regulation in the state, they never regulated hospice,” Dresang says. “We have 1,200 hospices in California, more than the rest of the country combined.”

“While I run a business that needs to generate revenue, I also believe that there are certain sectors of our life that should be hands off in terms of

greed,” he says. “And providing hospice is one of them, and that’s why I’m so passionate about what we do.”

Our community should be grateful to have an innovative, well-run hospice such as YoloCares.

I hope sharing my experience will inspire friends and neighbors to consider end-of-life decisions early.

Six months ago, I was blessed to find a new partner to love. Steve and I have already made our end-of-life decisions clear to each other.

Please help loved ones do the same. Only through open and honest dialogue will we receive the end-of-life care everyone deserves.

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Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications. com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento. com. Follow us on Facebook and on Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Rule Breakers

Nothing good can be said about the decision that allowed several temporary chain-link fences and gates to sprawl across the Sacramento River levee in Pocket.

The fences block access to the river. They were approved in secret. They violate the California Code of Regulations, state law that requires public hearings and regulatory board approval for levee fences and controversial encroachments.

But Chris Lief, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board executive officer who authorized the fences, made one smart move when he green-lighted the blockades.

He required several conditions for fence lovers to follow if they want to keep their barricades.

At least five property owners near the levee lobbied Lief and his staff for fences. The property owners sought barriers to replace old fences authorized decades ago but removed for levee repairs by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The flood board owns and controls the levees. But a few residents hold access easements. They claim their easements ban the public from accessing parts of the levee. Their claims have never been validated in court.

Before Lief became the flood board’s chief bureaucrat last April, the board dismissed trespass complaints from property owners. The flood board rightfully said it was a flood prevention and maintenance agency, not a private security force.

Lief upended all that when he signed fence authorizations last year. His actions instantly expanded the flood board’s responsibilities. He entangled the state agency in private security matters.

When Lief authorized the fences, he sent letters to each property owner who was granted a barrier. I have copies.

The letters begin with bizarre justifications. Lief calls levee fences a “minor alternation” to the levee. He says gates “will not be injurious to the public interest.” He says fences “will not impair the usefulness of the flood project works.”

RG

By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat

Those statements are laughable.

Lief’s letters also include language that should make the handful of property owners wonder whether their fences are a dumb, expensive mistake. He establishes “special conditions” that place heavy obligations on the property owners.

First, he dumps responsibility for “all personal liability and property damage” onto the homeowners. He indemnifies the state from any problems related to gates and fences.

If anyone sues the flood board over Lief’s illegal authorizations—not a bad idea!—the property owners must pay the flood board’s legal costs.

Lief warns property owners not to work on the fences during flood season, Nov. 1 through April 15. If fences get torn down during that period, tough luck.

Finally, fences must not interfere with flood control or maintenance. This includes causing erosion or damaging the levee. When the river runs high, fences must be removed from the levee slope to avoid catching debris.

That last requirement is critical. It’s a mandate historically ignored by Pocket and Little Pocket property owners with fence permits.

Those residents have a habit of not caring about rules. They often left old fences in place during high water. They redesigned gates without permission. They strung barbed wire, caused erosion, transferred ownerships, even moved fences without asking.

They seemed to say, rules are for suckers.

Despite Lief’s willingness to authorize temporary fences, the flood board isn’t a police agency. The board struggles to enforce encroachment permits along the levee.

In past years, when I reported fence and encroachment violations to the flood board, I was told the state lacked personnel to run down every complaint. Staff said they would investigate when they could. Whenever that was.

Which means it’s up to Pocket, Meadowview and Land Park residents to let Chris Lief and the flood board know when property owners near the levee break rules. If you see a fence in the water, say something. Let me know, too.

Given that temporary fence authorizations themselves violate state law, I’m not confident Lief and the flood board will enforce much of anything. But we can hope.

Flood board executive officer Chris Lief can be reached at questions@ cvflood.ca.gov.

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

Chris Lief (left)

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

qcs q s Quintessential Care Summit c

RNs and LVNs can receive six Continuing Education Credits!

FEATURING KEYNOTES BY

AWARD-WINNING POET MARK DOTY

RNs and LVNs can receive six Education Credits! AWA

Winner of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and a Guggenheim Fellowship

PRESENTATIONS BY

AND MORE!

Busy Days

SPRING BRINGS EVERYTHING FROM EASTER TO DANCING

Spring is here with more daylight and activities for everyone. There are plenty of interesting and helpful opportunities for Pocket and Greenhaven residents this month. Let’s get started:

PROM ATTIRE GIVEAWAY

Teens can attend a formalwear giveaway at the Robbie Waters Library on Thursday, March 14, from 2:15–5:30 p.m.

Young people can try on and select clothes and accessories for school dances. Adults can accompany their teens, but only students can take attire.

At last year’s giveaway, “Over 90 teens attended—walking away with lots of dresses, suits and accessories that were generously donated by the public,” youth librarian Nathan Milos says.

For information, visit saclibrary.org.

SOCCER REGISTRATION

Greenhaven Soccer Club’s spring season registration is open through March 25. Games run April 8 through May 10. Coaches design exercises and drills for each age group, creating a safe and fun way for children to hone soccer skills.

For information, visit greenhavensoccer.com or contact

C M CM

By Corky Mau Pocket Life

coaching director Jason Drury at jdrury@greenhavensoccer.com.

BUNNY ON THE GREEN

An Easter egg hunt takes place at William Land Park on Saturday, March 16, at 11 a.m. Highlights include a hat contest for kids, family games and an Easter Bunny visit.

EASTER EGG HUNT

The City Council District 7 Egg Hunt, sponsored by Councilmember Rick Jennings, returns to Garcia Bend Park on Saturday, March 30, at 11 a.m. Toddlers through elementary school students are welcome. Bring baskets and be ready for photos with the Easter Bunny.

‘HIDDEN FIGURES’

Local food historian Mary Ellen Burns leads a conversation about immigrant women who have left their imprint on our community. The discussion starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, in ACC’s Community Room.

Enjoy pastries and hot beverages while learning about local Japantown jazz singer and Hollywood actress Betty Inada, African American musical theater pioneers Anna and Emma Hyers, and Locke community activist Connie King.

To register, contact Sean Hidalgo at (916) 393-9026, ext. 111.

BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING

A free blood pressure clinic is offered at Robbie Waters Library on Tuesday, March 12, from 12:30–2:30 p.m. No appointment necessary. Just drop in to have your blood pressure checked by

Prom dress and tuxedo on display at Robbie Waters Library.

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

registered nurses, plus get heart health tips. The program is a partnership with Samuel Merritt University.

ELKS LODGE DANCE

It’s throwback time at Elks Lodge No. 6 on Friday, March 1. An evening dedicated to Rosie the Riveter includes a meatloaf dinner and dancing to The Groove Thang Band. The dinner dance starts at 5:30 p.m. and costs $45 per person. Contact the lodge at (916) 4226666 or visit the lodge office for tickets.

INCOME TAX HELP

Free income tax assistance is provided by AARP on Wednesday, March 6 and March 13, at ACC. Volunteers help prepare and file paperwork. Schedule an appointment with Sean Hidalgo at shidalgo@accsv. org or call (916) 393-9026.

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

Garcia Bend Park Egg Hunt is Saturday, March 30.

Mural Alley

BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT BRIGHTENS EAST SAC

Sacramento Mural Alley is an East Sacramento beautification project designed to elevate blank walls, doors, fences and other outdoor spaces with public artwork by local artists.

The alley is between 32nd and 33rd streets, just off Folsom Boulevard, and bordered by Archival Gallery, which partnered with home and business owners on the project.

The alley displays murals by artists Robert Bowen, Davy Fiveash, Miles Hermann, Dawn Pedersen, John Stuart Berger and Carrie Cottini. “I am very glad to be able to contribute to public art in my city,” Fiveash says. “I wanted to make a space that would brighten someone’s day.”

In recognition of this public art project, the East Sacramento Chamber

of Commerce presented Sacramento Mural Alley with its 2023 Special Place Award. For information, visit sacramentomuralalley.com.

SQUARE DANCING

Want to try square dancing? Capital City Squares, Sacramento’s LGBTQ square dance club, will host two free introductory nights of modern western square dancing in April.

Unlike traditional square dancing, modern western square dancing doesn’t require a partner. Singles are welcome and dress can be casual street clothing with comfortable shoes.

Established in 1981, Capital City Squares is a founding member of the International Association of Gay and Lesbian Square Dance Clubs. Membership is open to all adults.

The free introductory nights are Wednesday, April 3 and April 10, from 6:30–8 p.m. at the Fruitridge Community Center at 4000 Fruitridge Road. Classes are $75 and include club membership and unlimited club night dancing. For information, visit capitalcitysquares.org.

last year—one of only 23 public library systems in the world to do so.

The library provides readers 24/7 access to free ebooks and audiobooks through library reading apps like Libby and Hoopla. It first exceeded 2 million digital items in 2019.

Through the Libby app, library cardholders can check out ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, and find free online classes on how to play musical instruments, decorate cakes, sew and more.

“We’re often met with surprise and delight when people learn what they can do with their library cards,” Library Director and CEO Peter Coyl says. “Last year, we added e-trikes to our collection and the Library of Things to two more locations. Our community has come to expect the unexpected from their library.”

For information, visit saclibrary.org or download the Libby app.

WAYFINDING SIGNS

By Jessica Laskey Out & About

LIBRARY CHECKOUTS

The Sacramento Public Library surpassed 3 million digital checkouts

Have you spotted some brightly colored signposts popping up around Midtown? The Midtown Association installed a wayfinding system to help visitors and residents navigate the area.

The system has 71 navigation posts throughout the district to give suggestions on places to explore, such

as dining and entertainment, or locate parking and public transit.

The wayfinding posts are linked to an interactive website that provides information on the project’s 15 destination centers: Alhambra District, Fremont Park, Golden Hub, Governor’s Mansion, Handle District, Lavender Heights at Midtown Central, Marshall Park, Midtown Sutter, Muir Park, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, Sutter’s Fort, Truitt Bark Park, Winn Park, and 29th and R streets.

For information, visit exploremidtown.org/yourway.

EVENTS CENTER

Sacramento State is getting a new events center that will house the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, women’s volleyball and gymnastics teams, and intramural and club sports competitions.

The center also will be a venue for entertainment, arts and guest speakers, with retractable seating that can be rolled out to accommodate large crowds. The center is expected to begin hosting events this fall.

The project will be funded with up to $5.2 million from Union WELL Inc. (the nonprofit that oversees the University Union and The WELL fitness and health facility), and

“Spirit of California” by Miles Hermann is at Sacramento Mural Alley.

Midtown navigation posts suggest places to explore.

$300,000 from Sac State for the project design.

“Sacramento State is the only public university in the capital of the state with the fifth-largest economy in the world, and we are acting like it,” Sac State President Luke Wood says. “I’m grateful that the Union WELL board supported our vision to position our university to better support student intercollegiate athletics, club sports and recreation sports, and arts and culture.”

RESIDENT ARTIST

Local ceramic artist Marsha Godoy Schindler has been named the Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist in Residence at Blue Line Arts in Roseville.

Blue Line’s SCG Artist in Residence & Teaching (ART) Program develops and enhances the visual arts through short-term residencies and workshops taught by nationally established artists. Schindler will offer special workshops, lectures and an exhibition at Blue Line over the next several months.

“I remain deeply connected to my early training and the world of flora and fauna,” says Schindler, a biologist. “Science and art, though different paths, operate in similar ways. In each you observe deeply, find patterns and behaviors, and then interpret

your observation into a narrative. We are inseparable from the natural world and its stories.”

Schindler’s own East Sac studio, clayARTstudio814, welcomed its first artist in residence, Susan Herre. Check out her work at 814 Alhambra Blvd. For information, visit bluelinearts.org and clayartstudio814. com.

PHOTOGRAPHY MONTH

Now is the time to get involved in Photography Month Sacramento, a monthlong series of events in April, led by Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, that celebrate the art of photography.

Businesses can highlight their photorelated activations, such as special exhibits, receptions, photoshoots, workshops, lectures and field trips. Individuals or groups can launch their own work by asking coffeehouses, wineries, breweries or restaurants to host an exhibit and reception.

Once concepts are confirmed, participants post information about the events on a community-curated calendar supported by Sacramento365. com. For information, visit photomonthsacramento.org.

RIVERFRONT ART

Beautiful new art installations by artist Joshua Sofaer now grace the Sacramento waterfront.

As part of the public art project “River Crossing: I want to communicate with you,” the community submitted nominations to have a public dock in Sacramento or West Sacramento named in their honor. After receiving more than 650 nominations, the two docks were named after local grandmothers Isabel S. Naranjo (Old Sacramento) and Etenesh Zeleke (West Sacramento).

The culmination of the project is Sofaer’s two large-scale light box installations that spell out the docks’ new names in maritime signals. Sofaer says his piece represents “our collective

need to honor the people who are most meaningful to us.”

NORCAL CHAMPIONS

The Sacramento Alliance Soccer Club’s Silver Cup under-12 girls team has won the NorCal State Cup.

In the final game against the Marin FC in Modesto, the local team won 5–3 on penalty kicks in what coach Ron Gayton calls a “gutty performance.” The team also won the 2023 spring

and fall leagues and can proudly call themselves NorCal champions.

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

Sacramento Alliance Soccer Club’s Silver Cup under-12 girls team wins NorCal State Cup.

more on homelessness, the fact remains we have no resources available for reaching these goals, even with substantial tax revenues coming in.

I asked candidates about their awareness of the deficit, what they would be willing to cut, priorities of their constituents, ideas about using emergency reserves to balance the budget, and whether they would be willing to end binding arbitration in negotiations with public safety unions.

Steve Hansen said he wants to preserve core services as a priority, and that public safety was a main concern. Kevin McCarty indicated budget cuts should be a “last option” and we should explore new revenue options.

Budget Busters

CITY COUNCIL PAINTS ITSELF INTO CORNER ON DEFICIT

The City Council is in a bind. It must pass a balanced budget in June. Revenues are not keeping up with expenses, though our tax rate is the highest in the region. The council faces a $50 million deficit.

At recent hearings, City Manager Howard Chan had department leaders make presentations about staffing, operations, needs and costs. It was eye opening, especially for newer City Council members.

Our roads are degrading. Utilities infrastructure needs replacement.

JHBy Jeff Harris City Realist

Parks are not maintained. Departments lack resources to provide basic services.

With the deficit looming, Chan asked department leaders to identify cost reductions of 15%. That’s a lot. We already have a backlog of $2 billion in unfunded repairs.

City employees are the biggest cost. Wage and benefit expenses rise every year. Since 2021, the council voted to increase that burden by $80 million annually.

At the same time, the council adopted new social programs and pet projects that broke the budget.

The City Council failed at its most important job—sound fiscal management.

City workers are our most valuable asset. We need quality staff, paid well enough to stay long term. But recent pay raises created a structural deficit that must be addressed.

The city has an Economic Uncertainty Reserve, a rainy-day fund for emergencies. The fund may be tempting to use to close the gap. But using the reserve puts the city at grave financial risk if revenues fall in the future, as they did in the pandemic and Great Recession.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg declared his willingness to use “one-time funds” to balance the budget in 2024. But he told me he didn’t want to tap the reserves. He hinted he may have an undisclosed source of money.

Even if that’s true, it only stalls the pain of making budget cuts until 2025, when the deficit will be higher. Spending emergency reserve money now shifts the burden onto the shoulders of the new mayor and councilmembers being elected this year.

Despite campaign speeches about creating affordable housing, bolstering public safety and spending

Flojaune Cofer hopes to use efficiencies spelled out in a report on cost savings generated by Management Partners in 2010. Those savings are achieved largely by contracting work out to private companies and turning Sacramento into a contract city with far fewer employees.

The rest of the candidates did not respond.

Running a campaign is difficult. Most candidates avoid straightforward answers to difficult questions. They prefer to answer in general terms.

As a former candidate and elected public servant, I learned being upfront and detailed was the most effective way to succeed. Constituents liked that approach.

It’s imperative that we elect people knowledgeable and realistic about our city budget, not candidates who vote for programs to increase the deficit and lead to service reductions.

Editor’s Note: Jeff Harris endorsed Steve Hansen for mayor and Phil Pluckebaum for City Council District 4.

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

Orthopedic care that helps get you back to you.

From your neck to ankles, with shoulders, hips and knees in between, your joints support the ability to do all the things you love. But when impacted by injury or age, joint pain can keep you from those activities that move, fulfill and complete you. That’s where our experts come in. With two of our hospitals among only 20 in California certified by The Joint Commission for Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement, we offer the highest quality of personalized care and innovative treatment options. If joint pain is putting your life on pause, it’s time to get back in action. Ask your doctor about a referral to one of our orthopedic specialists or learn more at DignityHealth.org/SacramentoOrtho.

Andrew, Jim (seated) and Carlin Naify

Photo by Linda Smolek

As a kid, I spent hours at Beers Books. I made a beeline for animal books. Mom perused the art section. Dad skimmed remainders on a sidewalk sale cart.

I recently found a Beers Books bookmark while going through some boxes. Instantly, I floated back to those book-filled days.

My experience is not unique. Beers Books has been a beacon for book lovers for nearly 90 years.

Early days are murky, but the shop began around 1936 when Nellie Beer worked as a clerk for L.H. Mytinger Books at 1125 Eighth St. At some point

J L JL

By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor

Book Smart

BEERS FINDS KEY TO KEEPING READERS COMING BACK

the shop became Beers Books. A legacy was born.

Beers has occupied five locations under four ownerships. After Nellie Beer came Frank Azevedo, who owned the store from 1941 to 1967. He sold to Harvey Shank, a retired Aerojet engineer responsible for the store’s metaphysical section.

Shank sold to current owners Jim and Carlin Naify in 1985. The Naifys bought the building at 14th and J streets, and with it, the store.

“It’s unusual for a small business to last that long,” Carlin says. “Jim and I consider the store a civic amenity. We’re its stewards.”

As good stewards for 39 years, the Naifys kept the shop open through several moves, including 14th and J, 15th and L, Ninth and S, and, as of last August, 712 R St.

When longtime manager Bill Senecal retired, the Naifys turned to family to continue the legacy. As a youngster, son Andrew Naify worked summers at

Beers. After graduation with a history degree from Lewis & Clark College, he worked at Powell’s Books in Portland for five years. He’s managed Beers for the past decade.

“People are so loyal to the historic Beers, the only thing I really did was try to standardize the labeling for ease of browsing,” Andrew says. “It obviously had a solid foundation for a 90-year-old bookstore, so there was no need to reinvent the wheel.”

Not reinvent, but modernize. Under Andrew, inventory was digitized, social media engagement expanded. With digitalization, social engagement and online sales, Andrew accomplished three key goals.

He also nudged Beers into antiquarian and rare books. He makes scouting missions and examines book boxes brought in by customers.

“We’ve bought and sold books from the 1500s, the 1600s. It’s incredibly fascinating to see the old inscriptions of previous owners. It definitely taps

into my appreciation for history,” he says.

Since the store reopened on R Street, Andrew hosts more events. A front section accommodates gatherings of around 50 guests.

He wants to improve the kids’ section to make the store “more inviting for families to post up and hang out and look at books.”

He says, “We’re hoping to anchor this section of R Street. We kind of feel like we’re on the frontier of the R Street corridor. Folks are still finding us for the first time, even those who have been in Sacramento their whole lives. We want to make our presence felt.”

For information, visit beersbooks. com.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Saturday, March 9 & Sunday, March 10

Veterans

WEEKEND

203 E. 14th

Saturday, March 16 & Sunday, March 17

The

at 2300 Sierra Blvd., Sacramento STREAMING! March 11–24 Virtual

Amateur Hour

COFER BRINGS ROOKIE CHAOS TO MAYOR’S RACE

There’s something wonderful and worrisome about a political novice running for mayor. A rookie brings fresh ideas and perspectives. Trouble is, what happens if the rookie wins?

RGBy R.E. Graswich City Beat

This year’s wonder and worry is embodied by Flojaune Cofer, a farleft progressive in her first run for office. Her newcomer status wouldn’t matter if Cofer sought a smaller job, maybe school board. But Cofer wants to start at the top.

Her decision comes at a precarious time. Mayor Darrell Steinberg departs after eight years of disappointment. He promised to solve the homeless crisis and failed. There were 2,700 homeless people in town when Steinberg was elected. Now there are 10,000.

Steinberg is an old pro, a career politician always in search of a backroom. But his deal-making tricks from the state Legislature didn’t align with the street-level demands of municipal governance. He promised too much, delivered too little.

The mess he leaves requires cleanup by someone who knows City Hall and understands the gravitational pulls of neighborhood priorities and influential players. Local politics is bottom up, not top down.

The next mayor must navigate a charter system that grants the mayor

significant influence but limits the boss to one vote, same as other City Council members.

Two candidates, Steve Hansen and Kevin McCarty, qualify. Both served lengthy sentences as City Council members. Both understand the budget. They know how city staff operate, led by the city manager.

A third prospect, Dr. Richard Pan, spent 12 years in the state Assembly and Senate, but zero in local government. He would need time to learn. Not as easy as it sounds.

Flojaune Cofer

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When I worked for Mayor Kevin Johnson during his first term, we wasted three years trying to comprehend the mysteries of City Hall and city bureaucracy. There’s no guide called “Mayoral Success for Dummies.”

My big concern about Pan becoming mayor is he’ll wake up one morning in 2025 and realize he hates the job. After success in the Legislature, he should practice pediatrics, teach medicine and leave noxious, soul-sucking City Council meetings to people who didn’t graduate from medical school.

Which brings us back to Flo Cofer. Her campaign is not the worst in city history, but carries the hallmarks of an amateurish affair, full of gaffes and errors.

If by some miracle she becomes mayor, her cavalier attitude toward rules and minimal grasp on the gears and levers that make local government function will paralyze City Hall.

She opened her campaign by breaking city laws on campaign

financing. An independent report to the city’s ethics commission said, “(Cofer’s) receipt of contributions in excess of the aggregate contribution limitation is a violation of Municipal Code.”

Those words should have bounced Cofer from the ballot.

But the investigator, perceiving a spineless City Council, recommended no punishment. The investigator suggested Cofer was merely confused. Her “violation was understandable and perhaps excusable.” The city let her off with no consequences.

Cofer caught a break over those illegal contributions. Worse, she learned nothing from the experience.

Despite being caught violating city code, she pretends she did nothing wrong. She told Inside, “We followed the letter of the law.” Except when she didn’t.

Given her views on local ordinances, it’s no surprise Cofer dislikes cops. In an interview with Sacramento State journalism students for the Sacramento Observer, Cofer ridiculed Police

Chief Kathy Lester’s belief that the department is not systemically racist.

“Chief Lester knew that was nonsense the moment it hit the tip of her lips,” Cofer said. “It’s like the dog in the meme with a fire: ‘Everything is fine.’ No, it’s not. It’s literally on fire.”

Mayor Cofer would cut the police budget and reduce patrol officers, with disastrous results.

As for homelessness, Cofer wants city parks opened for tent communities. She thinks unhoused people shouldn’t be guided into housing or services they don’t want. “All services are not equal,” she told Inside.

Neither are mayoral candidates.

The election is March 5. Absent a majority winner, the top two finishers meet again in November.

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

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Cecily Hastings Publisher

KUnlocking Potential

says Nancy Pryor, Meristem’s grants specialist.

Monthly visits by Only Sunshine animals are part of the “Meristem Method,” a five-stage learning process based on a European model that uses experiential learning to unlock a person’s potential.

For three years, students engage in activities that encourage skills to enter the workforce or pursue higher education, transition to independence, enhance social capacity and gain a strong sense of self.

FAIR OAKS CAMPUS HELPS NEURODIVERSE ADULTS THRIVE

risty Venrick-Mardon brings bunnies and goats from Only Sunshine Sanctuary, her Elverta animal rescue, to interact with students at Meristem. But it’s not just playtime.

It’s a way for Meristem’s young adults with autism and other neurodiversity to master new skills.

“The students learn how to interact calmly and not stress out the animals,” says Venrick-Mardon, who founded her animal sanctuary in 2018. “At first, every student wanted to touch every

animal. Now, they’re more patient and check in with the animal to make sure it’s comfortable.”

Venrick-Mardon didn’t intend to start a sanctuary. When she bought her house 11 years ago, she just wanted it filled with animals.

After rescuing a pig named Harold from the Sacramento SPCA, her menagerie grew. Today, Only Sunshine has 40 permanent residents and up to 65 animals, mostly rabbits.

Venrick-Mardon nurses them back to health for adoption and brings her boarders to educational meet-andgreets at programs such as Meristem.

Founded in 2015, Meristem focuses on adults ages 18–26. The 13-acre campus in Fair Oaks has 60 dorm rooms and apartments, multiple classrooms, a performance hall, café, dining hall, student lounge, bookstore and biodynamic organic garden.

Some students live off-campus and participate in day programs. Most choose to live on-campus and take advantage of an independent living program.

Meristem provides classes on topics that include visual arts, culinary arts, work experience, land stewardship, job readiness and hospitality.

the Eggert family to establish an endowment at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation in honor of their daughter Caroline, a Meristem graduate who went onto full-time employment.

The program hopes to raise $2 million over four years with matching donations.

“Meristem changed our daughter Caroline’s life,” Pam and Steve Eggert said in the donation announcement. “With your help, Meristem will change the lives of other young adults right here in our own local community.”

For information, visit onlysunshinesanctuary.org and meristem.pro.

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

By Jessica Laskey

“Animals are so therapeutic, and it pairs well with our program that has a unique focus on working with the land and taking care of animals and crafting or working with your hands as part of our therapeutic educational model,”

Courses are supplemented with outings and visits from Only Sunshine Sanctuary’s rescue animals, therapy dogs from Lend a Heart Animal Assisted Therapy and more. Organizations and friends give time and skills. REY Engineers helped rebuild the chicken coop. An Eagle Scout built picnic tables for meals and socializing.

Meristem is supported by donations. In December, the organization received a $1 million matching pledge from

Giving Back: Volunteer Profile

Kristy Venrick-Mardon

Photos by Linda Smolek

Listen Up

HE HEARD THEIR GRIEF WHEN THEY NEEDED HIM MOST

Some of my most rewarding years in chaplain work were spent as chaplain for women and children at Sutter Medical Center from 2002 to 2008.

My rounds often took me onto the high-risk maternity unit. Rooms were filled with scared, pregnant women whose doctors confined them to bed in hopes of avoiding a miscarriage.

One afternoon, our unit secretary, Jeannette, told me about a patient expecting twins. Her 23-week pregnancy was threatened by severe complications.

“Her husband is a youth minister, so she has a lot of church friends in her room now,” Jeannette told me.

Jeannette’s quiet demeanor meant she was worried. “Maybe you could go introduce yourself. Might help if things go south.”

N B NB

By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

Inside the room, the minister greeted me with the typical chorus of religious platitudes.

“These twins are in God’s hands. I’m not worried,” he said in a dismissive manner. “We know God will heal these babies.”

I was nearly convinced. The room was adorned with religious books, greeting cards and Bibles. The family played sacred music and wore pious jewelry.

I took the minister’s hint and excused myself, figuring my time would be better spent elsewhere.

Forty-eight hours later, I returned to the nurses’ station. Jeanette whispered, “They’re really going to need you now, chaplain. The twins didn’t make it.”

“They’ll need me, but will they want me?” I muttered.

Jeanette dared me to “give it a shot.”

I said, “I’m betting they don’t give me five minutes.”

Prayerfully, I entered the room. It’s a risk going where you aren’t wanted, even when you wear the chaplain’s badge.

The room was a stark contrast from its previous state. Gone were the church visitors and religious music.

The couple remembered me and invited me to sit.

“We’ve been in church work for years,” the pastor said. “Why couldn’t God help us?”

For a moment, I assumed they didn’t want a chaplain. I leaned forward to signal my willingness to leave. Yet they continued to unload.

“No, chaplain, stay,” insisted the grieving mother.

They wanted someone to hear the case they’d built against God, so I stayed and listened.

They believed God shortchanged them. They swore they’d never return to church. God wasn’t fair. We deserve better. Is God really love? If God loves us, why does he hurt his children?

I was uncomfortable, but stayed through the barrage, listening to it all.

My visit lasted 45 minutes. During the next few days, I was invited for more visits. I lost my bet with Jeanette.

When our patient was discharged, her youth-pastor husband said to me, “You probably wonder why we let you stay after we’d dismissed our congregants.”

I did.

“You were the only one willing to listen to our gripes about God,” he said.

“I was taken by your honesty,” I said. “You voiced your complaints directly to God. Often people aren’t that authentic.

Instead of telling God exactly what they are feeling, they talk smack about God behind his back.

“I think God understands your talk. After all, God saw his son die, too.”

They nodded and thanked me for not trying to change their minds or judge them.

“Just make sure you keep up the conversation with him,” I said.

I phoned a few times and found they were still having daily conversations with God. And while those conversations didn’t sound much like usual church prayers, I know God heard every word.

I bet Jeanette I wouldn’t be allowed into the couple’s room, much less their lives. But because I listened without trying to defend or explain God, the couple allowed me a place in their sacred grief.

That’s a gamble I’ll take every time.

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

HAZEL’S STORY

HER BRAVERY CHANGED THE CITY, BUT SHE’S FORGOTTEN

There must be something we can do for Hazel Jackson. Her bravery brought a reckoning that inspires today.

She forced Land Park gentry to confront their indifference to racism.

R G RG

By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

She shamed local business leaders for their ownership of a sports facility that refused to serve Black people.

Hazel Jackson made a difference. Thanks to her, part of the city’s recreational and sporting life untethered itself from an anchor of institutional bigotry.

She didn’t make racism disappear, but she made it tougher for respectable citizens to support racist policies or pretend those policies didn’t exist.

In January, I wrote about the ugly history of Land Park Plunge and Riverside Baths, a recreational facility enjoyed by generations from 1909 to 1955.

The plunge and baths were a gathering place, a swimming pool filled

with “artesian” waters. The facility sponsored swim teams and swim meets. There were dressing areas and picnic grounds.

Delightful on summer days, the pool stayed open almost to midnight. But there was a catch. No Black people were admitted morning, noon or night.

Hazel Jackson ended that. She was 14, a student at California Junior High School. She lived at 2754 Second Ave. in Curtis Park with her grandmother Hattie Jackson.

On May 23, 1952, Hazel’s class visited Land Park Plunge for a picnic. Other students were welcomed, but not Hazel. She was Black. Pool staff said she couldn’t enter.

When Hattie Jackson heard what happened, she contacted Nathaniel Colley, the only Black lawyer in town. Three years out of Yale Law School, Colley was building a reputation as a warrior against discrimination.

Colley filed a $10,000 damage suit against Land Park Plunge on behalf of the Jacksons. The case was settled for $250 plus attorney’s fees.

The agreement applied only to Hazel. Presumably other Black people would still be turned away. But decades of unchallenged racism were over at Land Park Plunge.

In an era of emerging civil rights, the pool became an embarrassment among enlightened Land Park families.

Hazel Jackson (top row, second from left) in 1956 edition of McClatchy High School‘s Nugget yearbook.

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It closed in 1955. Congregation B’nai Israel stands there today.

Years passed and Colley gained fame for his legal skill and courtroom eloquence. He was honored by presidents and Supreme Court justices.

Colley was a sportsman who owned a stable of racehorses in Elk Grove, Priscilla Belle Farms. He was chairman of the California Horse Racing Board. He died from brain cancer at his ranch in 1992, age 74. His legacy endures with a high school named for him.

Hazel Jackson wasn’t so fortunate. When I researched this story, I hoped Hazel might still be alive, maybe a great-grandmother, still in town. That’s not what I found.

Hazel advanced from Cal Junior High to McClatchy High School. After her 1956 graduation, the trail grows cold.

I followed leads down winding roads, mostly to nowhere. There were many Hazel Jacksons born in California around 1938. There’s a marriage in Reno in 1958. Our Hazel? Doubtful.

I tracked Hazel to Philadelphia and a three-story, red brick row house. The address is 2129 Christian St., near Graduate Hospital in Center City. She worked as a key punch operator. The

row house is where Hazel Jackson died Aug. 2, 1969.

On the bright yellow death certificate, the medical examiner typed, “Ingested overdose of multiple drugs while temporarily mentally ill.” Cause of death was suicide. She was 31.

Authorities turned to Hazel’s pastor, the Rev. Cecil Dubois Gallup of Holy Trinity Baptist Church, for background.

The pastor said Hazel lived alone four blocks from church. She was single, no family. She was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. Today Mount Zion has no record of Hazel Jackson.

Like she never existed.

But Hazel Jackson did exist. Sacramento owes her. She did something incredibly brave at age 14, stood up to a half century of racism at a popular sports and recreation facility.

If the city can’t find a way to honor her memory, it’s up to the rest of us.

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

Magnificent Mansion

HISTORIC HOME IS A 12,000-FOOT LABOR OF LOVE

Adecade ago, Ryan Heater set his sights on a historic circa 1900 home in Boulevard Park that he now calls home. The magnificent mansion was lovingly preserved by earlier owners.

Heater’s goal is to take the house to another level. Using top local craftspeople, he studies every detail and explores every resource.

“Years back, I had the pleasure of hosting a 90th birthday party for Jim Betson, one of the previous long-term owners,” Heater says. “It meant the world to him and his family. That’s a part of the intergenerational beauty of this home.

C H CH

By Cecily Hastings

Photography by Aniko Kiezel Open House

“After falling in love with this home I decided to work slowly and carefully to restore it. But also create a modern and livable home for me, and for the entertainment I love to do.”

The 12,000-square-foot mansion is about 30% restored. There are four levels: three floors plus a full basement with a ballroom complete with springloaded dance floor. His work began on the first floor.

“The first floor is for entertainment,” Heater says. “I had to figure out how they were originally used and then modify them for my style.”

The entry is a center hall with a dramatic curving staircase. Woodwork is extensive with hard and soft woods in natural and dark stains. Quarter-sawn oak is generously displayed.

Windows feature original hand-blown and stained glass in the style of Austrian Arts and Crafts architect Josef Hoffmann. Pockets doors open and close rooms as needed.

To the right is a huge formal living room with a massive Arts and Crafts tile fireplace, plus several seating areas and an octagonal window well. To the left is a music room with a 1971 Baldwin concert grand piano that belonged to Heater’s father.

Ryan Heater

A painted mural highlights the walls. The theme blends light, airy colors of American River flora and fauna. Heater hires a pianist for parties. The room’s openness lets the music flow.

Beyond the music room is a comfortable, cozy lounge with an oversized contemporary tufted leather sofa, marble plinth coffee table, Moroccan tribal rug and large classical European painting. Heater purchased the painting at an East Coast auction and had it shipped to California, no small feat.

Behind the living room is a dining room with seating for 12. It includes built-in buffets, displays and storage for Heater’s crystal and China collections.

Next comes a walk-in bar with a mural of golden tones, stylized rose trees and flying herons. It floats above oak wainscoting.

The kitchen and butler’s pantry occupy the back half. The kitchen has all the modern conveniences, but the design is sparer, more like period cooking areas might have been. A large La Cornue gas stove was restored with brass accents and black frame.

Heater built a curvaceous stove hood that reaches the ceiling. Subway tile covers the walls. The room is centered with a

marble-top table. It’s easy to imagine scones being turned out daily by family cooks.

A bright, sunny breakfast room is bathed by greenhouse-style windows.

Lighting fixtures have been carefully curated by Heater. Some were original, others imported from around the world. Favorites are blown-glass shades in the manner of Tiffany and Steuben.

The home has nine bedrooms and baths. “But I use them for many other things than their original purpose.

I have a couple offices, a guest suite and I even use different bedrooms in different seasons,” Heater says.

“I was lucky that the original and subsequent owners kept everything when they made changes. It’s like I

have a museum cum storage spaces to shop from when working on individual rooms.”

Heater considers the home a lifetime project. “I constantly have something to work on,” he says. “It’s not just a house. It’s a house wrapped up as both a hobby and a passion.”

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

Neighborhood Real Estate Sales

95608

5201 GIBBONS DR $322,480

3979 OAK VILLA CIR $335,000

4710 COURTLAND LN $351,000

6225 COYLE AVE $365,000

5906 MARLIN CIR $390,000

8748 FAIR OAKS BLVD $410,000

3721 HOLLOWAY LN $450,000

4201 PUEBLO ST $491,500

4512 WOODFAIR WAY $505,000

5405 ANGELINA AVE $520,000

5329 MONITOR AVE $525,000

3045 STANTON CIR $564,999

2230 GUNN RD $570,000

6391 PERRIN WAY $600,000

3004 VALASSTRADA CT $635,000

5993 CAMRAY CIR $660,000

7340 NOB HILL DR $737,000

3220 KAISER CT $750,000

3420 ADCOTE WAY $820,000

5649 TUMBRIDGE WAY $872,000

95815

1104 FRIENZA AVE $275,000

2828 ALBATROSS WAY $280,000

808 ARCADE BLVD $292,500

2830 BRANCH ST $320,000

2277 BEAUMONT ST $350,000

3061 CRANDALL AVE $365,000

2745 PLOVER ST $379,999

2189 CAMBRIDGE ST $400,000

2242 WATERFORD RD $400,000

950 ALAMOS AVE $420,000

1917 KEITH WAY $435,000

2123 OXFORD ST $590,000

95816

3172 S ST $590,000

516 24TH ST $600,000

1509 34TH STREET ST $660,000

134 FISCHBACHER ST $1,100,000

95817

2211 33RD ST $390,000

3636 BRET HARTE CT $450,000

2616 56TH ST $500,000

4617 U ST $560,000

2717 60TH ST $585,000

2720 43RD ST $689,000

95818

278 BOX LN $343,000

2426 26TH ST $429,900

484 LUG LN $460,000

2604 CLEAT LN #28 $490,000

2738 SAN LUIS CT $595,000

3288 RONALD REAGAN WY $695,000

2708 TOMATO ALY $845,000

1062 10TH AVE $900,000

2011 VIZCAYA WALK $962,222

1154 SWANSTON DR $999,000

2285 5TH AVE $1,048,000

2000 8TH AVE $1,156,963

2735 14TH ST $1,335,000

2948 25TH ST $1,360,000

1600 3RD AVE $1,400,000

95819

1436 63RD ST $530,000

1369 62ND ST $545,000

124 44TH ST $785,000

4236 G ST $800,000

5516 STATE AVE $857,000

1408 48TH ST $875,000

708 SAN MIGUEL WAY $900,000

1524 40TH ST $1,075,000

513 53RD ST $1,399,999

1022 44TH ST $2,575,000

95821

2591 FULTON SQ LN #85 $230,000

2848 SANTA PAULA CT $285,000

2831 EDISON AVE $349,900

3833 DURAN CIR $385,000

2900 YELLOWSTONE LN $390,000

2311 RAINBOW AVE $435,000

2852 ALAMITOS WAY $500,000

3444 SOLARI WAY $575,000

3670 WEST WAY $585,000

3416 HARGER CT $660,000

3550 E COUNTRY CLUB LN $670,000

95822

2221 67TH AVE $320,000

5885 GLORIA DR #4 $340,000

7425 CARELLA DR $362,000

2048 FLORIN RD $375,000

5400 MICHAEL WAY $390,000

5604 BRADD WAY $405,000

2508 38TH AVE $420,000

2401 EDNA ST $430,000

5648 EL GRANERO WAY $430,000

2064 63RD AVE $435,000

2300 VARDON AVE $440,000

1823 68TH AVE $441,000

1431-4712 OAKHURST WY $449,000

4940 ESMA JANE LN $599,900

1490 43RD AVE $641,000

95825

923 FULTON AVE #426 $184,000

943 FULTON AVE #513 $200,000

609 WOODSIDE SIERRA #5 $245,000

512 WOODSIDE OAKS #8 $247,000

3130 VIA GRANDE CIR $282,000

1310 GANNON DR $450,000

262 HARTNELL PL $527,500

3108 SUNVIEW AVE $530,000

1551 UNIVERSITY AVE $532,500

2060 UNIVERSITY PK DR $606,500

2014 UNIVERSITY PK DR $715,000

95831

415 ROUNDTREE CT $280,000

502 ROUNDTREE CT. $310,000

31 PARK WEST CT $399,900

818 PORTUGAL WAY $435,000

6966 BOBOLINK WAY $475,000

6805 GLORIA DR $475,000

14 ESTUARY CT $520,000

7284 FARM DALE WAY $610,000

7500 MONTE BRAZIL DR $625,000

483 WINDWARD WAY $630,000

964 COBBLE SHORES DR $630,000

1208 MONTE VISTA WAY $675,000

483 PIMENTEL WAY $795,000

7723 LOS RANCHO WAY $800,000

95864

1411 ROWENA WAY $360,000

3221 WINDSOR DR $390,000

3312 WINDSOR DR $396,000

3124 BERKSHIRE WAY $479,000

4256 BIRGIT WAY $523,467

1228 MICHAEL LN $595,000

1827 CERES WAY $640,000

1012 LA SALLE DR $647,000

320 WYNDGATE RD $790,000

3424 COSMOS AVE $1,000,000

2700 LATHAM DR $1,150,000

4100 LOS COCHES WAY $1,225,000

Advisory Void

ANIMAL CARE COMMITTEE FALLS SHORT

Front Street Animal Shelter killed 1,132 animals in 2023. This year, more than 150 dogs and cats have lost their lives.

These numbers are important. Hayden’s Law, enacted in 1998 to move California toward a no-kill state, says “no adoptable animal should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable home.” This includes animals who “could become adoptable with reasonable efforts.”

“Killing adoptable animals is easier than putting in the effort to save them,” says Julie Virga, a local animal advocate who campaigns against what she calls Front Street’s mismanagement. “This is a complete failure of leadership.”

The Sacramento Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee was established to provide strategy and policy recommendations to the City Council to help improve animal care services.

The committee’s 2023 annual report—its first report in two years— makes no mention of the number of dogs and cats killed at Front Street.

Instead, the report makes three recommendations: improve the response rate of animal-related 311 calls; conduct a needs assessment for renovating or relocating the city shelter; and review the committee’s scope.

C R CR

By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies

All well intended. But where is stop the killing?

Committee Chair Leah Morris says the advisory committee is not about operations. “The charge of the committee is to look at things around education, things around policy, things around quality of service,” she says.

Policy is the key word.

At recent meetings, time is taken up to discuss things like a Front Street marketing brochure—content, format, quality of paper. In his monthly update, shelter manager Phillip Zimmerman reports on staff vacancies, vaccine clinics, free adoptions, fundraising events.

Zimmerman makes no mention of the number of animals killed. Committee members don’t ask.

The annual report ignores the shelter’s policy to turn away friendly healthy cats and kittens who face starvation, death and an endless cycle of reproducing.

The policy disregards state law that says taking in animals “is important for public health and safety, to aid in the return of the animal to its owner, and to prevent inhumane conditions for lost or free roaming animals.”

The advisory committee is required to increase “awareness of the importance of spay/neuter.” Hayden’s Law calls for shelters to “aggressively promote spay and neuter programs to reduce pet overpopulation.”

Nearly 8,000 stray animals entered Front Street last year. Yet committee recommendations to the City Council are void of strategies to bolster spay/neuter.

At last November’s committee meeting, Zimmerman reported on applying for a PetSmart Charities spay/neuter grant. He would know

by January. At the January meeting, he made no mention of the grant (which Front Street did not receive). Committee members didn’t ask.

Front Street has nearly 200 cats and more than 500 dogs in foster care, many via “foster-to-adopt”—a practice that allows adopters to take home animals before being altered. Hayden’s Law says “shelters should not adopt out animals that are not spayed or neutered.”

Yet, the advisory committee ignores policy that skirts the law and can lead to pets reproducing prior to spay/neuter or not being altered at all.

Front Street encourages “community sheltering,” a practice promoted by UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program and embraced by Zimmerman, who says shelters are “scary places.”

Euthanasia numbers look better when dogs and cats are diverted away from the shelter through reduced intake and “surrenderprevention programs.”

Hayden’s Law says, “It is better to have public and private shelters pick up or take in animals than private citizens.”

“The Koret Shelter Medicine Program is housed in a renowned veterinary school,” says committee Chair Morris, a retired registered nurse whose background is in human health policy. “I believe that their work and academic research and policies are based on sound thinking.”

Maybe so, but Front Street policies, such as turning away stray animals and killing hundreds of adoptable pets, should be scrutinized.

“California state laws were and are violated openly and arrogantly by director Zimmerman with the full knowledge and complicity of city leaders,” Virga says.

The advisory committee is charged with providing “a forum for public discussion on the city’s efforts to bring about positive change” at Front Street.

Virga and other residents speak at monthly advisory committee meetings, meet with city leaders, reach out to Zimmerman. Their pleas are ignored. Requests to add items to meeting agendas fail.

“As far as the annual report, absolutely none of the public feedback was taken into consideration,” says Elyse Mize, a local advocate calling for changes.

Leah Morris

ACROSS

1 That woman

4 Farfalle and linguine, e.g.

10 Snowbell in “Stuart Little,” for one

13 Animator’s sheet

14 Two-wheeled ride

16 French agreement

17 Whiskey type

18 Flowery language

20 Mil. branch with a Colorado Springs academy

22 “Turning Red” protagonist

23 Milkshake addition

The annual report acknowledges the failures of the committee’s Community Participation Workshop held last March.

Committee members sat on the dais away from the public. The facilitator stood with her back to the audience. Public comments were cut short. Questions by community members went unanswered. Zimmerman gave prepared responses to questions rehearsed by the facilitator.

Two months later, the committee approved a second workshop—this time called a Community Conversation—to correct its mistakes. A year later, no “conversation” has been rescheduled.

“It remains incredible to watch advocate after advocate, some extremely experienced in shelter work, advocacy, rescue work, etc., be snubbed repeatedly and cut off after two minutes of speaking by people

with no experience,” says animal advocate and former Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley Franzoia.

Virga, Mize and Bagley Franzoia, who headed up the DA’s Animal Cruelty Unit and Animal Cruelty Task Force, applied to be on the advisory committee in 2021. All were declined.

Virga’s response to the annual report: “After all those meetings, all the things we have brought up, all the animals who have lost their lives—this is it?

“What’s really sad? If that committee was an independent body that cared about animals—think of the good they could do.”

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

The advisory committee is required to increase “awareness of the importance of spay/neuter.”

53 Minnesota’s state bird

54 Lager alternative

55 Capital of Turkiye

56 Fish in some melts

58 Character in a virtual city

60 Some fancy cameras, in short

61 One developing at their own rate, or a hint to the last few letters of 18-, 31- or 50-Across

65 Simu who portrayed Shang-Chi

24 Grand closing?

26 Texter’s “Ta-ta!”

29 Aloe ___

31 Blended beverages at a beach bar

34 Fire truck wailer

35 Alaskan native

36 It’s boiled to make maple syrup

37 Leave slack-jawed

39 Brother of Chris Hemsworth

41 Uncertain factors

44 Homer epic

46 What to make when time is short?

50 Many a morning anchor

66 Get on in years

67 Place for cutting boards?

68 Suffix with “puppet”

69 It might be made of rice or nails

70 Lil

71 Nickname that drops “An”

DOWN

1 Napes

2 Call made to an iPhone?

3 Civil rights advocate Roosevelt

4 Bygone Sony game console: Abbr.

5 Keen judgment

6 Achy

7 Like skin creams

8 Ga. airport

9 Must-___ TV

10 Beach-day drink holders

11 Vienna State Opera’s country

12 50-50, say

15 Tach reading

19 Norah’s sitarist dad

21 Throws for a loop

25 Dal legume

27 Makes way on the highway

28 “Here” en espanol

30 Snake whose middle letter is snaky

32 “Nope” star Kaluuya

33 Salt Lake City resident

38 Elbow-towrist bone

40 Upper parts of costumes

41 “How Far ___ Go” (“Moana” song)

42 Documentary fodder

43 Sought new talent

45 “Totally rad!”

47 In need of a jump start, maybe

48 Scottie, e.g.

49 Removal from existence

51 Actress Hathaway

52 “Ships of the desert”

57 Core muscles

59 “Sign me up!”

61 Where you might have chemistry with your partner?

62 Pull-down muscle, briefly

63 Have debts 64 “r u srs??”

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

Self-Inflicted

WHO CREATES HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS? WE DO

Last year, a report from the California Association of Realtors told a disturbing story. Just 15% of California households can afford to buy a house.

That’s less than half the historic average over the prior three decades, when the Realtors said 33% of Californians could afford homes.

In March 2012, the rate was 56%, inconceivable today.

These numbers are more than alarming. They are unsustainable for a state that prides itself on having just four nations in the world generate more economic activity. If our children and grandchildren can’t afford to live here, how will our economy attract workers and keep thriving?

Even with inflation dropping, everything feels more expensive these days. But in California, where Gov.

G D GD

By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future

Gavin Newsom calls high housing costs our “original sin,” there are steps we can take to build more affordable homes.

A recent Wall Street Journal article with the headline, “California is desperate for affordable housing but can’t stop getting in its own way,” suggests we are our own enemy.

The article focused on a 49-unit apartment project in East Los Angeles planned as affordable. With public subsidies, tenants could rent an apartment considerably below market rate. But it’s taken 17 years just to start construction.

Such extreme delays are not typical. But during years of false starts, neighborhood opposition and other obstacles, the cost of the apartments skyrocketed.

Builders who wish to develop affordable housing face many hurdles. In addition to fees passed to consumers for roads, parks, water and sewage, builders must pay construction workers prevailing wages if the project receives public dollars.

Those development costs—fees, labor, energy efficiency standards and more—get folded into a developer’s budget. At some point it becomes tough to build affordable housing.

I’m not suggesting construction workers shouldn’t be paid enough to make a decent living. But developers I talk with say prevailing wage requirements add about 30% to an apartment project’s cost. If cities cut red tape to get arenas and sports stadiums built, can’t they change requirements to build more affordable homes?

Since housing grew so expensive, a lot of California cities, Sacramento included, often require developers to set aside a percentage of units as affordable. Market-rate neighbors subsidize those costs.

“We’ve created this system where the high cost of government requirements prices everybody out of the market, and then we say, ‘Oh my God, we have to fix this, so let’s force developers to build the affordable housing as a condition of building new housing,’ which makes it even less affordable,” local developer Mark Friedman tells me.

“It doesn’t mean we can’t do things to address the problem. But instead, we’re going off in the opposite direction because we’re animated by a really misguided sense of who’s responsible for solving a problem that all of us own. And it continues to get worse.”

John Vignocchi, another local apartment developer, agrees with

Friedman. But Vignocchi mentions another concern: how to attract external capital to Sacramento for the “attainable” multi-family projects he specializes in. His developments don’t include a public subsidy and can be built at reasonable cost.

But for one apartment project he’s trying to finance, Vignocchi said 60% to 70% of the investor groups he contacted report they no longer invest in California.

“We have a lot of pro-housing politicians. Everyone is pro-housing these days,” he says. “But policy doesn’t build housing, capital does. When you bring potential investors in and drive them around and they see rotting buildings Downtown and people living on the street, all the retail crime we’re seeing, it’s really hard to get these people to invest.”

There’s no one answer to California’s affordable housing crisis. We need to try everything that might work. And we need a greater sense of urgency and concentrated effort than we’ve seen.

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

READERS NEAR & FAR

1. Kathy Kingsbury in the Dolomites mountains at Corvara in Badia, Italy.

2. Corky Mau, Bonnie Cornwall and Liz Allen at Iguazu Falls, Brazil.

3. Steve Williamson and Cecily Hastings in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

4. Patrick Powers on three-day trek in the headlands of Mendocino, California, for 78th birthday.

Best Kept Secret

FAIR OAKS HORTICULTURE CENTER IS A MUST FOR GARDENERS

Want to know a secret?

Sacramento’s best bargain is not Costco’s hotdog lunch or thrift store discards. It’s the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, tucked into the back of Fair Oaks Park on a 1-acre spit of land.

The center has been called “Disneyland for Gardeners,” but there are no long lines and triple-digit tickets. Admission to public events and parking is free. UC Master Gardeners staff the events and maintain the gardens. Next event is an Open Garden

D V DV

By Dan Vierria Garden Jabber

on Saturday, March 16, from 9 a.m. to noon.

At the Open Garden, visitors roam demonstration gardens for ideas on landscaping plants and groupings, and boost knowledge for growing edibles. Bring problem insects (in a sealed baggie or bottle, please!), damaged and diseased foliage, and other problems for identification and advice.

Only the front gardens are accessible daily. All the demonstration gardens, plus dozens of Master Gardeners, are at your service during scheduled events.

Public service doesn’t end at aiding the gardening community. The demonstration vegetable garden, occasionally supplemented by the onsite orchard, has donated nearly 12,000 pounds of produce to the River City Food Bank in Midtown the past seven years.

“This is extraordinary, given most of what we donate from the veggie garden is comprised of leafy greens, lettuces and, of course, tomatoes,” vegetable

perennials, shrubs and trees, herbs, fruit and citrus trees, vegetables, berries, a vineyard, and an area for composting and vermiculture (worm composting). Kids love worm composting.

A pond and shady pergola adorn the property, which is bordered by the sprawling Fair Oaks Community Garden. Plants are labeled and tended by Master Gardeners. Informational handouts are available during events. Questions are encouraged. Problemsolving advice targets the Sacramento region.

“The public is our main focus,” says Curtis Purnell, co-project leader for the vegetable garden and maintenance team. “We are not here to sell the public things or enroll them in something or other. We are here to say, ‘Come in and we will try to help you, no strings attached.’ Gardening should be fun, and we try our best to help people enjoy their efforts.”

Established in 1998, the center is a Sacramento County UC Cooperative Extension project site and collaborative effort with Regional Water Authority and Fair Oaks Recreation & Park District. The park district provides the land, plus water and electricity.

Most Open Gardens are Saturday mornings, but a couple each year are Wednesday mornings. Next month’s Open Garden is Wednesday, April 17, followed by Saturday Open Gardens May 11 and June 15.

group co-project leader Linda Sanford says.

When I ask people if they have visited the Fair Oaks center, I am often reminded that many have never heard of this treasure.

“FOHC is a unique outdoor classroom, showcasing a diversity of edible crops and landscape plants,” says Judy McClure, program coordinator for Sacramento’s Master Gardener program.

She suggests multiple visits per year for seasonal inspiration. The seasonal transitions in each garden are a living showcase of how local gardens can be gorgeous year around.

“We provide an opportunity for informative conversations with UC Master Gardeners who are dedicated to helping our community grow productive landscapes and gardens,” McClure says. “We offer practical, science-based information, plus you can learn from our experiences, both successes and challenges.”

Wandering the center, visitors encounter gardens teeming with

No event is scheduled in July because Master Gardeners are busy at the State Fair. But August’s Harvest Day is the biggest one-day gardening event in the region. It’s always the first Saturday of August—Aug. 3 this year. While events are free, the Master Gardener program accepts donations. Plan ahead to attend one or more Fair Oaks Horticulture Center gardening events.

For a list of gardening events stretching into October, visit sacmg. ucanr.edu.

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 the 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

Fair Oaks Horticulture Center

Photo by Jan Fetler

This sweet, delicately flavored vegetable is from the onion family and is related to garlic, chives and scallions. Clean them well before using to remove grit between the leaves.

usin

To eat: Braise them whole or slice and sauté for a soup or stew.

To eat: Bra

The leaves of the fava bean plant are mildly sweet and buttery. Early in the season, they are tender and can be eaten raw. Later in the season, it’s best to sauté or wilt them.

To eat: Mix them into a salad or add to pasta or risotto.

CARNIVAL CAULIFLOWER

These multicolored cauliflowers come in vivid orange, green or purple. They are a great source of vitamins C and B6 and are high in folate and potassium.

These multicolored caulifl a great source vitamins

To eat: Boil the whole head briefly in salted water, then drizzle with olive oil and roast at high temp.

To eat: Boil the whole hea roast at temp

Monthly Market

A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN SEASON AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS IN MARCH

NANTES CARROTS

California grows 80 percent of the nation’s crop. Broccoli is packed with vitamin C and dietary fiber.

To eat: Boil, sauté, steam or stir-fry.

This French heirloom variety has an almost perfectly cylindrical shape, smooth skin, crisp texture and sweet taste.

To eat: Use in stocks, soups, braises and salads.

ASPARAGUS

Asparagus plants are perennial; the edible spears are the new shoots that appear in spring.

To eat: Steam, grill or roast them and serve with hollandaise or lemon vinaigrette.

Artistic Reset

Last time I spoke to the painter Patris, it was May 2020, a few months into lockdown.

Her Oak Park studio was quiet. In-person classes were canceled and moved online. Patris used the downtime to return to basics and work on her already extensive drawing skills.

“In a way, it was a reset,” says Patris, born Patti Miller. “At that time, I was thinking about going into this next decade and asking myself, what do I really love and want to focus on?

“I tried my best to come in every day as if nothing had changed. I decided I wasn’t going to miss a beat, no pulling back and getting lazy. I had to fight for my vision, the dream I have for this studio and being an artist. I had to get back in the saddle.”

When we recently reconnected, I found her not just surviving, but thriving.

Her in-person teaching is better than ever. She offers multiple drawing classes, Saturday still-life painting courses, workshops with local artists, and master artist workshops with international figures such as David Lobenberg, Sarah Sedwick and David Shevlino. (The latter two are scheduled in April.)

“There’s a real hunger for people to want to be together in a learning environment,” Patris says.

In addition to administering workshops and teaching at her studio and the Crocker Art Museum, Patris works on other projects.

In 2021, she embarked on a team endeavor to design and create a 56-foot mural for the Aerospace

By Jessica Laskey Open Studio

OAK PARK PAINTER ROARS BACK WITH NEW WORK, CLASSES

Patris and Roscoin the dog

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

Museum of California at McClellan Park. Titled “Hidden Heroes of Aerospace,” the mural depicts 2,000 years of aerospace history.

“It was a really amazing experience,” Patris says. “We researched whatever we could find for images of aerospace inventions, and it was a super exciting project to have during the pandemic.”

She expanded her own body of work, partly in preparation for a solo exhibition at the PBS KVIE Gallery now through March 29. The show features pieces that give viewers a close-up view of what makes the artist tick.

There are works large and small, landscapes and still-life. Some depict regional locations Patris paints outdoors. Some are part of her Oak Park series.

“I’m having fun experimenting and pushing myself to make fun and interesting new pieces themed on Oak Park,” Patris says of the

neighborhood where she relocated in 2012. “Oak Park is continuing to go forward and there are new things on the horizon, which is really cool.”

Patris enjoys painting other parts of the city. She has expansion plans for her “Broadway Rain” series, a collection of urban rainscapes she hopes to exhibit later this year or early in 2025.

“I’m always pushing myself to learn and create work,” she says. “Now this will really light the fire under me.”

For information, visit patrisstudiogallery.blogspot.com and artist-patris.com.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

TO DO

THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

By Jessica Laskey Calendar Editor

LIVE PERFORMANCE

Sacramento Jewish Film Festival

Streaming online March 9–24

March 9–10, Veterans Memorial Theater (201 E 14th St., Davis)

March 16–17, The Center at 2300 (2300 Sierra Blvd.)

sacjewishfilmfest.org

Tickets: $12–$36 (50% off student discount)

The festival showcases 39 international films in person and online, plus Q&As, mini-concerts, special panels and in-person receptions.

Visions

Sacramento Ballet

March 22–24

The Sofia (2700 Capitol Ave.); sacballet.org

Tickets: $30–$70

Discover new commissions and company premieres from forward-leaning and inspirational choreographers, including Marika Brussel, Ihsan Rustem and Ma Cong.

Zora & Langston

Celebration Arts

March 1–17

2727 B St.; celebrationarts.net

Tickets: $25 general admission, $20 seniors, $15 students

Meet novelist Zora Neale Hurston and poet Langston Hughes as they grapple with the complexity of relationships, passion of artists and literary heart of Harlem in the 1920s.

European Masterworks

Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra

Saturday, March 2, 3 p.m.

SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (1301 L St.); sacramentochoral.org

Tickets: $54–$79

Lend an ear to the powerful music of Morten Lauridsen and Antonin Dvorak,

performed with projected supertitles, and soloists Olivia Smith, Maggie Renée, Salvatore Atti and David Soar.

Folk Songs and Music for Kings and Queens

Sacramento Symphonic Winds

Sunday, March 3, 2:30 p.m.

El Camino High School Center for the Arts (2340 Eastern Ave.); sacwinds.org

Conducted by Dr. Matthew Morse, the concert features “English Folk Song Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, “One Life Beautiful” by Julie Giroux, “Acadiana” by Frank Ticheli and more.

“Seven Blessings” at Sacramento Jewish Film Festival.

ART

EXTRAORDINARIES: Bud Gordon

Twisted Track Gallery

March 1–30

First Friday Reception March 1, 6–10 p.m.

Second Saturday Reception March 9, 5–8 p.m. 1730 12th St.; (916) 639-0436

Enjoy new oil and acrylic paintings inspired by natural landscapes, agriculture, urban milieu and people.

Contemporary Nostalgia: Leslie McCarron and Carol Mott-Binkley

Archival Gallery

March 1–30

Second Saturday Reception March 9, 5–8 p.m. 3223 Folsom Blvd.; archivalgallery.com

Two California natives share their memories and impressions of the state. McCarron presents contemporary oil paintings and Mott-Binkley features her iconic street photography.

For the Words I Couldn’t Say ARTHOUSE

March 8–April 9

Opening Reception Saturday, March 9, 5–8 p.m. 1021 R St.; arthouseonr.com

Dive into abstract oil paintings by Sayako Dairiki in this solo show curated by Arthouse resident artists June Daskalakis and Sarah Whyte.

She Laughs Back: Feminist Wit in 1970s Bay Area Art

Sacramento State University Library Gallery

Through April 13

6000 J St.; csus.edu/university-galleries

Nearly 100 narrative artworks by 19 women use subversive humor to advance women’s personal and political liberation.

Friends and Family Show

The Art Studios

Saturday, March 9, 2–8 p.m.

1727 I St.; theartstudiossacramento.com

See the creations of 18 artists in their four adjoining studios, and admire work by their friends and family hanging alongside resident artists’ work in the main gallery.

Group Show

5 Sips Coffee & Tea

March 1–31

2104 11th Ave.; 5sips.com

Artists present interior or exterior views of the café as an homage to their neighborhood gathering place.

Lottery For The Arts

Blue Line Arts

Thursday, March 21, 5–9 p.m. 405 Vernon St. Roseville; bluelinearts.org

Lottery Ticket: $350

This fundraising event lets art enthusiasts acquire original works by professional and emerging artists. Buy a ticket. When your name is drawn, choose your favorite artwork from juried exhibition. Preview art during gallery hours.

FAMILY FRIENDLY

City of Trees Parade & Mardi Gras Festival Curiosity Collaborative

Saturday, March 9, 2–9 p.m.

Capitol Mall between 5th and 7th St.; curiousitycollaborative.org

Tickets: $5–$150

Celebrate Mardi Gras with dancers, marching bands, light-up vehicles,

classic car parade, pet parade and more.

Gardener’s Market

Sacramento Perennial Plant Club

Saturday, March 9, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Shepard Garden & Arts Center (3330 McKinley Blvd.); sgaac.org

Regional nurseries and garden artisans sell plants, sculptures, pottery, paintings, books and more to raise money for the club’s grants program.

Spring Sale

Shepard Garden & Arts Center

Saturday, March 16, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Sunday, March 17, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 3330 McKinley Blvd.; sgaac.org

Find plants, jewelry, crafts, flowers, art, food and more for sale.

Free Museum Weekend

Sacramento Area Museums March 2–3, 10 a.m. to closing sacmuseums.org

To reserve free entry to nearly 25 museums, visit the website. Advance registration is required and capacity is limited.

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

“

“D Street” by Bud Gordon at Twisted Track Gallery.

“Overflowing Red” by Leslie McCarron at Archival Gallery.

Warm & Welcoming

Basha Taste of Jerusalem is a vibrant example of Palestinian cuisine. Marrying flavors of the Middle East and Mediterranean, the Fulton Avenue restaurant delivers punchy spices and expert cooking from the Levant. It’s dished out with warm and welcoming service.

When I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, Fulton Avenue cuisine was burgers, pizza and cheesesteaks. Tiny’s Drive-In and The Buggy Whip spoke with meat and potatoes and cooking from another era.

Now, Fulton Avenue draws from around the world. The street features foods from Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and especially the Middle East.

Gone are most of the steak and burger joints. You’re more likely to find kebab, falafel, hummus and biryani.

Restaurant owners from Persia, Afghanistan, Morocco and Lebanon put a cultural spin on their homeland’s food while designing menus for American palates.

Among these expressions of Middle Eastern cooking, Taste of Jerusalem is a gem. The food is stellar, the whitetablecloth atmosphere refined.

From the busy avenue and petite parking lot, a broad, heavy wooden door leads to an airy, happy interior. White walls and deep blues of the Mediterranean envelop guests. Murals

SGBy Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

cover the walls. Plush fabrics soften every sound.

Two dining rooms offer plenty of space for parties of two or 22. On a rainy weekday night, the restaurant was busy but calm. A peek at owner Mohamad Abboushi’s social media shows Taste of Jerusalem is perfect for a wedding, retirement party or other celebration. They know how to party.

Not expecting guests well-versed in Palestinian cuisine, servers at Taste of Jerusalem are welcoming and full of advice. I felt cared for at my visits.

The menu is extensive, reflecting the bounty of the Mediterranean. Fish and shrimp preside alongside lamb and beef. Chicken is the star in several traditional preparations, including Maqluba. This crowd pleaser is a pot of stewed chicken, rice and fried vegetables cooked and flipped onto a platter in a delightful structure of deliciousness.

One of my favorite foods, lamb shank, is prepared with a slow simmer. Meat falls from the bone. A generous, citrusy helping of sumac brings the dish to life.

A whole roasted sea bass nearly overwhelms. Served with pickles and relishes, lemon wedges and rice, it’s a huge dish that works.

Simpler, more American-focused dishes can be found for a lighter lunch or less formal meal. A well-seasoned kufta burger or lamb kebab wrap with fries make for a solid midday meal.

Every meal is accompanied by a basket of “Jerusalem bread.” The flatbread, baked fresh on hot stones every day, is an expression of traditional Palestinian baking and worth the trip by itself.

One surprise is a simple dessert called warbat. Think of a large baklava stuffed with sweet cheese. It’s the flaky,

Photos by Linda Smolek

crispy, soft, sweet, chewy dessert you might have skipped. Trust me, you should try it.

I’ve eaten at many casual kabob and pita places in Arden-Arcade and arrived at Taste of Jerusalem with modest expectations. I was wrong. The food was wonderful, and I was delighted by the warm atmosphere and kind service. I hope to return often.

Basha Taste of Jerusalem is at 1833 Fulton Ave.; (916) 486-1944; bashasacramento.com.

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

“Working with Liz was such a pleasure. She made buying my first home easy and stress-free. She patiently walked me through the purchase process, was available throughout the entire experience, and was always very professional, thoughtful, and on top of all matters. I will never use anyone else! Thank you for everything Liz!!” A.F. - Buyer