Inside Pocket November 2022

MARIA WINKLER

409 – 41st Street – $999,000

EAST SACRAMENTO CHARMER IDEAL LAYOUT. 4 bed 3 bath with two berooms and bath down and two bedrooms and two baths upstairs. Built-ins and backyard oasis. NATHAN SHERMAN 916-969-7379 DRE-01875980

1301 – 11th Avenue - $2,300,000

MAGNIFICENT 1938 LAND PARK COLONIAL 5 or 6 bedrooms 4½ baths, on a corner facing Land Park. Extras include sport pool, basketball half court, 3+ car garage; wine cellar. SHEILA VAN NOY 916-505-5395 DRE-00924678

982 South Beach Drive - $659,999

PARKER-BUILT CUSTOM RIVERLAKE HOME. 3 bed 2½ bath in gated community close to Garcia Bend Park, restaurants and shopping. Walk or bike to Sacramento River MONA GERGEN 916-247-9555 DRE-01270375

1737 – 42nd Street - $774,900

EAST SACRAMENTO DARLING! 4 bed 2 bath. Remodeled kitchen and downstairs bath keeping original 1930s charm. Covered patio and newly landscaped yard. DAVID KIRRENE 916-531-7495 DRE-01115041

3027 E Street - $750,000

LIGHT AND BRIGHT EAST SAC BUNGALOW 3 bed 2 bath with wonderfully remodeled kitchen with breakfast nook. Envision yourself sitting on front porch sipping coffee! NATHAN SHERMAN 916-969-7379 DRE-01875980

1241 – 8th Avenue - $1,200,000

SINGLE STORY LAND PARK HOME. 3 bed 3 bath on a big 1/3 acre lot. Original hardwood floors, two separate living areas with fireplace in between. Large basement. STACEY SHELLY 916-203-5244 DRE-02060258

15 Sand Court - $665,000

GREENHAVEN CUL-DE-SAC. 3 or 4 bed 2 bath with recently remodeled kitchen and family room, new HVAC. Spectacular backyard with pool, spa and covered patio, and garden PAULA SWAYNE 916-425-9715 DRE-01188158

220 – 27th Street - $555,000

CUTE MIDTOWN CRATSMAN ON QUIET STREET 2 bed 1 bath home in New Era Park Neighborhood across the street from Leland Stanford Park. Remodeled kitchen. Vaulted ceilings NATHAN SHERMAN 916-969-7379 DRE-01875980

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Cecily Hastings

Cathryn Rakich editor@insidepublications.com

M.J. McFarland Cindy Fuller Linda Smolek, Aniko Kiezel @anikophotos Michele Mazzera

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COVER ARTIST

MARIA WINKLER

Maria Winkler is a local artist and professor emeritus at Sac State. She works in a variety of media and subject matter. Winkler presents Glass Arrangements Series, a collection of work in colored pencil, watercolor, and special Yupo and watercolor papers, at Archival Gallery. This mixed-media collection shows Winkler’s masterful creation of glasswork in bottles, vessels and marbles. The show runs through Nov. 30 with an artist’s reception Nov. 12 from 5–8 p.m. Shown: “Sideways 2,” watercolor, 16 inches by 20 inches. This piece is available for $800. Visit mariawinkler.com and archivalgallery.com.

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THE ART OF CARING

A DECADE OF MCKINLEY PARK STEWARDSHIP ENDS

Ten years ago, filled with energy, optimism and can-do spirit, Lisa Schmidt and I took on the monumental job of saving the Clunie Community Center and McKinley Rose Garden in McKinley Park.

We founded a nonprofit called Friends of East Sacramento in 2010. That was the easy part. The rest of the story is an adventure in generosity, volunteerism and community pride, along with the darker parts of human nature, from petty jealousy and troublesome neighbors to crime.

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By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

Faced with drastic cuts to city park budgets, the rose garden and community center faced a crisis after the Great Recession in 2009. The center was headed for closure. The city was unwilling to spend $100,000 a year to keep it open. There were no funds for much-needed maintenance.

Clunie housed the neighborhood library, which would shut down if the building closed. Lisa was on the board of the Friends of the McKinley Library. She was heartbroken.

I lived on 33rd Street across from the McKinley Rose Garden. Once a vibrant regional treasure with two full-time park workers, the garden was overgrown with weeds and nutgrass. More than half of the 1,200 roses were dead.

City Council member Steve Cohn lobbied the city to replace the irrigation system and pave the pathways for ADA compliance. But there were no funds for the garden. Our goal was to save and

restore these treasures, the center and garden together.

Luckily, the city had a forwardthinking parks director named Jim Coombs. He and Cohn encouraged us to take over the stewardship job. Without them, our entrepreneurial approach would not have happened.

Bradley Elkin, our pro bono attorney, guided us through negotiations with the city, always protecting our interests. Talks were contentious. The city attorney’s office made unreasonable demands. But we prevailed and more than honored our agreement for a decade, despite the city often acting as a selfish and thoughtless partner.

We needed to raise significant money fast to transition into our nonprofit. Inside Sacramento published a painting of the community center on its cover with the headline, “Is this place worth saving?” Within a week, we raised $40,000, mostly from the small business and real estate community. Some like Sheree Johnston, who owned East

Sacramento Hardware, continued her support for a decade.

We needed another $100,000, which we raised from individuals and businesses. Mayor Kevin Johnson helped wrangle corporate donations. We refinished floors, installed new carpets, painted and restored woodwork throughout, upgraded lighting, purchased new furnishings and decorated the walls with historic McKinley Park photos. The newly restored facility and our Inside Sacramento marketing efforts quickly brought in event rentals, including wedding receptions and memorials. By opening the building on Sunday, we attracted a church that moved their services to Sunday mornings. The congregation then funded improvement to the Grand Hall. Other faith-based groups followed when they found a beautiful and safe place to worship.

Rose garden funding took another direction. My neighbor and friend Sue Watkins introduced me to her father,

Cecily Hastings and Lisa Schmidt

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

Ron Watkins. He recalled when his folks moved to Sacramento and the family camped in the park while their home was built nearby.

As a retired real estate developer, Ron reviewed our business plan and funded the restoration of the garden and its 27 worn-out benches. He covered maintenance costs for the first two years and funded a gazebo built by iron artist Bill Kuyper. Ron, who died in 2016, gave more than $175,000 to make the garden beautiful again.

As rental fees for weddings and events brought in cash, we funded a lawn service. I developed our volunteer program to care for the roses. This was a big job, especially at first. We planted 600 new bushes with guidance from the local rose society.

We recruited and trained volunteers, mostly though outreach using stories and donated ads in Inside. The roses thrived. Hundreds of volunteers became regulars. Eventually, we had money to hire two amazing garden managers, Lyn Pitts and Nisa Hayden.

From the start, Lisa and I decided how our skills and personalities would work together. We pledged to never accept salaries.

Lisa took charge of bookkeeping and staff development, plus facility management and event organization. We hired retired police officer Joe Pane as facility manager. Joe set the tone for success with skill and spirit. In 10 years, he trained and mentored 30 young men in event management.

My role included branding and marketing the center and rose garden. Experience with interior design and construction allowed me to develop restoration and improvement plans and work with contractors.

Designer Claudia Bordin was a tremendous help. She secured costeffective design solutions. Our concrete contractor refused payment when we vowed to make Clunie available for 12step groups. He said a 12-step program saved his life.

City Council member Jeff Harris was incredible at resolving conflicts with the city. His advocacy was critical when certain city staff decided our work threatened their domain. His appreciation made up for the city’s lack of gratitude. He recently told folks that our volunteer work provided our city a gift valued in the millions of dollars.

Those were happy memories. Unfortunately, our story doesn’t end with them.

Early on, for safety reasons we limited Clunie restrooms to library and rental guests. But several self-described “neighborhood preservationists” told the city our policies endangered elderly people and children. In fact, the restrooms were perfectly safe—and cleaned daily.

When we watered new rose bushes, the city received complaints we wasted water in a drought. High school families loved to visit the garden and take photos on prom night. Some proms conflicted with wedding rentals on spring weekend evenings. The teens were understanding, but a few parents were outraged their darlings couldn’t have full access to the garden. We had to hire security for those nights.

Pandemic lockdowns brought headaches and heartaches. The two-year McKinley Water Vault construction was underway yards from the garden. City project manager James Yorita was a prince. What could have been a disaster became a blessing under his leadership.

The city urged us to add the Shepard Garden and Arts Center to our portfolio last year, when the volunteer managers quit. This was after the “neighborhood preservationists” objected, claiming we had a mysterious sweetheart deal.

A decade ago, there were no homeless people or criminals in McKinley Park. In recent years, the situation deteriorated. From cleaning human feces and drug paraphernalia in rose beds to being threatened with lawsuits when we moved encampment belongings before a wedding, our operation was terribly impacted, as was most of the Alhambra Corridor.

Our offices were broken in many times. Both the garden’s iron arches and the Gary Lee Price bronze statue in the Clunie lobby were stolen. Public outrage and police efforts paid off. The works were returned.

A former neighbor of mine on 33rd Street harassed us, claiming we allowed rampant nutgrass weeds in the garden—after we spent thousands of dollars to eradicate the weeds. Next, she claimed I improperly used my home office. The city tagged her as a chronic false complainer.

But she didn’t stop. She filed an ethics allegation that we misused city funds—bizarre, because we received no city funds and reported annually to the city.

After an investigation and two public hearings, the city declared her claims without merit. Undaunted, she referred her complaint to the state Department of Justice, triggering an audit of our nonprofit. Legal fees and preparation approached $10,000. The outcome: no merit.

These were hard lessons. Despite the love and generosity of volunteers and community leaders, we learned evil people exist to sidetrack our efforts. Our motto and favorite laugh is the old line, “No good deed goes unpunished!”

As we finish up our decade of volunteer service, we focus on blessings from our community. Lisa and I believe we spent our lives training for this work.

In recent years, my role became smaller while Lisa worked almost full time as a volunteer. She managed many

tough situations with grit, good will, grace and laughter.

As for the future of the center, garden and library at McKinley Park, I wish we had more hope. We gave the city a year’s notice of retirement. For months we heard nothing, but they quickly rejected an offer for us to provide a year of transition care in the garden. Recently, the city showed us a preliminary plan, but any urgency is missing. Our concern is that our long-term loyal renters would be able to meet in the future.

City staff is confident, but Lisa and I have concerns, especially for the rose garden. We worry the city is setting itself up for failure. Councilmember Harris was our champion, but he’s been forced out of elected office at month’s end. Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who briefly represented our district, showed zero interest in our project. Without Jeff’s support we decided to retire.

The city also has failed to understand that the clientele we service are not from Sacramento’s wealthy neighborhoods. Instead, our renters come mostly from underserved and minority neighborhoods. They often pay in cash and need payment plans for our modest fees. Of course, these folks fall in love with the beauty and history of the park. But almost always they are most grateful that we have created a safe and affordable place to gather for celebrations.

I recently moved from McKinley Park after 30 years. My old neighbors were never particularly engaged in our volunteer efforts. I hope they get involved and ensure the city doesn’t let the rose garden and center return to the deplorable conditions we inherited a decade ago.

Stewardship is the art of taking care of property. For a decade we took our stewardship mission seriously. It guided our actions and decisions. We showed how stewardship can work.

And we went above and beyond in our mission by funding numerous other neighborhood improvements in the last decade, including planting dozens of now mature trees in the park. Imagine if our civic leaders took this approach in managing our neighborhoods! Our city would be a far better place today.

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

FOES staff members include Nisa Hayden, Lyn Pitts and Joe Pane. Photo by Aniko Kiezel

War Effort

WWII VETERAN HAS VIVID MEMORIES OF MILITARY LIFE

Ruth Chan Jang joined the military to help end World War II.

It was 1943 and she was 21 years old when she enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps. “I really believed that if I volunteered, the war would

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By Corky Mau Pocket Life

end sooner,” she says. “I thought our fellows, including my brother Edward, could come home sooner.”

Vivacious today at age 99, Ruth lives with her daughter in Pocket. She turns 100 in December, and her wartime memories are vivid.

She was born and raised in Locke, the Sacramento River levee town. Ruth’s family operated the Happy Café on Main Street. After graduating from high school, she moved to Sacramento for college and worked as a live-in maid for $20 a month.

Ruth knew she could make a bigger difference in the military.

Basic training was in Iowa. The only Chinese woman in her unit, she recalls early morning reveille and marching all day.

Her first assignment was clerical work at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. Being tall, she was recruited as captain of the women’s basketball team. On game days, they traveled to different bases in cargo planes, sitting on very wooden crates. “Now you couldn’t pay me to travel like that,” she says.

Assigned to Mitchel Air Force Base in New York, Ruth helped care for injured servicemen. The work had two perks: She could sleep in a hospital room, not

the women’s barracks. And she got to escort wounded soldiers to shows at Radio City Music Hall and on Broadway.

“I enjoyed my time in the service,” she says. “I was from a small town. I became more independent and confident about myself.”

When she returned to Sacramento in 1945, she dated a childhood friend, Harry Jang, a decorated veteran studying architecture at UC Berkeley.

Harry was born in Courtland in 1919, one of 12 children. In the war he hoped to become a pilot but trained as a navigator and flew B-17 bombers.

Harry was sent to Thurleigh, England, and survived more than 35 missions over Germany. The classic war movie “Twelve O’Clock High” was based on his squadron.

With the war behind them, the couple married, worked, raised three children and settled into retirement. Harry died from a stroke in 1998. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. “A place has been reserved for me at Arlington. I look forward to being with Harry again,” Ruth says.

SHRED EVENT

Have unwanted confidential documents to shred? Visit Cook Realty at 4305 Freeport Blvd. on Saturday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon. A donation of $10 for a banker’s box or $5 for a grocery bag is appreciated. Park curbside and staff will unload your car. Contact Meena Chan at (916) 837-9104.

CRAB FEED

Portuguese Hall hosts a crab feed Saturday, Nov. 19. For $60 per person,

Ruth Chan Jang Photo by Aniko Kiezel

get an all-you-can-eat meal of crab, pasta, salad, wine and dessert. Dinner begins at 7 p.m., followed by dancing to music from DJ Daniels. The hall is at 6676 Pocket Road. For tickets, contact Judy Dias Allen at (916) 947-6695.

GARCIA BEND CLEANUP

Join volunteers for a park cleanup, co-sponsored by Pocket Area Churches Together, at Garcia Bend Park on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 1–4 p.m. Tools and snacks are provided. Sign up at bit. ly/d7winter22.

DEVICE BREWING

Food and beverage orders are easy at Promenade’s Device Brewing Company. A new automated system enables customers to order food and drinks from their table. No lines or rattling buzzers. Orders are delivered to your table.

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, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Incredibly, Woo wants another four years. He’s running for re-election in Pocket and Greenhaven on his dismal record. I’d love to know why, but he didn’t respond to my inquiries.

Luckily, Woo has an opponent, Taylor Kayatta, a Pocket husband and dad whose professional expertise ranges from accounting to law. His diplomas are an alphabet soup: CPA, MBA and JD. A former state auditor, he works in the county counsel’s office in Sutter County.

Kayatta likes being defined by his family, especially his two young children Torsten and Tegan. Their future rests with Sac City Unified. That’s why Kayatta wants to replace Woo on the school board.

“Every school district has its problems, but I’m not aware of too many that have as many problems as Sac City Unified,” he says. “It’s a confluence of everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.”

Kayatta rattles off a list of leadership failures at Sac City Unified. Employees are burned out and don’t feel supported. Good ideas are ignored. Children’s needs are secondary to adult priorities. Nobody trusts nobody.

The district’s implosion makes local elected officials and community leaders steer clear. “No politician in town will go near Sac City Unified,” he says.

“They won’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.”

Kayatta and his wife Teresa stuck with Sac City because they believe in local public schools. Teresa was raised in Pocket. She attended neighborhood schools and graduated from Kennedy High.

Time For Change

NEW VOICE IS NEEDED TO HELP CITY SCHOOLS RECOVER

The past 12 years were a lousy time to have your kids educated by the Sacramento City Unified School District.

By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat

RGStaff morale plummeted, teachers went on strike, enrollment declined, insolvency beckoned. As for the job of educating young people, don’t ask. Sac City Unified flunked.

Last year, only 22 percent of Sac City Unified students met or exceeded state standards in English. As for math, it

might as well be Greek. Just 5 percent of the city’s students met or beat state math standards.

The trends flow downward. Seven years ago, 35 percent reached or exceeded English standards, 29 percent for math. They can’t blame COVID-19.

Throughout the collapse, one person held a leadership position at Sac City Unified. His name is Darrel Woo, elected to the school board in 2010. He’s presided over the wreckage.

Things became personal when young Torsten needed help with speech therapy. He was 3 and not talking. The family turned to Sac City Unified and got nowhere.

“They just wouldn’t help us,” Kayatta says. “It’s not like we don’t know how to advocate. We’re both attorneys. But at Sac City, it’s on the parents to push and push. They won’t get any help from the district. I kept thinking, ‘Is today the day we leave Sac City and move to Folsom?’”

Eventually the family reached Sacramento State University, where they found help. Today, Torsten, 8, thrives at Pony Express, where “they have an amazing speech therapist,” Kayatta says.

Kayatta began to study Sac City agendas and budgets. He watched board meetings. “I audited school districts for the state Department of Finance and actually like that kind of thing,”

Taylor Kayatta with his wife Teresa and their children.

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

he says. Family and friends encouraged him to run for school board.

As a politician, Kayatta has no experience. He’s learning on the job, walking neighborhoods, knocking on doors and talking with voters. He’s supported by Sac City labor groups, but is running on his own.

“My goal is to show leadership from the top and build consensus and trust,” he says. “Today there’s none. Everyone tells me the first priority is to get rid of (Superintendent Jorge) Aguilar, but I’m not so sure. I’m not a fan of turnover. I like stability. I want to see what problems are solvable.”

Some voters tell him they don’t have kids and don’t care about schools. Kayatta reminds them they pay school taxes. He points out everyone suffers from a wrecked school district.

“The community has to understand, whether you have kids or not, if your schools fail, your community fails,” he says. “It’s as simple as that.”

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Tutors Needed!

VOLUNTEERS HELP STUDENTS ACHIEVE READING SUCCESS

Reading tutors are needed for United Way California Capital Region’s STARS program and AARP Foundation Experience Corps.

United Way’s Students and Tutors Achieving Reading Success—STARS— runs during the school year in

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By Jessica Laskey Out & About

Sacramento and Yolo counties. Using the platform Book Nook, participants build vocabulary, fluency and comprehension skills through games, books and lessons.

STARS needs tutors for the coming school year, including virtual tutors. No prior experience is needed—all training is provided.

Volunteers must commit to at least one hour each week split into two 30-minute sessions for three months.

Volunteers are especially needed during the hours of 3–5 p.m. For more information, visit yourlocalunitedway. org/stars.

The Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center is seeking volunteers for AARP Foundation Experience Corps,

an intergenerational, community-based program that engages volunteers 50 and older as tutors to help students become proficient readers by the end of third grade.

Tutoring takes place in person during after-school hours. Extensive training is provided. Volunteers must be at least 50 and have earned a high school diploma or GED. There also is a screening process that includes a criminal background check.

Tutoring begins this month with ongoing enrollment through January 2023. For more information, visit sccsc.org/experiencecorps or email volunteers@sccsc.org.

LIBRARY TRAIN

The next time you’re riding Sacramento Regional Transit, keep an eye out for the city’s first Rolling Library Train.

This special train car is decorated with a library-themed interior featuring painted bookshelves containing QR codes that allow riders to access free e-books and audiobooks through the Sacramento Library app.

The partnership between SacRT and Sacramento Library gives riders easy access to books and promotes reading and riding. The library train will travel on both the Blue and Gold light rail lines. For information, visit sacrt.com.

Reading tutor Tom Henderson works with students at Nicholas Elementary School.

NATURE READING

Calling all young nature lovers! Visit the Effie Yeaw Nature Center every first Saturday of the month at 9:30 a.m. for a special nature-themed story time.

Nature of Reading includes hands-on exploration of biofacts, a nature-themed craft or activity and/or an encounter with one of the Nature Center’s animal ambassadors. The Nov. 5 theme is “migration” and Dec. 3 is “hibernation.”

The program is designed for ages 4–8, though kids 3 and younger are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Admission is $8 per child for nonmembers, $5 per child for members and free for kids 3 and younger.

Register by calling (916) 489-4918 or in person in the nature center lobby. The Effie Yeaw Nature Center is located inside Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael.

ALL ABOARD!

The California State Railroad Museum has brought back All Aboard for Story Time! The interactive program, designed for toddlers and preschoolers, takes place inside the museum every Monday at 11 a.m. Story Time! features an engaging railroad-themed book reading followed by a related activity. Visitors are encouraged to explore the museum after the program.

All Aboard for Story Time! is included with museum admission: $12 for adults, $6 for youth 6–17, free for children 5 and younger. For information, visit californiarailroad. museum.

FOOD LITERACY

Sutter Health has granted $500,000 to the Food Literacy Center to help build out the farm at the center’s new 4,500-square-foot facility at Leataata Floyd Elementary.

“The Food Literacy Center is creating new pathways to address health equity and provide access to healthy foods for students and families in our community,” says Keri Thomas, vice president of external affairs for Sutter Health in the valley area.

In addition to the farm, the new Food Literacy Center includes a cooking classroom, commercial kitchen, training areas and outdoor space for hands-on educational opportunities for Sacramento City Unified School District students and their families, as well as students throughout the community.

To help Food Literacy Center continue its mission to “inspire kids to eat their vegetables,” visit foodliteracycenter.org.

SAC CITY GIFT

Sacramento City College has received a $1 million gift to establish the Christopher D. and Dana Daubert Endowment for Art Education.

The endowment provides funding for a new gallery lead position, which will manage the Gregory Kondos Gallery, curate shows, steward the college’s multimillion-dollar permanent art collection featuring 1,200 pieces by storied Sac City professors Wayne Thiebaud, Gregory Kondos, Fred Dalkey and Darrell Forney, and develop a team of student assistants.

“Words can’t express the generosity of Chris and Dana Daubert,” says Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brian King. “As a former faculty member at Sacramento City College, Chris knows better than anyone the impact that arts education can have on our students and our community as a whole.”

SAINT JOHN’S GRANT

The Kelly Foundation has awarded $100,000 to Saint John’s Program for Real Change, which operates a comprehensive residential program for women and children experiencing homelessness.

The grant will help Saint John’s expand its children’s services to address the impact of trauma, homelessness and missed developmental milestones, which Saint John’s CEO Julie Hirota says will “heal lives for generations.”

Founded in 1985, Saint John’s Program for Real Change has helped more than 30,000 women and children transform their lives through mental health therapy, drug and alcohol counseling, life skills classes, a path to a high school diploma and hands-on employment training. For information, visit saintjohnsprogram.org.

CALLING DREAMERS

The Downtown Sacramento Foundation has announced the 10 business concepts that will move forward in this year’s Calling All Dreamers retail business program.

The retailers are +Life Juice Market, a juice bar and wellness space; Burnside Coffee Bar, a coffee cart specializing in hand-crafted coffee and teas; Dipped N Color, a family-friendly creative paint studio; Flora & Fauna Provisions, a farm-to-fork café; Mercado Urbano, a market offering fresh local foods and specialty items; QOOKIESNDREAM, a non-traditional bakery and café serving made-to-order “qookies” with a variety of toppings; Retrospect-Vintage Fashion, an eco-friendly, sustainable fashion and art collective; Smoke N Link, a Sacramento farmers market favorite that specializes in homemade sausages; The Teetotalist, a zero-proof bar concept; and West Coast Taco Bar, a food truck with an award-winning burrito.

The cohort is preparing for the next phase in December with a boot camp and meetings with mentors to refine and prepare their business plans. One business will win a start-up package, including $20,000 and in-kind services valued at more than $120,000.

Other entrepreneurs who complete the program will receive $5,000 when they open their business Downtown. For information, visit callingalldreamers. org.

SECOND COMPANY

The Sacramento Ballet has launched Second Company, 20 aspiring dancers who will regularly perform with the company while training and honing their skills for careers with major dance companies.

Second Company dancers receive elite-level training in ballet technique, pointe, variations and repertoire under the direction of acclaimed dancer and instructor Jill Marlow Krutzkamp.

The program focuses on preparing for the expectations of a professional ballet company. Second Company dancers rehearse and perform with the Sacramento Ballet throughout the season. For information, visit sacballet. org/second-company.

NEW FIRE CHIEF

Chris Costamagna, a 27-year veteran of the Sacramento Fire Department, has been appointed the city of Sacramento’s fire chief. He will oversee more than 700 employees across 115 miles of service area and an annual budget of $173 million.

Costamagna joined SFD in 1995 and has held multiple leadership positions. He grew up around fire service as his

Chris Costamagna is Sacramento’s new fire chief.

father, Gary Costamagna, was chief from 1988 to 1999.

“SFD is made up of brave, courageous people who do everything they can to keep our communities safe and protected, and under my watch, we will continue to build upon this legacy of excellence,” Costamagna says.

BURNETT AWARDS

The Sacramento History Alliance has presented its Burnett Awards to five iconic local businesses.

The 2022 honorees are Arareity Jewelers, historic confections shop and bakery Osaka-Ya, Julius Clothing, architecture firm Lionakis and Tower Theatre, the oldest continuously operating film theater in Sacramento. A special Community Partner Award was presented to the Sacramento Public Library.

The awards are named in honor of the late R. Burnett Miller, former mayor, philanthropist, businessman and history buff. The ceremony raises funds for the Sacramento History Museum and honors local legacy businesses that

contribute to the community culture of the region. For information, visit burnettawards.org.

BUSINESS AWARDS

Three environmentally proactive local businesses have been honored by Sacramento County’s Business Environmental Resource Center.

This year’s Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Award recipients are the California Product Stewardship Council for solid waste reduction, architecture firm Lionakis for transportation/air quality, and St. John’s Lutheran Church for SMUD carbon-free transportation.

Since its establishment in 2007, BERC’s sustainable business program has performed more than 600 certifications and awarded 218 businesses.

WATERING RULES

New watering rules in the city of Sacramento go into effect Nov.

1 to comply with the city’s water conservation ordinance.

Watering is permitted once a week on Saturday or Sunday from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28. (Beginning March 1, watering is allowed two days per week.) Water any time of day during the cooler fall and winter months since less water is lost through evaporation. Don’t water for 48 hours after it rains more than one-eighth of an inch.

“We actually encourage people to turn off their sprinklers completely during the wet season, as rainfall can supply most water needs,” says William Granger, a water conservation coordinator with the city’s Department of Utilities. “If you do turn off your sprinklers, keep in mind that trees still need to be watered deeply when it doesn’t rain.”

For Sacramento County customers, the normal water-efficiency schedule is still in effect. Addresses ending in even numbers can run sprinklers or drip systems Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Addresses ending in odd numbers can water Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. All watering must be done between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

For more city information, visit cityofsacramento.org/utilities/water/ conservation/watering-schedule. For more county information, visit waterresources.saccounty.gov.

LAND PARK MARKET

There’s a new farmers market in town at William Land Park every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Organized by produce vendor EcoFriendly Greens, the market features local vendors offering fruit, vegetables, microgreens, meats, eggs, yogurt, baked goods, coffee, smoothies, fresh flowers, jewelry and crafts. Parking is free, as are games for the whole family.

Find the market in the shaded picnic area at Sutterville Road and 17th Street near Funderland. Check the EcoFriendly Greens Facebook page for more information.

DUMMY PICKLEBALL

Local host of the “I Used to be Somebody” podcast and pickleball enthusiast Carl Landau has co-authored a book, “Pickleball for Dummies.”

This comprehensive resource guide teaches all you need to know about the fastest-growing sport in America. Landau reports more than 5 million Americans are playing pickleball today. The book features chapters for beginning, intermediate and advanced play.

Landau’s co-authors are Mo Nard and Reine Steel, certified pickleball teaching pros and co-founders of Positive Dinking, and Diana Landau, Carl’s co-founder in Pickleball Media.

BIENVENIDOS!

Visit Sacramento has launched a Spanish-language website, “Bienvenidos a Sacramento,” to provide individuals and families traveling to Sacramento access to in-language information.

The website includes information on where to stay, eat, play and drink in Sacramento, as well as cultural background on the importance of Hispanic heritage in the greater Sacramento region—all en español. For information, visit visitsacramento.com/ bienvenidos.

LACROSSE CLINIC

Have your kids or grandkids been curious about lacrosse? Now is their chance to check out the sport for free.

Pickup & Play for new players ages 6–14 will be held 1–3 p.m. Sunday, Nov.

Dancer and instructor Jill Marlow Krutzkamp directs Sacramento Ballet’s Second Company. Photo by Natalie Manning.

SacRT’s Rolling Library Train gives riders easy access to books.

13, at Encina Preparatory High School as part of National Celebrate Lacrosse Week.

The Sacramento Lacrosse Association clinic will provide an introductory look at this fun, fast-paced sport that was originally invented by Native American Indians in the 1100s. Concepts for sports like ice hockey, football and basketball can all be seen in a single “lax” game. To register, visit sacramentolacrosse.org.

OUR STORIES

Local woman-owned sexual health education company Reframing Our Stories offers several small-group workshops in partnership with Wild Sisters Book Company to discuss topics such as menopause, puberty and gender.

“In my work with Sacramentoarea schools and families teaching sexual health education, I am finding that coming out of the pandemic and isolation, kids were exposed more than before to information online, which is not always accurate,” says Kara Haug, sexual health educator and founder of Reframing Our Stories.

“We know there is a need in our community to have more open conversations on topics where kids, parents and caregivers may be

uncomfortable. It is our aim to provide a space for questions, discussion and accurate information.”

“Let’s Talk About Gender” will be held Sunday, Nov. 6, from 4:30–6 p.m. at Wild Sisters Book Company

in Tahoe Park. To register, visit reframingourstories.com/events-1.

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, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Pick Up & Play introduces new players to lacrosse.

Photo courtesy of Sacramento Lacrosse Association.

Co-authors of “Pickleball for Dummies” are (from left) Reine Steel, Diana Landau, Mo Nard and Carl Landau.

By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Profile

Helping The Helpers

NONPROFIT RAISES FUNDS FOR CRISIS NURSERY

An anniversary is often a special occasion, but for Philanthropy Inspired by the Needs of our Community Sacramento this year’s 10th anniversary signifies a decade of helping those who help others.

“It’s been quite a 10 years—I get quite emotional when I talk about it,” says Margot Hunt, founder and president of the local chapter. “The first year, we didn’t know what we were doing. We just knew our mission was to be a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits.

“We threw our first fundraiser for Angels for Hearts, an organization that assists families of pediatric heart patients, at the Croatian Center. We raised $17,000. From that point on, we grew and grew and grew and now we’re raising a quarter of a million dollars or more per year for the Sacramento Children’s Home.”

By 2008, Hunt had left a career in medical device sales to focus on her family. She was pregnant with her first child. She and her husband, the thirdgeneration owner of petroleum products distributor Hunt & Sons, knew they couldn’t both continue their hectic work schedules.

Since Hunt is “not the type of person that can just not do anything—I can’t go from 60 to 0,” she searched for volunteer work. Over the years, she participated in many fundraisers, particularly for multiple sclerosis (to which she lost her dad when she was 18) and breast and ovarian cancer (to which she lost her mom when she was 29).

When she connected with a girlfriend who started an organization called Philanthropy Inspired by the Needs of our Community in Fresno, Hunt was intrigued. After meeting with her friend, Hunt decided to open a Sacramento chapter.

“I did all the nitty-gritty work on how to start my own nonprofit,” the Sierra Oaks resident recalls. “I had to really do my homework. I was able to convince six women—half family, half friends—to

jump on ship with me and see where it sailed.” The group now has 16 women.

The original plan was to host a fundraiser for a different nonprofit each year. After three years, however, they fell into a relationship with the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery program, where parents bring children ages 0–5 for emergency or overnight child care during difficult times.

For years, the Sacramento Children’s Home hosted its own fundraiser, Luxe for Life. When the organization lost the volunteer group that helped run the event, PINC Sacramento was asked to take over. Seven years later, the gala ensures the program’s survival.

“Each year comes with a different challenge,” Hunt says. “At one point they lost their government funding, so without our event, they would have had to close the doors to at least one nursery. Knowing that we’re really, truly helping this organization means a lot.”

This year’s Luxe for Life will be held Nov. 5 at Del Paso Country Club. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, PINC has made this year’s fundraiser black tie and has added a lineup of inspiring speakers to the festivities, which include dinner, dancing, live music, and live and silent auctions that Hunt says is “nothing short of a good time.”

“I’m so impressed with how this has evolved,” Hunt says. “Every year, we take a tour of the nursery as an organization to remember why we’re doing this. We have such a wonderful group of women who pour their heart and soul into this. We’re having a really good time.”

To purchase Luxe for Life tickets or for information, visit pincsacramento. com.

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

Margot Hunt

Photo by Linda Smolek

No Contest

CANDIDATES AREN’T INTERESTED IN OBSCURE JOBS

Rich Desmond faced a competitive campaign in 2020 to represent the suburban unincorporated area on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. He won.

Responsibility for essentials such as schools, parks, water, electricity, fire protection and flood control falls to elected officials from special districts. Many of these posts are up for election this November. But voters won’t see many names on the ballot.

There’s no interest—and no competition.

The Arden Park Recreation and Park District has five members on its board of directors. All incumbents are up for election. Each is running. But don’t look for them on your ballot. All are unopposed. They win automatically.

The Arden Manor Recreation and Park District faces a slightly different situation. Three director jobs are up but only one incumbent filed, Warren Harding. He’s a former unsuccessful candidate for county supervisor.

Harding lost twice to Susan Peters. But he automatically retains his park district post due to lack of competition. Jeremy Cullifer, another candidate, will join him. The final seat will be filled by appointment.

Four positions are up for the Del Paso Water District. Only four candidates filed—all guaranteed winners.

Three director positions are open in the Carmichael Water District, with two incumbents unopposed and one facing a challenge. Similar circumstances exist in the Sacramento Suburban Water District, where three out of four incumbents are unchallenged.

more like Chicago than Sacramento. Ward 7 includes parts of Carmichael and is represented by Heidi Sanborn. She’s unopposed, so her name’s not on the ballot.

SMUD board member Gregg Fishman isn’t so lucky. He’s challenged by Pamela Stathos in Ward 3, which includes parts of Arden Arcade.

Fishman tried to climb the political ladder in 2020, but lost the county supervisor race to Desmond. Stathos ran unsuccessfully for a director’s seat at the Fulton-El Camino Park and Recreation District. This year, the district has two board seats open, but no one wants to challenge the incumbents.

member of the “Sacramento Squad,” a local version of progressive members of Congress.

Another San Juan trustee, Paula Villescaz, seeks higher office as Democrat nominee for state Senate District 6. She’s competing against Roger Niello, a former Republican member of the state Assembly and county supervisors.

Another local “Squad” member is Tamika L’Ecluse, an elected trustee of the American River Flood Control Board. She’s not up for reelection, but three other spots are open. Only three candidates filed, meaning they all won.

By Howard Schmidt Inside The County

HSOnly one incumbent on the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Board of Directors has a challenger. The other incumbents are unopposed. The open seat for District 7 that covers parts of Arden Arcade and Carmichael had only one candidate file, assuring victory to fire union leader Brian Rice.

SMUD is governed by a board of directors elected by wards, which sound

School board elections generate higher interest among voters, especially among parents worried about school closures, critical race theory and other culture-war topics. This month’s trustee election for the San Juan Unified School District has generated competition for five seats.

Among the incumbents under challenge is Area 3 Trustee Zima Creason, who represents parts of Carmichael and Arden Arcade, including Sierra Oaks and Arden Park. She’s opposed by Alex Zamansky.

Creason gained notoriety when Capital Public Radio described her as a

Does the lack of competition among elected offices mean suburban voters are complacent or satisfied with the status quo?

Whatever the answer, it saves on ballot printing costs.

Howard Schmidt worked on federal, state and local levels of government, including 16 years for Sacramento County. He can be reached at howardschmidt218@aol.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Just Say No

YOUTH, HOMELESS MEASURES BLEED CITY BUDGET

City voters have an important job this month. They can save the municipal budget. Or they can trash it.

Two ballot initiatives floated by special interests are poised to burn holes in Sacramento’s finances. The City Council disarmed one, a disjointed homeless plan called Measure O.

As for the second scam, voters must save the day. Welcome to Measure L, a cash gusher for youth programs.

Let’s start with the youth program money heist, laughably named the “Children and Youth Health and Safety Act.”

The title is shrewd, cynical and misleading. Measure L isn’t about health or safety. It’s a sucker’s play.

Designed by service providers to line their pockets, the plan carves out about $10 million a year from the general fund. It would finance privately operated nonprofits, allowing them to help themselves while they help young people.

fundraising. Instead, they get to support their programs with guaranteed city subsidies and minimal supervision. The initiative carries no end date. It runs forever. Oversight is a joke, conducted by nonprofit insiders.

The measure was engineered to benefit the industry that provides counseling and recreational services for foster kids and youth with mental health and drug problems. The $10 million annual gift arrives without performance benchmarks.

The city will create a commission to write benchmarks. But Measure L lets youth-program insiders dominate the commission. The industry polices itself. A bad joke.

The Measure L campaign speaks to voters and insults your intelligence. The pitch: The money comes from cannabis sales taxes, so why worry about the details? It’s for our children!

Here’s why voters should worry: $10 million in annual cannabis taxes go into the general fund and pay for essential services including fire, police, parks and pools.

Every dollar handed over to sketchy youth services providers is a dollar removed from the city budget. Critical services will disappear.

City Manager Howard Chan fears the consequences. He says, “At some point I will be coming forward with staff to say, ‘What programs and services do you want me to cut in order to facilitate this?’”

Chan could have said the same thing about the second specialinterest ballot initiative, Measure O, the “Emergency Shelter and Enforcement Act.”

Like the youth giveaway, this plan, was originated by political consultant Dan Conway and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Measure O solves no emergencies. Connections to enforcement are minimal. It requires the city to spend

millions on homeless shelters and encourages residents to sue the city (that is, sue themselves) if the city fails to house sufficient numbers of people, some of whom prefer to live free and without rules or responsibilities.

Thankfully, Mayor Darrell Steinberg neutered this mess before it could do harm. The mayor and City Council added an amendment that suspends the measure until the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors agrees to support and pay for the city’s folly.

Making the county responsible for Measure O means it will may never get off the ground.

Not to pick on the Chamber of Commerce, but frustration drove its members to support Measure O. Small businesses are victimized daily by robberies, burglaries, fires and drug crimes associated with homeless camps.

Measure O exposes Sacramento to unknown legal liabilities, as does everything it seems these days. It requires the city to coax homeless people out of tents and into shelters. It ignores the fact that many don’t want to live in shelters. And those shelters don’t exist.

The “Emergency Shelter” plan is disliked by people it purports to help. Homeless advocates fear tents will get swept away. City Manager Chan saw the original plan as extortive. He negotiated a watered-down version before the City Council gutted the final edition.

Taken together, Measure O and Measure L are textbook examples of misguided ballot-box legislation. Toss them on the “civic self-harm” trash pile.

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

By R.E. Graswich City Beat

RGVoters should spot the hustle. They rejected two similar schemes in 2016 and 2020. But youth service providers won’t give up. They love easy money.

The “Children and Youth” plan lets dozens of nonprofits forego

TWO BALLOT INITIATIVES FLOATED BY SPECIAL INTERESTS ARE POISED TO BURN HOLES IN SACRAMENTO’S FINANCES.

Threatens general fund, public safety and parks Permanent giveaway to nonprofits Written by special interests

LEARN THE DETAILS...DON’T BE FOOLED!

Ballot box budgeting is not necessary to protect or increase youth spending: Any given Tuesday the council can spend more on our youth!

If Measure L passes, and given looming deficits...the City Manager asks...what will be cut?

Top constituent concerns are safety and cleanliness on our streets, and safe passage for all pedestrians.

Mental health, substance programs for youth are the purview of county. The City cannot take this on.

City treasurer says our city bond rating will drop and finance costs will rise dramatically.

All Measure L spending is related to youth only: Not public safety, homelessness, parks.

Does not support the parks, libraries, or climate-related projects essential for youth development.

City parks maintenance budget backlog is $160,000,000 and maintenance backlog for road repairs of another $300,000,000

In 2021 City spent $37,000,000 plus another $6,600,000 more on pop ups, gang, and youth programs.

Passage of this measure can only be undone by another general election with mail-in ballot cost of $1,500,000.

City of Oakland’s horrible experience must be considered. Their Measure OO (youth fund established in 2008) caused their city financial disaster. Voters needed to pass an emergency Measure D in 2009 to cut the youth fund in half.

It’s unprecedented in history to budget through the city charter amendment.

L sets damaging

for any special interest group to lock up funds

‘Societal Armageddon’

DESPITE PROBLEMS, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS TO HOUSING

Moments before signing a package of bills aimed at easing California’s affordable housing crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom used some colorful language to describe the issue. He called it “the original sin of the state of California.”

“That’s the issue of housing and affordability,” he said. “It touches more things in more ways on more days than any other issue. It is at the core of so much of the frustration many of us have about our state and our future.”

He continued, “Meanwhile, folks started moving out. Folks started thinking about moving out. Folks got kicked out. Folks ended up on the streets in record numbers because we couldn’t get out of our own way.”

Consider some numbers. Only 24 percent of households can afford a median-priced single-family home, according to the California Association

G D GD

By Gary Delsohn Building Our Future

of Realtors Housing Affordability Index. That’s 50 percent less than the national average and 33 percent below the start of the pandemic.

And for a variety of reasons, we’re not building like we used to, which drives up prices. In 2005, according to building industry statistics, California built 208,972 homes and apartment units. In 2021, the total was 118,290.

Also, more than half the state’s renters, and 80 percent of low-income renters, pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing. And more than 160,000 Californians experienced homelessness in 2020.

So, what about the bills Newsom signed that attracted so much laudatory media coverage, in part because legislators had to make a delicate compromise between affordable housing advocates and organized labor? Will the legislation create millions of additional housing units as sponsors and supporters hope?

Of the 38 housing-related bills Newsom signed in September, AB 2011 and SB 6, got the most attention. Taken together, they allow developers, if certain conditions are met (including the use of organized labor and a statewide prevailing wage), to build housing “by right” on land zoned for

commercial and retail. AB 2011 allows builders to bypass some provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act that can slow project approval.

For an expert perspective, I reached out to Dan Dunmoyer, president and CEO of the California Building Industry Association. I worked with Dunmoyer in former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office when I was chief speech writer and Dan was cabinet secretary. He’s one of the smartest people around on public policy and a straight shooter.

“Even if these bills were both profoundly positive, we are facing some very strong headwinds on housing in California,” he says. Between rapidly rising interest rates and supply chain issues delaying projects, he notes, “We are seeing a massive slowdown of interested buyers. We still have demand in California, but we have people pushing the pause button if not the hard brakes on buying a home. Bills like these are good ideas, but not when they’re loaded with things that add to the cost of getting housing built.”

Dunmoyer gives Newsom credit for using his bully pulpit to pressure and even sue local governments to build more affordable housing. “But we’d like to see him remove more of the bureaucratic impediments to getting

more housing built,” Dunmoyer says. “He’s been moving in the right direction and more is being done, but we’d like it to go faster.”

One idea from Dunmoyer: more investment of the state’s budget surplus to provide additional financial incentives to California cities eager to encourage housing construction, such as funds for infrastructure and amenities now covered in fees paid by builders and passed on to homebuyers.

“Most of the money local governments raise through property taxes goes back to the state,” Dunmoyer says. “If the state used a carrot approach and said, ‘We’ll give you some of that money back for roads and other infrastructure and services to build housing,’ that could really make a difference.”

Original sin or “societal Armageddon,” as Dunmoyer calls it. If we can’t make more progress on our housing crisis, the state’s problems are only going to get worse.

Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Previous columns can be found and shared InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Always-onthe-go care.

This Open Enrollment, choose a plan that gives you access to Dignity Health.

With more than 1,000 affiliated providers supporting our communities across more than 200 locations, we have you covered with care that best fits where you are and whatever your day brings. Learn more at DignityHealth.org/OpenEnrollment.

Growth Factor

STYLIST BUILDS TWO BUSINESSES IN PANDEMIC

With an appetite for risk and a willingness to invest in dreams, Misty Sueño advanced her cosmetology career and built two Sacramento studios from the ground up.

That’s an accomplishment anytime. But Sueño did it all during the pandemic.

She opened Wild Heart Beauty at 24th and J streets in June 2020, during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns. Unable to operate indoors, she set up shop on the sidewalk outside her studio.

A R AR

By Alexa Rincon Meet Your Neighbor

With characteristic determination, Sueño vowed she “wasn’t going to let it fail.”

Community spirit came into play when Sueño invited other merchants to join her streetside business. “It’s how we survive—depending on each other,” she says.

The hard work and creativity paid off. Wild Heart Beauty became so popular that Sueño started to turn customers away. She realized she needed a second business. In October 2021, Wild Ones Salon opened in the Ice Blocks on R Street.

Explaining the difference between the two studios, Sueño describes Wild Ones as a haven for budding new artists. There, helped by Sueño’s expertise and dedication to their professional growth, newer stylists hone skills. Wild Heart Beauty is home to more seasoned stylists. Both studios immerse clients in an elevated experience.

When you walk into either studio, you feel like you’ve entered a swanky hotel. Features include black and gold details, works by local artists, trendy music and candles always lit. Both salons have won industry awards, with Wild Heart Beauty reaching the top 25 category of the One Shot Hair Awards this year.

Sueño designed the interiors, with carpentry help from her husband and brother. Her business and family are intertwined, a connection that’s part of her recipe for success.

The journey began in Sacramento while Sueño worked three jobs and obtained her cosmetology license. She eventually climbed the corporate ladder for a famous cosmetics line. Raises and promotions came her way.

After moving to San Francisco, Sueño took a plunge and became her own boss. She opened a beauty truck with a friend and found a customer

base among tech industry tycoons. When that partnership amicably dissolved, she opened to two brickand-mortar studios on her own in San Francisco.

During that time, she was “hustling and bustling,” she says, and curating social media advertisements for her businesses, a task she still performs.

Sueño was also building client relationships and not, she says, “just making pretty.” The beauty industry is one of connection, she explains. Stylists touch hair, hear intimate stories from clients and help people feel like the best versions of themselves. Many customers followed Sueño when she moved to Sacramento.

While thriving as a San Francisco entrepreneur, Sueño’s life was upended with the death of her partner, the person who first encouraged her to become her own boss. After supporting her partner’s family and taking time

Misty Sueño

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

Homeownership

for herself, she returned home to Sacramento to visit friends.

In kismet fashion, Sueño met her now-husband during the visit and transitioned back to Sacramento full time. Even now she says her continuous drive to succeed stems from her late partner’s inspiration.

“I can do this for us. I don’t want to let opportunities slip. That’s why I keep going,” she says.

What else goes into the recipe? “I start small and keep growing,” she says. She also has a daily meditation practice.

And there’s more. Sueño has a way of trusting her instincts, persevering through hardship and making people feel important and nurtured. She demonstrates by taking small breaks during an interview to engage with employees and clients.

As for the future, Sueño has ambitions to create a beauty product line and become her own landlord. After that, she insists she’s “done.” But is she really? She thinks about the question but doesn’t answer.

Alexa Rincon can be reached at alexaraerincon@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram@ insidesacramento. n

INSIDE OUT

National Walk & Roll to School Day at Sutter Middle School

PHOTOS BY AUBREY JOHNSSON

Thousands of students and families across the country, including Sacramento, laced up their sneakers and hit the pavement to celebrate National Walk & Roll to School Day.

Join Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento Firefightersand Youth Advocates – Vote:

Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Bee Editorial Board endorses YES on L October 07, 2022 (excerpted)

…Sacramento has a chance this fall to finally remedy its woeful track record of erratic funding for programs and initiatives that support the city’s youths….voters should support Measure L to help rectify years of political opposition to consistently funding youth programs….

Under Measure L, the city would amend its charter to establish a “children’s fund” to support youth development and violence prevention programs. The services would benefit homeless and foster youths, fund after-school programs and provide career pathways. The measure also describes opportunities to support mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and early intervention programs for people under 25, which can only further the city’s efforts to stem crime.

…. the assertion that dedicating such a modest portion of a new revenue stream will harm the city’s ability to balance its budget is a stretch. If Measure L seriously threatened city resources, it’s doubtful that the city firefighters union would support it, as it does….An investment in young people is one worth making. Measure L provides an opportunity to expand and bolster youth services that will directly benefit Sacramento’s children for generations.

“This year, I strongly support YES on L as a prudent, fiscally responsible plan to invest in Sacramento’s youth, without raising your taxes.”

Mayor Darrell Steinberg

“Your YES on L vote helps provide the children of Sacramento vital services to enrich their development, keep them off the streets and out of trouble, and allows them the opportunity to grow into the best version of themselves.”

Dr. Lena van der List, American Academy of Pediatrics

“For the first time, Sac City Firefighters proudly joins a broad coalition in endorsing YES on L, which will expand opportunities for youth to seek career pathways as First Responders.”

Ryan Henry, City Vice President – Sacramento Area Firefighters

on L is endorsed by Sac Kids First

Paid for by Yes on Measure L Sac Kids 2022 Vang Ballot Measure Committee. FPPC ID# 1450785

Gracefully Aged

As Marika and Scott Rose planned for their two daughters to move onto college and beyond, the couple anticipated some changes for their empty nest.

The Roses purchased the classic brick and stucco 1937 Tudor-style home in Land Park 25 years ago to start their family.

As the family grew and finances allowed, the couple expanded the home on several occasions, adding a family room off the kitchen, and then a second story with two bedrooms and bathrooms, and an upstairs

C H CH

By Cecily Hastings Photography by Aniko Kiezel Open House

laundry room. When the girls were teens, they added a beautiful side patio with an outdoor fireplace and generous seating areas for family and guests.

About five years ago, they hired designer Elizabeth Lake to help further remodel and refine the home for their evolving lifestyle.

“Elizabeth helped us tie it all together by rearranging, repurposing and adding some new pieces,” Marika says.

Lake brought a fresh viewpoint. “After 25 years you stop seeing things that have stayed in the same place,” Marika says. The home design now is beautifully appointed with art, accessories and a dramatic sense of scale.

“My mother was an avid antique hunter and many things in our home came from her collections of antique and vintage pieces,” Marika says. “Every weekend she’d take me to see what was up for sale at the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house in San Francisco.”

The first floor features a mix of traditional and new pieces, including a grandfather clock from her grandmother’s

LAND PARK HOME HAS LAYERS OF FAMILY HISTORY

Marika and Scott Rose

home. “It doesn’t work at this time, but the craftsmanship of the case is wonderful,” Marika says. The art is eclectic and highlights local artists, some famous pieces the Roses inherited, and some items from trips abroad.

“I like to be able to layer things, like the special painting we got when my husband’s parents passed away,” Marika says. Walking through the home the patina that ties together the furniture, art and accessories is subtle and gracious.

It’s hard to believe that what was once a tired and worn three-bedroom, one-bath, one-story home with original fixtures is now a modern family home with layers of history.

The kitchen remodel introduced traditional white cabinets and counters accented with a herringbone marble mosaic backsplash. The visual centerpiece is a ceiling-height glass-front display cabinet finished in dark gray paint, with a shimmery mirrored subway tile backsplash. The gray paint coordinates with the large scale dark slate floor tiles. A small eat-in nook fits comfortably in a corner window with comfy pillows.

A small counter peninsula features gray wicker French bistro stools.

The open family room is casual with a built-in bookcase, a large wool Moroccan tribal rug, leather furniture and an ottoman upholstered in a Turkish kilim rug.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is light and airy using white and cream tones in multiple textures. The room has two sets of French doors with a gorgeous view of backyard treetops. The second bedroom upstairs and the other two downstairs are decorated in

a chic casual style with vintage items supplying history and detail.

The upstairs hallway has a tiny library that contains their daughters’ favorite childhood books. “They still love to look at them when they return home,” Marika says.

“Our favorite part of this home is the history that infuses it. From our early lives together to raising our children to things that we inherited from older family members,” Marika says. “It all adds to the patina that is our family life.”

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications. com. To recommend a home or garden, contact editor@ insidepublications.com. More photography and previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Never Idle

PLENTY OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR THIS OCTOGENARIAN

By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor

Raymond L. Ledesma has been an athlete, army medic, engineer, bar owner, writer, husband and father. At age 88, he recently learned to play guitar. But in some ways, he’s just getting started.

“My ambitions for the rest of my life are to get a boulevard in Sacramento named after my grandpa, who was a famous saddle maker, and get a book published,” Ledesma says.

Endless ambitions have taken Ledesma around the world. As a kid growing up in Fruitridge and Curtis Park, he attended C.K. McClatchy High School where he played baseball and football. When he got drafted, he attended medic training in San Antonio before spending six months in Korea.

When it became known that Ledesma was a baseball player, he was offered the chance to play in Japan while serving as an X-ray technician. That’s

where he befriended fellow Sacramentan and future major league baseball coach Harry Dunlop.

When he left the service in 1955, Ledesma returned to Sacramento, got married and went to work for Western Electric installing telephone lines in Sacramento, Santa Rosa and Stockton. When he tired of that work, he moved to San Francisco with his wife and son and studied electrical engineering at University of San Francisco.

The next career stretch followed his talent for meeting the right people at the right time. He was offered a job installing communications systems in San Bernardino, which led to a job at McClellan Air Force Base. That led to top-secret work in Japan, Hawaii and Germany, installing critical communications infrastructure. He landed back in Sacramento in 1988 and retired—sort of.

“I kicked around after I retired, but then I bought some equipment and ended up doing lawns and cleaning HUD homes,” Ledesma says. “My wife was a beautician, so we also owned beauty shops.”

During a chance visit to Branson, Missouri, the couple spotted a sign advertising furnished condos for sale, so they bought one. Their neighbors happened to be music stars including Andy Williams, Glen Campbell and Charley Pride, whom they befriended. The adventurous couple took over the bar and grill at the local country club. “My wife is a chef and told the owner the food could be better, so he handed her the keys,” Ledesma says.

When the Ledesmas returned to Sacramento to sell their home on 24th Street, Raymond was again on the hunt for something to do. Someone suggested he write a book. After some research, he did. “I had maybe read three books in my whole life, so I had to find out what it was,” he says. “I had to learn how to type. I wrote ‘Antonio’s Journey’ with one finger—it took me five years!”

Ledesma now has three books to his name: “Antonio’s Journey,” which is loosely based on his grandfather’s emigration from Italy to California; “Corsair,” about love and bravery in World War II; and “50 Years in a Kid’s Game,” Harry Dunlop’s autobiography that Ledesma co-wrote. The history buff also writes short stories and history pieces and travels to schools and clubs to talk about California history.

When he’s not writing, Ledesma golfs, fishes and visits far-flung family members: A grandson plays soccer in Germany, a son is a world-class surfer in San Diego, a daughter has a vineyard in Oregon, and another son and daughter live in Sacramento.

He hopes to convince his Branson music buddies to perform a concert for Guitars 4 Vets, a nonprofit that offers free guitar lessons to veterans. Ledesma himself is a graduate and says it helped immensely after his wife’s death last year.

“When I’m not doing anything, I pick up the guitar and try to make music,” Ledesma says. “One of these days, it’ll happen.”

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

Raymond Ledesma with his dog Buffi Photo by Linda Smolek

Sworn Testimony

If you can imagine how frustrated a preacher would have to be to swear a blue streak, then you might understand the old expression, “It’s enough to make a preacher cuss.”

I grew up in a Baptist church, so it’s safe to say I never heard a preacher cuss. But that changed when I began my Air Force chaplain’s career at Mather Air Force Base.

The Rancho Cordova base is now a civilian airport, but I spent three years there as a first lieutenant under the mentoring of five active-duty chaplains.

While each chaplain enjoyed a wellapportioned office, the biggest office was occupied by our senior chaplain. We called him “Father Z.”

MEASURE INTEGRITY BY PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SELF

At the time, I was a reservist working a few days each month. My “office” was a few chairs surrounded by a 5-foot fabric cubical, all under the watchful eye of Father Z.

One day, Father Z scheduled me to counsel a young Air Force couple who wanted to be married in our chapel. The potential groom was a timid airman, a clerk from the military personnel section. His fiancée was a 19-year-old civilian, unsure of what military life had in store for her.

At the appointed hour, our chapel receptionist led the couple past Father Z’s closed door and into my cubicle.

I greeted the young people warmly and asked typical premarital questions. “Are you planning a family? Do you practice a faith together?”

NBThe couple gave answers with a nervous edge, using a varied volume of two-syllable yes-sirs and no-sirs. However, as they began sharing their heart-story, they relaxed into easy smiles and comfortable chuckles.

Instinctively we ducked our heads. The couple remained in their seats, but like a soldier in a World War I trench, I peeked over the partition to find our profane sniper.

When I returned my attention to the couple, the wide-eyed woman asked in whispered tones, “Doesn’t that man know he’s in a chapel?”

“Oh, I’m afraid he knows,” I said.

“Why?” the airman asked. “Who is he?”

“That’s Father Z and I suppose something got him mad enough to make a preacher cuss,” I said, deadpanning the old expression.

“He’s really a nice guy,” I added, which was my way of telling the shocked couple what the Wizard of Oz said about himself: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” or in this case, behind our partition.

between who you are in public and who you are in private.

Integrity means you remain the same person no matter who benefits.

Honestly, Father Z could be one of the kindest men you’d want to know. He was often respectful, thoughtful and compassionate. Unfortunately, his anger issues put up a smoke screen that hid his goodness from the impressionable couple.

I never did get a bigger office at Mather, and never found out what made Father Z so mad.

However, my time there did give me a bigger sense of a compelling fact. Being an angry person in private only means we are rehearsing the anger that will eventually gain center stage in our public lives.

By Norris Burkes Spirit Matters

Then, just as I asked how they deal with anger in their relationship, we heard a loud crash in Father Z’s office across from my cubicle. His door flew open and the air ignited with expletives.

The incident highlights questions about integrity that I’ve often asked my own parishioners over the years. “Who are you when no one is watching?” “Who are you when it doesn’t seem as though it matters?”

The answers to these questions will determine your integrity. Integrity is gauged by measuring the difference

Norris Burkes can be reached at comment@thechaplain.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter 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

Photo by Jan Fetler

Seeing Red P

oinsettias, America’s most popular potted flowering plant, are revered holiday guests. They produce a festive show during their annual visit, then pass on to that Great Heavenly Garden shortly after New Year’s Day.

The descent on nurseries, florist shops, supermarkets and box stores in search of poinsettias begins around Thanksgiving. Poinsettia mania breaks out and so begins the challenge of keeping them alive and beautiful for 4–8 weeks.

About 70 million are sold each year during the holiday season. Why are we infatuated with poinsettias?

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By Dan Vierria Garden Jabber

“Probably the pop of color, usually red, that lasts literally for months indoors during the time of year when not much is blooming inside or out,” says Jan Fetler, a poinsettia aficionado and UC Master Gardener from Elk Grove.

Red poinsettias are traditional, but there are more than 100 varieties available in red, yellow, purple, white, multi-colored, salmon, gold, coral and even orange for Halloween.

“I like the unusual colors for a special focal point, a gold or coralcolored poinsettia to go with the bedroom décor,” Fetler says. “Red is nice, too, but other colors and the whites can work through the season.”

Poinsettia is botanically Euphorbia pulcherrima and grows wild in Guatemala and along the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico. Aztecs cultivated the plant nearly 1,000 years ago, using it for dyes and medicinally for fevers. In tropical jungles, poinsettias can reach 15 feet high.

U.S. diplomat and amateur botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett became infatuated with the plant while serving as first ambassador to Mexico. In 1828, he sent cuttings to the U.S. He died in 1851 and the date of his passing, Dec. 12, is now celebrated as “Poinsettia Day.”

More than a century after Poinsett introduced the plant to his homeland, California growers created a down-sized, bushier version of the weedy perennial through grafting. Clever marketing and breeding followed, and the holiday poinsettia became fabulously popular.

It’s not uncommon for one home to display a half-dozen or more poinsettias during the holiday months. To ensure the healthiest plants, avoid buying poinsettias displayed near an exterior door. They don’t appreciate cold blasts of air.

Examine each plant. Foliage should be dark green from top to bottom. Move along if the leaves (called bracts) are not fully colored and exhibit green edges. Tiny flowers, which are in the center of the leaves or bracts, should be green

or tipped with red and not covered in yellow pollen. Peek under the leaves to check for whitefly or aphid infestations.

Other warning signs are wilted leaves when the soil is damp and fallen, and yellowing leaves.

After purchase ask that the plants be covered with a sleeve if outdoor temperatures are in the 50s or below. Once home, remove the foil or plastic wrapping around the pot, which blocks drainage. Drop the plastic pot into a decorative pot for a more festive look.

Poinsettias need light. A sunny window is a great location. Maintain room temperature above 60 degrees and arrange plants away from cold air near doorways.

The challenge of proper watering can be maddening. Temperature, sunlight and humidity vary from home to home. Basically, check the soil every day or two. If dry, water thoroughly until it drains out the bottom. Don’t let water collect and remain under the pot. Standing water will cause root damage and the plant’s health will decline.

’TIS THE SEASON TO POP WITH POINSETTIAS

“I think the biggest mistake is letting them dry out too long, which is easy to do during the busy holiday,” Fetler says. “These plants need consistent moisture to keep all their leaves and colored bracts.”

Tales of deadly poisonous poinsettias are greatly exaggerated. An Ohio State University study found that a 50-pound child would have to eat more than 500 leaves to exhibit side effects of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Like all products and plants that can be toxic, the decision is yours.

May your holiday poinsettias bring beauty and joy!

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, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Color It Delicious

GROWERS’ ALLIANCE BRINGS FRESH FOOD TO DEL PASO HEIGHTS

One day not long ago, I visited the International Garden of Many Colors with the Del Paso Heights Growers’ Alliance co-directors.

The 3-acre garden is cultivated primarily by elderly immigrants from Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan. The Growers’ Alliance worked with the Sacramento Food Policy Council to help preserve the garden and supply it with essentials such as city water.

Tall sunchoke flowers leaned toward grape vines flush with hanging fruit. Tomato bushes studded with brilliant red fruits shouldered heirloom purple collard greens. The seeds were brought to the Del Paso area from Alabama in the 1930s. A cherry tree from Ukraine waved at us from near the fence. The cherries are dried for tea.

Fatima Malik-Wilson, founder of the Growers’ Alliance, has a passion for food education and advocacy. Raised in Del Paso Heights, she would often make meals of chips, candy bars and soda as a teenager. At Grant High School, she worked in the

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By Gabrielle Myers Photography by Aniko Kiezel Farm To Fork

school garden and began to understand the food depravation around her.

“The school garden saved my life,” MalikWilson says. “It taught me how plants grow. It gave me an outlet. It was therapy. It helped me get off the streets and have more positive outlets.”

Malik-Wilson studied agriculture at UC Davis and returned to Grant High to teach in a learning kitchen. She loved explaining how to

create healthy meals, but realized fresh fruits and vegetables were scarce in her community.

Frustration propelled her into advocacy.

“You can’t tell people to eat fruits and vegetables if there are none available in that community,” she says.

Malik-Wilson and other Growers’ Alliance co-directors—Max Rosa, Yemanya Napue and Janea Hackett-Little—fight for food equity and

Co-directors Yemanya Napue, Max Rosa, Janea Hackett-Little with Fatima Malik-Wilson, Founder Growers Alliance

sovereignty in Del Paso Heights and other areas of North Sacramento.

With a commitment to tending soil and environmental health, plus improving social and economic conditions in the area, the Growers’ Alliance helps residents gain access to garden plots and tools, and other implements needed for gardens.

The alliance knows the transformative benefits of growing your own food. Cultivation, garden fresh cooking and safe community places have profound impacts on the neighborhood’s residents.

In addition to caretaking garden plots at the International Garden of Many Colors, Sugar Cane Garden and Root Cellar, the Growers’ Alliance offers gardening and cooking workshops.

The organization focuses on providing green spaces and social networking opportunities for

people of color with the goal of making it all “accessible, affordable and equitable—at no cost.”

In addition to offering an Urban Permaculture course this fall for community members, the group hopes to cultivate opportunities around food and business cooperatives to create “sustainable villages” in the neighborhood.

With an intimate knowledge of the community, the team respects cultural preferences. It grows fruits and vegetables preferred by community members. In short, Malik-Wilson and her team “produce the environment we want to live in” and give others the means to do the same.

The Growers’ Alliance hopes to build deeper relationships with the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute, not just to learn about different practices that might benefit the community, but to bring more opportunities and investment to this historically marginalized neighborhood.

The Growers’ Alliance, run by passionate and hard-working people from the Del Paso community, meets the third Saturday of each month to care for the International Garden of Many Colors. Volunteers are encouraged to join them.

The Del Paso Heights Growers’ Alliance is holding a volunteer day, Saturday, Nov. 19, 9 a.m. to noon, at the International Garden of Many Colors at 1000 Northfield Drive.

In partnership with Federalist Public House, the group is hosting a fundraising “Pizza for Plants” brunch Saturday, Nov. 5., 9:30 a.m., at 2009 Matsui Alley.

For more information, visit sierraserviceproject. org/dphga.

Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Too Many Seeds,” can be ordered from fishinglinepress.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Goal-line Stand

SAC STATE STICKS WITH FOOTBALL, BUT WHY?

Some of us remember when beating UC Davis meant everything to Sacramento State’s football team. But with success defined by one game, victory was impossible. Between 1970 and 1987, the Aggies defeated the Hornets 18 consecutive times.

The annual mismatch made UC Davis coach Jim Sochor smile when he heard the word “rivalry.” He would say, “It’s not a rivalry until they beat us.”

Sochor died in 2015 at age 77. He lived long enough to see some improvements in Sac State’s football program, but not many. Since 2000, Davis has won the Causeway Classic 15 times.

Now things are changing, maybe. When Sac State plays Davis Nov. 19 at Fred Anderson Field, the home team will seek its third straight win against the guest from Yolo County.

These are fun times for Sac State football. The Hornets have won the

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By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority

Big Sky Conference title twice. It’s the minor leagues, but that’s fine with Sac State. “We’re very happy in the Big Sky,” school President Robert Nelsen tells me. “We’re getting good exposure.”

Sac State was undefeated last year in the Big Sky. Unfortunately, when the first playoff game arrived, the Hornets were out-manned by South Dakota State 24-19. The dream of national honors vanished in about three hours.

For people who love Sac State, there’s a tough question nobody wants to ask. I love the place, attended classes there and hope to graduate someday. Here’s the question: With success restricted to second-tier titles, why stick with football?

For almost 70 years, Sac State struggled to win in the bush leagues of college football. When the program debuted in 1954, the Hornets headed north to play Humboldt State, crossed the Bay Bridge to play San Francisco State and bused south for games against UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State.

Today, those schools don’t waste resources on football. Their sports dollars go into basketball, soccer, swimming and volleyball. State schools in Chico, Sonoma, Hayward, Northridge, Fullerton and Los Angeles dropped football. Others never played.

Only three UC campuses support offensive lines.

But when I ask Nelsen about eliminating football, he answers before I finish the question. “No, absolutely not,” he says. “We’re going to keep football. We’re increasing the number of summer scholarships, increasing the nutrition program. We are not dropping football.”

Still, it’s a reasonable discussion. College football has reached the precipice of absurdity. At the highest levels, it’s an entertainment product amputated from an academic mission.

The Big Ten Conference recently signed a TV deal that brings $1 billion a year to members, soon to include UCLA and USC. The Pacific-12 Conference, once the pride of the west, disintegrates.

“Everything on the horizon is kind of murky now,” Nelsen says. “Schools everywhere are re-thinking everything about college football.”

Those thoughts revolve around money. Sac State doesn’t have much. Its entire athletics budget of $15.3 million would barely cover the salary, benefits and expenses of USC’s new head football coach.

The Big Sky represents the highest level ever reached by Sac State, but it’s subterranean. The Big Sky is relegated to the Football Championship

Subdivision, encompassing 130 schools spread across Montana, Idaho, the Midwest, East and South, mostly backwaters. (There are exceptions. The subdivision includes the Ivy League.)

Sac State can be seen as a misfit, an overgrown child lumbering in the sandbox with teams from Pocatello, Missoula, Ogden, Flagstaff and Greeley. The Hornets belong in the big leagues, Division I, the Football Bowl Subdivision, but can’t get there. Sac State suffers from pitiful infrastructure and decades of community indifference.

Here’s another question: Would a higher competitive level hurt Sac State?

Big time bowl football demands classy stadiums and arenas. It requires substantial budgets, high priced coaches, rich donor clubs and lofty attendance.

“We doubled the number of ticket holders this year,” Nelsen says. “We want to have better training facilities. We want to expand. We’re looking at a basketball arena, either to build a new one or expand the one we have.”

Terrific. But first let’s make it three straight over Davis.

R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

Photo by Aniko Kiezel

CARROTS

This root vegetable is related to parsnips, fennel, parsley, anise, caraway, cumin and dill. It can be eaten raw or cooked, or even baked in a cake.

Eat it: For better flavor, steam, rather than boil, them

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

A cruciferous vegetable, it’s related to cabbage, kale, collard greens and broccoli. It contains healthful phytonutrients.

Eat it: Toss with olive oil and roast in a hot oven with onion and bacon..

YELLOW FIN POTATOES

This all-purpose potato has yellow flesh, a creamy texture and a slightly sweet, buttery flavor.

Eat it:: Mash them with lots of butter and cream, of course!

Monthly Market

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

MANDARIN ORANGE

This small citrus fruit has few seeds and a loose, puffy orange skin that is easy to peel, making it a popular addition to children’s lunchboxes.

Eat it: Peel and enjoy.

ARTICHOKES

The edible, immature flower of a cultivated thistle plant, this plant originated in the Mediterranean, but now California grows nearly 100 percent of the country’s crop.

Eat it: Steam until tender, then dip the leaves in melted butter or flavored mayonnaise.

CHARD

This nutritious, hearty green, a relative of the beet, can be blanched, braised, sautéed or steamed.

Eat it: Make a quick sauté with onions and garlic..

Adog with no microchip, no ID tag. A door left open or a hole in the fence. Someone willing to do the right thing—get the dog off the street.

Now what? Is taking the lost canine to a local animal shelter the best way to reunite him with his owner? Is that where he will be safe? Is that where his parents will look first?

Or is it better to hold onto the dog, place signs around the neighborhood, post photos on social media, walk door to door?

Phillip Zimmerman, manager of the city’s Front Street Animal

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By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies

Fixing Front Street

IS ‘COMMUNITY SHELTERING’ BEST FOR THE ANIMALS?

Shelter, likes the second option. So much so that he has instituted a “managed intake” policy at Front Street.

Municipal animal shelters (city and county shelters that receive government funds) are “open admission” facilities, accepting most stray dogs and cats without question.

Under Zimmerman’s approach, the fewer animals going into the shelter, the better.

“We try to catch them before they get here,” says Zimmerman, who joined Front Street at the end of 2019. “If someone finds an animal in their neighborhood, we’ll have a conversation with them. Have you posted the animal on Nextdoor? Have you posted the animal on a Facebook group? Have you checked with any of your neighbors?”

“Community sheltering” is a model Zimmerman has embraced since he

shut down Front Street in 2020 due to COVID-19. The shelter accepts ill and injured animals, but encourages community sheltering for healthy stray dogs.

“The shelter is a scary place. If somebody found my animal, I would much rather it be in somebody’s home than in the scary shelter,” Zimmerman says.

But not everyone agrees. A group of local animal advocates has launched a “Fix Front Street” Facebook page to reestablish the city’s essential animal services. The group’s leaders want Front Street back to pre-Zimmerman days, exposing problems with the community sheltering mandate and the shelter’s appointment-only services, among other issues.

“He’s not saving more. He’s just not accepting more,” says Elyse Mize with Fix Front Street and Sacramento

Lost and Found Pets. Mize launched Fix Front Street with longtime local animal advocate Julie Virga.

Instead of limiting intake, the shelter should be doing more to safely and effectively move animals out. “Is everything being done to help release animals from Front Street? The answer is no,” Virga says.

According to Fix Front Street, the shelter is falling short on transferring animals into foster care, promoting available pets on social media, reaching out to the numerous in- and out-of-state rescue organizations, providing adequate veterinary care to make animals more adoptable, and the all-important spaying and neutering to reduce intake in the first place.

Attorney Hilary Bagley Franzoia is a Fix Front Street advocate who headed up the Sacramento County

THE SHELTER ACCEPTS ILL AND INJURED ANIMALS, BUT ENCOURAGES COMMUNITY SHELTERING FOR HEALTHY STRAY DOGS.

Julie Virga with her rescue dog Peanut.

District Attorney’s Animal Cruelty Unit and Animal Cruelty Task Force. She says Front Street is following a trendy model that places the onus of caring for abandoned animals on community members rather than public officials whose job is to provide safe and reliable care.

“Any shelter professional who advocates turning away healthy, unaltered, unwanted, lost, stray animals—knowing that inevitably they will be returned to streets—is incompetent,” Bagley Franzoia says.

If the animal does not enter the shelter, will the pet be altered, vaccinated, flea treated, groomed, socialized and ultimately placed in a loving home?

In the 2020-2021 state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom allocated $50 million to make California a "no kill" state. The goal: No adoptable or treatable dog or cat should be euthanized.

The funding was assigned to the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, which promotes shelters staying within their “capacity of care” by encouraging community sheltering to reduce the number of animals taken in. Decreasing intake decreases euthanasia.

“Any modern shelter should be operating within its capacity of care,” Zimmerman says. “I was flabbergasted the day I walked in and saw how many animals were being housed at the shelter. Three and four large dogs to a kennel. Taking in every animal with no questions asked is not good for the animals.”

Zimmerman says keeping animals out of the shelter takes a multifaceted approach, including educating the community on how to get stray dogs

back home and providing financial resources to low-income pet owners who would otherwise have to surrender their animals.

“People are inherently good and they want to do the right thing,” Zimmerman says. “Whether it’s through us or people doing it on their own.”

Bagley Franzoia has prosecuted crime in Sacramento County for 30 years, including animal abuse. She doesn’t buy Zimmerman’s argument. “While the manager has denied the prevalence of cruelty and neglect to stray animals, it remains rampant,” she says.

“Shelters are supposed to be safe havens for animals who have nowhere else to go,” Virga says. “When shelters close, many animals are abandoned on the streets, where they starve, suffer, are injured or killed. Many remain in the hands of people who abuse, mistreat, neglect or even kill them.”

Sure, shelters—public and private—are not ideal for any animal, especially the timid or easily frightened. But they don’t have to be. With caring staff and dedicated volunteers, shelters can and should be places of refuge for lost, stray and abandoned pets. That’s why we call them shelters.

Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@surewest.net. Previous columns can be found and shared at the all-new InsideSacramento.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

Christkindlmarkt

traditional German Christmas

Take A Hike

LANDSCAPE ARTIST INSPIRED BY LOVE OF OUTDOORS

Few painters can make you feel like you’re really there. But stare at one of Tom Sorensen’s landscapes

and you can almost feel the Santa Cruz wind ruffling your hair, smell the damp earth after a rain in Montgomery Woods, hear the surf crash against the shore below Pigeon Point.

JLSorensen, hiker and outdoorsman, enjoys capturing beautiful places he visits. Oil paint and canvas are how he documents “grand views” from his travels.

mood is not good, if I get out and go for a hike, it makes me feel better.”

The Southern California native moved to Sacramento in 1982 to cash in on the local real estate market as a house flipper. His new location was the perfect outlet for his innate creativity and a fine location for his love of the outdoors.

He enrolled at San Joaquin Valley College and later went to work as a respiratory therapist at John Muir Health medical center in Concord.

By Jessica Laskey Open Studio

“I’ve always been into hiking and enjoy being out in nature—it’s very restorative,” says the retired respiratory therapist. “Any time my

As he got older, it became harder to climb under houses and onto roofs. Sorensen decided to switch careers. A friend of a friend who worked in respiratory therapy got Sorensen interested in the discipline.

On days off, he visited the Parsons Gallery in Benicia. He got to know artist and owner Bill Parsons, who brought Sorensen back to his childhood love of art through oil painting.

Now 67 and retired, Sorensen spends more time traveling and working in his home studio on the border of Sacramento and Carmichael. He paints for two or

three hours every day when he’s not hiking. He works from photographs snapped with his iPhone, deploying his creativity.

“That’s the thing about art—you can take something in a photograph and make it your own thing,” Sorensen says. “If you took a photo of a mountain but the weather wasn’t good that day, you can change the weather. I’ll even incorporate several different photos into a single scene, the sunset from one photo, the foreground from another, a

mountain from another, and put them together.”

For Sorensen, reflections in water and details are “kind of my specialty.” Blades of grass along a trail, feathers on an eagle’s wing, snow-kissed fur on a fox, moss on a river rock, all executed with precision that brings Sorensen’s paintings to life. It’s no surprise the artist can “lose myself easily when I start painting. I lose track of time.”

Sorensen sells paintings at festivals up and down the coast and has won

several awards, including an Award of Merit at the 2019 California State Fair. No matter the accolades, Sorensen does it for the love of the art form and the great outdoors.

“There’s lots of beauty out there to see,” he says.

For information, visit sorensenfineart.com.

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

Tom Sorensen

Photo by Linda Smolek

By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider

Sail Away

Jayna Gyro is easy to miss. The corner of Alhambra and Folsom boulevards sports several chain eateries, and, without a closer look, Jayna Gyro blends in and disappears.

But take that extra look. You’ll learn this new Mediterranean restaurant paints outside the lines of “fast-casual”

and brings an unexpected level of sophistication.

Jayna, the third California restaurant of Yusuf Topal and his ownership partners, improves the relationship between casual and fine dining. It’s no wonder. Topal’s other restaurants, Tarla Mediterranean Grill in Napa and the first Jayna Gyro in Emeryville, sit

proudly in the upmarket and quick-eats categories.

Sacramento’s version of Jayna blends the best of these worlds. It’s an orderat-the-counter place with a narrowly focused menu and small drink menu. But lurking in the peripheral vision is an interior bright with touches of the Greek isles.

Photos by Linda Smolek

GREEK ISLANDS BECKON, HIDDEN ON BUSY CORNER

Hazy blue murals touch the walls skirted by blazing white and azure tiles. Delicate chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Marble shows itself in the tables and bars.

Once you’ve found a table, casual trappings are replaced by cloth napkins, heavy flatware and attentive service. You’ve got an open view to the kitchen where scratch food is made to order. Everything speaks to an environment of easy sophistication and good service.

“We’re trying to really marry casual and fine dining,” says General Manager Demetri Gregorakis. “You’ll order at the counter, but our staff will be there for refills, second rounds of drinks and anything else you need.”

Other than the fine service, what you might notice is a subtle difference in the menu compared to many Greek restaurants.

“These are scratch-cooked family recipes,” Gregorakis tells me. “I’m more likely to just call it Greek since I am Greek, but it’s more than that given Yusuf’s background.”

Topal comes from a Kurdish background and was raised in Turkey. Many of his recipes, whether the spice mix on the gyro meat or the simpleseeming rice with chickpeas, have a different slant from familiar Greek fare.

The octopus salad sports an insanely herby and bright dressing. The octopus melds with pillowy chickpeas throughout the bowl. The lamb and beef pita is as bright and fresh as sunrise. More fresh herbs blend delightfully with a light tzatziki sauce and fresh California vegetables.

An unexpected treat is rotisserie chicken. It’s simple and well-priced for dine-in or perfect for a quick takeout family meal. This is about 17 steps up from grocery store rotisserie birds. The seasoning on the delightfully crispy skin is off the charts. The lemony herbaceous

dipping sauce carries an enchanting citrus kick.

You’ll find more AmericanMediterranean mashups on the menu, such as a grilled lamb burger and a vegan burger called the “black sheep.” The cheekiest item is the “Greek fries,” a Mediterranean take on that great California creation, carne asada fries. The Greek version comes with gyro, spicy aioli and tzatziki.

Overall, you’ll be struck by the pleasantness. “We want Jayna to be a little bit of an escape,” Gregorakis says. “We’ve already had a great reception from the East Sacramento neighbors

since our opening in August, so I think people are getting what we’re trying to do.”

If you’re looking for an escape or just beautifully fresh fare, I think you’ll get it, too.

Jayna Gyro is at 3101 Folsom Blvd.; (916) 898-2708; jaynagyro.com.

Greg Sabin can be reached at gregsabin@hotmail.com. Previous reviews can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n

TO DO

THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS

JLBy Jessica Laskey

Flower Fantasies & Other Creations

KOH Library and Cultural Center

Through Friday, Jan. 20

Artist Reception and Program, Sunday, Nov. 6, 1–3 p.m. 2300 Sierra Blvd. • kohlcc.org

Artist Davina Dubnick presents her fascinating mixed-media creations, including portraits of “Architectural Masterpieces Around the World,” captured in pressed petals and leaves. RSVP or make a viewing appointment by calling (916) 541-3720 or emailing taliah@kohlcc.org.

Blind Lemon Peel

The Sofia, Home of the B Street Theatre

Friday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.

2700 Capitol Ave. • bstreettheatre.org

Performance artist and blues musician Blind Lemon Peel’s show includes a two-piece horn section, scintillating vocals and one of Northern California’s best rhythm sections. Tickets start at $23.

Stories on Stage

Stories on Stage Sacramento

Friday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m.

CLARA Auditorium, 2420 N St. • storiesonstagesacramento.com

This award-winning literary performance series presents an excerpt from Maceo Montoya’s book “Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces” and a short story by local author Elison Alcovendaz read aloud by professional actors followed by a Q&A with the authors. Tickets are a $10 suggested donation.

Abstract Intentions

Sacramento Fine Arts Center Nov. 1–Dec. 3

Second Saturday Reception, Nov. 12, 5:30–8:30 p.m. 5330 Gibbons Drive • sacfinearts.org

This exhibition features abstract art in various media using shape, form, color and line to create unique compositions.

Find Your Hero

Disney On Ice

Nov. 3–6

Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk • golden1center.com

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy take you on a magical adventure filled with tales of heroism from your favorite Disney stories. Tickets start at $15.

"Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan" by Davina Dubnick at Flower Fantasies & Other Creations.

Hard Rock Live

Blue October, Nov. 4, 8 p.m.

Smokey Robinson, Nov. 5, 8 p.m.

Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp, Nov. 10, 8 p.m.

Piolo Pascual and Jericho Rosales, Nov. 13, 4 p.m.

Eric Moo, Nov. 24, 5 p.m.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, Wheatland hardrockhotelsacramento.com/entertainment

Check out this stellar November lineup at the region’s newest entertainment venue. Tickets are $31–$225.

Mozart’s Magnificent Mass

Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera Saturday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m.

SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, 1301 L St. • sacphilopera.org

Under the baton of conductor Ari Pelto, this spectacular performance features the Mass in C minor composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during his visit to Vienna.

Recycle of Time

Sacramento State Library Gallery

Through Dec. 10

Exhibition Reception, Thursday Nov. 3, 5–8 p.m. 6000 J St. • csus.edu/university-galleries

This exhibition showcases works by 25 late artists who taught full- or part-time in the art department at Sac State. The pieces are drawn from the Sacramento State Art Collection, Gerth Special Collections and University Archives, and private collections.

Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk

Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.

William Land Park, corner of Sutterville Road and Freeport Blvd. • t2trun.org

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, established in memory of fallen 9/11 FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, holds its second annual fundraiser to honor and support Sacramento first responders and military service members.

Crocker Holiday Artisan Market

Creative Arts League of Sacramento

Friday, Nov. 25, noon–5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St. • crockerholidayartisanmarket.com

This annual market is full of one-of-a-kind treasures, including glass, textiles, wood, ceramics, paper, photography, painting, sculpture, fiber and textiles, jewelry, chocolates and more from more than 100 artists. Admission is $6 for Crocker and Creative Arts League members; $7 for seniors and students; $8 for general admission; free for children 11 and younger.

Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photography from the Bank of America Collection

Crocker Art Museum

Through Dec. 31 216 O St. • crockerart.org

Celebrate the bold and dynamic ways women have contributed to the development and evolution of photography with more than 100 images made between 1905 and 2015 by artists from Asia, Europe and North America.

Crocker Holiday Artisan Market at Scottish Rite Center.

Disney On Ice’s “Find Your Hero” at Golden 1 Center.

Irish band Altan at The Sofia.

Altan

The Sofia, Home of the B Street Theatre

Thursday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.

2700 Capitol Ave. • bstreettheatre.org

Irish band Altan brings songs from its latest album, “The Gap of Dreams,” to the U.S. as part of a world tour. This album celebrates the roots of their music in Donegal folklore.

Christmas Market

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Sunday, Nov. 27, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.

2620 Capitol Ave. • trinitycathedral.org

This special market features environmentally and socially conscious gifts from local vendors.

Touch-A-Truck

Junior League of Sacramento Saturday, November 12, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, North Parking Lot jlsac.org/touch-a-truck

Children and the young-at-heart get a hands-on opportunity to see and touch big trucks and heavy machinery. A lights- and horn-free portion of the event happens 9–10 a.m. Admission is $5 for online ticket purchase; $10 at the door.

Art To Wear & More Show and Sale

Sacramento Center for the Textile Arts Nov. 12 & 13, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd. • sactextilearts.org

This annual free event features a daily fashion show at 10 a.m. and an artisan marketplace featuring handcrafted items from wearable art pieces to everyday clothing.

Magical Mysteries Show

Make-A-Wish Foundation

Friday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m.

Richard T. Conzelmann Community Center, 2201 Cottage Ave. • necannv.wish.org

Professional magician Dale Lorzo brings his special brand of magic to Arden Arcade to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tickets are $10 for general admission; $5 for children 12 and younger, and seniors 65 and older. Family admission for four is $25.

Magician Dale Lorzo and wife, Elaine, at Magical Mysteries Show.

“Spilling” by Maria Winkler at Archival Gallery.

“Jessie” by Aniko Kiezel at E Street Gallery.

Beatles Experience at Memorial Auditorium.

Small Business Saturday

Sierra Shops

Saturday, Nov. 26, noon–5 p.m.

2636 Fair Oaks Blvd. • organicskinstudio.com

Kick off your holiday shopping while supporting local businesses. Enjoy raffle prizes, complimentary food and drinks, live music and one-day-only specials on unique local products and services from Temple Coffee, Organic Skin Studio, Treasured Days Florist, Heat Shabu, Violet Muse and others.

Robin Giustina and Maria Winkler

Archival Gallery

Nov. 3–30

Meet the Artist, Thursday, Nov. 3, 4–7 p.m.

Second Saturday Reception, Nov. 12, 5–8 p.m.

3223 Folsom Blvd. • archivalgallery.com

Robin Giustina shares paintings made during COVID isolation and after the death of her mother. Maria Winkler presents Glass Arrangements Series, a collection of work in colored pencil, watercolor and glass.

Small Treasures Show & Sale

Elk Grove Fine Arts Center

Nov. 5–Dec. 29

First Saturday Reception, Nov. 5, 4–7 p.m.

9683 Elk Grove Florin Road • elkgrovefineartscenter.org

This fundraising event features a unique themed series of five “small treasures” on 5-by-7 wood panels that may be purchased individually or in groups.

Rehearsals for A Festival of Lessons and Carols

Capitol Chorale

Thursdays Beginning Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.

Pioneer Congregational United Church of Christ, 2700 L St. • pioneerucc.org

Singers of all voice types are invited to participate in rehearsals for A Festival of Lessons and Carols with the chamber orchestra. The show takes place Friday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m.

Beatles Experience

Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy

Sunday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St.• thebeatlesguitarproject.org/fall-tour-2022

This fundraising concert for music education brings students together with professional musicians to perform Beatles albums with a 40-piece rock orchestra. This year’s event features “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Magical Mystery Tour” with local celebrities, including Peter Petty, Kitty O’Neal, Kurt Spataro, Gabe Nelson and Hans Eberbach.

Alternative Gift Market

Carmichael Presbyterian Church Nov. 5 & 6, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. 5645 Marconi Ave. • carmichaelpres.org

Shop unique and well-priced gifts from around the world. Admission is free.

Organic Skin Studio owner Kelly Garrett Robinson and Betsy Hitchcock at Small Business Saturday.

“Yellow Bikini” by Robin Giustina at Archival Gallery.

Healing and the Artist

E Street Gallery

Saturdays, Nov. 19 & 26, 1–5 p.m.

Second Saturday Reception, Nov. 12, 6–9 p.m. 1115 E St.

More than two dozen local artists have created photographs, sculptures, paintings, drawings and multimedia artwork to address the theme of “healing.” Meet the artists and enjoy wine and appetizers at the Second Saturday Reception.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

THEATRE GUIDE

GLORIA

Thru Nov 13

Capital Stage 2215 J St, Sac Boxoffice@capstage.org

An ambitious group of editorial assistants at a prestigious Manhattan-based literary magazine are each chasing the same dream: a life as successful writers—and to get out of their cubicles before they turn thirty. When a regular day at the office suddenly becomes anything but, the stakes for who will get to tell the career-making story are higher than ever.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

Nov 2 – Nov 13

SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center 1301 L St, Sac 916 808-5181

Broadwaysacramento.com

This outrageous musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. With standing room only productions in London, on Broadway, and across North America, THE BOOK OF MORMON has truly become an international sensation. Contains explicit language.

EVOLVE The Red Door Project

Nov 11 – Nov 13

Presented by Mondavi Center at Vanderhoef Studio Theatre

1 Shiefld Ave, Corner of Mrak Hall Drive and Old Davis Rd Davis, CA

Mondaviarts.org

Evolve is a new performance experience that explores the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. Combining pre-recorded videos and live monologues from The New Black Fest’s Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments, a show written by African American men and women about their experience with racial profiling, and Cop Out: Beyond Black, White and Blue, based on interviews with police officers, Evolve seeks to stimulate conversation in a new way and help us to bridge a seemingly intractable divide. Note: Evolve contains mature language and themes and may not be appropriate for all audiences.

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC: BROADWAY LOVE SONGS

Nov 3 – Nov 6

Sacramento Theatre Company 1419 H Street, Sac 916 443-6722

Sactheatre.org

WE’RE LOOKING FOR INTERESTING HOMES TO FEATURE

A crowd favorite, The Cabaret Series returns and they are opening up the series with the Broadway Love Songs of the ‘30s and ‘40s. Featuring familiar favorites such as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “Isn’t It Romantic”, this cabaret is a perfect blend of nostalgia and romance performed by some of the region’s top talents, Martha Omiyo Kight, Kay Hight, and Francis Banks.

SUBMIT EVENTS TO ANIKO@INSIDEPUBLICATIONS.COM

provided by Green Valley Theatre Company Christopher Cook, Designer

Donald Kendrick Music Director

Chiang