MAY 18
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Oak Park in the Rain by Patris
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Construction Is Underway The City of Sacramento, Department of Utilities and its construction contractors are working on water meters, water mains, and water service lines in the area. Visit www.MetersMatter.org to learn more about the project and to find out what may be happening in and around your neighborhood. This work may result in: • Traffic delays • Sidewalk closures • Construction-related dust and noise This work addresses the State’s mandate for water meters to be installed on all water services. Thank you for your cooperation on this very important project. Contact us for more information: www.MetersMatter.org Meter Information Line: 916-808-5870
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INSIDE THE GRID @insidepublications
MAY 18
VOL. 2 • ISSUE 12
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This painting will be featured in a May gallery show called “The Broadway Rain Series.” Opening reception for the show is on Saturday, May 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. Patris Studio Gallery at 3460 2nd Ave. in Oak Park is home to weekly drawing and painting classes, and she coordinates artist workshops, art exhibits, and other community events. Patris also features her own artwork, along with works by several other prominent local artists. Visit artist-patris.com.
Patris (Patti Miller)
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EAST SACRAMENTO McKINLEY PARK RIVER PARK ELMHURST TAHOE PARK CAMPUS COMMONS
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NOW
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Sacramento’s First All Organic Distillery
Distilling A Legacy One Bottle at a Time 2
For a Beautiful Home. In a Beautiful World.
Our 16,000 ft NEW gleaming distillery is now open for tastings, tours and event rental J.J. Pfister used to say a product can only be as good as its base ingredients. That’s why we start with organically grown potatoes from Noonan Farms in the Klamath Basin. J.J. Pfister and Noonan Farms have a passion for quality produce and environmental sustainability. Nitrogen is mother nature’s fertilizer and migrating birds provide plenty of it. Noonan’s farming methods call for flooding fields prior to cultivation, creating wetlands that attract birds which in turn help feed the soil organically. That’s why J.J. Pfister donates a percentage of profits to help create wildlife in the Klamath Basin.
Tastings: Fridays 3 – 7 pm Sat Noon – 7 pm 9819 Business Park Drive Contact Gail Keck for details or space reservations (503) 939-9535 9819 Business Park Drive www.jjpfister.com
Professional Cleaning, Repairing & Appraisals. Complimentary Consultation in Your Home SACRAMENTO 2550 Fair Oaks Boulevard (916) 486-1221 ROSEVILLE 1113 Galleria Boulevard (916) 780-1080
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MAY 18 EVERY DAY IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THIS CITY A LITTLE BETTER
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TO DO
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PUBLISHER'S DESK
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LIFE ON THE GRID
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RESTAURANT INSIDER
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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
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GIVING BACK
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GALA TO BENEFIT NATURE CENTER
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GETTING THERE
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BUILDING OUR FUTURE
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HOME INSIGHT
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SPORTS AUTHORITY
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INSIDE CITY HALL
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CITY BEAT
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MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR
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SHOPTALK
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FARM TO FORK
Photo courtesy of Aniko Kiezel
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Theatre in the Heights will perform “Twelfth Night” this month.
TO DO THIS MONTH'S CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS
“Twelfth Night” Theatre in the Heights Through May 20 8215 Auburn Blvd. • theatreintheheights.com Under the direction of Blake Flores, one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies of mistaken identities, love and high jinks comes to life.
jL By Jessica Laskey
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“Modern Masters: Red Hot” Sacramento Ballet May 25–27 The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave. • sacballet.org The ballet’s annual salute to new choreography will get your blood pumping. The program will feature Ma Cong’s “Blood Rush,” set to music by Latin composer Astor Piazzolla, Ron Cunningham’s “Bolero” and “Fluctuating Hemlines,” an irreverent collision of 1960s fashion and 21st-century mores.
“Praise and Jubilation” Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra Saturday, May 12, 8 p.m. Community Center Theater, 1301 L St. • sacramentochoral.com Give Donald Kendrick a warm send-off at his Sac State farewell concert after 33 years at the helm. Program highlights include the West Coast premiere of Dan Forrest’s “Jubilate Deo,” Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances” and guests Sacramento Children’s Chorus and Sacramento State Choirs with soloists Rachel Songer, Anne-Marie Endres and Shawn Spiess.
“Abstract Beauty” Tim Collom Gallery May 8–31 915 20th St. • timcollomgallery.com This exhibition features Deborah Rhea’s photography and multimedia installations along with husband Daniel Schoorl’s oil paintings and whimsical assemblages. Author E. S. Wynn will participate in a reading with the Queer Sacramento Authors Collective.
Author E. S. Wynn Queer Sacramento Authors Collective Friday, May 25, 7–9 p.m. Lavender Library, 1414 21st St. • qsac.rocks Join this newly formed group—founded by author J. Scott Coatsworth—of Sacramento-area queer and/or queer-fiction authors for four readings a year. This reading features E. S. Wynn.
“Becoming a Woman in the Age of Enlightenment: French Art from The Horvitz Collection” Crocker Art Museum May 13–Aug. 19 216 O St. • crockerart.org This exhibition examines the many paths and stages of women’s lives in the art of 18th-century France through works by Fragonard, Boucher, Watteau, Greuze and others.
Opportunity Drawing Fundraiser Mercy General Hospital Guild Wednesday, May 23 Casa Garden Restaurant, 2760 Sutterville Road The all-volunteer guild’s major annual fundraiser will offer prizes that include a one-week vacation in Sonoma wine country and one night at Hotel Donatello in San Francisco. The event raises money for scholarships for junior volunteers as well as specialized equipment to enhance patient care. For tickets, call Vicki Diepenbrock at (916) 201-8041.
Daniel Schoorl's artwork will be on display at Tim Collom Gallery in Midtown.
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Grace Hudson’s untitled painting from 1898 will be auctioned off at Witherell's.
RSVP Spring Concerts benefit future farmers.
Judy Bujold in Conversation
The American West at Auction
Genealogical Association of Sacramento Wednesday, May 16, 12:15 p.m.
Witherell’s Auction House Preview: Tuesday, May 8, 1–4 p.m. Live and online: Thursday, May 17, 10 a.m.
Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive • gensac.org Speaker Judy Bujold will share tips on how to preserve, scan and organize family photos.
Jazz Night at the Crocker Crocker Art Museum Thursday, May 17, 6:30 p.m. 216 O St. • crockerart.org Kick off this summer’s Jazz Night at the Crocker series with Capital Jazz Legacy, the original seven members of Capital Jazz Project, which was formed in 1997 with a mission to bring high-quality music to the Sacramento region.
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1925 C St. • witherells.com Bid on a newly discovered painting by Thomas Hill, a Grace Hudson oil painting of a Pomo child and a Hawaiian landscape by Horatio Nelson Poole, among other artworks.
The Sacramento Saturday Club Presents Scholarship Winners Crocker Art Museum Sunday, May 13, 3 p.m. 216 O St. • crockerart.org The Sacramento Saturday Club—the oldest musical organization in the city—selects five worthy piano, vocal, string, woodwind and brass students from area colleges each year to perform a classical repertoire.
Image of Square Root Academy. Image of Midtown Farmers Market.
“Concert of Remembrance”
“I Will Sing a New Song!”
Camerata California Sunday, May 27, 4 p.m.
River City Chorale Friday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 2100 J St. • cameratacalifornia.net This performance will feature Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”
Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3235 Pope Ave.
Sunday, May 6, 4 p.m. St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 7869 Kingswood Drive, Citrus Heights • rivercitychorale.org This spring concert celebrates the community choir’s 41st year performing in the region and features music by composers Thompson, Copeland and Rutter as well as Verdi’s “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” sung in Italian. The Friday performance will also showcase the Arden Middle School Choir.
Modeling Hope Fashion Show Fundraiser FosterHope Sacramento Thursday, May 24, 5:30–8 p.m. Macy’s Downtown, 414 K St. • fosterhopesac.org This event will feature wine, hors d’oeuvres and Macy’s fashions modeled by locals to raise money for the nonprofit California foster family agency FosterHope Sacramento.
Spring 2018 Concert Series Reconciliation Singers Voices of Peace May 11–19 Multiple locations • rsvpchoir.org RSVP’s free spring concerts will raise money and awareness for the Center for Land-Based Learning, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating future generations of farmers, agricultural leaders and natural-resource stewards.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n
Crocker exhibit showcases women of 18th century France.
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Unrealized Promise of Proposition 47
T
he weeks after two police officers fatally shot unarmed Stephon Clark have been heartbreaking for Sacramento. The case is undergoing investigation by the Sacramento Police Department and District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. The state attorney general’s office also plans to conduct its own investigation and review. The Sacramento County DA is the elected chief law enforcement officer of the county and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases. I interviewed Schubert just after Clark was shot. But that was not the reason for our interview. Instead, I wanted to get Schubert’s take on the region’s homelessness problem. A number of people have recently suggested that the situation worsened after state voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014. The proposition’s official title was “Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. Initiative Statute.” Supporters referred to it as “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” and that is the name that appeared on the ballot. But the reality is not what that name promised to state voters.
Anne Marie Schubert
CH DA SHUBERT EXPLAINS WHY PROPERTY CRIME HAS RISEN
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By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk
“WE ARE DEFINITELY SEEING AN UPTICK IN REPORTED PROPERTY CRIMES IN THE COUNTY AND ALL OVER THE STATE. AND THAT IS JUST WITH REPORTED CRIMES. MANY VICTIMS DON’T EVEN BOTHER TO REPORT CRIMES BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES.”
The proposition reclassifies some previous nonviolent felony offenses into misdemeanors. These offenses include shoplifting, writing bad checks and drug possession. The proposition allows individuals to steal up to $950 repeatedly, with only misdemeanor consequences. The measure also requires that money saved as a result of the measure be spent on school truancy and dropout prevention, victim services, mental health and drug-abuse treatment, and other programs designed to keep offenders out of prison and jail. It was also designed to reduce prison populations and save the state money. Schubert and almost every other DA and law enforcement agency in the state opposed Proposition 47. Opponents of the measure said it would make our neighborhoods and schools less safe and would make meaningful prosecution of certain crimes less likely. “I believe in reforms, and when it passed we vowed to follow the new law,” said Schubert. “Prop. 47 promised money for individuals with drug problems, but they have not yet benefited from any money in our county.” Schubert explained that Prop. 47 created state funding for treatment programs through a grant process.
She said that while Sacramento County submitted an outstanding grant application, it was never awarded a dime. “It also took away the tools we had to incentivize folks to accept treatment programs,” said Schubert. “Incarceration is an important tool to help drug users get into treatment. Prop. 47 makes it more difficult to get those folks treatment. “We are definitely seeing an uptick in reported property crimes in the county and all over the state. And that is just with reported crimes. Many victims don’t even bother to report crimes because there are no consequences.” With the felony threshold at $950, small-business owners have told me that thieves are careful not to exceed that limit when they commit crimes. The business owners don’t even bother to report such crimes because they are considered misdemeanors. “People supported Prop. 47 because they thought we could get people off drugs,” said Schubert. But recent experiences make one wonder if Prop. 47 has brought about more drug use and crime. “I’ve attended community meetings in diverse areas all over the county,” said Schubert, “and the complaints are always the same: homeless
populations increasing, plus more garbage, drugs and alcohol and crime on the streets.” Schubert said these civic problems exist across all race, ethnicity and income demographics. “There is little doubt that with more individuals on the street, there will be more crime. I’m all for rehabilitation. But with Prop. 47, we now lack the incentives to get people back on track.” People tend not to get involved in public-safety issues until they have been personally affected. More and more people are being personally affected. “Prop. 47 is just one challenge we face,” said Schubert. “We also have Prop. 57, which lessens prison sentences and terms of parole, and now the legalization of recreational marijuana.” One thing is for certain: There are always unforeseen consequences with all well-meaning reforms. Schubert has been the district attorney for almost four years and is up for re-election this June. She is a career prosecutor with 28 years of experience. When she first ran in 2014, her platform was Prosecution, Prevention and Innovation. I asked her about some of the things she has done to improve life in Sacramento.
“We’ve done a great deal, including developing programs to reach atrisk kids early on that we know are working,” said Schubert. “In the last year, we have developed a chronic nuisance-offender program that works with the Sheriff’s Department to deal with repeated low-level criminals.” Countywide, there are dozens of programs and partnerships for youth, small businesses, neighborhood resources, combatting human trafficking and more. Many are new under Schubert’s leadership; others continue the work of her predecessor, Jan Scully. Statewide, Schubert is known as an innovative DA. Schubert grew up in Sacramento and said she has no ambitions beyond her current position, which she said she loves. She strives to build good relationships and works with officials on both sides of the political aisle. Shubert has been endorsed for reelection by the city's mayor and every member of the city council. She is certainly tough on crime but is more socially liberal. And she’s a mom to two growing sons. “My hope is to continue to be a part of improving the lives of all the children in our community,” she said. Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. n
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Five Thiebaud paintings will be preserved through the Crocker Art Museum conservation project.
Art for The Ages CROCKER TO PRESERVE THIEBAUD PAINITNGS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
JL By Jessica Laskey Life on the Grid
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C
rocker Art Museum is conducting a conservation project of five iconic paintings by one of America’s most beloved artists, Sacramento native Wayne Thiebaud. The oil-on-canvas paintings contained in the Crocker’s permanent collection are being glazed and reframed, thanks to a $15,000 contribution from Bank of America.
Known for his bright palette, consumerist imagery and graphic presentation of food, common household objects and landscapes, Thiebaud paints using a thickly layered process called impasto, which requires careful preservation for the paintings to both age and travel well. Two of the paintings are scheduled to travel to Museum Voorlinden in the Netherlands later this year.
Each of the paintings will be placed behind Optium Museum Acrylic, which is nearly invisible and protects the paintings from dirt, excessive exposure to light and touching. “If we take preventive steps now, we can protect these treasures so that future generations will be able to enjoy and appreciate them just as we do today,” says the Crocker’s
associate director and chief curator, Scott A. Shields. For more information, visit crockerart.org.
FREE YOGA EVENTS OFFERED IN MIDTOWN If you’re looking for a way to try out yoga, check out the free yoga classes in Fremont Park on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. The classes are a partnership between Midtown Association and Yoga Moves Us, a nonprofit organization that champions yoga and healthful habits. The partnership also offers First Friday Flow yoga events at 6 p.m. on the first Friday of each month starting May 4 on the exterior grounds of Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. “We’re always looking for fresh ways to invite the community to explore what we have to offer, experience our uniquely Midtown vibe and linger longer in our amazing district,” says Emily Baime Michaels, Midtown Association’s executive director. Both events are free and open to people of all ages and ability levels. Attendees are encouraged to bring
yoga mats and water bottles. Classes will continue through September. Fremont Park is at 1515 Q St. Sutter’s Fort is at 2701 L St. For more information, go to facebook.com/miyosacramento or exploremidtown.org.
MIDTOWN FARMERS MARKET GROWS The Midtown Farmers Market recently expanded with more offerings and space. The market, which was launched in 2013, grew a half-block in size to accommodate up to 90 farmers, growers and vendors. The market, which takes place on 20th Street between J and L streets, now extends from J Street to Kayak Alley. The market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, go to exploremidtown.org.
NOT SO AWESOME Awesome Video, one of Sacramento’s last video rental shops, is closing its doors after 24 years. Owner Maithu Bui says she’s sad to be closing, but “video and movie streaming services have made
it impossible to continue.” She encourages customers to drop in to say farewell, as she’d love to see the families she’s served for more than two decades before the doors close for good. The store stopped all rentals on April 9 and reopened April 15 to sell its inventory. This is good news for film buffs who want to add to their personal archives: The store is well known for its collection of rare DVDs and boasts a large collection of documentary, foreign, classic and children’s films. The store will remain open every day from noon to 6 p.m. until all the movies are sold or Memorial Day— whichever comes first. Awesome Video is at 4524 Freeport Blvd.
YOUNG MAKERS LEAVE THEIR MARK Square Root Academy hosted its second annual Great STEM Summit on March 24 at Sam & Bonnie Pannell Community Center. Square Root Academy is a nonprofit organization based on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). It educates underrepresented youth on the fundamentals of STEM while emphasizing collaborative learning, innovation and academic excellence. This year’s summit featured a maker zone and workshops from engineering firm Brown and Caldwell, Intel and Square One Clubs. For more information, go to squarerootacademy.com. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n
Check out free yoga in the park classes.
INSIDESACRAMENTO.COM
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Mas Mexican NEW OUTPOST OF ZOCALO DOESN’T DISAPPOINT
T
he UV shopping center at Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard has had its share of good dining over the decades. When
GS By Greg Sabin Restaurant Insider
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I was growing up, Chinois, the first restaurant in the area to use the word “fusion” on its menu, called it home. Later, the incomparable Bandera moved in, and it still thrives, serving slabs of rotisserie meats and the best French dip on the planet. For thirsty diners, Capitol Beer and Tap Room, one of the best beer rooms in the city, moved in a few years ago. Recently, after an extensive, yearslong renovation, the dining scene moved up yet another notch. Along with a few fast-casual spots, The UV
now sports a Zocalo to anchor its west side. This is the third location for the local Mexican eatery. Opened more than a dozen years ago in Midtown, the original Zocalo offers a sophisticated take on Mexican dining along with a dramatic design and impressive interiors. In 2012, the second Zocalo opened in Roseville in the Fountains shopping center. This new location is deceptively large. From the outside, you’d be forgiven for thinking the space might be a little cozy. But open the
front door and you’re met with an enormous dining room and huge patio. There’s a four-sided bar with room for 40, and a kitchen big enough to handle all the traffic easily. The space is impressive, and not just because of its size. Stamped ceilings, wall sculpture, room-high columns and other epically sized design elements make you feel like you’re somewhere. The four-sided bar with its oversized four-sided television offers a happening place to watch a game with some friends.
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“NOODLE NIGHT”
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The menu is roughly the same at each of the three Zocalos. It features a substantial selection of Mexican favorites with a smattering of specialty dishes and upmarket offerings. On the more pedestrian side, you’ll find things like a taco salad—better than most, but not a showstopper—as well as quesadillas with cheese and chicken. My fairly picky friend, Mel, opted for the taco salad and loved it. The rest of the table went a little off the beaten path. The fish tacos are some of the best in town. Fried Baja style, they’re fresh, hearty and bright, with just a touch of acid and a touch of heat. They come pretty close to matching my favorite fish taco in town, at Midtown’s Cantina Alley. A significant amount of care goes into the enchiladas. Topped with house-made mole (a savory Mexican sauce made with chilies, chocolate, dried fruits and nuts) or a surprisingly complex red chili sauce, the dish is simple but well prepared. Sometimes, you find an item at a restaurant that’s too good. “Too good” means you order that one thing each time you eat at that restaurant and
never try anything else. For me, at Greg Sabin can be reached at Zocalo, that’s the cochinita pibil. It’s gregsabin@hotmail.com. n a stunning piece of pork, smoked and lacquered in a sauce made of achiote, citrus and herbs. The gorgeous chunk of meat is topped with fresh arugula and pickled red onions. The whole thing is a masterpiece: tender, spicy, sweet, citrusy and indulgent. I most likely will never order anything at Zocalo again now that I have tasted its glory. The bar menu is what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant: heavy on the margaritas. But a selection of tequila- and mezcal-based drinks, including a cheeky tequilabased Old Fashioned, rounds out the cocktail menu nicely. You’ll also find a surprisingly robust wine list and a few obscure Mexican craft brews that are both difficult to find and top-notch. For a restaurant open only a few months, the service is on point and the kitchen well organized. It’s what you would expect from a restaurant group with more than 20 years on the local restaurant scene and a reputation for quality.
2319 K Street | Midtown Sacramento | 916-737-5767
Skoolonkstreet.com | @Skoolonk
Zocalo is at 466 Howe Ave.; (916) 252-0303; zocalosacramento.com.
INSIDESACRAMENTO.COM
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Doing the A
Hustle
JOSE DI GREGORIO WORKS HARD TO MAKE ART
rtist Jose Di Gregorio is a big fan of the h-word: hustle. The Puerto Rico native uses hustle in every aspect of his daily life—as an artist, a father of two girls, a resident of Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street and a member of Hacker Lab, a maker and coworking space. “With art, you don’t ever clock out,” says Di Gregorio. “I can’t not do it—it becomes so innate.” Di Gregorio, who moved to California at age 4, didn’t intend to become an artist. A skateboarding and snowboarding aficionado, he was more sports oriented until a ruptured Achilles tendon at age 25 sidelined him. Out of boredom, Di Gregorio started to draw and write poetry. That led to a fascination with film and photography. Before he knew it, he was earning a bachelor’s degree at Herron School of Art & Design at Indiana University-Purdue University. “I never took school seriously as a kid,” Di Gregorio says. “But when I not only got into art school but also received scholarships and grants, I started to evolve.” In 2004, Di Gregorio was accepted to a summer program at the PontAven School of Contemporary Art in France. Traveling around Europe and taking in the art at landmarks like the Louvre, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel caused him to consider just what kind of art he wanted to make. “I started with figurative because I had the technical skills to render a figure with accuracy,” Di Gregorio says. “But seeing all the art throughout Europe made me realize that I didn’t really have an aesthetic that I truly believed in. I started
JL By Jessica Laskey Artist Spotlight
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doing nonrepresentational line work and drip paintings—more organic and curvilinear in nature. I loved the process of seeing the paint move around.” After finishing school in 2006, Di Gregorio moved back to California and continued to work on his newfound medium. When traveling with large-scale drip paintings became difficult, he scaled back to drawing, creating mock landscapes with “crudely drawn rainbow lines.” From there, he started to focus on the lines themselves, creating technically accurate patterns that look like the geometry of a computer program but are done completely freehand. Di Gregorio’s use of clear, crisp measurements to make his paintings look even more mechanical caught the eye of Hacker Lab co-founder Eric Ullrich. “Eric said, ‘You create this rad work. Let’s see how that translates from paint markers and wood panels to acrylic plastic and laser cuts,’” Di Gregorio recalls. He started a residency at Hacker Lab around the same time he became one of the first residents of WAL, the subsidized artist apartment complex completed in 2015. “I’m taking my images a step further now in mechanical renderings
of my work. I put an image of my work into Photoshop, then create a vector file, then I laser cut that. That’s what’s so incredible about Hacker Lab: It gives you access to all of these amazing tools.” Di Gregorio also paints murals. He participated in last year’s Sacramento mural festival, Wide Open Walls, painting a wall outside Beatnik Studios. And in 2016, he helped out on a mural by Portuguese artist Add Fuel (Diogo Machado) on the east wall of Faces nightclub on K Street. “I pride myself on my versatility,” Di Gregorio says. “I try to schedule time for a little bit of everything. If a project comes up, I take it.” The 44-year-old artist is preparing for several big projects this spring, including shows at First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco and Anohaao Gallery in Goteborg, Sweden; a show and mural workshop in Helsinki, Finland; and a show and mural in Cleveland, Ohio. Add to that commissions and plenty of projects in process and you can tell why Di Gregorio is such a fan of the h-word. “I’m really fortunate to be in a place where I can sustain myself just enough to work on my next project,” Di Gregorio says. “It’s fantastic for my daughters to see the inner
workings of everything—to see what it takes to sustain yourself. If you fail, keep going. You do what you gotta do. Art encompasses everything I do and who I am.”
To see more of Jose Di Gregorio’s work, visit josedigregorio.com. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n
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M
By Bike or Trike MERCY PEDALERS PROVIDE SUPPLIES AND COMPASSION TO THE HOMELESS
ichael Saeltzer has done plenty of volunteer work in his time. He’s helped out at his kids’ school, and he founded East Sac Give Back, which raised money to rebuild McKinley Park Playground when it burned to the ground in 2012. But he didn’t feel satisfied. “I wanted to go out there and do something more profound and intimate—to give back in a tangible, meaningful way that nourished me at the same time,” he says. So when the East Sac real-estate broker read about Sister Libby Fernandez, who served as executive director of Loaves & Fishes before founding Mercy Pedalers in 2017, something clicked. “After 25 years serving the homeless at Loaves & Fishes, she decided she needed to look beyond that and reconnect with the people she’d been serving for so long,” Saeltzer says. “The Mercy Pedalers do just that: We’re a hyperlocal bicycle ministry that goes out and meets people on the street. I always say that I don’t represent an organization; I’m just a Mercy Pedaler. I’m here to give you a cup of coffee and items you might need like socks, sunscreen and mosquito repellent.” Mercy pedalers are bicyclists and tricyclists who ride around town and reach out to people experiencing homelessness on Sacramento streets. Their primary goal is to call them by name and share a moment of true connection—something that deeply satisfies Saeltzer in a way he didn’t expect. “For me, it’s a sacred interaction with someone I wouldn’t ordinarily come across,” Saeltzer says. He’s involved his daughters in the effort; they send donations they collect to Sister Libby and accompany Saeltzer on his rounds down Alhambra Boulevard to hand out bags of supplies they prepared at home. “When we pass homeless people now, my daughters talk about them differently,” he says. “It helps humanize things. They feel like they’re making a real difference.” Volunteering for Mercy Pedalers allows him to see the impact he can make in a small, meaningful way. Unlike some volunteer organizations, Mercy Pedalers doesn’t have a quota of hours a volunteer must work. There are no set working hours as long as service falls between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saeltzer says this takes the pressure off and allows him to simply be present with the people he’s serving. “If you want to do it, you can,” he says. “You do it when you can, and when you can’t, it doesn’t count against you. The whole goal is to take the time to approach people with dignity and build trust and offer help. Just a little tiny help—that’s all you need.” For more information about Mercy Pedalers, go to mercypedalers.com. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n
JL Michael Saeltzer
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By Jessica Laskey Giving Back: Volunteer Profile
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Gala To Benefit Nature Center PARKWAY GEM HOSTS JUNE 9 FUNDRAISER
By Susan Maxwell Skinner
Canvases donated by high-profile Sacramento artists like (from left) Pat Mahony, Marcy Friedman and Boyd Gavin will be auctioned for the benefit of Effie Yeaw Nature Center.
E
ffie Yeaw Nature Center will hold its annual Art Where Wild Things Are fundraiser on Saturday, June 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $100. The event includes an art show, auction and gala with a sunset supper on the grounds of the nature center. Artist Pat Mahony and her husband, Randy Getz, are this year’s honorary chairs. The auction will feature works by Mahony, Boyd Gavin, Jian Wang, David Peterson, Gregory Kondos, Maria Winkler and Terry Pappas. Celebrated landscapist Earl Boley will be remembered with a canvas donated by his widow, Susan Leith. Keith McLane of KLM Auctions will oversee the auction. From May 15 to June 2, Sacramento Fine Arts Center will
hold a juried Art Where Wild Things Are exhibition, with Gavin and Marcy Friedman serving as jurists. The nature center and its preserve welcome almost 100,000 visitors a year. “The center has a special history in this community,” says retired Effie Yeaw executive Betty Cooper. “Caring supporters keep us open and available for future generations.” Part of the funds raised on June 9 will provide free nature enrichment programs for schools that could not otherwise afford them. For more information about the gala, go to sacnaturecenter.net. To learn about the Sacramento Fine Arts Center exhibition, go to sacfinearts. org. Susan Maxwell Skinner can be reached at sknrband@aol.com. n
A study of Carmichael Creek by Jian Wang will be auctioned at the June 9 gala.
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23
Cars Versus People
IN THIS BATTLE, THE CARS ARE WINNING
T
he Terminator” movie series was based on a war between humans and machines. Are we already in such a war? Despite the conveniences that cars provide, they often seem pitted against humans. The struggle rages on many fronts and is literally a matter of life and death. If we are at war, it’s pretty clear which side is winning. The casualties on the human side are staggering. Around the globe, 1.25 million people are killed in vehicle crashes each
WS By Walt SeLfert Getting There
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year. In the United States, more people have been killed and injured in vehicle collisions than in all U.S. wars combined. According to Wikipedia, there have been 666,000 U.S. combat deaths in American wars from the Revolution nearly 250 years ago to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In just the past 20 years, more than 700,000 Americans have died in traffic crashes, and 50 million more have been injured. Cars are inanimate. Drivers are people, so they are involved on both sides in this war. We decide how we want to travel. Americans vote for cars with their dollars and usually veto walking with their feet. We own millions of cars and don’t walk or bike much. There are more than a quarter billion registered vehicles in the United States—more vehicles than licensed drivers. Most trips are made
by car. Across the country, only about 15 percent of trips are made by foot, bike or transit. But the battlefield has long been tilted toward cars. Huge resources have been allocated to widening roads and building new freeway interchanges. Meanwhile, pedestrian and bicycle projects have been underfunded, getting a smaller share of money than their proportion of trips. Automobile parking, while never free to provide, is almost always available at no cost and represents a substantial subsidy and incentive to drive. Gas taxes don’t cover the costs of road construction and maintenance, so car use has been further subsidized by sales and other taxes. It doesn’t have to be this way. Americans who always drive at home find that when travelling in Europe,
they can easily get around without a car by using trains, public transit and walking. A car there can be a costly encumbrance instead of a convenience. In Europe, 70 percent of trips shorter than a mile are made by foot, bike or public transportation. In the United States, 70 percent of those short trips are made by car. The Greenlining Institute, an Oakland-based advocacy group, recently issued a report: “Mobility Equity Framework: How To Make Transportation Work for People.” Report author Hana Creger says, “Good transportation planning starts with human needs and figures out how to meet those needs. Too often, planners have focused on cars, resulting in projects that actually harm communities rather than meeting their needs.”
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The toll of the car-versus-people battle is not measured in human casualties alone. Besides the direct effect on human life, our focus on cars degrades neighborhood quality of life through noise, health and aesthetic impacts, harms the environment and, not trivially, consumes huge portions of individual and government budgets. Car use contributes to social isolation, limiting people’s interactions with their neighbors. The Sacramento region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan and companion Sustainable Communities Strategy have many high-minded policies related to environmental quality, economic vitality, financial stewardship, equity and access, and mobility. Those are fine goals, but at the same time, the California Environmental Quality Act, in a legal misstep, perversely made car needs and drivers’ comfort more important than real environmental impacts and effects on human lives. That’s an example of the disconnect between transportation planning and fundamental human values such as caring for the planet
and our own health, happiness and overall well-being. A continuing problem is translating ideals into actual transportation projects and then building the projects that do the most good. Cars have too often been prioritized over people. It’s hard to see a car-oriented strip mall as a thing of beauty or a community enhancement. Being able to drive as fast as we want on local streets or finding a free, convenient parking space isn’t essential to our pursuit of happiness. Car-centric transportation not only doesn’t create livable neighborhoods; it may prevent them from existing. Cars should be our servants, not our masters. Until we put people first and human values foremost, we can’t expect to wind up with the kind of safe, serene and attractive places where most people truly want to be. Walt Seifert is executive director of Sacramento Trailnet, an organization devoted to promoting greenways with paved trails. He can be reached at bikeguy@surewest.net. n
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Remembering Ali A VIBRANT YOUNG DEVELOPER HELPED BUILD UP SACRAMENTO
Ali Youssefi at WAL when it first opened
JV By Jordan Venema Building Our Future
I
n February I reached out to local developer Ali Youssefi to talk about mixed-income housing for an article. Though we’d exchanged emails and sometimes spoken by phone, we’d never actually met in person. Youssefi was diagnosed with cancer in July, but he still suggested we meet over coffee. I didn’t know Youssefi personally, and except by reputation I hardly knew him at all. Youssefi had always been thoughtful and considerate, but in person he exuded a magnetic
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and subtle quality that I’ve struggled since to define. It was like discovering an old friend. That meeting would be both our first and our last, and a month later Youssefi lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 35. The news of his death took the breath out of me. I read the quickly published articles and flood of tributes on online, and though I wanted to share my own thoughts, I decided to leave those
words to the people who knew him better. Two weeks after Youssefi’s death, I was speaking with Rob Watson, one of the co-owners of Camellia Coffee Roasters, a company that for two years had been trying to open a brickand-mortar operation Downtown. According to Watson, the delay was causing Camellia to lose wholesale accounts to other roasters. “We needed a saving grace,” he said.
That grace came suddenly as a lease in Youssefi’s WAL Public Market, where the roasters opened in mid-February. I asked Watson how, after nearly two years waiting to open at another location, they so quickly and easily settled in WAL. But I already knew the answer. Youssefi had a way of making things possible for others. “You would never have thought Ali was the landlord,” said Watson. “He made us feel comfortable.” And that was Youssefi’s way, which I had often heard about secondhand but discovered personally when we met in February. Though an incredibly busy and successful developer, he didn’t just give others his time and attention—Youssefi believed in them, and he worked for their success. “He was there to help us like a good parent,” Watson recalled. “He just made it very easy. He didn’t have to, but he legitimately wanted to.” Trisha Rhomberg, co-owner of Old Gold, another business in WAL, agreed. “Most people only care about the bottom line, but he gave a shit, and I am grateful for that,” she said. “Ali went above and beyond to make people happy, and he desired to improve the quality of life for all people in Sacramento. “You just never have that relationship with a developer,” she
added through tears. “But I felt like we were on the same team, and so I was motivated to do things because I wanted to make him happy and to know that he was appreciated for all he gave us.” You see, Youssefi didn’t just develop buildings: He created community. “I’m grateful that I’ve had a place that feels like home, and I wouldn’t have that or a sense of family and community if it weren’t for Ali,” said Rhomberg, who also lives at WAL. Last year, Roger Klein traded his La Jolla beachside bungalow for a humble unit in WAL. Though he has worked in London and Hollywood, designing clothing for the likes of David Bowie and Elton John and managing artist Charming Baker and photographer Chris Levine, Klein said he’s never been happier. “For the very first time in my 65 years of life, I feel safe and looked after and that I belong to a kind, giving community,” he said. “I feel like I came home.” When we met in February, Youssefi expressed his desire to build for all Sacramentans by creating inclusive environments where people could thrive. With WAL, he flipped the model of mixed-income housing, offering 75 percent of its units at low-income rates. His goal wasn’t just to make rent affordable but also to
make Sacramento cool, a place where people wanted to be. Youssefi’s cousin, Ali Setayesh, whose business Kechmara Designs also leases in WAL, posted a tribute on Instagram that perhaps most perfectly and succinctly captures Youssefi’s significance to Sacramento and Sacramentans. “My little brother, the most beautiful soul in the entire universe,” wrote Setayesh, “every time I wanted to leave Sacramento you built me something just to keep me here beside you.” “He was like a brother to me,” Setayesh said over the phone. “Ali was the best human being in this world. Hands down. And people don’t even really know.” Setayesh was right. I don’t know, and yet not knowing, I could already agree with him. There was something about Youssefi and his presence that his death left Sacramento feeling a bit empty. As Rhomberg said, “I’m just not as motivated because now I don’t feel like anybody cares, and I knew he really did.” Klein, who had applied for a vacant seat on the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, agreed. “I had written Ali about [the application a week before his death], but now that he’s now longer around, it just doesn’t seem as important,” he said.
Anecdotes can only hint about his character, that in his last weeks Youssefi was buying thank-you cards at Old Gold, emailing letters of introduction on behalf of Klein and meeting with an impetuous writer over coffee to talk about the future of the city to which he had dedicated his all-too-short life. We have those anecdotes, but otherwise a summingup of Youssefi is difficult to put into words. “I can’t really describe to you that feeling I got from Ali, even knowing him for a short amount of time, the amount of respect and love that I had,” agreed Watson, his voice trailing off. “For me, you just can’t really describe it.” But I understand what Watson meant. Before I met Youssefi, I respected him; by the time we parted, I felt an affection that I can only describe as a kind of love. After our interview, I asked about his health, and he explained that he had changed his diet and begun meditating as soon as he received the diagnosis. He looked healthy, I said, and I felt convinced he would
beat this. Already 15 minutes late for another meeting, Youssefi offered, “Let me know if you want to get together again, and feel free to send me an email or set up another time to talk.” That was Ali: always giving. I grew up religious, and I kept that conviction sincerely most of my life. But other than for my son before his bedtime, I hadn’t prayed for anybody, or in general, in years. After we said goodbye and I got in my car, I said a prayer for Ali. My prayer wasn’t answered, but in that moment a man I hardly knew rekindled in me a part of myself that I had thought was dead. It seems like such a small thing when compared to everything he’s done for this city, the structures that he has built, but that was Ali’s way: improving Sacramento and the lives of those in it. For that he will be remembered, and also sorely missed. Jordan Venema can be reached at jordan.venema@gmail.com. n
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Big Dreams COUPLE’S NEW HOME IS INSPIRED BY FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE
B
efore the drywall went up in the master bedroom of their new home in Carmichael, Tom King and Evelyne Jamet inscribed their first names and a heart between the two-by-fours. Married only four years, the couple made the symbolic gesture as a testament to their love as well as their
CR By Cathryn Rakich Home Insight
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journey to create a life together. “We were obviously very happy building our dream home,” says Jamet. King and Jamet, who both work in the world of real-estate mortgages, began looking for their “married home” in Carmichael and the Arden area not only so they could stay close to their jobs, but because they love the location. “We were thinking about buying an existing home,” notes Jamet. “We looked at some lovely houses, but nothing was sticking out. We never thought of building until we came here.” Jamet first spotted the new subdivision, dotted with decades-old olive trees, while driving by on Fair Oaks Boulevard. Inspired by the French countryside, the small enclave
is slated for 13 semicustom homes. “The next thing you know, we started talking to the architect,” says Jamet. On what was a vacant lot when the couple purchased it now sits a 4,100-square-foot two-story home with four bedrooms, each with its own dedicated bathroom, plus a powder room off the kitchen. Because the homes are semicustom, the couple had the opportunity to choose several of the exterior finishes and to virtually customize the interior. “It was fun to be able to create and choose everything inside,” comments Jamet. The French-country theme was especially important to Jamet, whose parents are from France and came to the United States in their 20s. Following that concept,
Jamet incorporated special touches throughout the home, such as a polished marble farmhouse kitchen sink embellished with a raised floraland-leaf pattern. “I just love it. It looks so French to me,” she says with a smile. Even the exterior landscape was designed with European flair. “When everything grows in, I hope it has a French-country-garden feel. That’s the goal.” Other touches include cathedral ceilings with large wooden beams, smooth plaster walls, natural stone floors and countertops, and an abundance of windows that let in natural light. An open-concept living area has room for two large dining tables. “We like to entertain and have parties for dinner, so it was important
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to have a big dining room,” remarks King. A professional-grade kitchen, wine room, pantry, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and covered patio with an outdoor fireplace create the ideal home for entertaining. As empty nesters, the couple did not set out to own such a large home. “But we really love it,” says Jamet. “We thought when our kids are home, we will have space for them. And if we need space for our parents as they age, we will have it.” After a full 16 months from purchase to completion, the couple and their two miniature Australian shepherds, Sadie and Cooper, were ready to move in. King and Jamet credit the smooth process to architect Mark Grohm and builder Steven Evans. “He was amazing to work with,” Jamet notes about Evans. “He was very upfront with us,” adds King. “He said this is hands-on, so I need your input throughout the way. He was fantastic.” “People say it is really stressful to build a home,” comments Jamet. “There are so many decisions. But it was a lot of fun for us.” King is quick to give his wife much of the credit. “Evelyne has a lot of contacts in interior design. So many people offered to help, but she said, ‘I think I got this.’ Every single touch in this house—from light fixtures to tile—has Evelyne on it.” “And luckily Tom likes my taste,” Jamet points out. “It’s not always easy to fill a house or to remodel if you don’t have a good relationship with your spouse.” “As I say,” adds King, “she has never had a swing and a miss.” Cathryn Rakich can be reached at crakich@surewest.net. n
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The King of Local Sports
Del Rodgers
TV SPORTSCASTER DEL RODGERS FOCUSES ON THE HOMETOWN
D
el Rodgers has been broadcasting sports news on KCRA for 21 years, and during that impressive run, no high school athlete in the Sacramento region has dropped a pass, struck out, missed a layup or fumbled. At the same time, countless local young athletes have intercepted passes, scored game-winning shots and hit towering home runs. When Channel 3 cameras capture those feats, Rodgers is delighted to describe
RG By R.E. Graswich Sports Authority
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the action. But proudly and decisively, he has never embarrassed a high school student by highlighting their mistakes. “Somebody had to throw the pass that got intercepted, but I will never mention that kid’s name,” Rodgers says. “That kid feels bad enough. His teammates know it. His friends and family know it. I was a high school athlete, and I know how it feels.” Rodgers was more than a high school athlete. He was a star running back at The University of Utah and reached the NFL. He played for the Green Bay Packers under Bart Starr and the San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh. He won a Super Bowl ring in 1989. It was at the Super Bowl where Rodgers’ new career took flight. A TV station in his hometown of Salinas
asked him to serve as a correspondent and conduct interviews with teammates. The material he created was fun and unique. The station asked him to consider a broadcasting career as his playing days wound down. “I had no interest in journalism or communications,” Rodgers says. “But I talked to Bill Walsh, who was getting ready to retire. He and George Seifert, who was going to replace Bill, told me I had a year or two left, but a TV career would be for life.” The problem was, a full-time broadcasting job was nothing like the stuff Rodgers produced at the Super Bowl. As a professional sportscaster, Rodgers found himself barely able to speak on camera. He didn’t know how to dress for TV. He froze. “It was pretty rough,” he says.
Fortunately, Rodgers was friendly with two politicians who hung around the 49ers and did know how to speak on camera: Rusty Areias and Willie Brown, both in the state Assembly at the time. “Rusty was always making speeches at places like the Dairy Farmers Association of Los Banos and the Kiwanis Club of Modesto, and he took me with him,” Rodgers says. “He made me get up and speak. I was really nervous. Unbelievably nervous.” Rodgers sweated out three “very rough” years in Salinas and was hired by KIRO in Seattle. Continuing to improve, he began to attract national attention and moved to WXIA in Atlanta. Finally, Channel 3 recruited him as sports director.
After working in big markets filled with major-league teams, Rodgers had to adjust to Sacramento. He decided to focus on high schools and local colleges and did something rarely seen on local TV: He made time for women’s sports. The emphasis on high schools, UC Davis, Sacramento State University and women’s sports would serve Rodgers well. Social media disrupted traditional media and made it easy for fans to follow major-league sports without watching local TV. “We’ve stayed relevant because we focus on the locals,” he says. “High school football is king, but women’s softball is huge here. There’s a ton of interest.” Despite his love of local sports, Rodgers isn’t afraid to criticize when he sees something wrong. He gets angry about the number of football games played by high school teams, believing it harms players. “Folsom played 16 games this past season,” he says. “That’s what NFL teams play, and they have training staffs to help players recover and
prevent injuries. Why are kids playing 16 games? That’s too many.” And there’s the Kings. Like other Sacramento sports fans, Rodgers has grown tired of watching the team instantly fall apart in every new season. But he believes Kings ownership should be patient with its coach and top players and blend veterans with young talent—even though it’s tough on fans. “I know the fans don’t want to hear about being patient. They are paying top dollar for their tickets. Being patient isn’t easy when you’re paying big money,” he says. Beyond local sports and the Kings, Rodgers knows his viewers want some enjoyment from his broadcasts. He always tries to close with something humorous. Rodgers is 57 and getting stronger as a broadcaster. He’s never bored and still has fun at work. After 21 years in one market and one station (an extraordinary feat in TV), the nervousness is mostly gone. R.E. Graswich can be reached at reg@graswich.com. n
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An Incendiary Tragedy
SACRAMENTO IN TIMES OF PROTEST AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
T
he death of Stephon Clark was pure tragedy. The facts are well known: A late-night call to 911 on March 18 reported that someone was breaking car windows on a street in Meadowview. A sheriff’s helicopter was dispatched to the area, spotted the suspect and reported by radio that he had a “tool bar.” Two Sacramento police officers then chased the suspect until they cornered him in a
CP By Craig Powell Inside City Hall
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backyard, where the police believed he was trying to enter a home through a sliding glass door. The officers, one white and one black, rounded the corner of the house into the backyard and spotted the suspect near the house. They briefly retreated back around the corner of the house before quickly re-entering the backyard and yelling “Put your hands up! Gun!” That was followed immediately by the officers firing 10 shots each (emptying their clips) in Clark’s direction. The officers said they saw him threatening them with a gun. The backyard was very dark, lit up only by the officers’ rapidly moving flashlights and a roving spotlight from the helicopter above. The episode was captured on both officers’ body cams, as
well as the video recorder on the sheriff's helicopter. Both the police department and the sheriff’s department released all of the video recordings in just three days, much faster than the 30-day video release requirement the City Council imposed last year as a package of police reforms adopted in the aftermath of the much-criticized police slaying of Joseph Mann, a mentally ill man who was wielding a knife on the streets of North Sacramento on July 11, 2016. The sheriff’s prompt release of the helicopter video of the Clark shooting came as a surprise as it has been the department’s practice not to publicly release video in officer-involved shootings. According to a private autopsy ordered by the Clark family, eight
of the 20 shots struck Clark, one striking him in the neck and likely spinning him around, resulting in six bullets striking him in the back and one in his left thigh. (The county’s official autopsy report and toxicology screen had not been released as of our print deadline.)
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTING The officers waited an excruciatingly long time before approaching and examining the supine and nonresponsive Clark, and they waited even longer to call for emergency medical response. When the officers finally turned Clark over, they found his cellphone lying underneath him, but no gun.
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Six minutes after the shooting, the officers turned off the mics to their audio recorders for reasons so far unknown. The police department has not disclosed what the officers say they said during the time their mics were muted. Three weeks after the shooting, police chief Daniel Hahn ordered his officers to never mute their body mics until the conclusion of an incident and its investigation, except under narrowly defined circumstances, such as receiving the permission of a superior officer. Officers muting their mics must now record why they’re muting their mics before they do so. Clark, just 22 years old, was a graduate of Sacramento High School, where he played cornerback and wide receiver. He was the father of two children. Since 2014, he’d been charged in four criminal cases, including robbery and battery of a cohabitant. The home he was trying to enter on March 18 belonged to his grandparents. These are all interesting facts, but none is relevant to the question of whether the police
shooting of Clark was lawful or appropriate. The police didn’t know of Clark’s criminal record, nor did they know that the home he was trying to enter belonged to his grandparents. Since the audio recordings didn’t capture any statements by the officers that identified them as police, some believe that Clark may not have been aware that he was being pursued by the police. That is possible, but it’s hard to give the view much credence given the continuous presence of a helicopter hovering directly above Clark, shining its spotlight down upon him as he fled his pursuers. Nevertheless, to eliminate even a shadow of doubt in the mind of a suspect over who is pursuing him, it seems to me that officers should always loudly and, if possible, repeatedly identify themselves as police to the person they’re pursuing—except when a stealthy pursuit and capture is warranted by the particular facts, such as in a hostage situation.
PROTESTS, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND THE RULE OF LAW In the days and weeks following Clark’s death, Sacramento was convulsed with angry and sometimes unruly, even ugly protests, primarily in Downtown. But for the most part, the marches were peaceful. For several afternoons, protestors effectively ruled the streets of Downtown; police did nothing to keep protestors from blocking the streets. In fact, the police frequently moved ahead of the protestors to shut down intersections in the path of the crowd, inconveniencing a significant number of drivers. On the first night of marches, protesters invaded the ramps of I–5 at I and J streets and shut down all freeway traffic for a mile in each direction. Shutting down freeways is a popular protest strategy of Black Lives Matter, the global activist movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. Blocking freeways certainly draws greater public
attention to BLM grievances. The Sacramento Bee has published dozens of articles on the street protests and blockages. But drawing attention to a cause is quite different from getting people to sympathize with your cause, particularly those you keep captive in their automobiles or prevent from attending basketball games at Golden 1 Center. Protestors unlawfully blocked ticketholders from attending two Kings games on successive nights. The blockages stopped only when the Kings owners agreed to help fund the education of Clark’s two children. Black Lives Matter protestors have been arrested in other California cities for blocking freeways, but local police are, by and large, loath to arrest otherwise peaceful protestors, rightly concerned that arrests could inflame an already combustible situation. A retired Sacramento police officer told me that in dealing with protestors, “You have to decide what hill you’re willing to die on. Yes, they’re violating the law, but we have to use our best judgment in the moment. Will arrests turn a largely peaceful protest into a potentially
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mayor to “shut the f--- up!” No officer intervened. When protestors outside the chambers continued to bang loudly on the windows of the council chambers, the mayor adjourned the council meeting and abruptly left the chambers with his council colleagues. Stevante Clark subsequently apologized to the mayor for his behavior and sought mental-health help in dealing with his brother’s death. A few days later, the mayor promised that “never again” would he allow a council meeting to be so disrupted. True to his word, at a council meeting on April 10, the mayor did not hesitate to have the police eject the first protestor who sought to disrupt the meeting. No further disruptions ensued.
THE ROAD FORWARD
uncontrollable one that could put the safety of people in greater danger?” Following the shutdown of I–5 on the first evening of protests, the California Highway Patrol the next night deployed a phalanx of officers at the base of I–5 ramps at I and J streets. Protestors declined to cross the CHP lines and freeway traffic was unaffected. Street blockages from protests, on the other hand, continued periodically for weeks following the shooting.
on duty largely retreated inside, leaving the outside metal detector unattended. The meeting itself was disrupted when Clark’s grief-stricken brother, Stevante Clark, charged through the council chambers, climbed up onto the dais and sat directly in front of the mayor while addressing the packed council chambers. When the mayor tried to speak, Stevante Clark told the
If the March 27 meeting was the council’s low-water mark, the April 10 meeting was perhaps its high-water mark so far this year. The council asked Hahn to address 11 questions on the minds of councilmembers, all of which mirrored public concerns with the shooting death of Stephon Clark. They included questions on protocols for chasing suspects, de-escalating confrontations with suspects and using lethal force; the intensity of officer training programs; and rules on providing emergency lifesaving medical care to injured suspects and for muting audio mics.
CITY HALL MELTDOWN The scene at the March 27 meeting of the Sacramento City Council was a stunning and chaotic spectacle— and a low-water mark for order, decorum and safety at a council meeting. In anticipation of a large crowd of protestors, metal detectors were set up at two locations: one at the regular location just outside the council chambers and a second one just outside the courtyard entrance to City Hall. When the crowds surged the exterior doors to City Hall, the undermanned squad of police officers
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THE COUNCIL EXPRESSED ALMOST UNIVERSAL SUPPORT FOR A RETURN TO NEIGHBORHOOD- OR COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING TO RESTORE COMMUNITY TRUST AND ALLOW OFFICERS TO GAIN GREATER FAMILIARITY WITH THE COMMUNITIES AND CULTURES IN WHICH THEY WORK.
Hahn answered all of the questions candidly and thoroughly. He then cataloged the extensive and impressive number of police reforms that have been implemented by the council and his department in the aftermath of the police slaying of Joseph Mann nearly two years ago. The tragic subtext of his comments, however, was that these reforms did nothing to prevent the tragic death of Stephon Clark. The council expressed almost universal support for a return to neighborhood- or community-oriented policing to restore community trust and allow officers to gain greater familiarity with the communities and cultures in which they work. The police chief acknowledged that the number of police officer positions currently authorized—745—is 55 officers below the number employed by the city eight years ago. But even when the police department employed 800 officers, Sacramento was substantially underpoliced, with fewer police officers per capita that other U.S. cities of comparable size. The most impactful comments, I think, came from the council’s oldest councilmember, Larry Carr, an African-American and a former career intelligence officer with the U.S. Army who represents Valley Hi and Meadowview, where Clark lost his life. Carr said, “There’s not a black person I know who doesn’t have a ‘story,’” meaning a story of an unjust encounter with the police. He also said he doesn’t “know a parent who hasn’t had ‘the talk’ with their children.” He was referring to black parents talking with their children about not putting themselves in a position of being unjustly harmed by the biased perceptions of the police on account of their race. Sobering and consciousness-raising comments from perhaps the council’s most respected member. Craig Powell is a retired attorney, businessman, community activist and president of Eye on Sacramento, a civic watchdog and policy group. He can be reached at craig@ eyeonsacramento.org or (916) 7183030. n
READERS NEAR & FAR
1. Lucas and Linnea Gerkovich in front of the USS Midway Aircraft carrier in San Diego harbor 2. Laurie Rios and Rita Gibson in Ethiopia 3. Bob Gosselin at the 5th Marine Division monument on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima 4. PJ Balsley in the Makati district of Manila, Philippines 5. Kathy & Andy Kingsbury on the top of Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, New Zealand
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The June Election INCUMBENT JAY SCHENIRER FACES OPPOSITION IN RUN FOR COUNCIL SEAT
Tamika L’Ecluse
J
ay Schenirer remembers when life as a Sacramento City Council member wasn’t so good. The economy had collapsed and the city’s budget was a mess, with substantially more money flowing out than coming in. Police officers were being laid off. Fire stations were
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closed. Parks were neglected. The Kings’ owners were trying to sell and move the basketball team. Plans for a new arena in the Downtown railyards were going nowhere. If that wasn’t enough bad news, homeless people were camping on Downtown streets. Storefronts were
boarded up. Local schools were failing to educate the neediest kids. And City Council members were fighting among themselves. Such was life eight years ago, when Schenirer arrived at City Hall after a surprising victory in the District 5 council race. He wasn’t supposed to win. Despite experience as a member of the Sacramento City Unified School District’s Board of Education, Schenirer was a political outsider. Labor unions and many local elected officials endorsed his opponent. Today, Schenirer is running for a third term. He says, “It’s an exciting time to be on the City Council. The council is working together. We are moving the city forward and getting some exciting work done.” Schenirer has been an active member of the council. He helped guide the city back to solvency, pushed millions of dollars into District 5 for parks and sports fields, promoted health services in Oak Park with a program called WayUp Sacramento, created youth programs such as Summer @ City Hall, and worked on solutions for homelessness. Still, he faces opposition in the June 5 primary. Schenirer is challenged by an energetic preschool teacher, Tamika L’Ecluse, who is supported by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a former City Council colleague. Also running is Joseph Barry, a graduate student at Sacramento State University. Barry says Schenirer has done “an inadequate job” representing residents. L’Ecluse isn’t making it personal. “If I make it to City Council, I want
to take my direction from the people of District 5,” she says. “There are so many people who have been left out of the recovery. I want to focus on homelessness and accessibility to jobs, and restore bus routes that were cut.” L’Ecluse has a compelling personal narrative, but she’s a novice in the political arts. She has been active as a community organizer and with Oak Park Neighborhood Association but has never run for public office. Born into a military family at Mather Air Force Base, she looked after herself from a young age. Her father abandoned the family when L’Ecluse was a child. When the Air Force sent her mother on deployments, L’Ecluse lived with various families and eventually settled into the International Baccalaureate program at Mira Loma High School. By age 17, she was living alone in an apartment at 17th and N streets, working as a restaurant server and attending community college. An interest in early-childhood education led her to the Montessori Training Center in Shingle Springs, where she was certified to work with preschoolers. She worked 10 years at a Montessori preschool in Midtown. L’Ecluse’s focus on homelessness and public transportation is familiar to Schenirer. He worked
RG By R.E. Graswich City Beat
SPRING GALA & ART AUCTION
Benefiting the American River Natural History Association and Effie Yeaw Nature Center
SATURDAY, JUNE 9
ARNHA and the Sacramento Fine Arts Center present
“Art Where Wild Things Are”
Join Artists, Nature Lovers and Philanthropists to Raise Funds for the Nature Center On the beautiful grounds of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, guests will enjoy a live & silent auction, delicious food, wine and art of the American River Parkway and its wild things.
Art Show Judges Boyd Gavin Marcy Friedman
Honorary Gala Chairs Pat Mahony Randy Getz
Auctioneer
Keith McLane,
KLM Auctions
Tickets $100 per person. Pre-registration required. Purchase tickets by calling 916-489-4918 or at www.SacNatureCenter.net
June 9, 2018 5pm to 8pm
with former Mayor Kevin Johnson on homelessness and holds a collaborative role with Mayor Darrell Steinberg, whose flagship mission is getting people housed. As for Regional Transit, local elected officials rotate through the authority’s board. Schenirer was chair two years ago, when general manager Mike Wiley was replaced by Henry Li. “My two-year term as board chair at RT is probably the most important work I’ve done, but very few people know about it,” Schenirer says. “The agency was in far worse shape than most people realized, including the board. We spent an incredible amount of time and energy putting things back in the right direction.” Schenirer’s biggest missteps have been political. He picked fights with Curtis Park developer Paul Petrovich and the watchdog group Eye on Sacramento, whose founder, Craig
Powell, is a columnist for Inside Publications. “Looking back, there are a few things I would do differently,” Schenirer says. The candidates have worked hard to run their campaigns on issues. While L’Ecluse promotes her eagerness to listen, Schenirer emphasizes his plans for economic development, opportunities for young people and housing. When L’Ecluse says, “I want to get people involved with changing their city in a positive way,” she gets no argument from the incumbent. “I’m proud of my contribution, especially each time I leave the arena and walk down K Street after a Kings game,” Schenirer says. “But a lot of the work we started isn’t finished.” R.E. Graswich can be reached at reg@graswich.com. n
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SP S PR ING IN NG NG SE SEA S EAS ASO ASON A SON S ON ON
22 22
Donald Kendrick, Music Director
Praise and Jubilation
GUEST CHORUSES
Sac State Choirs Sacramento Children’s Chorus
ast t Co Wes IERE
PRE
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Jubilate Deo | Dan Forrest Te Deum | Dvorak Ancient Airs and Dances | Respighi Rachel Songer, Soprano Anne-Marie Endres, Soprano Shawn Spiess, Baritone
Sat, May 12 at 8 pm
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Pre-concert talk 7 pm
A cavalcade of choirs, soloists and full orchestra unveil high energy, beauty and thanksgiving celebrating MAESTRO KENDRICK’S retirement from Sac State. Sac Community Center Theater | CCT BOX OFFICE | 916.808.5181
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No Kidding TWO LOCAL MOMS CREATE A BOOK ON THINGS TO DO IN SAC
BY STEPHANIE M. BUCK MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR
A
Sabrina Nishijama with sons Milo and Andrew.
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fter her first son was born, Sabrina Nishijima hated how much time she spent on her phone. She wasn’t idly scrolling through Facebook or laughing at memes; she was looking for fun things to do with her child in Sacramento. Even after she’d stumble across an activity or two, she’d feel indecisive and frustrated. “What are you looking at, Mom?” her son, Milo, finally got old enough to ask. Then he started looking over her shoulder at the phone, too. So Nishijima gathered some promising outings into a spreadsheet for quicker reference. To cut down on screen time, she printed off the pages. That worked better, but it still wasn’t easy to flip through on the run. “I didn’t want to write a book,” says Nishijima. But she’d already started. She self-published “1,001 Things To Do in Sacramento With Kids (And the Young at Heart)” on Valentine’s Day. Now, a day rarely passes when she doesn’t flip through her own book for ideas. Nishijima lives a few blocks east of McKinley Park with her husband and two boys. Milo is now 7, and Andrew is 3. In the eight years they’ve owned their home, the family has installed a tire swing and a free little library topped with potted succulents. The boys play badminton on a portable net in the driveway. Their three-legged long-haired Chihuahua sniffs on a long pink leash. The front yard alone is full of life. But boredom can come on fast with young children. That’s one of
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the reasons Nishijima left the book’s adventures in random order. “We do a lot of things on the spur of the moment,” she says. Flipping through one or two pages is all she has time for. “I don’t think it’s only me. I think all parents are spontaneous all the time.” Among the hundreds of entries, parents will find options for all weathers, seasons and energy levels.
Explore 200 plant species in the vernal pools at Mather Field, roast marshmallows and listen to native Maidu stories, tour a local radio station, borrow instruments from the library or careen down cement slides on flattened cardboard. For the latter, bring bike helmets, suggests the book’s illustrator, Sarah Golden, who lives in Oak Park.
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A mother of twin girls, Golden captured the unpretentious, whimsical spirit of the book and its author with a tribute to Sacramento recreation. On the cover she sketched both women’s dogs, a flock of swans and lots of trees. (Nature experiences are prominently featured in the book.) “It’s just about family and fun,” says Golden. But “1,001 Things To Do” doesn’t only highlight destinations around town. It was important to Nishijima that families know “it’s OK to hang out at home alone.” In her household, picking and juicing oranges from their backyard tree amounts to a simple, almost mystical experience that her boys adore. In the end, one of Nishijima’s few criteria was that an activity or location had to appeal to adults as well as children of all ages.
(She tucked in listings for kidfriendly wineries.) Should a family miraculously make it through every entry, a bonus section lists 101 destinations for daylong or weekend excursions around Northern California. Given another year, Nishijima believes she could amass an additional 1,000 or so ideas. She plans to include these on the book’s website, in newsletters or in future print editions. After all, the less scroll time, the better. “1,001 Things To Do in Sacramento With Kids (And the Young at Heart),” written by Sabrina Nishijima and illustrated by Sarah Golden, costs $16.95. Buy it online or see a list of vendors at sactownkids.com. Stephanie M. Buck can be reached at stephmbuck@gmail.com. n
AMONG THE HUNDREDS OF ENTRIES, PARENTS WILL FIND OPTIONS FOR ALL WEATHERS, SEASONS AND ENERGY LEVELS.
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Counting Sheep HIGH-QUALITY SLEEP SYSTEMS FOR THE HEALTHIEST ZZZ’S
S
ince 2002, European Sleep Design and its owners, Jill and Chip Huckaby, have offered the greater Sacramento area something that every one of us desperately needs: a good night’s sleep. The Folsom-based store specializes in California-made, high-performance mattress systems designed in the European style with Europeansourced components that are engineered for ergonomic support, luxurious comfort and value. Here, Jill Huckaby explains why their sleep system is where you need to lay your head tonight. What makes your mattress systems different? We start with a zippable cover and an open mattress design. You won’t find plastic foams, fillers or vinyl airbags in our mattresses—only breathable and resilient natural Talalay latex, organic stretch cotton and wool for breathability and temperature regulation. We don’t use chemical fire retardants—wool is a natural fire barrier—so you won’t be exposed to harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds). We use a highly flexible, European pocketed-coil and microcoil system, which allows hips and shoulders into the mattress while contouring to your lower back. We use a flexible, adjustable slat system
JL By Jessica Laskey Shoptalk
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below the mattress that moves with the shifting planes of your body for greater pressure relief—it gives you a “floaty feel.” My clients who are big-hipped, smallwaisted women often mention that they’ve never felt this kind of conformation to their bodies. Why are those features so important? The ingredients in your mattress make all the difference in the world, from how it is able to support you in a neutral spinal alignment to how long it’s going to be able to do so. You have to ask yourself what is important to you. Is avoiding VOC off-gassing or sleeping hot—which can raise your resting heart rate—important to you? Then you may not want memory foam in your list of ingredients. How long do your mattresses last? Our mattresses are functionally designed with long-life components to resist premature wear and hold their shape for years longer. When customers come in every few years to replace their Oxygen Pillows and we ask them how their mattress is doing, sometimes 13 years down the road, they’re happy to report that it’s still
Chip and Jill Huckaby
going strong. It’s very rewarding to know how durable and comfortable our design and materials remain. What do I need to know if I’m in the market for a new sleep system? We’ve done the research so you don’t have to. Our articulate, noncommissioned staff have a sincere interest in helping you. We understand body mechanics and how to assess proper alignment and support. We even take you through a “personal fitting.” Dress comfortably and we’ll do the rest. What else does your store carry? We love our Oxygen Pillows, which are specially designed to properly support the head and neck for better
breathing because they’re personally fitted to each person. (There are 15 different sizes.) We also carry eco-certified bedding, locally made hardwood bedroom furniture and we’ve recently built out the store to expand our motorized adjustable bed offerings—conditions like sleep apnea and acid reflux can be greatly improved just by elevating the head of your mattress. After 16 years in business, our product line hasn’t changed a lot because we know what we do and we do it well. European Sleep Design is at 6606 Folsom-Auburn Road. For more information, go to sleepdesign.com. Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. n
Art Preview GALLERY ART SHOWS IN MAY
Sparrow Gallery presents “Tropic of Cancer,” featuring works of Adele Shaw, from May 11 to June 1. Shown above left: “Light Study.” 1021 R St.; sparrowgallerysacramento.com Artistic Edge Gallery presents work by Jonathan Lowe, Carolyn Junge, Cynthia Hayes and Bill Reed through May 31. Shown above right: “Spring Flowers” by Junge. 1880 Fulton Ave.; artisticedgeframing.com Tim Collom Gallery presents an exhibition called “Abstract Beauty” with Deborah Rhea’s photography and multimedia installations and Daniel Schoorl’s oil paintings and whimsical assemblages. Shown right center: “Bumpass Hell 4” by Rhea. 915 20th St.; timcollomgallery.com An exhibit of artwork by Christopher Douglas will be at CK Art through May 31. Shown right bottom: “Azteca.” 2500 J St.; ckart-gallery.com Northern California Arts presents “Artistic Journey,” a juried membership show, through May 13 at Sacramento Fine Arts Center. Shown below: “Leaving the Village” (best of show) by Steve Memering. 5330 Gibbons Drive; sacfinearts.org
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Jason Levens, CEO and chief grower, with son Aldon
He Puts Water To Work
THIS HYDROPONIC FARMER GROWS TENDER GREENS WITHOUT SOIL
I
’m inside a shipping container located in a residential neighborhood. On both sides of the aisle, rows and rows of tender plants—heads of lettuce, herbs and microgreens—grow in trays. They bask under energy-efficient LED lights, which bathe everything in a red-tinged glow. A thin film of water flows past the plants’ roots, providing nutrients, while fans circulate the air. Jason Levens, 36, the founder of Aldon’s Leafy Greens, spends a lot of time in this engineered environment, tending his hydroponically grown charges, but he loves the work. “Every single plant in here I’ve seeded,” he says. When I Google “hydroponics,” I discover it comes from the Greek words for water and work: water working. It is a way to grow plants in water, without soil. Levens and his wife, Sophia, purchased property in Fair Oaks, called Urban Art Farm, more than a
AK By Angela Knight Farm to Fork
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year and a half ago. Along with the shipping container and a cottage, it supports 22 olive trees and various pieces of outdoor art. They live in a modern home on the property, which was designed by Sage Architecture for the original owners. A gallery space runs through the middle of the house, but the walls are a blank slate. The couple’s young son, Aldon, uses the hallway like a track. A large red yo-yo hangs from a tree in the backyard. It belonged to the previous owners, but the Levenses wanted to keep it. A flock of chickens, as well as a collection of red wigglers (Levens is also into vermiculture, a method of decomposing organic waste using worms), reside nearby. Next year, Levens wants to start an annual canning party to preserve the olives from their trees. He also plans to develop a soil-based garden to grow edible flowers as well as different kinds of vegetables for his family. For now, the company’s edible flowers are grown off-site. Before they moved to Fair Oaks, he and his wife were living in a tiny apartment in Noe Valley. That shipping container is miles from San Francisco and Levens’ “corporate job” at Shaw Industries; he gave up city life and a sales career to move back home and start an urban-agriculture
business. “I got tired of the whole corporate market,” he says. He grew up in Folsom and attended Fair Oaks Elementary School. He’s pursuing a degree in applied horticulture, and he’s working on becoming a master gardener. In the future, he wants to be a consultant for other indoor growers. A taste test revealed that I’d likely fail at identifying greens. To my embarrassment, carrot tasted like celery to me, but thankfully pea shoots looked and tasted like peas; nasturtium shoots were strong tasting, as you might imagine, so Levens saved them for last. I savored too many varieties to keep track, and I was busy chewing, but some stood out: red-veined sorrel and romaine, wasabi and daikon radish. Everything was crisp and fresh and red, under the lights, and I pictured the microgreens topping everything from sushi to dessert. Levens says he can identify the plants he grows based on taste and can identify the seeds by sight.
Local chefs occasionally drop by the shipping container to sample product. I’m sure they could pass the taste test. The budding business means a lot to Levens. “It’s my baby,” he says. He brushes his hand across the microgreens, as if smoothing a young child’s hair. This Renaissance man grows 25 or so varieties of microgreens, four or five varieties of lettuce and about 10 herbs in that engineered space, using nutrient film technique, or NFT.
Mark Levens, business partner and right-hand man
for 71 years
Spring bouquet Design Class May 5, 2018
Relles
VISIT
Mothers happy
8th Annual Fundraiser Benefiting Triumph Cancer Foundation
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Specializing in making
JUNE 9TH 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Join us at Helwig Winery for a special evening. Enjoy great food, wine & music while supporting a local nonprofit dedicated to helping cancer survivors!
Gourmet Picnic Dinner Selland’s Market & OBO Italian
A 14-piece Tribute to Michael Jackson!
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2400 J Street 441-1478 Here’s a simplified explanation of NFT: The plant roots absorb necessary nutrients from a thin film of water, which is circulated by pumps. Microgreens are grown on what Levens calls “baby blankets,” or organic fibers, while lettuce is nestled in rock wool—a growing medium. According to the company’s website, Levens uses products approved by
Featuring Foreverland!
OMRI, the Organic Materials Review Institute. And he’s picky about his greens. “I feed my son this,” he says. The system can be controlled from a control panel or Levens’ iPhone. He changes the water every month, but contrary to the hydro part of the word, hydroponics uses very little of the stuff. Levens’ father, company cofounder Mark Levens, estimates the ship shipping container can yield the same amount of p produce as an acre
of land over a year. It’s also cool in the summer, which is an advantage. Other potential advantages? A sterile environment with no pesticides, herbicides or GMOs; the ability to grow greens year-round; it uses less space and less water than traditional soil-based gardening; and there are no weeds. Potential disadvantages? It’s expensive to set up; it requires constant monitoring; there can be a huge learning curve.
Red romaine under LED lights
You can taste Aldon’s greens at local restaurants, including Mulvaney’s B&L, Kru, Mother and Localis, and purchase them at Taylor’s Market in Land Park. Find Aldon’s Leafy Greens on the web at aldonsleafygreens.com. Angela Knight can be reached at knight@mcn.org. n
Microgreens Red-veined sorrel
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INSIDE’S
R STREET Café Bernardo 1431 R St. • (916) 930-9191 B L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Casual California cuisine with counter service • cafebernardo.com
Fish Face Poke Bar 1104 R St. Suite 100 • (916) 706-6605 L D $$ Beer/Sake Humble Hawaiian poke breaks free • fishfacepokebar.com
DOWNTOWN Cafeteria 15L 1116 15th St. • (916) 492-1960 L D $$ Full Bar Classic American lunch counter with a millennial vibe • cafeteria15l.com
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 400 P St. • (916) 400-4204 Small-batch coffees brewed from beans harvested within the past 12 months • chocolatefishcoffee.com
de Vere’s Irish Pub 1521 L St. • (916) 231-9947 L D $$ Full Bar Family-run authentic Irish pub with a classic menu to match • deverespub.com
Downtown & Vine 1200 K St. #8 • (916) 228-4518 L D $$ Educational tasting experience of wines by the taste, flight or glass with tapas and small plates • downtownandvine.com
Ella Dining Room & Bar 1131 K St. • (916) 443-3772 L D $$$ Full Bar Modern American cuisine served family-style in a chic, upscale space • elladiningroomandbar.com
Esquire Grill 1213 K St. • (916) 448-8900 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Outdoor Dining Upscale American fare served in an elegant setting • paragarys.com • esquiregrill.com
Firestone Public House 1132 16th St. • (916) 446-0888 L D $$ Full Bar Sports bar with a classical American menu • firestonepublichouse.com
Frank Fat’s 806 L St. • (916) 442-7092 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Chinese favorites in an elegant setting • fatsrestaurants.com
Ma Jong’s Asian Diner 1431 L St. • (916) 442-7555 L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Cuisine from Japan, Thailand, China ad Vietnam. • majongs.com
Grange Restaurant & Bar 926 J St. • (916) 492-4450
Iron Horse Tavern
B L D $$$ Full Bar Simple, seasonal, soulful • grangesacramento.com
1800 15th St. • (916) 448-4488
Hock Farm Craft & Provision
L D $-$$ Full Bar Gastro-pub cuisine in a stylish industrial setting • ironhorsetavern.net
1415 L St. • (916) 440-8888
Magpie Cafe
L D $$-$$ Full Bar Celebration of the region’s rich history and bountiful terrain • hockfarm.com
1601 16th St. • (916) 452-7594
South
L D $$-$$$ Wine/Beer Seasonal menu using the best local ingredients • magpiecafe.com
2005 11th St. • (916) 382-9722
Shoki Ramen House
L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Timeless traditional Southern cuisine, counter service • weheartfriedchicken.com
1201 R St. • (916) 441-0011
L D $$ Full Bar All things local contribute to a sophisticated urban menu • theredrabbit.net
Paragary’s 1401 28th St. • (916) 457-5737 L D $$ Full Bar Fabulous Outdoor Patio.,California cuisine with a French touch • paragarys.com
Revolution Wines 2831 S St. • (916) 444-7711 L D $-$$ Beer/Wine Urban winery and tasting room with a creative menu using local sources • revolution-wines.com
Skool 2319 K St. • (916) 737-5767 L D $$ Beer/Sake Inventive Japansese-inspired seafood dishes • skoolonkstreet.com
Suzie Burger 2820 P St. • (916) 455-3500 L D $ Beer/Wine Classic burgers, cheesesteaks, shakes, chili dogs, and other tasty treats • suzieburger. com
THE HANDLE
Tapa The World
1001 Front St. • (916) 446-6768
The Rind
L D $$-$$$ Full Bar American cuisine served in a casual historic Old Sac location • fatsrestaurants.com
1801 L St. #40 • (916) 441-7463
L D $-$$ Wine/Beer/Sangria Spanish/world cuisine in a casual authentic atmosphere, live flamenco music • tapathewworld.com
OLD SAC Fat City Bar & Cafe
Rio City Cafe
L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Cheese-centric menu paired with select wine and beer • therindsacramento.com
1110 Front St. • (916) 442-8226
Zocolo
L D $$ Full Bar Bistro favorites with a distinctively Sacramento feeling in a riverfront setting • riocitycafe.com
1801 Capitol Ave. • (916) 441-0303
The Firehouse Restaurant 1112 Second St. • (916) 442-4772 L D $$$ Full Bar Global and California cuisine in an upscale historic Old Sac setting • firehouseoldsac.com
Ten22 1022 Second St. • (916) 441-2211 L D $$ Full Bar American bistro favorites with a modern twist in a casual Old Sac setting • ten22oldsac.com
Willie’s Burgers 110 K St. • (916) 573-3897 L D $ Great burgers and more • williesburgers.com
L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Patio Regional Mexican cuisine served in an authentic artistic setting • zocolosacramento.com
2115 J St. • (916) 442-4353
Thai Basil 2431 J St. • (916) 442-7690 L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Patio Housemade curries among their authentic Thai specialties • thaibasilrestaurant.com
The Waterboy
MIDTOWN Biba Ristorante 2801 Capitol Ave. • (916) 455-2422 L D $$$ Full Bar Upscale Northern Italian cuisine served a la carte • biba-restaurant.com
2000 Capitol Ave. • (916) 498-9891 L D $$-$$$ Full Bar Patio Fine South of France and Northern Italian cuisine in a chic neighborhood setting • waterboyrestaurant.com
OAK PARK
Café Bernardo
La Venadita
2726 Capitol Ave. • (916) 443-1180
3501 Third Ave. • (916) 400-4676
B L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Casual California cuisine with counter service • cafebernardo.com
L D $$ Full Bar Authentic Mexican cuisine with simple tasty menu in a colorful historic setting • lavenaditasac.com
Centro Cocina Mexicana 2730 J St. • (916) 442-2552
Oak Park Brewing Company
L D $$ Full Bar Patio Regional Mexican cooking served in a casual atmosphere • paragarys.com • centrococina.com
3514 Broadway • (916) 660-2723
Easy on I
Vibe Health Bar
1725 I St. • (916) 469-9574
3515 Broadway • (916) 382-9723
L D $-$$ Full Bar American eats, including BBQ, local brews & weekend brunch • easyoni.com
B L D $-$$ Clean, lean & healthy snacks. Acai bowls are speciality. Kombucha on tap • vibehealthbar.com n
2009 N St. • (916) 661-6134 L D $-$$ Wine/Beer Wood-fired pizzas in an inventive urban alley setting • federalistpublichouse.com
Hot Italian 1627 16th St. • (916) 444-3000 L D $$ Full Bar Authentic hand-crafted pizzas with inventive ingredients, gelato • hotitalian.net
Mulvaney’s Building & Loan 1215 19th St. • (916) 441-6022 L D $$$ Full Bar Modern American cuisine in an upscale historic setting
THE GRID MAY n 18
2718 J St. • (916) 706-2275
L D $$ Beer/Wine Japanese fine dining using the best local ingredients • shokiramenhouse.com
Federalist Public House
46
The Red Rabbit
L D $$ Full Bar Award-winning beers and a creative pub-style menu in an historic setting • opbrewco.com
TIME TO SELL YOUR HOME? ARE YOU READY TO PURSUE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YOUR LIFE? With low inventory being the leading narrative during this current real estate market, deciding to sell your home now can potentially maximize your home's Resale Value. Take control of your real estate transaction by utilizing a Realtor that knows how to properly market and negotiate the Sale of your Home in this current real estate climate. Call or email today for a Free Consultation and Free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) Report of your home! I appreciate the opportunity to earn your business. DORNE JOHNSON, Keller Williams Realtor, can be reached at: Phone: (916) 717-7190 Email: SacRealtor@yahoo.com
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COLDWELL BANKER SHINING IN EAST SAC! 2bd/1ba, 1010sf hm, dual pane windows, 2 car gar & near coffee shops. $474,900 JEANINE ROZA & SINDY KIRSCH 916.548.5799 or 916.730.7705 CalRE#: 01365413/01483907
SIERRA OPAKS RANCH! 4 beds, 2.5 bath, 2 jreplace, updated throughout, swimming pool and fully landscaped. 2400+/-SQFT. $799,000 MIKE OWNBEY 916.616.1607 CaBRE#: 01146313
OUTSTANDING RIVER PARK! 2bd hm on almost 1300sf, living rm w/frplc, & dining w/French doors to patio. $499,000 ELISE BROWN & POLLY SANDERS 916.715.0213 CalRE#: 01781942/01157878
SOLD
STUNNING SACRAMENTO RIVER! Situated between the majestic Sac River & Teal Bend Golf Course. 2 bds w/open krpln, jnished concrete krs. $530,000 MAGGIE SEKUL 916.224.541 CalRE#: 01296369
L STREET LOFTS! Premium majestic 2-stry penthouse loft w/balcony, great living space, 18’ ceilings, granite & stainless kitch. $977,000 MICHAEL ONSTEAD 916.601.5699 CalRE#: 01222608
WONDERFUL TREE-LINED STREET IN LAND PARK! 3 lrg bdrms, 3 full baths, an ofjce adjacent the master suite & charming yard w/brick patio. SUE OLSON 916.601.8834 CalRE#: 00784986
DEL DAYO ESTATES! Pride of Ownership. Great koorplan. 4BD, 3BA on .39ac, plus bonus room & sparkling pool. $849,950 ANGELA HEINZER 916.212.1881 CaBRE#: 01004189
TUCKED-IN EAST SAC TUDOR! Frml living & dining rms, brkfst nook, updtd kitch, 4bd/2ba. Hdwd krs & lndscpd bkyd. $799,900 THE WOOLFORD GROUP 916.834.6900 CalRE#: 00679593/01778361/00680069
MODERN SOPHISTICATION IN RIVER PARK! Lrg (2300+) has 3bds, 2.5ba, custom chef's kitch, Master suite, & wood koors. $795,000 TOM LEONARD 916.834.1681 CalRE#: 01714895
PENDING
COZY ELMHURST COTTAGE! 2BD/1BA, 989sqft near the UCD Med Center. Wood krs thru-out, rmdld kitchen, dining rm w/bilt-ins & lrg bkyd. $445,000 RICH CAZNEAUX 916.212.4444 CalRE#: 01447558
ENCHANTING CURTIS PARK TUDOR! 3BD/2BA, 1559SF w/hdwd krs, modern kitch, rmdld hall bath & vintage master. Bonus ofjce/rm upstrs. $649,900 STEFFAN BROWN 916.717.7217 CalRE#: 01882787
SACRAMENTO METRO OFFICE 730 Alhambra Boulevard #150 | 916.447.5900
RIVERFRONT ESTATE! Outstanding 1.5ac property w/200ft of Sac River frontage. 1400sqft hm+lrg guest house, pool & close to Scott’s on the River. $1,799,000 PALOMA BEGIN 916.628.8561 CalRE#: 01254423
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©2017 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each ColdwellBanker Residential Brokerage OfŰce is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. Real estate agents afŰliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage or NRT LLC. CalBRE License #01908304.