S-2013-01-10 by News & Review

Sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S newS & entertainment weekly

Volume 24, iSSue 39

thurSday, January 10, 2013

building a

HealtHy S a c r a m e n t o

Sacramento Covered helps mother get health care for her son By Sukhi Brar

osio Guzman, a single mother, was working two jobs, but neither job provided health care coverage for her or her son. This was a problem because every winter Guzman’s son suffered from a debilitating cough and required special breathing treatments from a doctor. Without coverage, Guzman was paying for her son’s health care out-of-pocket. It was a stressful time. “It was really expensive. I had to borrow money, but I paid it all back,” Guzman says. Seeing her financial struggle, Guzman’s doctor mentioned that she could apply for the Healthy Families program. “I applied for Healthy Families, so my son could have insurance,” Guzman says. At the time, she was making enough money to qualify for the Healthy Families program by working two jobs — one temporary job and another as a waitress.

[SaCramento Covered] waS very Helpful BeCauSe I waS very StreSSed out … I am So tHankful.” –rosio Guzman

“The first time around I applied on my own. I did not have to fill out much, but fax a little information because Medi-Cal faxed information to them for me,” Guzman explains. But when Guzman’s temporary job ended, she was again left without coverage for her son because she fell below the required income level to qualify for coverage and the

Healthy Families program was transitioned into Medi-Cal managed care plans. “I knew I was not going to be covered with Healthy Families anymore. They told me I would have to apply to Medi-Cal again,” Guzman says. “I went on my own and I applied for Medi-Cal and it was a big hassle.”

process step by step. “It was very helpful because I was very stressed out. It was frustrating for me. If it wasn’t for [Sacramento Covered], I probably would still be getting the run around. I am so thankful for [Sacramento Covered].”

Every time she called to check on the status of her application, she was given a new date for when her coverage would become effective. Then, all of a sudden, Guzman was told her son’s insurance would be terminated altogether. “They kept pushing me off. I called every couple weeks. Finally, they said, ‛No, you are not going to have insurance,’” Guzman says. Guzman went to the welfare office seeking help and they asked her to call Sacramento Covered, formerly known as Cover the Kids. The local organization is a broad coalition of key representatives from local hospitals, county health service agencies, community clinics, faith-based community organizations, educational institutions, funding institutions and businesses that work to ensure that all children and their families have access to health care services. The organization is sponsored by a Building Healthy Communities grant from The California Endowment. “Carmen Herrera answered my call and she assisted me … to get my son covered,” Guzman explains.

BuIldInG HealtHy CommunItIeS In 2010, the California endowment launched a 10-year, $1 billion plan to improve the health of 14 challenged communities across the state. over the 10 years, residents, community-based organizations and public institutions will work together to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges contributing to the poor health of their communities.

HealtHCare for all CHIldren Sacramento Covered believes that all children deserve access to affordable healthcare coverage, no matter what their family income may be. In Sacramento County alone, approximately 16,000 children ages 0 to 18 do not have health coverage. about two-thirds of these children are eligible for current subsidized programs, such as medi-Cal and Healthy families. Sacramento Covered staff can help families complete the necessary steps to receive any and all health benefits available to them. Citizenship is not required for some health programs and Sacramento Covered has a multilingual staff on hand to assist.

lorena Sanchez, an employee of Sacramento Covered, helps applicants find health coverage for their children. the program is funded by the Building Healthy Communities Grant of the California endowment.

Fortunately, Guzman was hired for a new job and was able to qualify for coverage for her son again thanks to Sacramento Covered. Herrera helped her fill out all of the information and guided her through the

www.SacBHC.org

paid with a grant from the california endowment 2 | SN&R | 01.10.13

Brain-tumor jokes I first noticed the left side of my face was frozen while brushing my teeth. A tingling sensation overtook my gums, then I looked in the mirror and couldn’t smile. Weird. Maybe I was just too hungover? But it persisted: My face was jacked. This led to my first and only emergency-room visit as an adult. I was living in Los Angeles at the time and recall feeling anxious, scared— and frustrated I didn’t have a doctor. After hours of waiting, an ER doc finally explained that I likely had Bell’s palsy, a paralysis of the face, but would need a brain scan to ensure it wasn’t a tumor. This was during the infamous Kings-Lakers playoff series, and the ER tech was a shit-talking, if professional, Lakers fan. He put my head in the center of a giant doughnutshaped machine, scanned some pictures and called me over: “See that thing in your brain right there,” he pointed. “Oh, man.” Then he paused. “What?!” “It’s nothing!” he said, laughing. This past month, while spending a dozen or so hours in Sacramento ERs for this week’s cover story (see “ER nights,” page 13), I reflected often on this experience: the uncertainty, the waiting—and the bills (brain scans aren’t cheap). The ER is vital, and the doctors and nurses are excellent— when they’re not cracking brain-tumor jokes. But the ER is also broken. New reports show that more than 40 percent of Sacramento ER visits last year were not needed. ER care is today more about moving patients through and less about the follow through. This squanders billions of dollars and feeds a health crisis. Meanwhile, Obamacare will insure millions of new Californians next year, which is a once-in-alifetime window for real change in the health-care world. It’s exciting. But it’s also a little scary. —Nick Miller

nic kam@n ew s r ev i ew

January 10, 2013 | vol. 24, Issue 39

21 07

04 05 07 13 18 21 24 27 31 32 34 36 51

STREETALK LETTERS NEwS + BITES fEATuRE SToRy ARTS&cuLTuRE SEcoNd SATuRdAy NighT&dAy diSh ASK JoEy STAgE fiLm muSic + Sound AdvIcE 15 miNuTES cover design by hayley doshay

36 Jim Lane, Greg Lucas, Patti Roberts, Steph Rodriguez, Seth Sandronsky, Amy Yannello

our mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff writers Raheem F. Hosseini, Dave Kempa, Kel Munger copy Editor Shoka Shafiee calendar Editor Jonathan Mendick Editorial coordinator Deena Drewis contributing Editor Cosmo Garvin Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Editorial intern Maddi Silva contributors Sasha Abramsky, Christopher Arns, Ngaio Bealum, Rob Brezsny, Joey Garcia, Becky Grunewald, Mark Halverson, Jeff Hudson, Jonathan Kiefer,

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F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 01.10.13

SN&R

“I do read other things, but it’s a contrast to the Bible. I read romantic novels.”

Asked at the Arcade branch of the Sacramento Public Library:

The last book that changed your life?

Tim Morgan student

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. I felt that the author was immensely powerful in his descriptions of nuclear holocaust and also the tough ethical and moral questions on what to do with human life in general. When to preserve life and how to end it and all of those kinds of things.

Alicia O’Hara clinical hypnotherapist

The book that made an impression on me and [that] I recommend ... all of the time too is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. ... It was a really simple read, but the fictional [aspect] just let you enter into the story. The story is about the shepherd boy ... and all of the obstacles that can come in the way of following your dream.

Frankie Johnson athletics trainer

The Bible. I read the Bible often, actually. Just recently I did a talk last Sunday about staying alert, being watchful and not being a fair-weather Christian. I do read other things, but it’s a contrast to the Bible. I read romantic novels.

Garrett Ashizawa unemployed

Travels by Michael Crichton. It’s like an autobiography, a little about his life but more so about where he’s traveled to and the experience he went through. It has a very big thing on life and death, religions, treks, cultures, stuff like that. You could probably read it straight through, but I took some time.

Tammie Cebula

Donald Pasquini retired counselor

[Henning] Mankell, he [writes] detective things. The book by Mankell called The Man From Beijing. It gave me a better idea of China and how Chinese politics influence the world.

unemployed

I would have to say it’s Little Women because of how close the family was. ... No matter what they went through, they stuck together as family. My family is pretty close, so we are always there for each other.

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No more NBA arena wet dreams

This Modern World

by ToM ToM orroW

Re “Grid-life crisis” by Nick Miller (SN&R Midtown&Down, January 3): Nick Miller’s alternative vision of downtown Sac without a downtown arena makes perfect sense—particularly since the Maloofs rewarded all of the city parents’ work on giving the [Sacramento] Kings a new home by sabotaging the deal at its earliest stages. The vision of the city center Miller describes should be welcomed by all, both to reduce the city’s costs to redevelop the rail yards and—for once and for all—getting rid of the arena-based wet dreams that have dominated those plans over the last several years. Wanna build an arena? Well, think about it in West Sacraletter of mento, adjacent to Raley Field, with development of a grand the week parking lot that could also serve the Capitol Corridor across the Sacramento River and Old Sacramento. An arena downtown would fail as a redevelopment project, anyway, since it’s dark too much of the time. Better to incorporate a cohesive plan for downtown renewal and put the sports complexes together in one place, even if it happens to be in Yolo County. And if the Kings do end up leaving, we will not have spent hundreds of millions on a project that would prove to be a white elephant before it was even completed. As for the Kings, it’s clear that the reason they torpedoed the deal had more to do with the decision of the good folk in Kings County, [Wash.] (i.e., Seattle), to build a new arena there than what the possibilities might prove to be in Sacramento. Let them go there if that’s what they want to do, but don’t waste any more money and time here in pretending that they offer much as a reliable anchor tenant downtown. Bill Reany

via emai

Less marriage, more relationship ed

Equal opportunity for kindness and malice

Re “Girl-on-guy violence” by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R Frontlines, January 3): As a male victim of domestic abuse, I read your article with interest and felt that you may be interested in a couple of my theories regarding the changing nature of domestic conflict. To begin with, men are still expected to take more social abuse than women; whether it’s from parental beatings or fights between young men, most men feel that they either can or should take the physical attacks that a partner may dish out. Furthermore, with technological advances, be it transportation or the elimination of vast ranges of labor, women increasingly don’t need the help of men to get work done by themselves. Whereas just 100 years ago, a woman without a man was seen as almost helpless, today, with her foot on the gas pedal and higher-paying technical jobs [available], she’s fine without one. While there are many benefits of this change, relationships and intergender expectations have been slow to adapt. My suggestions are twofold: 1. Eliminate the societal obligation of marriage. Once this is gone, let’s eliminate tax, mortgage and other financial incentives and get the government out of the business of marriage. 2. Introduce a new level of honest relationship discussion before marriage. In addition to sex ed, perhaps we should consider relationship ed as part of social outreach and education that promotes zero tolerance for abuse by either sexes. Anonymous Sacramento

Re “Girl-on-guy violence” by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R Frontlines, January 3): One has to handle issues of domestic violence with a double dose of caution, independent of what is actually going on here. First, the greater equity of the sexes will certainly open up more equal opportunities for acts of kindness and acts of malice. How those manifest themselves, and whether there is a gender convergence or gender bias, is a subject for research, but it is really quite separate from the core issue of interpersonal violence, be that physical or psychological in form. Trends might be measurable, but then again, these are areas where there are a number of reasons for uneven incident reporting, so differential trending is not really the issue. The causes—i.e., the social determinants—of domestic violence are important and in these stressful economic times one would expect certain types of domestic violence to rise. The bigger issue (or issues) surround how to reduce the incidence and severity of domestic violence, both by influencing individual attitudes and by addressing the impacts of the social determinants of domestic violence. The underlying story about more reports of female-on-male violence may be little more than a greater tendency to report [them]. Any story is only of substance if it has a purpose, be that to amuse or to inform. Stories about domestic violence are not [written] to amuse or to solidify [established] opinions. They are to inform, to move us to do things better. Carlo Lanfranco Sacramento

BEFORE

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F E AT U R E

STORY

Put the pitchforks away Re “Breton isn’t wrong” by Nicholas Adamek (SN&R Letter of the Week, January 3): 1. I seriously doubt you’ll find anyone who’d agree with you that the grid was appreciably safer 30 years ago. On the other hand, you can find plenty who would claim the opposite is true. 2. The FBI [has released studies] about child abductions, which included the finding that “stranger danger” is extremely rare, and children are far more likely to be abducted or abused by someone known to them. Put the pitchforks and torches away before someone like you or Marcos Breton does something really, irreversibly stupid. Aren’t homeless people stigmatized enough? Ed Hunter Sacramento

Child abduction by the numbers Re “Breton isn’t wrong” by Nicholas Adamek (SN&R Letter of the Week, January 3): [This letter] is so wrong, it set my teeth on edge. Perhaps if the author taught compassion instead of projecting his fears, his 8-year-old daughter would apply her problem-solving mind to ways to help the homeless rather than escape them. (My cousin distributes blankets and food to homeless people in Canada—sorry, lamb chop, Canada isn’t the answer, eh?)

A RT S & C U LT U R E

To her credit, the 8-year-old is applying her mind to the problem, which is more than her father has done. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers. Perhaps if parents taught compassion instead of buying assault rifles, we wouldn’t have young people who are capable of mass killings in kindergarten classes. Perhaps if the author did a mouse click or two of research, he’d know that the people sitting around his Thanksgiving dinner table are more likely to abduct his child than some guy out in the nighttime cold who is begging for change. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, citing U.S. Department of Justice statistics, nearly 800,000 children younger than 18 are missing each year. Of those, more than 200,000 children were abducted by family members; more than 58,000 children were abducted by nonfamily members; 115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping— not necessarily by homeless people, mind you, but by “someone the child does not know or a slight acquaintance who holds the child overnight.” ... Instead of the baseless demonization of homeless people as child abusers, the author should take some time to look around his perfect little world to see where he could … lend his ideas for solutions and act as a compassionate community role model for his daughter. We need more compassion in this world and less judgment. Ben Bannister Woodland

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Will Sacto finally ban plastic bags?

Will city council jump on the plastic-bag ban bandwagon and prohibit them from being distributed by major grocers? The wheels are turning at City Hall.

Council members, local environmentalists work to prohibit ‘urban tumbleweeds’ from major grocery stores It’s far from official, but Sactown could have a brand-new bag starting later this year: by The city is considering a ban on singleChristopher use plastic grocery sacks at local stores. Arns City council members Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty are behind the pitch, which goes before the council’s Law and Legislation Committee next month. This is the first step in creating a new city ordinance that could soon be passed down the road. If the council green-lights the law—and it’s still a big “if” at this point—Sacramento would join a growing number of California local governments in banning plastic and placing a small fee on paper bags. Eight counties and nearly 50 cities have already passed similar ordinances.

California’s retailers distribute about 19 billion plastic bags every year, but less than 10 percent get recycled. McCarty said the ban would curb litter and also streamline Sacramento’s recycling system. Waste Management, the city’s contracted recycler, has complained about plastic bags disrupting its sorting facility on Fruitridge Road. The company has told McCarty that it shuts down for 90 minutes every day just to keep plastic bags from clogging the sorting machines. “There’s an economic issue for the city with the efficiency of doing recycling out there,” said McCarty. Environmentalists are giving a thumbs-up to the idea. They say plastic grocery sacks often end up in the ocean where marine life can ingest the bags, which aren’t biodegradable and leach toxic materials into the water. Environment California, an advocacy group that does work in Sacramento, has been canvassing city neighborhoods for months to drum up BEFORE

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support for the ban. Dan Jacobson, the group’s legislative director, has been working with Cohn and McCarty over the past year to outlaw what he calls “urban tumbleweeds.” “Certainly, nothing we use for five minutes should end up polluting our environment for hundreds of years,” said Jacobson. Single-use plastic grocery sacks can be recycled, but statistics show that most people still toss them in the trash. California’s retailers distribute about 19 billion plastic bags every year, but less than 10 percent get recycled, according to CalRecycle, the state agency in charge of waste reduction. “They end up polluting our rivers and streams and oceans to such an extent that you can’t do either a river cleanup or a beach cleanup without plastic bags being one of the top 10 or top five [most] commonly found products that we’re cleaning up,” said Jacobson. A ban on plastic and a fee on paper grocery sacks would probably encourage a shift in shopping habits for Sacramento’s consumers. San Jose, which outlawed plastic and slapped a 10-cent minimum charge on paper last year, found that residents switched to reusable shopping bags in large numbers after the city passed the law. “The real purpose is, in addition to trying to keep those plastic bags from spoiling the environment, is also to try to encourage reusable bags,” said Cohn. The question is whether business owners would balk at taking the plastic sack out of Sacto. According to Cohn and McCarty, they believe many larger grocery chains are behind them. But when asked about the ban, most of the city’s major supermarkets, such as Safeway, Raley’s and Save Mart Supermarkets, either took

no position or referred questions to the California Grocers Association, a lobby for the food industry. The answer so far? Meh. In the statement emailed to SN&R, the grocers association said it won’t take a stance on the ban until the city releases more details; everyone will learn more at the committee meeting on February 5. However, in potentially a bad sign for Cohn and McCarty, the group sounded hesitant to endorse anything other than a statewide ban on plastic bags. “In order to avoid negative impacts, we believe local governments should focus on statewide regulation to avoid localized confusion for consumers and impacts to businesses,” wrote spokesman Dave Heylen in the email.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber, which represents many of the capital’s other businesses, also isn’t thrilled with the idea. “Most likely, it’s not something we’re going to be all that enthused about, but we’re willing to entertain the reasons behind it and maybe come up with something that does work,” said Dennis Rogers, senior vice president of the chamber. Still, opposition could dissipate if city staffers actually draft an ordinance. Cohn doesn’t want the ban to hurt local businesses, and the councilman said he’s willing to create exemptions for smaller shops when it comes to banning plastic—something other governments have done in California. “We want the city to be viewed as business friendly and not overly burdensome,” Cohn said. “Those are issues we’ll definitely take into account.” Ω

F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 01.10.13

SN&R

Masters of deception ANNIVERSARY 2012–13

Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration FRI, JAN 18

Distinguished Speaker Harry Belafonte THU, JAN 17

Legislative good and bad depends on the why of the beholder Perception depends on the perceiver. But also on the perceived. Loath to buck the fact-based belief of America’s citizenry that they’re a tawdry nest of slack-jawed, self-promoting wastrels, the members of Congress piddled around for months before hurriedly cobbling together a rinky-dink hodgepodge of major tax-law changes, whose principal benefit, albeit temporary, is hastening the removal of “fiscal S A C by GREG LU cliff” from what is generously called a “national dialogue.” Most Americans did far caplowdown@newsreview.com more good for the economy than Congress or the president simply by completing their holiday shopping. The sniping between the executive and legislative branches didn’t seem to rivet the public, who perceived it as more of the same: pissy, partisan yapping and frenzied horse trading that resulted in some slapdash swill tarted up with a self-aggrandizing title. In this case, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

Most Americans did far more good for the economy than Congress or the president simply by completing their holiday shopping.

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Greg Lucas’ state-politics column Capitol Lowdown will appear every-other week in SN&R. He also blogs at www.californias capitol.com.

In truth: yet another stinky steamer heightening the summit of Bullshit Mountain. Ho-hum. But that’s not what a Washington, D.C., lobbyist saw. In confusion lies opportunity. Washington’s deadline descending, a group grope of nicely attired ward heelers was instantly identified by all hired guns worth their tasseled Guccis as an embarrassingly target-rich environment. That’s just as true on major issues like the budget here along the American River Parkway as it is back there inside the Beltway. For those wretched cretins who consume politics with the same fervor true Americans devour NASCAR, the artistry of a gifted lobbyist plying his or her trade can be mesmerizing. The grace of Fred Astaire. The precision of Manolete. The break-the-mold élan of Picasso and the predatory imperative of a ’roid-raging great white. All of it displayed within a seemingly seamless choreography aimed at a money shot for the client—and a fat, green “Paid” stamped on the five- or sixfigure invoice emailed to same.

That’s why, if a reader were to peruse 2010’s gargantuan Affordable Care Act all the way through to Title X—“Strengthening Quality, Affordable Health Care for All Americans”—and get to line 23 of page 2,037, they would learn that databases regarding ‘‘(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition; (B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or (C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition” can neither be created nor maintained. Skipping ahead to page 2,039, it would also be discovered that a “premium rate may not be increased, health insurance coverage may not be denied, and a discount, rebate, or reward offered for participation in a wellness program may not be reduced or withheld” based on gun or firearm ownership. These prohibitions are labeled in the measure as “Protection of Second Amendment Gun Rights”—which, of course, are profoundly threatened by expanding health coverage to millions of insured Americans. Less than two weeks ago, the Taxpayer Relief Act included $63 billion in business tax breaks, according to Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation. There’s $6 billion in handouts on research and development credits, $34 billion for bonus depreciation, excise taxes on Puerto Rican rum and a little something for the builders of NASCAR racetracks. Railroads get their tax burden lightened if they conduct maintenance. Movie studios receive a handout if they keep production at home. Seems a bit grubby and venal, don’t it? On the flip side, during the lateDecember debacle, the milk industry prevented the price of a half-gallon from going to $12 (and the right testicle of all firstborn males). Gun control and environmental lobbyists in Sacramento and in D.C. have done a fair piece of successful burrowing into big bills as well. And it was three smarmy operatives—as immortalized in Lincoln— whose blandishments and promises of post-legislative employ helped President Abe secure nearly half the 20-odd votes he needed to secure passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and forever ban slavery in the E pluribus of unum. Proving that there are times perceivers shouldn’t be so peeved at the perceived. Ω

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Flipping off cops is still not recommended It’s called “the bird,” “the bone,” “the one-fingered salute.” Some of you kindergartners know it as “tall man.” Whatever you call it, the U.S. Court of Appeals just ruled that the police have no right to stop you for giving them the finger. The case involved 62-year-old John Swartz of New York, riding shotgun while his wife drove. He noticed that an ARvIN officer was tracking their car with a by CoSMo G radar gun, and he didn’t appreciate it. cos mog@ n ewsrev iew.c om He shot Johnny Law the bird and was subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct. According to law professor Ira P. Robbins, the gesture originated with the Greeks, but was really embraced by the Romans, who called it digitus impudicus. It’s first documented use in the United States was in 1886 (same year as the Haymarket riots and the invention of Coca-Cola) when a pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters flipped off the camera during a joint team picture with the New York Giants. (“Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law,” is also the title of Robbins’ history of flipping people off, published in the in the UC Davis Law Review back in 2008. Very much worth a read.) Robbins noted that the courts have consistently held that flipping off cops is protected by the First Amendment (an allAmerican expression of disdain toward a government official), but police keep locking people up for it. One day, perhaps, legal precedent will mean the bird may fly freely in the face of the man. For now, you may wind up a jailbird. “A f------ train wreck.” That’s how podcaster and journalist Roman Mars described the rollout of University of California’s new logo. Bites didn’t want to pile on Logogate, but do check out Mars’ “The Brief and Tumultuous Life of the New UC Logo,” part of his 99% Invisible series of podcasts at http://99percentinvisible.org. Other than having the best byline ever, Mars has been doing some incredible things in radio: 99% Invisible is all about design and architecture, which you may not think you are not interested in, but you really, really are. It’s about the old pneumatic tube system in Paris and China’s Kowloon Walled City and the art of staging political events and the best beer in the world and why dollars are green and lots of other cool stuff. It’s not usually California-centric, so the UC logo episode is a good excuse to plug the show in this column. Mars and reporter Cyrus Farivar dive in to what the UC design team were really after—not a replacement of the old logo, but an additional “brand identity” to complement the existing

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UC seal—and explore how the media helped confuse, rather than clarify, the issue. Bites doesn’t like the logo—once someone points out its resemblance to a toilet, that’s kind of hard to unsee—but the way Mars and company tell it, the story is a much more nuanced and interesting account than the collective freak-out may have led you to believe.

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Speaking of fucking train wrecks: Just before Christmas, the Sacramento City Unified School District board of trustees went ahead and appointed lobbyist Jay Hansen to fill the vacancy created when board member Ellyn Bell followed her bliss to Marin. Hansen is by all accounts a smart and competent guy. And Bites has no doubt he will bring a needed portion of coherence to trustee Area 1. Still, what an ugly and overtly political process.

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The board says it was worried about spending the $137,000 that a special election to fill the seat would have cost, though that’s the kind of money that the board routinely spends on pricey contracts with education consultants. Hansen is a lobbyist for the California Medical Association and a co-founder of the influential Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento—an important bestower of political endorsements. Judging by the answers given at the community forum at California Middle School, Hansen was also the least knowledgeable and least connected to Sac city schools. His labor background—he was also a lobbyist for the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California— may be enough to ease concerns of some school-employee unions who earlier demanded a special election. The unions may also figure they dodged a bullet, considering the other candidates—Bites can’t say any more on that score without Jay Schenirer pitching a hissy fit. The board decision was coincidentally timed in such a way that the only way to challenge the board appointment would be for teachers to spend winter break gathering a couple thousand signatures to force an election onto the ballot. Funny how that all worked out. Ω

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Resolutions for Sacramento Let’s lower unemployment, improve the environment, reduce hunger I’ve heard that good New Year’s resolutions must be attainable, and you need to have a plan. With this in mind, I’ve created a list of resolutions for our fair city. We can’t wait for both political parties to develop common sense. We need to start right here, right now. Here are my New Year’s resolutions for Sacramento. 1. Eat local. Our region’s agricultural production is valued at around $1.9 billion a year. We eat around $1.6 billion of food, but only 2 percent of what we eat is grown here. If we increased our local consumption to 5 percent, that would be an additional $48 million l by Jeff VoNKaeNe in local food sales. If we could put pressure on regional restaurants, school cafeterias and supermarkets to offer j e ffv @n e wsr e v ie w.c o m more food grown in the area, this simple change would create significantly more local jobs. 2. Make our homes and buildings energy efficient. We have more than a million buildings in our region. Almost all of them could and should become energy efficient or energy producing using solar or wind power. Now, with some innovative programs that are being developed by the city of Sacramento and the feds, we could simultaneously create thousands of We can’t wait for both jobs, reduce our energy consumption and support political parties to local green companies. develop common sense. This can be done by having owners get an We need to start right property energy audit on their buildhere, right now. ing. This determines which energy-conservation measures (skylights, insulation, heating and air-conditioning units) will pay for themselves with decreased energy usage. A guide to The energy savings pay for the loan payments, which are Sacramento’s made to the bank or added to the property tax. farmers markets For property owners, it is a no-brainer. Since the monthly can be found at www.california- payment is covered by their energy savings, they save money. grown.com. For And they have a much nicer building that will become more information about valuable over time, especially if energy prices go up. a home-energy Energy conservation can create a lot of jobs. If assessment, or 125,000 building owners spent an average of $4,000 on to use SMUD’s commercial-energy weatherization and energy-conservation measures, it calculator, visit would represent a $500 million jolt to our economy. And www.smud.org. To we might be able to avoid building an expensive new read more about California’s low energy plant in the future. 3. Increase food-stamp (CalFresh) participation. Like rate of participation in the food- Social Security, the federal government covers the cost stamp program, of food stamps in addition to contributing 50 percent of check out www. the state’s administrative expenses. For various insane newsreview.com/ foodaccess. reasons, California has horrible food-stamp participation. Only about half of eligible Californians receive food stamps. For the Sacramento region, this represents roughly $225 million in lost aid. By copying protocols from other states such as Oregon, which has a 90 percent Jeff vonKaenel participation, we could change this. Increased aid would is the president, not only reduce hunger in our state, but it could help to CEO and jump-start our economy. majority owner of These three simple ideas could dramatically lower our the News & Review unemployment rate, improve our environment and reduce newspapers in Sacramento, hunger. Let’s start right here in Sacramento, right now, Chico and Reno. in 2013. Ω

50% off Poor choice, Tom It was sad—but not surprising—to see that Rep. Tom McClintock of Roseville broke ranks with other area members of the U.S. House to vote against the compromise “fiscal cliff” bill that the U.S. Senate put forward. No, we didn’t like that bill particularly well—it was just a whole lot better than the alternative, which was a Congress-led dive into a second wave of recession. Unfortunately, McClintock doesn’t seem to have been paying attention: The Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy not only failed to keep a recession at bay, but most economists also now acknowledge that tax cuts for the wealthy don’t have any effect whatsoever on the economy other than to make the wealthy even wealthier. The real driver of economic growth is money in the hands of the people who are going to spend it, and that means the working and middle classes. We have, in the past, acknowledged that McClintock seemed to make decisions based on principle. Now, we have to ask: What principle could possibly justify deliberately triggering the economy to worsen when it’s still in early recovery? The only answer we can come up with is that perhaps, to some Congressional representatives, pleasing the ultra-wealthy and keeping their campaign coffers full might be more important than the welfare of the entire country. And that is a truly frightening thought. Take note, residents of Congressional District 4. Ω

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As we all know, a gunfight broke out on New Year’s Eve in a sports bar in Old Sacramento. Shortly after the 9 p.m. “family” fireworks show, a bar brawl escalated spontaneously into mortal violence. Two people wound up dead, three others sustained gunshot wounds. The scene was tragic, chaotic, awful. Our hearts go out to the victims, whose lives were irretrievably altered that night. But will we allow what happened that night to halt future public events in Sacramento that attract large crowds? We should not. By all accounts, local police reacted well and promptly to the incident. It was no surprise, given the need to investigate, that police decided to cancel the midnight fireworks show. But that should be the end of the cancellations. In its quest to become a vibrant urban hub, Sacramento has become host to an increasing number of public cultural and celebratory events. And yes, we have endured violent outbreaks in the past at some of them, such as at Second Saturday and the Thursday Night Market. (In the case of the latter, fear prevailed and the market was canceled in 1998.) Each time, outbreaks of violence lead city officials to question whether public-safety concerns should trump Sacramento’s ability to convene its citizens by the tens of thousands. That’s OK—review is appropriate and, hopefully, will result in improved public safety on future public occasions. But we must not let fear dominate this discussion. Public events such as the New Year’s Eve fireworks show are signs of a lively, healthy and thriving community. They should not be brought to an end because of a random act of violence, however wretched. Ω BEFORE

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attain coverage. A large chunk of these individuals will join Medi-Cal, a healthcare program for low-income individuals, families and seniors. But the state already spends $15 billion, or 17 percent of the general fund, on the program, and experts worry new costs will suck state coffers dry—and, invariably, force these newly insured, who will have difficulty landing a primary-care doctor, into ERs, too. As Scott Seamons with the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California put it, “We’re all working hard to take on the tsunami wave that’s coming.” The Sacramento region’s busiest ER can be found inside an imposing, dated maroon-brick building just off Alta Arden Expressway a few miles from the mall. Inside at 11 p.m. on a recent Sunday night, CNN hums on the corner flat screen, and 41 patients and visitors, including nine children, rest in chairs or pace anxiously on faux-wood floors. A woman who doesn’t speak English seems like she’s going to cry. A 20-something girl sleeps while sitting on a guy’s lap. The Kaiser Sacramento nurses, who pop their heads out of a door every so often, routinely smile and behave compassionately.

01.10.13

continued on page 14

And that’s the rub: The emergency room is often fingered as the quintessence of this country’s health-care woes. It’s expensive, yes—costs run anywhere from four- to 10-times a normal doctor’s visit, according to reports—and while the country’s health-care ills boast many other symptoms—from a lack of affordable insurance to sticker-shock medical costs

to poor management of chronic illness— the numbers don’t lie: ER encounters are up by nearly 50 percent in Sacramento County since 2006. For-profit urgent-care centers keep popping up. And at some hospitals, such as Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center and Medical Offices in Arden Arcade, costly ER visits have more than doubled in five years. It’s an emergency—but not one in want of solutions. This year, because of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, California has a once-in-a-lifetime shot to revolutionize its health-care industry. A chance to, among other remedies, divert a majority of the nearly half-million Sacramentans who visit the ER each year to preventative care. Industry leaders are planning ways to spur doctors to build meaningful relationships with patients. This move toward primary care and clinics will save billions of dollars annually. The catch is, though, that we have to spend billions to save billions. And, as Assemblyman Richard Pan told SN&R recently, “things will probably get worse before they get better.” Obamacare mandates, for instance, that the 7.7 million uninsured Californians

“er nights”

keeps one eye on the VikingsPackers game while chatting with strangers inside Sutter General Hospital’s emergency room. This is his fifth hour seated in a turquoisegreen chair. Turns out, he’s here this Saturday night for the same reason most Sacramentans end up in the ER: He fell. In his case, the culprits were ice skates, the occasion an outing with his 6-year-old daughter at the downtown rink. Oops. Feet in the air, head to the ground. “A compression fracture of my vertebra!” The diagnosis rolls of Kristofferson’s tongue. During this evening at the ER, new patients arrive as frequently as shoppers to a Safeway. The health-care world calls these individuals “encounters.” Tonight,

there are dozens, including: two youthful black women toting infants; an Asian girl with a black eye and a coterie of family and friends in tow; a white senior woman in a wheelchair sitting alone; a white guy in his 30s who forgot his coat in the restroom; and a 20-something blond woman with a boozy spice who tells fellow patients she wants to kill herself. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of encounters. But not all necessarily of the emergency kind. In fact, according to a new report by the Sacramento-based Sierra Health Foundation, nearly half of these patients likely shouldn’t be in the ER.

SN&R

“er Nights”

continued from page 13

An elementary-school-age black girl seated nearby is antsy. “You’ve got ADD, huh?” a man to her right asks. “What’s that mean?” she replies. “It means you can’t sit still.” It’s not unethical, per se, for a journalist to lurk in an ER—most hospitals actually call them “emergency departments,” perhaps because of unpleasant Hollywood associations with the abbreviation. But Kaiser and others also insist that reporters not violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and conduct interviews in the ER. Plus, it turns out few people are interested in recounting ER blues. But there isn’t a lack of stories: In 2011, the Kaiser Sacramento ER experienced 84,700 encounters, a more than 100 percent increase from 2006, when 40,353 patients passed through (according to data provided by hospitals to the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development). Kaiser Permanente Roseville saw a 62 percent surge, and Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento saw a 38 percent jump during the same fiveyear period. While Kaiser hospitals boast the highest ER-visit upticks in the region, other hospitals are not immune to soaring emergency-room numbers. Encounters at the UC Davis Medical Center in south Sacramento, for instance, are up by more than 88 percent since 2006. Mercy Hospital of Folsom has seen a 33 percent jump since 2005. Sutter Roseville Medical Center is up 36 percent; Sutter General Hospital in Midtown is up 15 percent. These are unprecedented spikes—and the kicker is that the industry says a

shockingly high number of patients don’t actually need to go to the ER. According to a 2012 Sierra Health Foundation report—which is titled “Preparing for Transformation: Rethinking, Revitalizing and Reforming the Sacramento Region’s Health Care System” and was researched by dozens of local health-care leaders—more than 40 percent of ER patients in 2010 probably didn’t need to go to an emergency room.

have a medical emergency; not a lot of shortness of breath, chest pain or blood. Many times, security officers had to tell visitors to stand so that patients could rest. And wait, wait, wait. Back at Sutter General in Midtown, the Kris Kristofferson look-alike is becoming an expert in patient patience. He says he missed his bus ride home because of his five-hour wait and, giving up, places a Regional Transit pass on an empty chair across from

accordiNg to a 2012 sierra health FouNdatioN report, more thaN 40 perceNt oF er patieNts iN 2010 probably didN’t Need to visit aN emergeNcy room. “Those patients could have been treated in a more appropriate and less costly setting, freeing up the emergency department for cases that were actual emergencies,” it reads. The average cost of an ER visit in California varies from source to source, but estimates are upward of $500 for a simple doctor consultation, no tests. Anything more than that—CT scans, X-rays, etc.—can cost upward of $3,000 for every hour with a doctor. It’s a stunning dilemma: This writer spent more than a dozen hours in three area ERs—Kaiser, Sutter General and Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael—and patients filled each waiting room. Most people didn’t ostensibly

him. He then mumbles something to the fact that maybe another person can use it. This is his karmic moment: Within a few minutes, a nurse calls him and he—bad back and all—jumps out of his chair. Health-care reformers such as Pan, who’s chairman of the Assembly Health Committee this year, says he hopes that the Affordable Care Act will change things for Sacramentans like Kristofferson. “Coverage is a very important step, but it’s not the whole picture,” Pan said. The assemblyman explained that Obamacare is a window to incentivize doctors and providers to build real kinship with patients. “If you don’t have an existing relationship, you may

NothiNg bad ever happeNs iN the suburbs.

Fast-Food medicine by

Raheem F. Hosseini r ahee m h @ n ew s r evi e w . c o m

Under the Affordable Care Act, Sacramento ERs may have to get worse before they get better

14 | SN&R | 01.10.13

This myth is being debunked inside the neutral-yellow bowels of a Folsom emergency room on a frigid Sunday. A sea of roughly three-dozen glum-faced occupants stew in their own pain, waiting for someone in a white coat or lime-green scrubs. They’ll have to wait a long time. These days, even middle-class suburbanites aren’t exempt from the ripples of a flailing health-care system. Because modern medicine is such a vaunted mess—unaffordable to a new generation of poor folks who, somehow, aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medi-Cal but are too broke to afford private insurance—overburdened emergency rooms have become a one-stop shop to a growing number of people with nowhere else to turn. As a result, many ER departments abdicate themselves to providing “fast-food” services: quick and nonnutritional. This ever-increasing demand is a direct result of a perfect-storm-level collision of a national recession, dwindling reimbursement for health practitioners and reform measures, said Stacey A. Donegan, senior vice president of Marsh, a health-care consulting practice. “The number of under- and uninsured has continued to rise, meaning people can no longer afford preventative [care] or physician

be more likely to go to the emergency room,” Pan argued. The challenge, however, is that doctorpatient kumbaya is in part a cultural shift: Most emergency-room patients already have coverage; only 18 percent of Sacramento County ER encounters are “self-pay.” Pan says people use the ER instead of a primary-care doctor for many reasons: They work during the day, they don’t have an adequate network of doctors via their provider, they don’t understand what constitutes an emergency. A rapport with a doctor and staff will keep more people out of the ER; a guy like Kristofferson might, say, call his doctor, who would recommended a pain reliever overnight and see him in the morning. But this sort of communication could take years, even a decade, to foster. Meanwhile, ER visits likely will spike in the coming years—Pan calls this a “wave of demand”—as millions of Californians are added to the insurance rolls. But it could work. In fact, this shift is not unlike the Sacramento region’s “frequent users project,” which targeted chronic ER regulars and diverted them to primary care or clinics such as The Effort, which offers treatment and substance-abuse support. Obamacare is a similar chance to help. And help is needed: On a Saturday night in January at the Sutter General ER, a woman in a wheelchair with long brownblond hair and ragged, high-water jeans moans in discomfort. Her situation isn’t an emergency, but she’s not doing so hot. And probably hasn’t been for some time. A young man seated next to her asks: “What’s wrong? You got the flu?” “Something like that,” the woman in the wheelchair responds. “I’ve got the homeless disease.”

office visits and utilize the emergency department as such,” she said. Along with a bad economy that’s robbed millions of employer-provided health insurance, low-cost and free primary-care alternatives have evaporated. As recently as 2007, Sacramento County operated six primary-health-care centers—each one offering an array of clinics—for the poor and uninsured. Today, it runs one—and it’s experiencing its own patient overload. Over a span of just 12 months, visits to this center on Broadway jumped 12 percent to nearly 67,000 last year, says county spokeswoman Laura McCasland. The center’s dental clinic, meanwhile, has been reduced to offering only emergency tooth extractions. “When you close six or seven clinics in the county, you don’t provide very many opportunities for [some] patients to get primary care,” said Scott Seamons, regional vice president for the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California. His council is one of three belonging to the California Hospital Association, which lobbies on behalf of all 450 hospitals in the state. Nonprofits have been unable to pick up the slack. Sister Mary Ellen Howard runs outreach for a small primary-health clinic in the city of Sacramento. (She asked that it not

“Fast-Food mediciNe” continued on page 16

ER BY THE NUMBERS

percentage of patients discharged to home or self-care after ER visit in Sacramento County (2011)

percentage of ER encounters by female patients in (Sacramento County, 2011)

$ $ $

219,722

2011

percentage of patients admitted to over-crowded emergency-rooms who end up dying in hospital

number of ER encounters in Sacramento County in 2006 number of ER encounters in Sacramento County in 2011

percentage of patients who used Medi-Cal to pay for ER visit

444,000 high-end number of possible new Medi-Cal recipients in 2014

20 22 26

continued on page 16

385,447

encounters at California ERs because of a fall, trip or stumble in 2011 (the No. 1 reason for visit)

“ER NIGHTS”

428, 583

number of uninsured Californians

percentage of uninsured in Sacramento County

3.9

percentage of California children insured by Medi-Cal

8.2

2006

$14 BILLION

estimated cost of Affordable Care Act to state over next decade

percentage of ER visits in California, 2011, because of a urinarytract infection

percentage of California workers without health insurance

percentage of uninsured Latinos in California

1.86 MILLION

Year the Affordable Care Act’s health exchange goes into effect in California

California’s rank in nation when it comes to uninsured residents

percentage of Californians under age 34 without health insurance

4 1 0 2 $

DATA PROVIDED BY THE CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION, CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF STATEWIDE HEALTH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, UCLA CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, UC BERKELEY, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, AND PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA.

percentage of proposed rate increases in California by health-insurance companies Blue Shield of California, Aetna and Anthem Blue Cross, respectively

01.10.13

SN&R

“ER NIGHTS” continued from page 15

“faST-food mEdIcINE” continued from page 14

THE RISING NUMBER OF SACRAMENTO EMERGENCY-ROOM ENCOUNTERS

R S U T TR EI A L M E M OP I T A L HOS M E R TC AY L H O S PLI S O M OF FO

21,095 25,972

19,028

BEcauSE of a NEEd, INTERfERING INSuRaNcE compaNIES aNd dwINdlING RESouRcES, HEalTH caRE HaS fully EmBRacEd amERIca’S “faST-food” pHIloSopHy.

26,289

M E R CR YA L G E N EI T A L HOSP R S U T TREA L GENE ITAL HOSP

24,495 30,654

34,768 39,896

VIS U C DI AC A L MEDTER CEN

24,153 45,488

M E R CU YA N S A N IJC A L MEDTER CEN

43,981 50,310

R K A I SNEE N T E P E R MEAV I L L E ROS

31,355 50,907

R S U T TI EL L E V E ROS ICAL MEDTER CEN

41,683 56,631

R K A I STEH S O U E NTO SACRAM R K A I S EEN T E P E R M AMNE N T O SACRA

51,029 70,337

40,353 84,700

20 30 40 50 60 70 ENCOUNTERS IN THOUSANDS

16 | SN&R | 01.10.13

= 2006 =2011

HAVE SOME PATIENTS

be identified, since the clinic only accepts patients by referral and is struggling to keep up with demand.) Howard says she knows why more and more patients are turning to ERs for their primary medical needs. “We believe that’s because they don’t have any place else to go for care,” she told SN&R. “And our clinic is very small. It’s just the tip of an iceberg. But anyway, it’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” One flickering candle may be the county’s new Low Income Health Program. Launched in November 2012, it is an expansion of medical coverage for the poor.

Today, my aunt is one of those visitors. A petite German woman in her early 60s, she’s suffered chronic and undiagnosed internal pains for the past four years. A rotating cast of ’scrip-writing doctors has been prevented from ordering expensive diagnostic tests by insurance companies looking to keep costs down. But on December 16, 2012, her mystery condition metastasized considerably: Shrapnel-sharp pains invaded her chest and throat and sliced up into her ear canal, resulting in a rushed car-ride here and an unlikely family gathering. As a retired civilian-housing official with the U.S. military, she supposedly has pretty decent medical coverage. But insurance means little sometimes, and local ERs have become the first last resort for this community as well.

“That basically is our response,” McCasland said. “We’re moving to preventative care with the expectation that we’ll reduce [people’s] reliance on ERs.” The program has already racked up 5,145 enrollees. By next December, it’s expected to provide coverage to 10,000 to 14,000 county residents. But the effect on local ERs has yet to be felt. One of the goals of President Barack Obama’s game-changing Affordable Care Act is to reverse this trajectory by insuring those who aren’t currently covered and giving them access to preventative care they can’t otherwise afford. In California, that figure now hovers at 7.3 million people under the age of 65, according to the California HealthCare Foundation. But its major provisions don’t kick in until 2014. In the meantime, ER populations swell with the poor. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of Medi-Cal recipients visiting Sacramento County ERs rose 6 percent to 132,364. The number of “self-paid” ER visits crept up more than 4 percent to 73,138. Seamons argues that the nine hospitals in Sacramento County and others on the periphery have so far been able to manage the increased demand. The reality on the ground tells a different tale. Like other ERs throughout the county, the one inside Mercy Hospital of Folsom has experienced a sharp spike in demand over a very short period of time. Since 2005, this 25-bed emergency department has seen patient visits jump a staggering 33 percent to nearly 30,000 in 2012.

My aunt is one of nearly 430,000 people in the county who pleaded for emergency care last year. On this day, she will wait five-and-a-half hours for a rushed once-over and a pain-pill prescription, the equivalent of an (un)Happy Meal. Because of a need, interfering insurance companies and dwindling resources, health care has fully embraced America’s fast-food philosophy. One ER nurse told SN&R that insurance companies routinely block medical staff from ordering needed tests because they’re too expensive. “That happens all the time,” said the nurse, who didn’t speak for attribution. And because of limited space, the rush to turn over beds has become of greater necessity. A whopping 98 percent of admissions to Folsom’s Mercy ER resulted in routine discharges last year. The county average is 95 percent. That quick turnover may be a logistical necessity for overwhelmed ERs, but it isn’t always good for the patient. “Longer inpatient stays do not equal better outcomes. However, sending a patient home before they are ready is equally detrimental,” said Donegan, with the health-care consulting firm. This paradigm actually could get worse in the first several months under the Affordable Care Act. Anticipating a “substantial” initial spike in ER visits under Obamacare, Seamons says hospitals are prepping to “fast-track” ER patient assessments and get them out to primarycare physicians. The current reality has forced wellmeaning ER staff to often adopt a dumbeddown version of Western medicine.

LOW INCOME

They used to ask patients to describe their pain level using a numeric scale (No. 1 being mild discomfort, 10 being “the air feels like hot acid”). Now, some intake nurses trot out a laminated sheet with crude, simple cartoon faces of people in various stages of pain and ask patients to point to the one that best describes their distress. We’re one step away from nurses asking patients to show them on a plush doll where their ouchie is. Back in the Folsom ER, my aunt starts to cry from the pain. A male nurse walks out to say it’ll be another hour. “Can you last another hour?” her daughter asks. A whimpering blond woman in a wheelchair is rolled to a nearby check-in booth. She lays her head on the desk as the attendant asks her questions about insurance coverage. A husband, with an overnight bag, walks past into the buzzing double doors to the right. A nurse passes him going the other way and sounds out a name. It sounds like “Peccadillo.” My aunt wants to leave. Her husband died in a place like this in 2008. Stomach cancer chewed through his body within a span of three months. He was a decimated, 90-pound shell puking bile into a plastic bedpan near the end. Uncle Don’s one wish was to get out of his starched hospital bed and die at home. That wouldn’t happen. Mom says she’ll just call 911 next time. An ambulance ride pretty much guarantees an immediate bed. No one bats an eye at the mention of a “next time.” A young guy wearing abyhoodie saunDave Kempajug of ters out of the ER with a plastic Lipton Iced Tea in his hand and a jostling dav ek @ colostomy bag swaying by ihis sagging n ewsrev ew . com jeans. It’s one-third full with brown liquid. His thin girlfriend speed walks after him. The waiting room in an ER is an example of “wedge” health care: Not unlike politics, where two common groups are often cynically set against each other, those waiting in the ER are put into the position of resenting everyone else who gains entry before them. When my aunt is finally admitted, it is nearly six hours after her arrival. Her blood will be drawn, and she’ll be told to make an appointment with her primary-care physician. No further tests will be ordered. She’s then discharged with a prescription for pain pills and a reaffirmed certainty that modern medicine can’t help her. Ninety-five percent of ER cases end like this, according to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Before leaving, I kiss my aunt on the cheek. “This was fun,” I say, trying to lighten the bummer mood. “Next time, let’s do it at a different ER.” She half-smiles. Humor isn’t always the best medicine. But sometimes, neither is medicine. BEFORE

FRONTLINES

BIG COSTS by Dave Kempa

d a v e k @ne w sr e v ie w.c o m

Medi-Cal pays for most Sacramento County ER visits. And Obamacare will add millions more to the rolls. An hour before midnight inside the uC dAvis mediCAl Center er wAiting room, A mAn with A tube protruding from his Arm shuffles over to A wAll soCket And pulls his Cellphone from its ChArger.

As he turns, he catches the attention of a dejected-looking family, then jokes: “They’ll let you in if you’re having a heart attack. Your heart stop, they’ll let you right in!” The family members smile. The ER is about one-third full. It’s quiet, save for the buzz of TVs and about half of the two dozen or so middle- and lower-class people waiting who haven’t begun to doze off. The intercom crackles to life and calls another patient into triage. His mother, an old woman in a red Christmas sweatshirt, sighs. Just moments before, she had given him permission to step out for a smoke. If this December night is representative of most of last year, then 42 percent of the patients going through this ER on Stockton Boulevard in south Sacramento will be covered under Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicare. That number is higher than most hospital emergency rooms in the region. And it’s also more than the state and county averages. In fact, according to data provided by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Medi-Cal was the No. 1 means for paying for Sacramento County ER visits in 2011, at 30.88 percent. Medi-Cal in the ER has been trending upward since 2006 in Sac County, which boasts payment frequencies higher than those at ERs in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco counties. These patients in Sacramento ERs also belie state averages: only 20 percent, or one in five California residents (some 7.7 million people), are covered under Medi-Cal, which serves low-income Californians, seniors and persons with disabilities, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. The program, funded in equal parts by the state and federal governments, has proven

difficult for California to pay for, with its increasingly tightening budget. DHCS reports show that in 2012 alone, the Golden State was on the hook for about $17 billion in Medi-Cal coverage, which is more than 19 percent of California’s general fund. And the tab is about to get bigger. The federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is set to go into effect in less than a year, expanding Medi-Cal eligibility to millions more uninsured Californians. While there are no concrete numbers surrounding future coverage, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Californians will sign up for Medi-Cal in the first year alone; the UC Berkeley Labor Center estimates that between 750,000 and 910,000 of the 1.4 million Californians to be newly eligible for Medi-Cal as a result of Obamacare will sign up for the program by 2019, along with up to a half-million of the estimated 2.5 million residents currently eligible but not enrolled. People need health insurance, sure, but can California actually afford to insure people? And, even if it can, will Medi-Cal patients just end up in the emergency room instead of at a primary-care physician’s office? The state Legislative Analyst’s Office says the Obamacare price tag will be in the low hundreds of millions annually during its first few years, and a study released this month by the UC Berkeley Labor Center has provided estimates in the same ballpark. However, this same study suggests that the costs to California will be minimal, with the federal government perhaps picking up more than 85 percent of Medi-Cal expenses. According to Laurel Lucia, one of the study’s authors, the added coverage for Californians won’t be the only perk. “This program will be putting billions of federal dollars into the California economy,” said Lucia, noting that the Medi-Cal expansion, paired with enrollment growth for those already eligible, could inject up to $3.5 billion from the federal government into the state in 2014 alone. Anthony Cava, with the state Department of Health Care Services, noted that there will be other benefits with the expansion of health coverage and preventative care for lowerincome Californians. Again, however, these benefits cannot yet be specifically quantified. “Regular preventive care has proven to decrease health-care costs,” he explained,

“including costs associated with hospital admissions, emergency care and the costly treatment of chronic conditions.” So while experts predict a spike in ER visits once Obamacare goes into effect, state officials are looking to win the long game, providing a portion of the 7.3 million uninsured Californians with Medi-Cal coverage with the hope that they will actively take part in preventative care. Studies on Oregon’s Medicaid State Plan suggest they will: newly covered low-income Oregon residents have been found to be 70 percent more likely to have a usual place of care and 55 percent more likely to have a regular doctor than those not covered. Of course, Medi-Cal won’t cover everyone. The California HealthCare Foundation reports that the percentage of uninsured in the state has been on a slow rise since the economic crisis kicked off in 2008; the uninsured currently make up 22 percent of the state population. For many who do not qualify, there are options, such as county indigent-care programs and the Low Income Health Program. But those are dwindling, too. And for the rest? For instance: California is home to about a quarter of the estimated 11.1 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. Whether or not this portion of the population should be eligible for medical benefits has long been hotly debated. As it stands, Medi-Cal applicants must provide identification, Social Security numbers and immigration status. However, applicants are not required to answer questions regarding their immigration status during the screening process. Meanwhile, “Federal law requires states to provide emergency care to undocumented immigrants,” said Cava. Minority communities also sometimes disproportionately end up in the ER and forgo preventive care. Here in Sacramento County, for instance, black residents make up 10 percent of the population, but in 2011, accounted for nearly 20 percent of emergency-room visits. So, while Obamacare is coming and is set to provide many low-income Californians with much-needed healthcare coverage with seemingly little cost to the state, there’s still much work to be done. And concerns with the future of the U.S. health-care system remain.

F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 01.10.13

SN&R

Life gave Two Rivers Cider Co. owner Vincent Sterne an oversaturated beer market, and so he made cider instead.

APPLES TO

APPLES by ALAS T A IR B LA ND

photos by WE S D A V I S

Orchards may be sparse, but Northern California is at the root of a new microcraft cider boom A different version of this story originally appeared in the Bohemian.

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01.10.13

For more information on Two Rivers Cider Company and Pangaea Two Brews Cafe, visit www.tworiverscider.com and http://pangaeatwobrews.com.

THE CRAFT-BEER I N D U S TRY WAS BOOMING IN 1997, BUT HOBBYIST BEER MAKER VINCENT STERNE, THOUGH EAGER TO ENTER THE COMMERCIAL FERMENTATION WORLD, DECIDED TO TRY ANOTHER WAY IN: APPLE CIDER. “I saw the industry getting saturated with beer,” recalls Sterne, now the owner and head cider maker at Two Rivers Cider Company. “But I noticed there was a lack of craft ciders. Nobody was making one.” Not much has changed in the years since. Though apple cider is among the most popular beverages in Europe, craft cider makers in America remain few and far between. Yet a handful have recently appeared in Northern California, especially in the North Bay wine country, and around the country a quiet microrevolution seems to be gaining traction. Among these, the Sacramento-based Two Rivers has matured into one of the most adventurous and innovative cideries anywhere. While most Americans remain familiar with the sweet, fizzy, sodalike drinks from commercial cider brands like Ace, Crispin and Fox Barrel, Sterne—who often delivers kegs to bars and restaurants via bicycle—has ventured in an entirely different direction: bourbon-barrel aged cider and cider that is made with hops, honey, agave, smoked

apples, jalapeños—these and more are the creative experiments that have emerged from Two Rivers’ steel tanks and oak casks. Sterne has fostered a steady relationship with apple growers near Placerville for years. But for many California cider makers who have entered the trade more recently, fruit often proves hard to come by. These entrepreneurs—about a half dozen of them, all making on an order of just 2,000 to 5,000 bottles per year—have struggled not only to find remaining orchards, but to convince their owners not to sell their land to developers who’ve converted most historical apple orchards into housing tracts and vineyards. Still, a handful of orchards—just enough, perhaps, to provide a start for a local cider industry—have been preserved, some intentionally, others by accident. One cluster of trees on the bank of the Russian River near Sebastopol was abandoned in the late George H.W. Bush era. Blackberry vines crawled over the property, and the small orchard disappeared. Crop after crop of fruit fell in the timeless way of trees, while just miles away the world raced forward. Only in August 2011 did the snipping blades of a rose trimmer finally part the brambles as two Sebastopol residents stepped into this long-lost secret garden. Then, farmers Scott Heath and Ellen Cavalli were determined to enter the cider business. Their quest for fruit, plus a helpful tip from a landowner, brought them searching in this overgrown jungle, which had been planted with heirloom apple trees, then abandoned, in a failed cider endeavor some 20 years ago.

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In recent years, the craft cider market’s grown considerably in Northern California, but orchards that cultivate cider-specific apples still prove hard to find.

IN JUST THE PAST YEAR, AMERICAN APPLE CIDER SALES JUMPED BY 65 PERCENT, WITH GLUTEN-INTOLERANT CONSUMERS REPORTEDLY AN IMPORTANT FORCE IN DRIVING THE MARKET. “It’s nice to know that someone else had the same idea in mind that we do, to make cider with traditional cider apples,” Cavalli says. “But the market at the time just wasn’t ready.” But now, it seems to be. In 2011, Heath and Cavalli, owners of Tilted Shed Ciderworks, produced about 1,400 bottles of cider. This year, they’ve quadrupled their volume, pressing two dozen apple varieties for about 1,200 gallons of juice, scheduled for release in the early summer of 2013 after several months of aging. Their ciders include the Graviva! Semidry Cider, a blend of Gravenstein and several heirloom varieties, and the January Barbecue Smoked Cider, made with additions of smoked apples. Other Northern California entrepreneurs prospecting in the frontier of hard cider include the AppleGarden Farm in Tomales and Apple Sauced Cider in Sebastopol. In southeast Petaluma, Murray’s Cyder is also growing. The company was first founded in 1998, then floundered until a man named Wayne Van Loon purchased it several years ago. Van Loon released his first ciders under the label in 2010 and has since doubled in volume, with 6,000 handcorked bottles of the 2012 crop soon to appear at local retailers. “The cider market right now is exploding,” Van Loon says. “People were overjoyed once with a can of cold lager. Then, someone handed them a bottle of Anchor Steam, and craft beer has seen rising sales almost every year since.” BEFORE

Cider could follow a similar upward trajectory. In just the past year, American apple cider sales jumped by 65 percent, with gluten-intolerant consumers reportedly an important force in driving the market. Craft-beer drinkers have also taken a liking to craft cider, according to James Anderson, co-manager at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe on Franklin Boulevard. He says beer drinkers attuned to unusual flavors and creative styles may also develop a liking for the dry, tart, sometimes sour and often flat makings of craft cideries. Anderson says he occasionally offers seasonal releases from large companies, like Ace and Crispin. But the ciders from these labels tend to be “domesticated for the American palate and are often sweet and marketed toward women or people who don’t like beer,” Anderson says. Rather, Pangaea focuses on serving more obscure, innovative beverages—mostly beer but also a few ciders. Anderson recently put on tap an 11 percent alcohol by volume honey-apple cider (a drink known as a “cyser”) from Two Rivers called Honey Badger. While the market may be wide open for the growth of craft cider houses, the supply of fruit is limited—especially apples of the right kinds. Compared to familiar eating apples, cider-specific varieties are fraught with tannins and acids that make some of them too tart or astringent to eat but which bolster a finished cider with backbone, aroma and complexity. Although most craft-cider

FRONTLINES

F E AT U R E

STORY

companies manage to use apple varieties bred for eating, the best ciders come from unusual apples with names such as Kingston Black, Nehou, Muscat de Bernay, Roxbury Russet and Porter’s Perfection. A turnaround in the decline of apple orchards could occur if cider makers demand one. Some farmers see promise in growing and selling apples to cider makers. Veteran apple grower Stan Devoto, for example, is committed to keeping his trees and, in fact, has converted through grafting about onefourth of his small Sebastopol farm to heirloom cider apples. As California’s cider culture plants new roots, the future could be an uphill crawl for a while as cider makers seek out the fruit they need, whether by contracting with existing apple farmers or by growing their own. At Two Rivers, Sterne is planning a production expansion in 2013, and to help meet future demands, he is planting 5 acres of land with cider-specific apples— especially one variety, high in tannins and acids and resembling a large crab apple, called the Wickson. Van Loon, who currently has no trees of his own, expects the craft-cider industry to boom, whether he’s ready or not. It’s just a matter of time, he says—and, of course, access to the fruit. “I have no doubt that the cider market will explode. I just need the right trees, and I can’t grow them myself in a planter box.” |

A RT S & C U LT U R E

nity Center Theater last week. That’s because I looked at the group’s website before attending the show and discovered that the troupe sings lyrics such as, “In the followers of Dafa lies the lone hope of salvation.” The New York-based traditional Chinese performing-arts troupe has toured the world for the last seven years, with the self-proclaimed mission of “reviving 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture” through art, music and dance. Currently, the group features three casts simultaneously touring and performing for audiences around the globe. But worldwide, theater and dance critics have concentrated on the how the group slips in political and religious messages and promotes Falung Gong (a.k.a. Falun Dafa). Although the show’s colorful and diverse dances and music change annually, reviews often focus on the show’s propagandizing: In 2008, a reviewer for The Telegraph in England criticized the troupe’s work as “a politically motivated performance … being smuggled on Why can’t to stages around Europe in the name of family entertain- a group of ment.” The show has also people directly been known to show the Chisuffering nese government’s modernday persecution and murder the wrath of of Falun Gong practitioners. communist Indeed, there was such a scene in the troupe’s recent China do their Sacramento show. In addition, literally every song performed own commie was a cultish ode to the benbashing? efits of Falun Gong. And, sure, it’s slightly misleading that Falun Gong—a Chinese spiritual discipline that promotes Taoist- and Buddhist-influenced exercise and meditation—isn’t advertised on the troupe’s fliers, but seriously, this political bent is apparent all over the troupe’s website. And, besides, it’s not like Falun Gong is a controversial religion or anything: It promotes physical fitness, practicing mindfulness and cultivating good karma. So, why have past critics been so sensitive about mentioning it? My Chinese grandparents fled from China during the Mao era in part to escape the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Economic, religious and cultural oppression are now part of the country’s infinitely complex 5,000-year history. So, why should this reality be ignored in Shen Yun’s production? It’s certainly popular for current American politicians to criticize China’s current government. Why can’t a group of people directly suffering the wrath of communist China do their own commie bashing? According to the group’s two emcees, this show’s main message was a generally true thesis about China: It’s a country full of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. Sure, some of the opera singing was a bit lackluster (and its only lyrical purpose was to laud Falun Gong), and a few dancers may have messed up slightly, but it definitely entertained my 93-year-old Chinese grandmother (who, by the way, is Catholic). And, yes, it also criticized the Chinese Communist Party. But I didn’t mind that. —Jonathan Mendick

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January picks by SHOKA

See the self The common man’s ego is such a delicate flower, but what about the artist’s ego? It can be so revealing to see an artist’s self-portrait, and not necessarily because it’s an opportunity to behold what the artist physically looks like, but because it’s an opportunity to witness how the artist wants to be perceived. Elliott Fouts Gallery has assembled a group show of self-portraits, and it piques one’s curiosity to see how painters who are mostly known for abstract and landscape works, such as Micah Crandall-Bear and John Karl Claes, will approach their interpretations. See for yourself.

Where: 1831 P Street, (916) 736-1429, http://efgallery.com. Second Saturday reception: January 12, 6 to 9 p.m. Through January 31. Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Hey, it’s Diane! If you have ever taken a figure-drawing class in the Sacramento area over the past few decades or know someone who has, you likely have seen—in the flesh—Diane Baxter. For more than 35 years, the heavyset and incredibly patient Baxter has been posing for aspiring artists as they used her form to learn how to draw the human body. See the artistic interpretations of this longtime member of the art community in this juried exhibition at Capital ArtWorks. Where: 1215 21st Street, Suite B; (916) 207-3787; http://capital-artworks.com. Second Saturday reception: January 12, 6 to 9 p.m. Through March 2. Hours: Monday through Saturday, by appointment. “Diane Standing” by Robert Dvorak, watercolor, 2012.

“Self-portrait” by Ryoko Tajiri, acrylic on canvas, 2012.

The vintage effect Patrick Marasso paints memories you’ve never had. And this month, he has joined the roster at JayJay, along with ceramicists Mark Boguski and Kris Lyons. Marasso’s paintings of candid vintage snapshots circa the 1970s, give or take a beehive or two, capture the flat lighting of the camera’s flash, with even the occasional finger over the lens and the dulling and yellowing of aging photo paper. These elements, in addition to the dated hairstyles and clothes of the subjects within the frame, aid in creating a nostalgic effect for these strangers, and Marasso’s tableaux of them ignite the viewer’s imagination unlike the photo alone likely would: Why did this woman sneak away into a cluttered basement at a party, and why is she playing with a hula hoop? Perhaps to revisit some of her own nostalgic past.

Where: 5520 Elvas Avenue, (916) 453-2999, www.jayjayart.com. Artists’ reception: Thursday, January 10; 5:30 to 8 p.m.; gallery talk at 7 p.m. Second Saturday reception: January 12, 6 to 8 p.m. Through February 23. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; or by appointment. “Basement Hula” by Patrick Marasso, oil on panel, 2012. BEFORE

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Sacramento Vedanta Reading Group

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The whole world is your own. — Sri Sarada Devi

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24 SHIMO CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2117 28th St., (916) 706-1162, www.shimogallery.com

25 SHINY NICKEL ART GALLERY 1518 21st St., (916) 224-7051

34 ARTHOUSE UPSTAIRS 1021 R St., (530) 979-1611, www.arthouse-saramento.com

35 ARTISTS’ COLLABORATIVE GALLERY 129 K St., (916) 444-7125, www.artcollab.com

26 TIM COLLOM GALLERY 915 20th St., (916) 247-8048, www.timcollomgallery.com

27 UNION HALL GALLERY 2126 K St.,

36 CROCKER ART MUSEUM 216 O St., (916) 808-7000, www.crockerartmuseum.org

37 E STREET GALLERY AND STUDIOS 1115 E St., (916) 505-7264

(916) 448-2452

28 UNIVERSITY ART 2601 J St.,

38 LA RAZA GALERÍA POSADA

(916) 443-5721, www.universityart.com

29 THE URBAN HIVE 1931 H St., (916) 585-4483, www.theurbanhive.com

30 VIEWPOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC ART CENTER 2015 J St., (916) 441-2341, www.viewpointgallery.org (916) 443-5601, www.zanzibartrading.com

DOWNTOWN/OLD SAC 32 APPEL GALLERY 931 T St., (916) 442-6014, www.appelgallery.com

33 ART FOUNDRY GALLERY 1025 R St., (916) 444-2787

2700 Front St., (916) 446-5133, www.larazagaleriaposada.org

39 SMITH GALLERY 1020 11th St., Ste. 100; (916) 446-4444; www.smithgallery.com

40 TEMPLE COFFEE 1010 Ninth St.,

31 ZANZIBAR GALLERY 1731 L St.,

(916) 443-4960, www.templecoffee.com

41 VOX SACRAMENTO 1818 11th St., www.voxsac.com

EAST SAC

(916) 456-1058, www.gallery14.net

46 JAYJAY 5520 Elvas Ave.,

(916) 453-2999, www.jayjayart.com

OFF MAP I ARTISTIC EDGE 1880 Fulton Ave., (916)

482-2787; http://artisticedgeframing.com

II BLUE LINE GALLERY 405 Vernon St.,

Ste. 100 in Roseville; (916) 783-4117; http://bluelinegallery.blogspot.com

III DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING GALLERIES 1001 Del Paso Blvd.

University Art

IV EVOLVE THE GALLERY 2907 35th St.,

2601 J Street

VI PATRIS STUDIO AND ART GALLERY

(916) 923-6204, www.archivalframe.com

45 GALLERY 14 3960 60th St.,

(916) 952-4810

42 ARCHIVAL FRAMING 3223 Folsom Blvd.,

FRONTLINES

St., (916) 456-4455, www.fegallery.com

V OLD CITY ART GALLERY 2512 Franklin Blvd.,

43 COFFEE WORKS 3418 Folsom Blvd., |

44 FE GALLERY & IRON ART STUDIO 1100 65th

(916) 572-5123, www.evolvethegallery.com

(916) 452-1086, www.coffeeworks.com

BEFORE

Photo

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FEATURE

2610 Marconi Ave. 916-484-1640

3460 Second Ave., (916) 397-8958, http://artist-patris.com

VII SACRAMENTO TEMPORARY CONTEMPORARY

Palo Alto

1616 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 921-1224, http://stcgallery.webs.com

STORY

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916-443-5721

AFTER

San Jose 01.10.1 3

Sacramento |

SN&R

NIGHT&DAY 10THURS DON’T MISS! SACRED TIBETAN SAND MANDALA IN AUBURN:

Welcome the Venerable Ngawang Chojor as he creates a sand mandala. The Venerable Chojor, a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, is considered a master sand mandala creator, held in high esteem throughout the world. He will be creating a mandala of compassion. Th, 1/10, 10am. Free. Donations accepted. First Congregational Church, 710 Auburn Ravine Rd. in Auburn; (916) 712-4186; www.tibetchild.org.

List your event! Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo and a link to your website. Go to www.newsreview. com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

Classes DIM SUM WORKSHOP: Literally meaning, “to touch your heart,” dim sum consists of a variety of dumplings, steamed dishes and other goodies. Warm up with bite-sized treats that you will make and enjoy in class. Th, 1/10, 6-8:30pm. $40-$49. Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Community Learning Center & Cooking School, 1914 Alhambra Blvd. behind the Co-op; (916) 868-6399; www.sacfoodcoop.com.

REAL-ESTATE INVESTMENT CLASS: At Jim Toners’ real-estate investment cash-flow workshop, Toners will provide a detailed, step-by-step action plan on how to spot and capitalize on today’s exploding investment real-estate market. Attendees will also get a copy of his new book, The Consumers Guide to Investment Real Estate. Th, 1/10, 9am & 7pm.

Free. Hilton Sacramento Arden West, 2200 Harvard St.; www.wealthbuilderradio.com.

Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

Film

Concerts

THE INTERRUPTERS: The

THURSDAY NIGHT WINE & JAZZ:

Interrupters tells the story of three dedicated individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they themselves once employed. These “violence interrupters” have credibility on the street because of their own personal histories and intervene in conflicts before the incidents explode into violence. Th, 1/10, 6:30pm. $7.50-$10.50. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

Hear live music provided by Marcus & Friends while trying new wines and unwinding after the hectic holidays. Wine tasting and light appetizers provided by the culinary team at Arden Hills. Th, 1/10, 6-9pm. $20. Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa, 1220 Arden Hills Ln.; (916) 482-6111.

11FRI

DON’T MISS!

Museums CROCKER ART MUSEUM: Art Mix, get crafty with activities and entertainment inspired by the maker’s faire movement. Presented in collaboration with Recreate and People Who Really Build Things, the Crocker cuts loose with creative mix of art, music and cocktails. Th, 1/10, 5-9pm. Free with museum admission. Museum hours are 10am-5pm Tu-Su and until 9pm on first and third Th of every month. 216 O St.; (916) 808-7000; www.crockerartmuseum.org.

Now Playing DRUMLINE LIVE: Created by Don Roberts, executive consultant for the 20th Century Fox hit movie Drumline, this production is a marching band extravaganza that parades out of the football stadium and onto the stage with percussion, brass and choreography. Th, 1/10, 7:30pm. $39-$59. Three

CRITICAL HIT: A GEEK

COMEDY SHOW: Critical Hit returns with an all-new show for the new year. Sing along with a musical geek tribute to Les Misérables. Learn the truth about Harry Potter with an exposé by Critical Hit’s British correspondent Bailey Kallas. Every Critical Hit show is a blend of video and live performance. F, 1/11, 9pm. $10. Sacramento Comedy Spot, 1050 20th St., Ste. 130; (916) 444-3137; www.saccomedyspot.com.

Art Galleries JOHN NATSOULAS GALLERY: James Chafee Opening Reception, a solo exhibition by figurative artist James Chaffee. Enjoy four floors of art while listening to live music. F, 1/11, 7-10pm. Free. 521 First St. in Davis, (530) 756-3938; www.natsoulas.com.

Comedy FUSION FUN FRIDAY: Check out the comedy of Brad Bonar Jr. Bonar is a double entertainer: a talented close-up magician as well as a comic. He will be bringing some friends with him as well. The comedy is appropriate for ages 16 and older.

Every third F, 8pm through 12/31. $12-$15. Fusion International Arts Center, 501 Arden Way; (916) 538-4008; www.fusioniac.com.

Literary Events CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB OPEN-MIC: California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch hosts an open-mic for writers. Signups begin at 6:45 p.m. Readings are limited to 10 minutes per person. Listeners are welcome. The California Writers Club is an educational nonprofit corporation dedicated to educating writers of all levels of expertise in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work. F, 1/11, 7-9pm. Free. Barnes & Noble, 6111 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights; (916) 344-5778; www.cwcsacramentowriters.org.

Volunteer SOLAR INSTALLATION VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION: Grid Alternatives is a nonprofit solar contractor that trains and leads teams of volunteers and job trainees to install no-cost solar electricity systems exclusively for lowincome homeowners. Attendance at the orientation is required prior to participating in hands-on installation training. F, 1/11. Call for pricing. Solar Installation Volunteer Orientation, 950 Tharp Rd. 1000 Sutter County One Stop in

Yuba; (530) 217-6116; www.grid alternatives.org/volunteer.

Concerts MARK HUMMEL’S TRIBUTE TO JIMMY REED: Mark Hummel and his band are joined by an allstar harmonica lineup, all paying tribute to Jimmy Reed. F, 1/11, 8pm. $12-$39. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

12SAT

DON’T MISS! RACHEL BARTON PINE:

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine will perform with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Michael Morgan conducting, at the Community Center Theater. The program includes Nolan Gasser’s Sonoma Overture, Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor. Sa, 1/12, 7:30pm. $21-$117. Sacramento Community Center Theater, 1301 L St.; (916) 808-5291.

Special Events BALLET OPEN REHEARSAL: The Sacramento Ballet invites you into its studios to watch an open rehearsal of The Great Gatsby and learn to dance the Charleston. The Charleston lesson will be taught by former Sacramento Ballet dancer, Jeanne Marie Jacobson. Sa, 1/12, 6:30-7:30pm. Free. The

Sacramento Ballet Studios, 1631 K St.; (916) 552-5800, ext. 101; www.sacballet.org.

NATIONAL DANISH PERFORMANCE TEAM: The National Danish Performance Team is visiting Sacramento on its world tour with a new show called Zoom. The performance combines a variety of modern rhythmic gymnastics, dance, cheer, artistic vaulting, tumbling and high-energy acrobatics. The goal of the team is to encourage active lifestyles, to promote sports for all and to encourage an international understanding. Sa, 1/12, 7:30pm. $6-$12. Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St.; (916) 264-5181; www.ndpt.dk.

ARTISAN EXPO: Fusion International Arts Center’s monthly Artisan Expo features gifts, handmade items, and crafts. Browse from 40 local vendors, hear live music and participate in art workshops.

Second Sa of every month, 11am-

6pm through 12/31. Free. Fusion International Arts Center, 501 Arden Way; (916) 538-4008; www.fusioniac.com.

START TRAINING INFO SESSION: Start Training is a team halfmarathon training and fundraising program of the American Heart Association for all levels and abilities. Whether you choose to walk or run, staff and coaches will train you from step one all the way to completing a half-marathon. Sa, 1/12, 9am. Call for pricing. Mercy General, 3810 J St., Rose Conference Room; (916) 446-6505; http://sacramento starttraining.org.

WINTER BIRDS IN DAVIS: SLIDESHOW & TOUR: Learn about local birds during a free slide show and

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01. 10.13

tour of the UC Davis arboretum. Enjoy a slide show highlighting birds you might see in winter in the Arboretum. Then, weather permitting, take a stroll with a docent to look for birds in the garden. The tour will meet at 1 p.m. at 146 Environmental Horticulture. Sa, 1/12, 1pm. Free. UC Davis, 1 Shields Ave. in Davis; (530) 752-1011.

SHEPARD GARDEN & ART CENTER: 29th Annual Seconds Sale, in an attempt to start the new year with an uncluttered studio, there will be more than 25 clay, glass, and metal artists making art available for sale. This is an opportunity for you to purchase functional, decorative and wearable gifts. Sa, 1/12, 10am-2pm. 3330 McKinley Blvd., (530) 887-5471.

SMITH GALLERY: Contemplative

Art Galleries ARTHOUSE UPSTAIRS: Country Day Student Art Show, an exhibit of art work from the students of Country Day School. Sa, 1/12, 4-9 & 6-9pm. Free. http://art house-sacramento.com.

DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING: Second Saturday, enjoy a handbuilt ceramic sclupture gallery and ceramic artist studio featuring member art. Join a clay studio group, which meets weekly on Wednesday. Second Sa of every month, 6-9pm through 10/12. Free. 1001 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 333-4833.

KENNEDY GALLERY & ART CENTER: Fabulous Nudes, Kennedy Gallery celebrates the human form and supports local artists. Sa, 1/12, 6-9pm. 1931 L St.; (916) 716-7050.

PATRIS STUDIO AND ART GALLERY: Second Saturday Art Walk and Art in Action, draw, paint or sculpt from a live model from 3 to 6 p.m. or observe artists in action. Enjoy live music and an artist reception from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Second Sa of every month, 2-10pm through 12/14. Free. 3460 Second Ave.; (916) 397-8958; http://patris studiogallery.blogspot.com.

Landscapes, Linda Heath Clark’s paintings offer the viewer a serene perspective that allows one to go to a place of seclusion and appreciation of the lovely landscape. Her acrylics on canvas are on display at Smith Gallery. Sa, 1/12, 6-9pm. Free. 1020 11th St., (916) 446-4444.

Comedy THE COLONY: This is a show more creative than its name. A team of improv veterans and friends build something with your suggestions. The team takes the stage every week to ask you some questions. Your answers and your ideas fuel the performance. Sa, 9:15pm through 12/28. $7. Blacktop Comedy, 7311 Galilee Rd. 150 in Roseville; (916) 749-3100; www.blacktop comedy.com/shows/thecolony.

Concerts

Art Galleries

THE WALKING PHOENIXES: In celebration of the 45th anniversary of Johnny Cash’s performance at Folsom State Prison, The Walking Phoenixes—a Johnny Cash Tribute band—will perform favorite songs from the Johnny Cash songbook (“Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Big River” and more). Sa, 1/12, 7pm. $30-$35. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

GALLERY 1855: The Street Is Not a Studio, the photography of Gabi Ben-Avraham. BenAvraham walks the streets stalking the elusive, the surreal, the soon-to-be-forgotten moment in order to eternalize its special magic with his lens. Su, 1/13, 1-4pm. Free. 820 Pole Line Rd. Davis Cemetery District Office in Davis; (530) 756-7807; www.daviscemetery.org.

13SUN

DON’T MISS! LOS LOBOS ACOUSTIC EN VIVO: The three-time

Grammy-winning band sets down its electric instruments and picks up its guitarones, jaranas and bajo sextos for a lively acoustic performance of its Latin catalog, in both traditional and contemporary styles. Su, 1/13, 7pm. $29-$39. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

14MON

invites you into a musical world that mixes gospel revival tents, Irish pubs, Motown and punk. Sa, 1/12, 8pm. $20-$22. Sutter Creek Theatre, 44 Main St. in Sutter Creek; (916) 425-0077; www.suttercreektheater.com.

Experience the best of Downtown Sacramento’s dining scene during Dine Downtown Restaurant Week. For 10 days, local chefs will create special three-course dinner menus for $30 per person. Through 1/18, 5pm. $30. Downtown Sacramento; (916) 442-8575; http://downtownsac.org/ events/dine-downtown.

Art Galleries ART ON THE DIVIDE COOPERATIVE GALLERY: Walk the Line, a spe-

16WED Film

MURDERESS: In October 1931 in

MEAT BASICS: Instructor Dionisio Esperas will will give you the basic building blocks for a wellrounded repertoire, and you will gain the confidence to master the recipes you learn. This class is a combination of hands-on and demonstrationstyle instruction. M, 1/14, 6-8:30pm. $35-$45. Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Community Learning Center & Cooking School, 1914 Alhambra Blvd. (916) 868-6399; www.sacfoodcoop.com.

George Balanchine was big on Broadway in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Hear the inimitable John Clifford wax poetic on the showbiz side of the master’s choreography to the hit musicals of George Gershwin. Su, 1/13, 4pm. $15. The Sacramento Ballet Studios, 1631 K St.; (916) 552-5800, ext. 2; www.sacballet.org.

DINE DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT WEEK:

mentary tells the story of how a partnership of youth and adults helped the Davis community confront its 21st-century racism. The film opens with a racial incident in January 2003 and the community’s initial response. It continues to trace the community over the next seven years. Tu, 1/15, 6pm. Free. The Guild Theater, 2828 35th St.; (916) 732-4673

Classes

Special Events

DON’T MISS!

FROM THE COMMUNITY TO THE CLASSROOM: This docu-

SCHUBERT IN THE AGE OF THE SOUND BYTE: Jeffrey Siegel returns for four performances at Three Stages. He’ll be mixing performance with lively commentary on the glorious melodies and incandescent harmonies of Schubert. Su, 1/13, 1pm. $7-$29. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

ONGOING

DON’T MISS!

Concerts

BALANCHINE MEETS BROADWAY:

HOUSTON JONES: Houston Jones

15TUES

C.N. GORMAN MUSEUM: The Weavings of D.Y. Begay, a Navajo weaver creates tapestries with a unique blend of traditional weaving techniques and contemporary design.

M-F, noon-5pm; Su, 2-5pm through 3/15. Free. 1 Shields

Ave., Hart Hall in Davis; (530) 752-6567; http://gormanmuseum. ucdavis.edu.

Lectures and workshops are a big part of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Here, Barbara Klutinis, creator of the film Stepping Into the Stream, speaks.

Wait, there’s more!

PH OT OB YJ AS ON RA INE Y

THIS YEAR’S WILD & SCENIC Film Festival’s theme is climate change. So basically, it’s like An Inconvenient Truth on steroids. Here’s why: In its 11th year, the annual Nevada City and Grass Valley festival continues its tradition of using film and workshops as a call to action on environmental issues. Wild & Scenic branches out this time with a dozen locations throughout the two cities hosting different screenings and activities. It’s also got 3-D film nights, guest speakers, awards ceremonies, block parties, music and kids’ programs. One standout special guest is local snowboarder Jeremy Jones. The professional athlete is committed to hiking up mountains to ride backcountry slopes in lieu of using helicopters, which he and other snowboarders have often used to scope out the most pristine spots. He founded Protect Our Winters to help get the snow-sports community active in fighting climate change. His film, Jeremy Jones’ Further, will be screened during the Saturday, January 12, 7 p.m. session and the Sunday, January 13, 1:15 p.m. session. Another local athlete, free climber Alex Honnold, will speak after screenings of the climbing film Honnold 3.0 during the same sessions. Don’t-miss nonfilm-related activities include: a community paddle on the Yuba River (Friday, January 11, 9 a.m.); an opening reception with hors d’oeurves, local wine and beer from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Friday, January 11, 4 p.m.); a climateaction parade (Saturday, January 12, noon); eco-tours (Sunday, January 13, 10 a.m.); and an awards ceremony (Sunday, January 13, 12:15 a.m.). Workshops will help visitors learn about oceans, climate justice, environmental policy and local streams. And of course, dozens of films will highlight topics such as global activism, nuclear power, melting ice caps, farming, water use and animals. So grab your Patagonia jacket, buy some passes and get your Lorax on. January 10-13; call for ticket prices. Various locations throughout Nevada City and Grass Valley; (530) 265-5961; www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.

Phoenix, Ariz., two friends (and ex-roommates) of medical secretary Winnie Ruth Judd were murdered. According to prosecutors, after the two women were murdered, Judd and an accomplice dismembered the body of Samuelson and stuffed the head, torso and lower legs into a black shipping trunk. W, 1/16, 7pm. $5. The Grange Performing Arts Center, 3823 V St.; (916) 736-2664.

cial exhibit of original art interpreting the title of one of Johnny Cash’s most wellknown and best-loved songs, “I Walk the Line.” Capture two events in one day as Music on the Divide brings to Georgetown the Cash Tribute Show featuring James Garner, which honors the life and music of the legendary singer. F-Su, 10am-5pm through 1/27. Free. 6295 Main St. in Georgetown; (530) 333-2787.

Looking for something to do? Use SN&R’s free calendar to browse hundreds of events online. Art galleries and musems, family events, education classes, film and literary events, church groups, music, sports, volunteer opportunies—all this and more on our free events calendar at www.newsreview.com. Start planning your week!

JONATHAN MENDICK BEFORE

FRONTLINES

FEATURE

STORY

A RT S & C U LT U R E

AFTER

01.10.13

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26 | SN&R | 01.10.13

DISH

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3672 J Street, (916) 736-2506 As a Californian, native or otherwise, it is your civic duty to learn about the hybrid dish known as the California burrito. This burrito originated by in Southern California, specifically in San Becky Diego, and is a mixture of carne asada, chedGrunewald dar cheese, grilled onions and french fries. It simple, elegant, timeless and a brilliant mashup of Mexican and American culture, just like California herself. As one would hope, California Burrito makes an excellent example of such a dish. It has lots of gooey cheese; salty, chewy steak; and soggy fries (but no pico de gallo or salsa, so make sure to get some from the salsa bar to douse each bite). It’s quite addictive: During one visit, I kept trying to put the burrito down and walk away, but I wound up eating every last shred. Another San Diego regional dish offered here is the rolled taco—or taquito, as you may know it from the Taco Bell menu. It’s a small, rolled, deep-fried corn tortilla stuffed with meat and topped with guacamole. The beef has more character than the dry chicken, and they Rating: make for satisfying, crunchy snacks. ★★ The veggie burrito is served Mission style (with pinto beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream, Dinner for one: lettuce, pico de gallo); this is a starchy, over$5 - $10 rated approach that is a path to a nap wrapped in a tortilla, but go for it, if you like that kind of thing. The menu ventures out of the Golden State and into Southwestern and Tex-Mex cuisine with the chimichanga. The debate over the origin of this deep-fried burrito is in hot dispute, but many believe it was probably invented in the Tucson, Ariz., area. If you’ve ★ ever tasted a deep-fried flour tortilla chip, posPOOR sibly at El Novillero (4216 Franklin ★★ Boulevard), then you’ve already encountered FAIR the puffy, oily decadence of the chimichanga ★★★ wrapper. The filling is equal parts beans and GOOD carne asada (it can also be ordered with vari★★★★ ous meats), and it’s served smothered in a EXCELLENT slightly bitter and spicy red chili sauce. ★★★★★ Fajitas are another primarily Tex-Mex dish, EXTRAORDINARY and the chicken version, served with strips of sautéed onion and green pepper, is more healthful than most dishes on the menu, but it’s still bland and oily. I don’t know from whence the restaurant’s fish taco came, regionally speaking, but it needs to swim back. It’s essentially a fish stick wrapped in a corn tortilla, accompanied by a mostly mayo “tartar sauce” as garnish. The spicy fish plate, although a bit pricey, is much better. The lime-marinated white fish is served with a tart enchilada-style sauce. When it truly goes south of the border, California Burrito is on ground as shaky as the San Andreas Fault. Simple carnitas tacos are

desiccated and topped with too many onions; the chunks of the pork in the chili verde don’t have the desired pull-apart texture, and the tomatillo sauce lacks heat. This space, which previously housed a KFC and a Thai restaurant, among others, retains the bones of its generic, fast-food ambience. The restaurant’s logo depicts the state of California wearing a sombrero, with a burrito where the lap of California would be if California had a lap.

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When it truly goes south of the border, California Burrito is on ground as shaky as the San Andreas Fault . Both times I visited the restaurant it was icy cold inside, and on one visit, Bandamax, the Mexico-based music-television network, blared on a nearby television set. One fix for this is that the restaurant will deliver for free within a 2-mile radius for an order of more than $20. Another solution is just to pop in, order a California burrito to go and head home to watch Bandamax in surround sound—the accordion and tuba will sound crystal clear. Ω

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THE V WORD Get schooled Wanna get schooled in vegan cooking? Here are a few options: On Tuesday, January 15, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., learn how to make Moroccan, Thai and Vietnamese curries in a hands-on class with instructor Shankari Easwaran at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Community Learning Center and Cooking School (1914 Alhambra Boulevard, www.sacfoodcoop.com; $40-$49). Also at the center on Tuesday, January 29, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Ron Russell of The Plum Cafe & Bakery will demonstrate raw-food basics ($35-$45). Russell also teaches classes at The Plum (2315 K Street, http://plumcafebakery.com) for $59 a session—like the “Raw Mexican Cuisine” class featuring avocado-cilantro soup and flan on Wednesday, January 30—if you really like it raw.

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Downtown

Estelle’s Patisserie With its marble tables and light wooden chairs, there’s an airy atmosphere, casual and cozy. Estelle’s offers an espresso bar and a wide assortment of teas and muffins and rolls for the breakfast crowd as well as sweets, including DayGlo macarons. For the lunch-inclined, there are soups, salads, sandwiches and meat or meatless quiche. One of the authentic touches is the spare use of condiments. The smoked salmon is enlivened by dill and the flavor of its croissant. Its tomato bisque is thick and richly flavored, and, in a nice touch, a puff pastry floats in the tureen as accompaniment. There’s a lot to like about Estelle’s—except dinner. Doors close at 6 p.m. French. 901 K St., (916) 551-1500. Meal for one: $5-$10. ★★★1⁄2 G.L.

Grange Restaurant & Bar You won’t find any “challenging” dishes on this menu—just delicious local and seasonal food such as the Green Curry & Pumpkin Soup, which has a Southeast-Asian flair. A spinach salad features ingredients that could be considered boring elsewhere: blue-cheese dressing,

selection of sandwiches and pizzas, including a simple pie with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce. American. 1132 16th St., (916) 446-0888. Dinner for one: $15-$20. ★★★ B.G.

Shady Lady Saloon

So many bars try to do bar snacks, and so many fail. Shady Lady, however, nails it. The fried green tomatoes are punched up with a tarragon rémoulade and the huge charcuterie board is more like a groaning board, stocked with abundant regional meats and cheeses. The pickle plate looks like Peter Rabbit’s dream, all teeny turnips and tangy carrot chunks. Generally excellent, the saloon’s cocktail

Midtown

common dishes in Lao cuisine is larb, a dish of chopped meat laced with herbs, chilies and lime. At Asian Café, it adds optional offal add-ons—various organ meats, entrails, et al—to three versions of the dish: beef with tripe, chicken with gizzards, or pork with pork skin. The beef salad offers a gentle respite from aggressive flavors, consisting of medium-thick chewy slices of eye of round with red bell pepper, chopped iceberg and hot raw jalapeño. The single best dish here is the nam kao tod, a crispy entree with ground pork that’s baked on the bottom of the pan with rice, then stirred and fried up fresh the next day

list veers from the classics with a list of bartender-created drinks with unusual, but wisely considered flavor combinations: cilantro and tequila, blackberry and thyme, and the surprisingly sublime mixture of celery and pineapple. American. 1409 R St., (916) 231-9121. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★1⁄ 2 B.G.

North Sac

Asian Café Asian Café serves both Thai and Lao food, but go for the Lao specialties, which rely on flavoring staples such as fish sauce, lime juice, galangal and lemongrass, lots of herbs, and chilies. One of the most

with dried Thai chilies and scallions. Thai and Lao. 2827 Norwood Ave., (916) 641-5890. Dinner for one: $10-$15. ★★★★ B.G.

South Sac

Bánh Xèo 46A Bánh Xèo 46A is named for its signature dish, a Vietnamese egg crepe. Each one completely fills an oval-shaped platter and is served shatteringly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Bánh Xèo also offers nem nuong, or grilled pork sausages on skewers, and chao tom, a grilled-shrimp dish that arrives as a flamingo-pink paste melded into a sausage shape around juicy sugarcane. The staff

BREW THE RIGHT THING

Firestone Public House

A sports bar with a focus on craft beer isn’t exactly a groundbreaking concept, but two local and prominent restaurant families, the Wongs and the DeVere Whites, know what Sacramento wants: good beer; solid pub grub; and a casual, unpretentious atmosphere. Here, the bar is the centerpiece with a full stock of liquor and 60 beers on draught. The menu features savory appetizers—the tortilla soup with poached chicken, avocado and tomato is particularly noteworthy—and a

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Sure, the prospect of a glass stein brimming with 32 ounces of Weihenstephaner Original—and for just 10 bucks—excites. But there’s so much more to the new LowBrau (1050 20th Street) bierhalle in Midtown than just booming pours. Such as its dozens of bottle offerings—from the grassy, citrusy Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier Bavarian lager to offerings from The Bruery— or the 14 drafts, which vary from Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA to Deutsch seasonals and more. If beer’s not your thing (why are you reading this?), there’s a full bar of spirits. And, yes, das große bier in the large stein for only $10, which admittedly is excellent for washing down sausages and wurst, pretzels, potato salad and more. And, duh, a healthy head change.

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Here are a few recent reviews and regional recommendations by Becky Grunewald and Greg Lucas, updated regularly. Check out www.newsreview.com for more dining advice.

bacon, onion. But here, the sharply cheesy buttermilk dressing and the woodsy pine nuts make it a salad to remember. Grange’s brunch puts other local offerings to shame. The home fries are like marvelously crispy Spanish patatas bravas. A grilled-ham-and-Gruyere sandwich is just buttery enough, and an egg-white frittata is more than a bone thrown to the cholesterol-challenged, it’s a worthy dish in its own right. American. 926 J St., (916) 492-4450. Dinner for one: $40-$60. ★★★★ B.G.

IL LU ST RA

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Beer: Tricerahops Double IPA Brewer: Ninkasi Brewing Company Where: Samuel Horne’s Tavern,

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2222 Fair Oaks Boulevard; (916) 922-1745; http://capitolbeer.com

Beer: Bestefar (Norwegian ale) Brewer: HaandBryggeriet Where: The Davis Beer Shoppe,

211 G Street in Davis; (530) 756-5212

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HL Hot Pot HL Hot Pot is the type of place that lends itself to a convivial, communal experience where the food seems secondary. It works like this: Servers take your order and then wheel broth and ingredients over on a silver cart. Broths are served two to a segregated pot and plunked onto the table-side burner. The beef broth is essentially pho, heavy on the star anise. The house broth is hardly subtle, with whole cloves and Chinese dates floating therein. The miso shows a light hand with the dashi and miso paste, and the Thai-style broth exhibits tart lemongrass. The key is that the soup boils down over time and becomes saltier, more concentrated and deeper tasting as the meal progresses. Choose from fish, beef, poultry, vegetable and tofu add-ins—the pleasant, layered, slippery texture of the tofu skin is a revelation. Asian. 6930 65th Street, Suite 117; (916) 706-3299; http://hlhotpot.com. Dinner for one: $10-$15. ★★★ B.G. Tacos & Beer This is one of the area’s best Michoacán restaurants. Of its regional dishes, the enchiladas Apatzingán are unusual, filled with only a smattering of sharp cheese and

diced onion, soaked in a vinegary sauce, and smothered in very lightly pickled, shredded cabbage with raw hunks of radish and avocado slices. Another specialty is the morisqueta—the ultimate comfort dish due to the unique texture of the white rice, which is as soft as an angel’s buttock. Diners also have the option to order hand-shaped, griddledto-order tortillas. They are warm, soft, taste like corn and barely resemble those cardboard things you get at the store. Mexican. 5701 Franklin Blvd., (916) 428-7844. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★ 1 ⁄ 2 B.G.

Arden/ Carmichael

Famous Kabob It seems like if you’ve had one kebab, you’ve had them all. But as its name implies, Famous Kabob doesn’t disappoint. A skewer of juicy steak sports a nice chew to satisfy any craving. Another of ground beef is flavored with chopped onion and a hint of cinnamon. The braised lamb shank in a tomato-and-saffron sauce tastes best when the sauce has cooled a little bit and the lamb fat coats the meat like a silken sauce. With deft use of dried herbs and acidic flavors that brighten the dishes and stimulate the taste buds, these are meals that are quietly hearty and nourishing. Persian. 1290 Fulton Ave., (916) 483-1700. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★★ B.G.

Davis

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is friendly and and a flat-screen TV emits a constant stream of saccharine Vietnamese love songs. Vietnamese. 7837 Stockton Blvd., Ste. 700; (916) 476-4895. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★★1⁄2 B.G.

chopped chicken is heavily sauced with a chili paste, garlic and honey concoction. It’s the kind of meal during which conversation is replaced by lipsmacking, grunts and short murmured exclamations like, “So good!” and “Holy crap!” Korean. 3631 S. Port Dr., (916) 368-2277. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★ 1 ⁄ 2 B.G.

Zen Toro Japanese Bistro & Sushi Bar Zen Toro features a large sushi menu, made up of both the steroidal Americanized rolls and traditional nigiri, but it also changes seasonally and features some uncommon offerings: Kinpira gobo with renkon (braised lotus and burdock-root salad) comprises matchsticksized fibrous pieces of burdock root and juicy slices of lotus in a sweet mirin soy sauce. It also features inventive desserts. The “uji kintoki parfait” (it translates roughly to “Best. Dessert. Ever.”) is served in a sundae glass filled with layers of greentea ice cream and sweet red beans, and it’s topped with whipped cream, chocolate Pocky candy, salty sesame crackers, peanut clusters, and warm, soft squares of mochi. Sushi. 132 E St. in Davis, (530) 753-0154. Dinner for one: $10-$25. ★★★ 1 ⁄ 2 B.G.

Nevada City

The Willo The Willo’s menu is simple, centered on a slab of meat and starchy sides— although the restaurant has added a veggie burger to its lineup. While the thick, smoky pork chop and the tender, butterflied half-chicken suffice, here it’s really all about the New York strip steak offered in small, medium and large portions. If you’re not the designated driver, slip into the bar for a shot to lull you during the long drive home. The sassy bartender will fix you right up as you take in the curving walls of this prefab structure from a long-gone era, the E Clampus Vitus plaques and the regulars’ birthdays listed on the wall. American. 16898 State Hwy. 49 in Nevada City, (530) 265-9902. Dinner for one: $20-$40. ★★★★ B.G.

Rosemont

Sarang Bang The servers at this Korean restaurant are courteous and friendly, and each meal begins with small dishes of banchan. There are three types of kimchi, all pretty low on the spice-o-meter, but Sarang Bang’s gul bo sam is the real Korean taco, no food truck required. Lightly steamed napa cabbage serves as a scoop for pork, spicy-and-sweet zucchini, and thin-sliced raw garlic and jalapeño. Some entrees fall short, but all is forgiven with the spicy chicken. Here,

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Happy chicken There’s a unique Mexican restaurant called El Pollo Feliz (4717 Whitney Avenue in Carmichael), which translates to “the happy chicken,” right around the corner from my new home. Over the summer, when I first moved in, I’d pass the restaurant every day, see an 8-foot-long smoker in the parking lot and smell barbecued meat. Last month, I finally checked it out and was pleasantly surprised by the mom-and-pop operation specializing in barbecued chicken. Because the meat is slow cooked in a smoker and slathered in dry rub, the flavor and smell are powerful and delicious—none of that bland El Pollo Loco stuff. The restaurant serves the traditional Mexican chicken by the piece, so you can order everything from a few wings to a whole chicken. Add in American sides such as potato or macaroni salad (or the more traditional rice and beans) and it’s a perfect takeout barbecue meal. Find the happy chicken online at http://jhshaw17.wix.com. —Jonathan Mendick

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REPORTERO In 1980, journalists Jesús Blancornelas and Héctor Félix Miranda co-founded Zeta, a Mexican newsweekly that regularly skewered the government—and the media it controlled. Miranda was murdered in 1988, but the paper continued, shifting its focus to FILM include Mexico’s drug-cartel trade. A new Bernardo Ruiz-directed POV film, Reportero, chronicles its evolution, including reporter Sergio Haro’s 1997 decision to leave and start another publication, Siete Días, with journalist Benjamín Flores. After Flores was murdered, Haro used the paper to take a stand against the alleged killer who was apprehended by police—and then released without substantive punishment. The film is available to watch online through February 6, at www.pbs.org/pov/reportero. —Rachel Leibrock

Try before you ride PRACTICAL CYCLE BIKE RENTALS If you’re uncertain about buying a bike and not sure you want to spend the money on a purchase, a rental is an easy, inexpensive way to try it out. There BIKES are many local rental options, including Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento, which offers a choice of standard, multispeed and electric bikes in single and tandem models. All are available with optional tagalongs, trailers and baby seats for the kiddos. Hourly rates start at $5 and daily rates start at $25. The store also offers helpful cycling tips and advice on routes. 114 J Street, (916) 706-0077, www.practicalcycle.com. —James Cameron

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If you love scarves, then no doubt you have a closet full of them, but there are occasions when not just any wrap will do—you need a really thick one. Designer Mine Kurtulmus sells a knit cowl muffler ($49) at her Love and Knit Etsy store that’s available in different FASHION colors and is really thick—even by scarf standards. The scarf covers your entire neck and half of your face (and looks oh so comfortable). Made of an alpacamohair blended yarn, it’s almost cartoon characteresque in its proportions. www.etsy.com/shop/LoveandKnit. —Aaron Carnes

Through a lens, digitally SATURATE YOLO GALA RECEPTION Got an iPhone? Chances are, then, that you consider yourself something of an auteur photographer, boldly Instagramming where no fancy filter has gone before. In truth, however, it takes more than a vintage-esque PHOTOGRAPHY tint to render an ordinary smartphone snapshot into bona fide art. SN&R contributor Dave Webb transcends insta-digital triteness with an eye for the pretty, unique and mysterious. A new show, Saturate Yolo, highlights dozens of the Davis-based photographer’s visually beguiling shots. Here, 60-plus images, all shot and edited on an iPhone, capture places and things around Yolo County. The pictures he shoots are of the ordinary—a road sign near a field, a pretty party dress in a shop window, a battered pickup truck parked in a lot—yet Webb’s eye for detail and color, paired with an ability to pinpoint a scene’s most mesmerizing focal point, make for a collection of images that are both seemingly routine and surreal. Saturate Yolo is on display at the Davis Art Center’s Tsao Gallery through Saturday, February 2. A gala reception takes place on Friday, January 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. 1919 F Street in Davis, www.davewebbcreative.com. —Rachel Leibrock

Be honest with your mom and dad about sneaking someone into their home and having sex. If your mom flips out, let her.

Got a problem?

Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review. Give your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@ newsreview.com.

thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, expectations and experiences with each other, emotional intimacy doesn’t exist. Yes, that means you are not close, honey. Don’t blame your parents. Instead, choose to be different. Be honest with your mom and dad about sneaking someone into their home and having sex. If your mom flips out, let her. She’s entitled to her opinion and to her feelings about your news. Tell the truth for your sake. Reveal your maturity by stripping away the secret. If your parents fail to treat you as an adult, respond as one anyway. Let’s talk about sex. You got drunk and hooked up. Why? Being blitzed blots out worries, at least temporarily. If you’re stressed out

and need to blow off steam, why not care enough about yourself to choose a positive release like exercise? No, sweating between the sheets doesn’t count. Recreational sex doesn’t have the power to recreate you and the refreshment is short-lived. Sex has a lot of strings attached, and for you, guilt is one of them. One of my friends has invited me to spend nearly every significant holiday with him, including his birthday. I was by his side for everything last year, thinking that at some point, we would be together. I know he hates to be alone, so I came through for him. A female friend of mine got matched with him through an online dating site. She recognized him immediately and clued me in. He never told me that he was fishing for other women. I want to confront him but don’t want to lose him. Advice? Befriend yourself. This man wants you to be his sidekick, not his significant other. Cherish what you have, but don’t expect anything more. Here’s how: Turn down the dial on your creative thinking. He is who he is, not who you want him to be. If you still yearn to partner with him, say so. This past year you have been trying to be good in the hope that he will gift you with himself. Don’t expect him to read your mind. Tell him what you want. Explain what you appreciate about him and what you like about being together. Tell him that you want a committed, exclusive relationship with him. If he stammers or balks, don’t grant him more time. After 12 months, trust that he has already considered, and opted against, sharing his life with you. You deserve someone who loves you completely. Ω

Meditation of the Week “It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not,” said psychiatrist James Gordon. Are you ready to embody the power of change?

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I was really excited to come home from college and see my family for Christmas, but now I’m totally embarrassed. I went to a kickback with a bunch of old friends from high school, ran into my ex-boyfriend, drank too much and hooked up with him. It was fun, so I invited him to my parents’ house a few days later while they were out Christmas shopping. We had sex again, fell asleep, woke up, had food by Joey ga and went back to bed. At some rcia point, my parents came home, and I think they heard us. My a s kj o ey @ n ewsreview.c om mom gave me weird looks the next day. My parents and I are close, but we never talk about Joey anything really personal. I feel like I should admit what I did and enjoys apologize for sneaking someone into gentle yoga. their home, but I know my mom will freak out. This is really bugging me. I would appreciate your insight. For some people, the possibility of getting caught heightens sexual arousal. But that’s not your problem. You are struggling with letting your parents know who you are. Don’t blame yourself. You were raised that way. I know this because you claim that your family is close yet doesn’t talk about anything personal. If you are not sharing

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STAGE Pricked and bleeding The Merchant of Venice

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The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s trickiest plays to produce, which is probably why it isn’t done too often. by Patti Roberts Merchant has familiar Bard touchstones— complicated courtships, hidden identities, posse bromances, long-held resentments and a memorable passage (Portia’s “The quality of mercy is not strained” speech). But it also has challenges that make it a problematic play, including one of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters—the Jewish moneylender, Shylock—as well as language and

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cast and crew. The staging at the Grange Performing Arts Center gives it an intimate feel that draws the audience in. It’s set in modern times, with homeless people sprawled on sidewalks as corporate threepiece-suiters discuss money deals. Sometimes this adds to the contemporary feel and subject matter, though at times is off-putting when juxtaposed with the dated language and references. But some of the problems with this adaptation—and the play itself—are the abrupt tonal shifts from romantic comedy to tragic drama, from intense courtroom scenes to silly romantic high jinks. And then we have Shylock, with Jeffrey Lloyd Heatherly trying his best to humanize the character, but he’s burdened both with his own character’s dialogue and the racist attacks on his character. He’s forced to fine-line juggling between sympathy and outrage. It’s a challenge Heatherly faces with much talent, but in the end, it’s not enough to overcome the stereotypes. Ω

The Merchant of Venice, 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday; $12-$15. Imprint Theater Works at Grange Performing Arts Center, 3823 V Street; (916) 838-0618; www.facebook.com/ imprinttheaterworks. Through January 26.

references to Jews that are anti-Semitic and jarring to hear within modern societal sensitivities. Sometimes Shylock is portrayed as a villain, sometimes as a scorned man and sometimes a combination of both, but as a central character, he remains a racial stereotype whose ultimate punishment is renouncing his Judaism and being baptized as a Christian. It’s a dicey Shakespeare selection, one that Imprint Theater Works has chosen as its debut performance. The new company includes veterans from Resurrection Theatre, which has a history of successful Shakespeare adaptations, so Merchant is a natural transition and bold move for Imprint artistic director and Resurrection alumna Alysha S. Krumm. There are so many good aspects of this production, most notably strong performances from the leads—including Ryan Snyder as Antonio, Elizabeth Holzman as Portia and Brennan Villados as Bassanio—and best intentions from

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What a way to make a livin’ 9 to 5: The Musical

The musical 9 to 5 is very much a product of its time. The play, based on a movie that was inspired by a song by Dolly Parton, is about nascent feminism growing out of frustration among secretaries in a late-1970s office run by a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.” While it may not be hard to imagine such a boss today, it’s hard not to think: human resources, discrimination, and lawsuit instead of kidnapping and fatal accident. Director Bob Baxter had a daunting task bringing the play to his stage. There are numerous scene changes requiring quick shifts from various sites within the office, as well as a couple home locations. While set designer Ralph Phillips created rolling pieces that work, they are clunky. There are 27 members in the cast—an exceptionally large number to move nimbly about the stage, although choreographer Darryl Strohl does it pretty well. The company’s sound system continues to be contrary. All this is piled atop the show’s datedness. Do younger audience members even recognize a typewriter? Still, it has good music—including the Parton-penned title tune and another big hit for the star, “Backwoods Barbie.” Curiously, casting roles so strongly associated with their film originators (Parton, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman) doesn’t seem to have been a problem. Cassie March, Ruth Phillips, Andrea St. Clair and Tevye Ditter acquit themselves well throughout. —Jim Carnes

9 to 5: The Musical, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $18-$25. Runaway Stage Productions at the 24th Street Theatre, 2791 24th Street; (916) 207-1226; www.runawaystage.com. Through January 27.

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Unavoidably the movie of the year, Kathryn Bigelowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s controversial quasi-journalistic thriller, dramatized from original reporting by screenwriter by Jonathan Kiefer Mark Boal, surveys the decade-long quest to bring down Osama bin Laden. A taut procedural, spun from the point of view of Jessica Chastainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lone wolf CIA analyst, the film seems temperamentally more tenacious than triumphalist, and maybe therefore also as lucid an elaboration of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;war on terrorâ&#x20AC;? as we can ever hope to get from Hollywood. But has anyone asked why we should ever hope to get such a thing from Hollywood?

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Neither the Barack Obama re-election commercial nor the torture apologia some blowhards feared it would be, Zero Dark Thirty is at the very least a marvel of management, with more than a hundred speaking parts and apparently as many locations, and the agility to condense so much highly unruly recent history into a superb example of contemporary politicalN E W S & R E V I E W B U S I N E S S U S E O N LY thriller vernacular. Notably, the film Boal and DESIGNER ISSUE DATE EXEC. Bigelow originally had plannedACCT. was about failing AL 06.18.09 REM to find bin Laden; then came the real-life raid on FILE NAME REV. DATE that compound in Abbottabad in 02.19.09 Pakistan, and TRINITYCATHEDRAL061809R1 back to their drawing board the filmmakers went. USP (BOLD In Zero Dark Thirty,SELECTION) they rely on techniques PRICE / ATMOSPHERE / UNIQUE that served them well /inEXPERT The Hurt Locker: the simultaneous emphasis on realistic immediate PLEASE CAREFULLY details and on movie-ishREVIEW narrativeYOUR propulsion. ADVERTISEMENT AND VERIFY THE FOLLOWING: Their abiding insight is that there is great power AD SIZE (COLUMNS X INCHES) in not seeming exaggerated. SPELLING Although condensing a decadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth of NUMBERS & DATES complex events obviously requires some judiCONTACT INFO (PHONE, ADDRESSES, ETC.) cious selectiveness, the movie does occasionally AD AS REQUESTED feelAPPEARS like a reporterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notebook dump. Or else, APPROVED BY: perhaps more troublingly, it feels like just another thriller offered up for passive consumption. At worst, it has the disquieting and increasingly familiar coyness of the merely true-ish. Certainly, it captures the cultural legacy of 9/11 by revealing the euphemized brutalities of recent American foreign policy: The span of the film is just long enough to convey a sense of the sun setting on enhanced interrogation even as it rises on drone strikes. Reportedly based on a real, still-active operative, Chastainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character deliberately has

She could tell you her name, but then sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have to waterboard you.

487-0909

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5 excellent

no backstory; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only going forward. Like a shark. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little young for the hard stuff?â&#x20AC;? someone asks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Washington says sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a killer,â&#x20AC;? comes the reply. Early on, she hesitantly supplies the water for a waterboarding. Later, with hesitancy abated, she intimates a divine mandate to â&#x20AC;&#x153;finish the job.â&#x20AC;? Later still, she rattles off a proudly profane one-liner to her boss, and announces certainty when everyone else speaks only of probability. (For military purposes, this reads as earned authority: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Her confidenceâ&#x20AC;? is one Navy SEALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s given reason for believing in his appointed mission.) Finally, once the job is finished, she sits alone and cries. The last shot in this generally close-up-averse movie is a close-up of her harrowed face. Notwithstanding the choice to open with an audio-only collage of emergency calls from the burning twin towers, the tone of Zero Dark Thirty tends toward the uninflected, verging on detachment. Should we take it as a revengerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tragedy? Maybe thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hint in Alexandre Desplatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moody score, which borrows less from the stock repertoire of martial drums and brass than from Bernard Herrmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music for Vertigo. It suggests this is really a movie about a soul-hollowing obsession, and about the sometimes terrible beauty of movies.

Zero Dark Thirty seems more tenacious than triumphalist, and maybe therefore also as lucid an elaboration of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;war on terrorâ&#x20AC;? as we can ever hope to get from Hollywood. People often approve of historical thrillers whose real-life outcomes they know by saying they got caught up in the suspense anyway. Knowing how Zero Dark Thirty ends means very much wanting to see how it ends. There must be some ancient storytelling stuff at work in how it makes us wait, and yearn, for that recreated raidâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the indelible spectacle of a methodical and unfortunately amazing night-vision climax. This is not done in a particularly sensational way. We barely even see bin Laden himself, but cannot fail to miss that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re storming lethally through a house full of unarmed women and children. On first impression, the scene seems like it might be one of the most brilliantly staged action set pieces in the history of film. If this movie endorses anything, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the opportunism of movies. At a time when even the trailers for laughably less-sophisticated films than this can spur deadly riots in the Arab world, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard not to worry about how the Hollywood behemoth that is Zero Dark Thirty, abetted by its inevitable Oscar-season self-congratulation, may pour fuel on fires already raging within the hearts of bin Ladenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s would-be avengers. ÎŠ

by JONATHAN KIeFeR & JIM LANe

Django Unchained

Just know it’s the sort of movie whose premiere gets postponed in the wake of school shootings and whose dialogue contains so many N-bombs that people have glumly gotten down to counting them. Sure, the word was common enough in the 1850s, but Quentin Tarantino is not exactly a paragon of historical verisimilitude. Here, again, the audacious everadolescent revisionist just wants us to know how, like, awesome our history would’ve been as one big bloody badass overlong Westernblaxploitation whatsit. Christoph Waltz plays a voluble and worldly bounty hunter who frees the eponymous hero, played by Jamie Foxx, to rescue his wife, played by Kerry Washington, from a brutal plantation lord played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Gangsta vengeance and tedium ensues. All told, good taste might have been more offensive. Waltz is wonderful, Foxx is deliberately less a character than a trope, and DiCaprio a bit of a bore, except in that he seems to enjoy acting again. Maybe the real revelation is Samuel L. Jackson in a careercapping turn as the slaveholder’s elderly houseman, a sort of terrible and riveting Tarantino apotheosis, or at least an antithesis of the actor’s role as Spike Lee’s Mister Señor Love Daddy. J.K.

The Guilt Trip

An inventor (Seth Rogen), off on a crosscountry road trip to try to interest retailers in his latest invention, impulsively invites his mother (Barbra Streisand) to come along, hoping to reunite her with a long-lost sweetheart when they reach San Francisco. The movie appears to have undergone some post-production tampering (witness the many scenes from the preview trailer that didn’t wind up in the finished picture), but the final result is comfy and enjoyable. Dan Fogelman’s script has a gentle, low-key humor that meshes nicely with Streisand and Rogen’s easy screen rapport, and Anne Fletcher’s unobtrusive direction makes it all go down smoothly. Few surprises, but no glaring mistakes along the way, either. Colin Hanks, Nora Dunn, Adam Scott and Ari Graynor contribute thankless but nicely turned cameos. J.L.

Hitchcock

Here’s another defanged Hollywood history, done in the biopic-snapshot style and complete with voguish prosthetic distraction—this time in the fat-suited form of Anthony Hopkins, rolling suspenselessly along as the master of suspense. Adapted by John J. McLaughlin from Stephen Rebello’s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, director Sacha Gervasi’s film seems slightly afraid of appealing only to a rarefied film-wonk crowd, and settles therefore into broad, easy strokes. Worried about advancing age and declining reputation, this Hitch bucks all career advice and stakes his house on a self-financed adaptation of Robert Bloch’s novel, which, in turn, derives from the true story of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, who appears to the director in a few misbegotten dream sequences. There’s also some behind-every-great-man mythology, helped along by Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s wife and unsung collaborator Alma Reville. The net result is companionable but eventually sort of irritating, like a good friend with a bad habit of pantomimed stabbings and a cappella renditions of Bernard Herrmann’s violins. Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy, and Danny Huston co-star. J.K.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Having done all right with his Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson returns to the fantasy fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien and another planned nine-hour trilogy, beginning with this overlong but eventually appealing first installment. As the eponymous diminutive, Martin Freeman excels at comporting himself with kooky company, particularly by means of selfeffacement. Obediently, the movie also provides not just the requisite CGI spectacles but a few of the previous trilogy’s other human touches: the patient wizardry of Ian McKellen; the elfin nobility of Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving; the moistly sibilant voice and motion-captured form of Andy Serkis. Mercifully, it’s less like watching someone else play a video game (albeit in unprecedented high definition) than it might have been—Jackson’s enhanced digital imagery has a vaguely fluorescent chill, but at least the film it’s in seems like a promising warm-up. J.K.

BEFORE

•

2 5 0 8 L A N D PA R K D R I V E L A N D PA R K & B R O A D WAY F R E E PA R K I N G A D J A C E N T T O T H E AT R E “A STRONG, EMOTIONALLY REPLETE EXPERIENCE.”

“AN INTIMATE TALE OF THE SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS AND CONNECTION.”

RUST AND BONE THE IMPOSSIBLE - A.O. Scott, NEW YORK TIMES

- Michael O’Sullivan, WASHINGTON POST

STARTS FRI., 1/11

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“A REFINED TREAT.”- Todd McCarthy, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“AN INTOXICATING SPECTACLE THAT BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO THE CLASSIC.”

Anna Karenina - Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

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Gangster Squad

Director Ruben Fleischer and writer Will Beall (taking off from Paul Lieberman’s book) recount the efforts of Los Angeles police in 1949 to bring down mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, succulently hammy) with a handpicked detail of maverick cops (led by an iron-jawed Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling, cranking the charm factor up to 11). The movie is largely fictitious, but golly gee, what swell fiction it is! A smart, snappy script, nonstop gun-blazing action, and a powerhouse cast (Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, plus Emma Stone for glamour) all add up to an exciting throwback to the Warner Bros. gangster movies of the early sound era, punched over with grit, wit and the glowing retro sheen of L.A. Confidential (cinematographer Dion Beebe really outdoes himself). J.L.

The Impossible

The driving engine here is the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the story follows a Spanish family on Christmas vacation in Thailand who were so separated and thoroughly battered but reunited against odds so long that the film’s title is only a slight exaggeration. It’s not made up, but it’s anglicized; screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez and director Antonio Bayona, Spaniards themselves, have cast a thoroughly English family (Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts as the parents). We wait for the big wave, then we watch it, then we’re wading through the aftermath. There’s great technical skill in the scenes of devastation, and McGregor and Watts are fine, while young Tom Holland makes an elegant display of coming-of-age as their eldest son. Yes, The Impossible may make you want to hug your kids, but it’s also the kind of movie that allows the perverse pleasure of sitting through a terrible event from a safe distance. Better to donate to disaster relief. J.K.

Jack Reacher

An ex-military cop (Tom Cruise) pops in to investigate the case against a killer sniper and finds things are not quite as openand-shut as they seem. Lee Child’s series of novels (in this case, One Shot) makes a surprisingly good fit for Cruise, even though the books’ Reacher is bigger and blonder. But if this turns into a franchise (is Cruise getting tired of Mission: Impossible?), writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (or whoever comes after) would be wise to pick up the pace on the next picture: At 130 minutes, this one threatens to wear out its welcome. Fortunately, Cruise’s movie-star charisma is well-deployed, the plot is engaging and the action scenes smoothly mounted. Rosamund Pike plays the accused killer’s lawyer, Richard Jenkins plays her district-attorney father, and David Oyelowo plays the lead cop on the case. J.L.

Les Misérables

The opera-lite smash from Victor Hugo’s novel comes to the screen, with ex-con Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), his dogged pursuer Javert (Russell Crowe), the doomed Fantine (Anne Hathaway), her daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) et al, under the direction of Tom Hooper. There is much to respect in the movie, and the show’s fans will no doubt be satisfied. But they may find it less stirring here than on the stage as Hooper does make an occasional hash of things: unimaginative staging, often sloppy editing and the much-vaunted live singing on the set is at best a mixed blessing. Still, the production is lavish, the casting (including Eddie Redmayne as Marius and Samantha Barks as Éponine) is spot-on. The highlight comes early on, with Hathaway’s searing rendition of the show’s most famous song, “I Dreamed a Dream.” J.L.

FRONTLINES

1st Visit

Not Fade Away

Under the influence of the Beatlesand-Stones-led British Invasion, four suburban New Jersey teenagers decide to start a band. Writer-director David Chase’s semi-autobiographical movie skims the 1960s like a flat stone over water—Kennedy (skip!), King (skip!), Vietnam (skip!)—with an air of studious authenticity. Trouble is, he tells us right off that the band is a gaggle of third-rate schlubs, then goes on to prove it: Their music is unoriginal and so are their personalities, and the low-watt cast of relative newcomers (John Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill) fails to make them interesting. Meanwhile, seasoned pros like Christopher McDonald, Rebecca Luker and Brad Garrett are shunted off into thankless cameos; only James Gandolfini as Magaro’s flinty Archie Bunker-ish father manages to strike a few sparks. J.L.

Promised Land

Rust and Bone

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Two salespeople for a natural-gas conglomerate (Matt Damon, Frances McDormand) descend on a small farm town to sew up the local fracking rights, only to be confronted by an environmental activist (John Krasinski) with horror stories of dying livestock and flaming water supplies. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Damon and Krasinski (from a story by Dave Eggers), the movie radiates nostalgia for the agitprop movies of a bygone era; it’s like Billy Jack without the karate. Damon and Krasinski provide nice set pieces for themselves that dovetail with their respective screen personae, and McDormand is always welcome, but Van Sant offers only a sluggish pace trying to pass for rural, laidback sensibility. Hal Holbrook and Rosemarie DeWitt round out the name cast; others slip snugly into the stereotypes they play. J.L.

A man down on his luck (Matthias Schoenaerts) living in Antibes, France, with his sister, gets spot-work as a bar bouncer, where he meets a Marineland orca trainer (Marion Cotillard), then befriends the woman when she loses her legs in an attack by one of her whales. Directed by Jacques Audiard and co-written with Thomas Bidegain (from stories by Canadian Craig Davidson, loosely), the movie is measured and uneventful (even that whale attack is shown only obliquely) but never sluggish or slow. Cotillard (who is fast proving herself a world treasure) and Schoenaerts (who just may end up doing the same thing) are both excellent, understated and honest. Schoenaerts has a particular challenge in that his character is a bit of a thoughtless bastard; the man’s essential decency surfaces slowly, like peeling an onion. J.L.

F E AT U R E S T O RY

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Whether playing thrash-doom metal or centuries-old classical compositions, violinist Rachel Barton Pine’s approach is charming yet gritty At first blush, Rachel Barton Pine is a bit deceiving. Her smiling demeanor, bright red hair, and soft, pale complexion combined with a remarkable by career as a violinist that commenced as an Gregg Wager accomplished child prodigy in Chicago, can easily and quickly win people over.

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This violin goes to 11.

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–Rosemarie & Joy Catch Rachel Barton Pine with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday, January 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street. Tickets are $21-$117; visit http://sacphil. org, or call (916) 808-5181 for more information. Pine will also perform in a benefit concert for the Chamber Society of Sacramento on Sunday, January 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Sacramento State University’s Music Building, 6000 J Street; $15-$30; http://classical. rachelbartonpine.com.

36 | SN&R | 01.10.13

recent interview. “When I was 13, I finally got to study it after literally nagging my teachers to play it for years. They kept telling me I shouldn’t play it until I’m older.” Barton said she’s convinced it was merely the notorious technical difficulties involved that kept her teachers from allowing her to tackle the piece. “That slow melody in the first movement takes a special type of arm vibrato which requires actual physical strength, something you don’t really have when you’re a child,” she said. For the Philharmonic performance, Michael Morgan will conduct a challenging program comprising the Sibelius concerto with Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98 as well as a recent piece by the Bay Area composer Nolan Gasser. Pine’s connection to the conductor runs deep. “I’m an old friend,” Pine said. “He was the assistant conductor of the Chicago Symphony [Orchestra] when I was participating in its youth training program, [the Civic Orchestra of Chicago].” PHOTO BY ANDREW ECCLES

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Sweetness and might

On the other hand, if so easily charmed, you might even be shocked upon subsequently learning how she almost nonchalantly and fearlessly faces some of the grittier things in life—including the way she plays electric violin in the thrash-doom metal band Earthen Grave, or the way she overcame a serious commuter-train accident that caused the loss of one leg, severely damaged the other and, as a result, nearly ended her career when she was just 20. In fact, it’s almost as if she feeds off the grit, secretly basking in the deception of the sweetness she otherwise radiates. Pine, now 38, brings that dynamic to Sacramento on Saturday, January 12, when she’s set to perform with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra at the Community Center Theater. She’ll also appear Sunday, January 13, at Sacramento State University with the Ariel Ensemble in a benefit concert for the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento. Despite such modern-rock inclinations, Pine is emphatic about her approach. “I would not consider myself a crossover artist,” she said. “My career, especially when I’m playing [Jean] Sibelius, is hardcore classical.” There’s something about the way the word “hardcore” resonates in that sentence that sums up a lot. Take, for example, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor Opus 4, a piece she learned to play in her earliest of teens. For Pine, first discovering its otherwise intense reverie and dark melodies made her feel like an excited kid let loose in a candy store. “I like the Sibelius [piece] because there’s an urgency to it,” she insisted over the phone in a

“ I would not consider myself a crossover artist. My career … is hardcore classical.” Rachel Barton Pine Above all, Pine’s probably earned the right to downplay the more obvious paradoxes of her artistry and life, based on a closer look at all her accomplishments as a purely classical music artist. In further explaining her love for Sibelius, Pine takes care to note her interest in violinist Maud Powell, who performed during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Powell, Pine said, championed Sibelius “at a time when it was not popular to do so.” Pine dedicated an entire album to Powell on her 2007 release American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell. Of course, there’s more to her life than just music. Married to former minor-league baseball player Greg Pine since 2004, Pine is also mother to a toddler, Sylvia. Her name serves as a testament to Pine’s existence as a musician. “‘Sylvia’ means ‘woods,’ my last name is ‘Pine,’” she said. “And my violin—my life—is [made] out of wood.” Ω

NOT YOUR E G A R E AV YM G 0 INITIATION FEE

Play big or bro out (again) Concerts in the Park season is back: This time last year, I was talking hella smack about Play Big Sacramento, the new Friday Night Concerts in the Park curators, and all that 2012 drama. This year, I’m eating some crow—CITP made smart changes and did well last year—but I’m still gonna talk trash. Applications are due this week on Tuesday, January 15, for bands and artists who want to play the 2013 CITP series, which kicks off in May. All the info on how to apply—including a flier that graphic designers have been poking fun of like it’s the new University of California logo—can be found at www.downtownsac.org. I know you bands and musicians are born procrastinators, but please, put down that PBR can or blunt and email the application. Because, while CITP admittedly upped the ante in a major way last year, we can’t have all that hardrockin’ bro-ness take over the park again this summer. Cesar Chavez himself has been appearing in my sleep, complaining about flangerpedal abuse and never-ending octave runs. Let’s mix it up. For instance: Aaron King, the Alkali Flats, Appetite, Arts & Leisure, Be Brave Bold Robot, the Bell Boys, CAVE Women, Charles Albright, Chuuwee, Cowboy and a THUG, Dibiase, Dippin’ Sauce Blues Band, Dog Party, Doom Bird, DJ Billy Lane, DJ Mike C, DJ Oasis, DJ Rated R, DJ Roger Carpio, DLRN, Dusty Brown, Elements Brass Band, Exquisite Corps, Forever Goldrush, the Four Eyes, G. Green, Gentleman Surfer, the Golden Cadillacs, the Grant Union High School Drumline, Harley White Jr. Orchestra, I’m Dirty Too, James Cavern, Kill the Precedent, Knock Knock, Live Manikins, Massive Delicious, Musical Charis, Paper Pistols, Parie Wood, Project4Trees, Rad, Ross Hammond, Sam I Jam, Sea of Bees, Screature, Sister Crayon, Sleeprockers, Task1ne, Tribe of Levi, Who Cares, Wife & Son. None of these artists played CITP last year and deserve a good look this year by the smart, passionateabout-music dudes (still all guys) of Play Big. I doubt all these artists will apply—again, they’re musicians!—and I’m sure I forgot a few bands, too. But, anyway, consider this their application. And here’s to a great CITP 2013!

Let the guitars do the talking: If Dale Smallin, former manager of the surf-rock band the Surfaris, was still alive and living well in Sacramento, he would have been stoked on all the bands’ performances last Friday night at Old Ironsides. On the bill: Mindflowers and Drive-Thru Mystics, two bands who crank out tunes reminiscent of ’60s garage rock with spurts of psychedelia—all of which sent the crowd of 50-plus fans dancing with partners or at times, solo. Drive-Thru Mystics opened the show with a sound that caters more toward the classic ’60s-era rock ’n’ roll with fun, catchy choruses and welcomed a new drummer, Mando Camero. Mindflowers provided the same rock ’n’ roll vibes, but with more psychedelic hints that prompted audience members to dance appropriately, with arms floating slowly in mid-air. The vocals of Mindflowers sounded cute and sunshiny, while the rest of the band served as a likeable nod to all things old-school pop. What started out as a night of ’60s rock ’n’ roll, however, ended in some good ol’ blues provided by Blue Oaks. Vocalists and guitarist Brendan Stone and drummer Cody Walker may be two sharp-dressed men— Stone with bow tie and suspenders, and Walker in slacks and argyle socks—but the image of this duo doesn’t necessarily speak any louder than its music. As he stood on the stage, Stone’s slicked brown head nearly touched the ceiling, “I’m just too damn tall,” he jokes. “I always forget that.” Stone’s somber vocals were kept low and muddy during the set, letting the guitar notes speak as Walker avidly watched Stone’s fingers dance over strings from behind his kit. During the entire set, the musicians kept an eye on each other as if they could improve each song in the process. Walker’s percussion style sounded light when it needed to be, but when Stone strummed forcefully, instructing his instrument to scream, Walker’s crisp crashes on his rides and sharp hits on the snare drum were right there. The two have only been playing together since Thanksgiving and admittedly, yeah, they have room to improve, but it also goes to show that when two musicians understand their direction, anything goes.

EXP. 1/31/13

ROCK

CLIMBING BOULDERING

CARDIO MACHINES

YOGA CYCLING

BELLY

DANCING

PILATES JIU JITSU

—Steph Rodriguez

—Nick Miller

n ic kam@ n ew s r ev i ew . com BEFORE

FRONTLINES

916-341-0100

Please drink responsibly. |

FEATURE

STORY

contract 68/anomonth

$ |

ARTS&CULTURE

AFTER

01.10.13

SN&R

11FRI

12SAT

14MON

15TUES

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowout: A Tribute to Jimmy Reed

Tribal Seeds

Work Your Soul

Sum 41

Three Stages at Folsom Lake College, 8 p.m., $12-$39 Bay Area blues harp player and vocalist Mark Hummel, backed by the Blues BLUES Survivors, started throwing this traveling blues party more than 20 years ago in front of ecstatic audiences, working his way through a who’s who of blues harp styles and history. This year’s celebration of earthy, soulful fluttering and bended notes is a tribute to Jimmy “Big Boss Man” Reed. The show will be another barn burner as swamp specialist Lazy Lester; fellow harpists Rick Estrin, Kenny Neal and Kim Wilson; and guitarists Charlie Baty and Joe Louis Walker take turns and then congregate in the spotlight. 10 College Parkway in Folsom, www.markhummel.com.

Ace of Spades, 6:30 p.m., $14

The Press Club, 9 p.m., $3

Tribal Seeds is on the rise. Hailing from San Diego, the band is well-known in reggae circles for adhering to roots-style reggae while infusing it with modern influences. The result is a danceable, spiritually driven vibe that transports the listener to mystic places. Led by brothers Steve Rene Jacobo (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Tony-Ray Jacobo (keyboards, producer) the six-piece carves out a sound that is reminiscent of reggae greats Bob Marley and Steel Pulse, with echoes of postmodern influences such REGGAE as Manu Chao. With pulsing, transcendent songs such as “Beautiful Mysterious” and “Island Girl,” look for Tribal Seeds to continue to grow in 2013. 1417 R Street, www.tribalseeds.net.

—Mark Halverson

Ace of Spades, 6:30 p.m., $15

Slip on those dancin’ shoes and twist on over to The Press Club every other Monday night for an evening of northern soul, rocksteady, oi! and plenty of Motown favorites at Work Your Soul. Deejays Andy Garcia and Matthew Mora spin all the classic hits, such DANCE as Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1,000 Dances” and the Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman,” but the rotation is ever changing. One night at Work Your Soul will surely revive those age-old dance moves your folks rocked in the ’50s and ’60s. The Sacto Soul Rebels will perform, too, providing live rocksteady jams. 2030 P Street, www.facebook.com/thepressclub.

—Steph Rodriguez

—Paul Piazza

—M.T. Richards

ACE OF SPADES

1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com

ALL AGES WELCOME!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24

STICK FIGURE - THE MAAD T-RAY SIMPLE CREATION

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT ATLAS MOTH

TRIBAL SEEDS MONDAY, JANUARY 14

OF MICE & MEN WOE IS ME - TEXAS IN JULY - VOLUMES CAPTURE THE CROWN

Could it be that Deryck Whibley was evolving too slowly for ex-wife Avril Lavigne? We’re not sold on Lavigne’s singer-songwriter makeover, but her new work ditches skater threads for overcooked balladry and failed prose. Whibley is still gigging to the same crowd of self-styled “misfits” that he was in 2002. But we’re not ones to deny pioneers their due. Whibley’s Sum 41 broke new ground in that it was the first band to cull every obnoxious tic from every bastardized genre (ska, emo, hardcore) in North American music. In hindsight, it’s easier to appreciPOP-PUNK ate Sum 41 for what it was: a band that played itself ragged and embraced cheesiness. 1417 R Street, www.sum41.com.

GOJIRA FRIDAY, JANUARY 25

ROACH GIGZ

SUAVE DEBONAIRE - PLAYAH K - LIL BIT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26

HUNTER VALENTINE & IAMDYNAMITE

DIMDIUM - PRYLOSIS - WHITE MINORITIES MISAMORE - MADISON AVENUE

SUM 41 THURSDAY, JANUARY 17

SLIGHTLY STOOPID

MARLON ASHER - KARL DENSON

FALLRISE SUNDAY, JANUARY 27

ACTION ITEM MAX SCHNEIDER - BEFORE YOU EXIT HELLO HIGHWAY - HEADLINES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1

WARBEAST

SECRETS - ISSUES

DOWN

SILVERSTEIN LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES - GLASS CLOUD

Tickets available at all Dimple Records Locations, The Beat Records, and Armadillo Records, or purchase by phone @ 916.443.9202

38 | SN&R |

01.10.13

COMING

SOON

02/05 02/06 02/07 02/08 02/13 02/15 02/16 02/17 02/21 02/22 02/27 02/28 03/01 03/05 03/06 03/20 03/23 03/27 03/30 04/02 04/06 04/13 04/22 04/24

Nonpoint The Wailers Hot Water Music Andrew McMahon The Green Baby Bash For Today Soulfly Wallpaper & Con Chill Bro Molly Hatchet Pennywise (original lineup) Testament Meshuggah Reverend Horton Heat Black Veil Brides Rebelution The Road To The Sphinx 2013 Mindless Self Indulgence George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Tech N9NE Soul Asylum The Expendables Queensryche Alex Clare

16WED

17THURS

Gregg Allman

Jennifer O’Connor

Local Licks

Slightly Stoopid

Crest Theatre, 8 p.m., $39.50-$59.50 Gregg Allman’s namesake band with his brother Duane has long overshadowed his solo career, much how the Allman Brothers’ extended guitar jams frequently consigned Gregg’s vocals and keyboards to scenery. Blessed with a gruff, hearty voice, Allman’s spent his solo albums exploring the pop and soul end of the blues, with limited critical and commercial success outside his first two albums nearly 40 years ago. Two years ago, Allman enlisted producer T Bone Burnett for BLUES Low Country Blues, his first studio album since 1997. Though primarily covers, its deep, jazzy blues grooves represent Allman’s most consistent, well-crafted (and successful) release in a quarter-century. 1013 K Street, www.greggallman.com.

—Chris Parker

Naked Lounge Downtown, 8:30 p.m., $5

PowerHouse Pub, 9 p.m., $5

On the surface, Brooklyn-based singersongwriter Jennifer O’Connor seems like one of those overly earnest coffee-shop crooners— SINGER-SONGWRITER all serious feelings and joyless melodies. In reality, however, the 39-year-old O’Connor has mastered the art of insightful, biting observation. Her lyrics cover intense autobiographical ground (a terminally ill sister, a cheating girlfriend, et al.) without ever turning into cringeworthy TMI sulkfests— quite the feat. Previously signed with Matador Records, O’Connor was dropped after her 2008 record Here With Me enjoyed critical but not popular success. These days, she runs her own label, Kiam Records, through which she released her latest album, I Want What You Want. 111 H Street, www.jenniferoconnor.net.

Ace of Spades, 6:30 p.m., $25

There’s only one New Year’s resolution on my list this year: to finally get my ass off the grid and over to Folsom on a Wednesday night for Andy Hawk’s Local Licks party at PowerHouse Pub. For reals. And this week would be a smart one to—as no one ever says any more—“git ’er done.” Headlining is local trio the Bell Boys (pictured), an infectious indie-rock troupe of brothers (Elijah, Jacob and Erik Bell). They sound like Crosby, ROCK Stills and Nash—but younger (and Young-er)—and with an uptempo California pop-rock style that makes ya just feel good. Plus Humble Wolf, a.k.a. Roseville solo artist Jayson Angove, and Stocktonbased rock four-piece Clockwork Hero. Resolution fulfilled? 614 Sutter Street in Folsom, www.powerhousepub.com.

—Rachel Leibrock

Sure, it’s got kind of a stupid name, but don’t hold that against Slightly Stoopid. This is a dynamic group that can blend reggae with hip-hop, folk, punk and pop music. The band emerged from San Diego in 1995, and its REGGAE/ROCK members signed with Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell’s Skunk Records while still in high school. Its self-titled debut was released in 1996, and the group has followed up with seven albums since then. The group’s surf-influenced vibes and folk-punk mentality can be heard on the mellow-but-intense tracks “Closer to the Sun” and “Mellow Mood.” And just like Sublime—and numerous other reggae groups—Slightly Stoopid obligatorily promotes marijuana. 1417 R Street, www.slightlystoopid.com.

—Nick Miller

—Jonathan Mendick

THE SN&R

NEwSSTaNd SST SSTaNd aRT cT pRojEcT makiNg NEwS bEauTiful Tiful SN&R is seeking artists to transform our newsstands into functional art. Please contact rachelr@newsreview.com

JAN 10 9pm $20 Adv

JAN 18 10pm $15 Adv

ANTHONY B. TAINTED LOvE musiCal

JAN 19 10pm $12 Adv

TUBMAN HOUSE FUNDRAISER

WITH FOXTAIL BRIGADE AND AUTUMN SKY

WITH

HIP SERvICE

JAN 12 10pm $12 Adv

thE good LifE WITH DJ ANTHONY vINCENT 90’S & TOP 40 HITS

JAN 17 9pm $10-$20 Adv

SiZZLing SiREnS PRESENTS CALENDAR GIRLS

Coming Soon Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 26

JAN 11 10pm $7 Adv

Charis

PHoTo by jAmiE bUTLER

16WED

JAN 20 9pm $20 Adv

PINBACK

WITH JUDGEMENT DAY JAN 21 8pm $10 Adv

WHISKEY & STITCHES WITH KEvIN SECOND & SECRETIONS

Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 01 Feb 02 Feb 03 Feb 05 Feb 08 Feb 09 Feb 10 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 16 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 27 Mar 02 Mar 03 Mar 04

Led Kaapana Tom Rigney & Flambeau Dead Winter Carpenters Joel The Band Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown Paul Thorn Nick Bluhm & The Gamblers Arden Park Roots The Good Life Super Bowl Party Marco Benevento Martin Luther Steelin’ Dan Polish Ambassador Portland Cello Project Queen Ifrica Close To You ALO NoMeansNo Sizzling Sirens Dean-0-Holics Tyrone Wells Salvador Santana Galactic George Kahumoku Blackalicious G. Love & Special Sauce G-Eazy

Dress CoDe enforCeD (Jeans are oK) • Call to reserve Dinner & Club tables • all times listeD are showtimes

01.10.13 | SN&R | 39

NIGHTBEAT

THURSDAY 1/10

FRIDAY 1/11

SATURDAY 1/12

SUNDAY 1/13

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/14-1/16

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

Tipsy Thursdays, Top 40 deejay dancing, 9pm, call for cover

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Saturday Boom, 9pm, call for cover

Sin Sunday, 8pm, call for cover

EDM night, 9pm W, $5; Mad Mondays, 9pm M; Latin videos, Wii bowling, 7pm Tu

BLUE LAMP

THE SESSION, 9pm, $5

THE TULPA EFFECT, TOKYO RAID, WANING; 9pm

EL TEN ELEVEN, WHITE ARROWS; 9pm, call for cover

THE BOARDWALK

ANONYMOUS, ASHES IN AUGUST, THE

NEW FANG, MONICA WAY, BAD CONNECTION, THE SOMEBODYS; 8pm

BAEZA, PLAYAH K, CMT REIGN, AR BAABY, RICHARD THE ROCKSTAR; 8pm

BADLANDS List your event!

Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo, and a link to your website. Go to www.newsreview.com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247 GREAT DESTROYER, MECHANISM; 8pm

BOWS & ARROWS

POMEGRANATE, DEAD HORSES, NACHO BUSINESS; 8pm, $5

1815 19 St., (916) 822-5668

CENTER FOR THE ARTS THE COZMIC CAFÉ

Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover

DISTRICT 30

STARKILLERS, 9pm, call for cover

DJ Louie Giovanni, 9pm, call for cover

DJ Billy Lane, 9pm, call for cover

Electro-dance music, 9pm, no cover before 9pm

FACES

Deejay dancing and karaoke, 9pm, $3

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

Dragalicious, 9pm, $5

FOX & GOOSE

STEVE MCLANE, 8-11pm, no cover

FUNK.DEFIED, SOLWAVE, GHOST TOWN GOSPEL; 9pm, $5

GOLDEN CADILLACS, STEPH MACPHERSON; 9pm, $5

THE GOLDEN BEAR

DJ Shaun Slaughter, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Crook One, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Whores, 10pm, no cover

Industry Night, 9pm, call for cover

HARLOW’S

BURNING WAVES, ANTHONY B., RAFA, PAUL TEU; 9pm, $20-$25

MUSICAL CHARIS, FOXTAIL BRIGADE, AUTUMN SKY; 10pm, call for cover

THE GOOD LIFE, 10pm, $15

THE CAT STEVENS TRIBUTE BAND, 7pm, call for cover

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR

Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2

AFTERNOON TEACUP COLLECTION, MARTY COHEN & THE SIDEKICKS; 8pm, $6

BOB WOODS DUO, JON ROBERT QUINN; 8pm, $6

MARILYN’S ON K

“Rock On” Live Band Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

LA FIN ABSOLUTE DU MONDE, DEATH VALLEY, MARCH INTO PARIS; 9pm, $5

SNAP JACKSON, GET DOWN BOYS, DIRT NAP BAND; 9pm, $5

594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481 1016 K St., (916) 737-5770 2000 K St., (916) 448-7798 1001 R St., (916) 443-8825 2326 K St., (916) 441-2252

Hey local bands!

Want to be a hot show? Mail photos to Calendar Editor, SN&R, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815 or email it to sactocalendar@ newsreview.com. Be sure to include date, time, location and cost of upcoming shows.

KEOLA BEAMER, JEFF PETERSON; 7pm W, $25-$28

314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693 1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931 908 K St., (916) 446-4361

DIVINATION OF THE DAMNED, DESOLATE MOURNING; 9pm, $5

MIDTOWN BARFLY

Open-mic, M; Pub quiz, Tu; Northern Soul w/ Andy Garcia, Avi Jones, 8pm W

Nebraska Mondays, M; Reading by Richard Rios, Tu, $5; Comedy night, W

Get Down to the Champion Sound, reggae and dancehall deejays, 10pm, $5

1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

Queer Idol, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3

Salsa, Bachata and Merengue lessons, 8:30pm W, $5

MIX DOWNTOWN

DJs Eddie Edul and Peeti V, 4pm-2am, $10

DJ Elliott Estes, 8:30pm-2am, $15

DJ Mike Moss, 8pm-2am, $20

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN

KEVIN KALIMBAMAN SPEARS, MARTIN PURTILL, SAM STERN; 8:30pm, $5

MAJESTY, SPIDER GARAGE, THE LURK; 8:30pm, $5

THE SCOWNDROLLS, ABERZOMBIES, KEEP IT FROM THE COPS; 8:30pm, $3

Jazz session, M; JENNIFER O’CONNOR, CHRIS BROKAW; 8:30pm W, $5

WILLIAM MYLAR, 5pm, no cover; SAMBADÁ, 9pm, $10

Fascination: ’80s new-wave dancing, 9:30pm, $5

THE NUANCE, 7:30pm M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 8:30pm W, no cover

1531 L St., (916) 442-8899 1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

OLD IRONSIDES

1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504

ON THE Y

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731

DJ Gabe Xavier,8:30pm-2am, $10

KILLGASM, NEWTDICK, ABORTICIDE, EMBODIED TORMENT, VIRAL; 8:30pm, $5

Open-mic comedy, 9pm, no cover

DJs E Rock, Gabe Xavier and Peeti V, 8:30pm-2am W, $10

AWAITING THE APOCALYPSE, ALIGHIERI, FROM CITIES TO SALT; 8:30pm, $5

Sacramento’s Finest

OPERA HOUSE

S A L OON

RESTAURANT ss BAR BAR CLUB ss RESTAURANT COMEDY COMEDY CLUB

THURSDAYS

ROCK ON LIVE BAND KARAOKE ACOUSTIC ROCK // 9PM // FREE

FRI, JAN 11TH

FRI 01/11

Cripple Creek Band SAT, JAN 12TH

Jason Buell & The Double Barrel Band FRI, JAN 18TH

Chaperal Brodie Stewart All Shows 9 pm

411 Lincoln Street Roseville operahousesaloon.com |

SN&R

ELECTRONIC // INDIE // POP // 9PM // $5 SAT 01/12

SNAP JACKSON GET DOWN BOYS DIRT NAP BAND

AMERICANA // BLUEGRASS // FOLK // 9PM // $7 TUES 01/15

HAPPY HOUR LIVE MUSIC SERIE S 5:30PM // FREE

“GREAT EST STORIE S EVER TOLD” THE DEAD, JERRY GARCIA BAND & DYLAN TRIBUT E JAM 7:30 // FREE WED 01/16

JAMESON AND THE SORID SEEDS JAM // POP // REGGAE // 9PM // $5

SAT, JAN 19TH

LA FIN ABSOLUTE DU MONDE DEATH VALLEY MARCH INTO PARIS

01.10.13

TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR THESE UPCOMING SHOWS AT WWW.MARILYNSONK.COM $3 TALLBOY PBR

UPCOMING EVENTS:

ISLAND OF BLACK & WHITE 1/18 KEN KOENIG BAND 1/19 SANDY HOOK BENEFIT SHOW 1/25 GENE SMITH LIVES, THREE MASONS 1/26

908 K STREET • SAC 916.446.4361

VOTED BEST COMEDY CLUB BY THE SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW!

CANCER AwARENEss RIBBON TATTOO

JANUARY 24 & 27

2 FOR 1 ADMISSION!! (WITH THIS AD)

THURSDAY 1/10 - SUNDAY 1/13 FROM MAD TV!

ARIES SPEARS KABIR SINGH

fOR suRvIvORs

THURSDAY 1/17 - SATURDAY 1/19 FROM THE TONIGHT SHOW AND WHAT’S WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!

SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO

SUNDAY 1/20 - MONDAY 1/21

DOUG BENSON

STAND-UP SHOW ON SUNDAY, DOUG LOVES MOVIES PODCAST TAPING ON MONDAY AT 4:20PM! THURSDAY 1/24 - SATURDAY 1/26 FROM CHELSEA LATELY AND AFTER LATELY!

CHRIS FRANJOLA

SUNDAY 1/27

MIKE E. WINFIELD LIVE THURSDAY 1/31 - SATURDAY 2/2 FROM 30 ROCK AND LOUIE!

GODFREY

JASON WHEELER, JOE NGUYEN

WWW.PUNCHLINESAC.COM

CALL CLUB FOR SHOWTIMES: (916) 925-5500 2100 ARDEN WAY s IN THE HOWE ‘BOUT ARDEN SHOPPING CENTE

2 DRINK MINIMUM. 18 & OVER. I.D. REQUIRED.

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB BOX OFFICE WITH NO SERVICE CHARGE.

5650 Franklin Blvd (corner of 32nd) Sacramento CA 95824 916.476.3776 www.sunsetdesigncompany.com

Please drink responsibly.

THURSDAY 1/10

FRIDAY 1/11

THE PARK ULTRA LOUNGE 1116 15th St., (916) 442-7222

SATURDAY 1/12

SUNDAY 1/13

DJ Shift and DJ Eddie Edul, 9pm-2am, $15

DJ Peeti V, 9pm, $15

Asylum Downtown: Gothic, industrial, EBM dancing, 9pm, call for cover

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/14-1/16

DENVER, 8-10pm, no cover

Open-mic, 10pm-1am Tu, no cover; Trivia, 9-10pm W, no cover

Karaoke, M; DJs Alazzawi, Rigatony, Tu; HUMBLE WOLF, CLOCKWORK HERO; W

PINE COVE TAVERN

Karaoke, 9pm-1:30am, no cover

PJ’S ROADHOUSE

DJ Old Griff, 9pm, no cover

MARK SEXTON BAND, 9pm, $5

ELEMENT OF SOUL, 9pm, $5

CALIFORNIA COWBOYS, 9:30pm, call for cover

TOMMY CASTRO, 10pm, $15

THE ROCK DOCTORS, 10pm, call for cover

BUDDY EMMER, 3pm, call for cover

Top 40 w/ DJ Rue, 9pm, $5

Top 40 Night w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9pm, $5

Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5

ANT BEE, 8pm, no cover

STEEL BREEZE, 10pm, $5

MACH 5, 10pm, $5

Comedy Night and DJ Selekta Lou, 9pm, $5

Beats in the Basement: house music deejays, 9:30 pm, no cover

502 29th St., (916) 446-3624 5461 Mother Lode, Placerville; (530) 626-0336

POWERHOUSE PUB

614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586

THE PRESS CLUB

2030 P St., (916) 444-7914

SAMMY’S ROCKIN’ ISLAND

238 Vernon St., Roseville; (916) 773-7625

SHENANIGANS

705 J St., (916) 442-1268

SHINE

BRANDON MCHOSE, AKAZ; 8pm, $5

1400 E St., (916) 551-1400

SOL COLLECTIVE

Open jazz jam w/ Jason Galbraith & Friends, 8pm Tu, no cover

LAVA PUPS, 8pm, $5

EMCEE NUTSO, DYLAN PHILLIP, THE HOOLIGANZ, ILL CO$BY; 6pm, $11-$13

2574 21st St., (916) 832-0916

The Sol Mercado and Kid’s Day, 1pm, no cover

Microphone Mondays, 6pm M, $1-$2

STONEY INN/ROCKIN RODEO

TOM DRINNON AND DEUCES WILD, 9pm, Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover, $5 no cover after 8pm

Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover, $5 after 8pm

Country dance party, 8pm, no cover

Comedy open-mic, 8pm M; Bluebird Lounge open-mic, 5pm Tu, no cover

TORCH CLUB

X TRIO, 5pm, no cover; DIPPIN’ SAUCE, 9pm, $5

JOHNNY KNOX, 5pm, no cover; TERRY HANCK, 9pm, $10

KENNY NEAL, 2pm, call for cover; DELTA CITY RAMBLERS, 8pm, $5

SOPHISTAFUNK, 5:30pm Tu, $5; Openmic, 5:30pm W; KERI CARR, 9pm W, $5

TOWNHOUSE LOUNGE

PLAYBOY SCHOOL, TREMOR LOW, PAPER PISTOLS; 9pm, $7

1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023 904 15th St., (916) 443-2797 1517 21st St., (916) 613-7194

PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30-7:30pm, no cover; HAMILTON LOOMIS, 9pm, $12

THE WRANGLER

Eyewitness Wednesdays, 9pm W, no cover TERRY SHEETS BAND, 9pm, call for cover

8945 Grant Line Rd., Elk Grove; (916) 714-9911

Emcee Nutso with Dylan Phillip, the Hooliganz and Ill Co$by 6pm Friday, $11-$13. Sol Collective Hip-hop

Karaoke Wednesdays, 8pm W, call for cover

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

TRIBAL SEEDS, STICK FIGURE, MAAD T-RAY, SIMPLE CREATION; 6:30pm, $14

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

THE COLONY

NOT YET, MAD JUDY, THE PORTER PROJECT, SNEEZE ATTACK; 8pm, $5

3512 Stockton Blvd., (916) 287-5473

OF MICE & MEN, WOE, IS ME; M, $16; SUM 41, HUNTER VALENTINE; Tu, $15

ROCK 2000, PLUSH, SIDETRACKED; 8pm, $5

DOWNTOWN PLAZA (LOWER LEVEL) ZUHG, 6pm, no cover

RASAR, 2pm, no cover

547 L St., (916) 822-5185

ZUHG LIFE STORE

DUNHARROW, 6pm Tu, no cover

545 Downtown Plaza, Ste. 2090, (916) 822-5185

THINK FREE.

SA RED CR DI AM NG EN TO

Simply the BeSt! 1 place two years in a Row st

SN&R ANNUAl ReADeRS pOll

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Corner of Fulton & El Camino, Sacramento 95821 • 1647 Hartnell Ave Ste 13, Redding 96002 Monday thru Friday • 916.973.1766 • 877.563.4156 BEFORE

Playboy School with Tremor Low and Paper Pistols 9pm Thursday, $7. TownHouse Lounge Electro-rock

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01.10.13

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Where can I find the Three Kings tree? Also, I want to get my card in the new year, and I was wondering if you could recommend a club. —Mellie Nell The Three Kings “tree”? You make it sound like a quest. “One tree to rule them all.” Sometimes finding a particular cannabis strain is a bit of a quest. People are always on the hunt for the Girl Scout Cookies or the Pre 98 Bubba BEALUM Kush, or Sour Bubble grown by BOG himself. by NGAIO The search for the perfect strain is an ongoing, pleasurable adventure. Some guys even take it to the extreme. The Dutch chronnoisseurs behind a s k420@ n ewsreview.c om the Green House Seed Co. have traveled the world seeking out rare and ancient cannabis strains. You can find their Strain Hunters videos on YouTube. As a weed nerd, I find it fascinating. By the way, my two favorite newish slang terms for weed are: “tree” (I giggle every time I drive past the “Welcome to Sacramento, City of Trees” water tower) and “loud,” ’cause it makes me think of I don’t want to be all synesthesia. But I digress. Your letter doesn’t Jedi about it, but trust include a location, so I can’t your feelings. If you make a personal recommendation, but I can suggest visit a club and you a few good online resources. is one of get a bad vibe, find Weedtracker.com my favorites. Weedmaps.com another club. has a really easy-to-use, if sometimes a little inaccurate, search feature. And the website Leafly makes it easy to learn about and locate different strains. You could also maybe just ask one of your friends. Are you the only person you know that uses weed? That would be weird. I wish you Godspeed on your quest to find the legendary Loud Tree of Fire. How do I pick a dispensary? What should I look for? —Newbie Patient There aren’t as many clubs as there used to be, but there are still quite a few. The booklet “Medical Cannabis 101” (www.lamedicalmarijuana.com/files/ MediCann101.pdf) has good guidelines on what to look for, such as: “There should be a reasonable selection of medication at fair prices.” And “Dispensaries should have a quality control process to avoid mold, mildew, and other contaminates.” I don’t want to be all Jedi about it, but trust your feelings. If you visit a club and you get a bad vibe, find another club. Plus, delivery services are getting better and better. Even some major brick-and-mortar clubs like Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif., and Berkeley Patients Group in Berkeley provide a delivery service. Good luck on your quest! Ω

Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert. Email him questions at ask420@ newsreview.com.

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GIFt CeRtIFICateS FRoM ReStauRaNtS, BaRS, CLuBS, tattoo, RetaIL, tHeateR, SaLoNS, SpaS, GoLF, vaCatIoNS & MoRe 50 | SN&R | 01.10.13

by ROB BREZSNY

FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 10, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Writing at

www.io9.com, Charlie Jane Anders provides “10 Signs You Could Be the Chosen Savior.” Among the clues are the following: “Give yourself one point for every time someone comes up to you on the street, points at you, gibbers something inarticulate, and runs away”; “How many robot/clone duplicates of yourself have you come across lately?”; “Is there a blurry black-and-white photo/drawing from history that sort of looks like you?”; and “Have you achieved weird feats that nobody could explain, but which nobody else witnessed?” Now would be a good time for you to take this test, Aries. You’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when your dormant superpowers may finally be awakening—a time when you might need to finally claim a role you’ve previously been unready for. (Read Anders’ article at http://tinyurl.com/AreYouChosen.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Dear Rob

the Astrologer: I have a big question for you. If I could get access to a time machine, where would you suggest I should go? Is there a way to calculate the time and place where I could enjoy favorable astrological connections that would bring out the best in me? —Curious Taurus.” Dear Curious: Here are some locations that might be a good fit for you Tauruses right now: Athens, Greece, in 459 B.C.; Constantinople in 1179; Florence, Italy, in 1489; New York City in 2037. In general, you would thrive wherever there are lots of bright people co-creating a lively culture that offers maximum stimulation. You need to have your certainties challenged and your mind expanded and your sense of wonder piqued.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Will archae-

ologists find definitive evidence of the magical lost continent of Atlantis in 2013? Probably not. How about Shambhala, the mythical kingdom in Central Asia where the planet’s greatest spiritual masters are said to live? Any chance it will be discovered by Indiana Jones-style fortune hunters? Again, not likely. But I do think there’s a decent chance that sometime in the next seven months, many of you Geminis will discover places, situations, and circumstances that will be, for all intents and purposes, magical and mythical.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a

spot in the country of Panama where you can watch the sun rise in the east over the Pacific Ocean. In another Panamanian location, you can see the sun set in the west over the Atlantic Ocean. Nothing weird is involved. Nothing twisted or unearthly. It’s simply a quirk of geography. I suspect that a similar situation will be at work in your life sometime soon. Things may seem out of place. Your sense of direction might be offkilter, and even your intuition could seem to be playing tricks on you. But don’t worry. Have no fear. Life is simply asking you to expand your understanding of what “natural” and “normal” are.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Metaphorically

speaking, a pebble was in your shoe the whole past week. You kept thinking, “Pretty soon, I’ve got to take a minute to get rid of that thing,” and yet you never did. Why is that? While it wasn’t enormously painful, it distracted you just enough to keep you from giving your undivided attention to the important tasks at hand. Now, here’s a news flash: The damn pebble is still in your shoe. Can I persuade you to remove it? Please?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Even when you

know exactly what you want, it’s sometimes crucial for you not to accomplish it too fast. It may be that you need to mature more before you’re ready to handle your success. It could be that if you got all of your heart’s desire too quickly and easily, you wouldn’t develop the vigorous willpower that the quest was meant to help you forge. The importance of good timing can’t be underestimated, either: In order for you to take full advantage of your dream come true, many other factors in your life have to be in place and arranged just so. With those thoughts in mind, Virgo, I offer you this prediction for 2013: A benevolent version of a perfect storm is headed your way.

BEFORE

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Artists who

painted images in caves 30,000 years ago did a pretty good job of depicting the movements of four-legged animals like horses. In fact, they were more skilled than today’s artists. Even the modern experts who illustrate animal anatomy textbooks don’t match the accuracy of the people who decorated cave walls millennia ago. So says a study reported on LiveScience’s website (http://tinyurl.com/CaveArtMagic). I’d like to suggest this is a useful metaphor for you to consider, Libra. There’s some important task that the old you did better than the new you does. Now would be an excellent time to recapture the lost magic.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): After evalu-

ating your astrological omens for the coming months, I’ve decided to name you Scorpios the “Top Sinners of the Year” for 2013. What that means is that I suspect your vices will be more inventive and more charming than those of all the other signs. Your so-called violations may have the effect of healing some debilitating habit. In fact, your “sins” may not be immoral or wicked at all. They might actually be beautiful transgressions that creatively transcend the status quo; they might be imaginative improvements on the halfassed way that things have always been done. To ensure you’re always being ethical in your outlaw behavior, be committed to serving the greater good at least as much as your own selfish interests.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Here’s the horoscope I hope to be able to write for you a year from now: “Your mind just kept opening further and further during these past 12 months, Sagittarius— way beyond what I ever imagined possible. Congrats! Even as you made yourself more innocent and receptive than you’ve been in a long time, you were constantly getting smarter and sharpening your ability to see the raw truth of what was unfolding. Illusions and misleading fantasies did not appeal to you. Again, kudos!”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): What

does it mean when the dwarf planet Pluto impacts a key point in your horoscope? For Capricorn gymnast Gabrielle Douglas, it seemed to be profoundly empowering. During the time Pluto was close to her natal sun during last year’s Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals, one with her team and one by herself. Luck had very little to do with her triumph. Hard work, self-discipline and persistence were key factors. I’m predicting that Pluto’s long cruise through the sign of Capricorn will give you an opportunity to earn a Gabby Douglas-like achievement in your own sphere—if, that is, you can summon the same level of willpower and determination that she did. Now would be an excellent time to formally commit yourself to the glorious cause that excites you the most.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a rock,” said humorist Will Rogers. I hope you’ve been taking care of the “nice doggie” part, Aquarius—holding the adversarial forces and questionable influences at bay. As for the rock: I predict you will find it any minute now, perhaps even within an hour of reading this horoscope. Please keep in mind that you won’t necessarily have to throw the rock for it to serve its purpose. Merely brandishing it should be enough.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Do you know

the word “cahoots”? Strictly speaking, it means to be in league with allies who have the same intentions as you do; to scheme and dream with confederates whose interests overlap with yours. Let’s expand that definition a little further and make it one of your central themes in the coming week. For your purposes, “cahoots” will signify the following: to conspire with like-minded companions as you cook up some healthy mischief or whip up an interesting commotion or instigate a benevolent ruckus.

You can call Rob Brezsny for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. Touchtone phone required. Customer service (612) 373-9785. And don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at www.realastrology.com.

FRONTLINES

FEATURE

15 MINUTES

JONATHAN MENDICK PHOTO BY ANNE STOKES

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Party like a pirate Susan Ramon—known to many as “Louisiana Sue”—threw her first big event in 1966 as a teenager in high school. “I pirated the senior prom from the school and moved it to [a bar] on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans,” she said. She moved to California in the 1980s where she helped start the Crawdad Festival in Isleton. Now 64, Ramon still throws a wild party and directs events at the Rio Ramaza Marina, RV & Event Park in Sacramento, including the Sacramento Hempfest, Seafarer’s Marketplace & Pirate Festival, and the new Coors Light Crawfish & Catfish Festival. Such shindigs are a tribute to Ramon’s outside-the-box spirit. Ramon took a break from event planning and babysitting grandkids to chat with SN&R about pirates, crawfish and Burning Man.

Was senior prom your first event? Yeah. … [The school] had this old-folks artsy band that they wanted us to have. [Instead,] we [rented] this warehouse with a patio on the river in New Orleans. I wasn’t 18, and the guy [there] signed a contract. I gave him money. … It was wild. I just put it together like you would have a big wedding or whatever. … It was bring-your-ownbooze. All the football team, cheerleaders and everybody went to the [bar].

First Sacramento event? I gravitated to the [Sacramento Jazz Jubilee] and thought it was going to be real. And I soon saw that it wasn’t real, neither the music nor the food. And so I volunteered, because my thing is I don’t complain about stuff. [I] become part of the solution, not part of the problem. I volunteered and cooked food, and it was fabulous. We brought Cajun food in there, and later, I brought in zydeco music.

What happened to the Crawdad Festival? It started going downhill. … They sold the name of it, and it went to Red Bluff [in Northern California]. … This last year, Isleton tried to revive it, but they couldn’t use the word [“crawdad”] because they sold the name. And so they called it the [Isleton] Cajun Festival. It was very poorly attended, and the crawfish came from China and they were frozen. It irritated me. I started doing some research. … I get online and Google “California crawfish,” and I get the California Crawfish Company in Chico; they get [the crawfish] from rice fields. ... Jody Gallaway started her processing plant in 2010. I contacted her in 2012 and said, “I want to start [the Catfish & Crawfish Festival] and I need about 1,000 pounds.” It was fabulous. ... I had a guy come from Louisiana to cook

STORY

A RT S & C U LT U R E

crawfish, and we cooked 3,000 pounds this first year.

The official name of the park is the Rio Ramaza Marina, RV & Event Park. Is it really all those things? Yes. The RV park is small, [and] the marina is really small. It’s not like it has restaurants and stuff. One of the things I’d like to do is keep the quaintness and the noncommercial part of it. … We don’t want it becoming restaurant row [with] a Starbucks there.

When did you get into doing Rio Ramaza’s events? A friend of mine from New Orleans lives on the river, and he said, “You got to see this place.” And he brought me to Rio Ramaza, and all it was missing was Spanish moss and I would have been back home. It’s beautiful, and so I talked to the owner and … I started doing zydeco, bringing bands in … four years ago. … I’d cook gumbo, and bands would stop in. The [owner] put up a pontoon and put marine decking on for the dance floor.

So now you do four or five annual festivals?

There are people who dress up like pirates, but I’m a pirate. And I know a lot about pirates because I’m from New Orleans. … We had a pirate day on the river and 1,000 people showed up, and we ran out of food and beer. … All I did was add pirates to my zydeco Sunday, and it exploded. I did a two-day pirate event the next year, which brought me a lot of attention.

Which festival gets the wildest? It’s Burning Man Decompression [in October]. It is outstanding. It is just really visual. … [The attendees are] so creative and … they build something out of nothing. They call it Burn the River, and it’s usually the last the event of the season.

These events are all pretty outside the box. Why do you gravitate toward them? They gravitate toward me because I’m in the same box with them. ... All these festivals that you go to, the band names change, but it’s the same music. The food has different spice, but it’s all the same food. The Crawfish & Catfish Festival will be the best food festival in California when I’m done. We haven’t even touched the surface. Ω

Yes. The first one I started was … the [Seafarer’s Marketplace &] Pirate Festival, because I’m a pirate at heart. |

AFTER

01.10.13

SN&R

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