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Sac eat eatS S

the world Flavors 14 From around the globe, and the locals who brought them

Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

Poison Pill cold case

don’t fly with your weed

lebron reps sacramento

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Volume 29, iSSue 33

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EditoR’S NotE

NoVEMBER 30, 2017 | Vol. 29, iSSuE 33

43 25 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.

Editor Eric Johnson News Editor Raheem F. Hosseini Arts & Culture Editor Rebecca Huval Associate Editor Mozes Zarate Staff Reporter Scott Thomas Anderson Calendar Editor Kate Gonzales Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Alastair Bland, Rob Brezsny, Aaron Carnes, Jim Carnes, Willie Clark, John Flynn, Joey Garcia, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Dave Kempa, Matt Kramer, Jim Lane, Michael Mott, Luis Gael Jimenez, Rachel Leibrock, Kate Paloy, Patti Roberts, Steph Rodriguez, Ann Martin Rolke, Shoka, Bev Sykes

31 Design Manager Christopher Terrazas Creative Director Serene Lusano Art Director Margaret Larkin Designers Kyle Shine, Maria Ratinova Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Web Design & Strategy Intern Elisabeth Bayard Arthur Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Scott Duncan, Evan Duran, Adam Emelio, Lucas Fitzgerald, Jon Hermison, Kris Hooks, Jasmine Lazo, Gavin McIntyre, Michael Mott, Shoka, Lauran Fayne Thompson, Kimani Okearah Advertising Manager Michael Gelbman Sales Coordinator Victoria Smedley Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Kelsi White Advertising Consultants Mayra Diaz, Mark Kates , Matt Kjar, Alyssa Morrisey, Michael Nero, Allen Youn Sweetdeals Coordinator Hannah Williams Facilities Coordinator/Sales Assistant David Lindsay Director of First Impressions Skyler Morris Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Beatriz Aguirre, Rosemarie Beseler, Kimberly Bordenkircher,

37 Daniel Bowen, Gypsy Andrews, Heather Brinkley, Kelly Hopkins, Mike Cleary, Lydia Comer, Tom Downing, Rob Dunnica, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Joanna Gonzalez-Brown, Julian Lang, Greg Meyers, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan, Steve Stewart, Eric Umeda, Zang Yang N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Associate Editor Laura Hillen N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes Marketing & Publications Consultants Steve Caruso, Joseph Engle, Ken Cross, Elizabeth Morabito, Traci Hukill President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Nuts & Bolts Ninja Leslie Giovanini Executive Coordinator/Publications Media Planner Carlyn Asuncion Director of People & Culture David Stogner Project Coordinator Natasha vonKaenel Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Hansen Accounts Receivable Specialist Analie Foland Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins

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STREETALK LETTERS NEwS + BEATs gREENLighT ScoREKEEpER FEATuRE SToRy DiSh STAgE FiLm muSic cALENDAR ASK joEy ThE 420 15 miNuTES

covER DESigN by SERENE LuSANo covER phoTo by ScoTT DuNcAN

1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815 Phone (916) 498-1234 Fax (916) 498-7910 Website www.newsreview.com Got a News Tip? sactonewstips@newsreview.com Calendar Events www.newsreview.com/calendar Want to Advertise? Fax (916) 498-7910 or snradinfo@newsreview.com Classifieds (916) 498-1234, ext. 5 or classifieds@newsreview.com Job Opportunities jobs@newsreview.com Want to Subscribe to SN&R? sactosubs@newsreview.com Editorial Policies: opinions expressed in sn&r are those of the authors and not of chico community Publishing, inc. contact the editor for permissions to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. sn&r is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to snrletters@newsreview.com. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel.

Advertising Policies: All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s standards of Acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes the responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message. sn&r is printed at Bay Area news Group on recycled newsprint. circulation of sn&r is verified by the circulation Verification council. sn&r is a member of sacramento Metro chamber of commerce, cnPA, AAn and AWn.

Thanks, Sacramento In the climactic scene of Greta Gerwig’s loving tribute to her hometown, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson leaves a message on her mother’s phone while images of iconic Sacramento landmarks reel across the screen. It’s an emotional moment— without giving too much away, I can say it’s a long-distance reconciliation in the relationship at the movie’s heart. And, for many at the Tower Theatre showing that we attended, I’m guessing the scene was extrapoignant, because these landmarks have defined their lives as much as Lady Bird’s.

In his review of the film, A.O. Scott of the New York Times says: “I’m tempted to catalog the six different ways the ending can make you cry.”

Now, I don’t know if Scott has ever been to Sacramento, but I can testify that one doesn’t have to be a longtime Sacramentan to get choked up by that ending. For me, it was the scenery as much as the story—every one of those icons, from Tower Bridge to Club Raven, is already familiar to me, a newcomer to this marvelous city.

Next week, I will begin my sixth month as a Sacramentan, and last weekend, my wife and I celebrated with a four-day staycation. It began with one of Sac’s proudest traditions: the Run to Feed the Hungry (in our case, the walk to feed the hungry). We joined 29,604 of our new neighbors for the joyous celebration of civic pride and generosity. Moving through our new hometown with the throng, cheered on by volunteers and folks partying along the route, we felt welcomed and blessed. Thanks, Sacramento.

The RTFTH has raised about $925,000 for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services so far. Please consider contributing at runtofeedthehungry.com.

—Eric Johnson e r ic j@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

11.30.17 | SN&R | 3

BUILDING A

HEALTHY S A C R A M E N T O

Summit inspires young men of color to succeed

BY E D G A R S A N C H E Z

D

ropping out of school is not an option for Jacquez Cosby or Angel Diaz, two youths determined to excel in college.

“I want to pursue the arts, as in music or acting, and become a great performer,” said Cosby, 15, a 10th grader at Rosemont High in Sacramento who is already pursuing acting by sharing a lead role in Sacramento Theatre Company’s “Kings of America.”

“I want to have a big future,” said Diaz, 13, an 8th grader at Will Rogers Middle School in Fair Oaks. “I’m trying to keep my grades up and plan my career, probably as a doctor.”

Both took part in the sixth annual Boys & Men of Color Summit at Sacramento State University, where they were urged to continue their quest for excellence, partly by spurning drugs, alcohol and gangs. Two hundred local students, ages 13-18, and some 30 adult mentors attended the Oct. 31 event organized by a diverse group of young men and educators, with The California Endowment’s support.

Its theme, “I am my brother’s keeper,” meant always help your peers, always have their backs.

For the first time, the summit had a woman keynote speaker, civil rights activist Carmen Perez, who co-chaired the Women’s March

on Washington, which saw 500,000 people converge on the nation’s capital in January to demand that President Donald Trump respect women.

“You may be asking yourself why do we have a woman speaking today?” she told the teens. “I’ll tell you why: because I am my brother’s keeper.”

“I WANT TO HAVE A BIG FUTURE.” Angel Diaz 8th grader at Will Rogers Middle School

Perez described how, on her 17th birthday, she attended the funeral for her 19-yearold sister, who died in a car accident. She exhorted the youths to excel every day, because, “You never know if you have tomorrow to do what you can today.”

Defensive end Arik Armstead of the San Francisco 49ers told the gathering that passion — “the motivation to succeed” — is great.

“But passion by itself is wasted if you don’t have an education,” said Armstead, a Pleasant Grove High graduate. “Take your

Jacquez Cosby, 15, and Angel Diaz, 13, participated in the sixth annual Boys & Men of Color Summit held Oct. 31 at Sacramento State University. The boys, along with 200 other attendees, were told to continue their quest for excellence.

Photo by Edgar Sanchez

education seriously! Once you become successful, give back to your community.”

Former offenders who did prison time also gave advice. During a workshop co-sponsored by the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, one of them, a man named Penani, warned: “If you’re on the right path, stay on it. The other path may lead to a casket, or life in prison.”

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, communitybased organizations and public institutions will work together to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges contributing to the poor health of their communities.

Your ZIP code shouldn’t predict how long you’ll live – but it does. Staying healthy requires much more than doctors and diets. Every day, our surroundings and activities affect how long – and how well – we’ll live.

Health Happens in Neighborhoods. Health Happens in Schools.

Health Happens with Prevention.

PAID WITH A GRANT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT 4 | SN&R | 11.30.17

www.SacBHC.org

“It’s A lot better thAn hAvIng drunk drIvers or people textIng behInd the wheel.”

AskeD At sAcrAmento city college:

Are you worried about self-driving cars?

Antonio DAvis entrepreneur

Yes, I am. Because most of the time, I get around on foot. If a self-driving car happens to malfunction, I could be hit. I mean, self-driving cars are cool as long as they are handled straight by the people designing them—but they do worry me.

l Aurie tAylor

Ale x sAmuel

student

Yeah. The fact that anything could go wrong and that there’s not anyone controlling it makes them really hard to trust for me.

security guard

I’m not really worried about them because if it’s self-driving it can actually be safer. The one thing about computers is that they are more accurate than people. The cars can judge whether they need to stop or not with precision.

JonAthAn l Athrop fast-food worker

I am not really afraid, because even though one out of 10,000 cars might malfunction, it’ll still far outweigh the amount of deaths that happen due to incompetent drivers. It’s a lot better than having drunk drivers or people texting behind the wheel.

A Aron Dill ArD

stArl A richArDson clerk

student

Yes. I don’t think they are a safe thing to have. The mechanics can program it wrong, and it’s a computer, and computers glitch all the time. It could even be hacked, so no, I don’t think they’re safe.

I feel like they can only get controlled so much. The more we rely on technology, the more problems we’re going to have with glitches and hacks.

we’re

hiring!

• distribution assistant • distribution driver For more inFormation and to apply, go to www.newsreview.com/jobs.

SN&R is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in the workplace.

11.30.17 | SN&R | 5

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Email lEttErs to sactolEttErs@nEwsrEviEw.com

Go back to Canada Re “Escape to Canada?!” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, October 19): Why didn’t you overstay? You only can do that in America? Why didn’t you go try the free healthcare? You can only do that in America.

Your article was biased and very un-American. Try the same thing in Mexico. You sure will not be able to buy property or vote. You failed to answer your own biased questions, which there are answers to.

Unfortunately, reporters these days or even opinion writers such as yourself are lazy and fail to find the answer. Instead you choose identity politics, half truths and blatant lies. Keep up the misinformed work, you’ll be on CNN in no time.

kevin eaddy via email

Gender-biased reporting?

lEgali zing 08 magic mushr ooms

ltE r 11 shEfro m thE fir Es

rEc or d 34 dEa l wit thE dEv ilh

how Donald Trump almost me out 17 drove country of my Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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EscapE to

canada!?

by Raheem F. hosseini

Volume 29, iSSue 27

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thurSday, october

19,

2017

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issuE 10.19.17 / EscapE to canada

Bye, Raheem Re “Escape to Canada?!” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, October 19): What a whiny Canada article.

Go away and stay away. They will soon tire of you too. Good riddance.

Tom Fiscus chi co vi a sac tole tters@ n ewsrev i ew . com

Re “SN&R news article was deceptive” by Eric Johnson (Editor’s Note, November 16): To discount Mr. Nelson’s comments by stating [that] they are also the opinions of someone who had a restraining order issued against him—obviously affecting his opinion, is both poor reporting and somewhat pandering to a political faction that is gender-biased and wellpaid by numerous financial incentive programs and private donors. All of those lend a great bias, operational motive and political agenda to their “cause.” It is well-known by many litigants who sadly must fight for their child/children in the anti-family court system in the USA, about the power

that a fraudulent restraining order holds over an individual.

Allegations of family violence are the weapon-of-choice in divorce strategies. Lawyers and paralegals in women’s shelters call them “The Silver Bullet,” or the “First Weapon of Assault.”

BoB saunders s a c ra m e nt o v i a ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Invite the homeless home Re “Will arrest for food” by Raheem F. Hosseini (News, November 16): Another Band-Aid but good for the City. Panhandling is out of hand. In some parts of the city you can’t even step 5 feet without three to four people asking you for money.

About time the City starts doing something about it. Helping is one thing. Being harassed is quite another. Liberal bleeding hearts be damned. If they care so much, then let them house and feed and finance these homeless people who choose to live in the conditions they live in. s-arTuro najera orihuela via Facebook

Taking my business elsewhere Re “Will arrest for food” by Raheem F. Hosseini (News, November 16):

I am asking any retailer if they are a member in good standing with the [Midtown Business Association], and if they support the new “homeless” restrictions. If they answer in the affirmative or refuse to answer, they go on my boycott list. I let them know that all of my acquaintances will be made aware of their position. doroThy eller v ia Fa c e b o o k

Verizon: Predators

Steinberg: Think bigger Re “Cellular Sacramento” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 16): Also yeah this is fuckin’ bullshit. Steinberg could be championing something useful like municipally-owned and operated fiber. But he thinks too small and too much about the $$$. jake simon

read more letters online at www.newsreview .com/sacramento.

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

@SacNewsReview

v ia Fa c e b o o k

Re “Cellular Sacramento” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 16): A predatory provider, prob the worst.

Bil PaTrick v ia Fa c e b o o k

SN&R: Liberal?!

Re “Cellular Sacramento” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 16): SN&R is liberal? Never saw that coming. ross jones v ia Fa c e b o o k

Humanity: Predators Re “Cellular Sacramento” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 16): We live in a predatory world. kaTe mccoy

SN&R: Fan-haters?

Re Justice League review by Jim Lane (Film, November 16): Ah. So, now SNR’s film “critics” are more concerned about throwing shade at fandom than they are with actual film criticism. Lovely.

Ben ecker v ia Fa c e b o o k

DC: Insulting fans Re Justice League review by Jim Lane (Film, November 16): I love superhero films.

Wonder Woman was a delight.

But everything else DC has done has been an insult to the characters and the fans.

Tina BenneTT v ia Fa c e b o o k

v ia Fa c e b o o k

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Graphic from Prescription Behavior Surveillance System Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Issue Brief, July 2017 Photo courtesy cDc NatioNal ceNter for iNjury PreveNtioN aND coNtrol | july 2017

Mystery of the poison pills A year and a half after a deadly fentanyl outbreak killed dozens across Northern California, why has the trail gone cold?

by Jason smith

In July 2016, federal investigators arraigned a South Sacramento woman who they claimed was directly connected to the deadly fentanyl outbreak that ended scores of lives across Northern California, including 12 people in Sacramento County. At the time, a spokesperson for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration suggested that the arrest was just the 8 | SN&R | 11.30.17 Raheem F. Hosseini contributed to this report.

first layer of an investigative onion, with more to be revealed about a spate of overdoses that mystified authorities, shocked public health officials and garnered national attention.

Yet, nearly a year and a half later, the trail has seemingly gone cold. The only person arrested in connection to the overdoses remains out on bond pending a trial on drug trafficking charges. And an event

that joined Sacramento to a growing list of cities scourged by an opioid synthesized to be 50 times more powerful than heroin has largely faded from public view.

Mildred “Denise” Dossman was arrested last summer, following a widespread manhunt keyed to the mysterious appearance of counterfeit Norco pills. The outbreak was first detected in March of

last year and culminated in more than 50 overdoses in Sacramento County alone, a dozen of which proved fatal. According to William Ruzzamenti, director of the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, illicit fentanyl had made its way to the streets of Sacramento from laboratories in China.

Ruzzamenti, who told SN&R that he was unable to comment on Dossman’s case due to its status as a pending investigation, works alongside state and federal agencies as part of a narcotics task force out of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Ruzzamenti said law enforcement began finding counterfeit pills pressed to look like the commonly prescribed painkiller Norco throughout the state as early as 2015.

As California clamped down on the overprescribing of opioid painkillers, their street value increased as demand further exceeded supply. A 2016 Wall Street Journal investigation found that by purchasing just $810 worth of fentanyl from China, an American dealer could potentially make $800,000 by converting the drug into black market pharmaceuticals.

2017’s murdersuicides see NeWsY

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Ruzzamenti believes these profit margins have created an incentive for dealers to begin venturing beyond sales and into chemistry, an area he said extends well outside the expertise of your average dealer.

“The pill presses we’ve found across the state produce tablets that look just like what you’d get from a pharmacy,” he said.

“Someone buying off the street doesn’t know that what they’re buying isn’t real. It looks exactly the same.”

DEA Special Agent Casey Rettig told SN&R that drug dealers across the country have begun taking advantage of the inexpensive cost and relative ease with which illicit fentanyl can be purchased online to get unsuspecting addicts high on what they wrongly believe to be their drug of choice.

“We’re finding Chinese fentanyl in everything from counterfeit pills to heroin,” she said.

Rettig, who also declined to comment on the Dossman case, citing its status as an active investigation, believes at least some of the 56 area overdoses from last year can be tied directly to illicit fentanyl purchases made over the dark web, a virtually untraceable terrain of the internet where all sorts of contraband products are openly marketed.

“The rise of fentanyl across the country is more than alarming, and it’s fueling a rise in the opioid epidemic,” she added.

It’s an epidemic that is helping erode American mortality rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report in the December 2016 National Center for Health Statistics, which found that, for the first time in more than two decades, American life expectancy had actually declined.

The decrease couldn’t be pinned on the usual suspects. Cancer rates had dropped.

Influenza and pneumonia showed no significant changes. Infant mortality held steadily low.

National public health and safety experts instead pointed to the rise in overdose deaths and suicides.

CDC maps show Northern California has been hit particularly hard by a national opioid epidemic. Deaths by “drug poisoning” have increased statewide more than 50 percent since 2002, far outnumbering car fatalities. Overdoses have become the leading cause of death for people below the age of 50. The CDC report found precisely what Rettig and Ruzzamenti both believe played a role in the Sacramento-area counterfeit Norco overdoses last year: illicit fentanyl, from China, ordered over the internet.

Ruzzamenti believes that the official number of 64,000 overdose deaths nationwide is nowhere near accurate.

“Statistics are kept so differently in so many jurisdictions that it is impossible to get a truly accurate number,” he explained. “[The actual] number could be double, if not more.”

believed to be Norco, Curtis said. Both men took the pills.

The following morning, Curtis said, all hell broke loose. Dossman found her son with his arms, legs and hands contorted, unable to speak or move properly. She called 911 and when paramedics arrived, they took her son by ambulance to the hospital. It was then, Curtis said, that an overdose is what brought dossman to “Smoke” was found unconscious on the the attention of authorities. couch foaming from his mouth. He was According to federal court later pronounced dead. records, Dossman remains Back at the hospital, out on bond on charges of Dossman’s son pulled possession and distributhrough after tests identi“The rise of tion of hydrocodone fied fentanyl in his and fentanyl, as well system and medical fentanyl across the as one charge of personnel used country is more than using a communinaloxone to counter alarming, and it’s fueling a cation facility to the drug’s effects. facilitate a drug Curtis believes that rise in the opioid epidemic.” trafficking offense. the hospital notified Casey Rettig Dossman hasn’t law enforcement of special agent, U.S. Drug been charged with the overdose. He can’t Enforcement Administration any crimes relating to recall whether Dossman the overdose deaths. was arrested at the The South Sacramento hospital or later that day, but woman’s local criminal history he said federal agents swarmed doesn’t suggest a drug kingpin orderhis mother’s house and turned it upside ing fentanyl off the dark web to use in the down looking for clues. manufacturing of black market pharmaA trial date has yet to be set in a case ceuticals. According to her brother Tony that has seen little more than the scheduling Curtis, that’s because she isn’t. of status conferences by federal prosecuIn a phone interview with SN&R, tors, with the next one set for December 14.

Curtis, who court documents show is a Sacramento Superior Court records co-signer on Dossman’s $50,000 bond show Dossman was convicted of two release, discussed the tragic events that led separate misdemeanors—for driving while to his sister’s July 2016 arrest. intoxicated and falsely identifying herself Curtis says the siblings had been reelto a peace officer—in 2003 and 2004, ing from the recent death of their mother. respectively. A 1991 felony charge of “I know that Denise was taking it pretty cocaine possession with the intent to sell hard, like we all were,” he said. “She’d was dismissed. begun drinking a little, just to cope. I ain’t Dossman’s attorney Chris Cosca gonna say she had a problem or nothing declined to be interviewed for this story, like that, but she was just going through a citing the ongoing investigation. “The rough time.” charges are simply allegations and not At some point, Curtis believes, evidence or proof of anything,” Cosca said.

Dossman bought Norco pills from someone “Ms. Dossman pled not guilty and I intend off the street, which she kept in her purse. to defend her vigorously and make sure her He can’t say for certain whether she bought rights are protected.” them with the intent of reselling them, or SN&R reached out to federal prosecufor personal use, but he is convinced that tors for comment, but did not hear back. she had no idea they were counterfeit.

In September 2016, Dossman was courtDossman, he said, was staying in ordered to participate in Better Choices, a their deceased mother’s former South cognitive behavioral treatment program, as Sacramento home. Dossman’s son came part of her modified conditions for pretrial by one evening along with a friend of release. The reason cited: “The defendant his, who Curtis knew only as “Smoke.” falsified a medical prescription.”

At some point over the course of the Federal court records show that evening, Dossman’s son and Smoke Dossman graduated from the program a went into her purse without her knowlyear later, on September 19, 2017. Ω edge and found the pills, which they

It was a Saturday morning and Jay Brown had already found his seat on an airplane bound for Wichita, Kansas. But the 23-year-old Sacramento man would never make it to his intended destination.

As the plane thrummed on the concourse at Sacramento International Airport, a different pre-flight preparation was taking place.

According to information from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Tsa screeners were rifling through two large suitcases Brown allegedly checked at the United Airlines ticket counter before he passed through the security checkpoint and boarded his plane. Inside the luggage, employees with the Transportation Security Administration reportedly discovered 20 vacuum-sealed bags busting with 22 pounds worth of leafy cannabis. Brown was escorted off the plane and charged with transporting marijuana for sale, records show.

The November 18 arrest was one of five marijuana seizures at Sacramento International Airport in three weeks. Since September 30, authorities have seized at least 107 pounds of cannabis headed for parts undisclosed, according to a review of booking logs.

But lest you think this is the result of stricter TSA guidelines or the looming legalization of recreational weed in California, at least one local law enforcement official says the recent cluster of highweight airport busts isn’t out of the ordinary.

“I think you can look at the country, at what’s happening around the nation, and see that it’s a pretty common occurrence,” said Sgt. Shaun Hampton, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department. Hampton suggested a review of airport seizures over previous years would show a consistent strain of activity. “I wouldn’t [expect to] see a spike,” he added.

It’s unclear how much marijuana passes through Sacramento International Airport undetected. An airport spokeswoman referred questions to TSA, which didn’t respond to requests for comment. In April, the TSA briefly said on its website that it would allow passengers to carry on medically-prescribed marijuana before reversing course the following day. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

HoT cops Sheriff’s deputies came upon the disheveled encampment under a bridge spanning the Arcade Creek in Carmichael. The three homeless individuals living there were known to authorities as nuisances, ignoring posted signs that warned against loitering, and returning to the damp plot again and again despite previous warnings, citations and arrests.

On March 21, deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department went through the routine once again, arresting the three individuals for trespassing on private property, a violation of county law, and booking them into jail “due to the likelihood the crime would continue,” an arrest summary states.

By the end of this year, the three full-time sheriff’s deputies who are assigned to the department’s “homeless outreach team” are projected to issue more than 2,200 citations to those occupying illegal campsites in the unincorporated suburbs of the county.

That was before November 14, when the Board of Supervisors approved the hiring of two more deputies to conduct homeless outreach in Rancho Cordova.

While the team’s name suggests officers helping homeless people, its marching orders have been drafted to benefit a more privileged clientele. According to a county report, these “HOT” cops serve at the pleasure of county politicians and administrators who tell the officers where to go and which camps to roust. (RFH)

11.30.17 | SN&R | 9

Sacramento County’s family justice center.

Photo by serene lusano

Missed warnings New report studies Sacramento domestic violence victims failed by the system

by Scott thomaS anderSon

On May 18, Jarrod Hill was supposed to walk into a Sacramento County courtroom and be sentenced for felony stalking. But on that morning, Hill wasn’t on his way to face the judge—he was on his way to face his victim.

Thirty-three miles from the courthouse, Renee O’Neal was walking into the garage of a house she’d recently moved into. As the young mother of two approached her car, she was suddenly staring at Hill, the ex-boyfriend she’d filed a restraining order against. The gun Hill was holding belonged to her, something he’d stolen during one of the numerous break-ins he’d committed at her previous residence in Sacramento.

O’Neil was trapped. Her twins never saw her again.

10 | SN&R | 11.30.17

As with the case of so many stories of domestic violence escalating into homicide, O’Neal’s killer escaped justice by turning the gun on himself. Police were racing after him through Truckee when he pulled the trigger.

If the saga was an outlier for the Sacramento region, prosecutors could rest easy that the justice system still protects most victims. But as the Sacramento County Domestic Violence Death Review Team’s latest report shows, similar incidents played out numerous times this year.

Presented to the Board of Supervisors on November 14, the report studied seven murders and two attempted murders, all of which started as ongoing domestic violence cases before spiraling into bloodshed. Of the seven homicides,

sc o tta @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

five involved cases in which a husband, boyfriend or ex-husband shot his spouse and then turned the gun on himself.

In one slaying that didn’t involve a firearm, a 30-year-old man stabbed his 27-year-old wife to death, and was later caught trying to dispose of her body. In the other non-gun killing, a 55-year-old woman beat her 63-year-old spouse to death with a tool, then eventually killed herself. The report states that virtually all of the nine cases the Domestic Violence Death Review Team studied in 2017 involved evidence of calculation and preplanning.

The report’s findings were presented

by Assistant District Attorney Paul Durenberger, a longtime member of the review team. Durenberger told supervisors that O’Neal’s murder—though he

didn’t use her name—was an example of the court granting pre-sentencing bail to a defendant convicted of a serious felony, who could have been flagged under different circumstances as someone likely to do worse.

It wasn’t the only incident like that in 2017, Durenberger added. “[There was] also another case, where a murderer had actually been arrested for putting a gun to the victim’s head in Placer County, and he actually bailed out, on a very high bail. … And three days later, he finished the job by killing her in Sacramento County,” Durenberger explained.

Durenberger said the DA’s office is using the report’s findings to take immediate action. Specifically, by compiling the annual death report, the team has been able to—in conjunction with other experts and studies—identify a number of “lethality factors” often present in the early stages of a domestic violence case, signs that can predict a possible murder down the road. The DA’s office is now working with all surrounding law enforcement agencies on a lethality assessment tool officers can use in the field and in court.

Durenberger said he expects all Sacramento-area officers will be trained on the new tool over the next year, adding that the DA’s office will be petitioning Sacramento Superior Court’s incoming Presiding Judge David De Alba to have all judges trained on it, too.

Another cause for optimism, Durenberger said, is the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center. In the year the center has been open, its free attorneys have helped more than 1,880 people navigate the daunting 50-page process for requesting a civil restraining order. Durenberger stressed that the center is also a nexus point where victims can get meaningful help from advocates and social workers in creating a safe escape plan from their abuser.

“Research has shown the most dangerous time for a victim who’s trying to leave a violent relationship is when they first communicate they want to end that relationship,” Durenberger said. “Safety planning can take a long time.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Nottoli was glad to hear that the years of planning for the family justice center was paying off with life-saving resources.

“It’s been a real labor to get it where it’s at,” Nottoli acknowledged, “but it’s good news to work with. … I think it’s a good approach.” Ω

ECONO LUBE N’ TUNE & BRAKES

Requiem for a cab driver Cab industry circling the drain as two-tiered regulatory system benefits ride-share companies

by Raheem F. hosseini

ra h e e m h @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Zaidi characterized the tests, first implemented That iconic, blue-collar profession made three years ago, as backdoor English exams aimed (in)famous by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver is at a largely international workforce. Currently, dying faster than Harvey Keitel in Taxi Driver. drivers are required to take the tests at City Hall And a representative for local cabbies says every year, whether they pass them or not.

Sacramento City Hall is speeding up his indus“Anyway, we are stuck with this test every try’s demise. year for our whole life,” Zaidi complained.

Kazman Zaidi, 60, describes himself as Revenue Manager Brad Wasson says the president of the Sacramento Taxi Cab Union, city will stop requiring drivers who pass the test which isn’t actually a union but more of a club to retake them. But the tests themselves aren’t for independent cab drivers working in the going away. “It’s a test in English; it’s not an city. Over the past year, Zaidi says that club has lost 75 percent of its business and shed 200 English test,” Wasson contended. “It’s about the taxi industry.” drivers.

It’s actually a little bit of both. According to a Most of that damage has been done by city staff report, sample questions ask participants ride-sharing companies, whose lightning-quick to choose another word for taxi among the ascension dotted area streets with a gig-economy following choices: car, cab, bus or amusement. workforce that overcame local governments’ There are also basic math and profesinitial reluctance to let them accept sional questions, like one that asks lucrative airport fares. drivers which is a better travel “There’s no business. Everyone “There’s resource—a local bar, the visitors uses Uber or Lyft,” Zaidi told no business. and convention bureau, a post SN&R. Everyone uses Uber office or none of the above.

Zaidi acknowledges that his As for the lack of regulaprofession has been unable to or Lyft.” tions for the ride-sharing induscompete with the Silicon Valley Kazman Zaidi try, Wasson says that’s not by titans. He says a downtown trip president, Sacramento choice. “If we could, we would,” to the airport would run a cab Taxi Cab Union he said. “Because we pretty much customer $38, but only $14 for an view them the same as the taxicab Uber rider. Those trips took off after industry.”

Sacramento International Airport lifted But the state of California doesn’t. Because its Uber blockade in 2015. Meanwhile, Zaidi’s ride-shares are prearranged through an app rather group has exclusive pickup rights at only three than hailed from the street, the companies are locations—the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, nested under the same state rules governing the Citizen Hotel and Amtrak. limousines, preventing local jurisdictions from “We just have three stops,” Zaidi said. “And regulating them. the whole day we are waiting, waiting, waiting.”

Which begs a question: If a cab company Because of state intervention, ride-sharing develops a ride-requesting app, could it skirt companies are free from the local government local rules by arguing it’s part of the limousine regulations placed on the taxi industry by industry?

Sacramento and other jurisdictions.

Wasson says it’s conceivable.

Ordinances first adopted in 2014 and updated The cab companies would simply have to stop this past October will further reduce the number picking up people who hail them. There are fewer of taxis operating in the city by capping vehicle of those customers every day, Zaidi says. permits at 450 for at least the next three years, “Believe me, if the same situation will stay, and by mandating that all cabs be less than eight you will not see any cab drivers in the next year,” years old. Other City Hall requirements are seen Zaidi predicted. Ω as walking a thin line between guarding customer service and fanning cultural stereotypes. Citing “common” complaints “that some taxicab drivers do not understand them due to a language barrier” and of drivers who are “dirty and unkempt,” the Web extra: An extended version of this story is available at city requires drivers to adhere to a dress code and www.newsreview.com/sacramento take yearly written tests administered in English.

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A sad message FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 | VINYL | 8PM | $20*

Why won’t Sacramento police and the district attorney take appropriate action? by jeff vonkaenel

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not included in ticket price.

I was stunned last week when the Sacramento Police Department announced that Officer Anthony Figueroa, caught on video in April punching Del Paso Heights jaywalking suspect Nandi Cain Jr., had gotten his job back. And that he would likely patrol Del Paso Heights again. And that the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office had decided not to prosecute Officer Figueroa.

In April, I couldn’t have imagined this outcome. Too many people had seen the dash-cam video. This video shows Officer Figueroa driving slowly through a residential neighborhood, spotting a slim 24-year-old African American walking across the street.

The officer pulls his patrol car over.

He tells the young man to come over.

The pedestrian, Nandi Cain Jr., seems confused and starts walking away.

Officer Figueroa tells him to stop and asks him repeatedly to get down on the ground. Suddenly Figueroa pushes him down and punches him over and over in the face. Figueroa punched Cain 18 times before several more police cars drove up and Cain was taken to jail. He was later released with no charges.

The reaction in April was furious.

Local television stations showed portions of the video. The Sacramento Bee and SN&R ran stories saying that Cain had not even jaywalked. Mayor Darrell Steinberg started a City Council meeting saying, “This is wrong, is wrong, is wrong.” The mayor went on television advocating changing the culture of the Police Department.

Officer Figueroa was put on paid leave, pending investigation. The district attorney was considering charges.

And then, seven months later, Officer Figueroa is back on the force.

Citing state law prohibiting him from revealing the details of an internal investigation, including whether Figueroa was disciplined, police Chief Daniel Hahn told the Bee that the end result of this contact (between

je ffv @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

Figueroa and Cain) “is not what we want to see.”

What about District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert? In an unsigned letter written in July, but just released to the Bee last week, the district attorney concluded “that it is not reasonably likely a jury would convict either Officer Figueroa or Cain of a criminal offense related to this incident.”

This is the same district attorney who, in 2015, was prosecuting Black Lives Matter activist Maile Hampton, charging her with a felony lynching charge after she unsuccessfully tried to pull her friend out of police custody during a demonstration. This charge was so ridiculous that the state legislature subsequently voted unanimously to strike the word “lynching” from the lawbooks, noting its racially charged nature.

The Police Department and the district attorney are sending a message about police conduct. A sad message.

When I started out as a young reporter in Santa Barbara during the early 1970s, one of the first stories I covered was a wildcat garbage-worker strike. One issue was that the management would not fire workers who were fighting in the yard. The garbage workers knew that if employees who fought in the yard were allowed to stay, then it would damage the reputation of all garbage workers.

When Officer Figueroa repeatedly punched Nandi Cain Jr., he was not only hitting a man. He was also damaging the honor and reputation of the Sacramento Police Department.

After the beating, Cain’s healing process began. But the district attorney and the Sacramento Police Department’s actions have left an open wound. The honor and reputation of the Police Department will remain battered and bruised. Ω

Jeff vonKaenel is the president, CEO and majority owner of the News & Review.

illuStration by Serene luSano

’S mento SacraerS and winn S—with loSer ry pointS ra arbit

hn by jo

flyn

n

BItcOIn RansOM In a head-scratcher of a ploy, hackers deleted a trove of data from Sacramento Regional Transit that had mostly to do with boring internal programs that assign employees to shifts and buses to routes. To end the breach, which they said would continue, the digital criminals demanded one bitcoin, which was worth about $8,000, on november 20, and about $9,600 a week later. RT reported no stolen personal information, but still, is security measures seem a lot less secure than the value of the cryptocurrency that was worth less than $1,000 in January.

-9,600

InteRnet BIas Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced on November 21 that the FCC plans to roll back net neutrality rules signed by the Obama administration, which ensured every user got equal access to the internet. If the move is successful, internet service providers

could charge more for certain content and curb access to other sites. In other words, Verizon could offer internet with its own search engine, Yahoo, as the default, and place a premium on access to Google. Verizon, AT&T and Comcast all promised they would continue offering fair access, but Scorekeeper doesn’t trust a fox’s promise regarding the henhouse.

-21

Get Off the ROad A city designed to be primarily navigated by car, Sacramento’s streets rack up a fair number of rusty automobiles. Just last year, the city responded to more than 13,000 abandoned vehicle reports. So this year, they preemptively marked 500 seemingly abandoned vehicles—the majority of which were taken care of by their owners. If you’re looking to get rid of your car, contact the Make-a-Wish foundation, which will tow your car for free, give you a tax deductible receipt and then use the money to help a kid afflicted with a life-threatening disease.

+13,000

a Place tO lIve After living outdoors in a strip mall for five years, Navy veteran Keith Lozier moved into Eskaton Lincoln Manor in Placerville, thanks to

the efforts of the homeless Outreach team of the el dorado county sheriff’s Office. Donations outfitted Lozier’s apartment in the federally subsidized complex that’s home to several other seniors who formerly experienced homelessness. Here’s to hoping that Sacramento can replicate this success story many times over with its recently approved millions to spend on homelessness.

+5

dead nazI Alt-right pundits are mourning the passage of cult leader and white supremacist Charles Manson, who died of natural causes on November 19. As increasingly prominent Americans keep flirting with racial ideas akin to Manson’s,

scorekeeper admires the way the california department of corrections and Rehabilitation handled their neo-nazi prisoner, keeping him muffled, contained and powerless until his death.

-9 11.30.17 | SN&R | 13

Sac eats

the world The city’s diversity is the source of its (edible) pride

by Rebecca Huval | r ebeccah@ new srev i ew. c o m

T

he word’s out: Sacramento has amazing food. We’re the capital of California, yes, and we’re also a capital of agricultural America. A quarter of the nation’s food is grown in the Central Valley. It only makes sense that the metro crowning today’s fertile crescent—with quick access to fresh produce—would be cooking up new culinary ideas.

But, as everyone who lives here knows, we’re much more than an ag town. And to become known as a worthy food destination requires more than farm-to-fork branding.

Think of some of the world’s best food cities: London. New York. Lima. Istanbul. Hong Kong. What do they all have in common?

It’s certainly not that they’re sitting next to farmland.

To become a restaurant haven worth traveling to, a city must welcome not just tourists, but travelers seeking a permanent home. Immigrants. It must welcome new people, customs and ways of approaching the same old ingredients, serving not just scrambled eggs but also jidori eggs, egg tarts, quiche, huevos rancheros and Afghani eggs. The frisson between time-honored traditions creates new, exciting ones.

Long before Donald Trump’s presidency, California welcomed immigrants, and in these uncertain times, has opened its borders as a sanctuary state. Sacramento in particular has served as a welcoming outpost for far-flung newcomers. Multiple times, it’s been called out in lists of the most diverse American cities.

The edible fruit of that melange is visible driving through Little Saigon or North Highlands, in our proliferation of Vietnamese, Korean, Afghani, West African, Moroccan and Slavic restaurants and groceries.

Here are just a sampling of the stories behind Sac’s immigrant-owned restaurants and the journeys their chefs and businesspeople went through to arrive here. Your plate has traveled a long way to your fork—not just from the farm. Ω

14 | SN&R | 11.30.17

Jonathan lam, owner of Pegasus bakery & cafe in South Sacramento, showing off his Pandan cake.

Photo by scott duncan

Baked-in

love Pegasus Bakery & Cafe 6825

Stockton Boulevard, Suite 265

(916)

662-7733

J

Jonathan Lam of Pegasus Bakery & Cafe expands cultural boundaries with pastries

onathan Lam was 14 when he moved from cosmopolitan Hong Kong to a small town in middle-of-nowhere Illinois.

He lived in Benton, which has a notorious history that includes a 1995 KKK rally on the courthouse steps. Lam was a member of the only Chinese family in town. Surely, he must have experienced malice from the townsfolk.

No, he says. “They liked us because we are the only Chinese restaurant there,” Lam says. Locals would bring their catch of the day and trade the fish for orange chicken.

“And we said: ‘Sure!’ Food really brings people together.

We are not there to bring competition. If they drive us out of the town, all they have is McDonald’s and KFC. So they kind of like us. We ran a very successful business there because there was no competition.”

Lam, now nearly 40, has applied those early lessons—espe lessons—especially the power of food to unite people—to his Pegasus Bakery & Cafe in South Sacramento. Since opening in 2016, it has served many of the staples of traditional Cantonese bakeries, including milk tea, egg tarts, mooncakes and sweetheart cakes.

But it also reflects Lam’s travels and his intellectual curiosity, with its Japanese crepes and red bean buns. After a recent stop in Singapore, he hopes to introduce more durian and other flavors that cater to the Southeast Asian population in Sacramento’s Little Saigon.

Lam has also picked up knowledge across the states. When he lived in Illinois, Lam used to drive a few hours to the nearest Cantonese bakery in St. Louis. The pastries sold for five to six times more than in Hong Kong.

“What we’re buying is the feeling, comfort and the memory—they connect us together,” Lam remembers.

That St. Louis kitchen was never clean, yet the storefront was always packed with customers, he recalls. So he decided to open up his own Cantonese bakery someday, but to make it more affordable, clean and professional.

After his stint in the Midwest, Lam roamed to Albuquerque and Atlanta, living with different friends and relatives. “So he’s very independent,” says his wife, Cynthia Aung-Lam.

by Rebecca Huval r e b e c c a h @ newsr ev iew.c o m

In the ’90s, he answered a job posting at the now-shuttered ABC Bakery in San Francisco, and master chef Hung Fat Sum hired him on the spot. “He said, ‘You’re a white piece of paper, so I want to use it.’”

Sum had worked at a well-known establishment in Hong Kong called Maria’s Bakery. Lam apprenticed under him for two years and learned everything he could about the craft. Then, Sum wished him away. “He said, ‘Everything I know, I taught you already. If you want to learn management, accounting, the boss will not teach you. Go back to school.’”

Then, Lam studied food science at the City College of San Francisco, where he met his future wife. After graduating, he franchised Panda Express restaurants from Oakland to Pinole.

Eventually, he and his wife moved to Sacramento so that she could continue in pharmacy school. Lam wanted to use his foodscience savvy to start something more creative. He named his new business Pegasus Bakery in part because he, his son and his master chef were all born in the year of the horse.

His current master chef? The same as his first: Hung Fat Sum. The baker with 48 years of experience can be seen through the window of the kitchen, wearing a tall white chef’s hat while dotting a roughly 4-foot-long cake with spherical scoops of honeydew and cantaloupe. He still keeps an open-door policy with fresh apprentices. “He said he doesn’t want to bring his skills with him in the coffin, so anybody who wants to learn, come here,” Lam says.

Above the cash register, a painted Pegasus shows the faint outline of its heart. The reason: “Most of the people working here are immigrants,” Lam says. “We walk a long way, we fly over the sea and bring back the taste from home to comfort s their hearts.” Ω e at d ”

l c “ s a w o rge 16 e a t hcontinued on p

11.30.17 | SN&R | 15

at sl d ” E c r “ s aE w opage 15 t hcontinued from

Ecowas IntErnatIonal rEstaurant 610 W. El Camino avEnuE (916) 550-2066 http://ECoWasintl.Com

adeola “Dee” adedayo preparing food in the ecowas international Restaurant kitchen. photo by sCott dunCan

16 | SN&R | 11.30.17

West AfricAn

by Rachel leibRock

After leaving Nigeria, Adeola ‘Dee’ Adedayo found economic and physical security in America and opened Ecowas International Restaurant

refuge

A

deola “Dee” Adedayo arrived in the United States searching for opportunities—as well as safety.

She found both and then some.

Adedayo, owner and chef at Ecowas International Restaurant in North Sacramento, left her native Nigeria with the intent to study abroad. America, she says, simply offered more than her West African home: Health care and electricity. Educational and business opportunities for a better life.

“An average person can put food on the table for their family in the U.S., which is not the case in Africa,” Adedayo says.

It’s early afternoon and the 43-year-old mother of four has been here since 11 a.m. readying the restaurant’s signature dishes, most notably its jollof rice, a fragrant dish made with a blend of red bell pepper, onions and habanero peppers. It serves as a hearty base for a protein, be it beef, chicken, goat or fish, and is a customer favorite— Adedayo’s, too.

From the outside, Ecowas presents a nondescript shop front. Located in a strip mall at the busy corner of West El Camino Boulevard and Northgate Boulevard, it’s tucked away near a dollar store, a nail salon and a check cashing store. Inside, the ambiance is subdued, unremarkable even, with just a few pieces of Afrocentric art and decor.

The heady smell of spices, meat and vegetables is enough, however, to make Ecowas feel like the most welcoming of places.

The restaurant’s been open since May and, says Adedayo, “so far, so good—thank God.” Long days, long nights, sure.

It’s a hard business, she says with a smile.

“You have to love it,” she says.

Adedayo does. She learned her craft in Nigeria, where she helped manage one of her mother’s many restaurants.

She hadn’t always planned on pursuing a restaurant career of her own, however. Initially, Adedayo planned to come to the United States to study agriculture. Then, perhaps she’d move back to Africa and start a farm.

Once here, however, she realized the possibilities. She’d left Nigeria, in part, as a way to escape a forced marriage.

Once here, she says, she realized the country offered not just endless potential, but personal freedom, too.

“When I came I changed my mind,” she says. “It’s safe here. So I stayed.”

For the first five years she moved around: New York, Texas, Minnesota and Georgia. Then she landed in Sacramento, where she studied nursing. Eventually the demands of juggling single motherhood and work led her to run homes for those experiencing homelessness and mental challenges. (A 2014 investigation by SN&R revealed the homes were the subject of multiple code enforcement violations and state licensing inspections, as well as complaints from tenants. Adedayo denied the allegations.)

Along the way she also started catering, cooking her mother’s signature West African dishes and adding touches of her own.

Finally, recognizing a void, she decided to open a restaurant. While there were a few local places specializing in North and East African food, none specialized in those from West Africa.

“There are differences between [the regional dishes],” she says. “The climate is different and the food is different— the spices, the preparation, everything.”

“This being the state capital, I thought it would be a good idea,” she says.

So far, her instincts have proven right. Open six days a week, Ecowas draws customers from near and far, Adedayo says, including many who drive up regularly from the Bay Area.

It’s a busy, fulfilling life and, Adedayo says, she’s found her place.

“This is home.” Ω

The M o l d av i a n

Dream

by John Flynn

The Tirdeas bring a taste of home to Carmichael

L

ilia and Gregory Tirdea moved from Moldova about a decade ago in search of—“What do you call it? the American Dream,” said their son Daniel with a laugh.

After cooking her whole life, Lilia had always dreamed of owning a restaurant—a dream realized two years ago when she and her husband purchased Firebird Restaurant in Carmichael. Lilia knew the restaurant, as she had been the head chef. Under the prior owner, Firebird served Russian cuisine. When the Tirdeas took over, they began serving dishes exclusively from the Slavic region.

“We make everything from scratch,” said Daniel, who came to America when he was 11.

“We don’t buy anything pre-made or frozen. So it does take a bit longer for the items to come out, but they come out fresh every single time.”

Rich flavors dominate the restaurant’s fare. An example is the Ukrainian pork salo—a charcuterie plate of sorts that features pickles, garlic, horseradish and salted pork fat.

Customers pick what they’d like and smear it on a piece of Russian black bread. Daniel calls it a savory chaser “for after you take a couple shots of vodka.”

To balance the stronger flavors, Daniel says, Firebird serves sour cream with several traditional dishes, including borscht (the sour, beet-heavy soup), vareniki (housemade dumplings filled with farmer’s cheese) and Golubtsi (baked cabbage rolls stuffed with spiced beef, one of Firebird’s more popular dishes).

“It’s cold with hot,” he said. “And you get that flavor of meat, but then you get that smooth taste of sour cream. It makes a good combination.”

The restaurant’s décor includes a rusticlooking hearth as well as mannequins dressed

Firebird restaurant 4715 Manzanita avenue in CarMiChael (916) 485-7747 www.firebirdrussianrestaurant.CoM

in traditional Moldavian clothing—which Daniel said have become the subjects of more than a few selfies.

When they took over, the Tirdeas also decided to emphasize banquets, offering prix fixe menus that range from $25 to $110. They host events ranging from fairly affordable team-bonding dinners to luxe wedding receptions featuring racks of lamb, vodka bottle service and black caviar.

More modestly, there’s red caviar on the everyday menu, served with eggs and crepes.

Although he thinks his cuisine compares closest to German, Polish or Romanian food, there’s another mainstay from French cuisine that migrated its way onto Firebird’s menu: escargot.

“It’s a good dish, but it’s by choice,” he said of the garlic-and-parsley-sauteed snails.

“I like it. Some people don’t like it. You have to have a wild side for tasting different foods.”

But Daniel’s favorite Firebird offering is a bit more conventional: a rack of lamb dressed in a no-nonsense marinade of olive oil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and lemon before it gets roasted and served alongside a salad and potatoes fried with herbs and garlic. The dish, like the restaurant, simultaneously offers a taste of home and America.

“For [my mom], it’s a dream come true,” he said. “For me, I feel proud that I’m able to represent my culture. It brings s the memories e atl d ” c back from my “ s a w o rge 18 country.” Ω h e d on pa

t

nue

conti

11.30.17 | SN&R | 17

at sl d ” e c r “ s ae w opage 17 t hcontinued from

Casablanca offers a taste of Moroccan culture

The mouTh’s g aT e way Toward u n d e r sTa n d i n g

by Scott thomaS anderSon

C

ooking over a fire on the outskirts of Morocco’s capital, an 8-year-old Mourhit Drissi glanced around at the faces of his friends. They were watching him use the ingredients he’d scrounged up: a loaf of bread from the family cupboard, some tomatoes and onions from an outdoor market and a handful of parsley from campers under Rabat’s white sandstone skyline. Now the flame-licked herbs and spices were pluming over the coals. One look at his friends’ anticipation and Drissi knew he’d discovered a special gift for handling the ingredients of his homeland.

More than half a century later, that fascination is still going strong. And if the North African culture had an equivalent term for Renaissance Man, Drissi would be its poster child. He holds a law degree from Algeria, a cinematography degree from San Francisco State University, has been engaged

18 | SN&R | 11.30.17

in landscape painting for years and speaks English, French and 10 dialects of Arabic.

“When you grow up poor, when you don’t have a golden spoon in your mouth, you know to have a decent chance you’re going to have to try different areas,” Drissi explains. “But I’ve always cooked. … That was in my blood.

I fell in love with it.”

Drissi came to the United States after meeting his late wife Colleen in the Peace Corps.

Their marriage in 1974 was followed by a move to Colleen’s hometown of San Francisco.

Drissi soon immersed himself in the bustling Moroccan kitchens of the Bay. He’d been cooking all his life, but now he was learning how to plate orders for a hundred tables in an evening.

“That taught me that you have to have the guts,” Drissi says. “You have to keep the freeway running.”

Drissi’s family moved to Sacramento in 1989, after Colleen landed a job as a teacher.

Drissi continued developing his cooking chops in the back of Moroccan dining houses. In 1993, he finally teamed up with his brother Rachid to open Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant. It quickly became known as a culinary oasis—modest on the outside, transportive on the inside.

“I thought, ‘Well, this is the country of opportunities, and here we go,’” Drissi remembers.

To this day, visitors find themselves inside a wide desert tent adorned in mesmerizing Moorish patterns and lavish carpets of crimson and gold. Dinner is served over soft cushions and copper, knee-high tables. Meals begin with Drissi, Rachid or family members pouring orange blossom water on their guests’ palms.

Casablanca has been a consistent hit with critics and customers for more than two decades. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had its dark days. After 9/11, vandals

spray-painted the restaurant in an act of hate.

Rather than grow bitter, Drissi doubled down on his commitment to offering a doorway into Moroccan history and culture. He says customers are often surprised to learn that Morocco was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States, and that the two nations recently celebrated having the longest unbroken peace treaty in the world.

“After September 11th, people were asking a lot of questions, especially about religion,” Drissi recalls. “[Islam] is a religion of peace. … And we are still always here to answer our customers questions, a million percent.”

Laughing, he adds, “People love talking to us, because it’s always my family serving them, and they feel like they’re meeting their professor.”

While in-depth conversation is welcomed at Casablanca, Drissi hopes the overall dinning experience always celebrates the

laotian pop-up

blows up Social media savvy and delicious food have garnered Spicy Joi Lao a cult following

spicy joi lao food

J casablanca Moroccan restaurant 3516 fair oakS boulevard (916) 979-1160

Mourhit drissi welcomes you to casablanca. phoTo by ScoTT duncan

Moroccan tradition of making meals long and enjoyable. It’s meant to be a time of indulgence—a chance to leave one’s troubles somewhere in the din of outdoor traffic that vanishes when Drissi’s family closes the door.

As much as Casablanca’s customers appreciate the mellow, mental escape it provides, Drissi says the capital city has given him back even more.

“My goodness, Sacramento,” he muses with a smile. “It’s humble. The people are not stressed. I’ve been here 28 years, and I’ve loved every bite of it.” Ω

oi Simmaly, the driving force behind pop-up restaurant and catering company Spicy Joi Lao Food, cuts a striking figure. Tall and lean with a chiseled jaw and defined biceps—one of which is ringed by a tribal tattoo, he frequently sports a tank top while advertising his company, the better to show off his guns. He often tops off the look with a black cowboy hat and mirrored sunglasses.

On a warm day in the deep South Sacramento parking lot of Restaurant Anh Hong Bo 7 Mon, Simmaly chats with families and hands out menus at his monthly pop-up, working the line, which often swells to a wait of an hour or more. The hosting restaurant also serves a mix of Lao and Vietnamese food, and it offers up its space, including beverages and seating for the patrons.

The Spicy Joi Lao menu is filled with rustic fare that reflects the greatest hits of Laotian cuisine: fatty Lao sausage laced with lemongrass; an addictive, cilantro-heavy crispy rice salad studded with soured pork; and of course the quintessential Lao dish, papaya salad. The latter is made to order with a mortar and pestle by a team of smiling family and friends, including Joi’s wife, Noelle Simmaly. Each patron can specify the level of desired spice and funk, controlled by the addition of fresh chilis and padaek— chunky, fermented Lao fish sauce.

Although papaya salad is perhaps the most iconic Lao dish, Simmaly says he’s a “nut job” for jeow, a spicy dipping sauce with many variations. He uses his greatgrandfather’s 120-year-old recipe, which was passed on to him by his mother, from whom he learned to cook at the age of 6.

His family emigrated from the northern Xiangkhouang province to San Francisco in 1981, when Simmaly was 4. They lived

Try Spicy joi lao food aT iTS nexT pop-up on december 9, open from noon To 5 p.m. in The parking loT of reSTauranT anh hong bo 7 mon, 4800 florin road. follow @Spicyjoi.lao on inSTagram.

One of the many delicious dishes posted on the Spicy Joi lao facebook feed. phoTo courTeSy Spicy joi lao food

for a short stint in Stockton with an aunt who had sponsored them, and then moved to Modesto, which Simmaly considers his hometown despite having moved at least 20 times since then.

Simmaly has experimented with “suitand-tie”-type jobs in real estate and finance, but found them unfulfilling. He would come home from a day at work and cook for three hours, and he garnered more happiness in the kitchen than the office. Although he had assimilated into American culture as a child, he is very passionate about nurturing his connection to Laos through cooking traditional dishes.

“I believe the cultural aspect of it and the vibrancy of the food culture are the part of the culture worth preserving,” he says. “These second-generation kids are not cooking as much, they are highly assimilated, which is not a bad thing. But to just completely ignore our vibrant culture and our food culture … it’s worth preserving.

Later in life, they will look back and remember those flavors.”

In 2011, upon the advice of a Lao fortuneteller, Simmaly spent three days in a Buddhist monastery. It profoundly affected him. After leaving, he searched for a Laotian charity to support and became involved with the Jai Lao Foundation, a nonprofit that builds schools.

His wife Noelle is the sister of one of the founding members, and they connected

by Becky Grunewald

over Facebook when he messaged her about the desserts in one of her posts. Noelle, who emigrated from Southern Laos as a child, is an accomplished chef and baker in her own right; they were married in 2013.

Joi and Noelle are both committed to giving back to their community, and they often make their Bomb Platter appetizers for charity events. They are also burgeoning social media stars: 6,000 Facebook followers tune in for their playful videos revolving mostly around the delicious feasts of pun pa (glazed catfish) or aw moo (pork stew) that Joi cooks for “wifey” Noelle.

Their social media savvy and heartfelt passion for the cuisine likely account for the strong response to their pop-ups, which invariably sell out in Sacramento. The couple live in the Bay Area, but they’re currently searching out a Sacramento location for some type of brick-and-mortar establishment—whether it will be catering or a restaurant is currently up in the air.

Sounding a bit weary from the grind of events, and the “many weeks, many hours, many people” it takes to prepare for each one, Simmaly muses about the support for Spicy Joi Lao food in Sacramento.

“I never imagined it would be the way it is now,” he says. “It’s overwhelming. I’m very humbled by it, and that’s why we are looking for opportunities to be a fixture in the area. … Our best supporters and the people who love and appreciate the food are in Sacramento. So we are taking s e atl d ” the next c “ s a w o re 21 step.” Ω

e ag t hcontinued on p

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“sac eaTs The worLd”

The paprika steeper

continued from page 19

by STEph ROdRiguEz

Mark Lastuvka came to Sacramento from the Czech Republic, and now rises early to cook goulash at La Trattoria Bohemia

T

Owner Mark Lastuvka holding beef goulash on the patio of La Trattoria Bohemia in East Sacramento.

Photo by scott duncan

La TraTToria Bohemia 3649 J street | (916) 455-7803 www.latrattoriabohemia.com

he scent of tonight’s dinner special—tandoori-spiced halibut—wafts from the kitchen. Lively conversations fill a warmly lit dining room with not an empty seat inside La Trattoria Bohemia, a Czech and Italian restaurant that opened in East Sacramento 17 years ago.

In the center of the merriment sits restaurant owner Mark Lastuvka, enjoying a glass of red wine with his girlfriend. A friendly chef, he’s passionate about the quality of food he serves his customers, whether it’s the Italian handmade ravioli, pizza and lasagna or the Czech dishes of his childhood, including beef goulash, chicken paprikash, handmade späetzle and schnitzel, which he made all the time as a kid. The Czech dumplings are his top-sellers.

Lastuvka’s place is one of a kind—the only Czech restaurant in Sacramento.

“I come every morning and I cook. Today, I did beef goulash and Bavarian goulash and soup,” Lastuvka says. “Goulash takes three hours, so you have to come in the morning and start it because it takes all day to prep. The goulash, I needed to twist it a little bit and make it for here to get people used to it, because it’s different in Czech.

But now it sells very well.”

In Lastuvka’s goulash, he says, he uses precise portions of meat and vegetables, whereas in different regions of Eastern Europe, a homemade recipe would incorporate just about anything.

Lastuvka moved here from the Czech Republic in 1990. While taking English classes, he met two men who offered him a job washing dishes at Roma II Pizzeria on Folsom Boulevard. There, he met owner Maria Guerrera and learned

the essentials of authentic Southern Italian cuisine over the next decade.

“She’s like my mother,” Lastuvka says. “My mom is back in Czech, so Maria became my friend and mother, and she helped a lot.”

Lastuvka was working two jobs, seven days a week, split between an early morning construction job and Roma’s on the weekends.

Understandably, he started to get tired. So he decided to bring a little taste of Czech to Sacramento and open his own restaurant with a menu that includes childhood favorites in addition to the Italian staples he grew to love.

It’s not out of the ordinary for him to make a couple hundred raviolis from scratch in a few hours, a practice that he says took him years to master because he wanted to make sure his dough was the right texture and consistency every time.

“Now, I got it down to a science,” he says. “I make my own dough, but Maria showed me the essentials, and I learned from her how to make ravioli. We do everything by hand.”

Lastuvka also butchers his own meats and says he never buys precut portions. To him, this ensures that every piece that goes into his Czech or Italian recipes is up to his standards, a detail he credits to his restaurant’s longevity.

“If I don’t like it, I’m not going to serve it to you,” he says.

One of his more popular Czech dishes is the chicken paprikash, slowly cooked chicken thighs spiced with sweet Hungarian paprika and cooked in cream sauce with onions and served over späetzle, a soft egg noodle found in south German cuisine.

“I always say that I make everything with love—and I do,” Lastuvka says. “I put all my effort into it.” Ω

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Sales good, never better It’s an OK day when LeBron James wears your hat

by John Flynn

LeBron James had just sealed a comeback victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden with a step-back, fallaway three-pointer over 7-foot star Kristaps Porzingis.

And so, to reflect his sunny disposition at the post-game press conference, James wore a hat reading, “All Good Never Better,” made by a Sacramento-based clothing brand.

“We’ve had lots of people wear stuff, but we’ve never had anyone with the influence of LeBron,” said Founder Jason Maggio, who also founded the older, larger apparel line, Official Brand. “It’s been nonstop since the second he wore it.”

Maggio had been driving back from a dinner with in-laws in Elk Grove when James showed up on national television in the hat. Three minutes later, sales of the black-and-white hat ($32) started ticking upwards. By the next day, he had sold out of stock completely and landed a contract with Lids after the hat outlet had repeatedly turned down the style named Buckeye, coincidentally the nickname for James’ home state, Ohio.

Maggio said All Good Never Better should restock by December 7.

The 45-year-old Maggio has been in the apparel business since he was 20, and started Official Brand 10 years ago. But when Official started a skateboarding team, their skaters’ clothing sponsors took issue with the brand selling jackets.

So Maggio started All Good three years ago, crafting styles that look like outdoor clothes crossed with streetwear. He sticks mostly to bold, solid colors and aims for a blend between function and fashion that doesn’t necessarily conform to big-city trends.

“We’ve always been on an island doing apparel in Sacramento,” he said. “We could really focus on what we’re doing here without some of the distractions and the costs associated with being in New York or LA. You kind of get sucked into the collective consciousness of what’s going on there, and you end up doing things like what everybody is doing there.”

The full line of apparel fits the variety of California’s climates, which Sacramentans have long heard they’re about an hour-and-a-half from.

There’s surf, ski and hiking wear—all of which would more than hold its own in Midtown, where All Good and Official stock plenty of shelves at the Getta Clue Store (1050 20th Street).

While Official has a presence in 30 countries and All Good in 20, the younger brand has only one other brick-and-mortar store: the second flagship in Portland that opened in June.

Maggio said the Portland outpost came about due to a collision of fortunate circumstances, just as James’ ballyhooed heroics over the Knicks led to more eyes on the All Good hat. Maggio said he was able to take his viral moment “in stride and enjoy it.” Still, when he sees his work on one of the world’s most visible human beings, or anyone for that matter, his state of mind matches the mantra on LeBron’s forehead.

“It’s funny living in Sacramento because there’s a lot of Official and All Good around, but you never get used to that feeling,” he said. “It’s just so cool.” Ω check out All Good Never Better at 808 r street, suite 102.

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illuStrAtionS by mAriA rAtinovA

Fujita, I need ya FuJita roll, FuJita sushi You know those sushi joints that overuse a handful of the same ingredients, throw some tempura inside and call it good? That is not Fujita Sushi, a new sushi spot that boasts a small menu with a big personality, offering items like the ceviche roll. The Fujita Roll ($14) is one of the most popular, with salmon, avocado, seared toro, shallot-jalapeño vinaigrette and tempura shallots. It didn’t quite blow my hair back like it did for some folks on Yelp, but it was light and delicate and the vinaigrette and tempura shallots were delicious. The generous helping of hot garlic edemame ($4) was the MVP of my meal, but no doubt there are plenty of gems on this menu. 1976 Fulton Avenue, www.facebook.com/fujitasushi.

—kate gonzales Turkey pot pie at Sam’s Hof Brau.

Photo by Scott DuncAn

Stay classy, meat men Sam’s Hof Brau 2500 Watt Avenue; (916) 482-2175 Good for: Gravy-drenched meat ’wich

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Notable dishes: French dip, turkey pot pie, prime rib

At the end of June, an item burbled up in my Facebook feed to much consternation and commenting. There was to be an ownership change at Sam’s Hof Brau, and I glimpsed the word “closing.” My heart raced as I scanned the lines—phew! Only closing for one day and, even better, ownership was being resumed by the kin of the founder, Sam Gordon. And they were keeping two longtime managers and promising not to change anything.

They were saying the right things, but could I trust it? Could the millennial great-grandson resist the urge to strew mini succulents between the pots of horseradish and mustard on the tables, or dangle Edison bulbs over the long wooden bar with its affordable taps of crisp German lagers and pilsners served in frosty steins? More importantly, what about the food? Will it still be all brown and covered in gravy—in other words, Instagram kryptonite?

I can happily report back that nothing seems to have changed. One still enters with a line, especially during the early evening hours that the largely white-haired clientele favor for dinner. Servers in tall white hats still sweat under hot lights and carve roast beef, prime rib, tri-tip and other meats to order—“extra cut” portions cost about a buck more. The pickles are still free.

The French dip “sam’wich” ($9.29) boasts an extra cut of rare roast beef on Sam’s signature hefty Kaiser 24 | SN&R | 11.30.17

by Becky Grunewald

roll, which stands up to a dunk in the deep, rich au jus.

A melting cut of prime rib ($15.99) is rimmed by fat and best slathered in horseradish with sides of crusty stuffing and crisp coleslaw.

On one visit a meat man urges me to try the turkey pot pie ($7.49, with side) fresh out of the oven, and it’s so perfectly flaky and savory that I burn my mouth over and over (and over) because I don’t have the patience to let it cool down before taking the next bite of this ne plus ultra of pot pies.

A holiday season special of teriyaki turkey wings ($4.39) is so tender that it falls apart when I try to pass it to a dining companion, the better to keep the whole, sweet-glazed portion for myself.

It’s not all gravy. The Reuben ($9.89) suffers from the use of processed white cheese rather than Swiss. Get it with the tender pastrami rather than the springy corned beef, with an optional side of Thousand Island to inch it closer to authentic. Quite a few of the sides ($2.19) disappoint, especially the baked beans that seem straight out of the can, and the potato and macaroni salads are really grandma-style in the sense that mine used overly sweet Miracle Whip in everything.

Newer restaurateurs such as Mike Thiemann (Empress) and Tom Schnetz (Oakhaus) give props to Sam’s as an inspiration behind their modern carveries, and rightfully so. In these fast-changing times, it’s these few remaining old-school spots that remind us of our culinary history—Los Angeles has Phillipe’s, San Francisco has Tommy’s Joynt and we have Sam’s. I hope to still be frequenting Sam’s when I’m accessorizing with a walker and puffy white shoes. Ω

Berry good beer blueberry Mosaic Milkshake iPa, Moonraker brewing co.

Recently, I went for a hike around Hidden Falls Regional Park, a lovely section of Placer County that’s as pretty as the Shire. But half the reason I made that hour-long drive was to try Auburn’s Moonraker Brewing Co. (12970 Earhart Avenue) straight from the tap. Their host of hazy IPAs have been awarded and raved about, but their Blueberry Mosaic Milkshake IPA ($7 for a pint) stretches the bounds of what beer even is. The purple, delicious drink marries the titular berry with the tropically fruity notes of the mosaic hop and a bit of lactose for sweetness. It’s a miracle elixir for sore legs.

—John Flynn

The OG starch ParsniPs Before potatoes migrated from southern climes, parsnips filled the need for starchy veggies in soups and stews. While they’re related to carrots, they tend to be more fibrous, especially when larger. Parsnips were once used to make wine and beer (parsnip pilsner, perhaps?), and have traditionally served as food for pigs destined to be prosciutto.

Now, we use them more like carrots—roasted, chopped into soups or pureed. Actually, they’re a great addition to mashed potatoes to contribute a bit of sweetness.

They also stand up well to braising, whether in stock or orange juice, drizzled with butter.

—ann Martin rolke

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

Winterize those food trucks As the weather gets chillier, Sacramento’s outdoor events begin to dwindle, but SactoMoFo’s recurring Long Lunch Fridays will be continuing on through at least the new year. Taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 1 right next to the Golden 1 Center (500 David J. Stern Walk), the event will feature local food truck favorites including the deluxe desserts of Cowtown Creamery, the renowned Mexican food of Chando’s Tacos and the tasty Thai classics of Green Papaya. There’ll also be the novel, fusion comfort food of Flavor Face, including a grilled cheese sandwich made with crab mac ‘n’ cheese ($14), a thick-cut cauliflower steak dressed in chimichurri ($11) and the doubly decadent oxtail poutine ($16) that comes with a burgundy gravy, sharp cheddar cheese curds and a chicharrón gremolata—just for good measure. Afterward, you may want to work off your lunch with a few laps around the nearby Downtown Ice Rink. https://sactomofo.com.

—John Flynn

An easy ride; a short drive

by John Flynn

Alumni affair: Sudwerk Brewing Co.

Yellow walls and karaoke

by Shoka The turmeric-yellow walls and four glass waterfall fountains in the dining room make Bawarchi Indian Cuisine’s décor declare mid-2000s demi-vintage. It’s like the chilicheese dosa on its menu: One does not feel entirely OK with it, but concedes that at least Bawarchi is being different. This Northern, Southern and Indo-Chinese eatery is part of a national chain, and this one is right next to Regal El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 (2085 Vine Street).

There are more traditional dosa:

plain, masala, mysore masala, Andhra spicy and paper, plus customizable uthappams (savory pancake-like dish with vegetables), as well as expected curries (aloo gobi) and biryani among the veg offerings. The dosa was crispy, the sambar wellseasoned and the gobi manchurian (sweet-and-sour fried cauliflower) a guilty pleasure. Look out for their Bollywood karaoke nights on http://edhbawarchi.com. That’s different, right?

and the UC Davis Brewing Program just released Gunrock Lager, a crisp, tasty beer named for the university’s mustang mascot.

“This is a fairly gently flavored product,” said Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, Charlie Bamforth. “And the craft brewery business is all about smacking you in the face. Well actually, lots and lots of people don’t want to have their beers smacking them in the face and shaking them up and down. They want something that’s easy to drink.”

For now, Gunrock will be sold at Sudwerk’s dock store (2001 2nd Street) in Davis and at UCD sporting events, starting at the first home game for the men’s basketball team on November 29. Gunrock makes UC Davis one of the few universities nationwide to have its own branded beer. Some proceeds will benefit the athletics department. Later on, the beer may get canned and sold in select supermarkets.

UC Davis alum and retired Anheuser-Busch power-player Doug

Muhleman conceived the beer that was realized by Sudwerk’s brewer Thomas Stull, a graduate of UCD’s brewing program.

Stull said the nearly 30-year-old Sudwerk focuses on offering a variety of lagers that recreate the high-quality styles that dominated the American market before brands like Coors, Miller and Budweiser corporatized, and eventually, degraded in taste.

The Gunrock lager tastes a bit like what early German immigrants to this area would have brewed as they sought out the “cheapest sugar,” which was often rice, Stull said.

To achieve this effect, Muhleman incorporated rice grown and donated by another UCD alum, Jack DeWit, then rounded things out with North American barley and German hops found in renowned Bavarian styles.

Stull said the light-bodied lagers utilize a “lower and slower fermentation process.” This requires precision to achieve the desired balance as unwanted flavors can’t be obscured by big yeasty, malty or hoppy notes.

But amid an explosion of bombastic beer flavors, this less-flashy lager benefits from a gentler touch cultivated in academia.

“Brewing beer is very demanding,” Bamforth said. “It’s a lot of science and a lot of technology. And if you’re going to do it successfully, you really got to know your stuff.

And Thomas Stull here knows his stuff—because we taught him.”

Off-80 eats: I-80 just got two new

restaurants. Near North Highlands, there’s Manna Thai (4980 Watt Avenue), which boasts a menu containing 97 items, including intriguing dishes like beef organ soup ($8.75) and catfish dressed in Thai chili sauce enhanced by eggplant and kaffir leaves ($14.95).

Further north in Roseville, there’s the Brickyard Kitchen & Bar (1475 Eureka Road) that offers craft beers on 16 taps that rotate daily. To pair with that, they’ve got some thoughtful bar fare such as roasted brussel sprouts ($9.99) and a beet burger with goat cheese ($13.99). Ω

11.30.17 | SN&R | 25

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beer lover Owner Brennan Fleming instills complex flavors into his sour beers by letting them age in barrels at Dunloe Brewing.

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The Funky Side oF Brewing Dunloe Brewing offers a flavorful range of brews for sour beer lovers

By Daniel Barnes

hen former Sudwerk brewer Brennan Fleming opened Dunloe Brewing with fiancée Emily Putt earlier this year in Davis, he burst out the gate with an ambitious slate of barrel-aged sours and mixedfermentation beers. At a time when most new breweries lean toward the easier and less time-consuming trend of kettle sours, Dunloe has re-embraced the barrel.

“There [are] a lot of kettle sour beers out there, which is just a quick way to get a tart product, but it always comes out kind of one-dimensional,” says Fleming.

Kettle sours require only a pitch of lactobacillus into the boil, while the classic sours brewed at Dunloe need to sit in barrels for months. Fleming starts by brewing a “middle-of-the-road” Brennan Fleming Owner, Dunloe Brewing golden sour for his base. “It takes any kind of fruit really well, and it takes dry-hopping really well,” says Fleming of the golden sour. After brewing the base, Fleming then transfers the product into barrels, where it will re-ferment by interacting with wild yeast and bacteria.

Once the brew has reached the desired flavor profile (Dunloe’s popular peach sour, for example, sat in oak barrels for four months), Fleming moves it back into a

w

stainless tank, where he adds any additional hops or fruits. “I like to do all the fruit stuff on the stainless side of things, because you can control and monitor, and it’s a lot easier to clean up,” says Fleming. “Getting peaches out of a two-inch bunghole on a barrel is an awful thing.”

Right now, Fleming has two sours sitting in stainless after resting in oak for six months. One has been dry-hopped with Simcoe and Mosaic hops, which should provide a “fruit-forward hop flavor,” and the other is aging in stainless with a fruit medley of white peaches, apricots, tangerines and Meyer lemons.

“Depending on how that ferments out, that might get a dry-hop too,” says Fleming. Both should be ready before the end of the year.

Sour beer newcomers might be surprised by the wide variety of flavors that can exist within the space of the style. “It depends on what kind of yeast you like, whether you want something that’s more toward the funky side of things, or more toward the fruity side of things,” says Fleming. “I like to run a little bit less acidic, and more on the funky side.

You can tell it’s a sour, but it doesn’t hurt your teeth.”

“ I like to run a little bit less acidic, and more on the funky side.”

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Campaign encourages responsible use of cannabis

by Ken Magri

T

he California Department of Public Health wants to have a serious talk with you. In an effort to prepare for recreational cannabis sales in January, it has launched educational pages on its CDPH website called Let’s TalkC annabis.

These advisory pages are a far cry from the vilifying propaganda campaigns of past decades, when marijuana was incorrectly labeled a gateway drug. Instead, the CDPH takes a more tolerant approach, trying to anticipate problems users might face, rather than advocate for abstinence altogether.

“Let’s Talk Cannabis is a resource for Californians to find science-based, factual information about cannabis and its effects on their health,” according to a spokesperson from the California Department of Public Health. Learning from other states with legalized cannabis, the web page’s separate sections for youth, parents, seniors and pregnant women, aim to mitigate negative effects before they become problematic.

The “What’s Legal?” section explains that the age for use is 21, but 18-year-olds can qualify with a medical recommendation. It also instructs Californians that they can smoke, eat and vape cannabis anywhere they want, as long as it is on private property.

Then come the “don’ts.” Don’t use in public, in the car, or in national parks and forests within California. Landlords and property owners can ban it from their premises. The section also warns against crossing state lines with cannabis, even if it’s legal in the other state.

“Novice users may be unaware of how long it takes to feel the effects of edible products compared to smoking.”

California Department of Public Health

The “Responsible Use” section is aimed at baby boomers returning to cannabis after decades.

Illustrated with a photograph of smiling seniors, it explains that “a fatal overdose is unlikely, however, smoking or eating high concentrations of THC can affect your judgment, perception, and coordination, and may lead to injuries like poisoning or car crashes.” Use of the word “poisoning” is harsh, although technically correct. It emphasizes the CDPH’s particular concerns about new edible users.

The California Department of Public Health’s website is educating recreational cannabis consumers to avoid potential problems. Photo from www.cdph.ca.gov

“Providing you with the facts you need to make smart and informed choices,” the CDPH buttresses its talking points with additional resources from medical journals and other government agencies.

Whether the state’s concerns involve driving, breastfeeding, children, seniors or overdosing, “responsible cannabis use” is Let’s Talk Cannabis’ oft-repeated theme.

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“We know Colorado had several issues with the overconsumption of edibles,” according to the same spokesperson. “Novice users may be unaware of how long it takes to feel the effects of edible products compared to smoking, and possible adverse effects associated with overconsumption which can be serious enough to result in hospitalization.”

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28 | SN&R | 11.30.17

THC

ReviewS

Now playiNg

4

A Moving Day

Choice Chekhov

By JEff HudSon

PhOTO COURTESy OF AMERICAN RIvER COLLEGE

Maier plays the impoverished schoolteacher Medvedenko (whose sighs about supporting his large family on his pitiful salary remind one of the Sacramento teachers who recently almost went on strike.) And Nicholas Unquera as the elderly Sorin (snoring in his wheelchair, just like one of my relatives at the Thanksgiving dinner I’d attended a few days earlier).

There aren’t many plays I’d look forward to seeing staged three times in the same year.

But The Seagull is surely one—it grows on you with each mounting. If you’ve never experienced this play in person, this would be a good place to start. Ω

4 It's a Wonderful Life Take flight ... for the third time.

The Seagull

4

The Seagull: Fri 8pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm. Through December 2; $15 general, $12 students/seniors; American River College, Stage 2 (Fine and Applied Arts Building), 4700 College Oak Drive; (916) 484-8234.

I’ve had Seagulls on my mind … Last spring, Capital Stage mounted Stupid F##king Bird, a saucy modern “remix” of Anton Chekhov’s 1896 classic The Seagull. And the Art Theater of Davis did Seagull outdoors on a grassy expanse at the Davis Cemetery, under a full moon.

The current buzz over the film Lady Bird brought another Seagull to mind: I first saw Greta Gerwig (the film’s director) in 2001, when she was 18, playing Nina in a Sacramento production of The Seagull directed by Ed Claudio.

Now The Seagull has landed yet again as a visually attractive, thoughtfully mounted American River College production directed by Janis Stevens.

This is a play that artfully combines frivolous comedy and deep despair in a haunting manner.

There are many worthy performances in this production, including Mieke Rosencranz as Nina (20-ish daughter of a rich landowner—she dreams of going to Moscow and becoming an actress) and Evan Lucero as Konstantin (20-ish son of a famous actress, determined be a great writer, spinning his wheels in a small town). Eric

5

Kings of America

Dave Pierini and Buck Busfield’s original holiday play is a fitting finale for the original B Street Theatre. It looks back fondly and looks forward with hope. Greg Alexander, Stephanie Altholz, Kurt Johnson, Jamie Jones and Tim Liu star. Thu 8pm,

Fri 8pm, Sat 5pm & 9pm, Sun 2pm, Tue 6:30pm, Wed 2pm & 6:30pm; through 12/24; $27$39; B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300, www. bstreettheatre.org. J.C.

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama, a troubled young history nerd is plagued by dreams of past presidents.

Through conversations with them, he is able to work through his current emotional problems. Excellent acting by the four-person cast makes this a riveting production. Thu 7pm, Fri

8pm, Sat 8pm & 2pm, Sun 2pm, Wed 7pm; through 12/10; $20-$38; Sacramento

Theatre Company, Pollock Stage, 1419 H St.; (916) 4436722; www.sac theatre.org. B.S.

5

Silent Sky

Big Idea Theatre shines a bright light on astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who reached for the sky in the early 1900s at a time when women were not recognized in academia. This production skillfully brings out powerful, joyful and humorous performances by the cast, all within a lovely backdrop of twinkling constellations.

Thu 8pm, Fri 8pm, Sat 8pm; through 12/16; $22 general, $16 students/seniors, $12 on Thursdays; Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd.; (916) 960-3036; www.big ideatheatre.org. P.R.

Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Bev Sykes and Patti Roberts.

1 FOUL

2

3

4

FAIR

GOOD

WELL-DONE

5 SUBLIME– DON’T MISS

PhOTO COURTESy OF SACRAMENTO ThEATRE COMPANy

While it is surprising that adding music to the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life improves it, there is no denying that the production currently at the Woodland Opera House, under the direction of Dean Shellenberger, is a winner.

The 1946 James Stewart movie told the story of the self-sacrificing George Bailey, who gave up everything to keep his father’s savings and loan running and in the process helped so many of the people of Bedford Falls. When it seems that everything was destroyed, Bailey feels suicide is his only option, because the insurance money would solve his family’s problems. God sends an angel to help Bailey understand the reality of his impact on the town.

The Woodland cast features the marvelous Eric Catalan as George. The rest of the cast is mostly excellent, especially Jori Gonzales as George’s wife, James Glica-Hernandez as mean Mr. Potter, the banker determined to ruin the savings and loan, and Richard Lui as Clarence, the angel trying to earn his wings. A standout in a minor role is Melissa Baikie-Rick as Mrs. Martini, whose song of thanks to George is lovely.

The set is satisfactory, but the special effect of snow falling on the actors and then dissolving on the stage was stunning.

Music for this production is recorded, so there are no live musicians, but Glica-Hernandez is credited with music direction.

All things considered, this is a lovely Christmas tradition to share with the kids and grandkids.

—Bev sykes

It’s a Wonderful Life: Fri 7:30pm, Sat 7:30pm, Sun 2pm. Through 12/17; $12-$25; Woodland Opera house, 340 2nd Street in Woodland; (530) 666-9617; www.woodlandoperahouse.org.

Matt K. Miller as Ebenezer Scrooge.

A Sac original returns ’Tis the season, and the fella who famously says, “Bah, humbug,” will once again be onstage at the Sacramento Theatre Company after taking a break the last five years.

The redoutable Matt K. Miller returns as Ebenezer Scrooge in this 30th anniversary revival of the evergreen adaptation of A Christmas Carol, written for STC decades ago

by Sacramento’s Richard Hellesen, with music by the late David de Berry (updated by Gregg Coffin). Previews start November 29, opening night is December 2; Wed 7pm, Thu 7pm, Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm. Through 12/24; $40 general, $35 seniors, $20 children; Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H Street; (916) 443-6722, sactheatre.org.

—Jeff Hudson

11.30.17 | SN&R | 29

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news Donate to ’s InDepenDent JournalIsm FunD: InDepenDentJournalIsmFunD.org 30 | SN&R | 11.30.17

Roman J. Israel, Esq. Denzel Washington hasn’t lost a step in his latest role.

4

by DanIEl BaRnEs

As for Roman J. Israel, Esq., the film: it’s a decent morality play, although certainly a step Denzel Washington wins statues for going big, but down in quality (if not preachiness) for Gilroy from he’s at his best in intimate moments. He can turn Nightcrawler. The “man behind the curtain” at a down the volume without sacrificing his dynamism, small legal defense firm drowning in debt, Roman and perhaps no other actor in the sound era has proved gets forced out of his rut when the face of the firm so adept at defining their characters through miniature suffers a debilitating heart attack. Out of work gestures and expressions. One of the last true and unable to eat his convictions, Roman movie stars, Washington is so casually accepts an offer from high-priced great that he often obliterates co-stars hotshot George Pierce (Colin and overwhelms plots, and the With his Farrell), but quickly proves to be lion’s share of his starring vehipugnacious and out of his element in a corporate cles succeed as character studies environment. socially awkward first and as movies second.

Faced with the failure of his Case in point: Roman J. personality … Washington own ideals, the unconquerable Israel, Esq., the latest film from practically drowns in corruption of the legal system, Nightcrawler writer-director the loneliness of his life and the character-building props David Gilroy, and an only impending death of his moral slightly less seedy look at Los and tics, yet it all mentor, Roman makes a desperate Angeles’ underbelly. Washington harmonizes. and dangerous decision to line his simultaneously anchors and elevates own pockets at the expense of a client. this solid if obvious legal drama, As Roman gets his first taste of the good showily disappearing into the title role of life, his fortunes at the firm also take an ironic a sad-sack civil rights-era relic getting his first turn for the better, but dark forces start to circle. real taste of temptation. In this story about the decline Despite a strong lead character and performance, and fall of Roman’s moral compass, Washington gets the film occasionally gets disjointed and unfocused, ample opportunity to layer his performance with subtly and Gilroy structures the narrative in a way that scene-stealing mannerisms. eliminates most of the surprise. Meanwhile, a subplot With his pugnacious and socially awkward featuring Carmen Ejogo as an activist who takes an personality, untamed hair, bulky clothes, big belly, inexplicable shine to the paunchy lawyer was clearly oversized eyeglasses, omnipresent earphones and intended to humanize Roman, but feels forced and savant-like legal knowledge, Washington practically flat. In the end, the film is so focused on defining drowns in character-building props and tics, yet it and studying Washington as Roman that there isn’t all harmonizes. He even gives Roman a distinctive much air left. Ω walk, a loping, straight-backed slouch that perfectly combines the character’s simultaneous feelings of defiance and defeat into a single stride. As a character, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a non-stop thrill ride of Poor Fair Good Very excellent Good actor choices.

1 2 3 4 5

fiLm CLiPS

2

BY DANIEL BARNES & JIM LANE

Coco

Buy any dinner entree at regular price, get the second for HALF OFF! Must present coupon, cannot combine with other discounts. One per table. Valid Mon-Thu only. Expires 12/13/17.

A young Mexican boy (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) longs to be a musician, even though his music-hating family wants him to be a shoemaker. When a bizarre event transports him to the Land of the Dead, he goes in search of a deceased singer (Benjamin Bratt) who he’s sure is his own long-lost ancestor. The usual Pixar polish makes the movie vividly colorful, exquisitely textured and gorgeous to behold, but it keeps being dragged down by its shortcomings: an uninvolving story (by Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich and directors Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina) and characters who are dull, uninteresting and bordering on ethnic caricatures. Also, for a movie supposedly about music, the songs (by Kristen Anderson-Lopez) are too bubble-gum-bland to stay with you; they’re practically unnoticeable even as you listen. J.L.

2

Last Flag Flying

In 2003, three former Vietnam War buddies (Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne) reunite after 30 years to escort the remains of Carell’s son, killed in Iraq, to his resting place in New Hampshire.

Directed by Richard Linklater and co-written

by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan (from Ponicsan’s novel) as a semi-sequel to Ponicsan’s novel The Last Detail and the 1973 movie made from it, this one has the turbulent mix of incisive drama and sardonic comedy that characterizes both the earlier movie and some of Linklater’s best pictures. The movie mulls over issues of friendship, patriotism, grief, family, guilt and memory; Linklater juggles the movie’s shifting moods expertly and draws moving, finely textured performances from his stars—especially Cranston and, in a touching cameo, Cicely Tyson. J.L.

2

Voted “Best of Sacramento” 3 years in a row!

“And in the morning, I’m hailing Mary.”

2

The Star

The story of the Nativity, as seen through the eyes of the animals involved—the donkey Mary rode to Bethlehem (voiced by Steven Yuen), the camels carrying the Magi (Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan, Oprah Winfrey), the sheep being watched by night, etc. It sounds like a clever idea, and director Timothy Reckart and writers Carlos Kotkin and Simon Moore get credit for good intentions. Their execution, alas, leaves something to be desired. The story is padded out with the kind of aimless animated slapstick that made the Madagascar and Nut Job franchises such tough sledding, and it mixes uneasily with the Sunday School pieties about Mary and Joseph and the melodramatic menace of a pursuing assassin sent by King Herod (Christopher Plummer). It’s harmless enough, but nowhere near as inspiring as it aims to be. J.L.

The Man Who Invented Christmas

The story of how Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) came to write A Christmas Carol in 1843 gets a terrible mangling at the hands of writer Susan Coyne and director Bharat Narulli. Dickens’ tale did indeed play a major role in shaping how the English-speaking world celebrates the holiday, and Dickens often spoke of his characters crowding him in his study, badgering him to tell their stories (hence the presence here of Christopher Plum-

mer as Ebenezer Scrooge himself). But Coyne and Narulli strike a false note virtually every minute, beginning with a ridiculous portrayal of the author’s 1842 American tour and running through the climactic Christmas tree in his parlor. The impression, despite Paki Smith’s sumptuous Victorian production design, is one of constant, cheesy falsehood and wasted opportunity. J.L.

2

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

Another drab and lumpy fact-based drama from writer-director Peter Landesman (Concussion), this time about the veteran FBI agent who leaked Watergate information to the press, famously becoming known as Deep Throat. Liam Neeson sleepwalks through his starring role as Felt, a loyal and by-the-book agent passed over for the top job when J. Edgar Hoover dies. That puts him at odds with his new boss, a puppet for the Nixon White House, and Felt gets driven to leaking when the executive branch starts taking control of the Watergate investigation. Meanwhile, Felt deals with multiple crises at home, including a depressed wife (Diane Lane, utterly wasted) and a missing daughter he fears might be involved with the Weather Underground.

Aside from the obvious hot-button historical parallels of a tyrant president compromising national security to hide his election crimes, this film has nothing to offer. D.B.

3

Murder on the Orient Express

Hercule Poirot (director Kenneth Branagh) investigates a murder on the snowbound train. Branagh and writer Michael Green (adapting Agatha Christie’s novel) offer a passable remake of Sidney Lumet’s 1974 classic, suffering only by comparison to the original.

It’s the difference between stylish (1974) and mannered (2017), elegant (1974) and ostentatious (2017). The original’s all-star cast (Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, etc.) is replaced by one of slightly lower wattage (Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer,

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Lady Bird

A high school senior at a Sacramento Catholic girls’ school (Saoirse Ronan) bridles at what she sees as the limitations of her hometown and the clueless smothering of her harried, take-charge mother (Laurie Metcalf). Written and directed by Sacramento native Greta Gerwig, and at least semi-autobiographical, this episodic coming-of-age movie seems ever on the verge of sliding into sketch comedy, but Gerwig’s emotional generosity toward all her characters keeps pulling it back; she salts her script with funny lines that sound more like people living funny lives than actors saying funny things. Ronan, well on her way to being one of the greatest film actresses of the 21st century, is the movie’s second-biggest asset after Gerwig herself, followed closely by Metcalf in perhaps the role of her career. J.L.

5

Happy Hour

Monday–Friday 3–6pm

Justice League

Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Superman (Henry Cavill), the Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) do superhero stuff against a supervillain named Steppenwolf (heavily computer generated, though the credits allege that Ciarán Hinds is in there somewhere). The movie is marginally less atrocious than director Zack Snyder’s last two superhero atrocities—but that’s mighty faint praise, considering how difficult it would be to make a worse movie that Man of Steel or Batman vs. Superman. Rumor tells of extensive re-shoots directed by Joss Whedon (who gets co-writer credit with Snyder and Chris Terrio), expanding Gal Gadot’s part (wisely) and adding comic relief for Ezra Miller (less wisely). The result is frankly a mess, although the fans probably won’t care. J.L.

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Daisy Ridley, etc.). Branagh lards Haris Zambarloukos’ cinematography with gratuitous CGI until it looks like Murder on the Polar Express. J.L.

2

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

3

Wonder

New rule: anyone who stumps for this Midwestern black comedy from writer-director Martin McDonagh is forbidden from complaining about the Coen brothers’ supposed lack of empathy ever again. McDonagh previously gave us two smart and self-aware genre films with In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, but this feels more like the work of someone who spent his entire life locked in a dark room, only learning about human nature through the movies. Frances McDormand leads the cast as Mildred Hayes, a grieving mother still burning mad about her daughter’s unsolved murder.

Mildred directs her righteous rage at the bumbling and racist police force led by cancerstricken Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), purchasing three confrontational billboards along the same lonely stretch of road where her daughter was raped and killed. From the lowest-common-denominator, hate-speech shock value of the dialogue to the third-act insertion of a rapist ex machina, Three Billboards … is genuinely loathsome. D.B.

A boy with a congenital facial deformity and many plastic-surgery scars (Jacob Tremblay) enters public school for the first time at the age of 10, where he is met with a mixture of pity, confusion, fear and hostility.

Adapted by Steven Conrad, Jack Thorne and director Stephen Chbosky from R.J. Palacio’s novel, the movie’s pro-tolerance, anti-bullying message is more than a little ham-handed, but it’s redeemed by Chbosky’s delicate direction and the honest performances he draws from everybody: Tremblay, certainly, but also Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson as his parents (and never better), Izbela Vidovic as his sister, Noah Jupe as his first friend at school, Mandy Patinkin as his principal. Jupe especially stands out in the movie’s best moment, when he remembers his own callous insensitivity. J.L.

11.30.17 | SN&R | 31

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

‘I’m helping to find a cure for cancer’ Cancer survivors help researchers by donating blood by amanda Caraway

T

he StemExpress Foundation is in need of “I left feeling empowered and like I had done cancer patients, and others with diseases, something good to benefit humanity and help to donate blood for research. According to future generations,” says the mom of a teenage Megan Barr, Associate Director for the Foundation, son. “Although they might not find a cure in my donating blood samples not only helps researchlifetime, maybe they can find a cure in time to ers, there’s an added benefit for patients. benefit my kids or my grandkids.”

“Donating helps patients feel like they are StemExpress can use blood samples making a difference and doing something proacfrom all types of cancer, but there is an tive to fight cancer,” says Barr. “The ability to do urgent need for blood from lung cancer this research directly impacts how quickly we can and AML donors. The foundation will find a cure.” work with a person’s For Meagan Shull, who doctor and arrange a was diagnosed with breast mobile collection for cancer in 2015, donating those who can’t make helps her feel empowered. it to a collection center.

As a cancer survivor, Shull In addition, those who can’t be an organ donor or donate receive a $50 Megan Barr, Associate Director for the donate to blood banks, but Visa card for their time StemExpress Foundation she can donate to help the and effort.

StemExpress Foundation Although Shull conduct research. appreciates the compensation for “There are so many questions when it comes to her time, she says it’s impossible to cancer and we have very few answers,” says Shull, a put a price on the value of donat42-year-old massage therapist from Sacramento. “I can ing to assist cancer research. contribute in a small way to help find some answers.

“Can you imagine a world What if my cells hold the key to finding a cure?” without cancer?” says Shull. “It Shull felt welcomed and important when she first would be wonderful to live a life visited the collection center in Folsom. She says the where we no longer have to tell environment didn’t feel medical, and the entire profamily members that we have cess, from the paperwork to the blood withdraw, took cancer, or hear those words less than 20 minutes. Now, she can donate blood from a family member.” once every eight weeks.

“The ability to do this research directly impacts how quickly we can find a cure.”

fo un d ati on

Interested In donatIng? Call stemexpress Foundation at 530-303-3800 or fill out the contact form at stemexpressfoundation.org 32 | SN&R | 11.30.17

Cancer survivor Meagan Shull gives blood at StemExpress Foundation, which collects samples for cancer research.

Shull feels she’s playing a part in someday finding a cure.

Photo by Tony Nguyen

Jazz buddies Jacam Manricks and Joe Gilman combine in an eclectic duo

by AAron CArnes

Jacam Manricks was apprehensive about moving to Sacramento five years ago.

The prolific jazz saxophonist had previously moved from Australia to Brooklyn, and in roughly a decade, made a name for himself in the New York jazz scene. When his wife got a job offer at UC Davis, he was reluctant to give that up. Fortunately, he also landed a job in the UC Davis music department.

Still, he wanted to play gigs. His New York friends told him to look up Joe Gilman, a jazz pianist since the early ’80s and jazz professor at American River College.

A little eager perhaps, Manricks fired off several emails to Gilman about playing together, but also asking for advice on where he could get a piano.

“I wanted to play with this cat,” Manricks says. “I probably wrote him 10 emails. He was probably like, ‘What the hell is this? Asking me about pianos. I’m not a piano salesman.’”

The flurry of emails didn’t scare Gilman. In fact, he took the time to check out Manricks’ music and was impressed.

“I was like, ‘Holy macaroni, this guy is coming to Sacramento,’” Gilman says.

“I hope he can make it worth his while to stay here, because it’s great to have him as a member of the musical community.”

It took nearly a year for the two to start playing together, but Gilman soon became Manricks’ go-to pianist for gigs. On December 2, Manricks releases a new record on his Manricks Music

Photo courtesy of jacam manricks

Jacam Manricks searches for his jazz pal.

Records—a two-piece project called Gilmanricks.

It’s an adventurous, moody jazz album that breathes with immense emotion. It’s stark, and it’s remarkable that so much is being created by just two musicians. Elements of traditional and progressive jazz intertwine seamlessly.

This record is special because it’s the first to be recorded in Manricks’ new studio, which he built last year in his Sacramento home. The duo recorded the whole thing in a fourhour session.

“I learned a hell of a lot, from playing with Joe, and from learning how to be an engineer,” Manricks says. “To put out music like this in a time where things are so monetary-based, and knowing that we’re not going to make money on it, it gives me a sense of satisfaction because I think making music is one of the most amazing things that human beings do.”

The roots of the songs were mostly written by Manricks, with the exception of “Ethereal,” which Gilman sketched out. The plan was to be more 50-50 with the composition, but as Gilman listened to the kinds of songs Manricks was writing—influenced by traditional jazz and classical music— he thought his tunes didn’t quite fit.

Manricks has a long history in both realms. He had professional classical music parents, who also were avid appreciators of jazz. Gilman, while a versatile player, felt most at home in the bee-bop realm.

You can hear the broad spectrum of their muses on the record. Now, they’re talking about doing even more projects as Gilmanricks.

“I’m pretty sure he chose me because we could stick our names together,” Gilman says. “No one else had ‘mans’ at the end of their name.” Ω

Guitar Plaza | 9PM | Free Enjoy live music by DJ Rizzo.

Alpine Union Patio | 9PM | $59 Includes VIP access to Alpine Union Patio next to the firepits & an LED bracelet that syncs with the music on Guitar Plaza.

80s Dance Party Featuring Glam Cobra Vinyl | 10PM | $89 Includes an LED bracelet that syncs to the show & champagne toast.

Revolution Ballroom | 9PM | $189 presale, $249 Indulge in a gourmet buffet & open champagne bar while enjoying the variety act show featuring our Electrify burlesque girls.

BOOK TICKETS ONLINE

check out Gilmanricks at 6 p.m. saturday, December 2, at cLara auditorium, 1425 24th street. tickets are $10 in advance, $20 at the door. Learn more at www.jacammanricks.com.

11.30.17 | SN&R | 33

foR the week of NoVeMBeR 30, 2017

by kate gonzales

PosT eVenTs onLIne FoR FRee AT

www.newsreview.com/sacramento

SUndAY, 12/3 BRoAdWAy In ConCeRT: The Placer County Youth Orchestra and Six Player Theatre Company present music from popular Broadway shows. 3:30pm, $8-$15. Del Oro Performing Arts Center, 3301 Taylor Road in Loomis.

Jonny LAnG AT CResT THeATRe: Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. 7:30pm, Crest Sacramento, 1013 K St.

PRoCessIon oF THe CARoLs: See event listing

on 12/2. 2pm, $7-$15. Sacred Heart Church, 39th and J streets.

sUn

PHOTO COURTESY REid niCEwOndER

03

Comedian Keith Lowell Jensen.

I Used To Be A Kid comedy recording Punch Line, 7 P.m., $15 Getting in trouble in China ... That can be funny. Being a parent to an 8-year-old girl who imagines she’s a tiger is Comedy funny. Sacramento comedian Keith Lowell Jensen will tell these and other stories on the Punch Line stage, inspired by his life as a husband, father, touring comedian and as a human formerly known

sPACe CAPTAIn: With Bells Atlas, DLRN. 6pm, $10. Momo Lounge, 2708 J St.

TUESdAY, 12/5 AmeRICAn RIVeR CoLLeGe oRCHesTRA & FoLsom LAKe CoLLeGe CHoIR PResenT HAndeL And moZART: A performance by community college students of selections from Mozart’s Requiem Mass and Handel’s The Messiah.

7:30pm, $10-$100. Harris Center, 10 College Parkway in Folsom.

BeLL WITCH: With Monarch!, CHRCH. 8pm, $10$12. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

sIsTeR sPeAK: With Tolan Shaw & special

guests. 8pm, no cover. The Torch Club, 904 15th St.

VALeRIe JUne: With Gill Landry. 7pm, $25.

Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

wEdnESdAY, 12/6 as a child. This set, which will be recorded and released on satellite radio, will include some new jokes told alongside favorites from his career. It may be the only clean show you see from Sacramento’s favorite Atheist comic. 2100 Arden Way, www. punchlinesac.com.

HARPdoG BRoWn: Canadian blues artist. 9pm, $7. The Torch Club, 904 15th St.

sAC sTATe HosTs TWo ConCeRTs In one: A double-concert with the Concert Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble joining forces.

7pm, $5-$10. Sac State Capistrano Hall, 6000 J St.

snoW THA PRodUCT: San Jose hip-hop

artist. 7pm, $20-$60. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

THURSdAY, 11/30

TRAns-sIBeRIAn oRCHesTRA: A Christmas TSO show. 3:30pm, 8pm, $36.75-$64. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J Stern Walk.

IRIsH CHRIsTmAs In AmeRICA: Top Irish music and dance in a performance rich in history and humor. 8pm, $20-$30. State Theatre, 985 Lincoln Way in Auburn.

THe eXPendABLes: With Pacific Dub, Amplified.

7pm, $20-$65. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

GoAPeLe: Three consecutive nights of the soul artists kick off Thursday. 8pm, $35-$40.

Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

THe ResTLess HoUR: New Sac band plays its first show. With The Gold Souls, Leap Year.

Los LoBos: Mexican-American rock band.

7pm, $40-$60. Auburn Event Center, 145 Elm

Ave. in Auburn.

mondo deCo: With Michael and the Machines, Ex-Rippers. 9pm, $8. Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St.

10pm, no cover. The Golden Bear, 2326 K St.

FRidAY, 12/1 CAsTLe: With Crimson Eye, Worship of Keres, Mesmer. 8pm, $10-$12. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

SATURdAY, 12/2 ALeX JenKIns QUARTeT PLAys THe mUsIC oF moVIes: Live music from movies from the 1930s to today. 5:30pm, $10. Mango’s Sacramento, 1930 K St.

CVLTVRe: With Ghost Parade, The Years Ahead, Surviving the Era, Public School. 7pm, $10.

Cafe Colonial, 3520 Stockton Blvd.

CeLeBRATe HIP-HoP AT sAC sTATe: A hip-hop

34 | SN&R | 11.30.17

student showcase, with music and dance performed by Oke Junior, DJ Ajani, MC

Online listings will be considered for print. Print listings are edited for space and accuracy. deadline for print listings is 5 p.m. wednesday. deadline for nightLife listings is midnight Sunday.

Send photos and reference materials to Calendar Editor Kate Gonzales at snrcalendar@newsreview.com.

and yourself with items including jewelry, pottery and baked goods for sale. 11am, $25. Wesley Community Hall, 5010 15th Ave.

LIGHTed BoAT PARAde: Watch from the river’s shore as festive boats parade by during this annual tradition. Or, if you’re fancy and have a boat, dress it up for the holidays and join the parade with the Sacramento Yacht Club. 5pm, no cover. Miller Park, 2710 Ramp Way.

mIdToWn’s UGLy sWeATeR CeLeBRATIon: Don yourself and your dog in ugly Christmas sweaters in support of the Front Street Animal Shelter. If there’s rain, the event will be moved to 12/3. noon, no cover. Midtown BierGarten, 2332 K St.

sTeAmPUnK-VICToRIAn HoLIdAy FAIRe: Dozens of artists and vendors will have work for sale, with live music and a festive environment.

Get your photo taken with the steampunkVictorian Santa or elf. 10am, no cover. High Hand Gallery, 3750 Taylor Road in Loomis.

TATToo Toy dRIVe: Bring in a new toy worth $15 or more, still in the packaging and with proof of purchase, to get a free $50 tattoo or $50 toward a larger tattoo. 12pm, no cover. Relentless Tattoo Parlor, 1422 28th St., Suite C.

SUndAY, 12/3 GIFT dRIVe And CAR sHoW BeneFITInG FosTeR And HomeLess yoUTH: Live music, a toy drive and car show benefiting local foster and homeless youth. 11am, no cover. Valley High School, 6300 Ehrhardt Ave.

sTeAmPUnK-VICToRIAn HoLIdAy FAIRe: See event listing on 12/2. 10am, no cover. High Hand Gallery, 3750 Taylor Road in Loomis.

FOOd & dRinK THURSdAY, 11/30 FILIPIno FoRK 2017: A new take on the local

HOLidAYS MUSiC

snr c a le nd a r @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

Sleng and more. 3pm, $8-$12. Sac State Capistrano Music Hall, 6000 J St.

CRAZy ToWn: With Perfect Score, Richard the

Rockstar. 6:30pm, $12-$15. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

Foo FIGHTeRs: Rock band comes to Sac.

7:30pm, $120-$430. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J Stern Walk.

FRee CAndy: Pop-punk band plays its album release show with Short Trip and Knockout.

8pm, $7. Shine, 1400 E St.

JFA: With the BoneShavers, Kevin Thatcher,

MoFo, Bryce Kanights. 8pm, call for cover.

Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

PRoCessIon oF THe CARoLs: Three Sac State choruses perform holiday music with brass and organ arrangements and candlelight processions in this 33-year tradition. 8pm, $7-$15. Sacred Heart Church, 39th and J streets.

THURSdAY, 11/30 CHILdRen’s CAndLeLIGHT PARAde: A holiday tradition and fundraiser for the Wallace & Vannucci Women & Children’s Shelter.

5:30pm, no cover. Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St. in Davis.

HoLIdAy PoP-UP: Pick up original artwork, pillows, clothing and other unique gifts for your loved ones in this pop-up market hosted by Verge Center for the Arts and the Developmental Disabilities Service Organization. 11am, no cover. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

FRidAY, 12/1 HoLIdAy PoP-UP: See event listing on 11/30.

11am, no cover. Verge Center for the Arts,

625 S St.

SATURdAY, 12/2 CoLonIAL HeIGHTs CReATIVe CRAFT FesT 2017: Shop holiday gifts for the whole family

Farm-to-Fork movement, this event celebrates Filipino cuisine with local chefs preparing Filipino and Filipino-inspired recipes. Money raised will benefit programs and scholarship opportunities for local Filipino youth. 6pm, sold out. California Museum, 1020 O St.

THe URBAn HIVe LAUnCH PARTy: A launch party for the Urban Hive’s new flagship coworking space at the Cannery. See the space, mingle and enjoy food, beer and music. Eventbrite RSVP required. 6pm, no cover. The Urban Hive at the Cannery, 1601 Alhambra Blvd.

FRidAY, 12/1 dI GReGoRIo BARLey WIne PRIVATe ReLeAse PARTy: The fifth annual release of Di Gregorio Barley Wine, made in honor of Sacramento artist Jose Di Gregorio. Live music, a Di Gregorio Barley Wine bottle signing, food and beer. 7:30pm, $5. The Red Museum, 212 15th St.

SATURdAY, 12/2 THe KITCHen TABLe GRAnd oPenInG PARTy: Celebrate the opening of this new kitchen boutique, with a complimentary glass of

FRIDAY, 12/1

100 Under 100 Opening Reception WAL pubLic mArket, 6 p.m., no cover

Don’t you want to ditch the gift cards and shop from the heart for the holidays? This season, it’s easy to ART find gifts as lovely and unique as the folks you’re shopping for at the 100 Under PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA COOK 100 Art Show. All pieces are created by local artists and sold for $100 or less. The opening reception is First Friday at WAL, so artists’ home/work spaces will be open for tours, too. 1104 R Street, www.facebook.com/WALPublicMarket.

champagne, raffles and giveaways, olive and balsamic vinegar tasting, honey and cheese appetizer demonstrations and more. 11am, no cover. The Kitchen Table, 1462 33rd St.

MOVEMBER CELEBRATION: Show off your November facial hair growth and enjoy live acoustic music and Sactown beers. 3pm, call for cover. Sactown Union Brewery, 1210 66th St., Unit B.

SUNDAY, 12/3 WHY GROW FOOD? WITH CHANOWK YISRAEL: Explore the ways in which growing your own food can be the gateway to physical, mental, spiritual and environmental awareness.

Class topics include community health, the history of urban agriculture, food sovereignty, sustainability and what it means to grow organic. 1pm, no cover. The Yisrael Family Urban Farm, 4505 Roosevelt Ave.

FILM

comedy show that will explore the darker aspects of Christmas. 8pm Friday, 12/1. $8. 1050 20th St., Suite 130.

THE RED MUSEUM: The Latest Show.

Sacramento comedians Shahera Hyatt and Mike Cella host the late-night show, with musical guest LaTour, comedian Cheryl the Soccer Mom, and an interview guest who will help us explore family dynamics. 8pm Thursday, 11/30. $10. 212 15th St.

ON STAGE BIG IDEA THEATRE: Silent Sky. A show celebrating women, their impact on history and the power of friendship and love. Through 12/16. $12-$22. 1616 Del Paso Blvd.

SACRAMENTO THEATRE COMPANY: A Christmas Carol. This adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story about greed, kindness and redemption returns after a five-year hiatus. Through 12/24. $20-$40. 1419 H St.

ART

STREETS—MOVIE PREMIER: A contemporary

SATURDAY, 12/2 DOUBLE FEATURE—DARK CRYSTAL AND LEGEND: A screening of two ’80s fantasy films.

6:30pm, $12-$15. The Colonial Theatre, 3520 Stockton Blvd.

DOUBLE SCREENING—MAJOR! AND KIKI: The California Endowment, Sol Collective, Gender Health Center and Equity California present two films that explore the histories, advocacy and lives of transgender people in the United States. The event will include a discussion and Q&A session. 11am, no cover.

Guild Theater, 2828 35th St.

COMEDY LUNA’S CAFE & JUICE BAR: Capitol PUNishment Holiday Edition. A Pun tournament with a holiday theme. 8pm Friday, 12/1. $10. STAB! Live Comedy Podcast. Writers, stand-up comics and other panelists respond to various prompts in this live comedy panel show. 8pm Wednesday, 12/6. $5. 1414 16th St.

PUNCH LINE: Corey Holcomb. Comedian,

actor and radio host performs. Through 12/2. Keith Lowell Jensen—I Used to Be A

Kid. See event highlight on page 42. 7pm Sunday, 12/3. $15. 2100 Arden Way, Suite 225.

SACRAMENTO COMEDY SPOT: Squad Patrol— December Show. A fast-paced sketch

SACRAMENTO FINE ARTS CENTER: Ars Gratis Artis. A fundraiser and a drawing for original pieces of artwork. Admission is free, drawing tickets cost $75 and guarantee the holder will win a piece of art. Friday, 12/1. No cover. 5330 Gibbons Drive, Suite B.

SACRAMENTO STATE: Ceramics Guild Sale. Shop for unique gifts or household items during this annual ceramics sale. Through 11/30. No cover. Kadema Hall at Sac State, 6000 J St.

THE UNIVERSITY UNION AT SAC STATE: Scribble.

A body of work by Douglass Keliheleua Kleinshmith that explores the consciously unconscious mark: the scribble. Opening reception at 6pm Thursday, 11/30. Through 12/14. No cover. University Union, 6000 J St.

WAL PUBLIC MARKET: 100 Under 100 Art Show.

See event highlight at left. 6pm Friday, 12/1.

No cover. 1104 R St.

MUSEUMS AEROSPACE MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA: Take Flight.

FRIDAY, 12/1 drama about life on the streets of Sacramento, which follows the lives of two women, one from a life of privilege, and the other from a life of extreme poverty. 7pm, $12. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

of works by Ruth Rippon’s students from her tenure teaching in the ceramics studio at Sacramento State. Artists include Ray Gonzales, Tony Natsoulas and Yoshio Taylor. Through 12/15. No cover. 6000 J St.

ARTHOUSE ON R: Moods & Emotions. Works

by Traci Owens and Larry Johnson. Closing reception at 6pm Friday, 12/1. Through 12/5.

No cover. 1021 R St.

ARTSPACE1616: Artists & Aprons. See event

highlight below, at right. 5pm Friday, 12/1.

1616 Del Paso Blvd.

CALIFORNIA MUSEUM: Beauty and the Beast— California Wildflowers and Climate Change.

This exhibit of images by San Franciscobased photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter illustrates the effects of changing weather patterns on a universal symbol of beauty: the wildflower. Through 1/28. $9. 1020 O St.

ELK GROVE FINE ARTS CENTER: First Saturday Art Reception. Explore small treasures like photography, watercolor paintings, mixed-media work and more. 4pm Saturday, 12/2. No cover. 9080 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove.

MAIDU MUSEUM & HISTORIC SITE: Voice Exhibit.

An exhibit highlighting the work of indigenous women artists. Through 12/23. $2-$5. 1970 Johnson Ranch Drive in Roseville.

MILLS STATION ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER (MACC): Holiday Pop Up Art Gallery. Shop for gifts from 17 participating artists and enjoy free refreshments, daily art demos and live music. Through 12/10. No cover. 10191 Mills Station Road in Rancho Cordova.

ROBERT ELSE GALLERY AT SACRAMENTO STATE: The Legacy of Ruth Rippon. An exhibition

Exhibit shows the history and evolution of flight. Through 1/9. $8-$10. 3200 Freedom Park Drive.

CALIFORNIA MUSEUM: California Hall of Fame.

Watch the 11th Annual California Hall of Fame red carpet arrivals to induction ceremony, which will include recognition of Steven Spieldberg, Lucille Ball and others. 6pm Tuesday, 12/5. 1020 O St.

CROCKER ART MUSEUM: Human Rights Lecture.

A lecture around the theme: “Star Trek/ Human Rights: To Boldly Go to Human Rights for All,” explores how the topics raised in the television series and movies can be teaching tools and help measure where we stand on human rights here on Earth.

The first in the UC Davis Human Rights Lecture Series 2017-2018. 7pm Monday, 12/4.

No cover. Crocker Ball. An evening of fine dining, dancing and more. 6pm Saturday, 12/2. $1,500. 216 O St.

SPORTS & OUTDOORS SATURDAY, 12/2

recovery on a somatic level. Explore mindfulness techniques, breath exercises, yoga mantras and more. No yoga experience necessary. 1:30pm, no cover. The Yoga Seed Collective, 1400 E St., Suite B.

SUNDAY, 12/3 CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON: The annual marathon that starts in Folsom and ends at the California State Capitol. Hosted by the Sacramento Running Association, this run is sold out but lots of people gather to watch! 7am, no cover. Folsom Bike, 7610 Folsom-Auburn Road in Folsom.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Join the folks at Badlands for their inaugural Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony Commemorating World AIDS Day. Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls of RuPaul’s Drag Race will perform in a kickoff drag show. A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to AIDS research and prevention. 8pm, $15$25. Badlands, 2003 K St.

SATURDAY, 12/2 LGBTQ $1 BOOKSALE: Browse LGBTQ+ books, CDs, VHS and DVD erotica and more to help the library raise money. Noon, no cover.

Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE), 1414 21st St.

SUNDAY, 12/3 LGBTQ $1 BOOKSALE: See event description

on 12/2. Noon, no cover. Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE), 1414 21st St.

TAKE ACTION

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author, activist and professor, discusses her work with the international indigenous movement and her upcoming book about gun culture and the second amendment. 4pm, no cover. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

SACTENANTS BIMONTHLY MEETING: If you care

over the foothills while hiking at Cronan Ranch.

This is an easy to moderate hike of about 3 miles. 4:30pm, $5-$10. American River Conservancy, 348 State Highway 49 in Coloma.

FRIDAY, 12/1

AN AFTERNOON WITH ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ:

MONDAY, 12/4

SUPER MOON NIGHT HIKE: Watch the moon rise

LGBTQ

SUNDAY, 12/3

about issues including housing as a human right, rising rents and gentrification, join renters working for better and more just living conditions for everyone. 6pm, no cover. Organize Sacramento, 1714 Broadway.

CLASSES THURSDAY, 11/30 WINTER WONDERLAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP: Day one of a three-day workshop that involves a lecture, a photography field trip to Global Winter Wonderland (12/3) and a critique and gallery reception (12/5).

Learn techniques for shooting in low-light situations, composition, exposure, depth of field and more. 6:30pm, $$143.10-159. Mike’s Camera Sacramento, 2200 J St.

SUNDAY, 12/3 WINTER WONDERLAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP:

See event description on 11/30. 6pm, $143.10$159. Mike’s Camera Sacramento, 2200 J St.

TUESDAY, 12/5 WINTER WONDERLAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP:

See event description on 11/30. 6pm, $143.10$159. Mike’s Camera Sacramento, 2200 J St.

WEDNESDAY, 12/6 MIDTOWN UNISEX JEWELRY FABRICATION & METALWORK: Learn basic fabrication for metalwork jewelry, including how to correctly use a jewelers saw to cut shapes from brass, as well as piercing and filing techniques. 6pm, $45. Hacker Lab, 1715 I St.

FRIDAY, 12/1 BEER & ROSES LEFTIST HAPPY HOUR: Join political leftists and union activists to discuss politics, organizing and strategies over drinks and snacks. 7pm, no cover.

Streets Pub and Grub, 1804 J St.

YOGA FOR RECOVERY: Practice yoga in a safe space, with a focus on eating disorder

FRIDAY, 12/1

Artists & Aprons ArtspAce 1616, 5 p.m., no cover

Some of the aprons are colorful, others are painted in black and white. Some have quotes and sentiments written in English, another in Spanish. The common thread? Each of these one-ofa-kind aprons will be up for sale during Artists & Aprons—A Fundraiser for the Homeless. Find the apron that speaks to you and FUNDRAISER bid on it during the silent auction. All proceeds will go to help those experiencing homelessness. 1616 Del Paso Boulevard, www. facebook.com/artistsandaprons.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN TONKIN RIEGEL

11.30.17

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thUrsday 11/30 The acousTic den cafe

Jessica Malone, The Mindful Duo, 10271 Fairway driVE, rosEVillE, (916) 412-8739 7pm, $7

Badlands

2003 k st., (916) 448-8790

PopRockz ’90s Night, 9pm, no cover

BaR 101

101 Main st., rosEVillE, (916) 774-0505

Blue lamp

1400 alhaMbra blVd., (916) 455-3400

R&B Showcase with Big Smoke, Lovell Crumby and more, 8:30pm, $12-$15

The BoaRdwalk

9426 GrEEnback ln., oranGEValE, (916) 358-9116

Friday 12/1

satUrday 12/2

sUnday 12/3

Monday-wEdnEsday 12/4-12/6

Garcia & Medina, 7pm, $5

Silver Lake 66, 7pm, $5

Student Christmas Recital, 2pm, no cover

Open-Mic Wednesday, 6:30pm, W, no cover

Annual Tree Lighting and Drag Show, 8:30pm, $15-$25

Spectacular Saturdays, 9pm, call for cover

Sunday Beer Bust, 4pm, no cover

Half-Off Mondays, 8pm, M, no cover; Trapacana, 10pm, W, no cover

DJ Rainjah Nick, 9:30pm, no cover

Little Empire, Mosaics, 9:30pm, no cover

Castle, Crimson Eye and more, 8pm, $10-$12

JFA, The BoneShavers and more, 8pm, cover TKTKTK

Unsane, Plaque Marks, Reptoid, 8pm, $12-$15

Warbringer and more, 8pm, M, $13-$15; Bell Witch and more, 8pm, T, $10-$12

Paul Wall, 8:30pm, $25

Vincula, Dissident Aggressor and more, 8pm, $10

Windowpane, Banger and more, 8pm, $14

Sundressed, The Color Wild and more, 8:30pm, T, $12

Miss Lonely Hearts, 8pm, $8

Sunday Morning Coming Down, 4pm, no cover

Karaoke, 8pm, M, no cover; Cactus Pete, 8pm, T, no cover; Trivia, 8pm, W, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm, M, T, W, no cover

The hideaway Photo coUrtEsy oF MiGUEl MadriZ

Snow Tha Product

2565 Franklin blVd., (916) 455-1331

disTilleRy

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

faces

Dragon, 10pm, $10

Valentina (RuPaul’s Drag Race), 9pm, $12-$15

Decades, 7pm, call for cover

faTheR paddy’s iRish puBlic house

Ralph Gordon, 6pm, no cover

Roadhouse 5, 7pm, no cover

Whiskey & Stitches, 7pm, no cover

fox & Goose

According to Bazooka, 7pm, no cover

Kevin Seconds, 9pm, $5

According to Bazooka, The Uncovered, 9pm, $5

500 daVid J stErn walk, (888) 915-4647

Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Winter Tour, 3:30pm, 8pm, $36.75-$64

Foo Fighters, 7:30pm, $120-$430

Goldfield

Bobby Zoppi, 7:30pm, $8

2107 l st., (916) 443-8815

with Castro Escobar 7pm Wednesday, $20-$60 Holy Diver Hip-hop

2000 k st., (916) 448-7798 435 Main st., woodland, (530) 668-1044 1001 r st., (916) 443-8825

Golden 1 cenTeR

1630 J st., (916) 476-5076 College Night, 9pm, no cover

The Sugar High Band, 9pm, $5

Left of Centre, 9pm, $7

haRlow’s

Goapele, 8pm, $35-$40

Goapele, 9pm, $35-$40

Goapele, 9pm, $35-$40

hiGhwaTeR

On the Low, 9pm, no cover

Total Recall, 10pm, $5

DJ Joseph One, 10pm, no cover

2708 J st., (916) 441-4693 Photo coUrtEsy oF drEw rEynolds

1910 Q st., (916) 706-2465

Every Damn Monday, 7pm, M, no cover; Noche Latina, 9pm, T, call for cover

Open-Mic, 7:30pm, M, no cover; Pub Quiz, 7pm, T, no cover

Lee Dewyze, Frank Viele, 7:30pm, W, $20-$60

halfTime BaR & GRill

5681 lonEtrEE blVd., rocklin, (916) 626-3600

Trivia, 6:30pm, M, no cover; Open-Mic Night, 7:30pm, W, no cover

Let’s Get Quizzical Trivia Game Show, 7pm, W, no cover It’s A Beautiful Day, Tex Whitzel, 2pm, $25-$30

Valerie June, Gill Landry, 8pm, T, $25-$30 The Trivia Factory, 7pm, M, no cover

Los Lobos

holy diVeR

Dayshell, Eyes Set to Kill and more, 6:30pm, $10-$12

Chris Travis, 7pm, $20-$25

7pm Friday, $40-$60 Auburn Event Center Latin Rock

1517 21st st.

Crazy Town, Perfect Score, Richard the Rockstar, 6:30pm, $12-$15

Night of Blue Swan, Secret Band and more, 6pm, $16-$18

Aaron Gillespie, 6pm, M, $13-$15; Snow Tha Product, 7pm, W, $20-$60

kupRos

Stephen Yerkey, 9:30pm, no cover

Live Music, 9:30pm, no cover

Live Music, 9:30pm, no cover

Kupros Quiz, 7:30pm, no cover

Open-Mic, 8pm, T, no cover; Ross Hammond, 7:30pm, W, no cover

luna’s cafe & Juice BaR

Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2

Capitol PUNishment Holiday Edition, 8pm, $10

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SN&R

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11.30.17

www.inDepenDentJournalismFunD.org

if you like it, 36

’s independent Journalism Fund at

Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm, M, $10; Open-Mic Comedy, 8pm, T, no cover

help support it

1414 16th st., (916) 737-5770

Donate to

1217 21st st., (916) 440-0401

NOMINATED BEST DANCE CLUB 2017

STONEYS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BASH FREE TURKEY DINNER, .50 CENT PBR & $2 JACK DANIELS 7-9PM! PBR WEEKEND AFTER PARTIES FRI JAN 26 BOBBY ZOPPI BAND SAT JAN 27TH CRIPPLE CREEK BAND SUNDAY FUN DAY DJ AFTER PARTY!

STONEYS 11TH ANNUAL NYE BASH PRESENTED BY 92.5 THE BULL SUNDAY DEC 31ST!!

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1320 DEL PASO BLVD IN OLD NORTH SAC

STONEYINN.COM

916.402.2407

Submit your Calendar liStingS For Free at newSreview.Com/SaCramento/Calendar THURSDAY 11/30 momo sacramento 2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

old IronsIdes

Loose Engines, 8pm, $3

on tHe Y

Open-Mic Comedy, 8pm, no cover

1901 10TH ST., (916) 442-3504 670 FUlTON AVE., (916) 487-3731

FRIDAY 12/1

SATURDAY 12/2

SUNDAY 12/3

Ugly Sweater Party w/DJ Oasis, 10pm, $10-$15

Brandy Robinson, Midnight Sol, Steven Denmark, 9:30pm, $6-$8

Space Captain, Bells Atlas, DLRN, 6pm, $10

Mondo Deco, Michael and the Machines, Ex-Rippers, 9pm, $8

Joe and Hattie Craven, Joe Craven & the Sometimers, 8pm, $20

13 MAIN ST., WINTERS, (530) 795-1825 414 MAIN ST., PlACERVIllE, (530) 303-3792

Heath Williamson & Friends, 5:30pm, M, no cover; Open-Mic, 8pm, W, no cover Cash Prophets, 8pm, call for cover

Palms PlaYHouse

PlacervIlle PublIc House

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/4-12/6

’80s Night W/DJ Ortho Jax, 10:30pm, no cover

Free Pool and Karaoke, 9pm, M, no cover; Karaoke, 9pm, T, no cover

Antsy McClain & the Trailer Park Troubadours, 8pm, $25

Mustache and Beard Competition, 8:30pm, call for cover

Sour Class: Jeffers Drops Acid and Firestone Walker Barrelworks, 6pm, $40

PowerHouse Pub

Skid Roses, 10pm, $10

614 SUTTER ST., FOlSOM, (916) 355-8586

Petty Theft, 10pm, $10

tHe Press club

Midori, Ernie Fresh, 9pm, M, call for cover; Reggae Night, 9pm, T, no cover

2030 P ST., (916) 444-7914

sHadY ladY

Tone Mosaic, 9pm, no cover

1409 R ST., (916) 231-9121

socIal nIgHtclub

1000 K ST., (916) 947-0434

stoneY’s rockIn rodeo

Country Music and Karaoke, 9pm, no cover-$5

1320 DEl PASO blVD., (916) 927-6023

swabbIes on tHe rIver

5871 GARDEN HIGHWAY, (916) 920-8088

tHe torcH club

The Higgs, Crook & the Bluff, 9pm, $6

904 15TH ST., (916) 443-2797

Yolo brewIng co.

1520 TERMINAl ST., (916) 379-7585

PHOTO COURTESY OF IVY MEISSNER

Space Captain with Bells Atlas 6pm Sunday, $10 Momo Sacramento Psych-soul

Crescent Katz, 9pm, no cover

Element Brass Band, 9pm, no cover

Alex Jenkins, 9pm, no cover

DJ DM, 10pm, no cover before 11pm

DJ Eddie Z, 10pm, no cover before 10:30pm

Runaway June, 9pm, $5-$10

Hot Country Saturdays, 7pm, $5

Sunday Funday, 9pm, no cover-$10

Live music, 6pm, call for cover

Live Music, 5pm, call for cover

Millie, 1pm, call for cover

Stacie Eakes and the Superfreaks, 9pm, $8

Nickel Slots Video Release Party, 9pm, $8

You Front the Band, 8pm, no cover

Sister Speak, 8pm, T, no cover; Harp Dog Brown, 9pm, W, $7

Blue Mountain Quartet, 6pm, no cover

Vonda McConda, 6pm, no cover

Big Gigantic, Basstracks, DJ Gamma, 6:30pm, $26

Natalia Jiménez, 7pm, W, $45

College Night Wednesdays, 9pm, W, call for cover

all ages, all the time ace of sPades

The Expendables, Pacific Dub, Amplified, 6pm, $20-$65

Collie Buddz, 8pm, $25

cafe colonIal

Nam the Giver, Tabloid Tea and more, 7:30pm, $5-$10

Cvltvre, Ghost Parade and more, 8pm, $10

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Innocence lost I caught my 13-year-old son watching a video of a naked girl masturbating with a vibrator. She sent him the video.

He told me they’ve texted a little but have never hung out or talked. (They go to different schools but have mutual friends.) He also said he didn’t know what the video was about until he started watching. (I checked his phone, and he was telling the truth.) Here’s the reason he says he’s not interested in her: “If she did that in front of me and I barely know her, how could I ever trust her?” I am worried because he hasn’t even had a girlfriend yet. I feel like his innocence is gone. I made him delete/ block the girl. Do I need to do or say anything else to protect him?

new target market. A vibrator for every teen was not Berman’s rallying cry of feminism, and it was not her argument for sexual health. It was a sound bite to sell sex toys.

Only someone who doesn’t work with teens could believe that every high school freshman or sophomore girl needs a vibrator or that teaching self-pleasuring will eliminate teen pregnancy and STDs. (Yes, Berman went there.) But all teens can benefit from clear, honest information about their bodies and sexual health so they can make smart decisions about selfcare. The girl in the video lacks this information. So contact a guidance counselor at her school and say: “My son received I think you ought to feel a video in which (her proud of yourself for name here) was raising a smart teen.

Every adult is masturbating. I’m Your son is savvy responsible for every concerned about her enough to recognize child—not just those and am requesting that this girl’s that you speak with amateur porn act we have birthed or who her.” After a week or could lead to heartbranch directly from so, call the counselor break. He surmised our family tree. again to ensure a that sex is primarily a conversation occurred. transaction for her and The content of that decided not to succumb conversation is none of your to her seduction. No matter business, of course, but making what she hopes her sex show may certain that it happens is. Ω bring—attention, stress release, admiration, love—he’s not playing along.

Your parenting skills have served you well and your son’s mature response is proof. But there is more work to do. Every adult is responsible MeDITaTIon of THe Week for every child—not just those we have “We have all known the birthed or who branch directly from our long loneliness and we have family tree. We must all help every teen learned that the only solution we encounter to navigate a path into a is love and love comes with rewarding life. Yes, that means the girl community,” wrote activist who sent the video needs your Dorothy Day. Are you making protection, too. connections to those with Here’s some cultural history for whom you disagree? context. In 2009, psychologist Laura Berman announced on Oprah that moms should buy vibrators for their 15-year-old daughters. Berman also said moms should teach their daughters to Write, email or leave a message for “self-stimulate so they don’t have to Joey at the News & Review. Give rely on a boy.” For months afterward, your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all I heard from teen girls horrified by the correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. gift of a vibrator from their mothers.

But what neither Oprah nor Berman Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA mentioned is that Berman had begun 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 1360; or email selling sex toys and teens were her askjoey@newsreview.com.

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pets, especially the older ones, could indeed benefit from small doses of medical

So, the Bureau of Cannabis Control has just released the new regulations. What do you think?

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Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert.

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—Cap I. Talist I think it’s a good start. There are things to like: event producer licenses marijuana. (yay farmers markets!), reasonable packaging rules, maybe a few other things.

But there are also some ridiculous things: The 100 miligram THC limit on edibles (goodbye Korova 1,000 miligram Black Bar) and the rule that says you can’t make cannabis coffee drinks, although my outlaw side knows that there are umpteen different ways around this. Those are annoying, but workaround-able. Some other things are unsettling: Hezekiah Allen from the Emerald Growers Association called the decision to allow giant commercial farms right away a “catastrophe.” My biggest peeve is incredibly high fees that small business owners will have to pay just to get into the game. It’s a minimum of $5,000 for a state license, whether you have a small farm, tincture business or you just want to throw a few cannabis parties in your fancy house.

Five thousand dollars is a lot of money. Add that to the fact that super large companies don’t have to pay nearly as big of a percentage, it would seem that the money and the suits are doing their best to keep smaller businesses from even getting started. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a company expecting to make $80 million would only have to pay $125,000 in fees. This is not cool at all. Some of my industry homies say it could be worse, but I say it needs to be much better. However, this is just the beginning, and I am optimistic that things will improve. Ω

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—Buds MacKenzie According to a preponderance of the anecdotal evidence: Yes. There aren’t really any published scientific studies (marijuana is still federally illegal), but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of pet owners who claim that marijuana, especially marijuana high in CBD, has helped their dogs with a variety of ailments. According to a survey from the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, 72 percent of respondents had given their pets a form of medicinal marijuana, and 58 percent said cannabis was effective and helpful. Speaking of surveys, the good people at the UC Davis are also doing a survey about cannabis and pets. If you want to be involved, visit the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association’s website (www.ahvma.org).

Cats and dogs (and all mammals, apparently) have endocannabinoid systems and cannabis receptors, so it stands to reason that your mammalian pets, especially the older ones, could indeed benefit from small doses of medical marijuana. Of course, you should talk to your vet. Even though veterinarians are not allowed to prescribe or even recommend cannabis, they may have some insight Your and advice. Oh, and don’t blow weed smoke into your pet’s nose. It’s rude. mammalian Have a good one.

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Would you wait until then?” I asked. “But, if you can’t wait, come to me.” Theo agreed.

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The next morning, Theo said he didn’t like the experience. “Loss of control” was his issue. He simply likes his daily non-high existence better. “You will avoid a lot of problems that way,” I told him. Was I a hypocrite for feeling relieved?

Someday Theo may revisit cannabis.

But for now he sees it, somewhat amusingly, as a social activity that preoccupies his dad’s peer group.

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y son was born after Proposition 215, the California Compassionate Use Act, which legalized medical marijuana. By then, public discourse about legitimate uses for cannabis was growing. People were coming out about their use, and political polls showed increased support for decriminalization.

After the U.S. Attorney General’s 2009 directive to not prosecute marijuana cases, I planted cannabis in our backyard garden.

One day Theo started asking about all the plants. “Those are Anaheim chilies,” I told him. “And what are those?” he asked.

“That’s basil,” I said. Then my 9-year-old pointed to the Strawberry Haze plants.

“That’s called cannabis,” I answered.

He asked what you do with cannabis.

Trying to make it as normal as possible, without romanticizing it, I mentioned hemp rope, clothes and lotions. I mentioned that Himalayans pop the seeds like popcorn, and finally added, “Some people smoke it to relax.”

Over the years Theo adjusted to the fact that his dad liked cannabis. I never smoked in front of him, but his curiosity peaked as a teen. So, I made my pitch.

“You’re 15 and your brain is still developing,” I said. “Today’s cannabis is stronger than what I smoked back in the 1970s.” I mentioned my persistent cough, struggles with weight, and my arrests.

“When you’re 18, it’s your decision to make.

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54 | SN&R | 11.30.17

FRee will aStRology

by John Flynn

by Rob bRezsny

FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30, 2017 ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope that everything

doesn’t come too easily for you in the coming weeks. I’m worried you will meet with no obstructions and face no challenges. And that wouldn’t be good. It might weaken your willpower and cause your puzzle-solving skills to atrophy. Let me add a small caveat, however. It’s also true that right about now you deserve a whoosh of slack. I’d love for you to be able to relax and enjoy your well-deserved rewards. But on the other hand, I know you will soon receive an opportunity to boost yourself up to an even higher level of excellence and accomplishment. I want to be sure that when it comes, you are at peak strength and alertness.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You were born with

the potential to give the world specific gifts— benefits and blessings that are unique to you.

One of those gifts has been slow in developing.

You’ve never been ready to confidently offer it in its fullness. In fact, if you have tried to bestow it in the past, it may have caused problems. But the good news is that in the coming months, this gift will finally be ripe. You’ll know how to deal crisply with the interesting responsibilities it asks you to take on. Here’s your homework: Get clear about what this gift is and what you will have to do to offer it in its fullness.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Happy Unbirthday,

Gemini! You’re halfway between your last birthday and your next. That means you’re free to experiment with being different from who you have imagined yourself to be and who other people expect you to be. Here are inspirational quotes to help you celebrate. 1. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”—George Bernard Shaw. 2. “Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.”—W. Somerset Maugham.

3. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

4. “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”—Friedrich Nietzsche.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I suggest that you

take a piece of paper and write down a list of your biggest fears. Then call on the magical force within you that is bigger and smarter than your fears. Ask your deep sources of wisdom for the poised courage you need to keep those scary fantasies in their proper place. And what is their proper place? Not as the masters of your destiny, not as controlling agents that prevent you from living lustily, but rather as helpful guides that keep you from taking foolish risks.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In his book Life: The Odds,

Gregory Baer says that the odds you will marry a millionaire are not good: 215-to-1. They’re 60,000-to-1 that you’ll wed royalty and 88,000to-1 that you’ll date a model. After analyzing your astrological omens for the coming months, I suspect your chances of achieving these feats will be even lower than usual. That’s because you’re far more likely to cultivate synergistic and symbiotic relationships with people who enrich your soul and stimulate your imagination, but don’t necessarily pump up your ego. Instead of models and millionaires, you’re likely to connect with practical idealists, energetic creators, and emotionally intelligent people who’ve done work to transmute their own darkness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): What might you do to

take better care of yourself in 2018, Virgo? According to my reading of the astrological omens, this will be a fertile meditation for you to keep revisiting. Here’s a good place to start: Consider the possibility that you have a lot to learn about what makes your body operate at peak efficiency and what keeps your soul humming along with the sense that your life is interesting. Here’s another crucial task: Intensify your love for yourself.

With that as a driving force, you’ll be led to discover the actions necessary to supercharge your health. P.S. Now is an ideal time to get this project underway.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Here are themes I suggest you specialize in during the coming weeks.

1. How to gossip in ways that don’t diminish and damage your social network, but rather foster

and enhance it. 2. How to be in three places at once without committing the mistake of being nowhere at all. 3. How to express precisely what you mean without losing your attractive mysteriousness. 4. How to be nosy and brash for fun and profit. 5. How to unite and harmonize the parts of yourself and your life that have been at odds with each other.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I predict that in

the coming months you won’t feel compulsions to set your adversaries’ hair on fire. You won’t fantasize about robbing banks to raise the funds you need, nor will you be tempted to worship the devil. And the news just gets better. I expect that the amount of self-sabotage you commit will be close to zero. The monsters under your bed will go on a long sabbatical. Any lame excuses you have used in the past to justify bad behavior will melt away. And you’ll mostly avoid indulging in bouts of irrational and unwarranted anger. In conclusion, Scorpio, your life should be pretty evil-free for quite some time. What will you do with this prolonged outburst of grace? Use it wisely!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “What

is love?” asks philosopher Richard Smoley.

“It’s come to have a greeting-card quality,” he mourns. “Half the time ‘loving’ someone is taken to mean nurturing a warmish feeling in the heart for them, which mysteriously evaporates the moment the person has some concrete need or irritates us.” One of your key assignments in the next ten months will be to purge any aspects of this shrunken and shriveled kind of love that may still be lurking in your beautiful soul. You are primed to cultivate an unprecedented new embodiment of mature, robust love.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You know that

unfinished task you have half-avoided, allowing it to stagnate? Soon you’ll be able to summon the gritty determination required to complete it. I suspect you’ll also be able to carry out the glorious rebirth you’ve been shy about climaxing.

To gather the energy you need, reframe your perspective so that you can feel gratitude for the failure or demise that has made your glorious rebirth necessary and inevitable.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In an ideal world,

your work and your character would speak for themselves. You’d receive exactly the amount of recognition and appreciation you deserve. You wouldn’t have to devote as much intelligence to selling yourself as you did to developing your skills in the first place. But now forget everything I just said. During the next ten months, I predict that packaging and promoting yourself won’t be so #$@&%*! important. Your work and character WILL speak for themselves with more vigor and clarity than they have before.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There used to

be a booth at a Santa Cruz flea market called “Joseph Campbell’s Love Child.” It was named after the mythological scholar who wrote the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The booth’s proprietor sold items that spurred one’s “heroic journey,” like talismans made to order and herbs that stimulated courage and mini-books with personalized advice based on one’s horoscope. “Chaos-Tamers” were also for sale. They were magic spells designed to help people manage the messes that crop up in one’s everyday routine while pursuing a heroic quest. Given the current astrological omens, Pisces, you would benefit from a place that sold items like these. Since none exists, do the next best thing: Aggressively drum up all the help and inspiration you need. You can and should be well-supported as you follow your dreams on your hero’s journey.

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.

Becoming coach In our first year at Jesuit High School, I got cut from the freshman basketball team while Akachi Okugo made varsity. As a senior in 2012, he started on the Jesuit team that went to the section championship game, where they fell just short.

After he graduated, he racked up all-state honors at Yuba College before transferring to Division I Grand Canyon University, then finishing at California State University, San Marcos. Now, through a happy coincidence, Okugo works as a player development coordinator for the Sacramento Kings. It may not be what he imagined for himself as a kid, but it’s not bad for a first job out of college.

What do you appreciate most about devoting yourself to basketball?

Just putting your time and effort into a craft and then watching it unfold into something that you’ve always wanted. So even though I didn’t go to the NBA, and that was always a dream of mine, I still got to see different countries playing basketball, got to play at a high level in Division I, got to meet people I would have never met in my life, so I’m grateful for that.

When did you know you wouldn’t be playing professionally?

I didn’t even plan to go away from playing pro. It just kinda happened when I didn’t have any contract offers. The Kings brought the new coaching staff in and knew my trainer real well. They asked if he knew anybody who wanted to do the player development role and he referred me. And I haven’t looked back since.

Are you happy to have a job in basketball?

It’s a blessing. When a lot of people are done playing, it’s hard to get back into hoops, at least at a high level. So I was blessed to be able to be back at a high level with the best players in the world, like, right out of college. That hardly happens. I’m the youngest person on the coaching staff by many years. I have no complaints. But if you asked me after college if I would be where I am now, this would not be what I’d say.

Is it weird being a coach?

Most definitely. I knew a couple [players] before I started working because we had the same trainer or I played with or against them, so that fact is kinda hard.

But at the end of the day, I think I’m at peace now with myself and my career. I

PHOTO by jasmine lazO

Do guys change what they do if they’re struggling?

can honestly look myself in the mirror and say, “You know what, I gave all I got, and if that’s all God had for me, then hey, so be it.”

How hard is it to play at that level?

What you see on TV doesn’t even do it justice. It looks easy on TV, but those guys put in countless hours of work. Time away from their families, friends, etc. It’s a big sacrifice. It’s a whole different level that the normal viewer can’t even imagine, unless you’re actually in it. The speed of play is so fast at the next level. You’re expected to make open shots. That’s what you get paid to do. But when you got guys who are 6’8” with a 7’4” wingspan running at you, trying to alter your shot, it’s difficult. It’s not easy to be an NBA player.

They play 82 games, including playoffs.

And their offseason isn’t that long. It’s a constant wear-and-tear on your body.

What are practices like?

On practice days, a lot of the guys come in by 9:30. Practice at 11:30 usually goes about two hours. Then after that, they got to deal with the media for 20 minutes.

Then, if you’re putting up extra shots, it’s damn near a 9-to-5, except it’s just straight physical labor.

How many shots are they putting up?

Hundreds. If it’s an off day, it’s thousands.

Especially if you’re not in the rotation or playing a lot, those guys get extra work in.

The guys are constantly getting their shots up because it’s their job now.

They do double the reps. If a guy has a bad game, we’re in the gym after the game or early the next morning, getting confidence shots up. If you’re a good shooter, you want to get as many shots up as possible, but a lot of it is based on how you do in the game, so a lot of it is mental.

You have a brother playing in the MLS, how do you see yourself in relation to that?

I’ve been grateful to have a brother that successful, and where I see myself with it now is, everyone is going to go through their own trials and tribulations to become who they are. So what you’re doing now doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where you’re going to be in the next couple years.

Anything else you’re working on?

I have a documentary that I’m in the process of shooting called So What’s Next? … It’s about what athletes go through in how they transition to the next phase of their life. If they’re done after college or if their pro career ends short, or if they have a long pro career, what do they want to do after? I’m shooting next weekend. Ω

The sacramento Kings’ next home game is sunday, December 10, against the Toronto Raptors. Get tickets at nba.com/kings/tickets.

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