s-2018-12-06

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eviction crisis in tHe suburbs

20

punks in pictures

51

legally blind no more

Here’s wHat 70 Hours of body-cam footage taugHt us about policing in sacramento

By Raheem F. hosseini Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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Volume 30, iSSue 34

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Page 14 thurSday, december 6, 2018

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newSreView.com

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EditoR’S NotE

dEcEmbER 06, 2018 | Vol. 30, iSSuE 34

21 SN R SN&

gift guidE

22 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 Foon Rhee News Editor Raheem F. Hosseini Managing Editor Mozes Zarate Staff Reporter Scott Thomas Anderson Copy Editor Steph Rodriguez Calendar Editor Maxfield Morris Contributing Editor Rachel Leibrock Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Amy Bee, Rob Brezsny, Skye Cabrera, Aaron Carnes, Jim Carnes, Maia Paras Evrigenis, Joey Garcia, Kate Gonzales, Becky Grunewald, Howard Hardee, Ashley Hayes-Stone, Jim Lane, Ken Magri, Rachel Mayfield,

24 James Raia, Patti Roberts, Steph Rodriguez, Shoka, Stephanie Stiavetti, Dylan Svoboda, Bev Sykes, Graham Womack Creative Services Manager Christopher Terrazas Editorial Designers Maria Ratinova, Sarah Hansel Publications Designer Katelynn Mitrano Web Design & Strategist Elisabeth Bayard-Arthur Ad Designer Naisi Thomas Contributing Photographers Becky Grunewald

Advertising Manager Michael Gelbman Sales & Production Coordinator Skyler Morris Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Kelsi White

Advertising Consultants Taleish Daniels, Mark Kates, Anthony Madrid, Michael Nero, Rodrigo Ramirez Director of First Impressions/Sweetdeals Coordinator Reid Fowler Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Assistant Lob Dunnica Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Beatriz

PAGE 28

34 Fetterley, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Joanna Kelly Hopkins, Kenneth James, Julian Lang, Calvin Maxwell, Greg Meyers, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan, Carlton Singleton, Viv Tiqui

N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Laura Hillen N&R Publications Editorial Team Anne Stokes Marketing & Publications Consultants Steve Caruso, Joseph Engle, Traci Hukill, Elizabeth Morabito, Luke Roling, Celeste Worden

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Director of People & Culture David Stogner Nuts & Bolts Ninja Norma Huerta Director of Dollars & Sense Debbie Mantoan Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Hansen Accounts Receivable Specialist Analie Foland Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins

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I still remember my first interview with Kevin Johnson. In the mayor’s office at City Hall, he went on, and on, about his vision to make Sacramento a cool place like Los Angeles, even a “world-class city”—so much longer than I expected that I got a parking ticket.

Since that talk in early 2010, the Golden 1 Center has opened, downtown development has picked up and shiny condo buildings have risen all over Midtown. So maybe some of K.J.’s vision is becoming reality.

Sacramento is attracting Bay Area transplants, trendy millennials and other newcomers, and it’s growing and changing.

But there are also longtime residents in established neighborhoods, still the city’s backbone in many ways. There are people in poorer, disenfranchised communities that are not sharing in the prosperity. And in all these places, there are different problems, priorities and views of what should happen next.

The challenge—and maybe the secret to Sacramento’s success—is to bridge these differences so all of us move forward, together.

To do that, it’s crucial to make sure all viewpoints get heard. We’ll do our part: In the months ahead, SN&R will become an expanded forum for these voices.

One way is through essays and commentaries from residents and readers on local issues. You won’t get paid, but you will get your name in the paper and get to express your views in public.

Submissions should be about 500 words and cannot have been published; timely, topical and, of course, well-written pieces will get preference. They can be sent directly to me at foonr@newsreview.com. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

—fOON RhEE

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“IT jusT feels lIke you’re noT even In your oWn counTry.”

asKed at los Jarritos on Broadway:

Will President Trump be impeached in the next two years?

Chelse a Keol a

ed Basurto

bank teller

retired firefighter

I’m just going to say I hope so. I don’t really have much else to say, just I really hope for it.

I hope so. Just the turmoil that’s happened with the division of people in the country. It just feels like you’re not even in your own country.

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computer engineer

Yep, if he doesn’t soften his stance on a lot of stuff. Just because if you look at kind of all the issues that are happening now … it seems like it’s getting worse.

Q:

susan str aChan

truck driver

I don’t think within the next two years, but I think if he gets re-elected, I think the Senate will change and he will be impeached in his second term.

?

steele GoodMan

project manager

construction worker

I do not think he’ll be impeached. I don’t think the Democrats will take that on because they don’t want to alienate his voters any more than they already have.

Impeached, no. Just because he’s got so much influence. I mean, worldwide influence. But I don’t think he’ll get reelected, either.

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Whither local media?

Re: “After they leave,” by Mozes Zarate (Editor’s Note, November 22): Connecting donors with reputable charities is the role of local media. Publishing the names of those who are missing, is the role of local media.

Publishing the names of those who have passed, is the role of local media. Making timely information accessible, is the role of local media. I have been completely disgusted that Sacramento Bee has chosen to keep its paywall up and intact, making it difficult for timely, helpful information to be locked behind a $13.99/month paywall. Profiting from a major disaster, like the Camp Fire, is not the role of local media.

sierra summers s acr am en t o v i a s act ol et t er s @ n ew s r ev i ew . co m

To transform Citrus Heights Re: “The burbs’ political brawl,”

by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 22): It’s striking that Porsche Middleton has broken a nearly two-decade-long, rigid freeze on policy access in Citrus Heights in hopes of a new vitalization in the community. She represents the new wave of national, state and local women with engaged and caring voices who have arisen to reject the domination of Trump and the 1 percent elitist control that is crushing middle- and lower-income folks.

Citrus Heights is progressively threatened as its nearly two-decade-old rigid political leadership and small interest groups stifle its economy and genuine democracy. Middleton’s refreshing position on rent control recognizes the need for flexible and accommodating dialogue.

The city has a champion to invite a new confidence among diverse, elder and poorer voters. What is essential for Citrus Heights voters is to continue to build on her election to add more heartful, “mom” political leaders to the City Council and other key community governing bodies so that they truly represent the public’s day-to-day needs and lives.

William Bronston Ca r mic h a e l v i a s a c t o l e t t e rs @ne w s re v ie w.c o m

Re-examine the Delta Re: “Threat below the surface,”

by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, November 22): It seems that this entire article should have examined the network of siphons and intakes in the Delta, which I’d imagine could either be poorly maintained or improperly overseen. Yet,

instead, it was used as a piece to exacerbate existing criticism of California WaterFix. Although the WaterFix process has not been entirely transparent, it has produced models in how intakes are clearly visible above the water line and intend to work. adam Horn sa c r a me nto v ia Fa c e b o o k

read more letters online at newsreview .com/sacramento.

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

Just say yes Re: “Commit and shift,”

by Joey Garcia (Ask Joey, November 29): Men always say they like it when women ask them out. I’ve been asking for 45 years, and 100 percent of men have said, “No.” Maybe you should be the one who actually says “yes” when a woman makes the first move.

@SacNewsReview

Karen CampBell s a c r a me nto v ia Fa c e b o o k

12.06.18

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SN&R

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5

Eliza Deed sits on the steps of her apartment complex, The Trees at Madison, in Carmichael.

Beyond the borders Housing advocates get active amid eviction crisis in suburbs of Sacramento County

by Scott thomaS anderSon

Eliza Deed says it’s a cold winter for those caught up in Sacramento County’s housing crisis.

In October, Deed paid the rent for her Carmichael apartment as usual.

Deed’s complex, The Trees at Madison, had recently been purchased by Pearl Investment Company. Deed accidentally made her money order out to Pearl Investment Group, rather than Pearl Investment Company. It was sent back to her, marked as a nonpayment. Deed says she made a correction on the money order, initialed it and put it back in the management’s drop box the same night.

6 | SN&R | 12.06.18

Three days later, Deed was served with an eviction notice.

Panicked, the 28-year-old called her bank and the money order company, Money Gram. Both companies told her the corrected payment she’d dropped off was valid—a cashable check.

At the same time, Deed was still dealing with a fire that broke out in the wall of her apartment in mid-September. A month later, the damaged Sheetrock and electrical wires still hadn’t been fixed.

Now, Deed was being told she’d be the one facing lawyers. It was that or get out of her unit.

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

Deed posted a video on Facebook about the incident, which got the attention of the recently formed Sacramento Tenants Union. The tenants union reached out and offered to help Deed host “a community share event” at her complex where other tenants could tell their stories. Deed says that led to her identifying at least five other families who were being evicted for reasons that they contest.

Pearl Investment Company co-owner Darryn Begun denies this, telling SN&R that he’s only evicted four tenants since last summer and that no tenants are currently facing legal proceedings. His definition

Photo by Scott thomaS anderSon

of being evicted is whether he’s filed an unlawful detainer action against them.

Pearl also contends his bank wouldn’t take Deed’s original money order.

After Deed’s Facebook video started getting shares, property management at The Trees backed off from evicting her.

That hasn’t stopped Deed from trying to get to the bottom of why so many of her neighbors say they’re being forced out of the complex.

In an October 31 letter to tenants, Begun strongly denied he had engaged in serial evictions, writing that his team actively works to “avoid the eviction process where possible.” Begun also noted that his company has not levied any rent hikes since taking over. However, in the same letter, Begun claimed that his company never served Deed with an eviction notice.

Deed provided SN&R with a copy of an eviction notice that was issued to her on October 16.

Deed says those mixed signals from Pearl Investment are why tenants don’t trust the company’s letters promising there’s no eviction “epidemic” going on.

Bail reform thrown into douBt See newS

09

trump getS Something right aBout fireS See newS

11

what to do with a dem Supermajority See greenlight

13

beatS

death in the open Deed plans to stay involved in organizing with her neighbors.

That’s a trend that could be picking up momentum across Sacramento County as the housing crisis worsens. And while developers and apartment owners claimed an Election Day victory by defeating a statewide initiative to allow expanded local housing control, advocates say the battle to help working-class tenants and prevent wide-scale displacement is just heating up here. inside Sacramento’s city limits, advocates have qualified a rent control measure and tenants bill of rights for the 2020 ballot.

But even if that measure passes, it won’t help those being evicted from The Trees, nor anyone seeking tenant protections in Carmichael, nor anyone who lives in the county. That matters: Data suggests the rental crisis is a countywide phenomenon.

Between 2015 and 2017, nearly 23,000 people from across Sacramento County went to court to fight an eviction, figures that don’t include people who didn’t have the time, money or will to contest their case.

Special software developed by Princeton University indicates that, in 2016, the city of Sacramento averaged five evictions per day, while the county averaged 15. The program found that North Highlands had an eviction rate nearly five times the state average. That’s what drove North Highlands renter Shaun Dillon to join the Sacramento Tenants Union when it formed last winter.

“The big thing people don’t hear about is that there is a crisis in the county, too,” Dillon said. “The eviction rates are far above the city, and the amount of tenants who are spending more than half their income on rent is higher there, too.”

Dillon and other members of the Tenants Union held a know-your-rights meeting inside Deed’s apartment on November 29. The gathering was open to renters throughout the county. The keynote speaker was Lora Grevious, an attorney for the Sacramento Justice League who handles wrongful eviction cases.

The Tenants Union is putting on a Tenants Taking Action forum at 7 p.m. on December 11 at the Arcade-Dimick public library. Dillon said that evening will focus on how to approach county supervisors about tenant relief, as the group tries to build a movement across the county.

“The unincorporated county is huge and has a ton of people, and we really intend to be there to support them,” stressed Tenants Union member Kitty Bolte. “We’re looking at establishing a hotline that locals can call when they have questions about their rights.

At the moment, there’s a hotline which goes Housing advocates and the mayor were to Tenants Together in the Bay Area, but trying to see if some compromise could be it’s complicated for people in Sacramento reached with the apartment and real estate who call looking for information, because a lobbies, and then rapidly passed through lot of the cities in the Bay have rent control the City Council. Advocates now believe or just-cause eviction laws, and we just the mayor’s mission was undermined when don’t have anything like that.” council members Rick Jennings, Steve Deed says it has been difficult to get Hansen and Eric Guerra went another direcfellow tenants in her complex to share their tion, introducing the Tenant Protection and eviction stories publicly, though she hopes Relief Act. by organizing with the Tenants Union That competing proposal had its first they’ll see they are not alone. public hearing October 23 before the “They’ve been extremely supportive council’s Law and Legislative Committee. of me,” Deed said of the organization. “It Jennings’ chief of staff, Dennis Rogers, helps to know that you’re said the measure requires that anytime not the only one going a tenant’s rent is raised by 6 through it, and that percent or more, that person “The even people who has the right to nonbinding big thing aren’t going through mediation with their landpeople don’t hear it understand your lord at McGeorge School pain and want to of Law. The initiative about is that there is help you fight the also includes funding for a crisis in the county, situation. I have tenants’ rights outreach, too.” a football team along with regulatory of supporters, and streamlining to encourage Shaun Dillon I’m blessed to have the building of more affordmember, Sacramento them.” able units. The trio pushing Tenants Union For his part, Begun the measure wants it to sunset says he has no issue with the in three years. organizing at his complex.

“We’ve been trying to figure out “I don’t have a problem with tenants responses to the issues that tenants are taking an interest in the property that they facing that are meaningful, can be done live in,” he said. “As long as they’re respon- quickly and don’t involve a big war,” sible, I’m fine with it.”

Hansen said during the hearing.

Councilman Jeff Harris praised the meanwhile, rising rents and combative effort. “I think this is an important bridge politics are intensifying in the city of to get us to that point where the market Sacramento. stabilizes,” he said.

According to Sacramento Self Help But Tamie Dramer of the Sacramento Housing, a nonprofit working to prevent Central Labor Council, which is supporthomelessness, its assistance line has ing the 2020 ballot measure, challenged received 10,359 calls in the last three years, the proposal. with a large portion about rent hikes and “People want and need real relief from evictions. During that time frame, renters in rent gouging,” Dramer said. “Basically, the city were hit with some of the highest this is meaningless.” annual rent hikes in the nation. That’s why The City Council could vote on the a coalition of housing and labor groups Tenant Protection and Relief Act as say they’re moving full-steam ahead with early as this month. Michelle Pariset of bringing the Sacramento Renter Protection the Housing 4 Sacramento coalition told and Community Stabilization Charter SN&R that advocates are campaigning Amendment to the 2020 ballot. hard for the rent control and special If passed, the measure mandates protections on the ballot in 2020. She said that annual rent increases be capped Sacramentans won’t be fooled by what at the consumer index price, between she views as a political stunt.

2 percent to 5 percent. It also stops “It’s perfect to look like something no-cause evictions and establishes that’s helping, but it does nothing for the a rental control board comprised of crisis, and its purpose is to undermine publicly elected members. The measure the rent stabilization campaign,” Pariset would amount to muscular tenant said of the Tenant Protection and Relief protections, but the severity of the Act. “They didn’t even talk to any of the housing crisis did temporarily bring its housing advocates when they engineered authors to the negotiating table with this, which tells you everything you need Mayor Darrell Steinberg. to know.” Ω

Every year, dozens of people die on the streets of Sacramento.

The annual memorial service for those who were lost comes months after confirmation of an especially grim 2017.

In late August, the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness reported that 124 homeless people died in the county last year. This marked a 75 percent increase from 2016 and the highest total since at least 2003.

The report attributed the increase to factors such as a lack of affordable housing and emergency shelter. It noted more than 2,000 unsheltered homeless being counted last year, more than twice the number in 2015.

Once people are on the streets, they have exponentially higher odds of calamity. The report noted that local homeless residents faced a mortality rate 4.7 times higher than the general public last year, as well as a suicide rate 14.7 times higher and a homicide rate 23.4 times higher.

The dead included 56-year-old Randy Koroush, who served as a volunteer groundskeeper at the state Capitol for more than 20 years before dying in February 2017. Koroush’s 82-year-old father James told SN&R that his son had pneumonia, leaving him with only one working lung. Koroush collapsed near Richards Boulevard and was later taken off life support after his other lung failed.

James said his son had been a Boy Scout, Little League baseball player and, later, a Raley’s office employee before becoming homeless “by choice.” While this choice mystified relatives, whose help Randy declined, James said his son worked hard while tending the Capitol grounds.

“I’m told that he was there before the groundskeepers ever got there every morning,” James said.

The city continues to look at ways to deal with the homeless crisis, with Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s office announcing Monday that a North Sacramento triage shelter will remain open through mid-July.

Bob Erlenbusch, who assembles the homeless death report each year, would like to see the city go a step further, saying, “We need to bring all homeless people inside, i.e. ‘a bed for every head.’” (Graham Womack)

dueling realitieS A new independent report found that California’s arrest rates have reached a historic low and are roughly correlated to the continued trend of falling crime rates.

The analysis also attributed the drop in part to large-scale sentencing reforms. It was issued just one week after California’s main victims advocacy organization authored a scathing op-ed in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle about those very changes.

The report was compiled by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan research center that has been tracking crime rates across the 58 counties since 2012. The PPIC’s new report indicates that arrest rates in California have fallen to 3,428 per 100,000 residents, a 58 percent drop since 1989.

“The past four decades have seen tremendous change in the criminal justice landscape in California,” wrote Magnus Lofstrom, a coauthor of the report.

Among Lofstrom’s findings is that racial disparities in arrests have narrowed slightly.

The PPIC said it currently has research underway that will examine more closely what factors have caused the arrest rates to plummet. (Scott Thomas Anderson)

12.06.18 | SN&R | 7

building a

HealtHy

Sacramento

A Voice in Community Planning

by Edgar SanchEz

Choices made by city planners affect the health of people in those cities.

environmental hazards,” according to a summary of SB 1000.

Consider, for example, that people’s life spans have been linked to their ZIP code.

“Environmental justice means we have to make sure all community members have a voice that’s strong enough to be heard by decision makers,” Cole said in January. “It’s our turn to shape how our communities are going to change.”

“If you live in Oak Park, your life expectancy is much lower than if you live in Curtis Park,” said Jackie Cole, an environmental justice consultant.

“We’re trying to close that gap.”

Cole considers herself a liaison between local government decision makers and residents in disadvantaged communities.

This year, she took on her biggest mission — ensuring that marginalized communities in Sacramento have a voice in shaping brighter futures for themselves during the general plan update process.

The City of Sacramento and Sacramento County began updating their respective general plans earlier this year. General Plans, referred to as GPs, set guidelines for future growth and address things like land use, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. Cole is assisting in the process as part of The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Initiative.

Her hiring was critical. Both city and county announced that for the first time, they would craft environmental justice (EJ) components, which are required by Senate Bill 1000 whenever jurisdictions revise multiple elements of their GPs. Victimized by “inappropriate land use,” disadvantaged communities “bear a disproportionate burden of pollution and

“It’S our turn to ShaPE how our communItIES arE goIng to changE.” Jackie cole Environmental justice consultant

Parts of SB 1000 took effect Jan. 1, including a provision that cities and counties listen to lowincome communities during GP revisions.

“Decisions made in GP updates are a matter of life and death for the communities we serve,” said Veronica Beaty of Sacramento Housing Alliance.

Cole has investigated the priorities of underserved communities, knowing that ongoing talks between local government and residents regarding GPs will intensify in 2019, as the city gets started on its two-year update process. “For BHC, the priorities are healthy food access, youth engagement and community development,” she said.

Her firm, Veritable Good Consulting, will communicate the yet-to-be-set dates of

The General Plans of Sacramento City and Sacramento County are being updated. Input from local residents is crucial, according to Veronica Beaty of Sacramento Housing Alliance, at left, and Jackie Cole, environmental justice consultant.

Photo by Edgar Sanche

upcoming GP meetings in the city and county.

Interested parties should self-subscribe to Sacramento County’s email update list for meeting notifications at http://www.per. saccounty.net/PlansandProjectsIn-Progress/ Pages/Environmental-Justice-Element.aspx Sacramento County completed Phase 1 of its EJ Element Update in May. Phase 2 will involve much more “robust public outreach and conversations” with the county’s EJ communities, including North Vineyard, North Highlands, West Arden-Arcade and South Sacramento, said Todd Smith, principal planner for the county’s Office of Planning and Environmental Review.

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 8 | SN&R | 12.06.18

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.

For more info on the EJ campaign, e-mail jackie@vgconsulting.org www.SacBHC.org

Average daily population

58.3%

1,811.7

of the jail pop is un-sentenced

inmates

1,056.1

Average un-sentenced population

inmates

Through the first six months of 2018, more than half of the local jail population was behind bars while presumed innocent.

source: bureau of state and community corrections

illustration by maria ratinova

Inmate until proven guilty As bail reform faces an uncertain future in California, innocent people spend more than a month in Sacramento’s jail

by Raheem F. hosseini

If a statewide push to end California’s cash bail system survives a referendum plot, Sacramento County probation and court officials plan on being ready.

Planning efforts are already underway to prepare for the implementation of Senate Bill 10, which would replace the state’s money bail system with assessments meant to determine which defendants can be released from jail prior to trial and which ones are considered too risky to let go.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 10 in August, after a protracted campaign that split criminal justice reformers over the details of the legislation. Now that it’s law, though, SB 10 is under siege from other groups, namely a bail bond industry that doesn’t want to see its profession obliterated because lawmakers no longer

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

think freedom should favor only those who can afford it.

More than two-thirds of jail inmates in the state are behind bars because they can’t afford bail or are considered public safety or flight risks, Chief Probation Officer Lee Seale told the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on November 6.

“Meaning they are people who have been arrested for a crime but have not been convicted of a crime,” Seale added.

Data collected by the Board of State and Community Corrections and analyzed

by SN&R shows that Sacramento County’s aging jails are glutted with people who are presumed innocent. Through the first six months of this year, 58 percent of the approximately 1,800 people in county lockup on a daily basis had yet to be

sentenced. That percentage has remained static for more than two years.

County officials have been warned about the impacts of a majority pretrial detainee population before. According to a county-ordered review of the local jail system, released in November 2016, pretrial defendants have spilled into a second jail intended for convicted inmates.

“The number of pretrial offenders in the jail system exceeds the capacity of the Main Jail, resulting in the placement of a large pretrial population at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC),” the Sacramento County Adult Correctional System Review stated. “RCCC originally was the County’s primary facility to house sentenced inmates. As a result of crowding at the Main Jail, approximately 1/3 of the current population is now made up of pretrial offenders.”

One of the reasons for the high pretrial jail population, the report found, is inflated bail amounts based on the offenses someone was arrested for, not the offenses they are ultimately charged with. That’s translated into innocent people spending more than a month behind bars: People who are released without charges still spent an average of 32.5 days in jail, the review found. Those who had their cases dismissed in court averaged more than 39 days in custody.

While judges are responsible for setting bail amounts, they rely heavily on the recommendations of district attorneys, who opposed bail reform through their statewide association. If SB 10 survives the threatened referendum, DA’s offices around the state will still influence how it’s implemented in their counties.

Under the new law, most people arrested for misdemeanors will be automatically released form jail within 12 hours unless they’re accused of one of 10 serious misdemeanors that would force an assessment.

Anyone arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor will be assessed within 24 hours of being booked into jail to determine if they’re a low-, medium- or highrisk of committing a crime or fleeing while released. Past convictions, missed court dates and other factors would be considered, Seale explained, and those who are released could be subjected to electronic monitoring, drug tests, workplace visits, court date reminders and other safeguards.

What isn’t supposed to be part of the standardized assessment process is bias, implicit or otherwise. The Judicial Council of California is currently devising the assessment tool, and Seale indicated local

jurisdictions will provide feedback, as well as be able to shape the tool’s local use based on data, like if Sacramento County defendants are more likely to show up for court than their counterparts elsewhere.

It’s in the broad category of mediumrisk where elected DAs will have most sway. Seale explained that the legislation gave local DAs the power to file preventative detention motions to the court regarding medium-risk defendants, in effect opposing their release despite what the assessment concludes. Depending on how hardline a DA is, bail reform could prove even more restrictive than the current system, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have warned.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly, the court’s executive officer, doesn’t think that will happen.

“I believe there will be significantly fewer” people in jail custody, he told supervisors last week.

Signature-gatherers announced on November 20 that they had gathered enough John and Jane Hancocks to qualify their referendum for the 2020 ballot, which would freeze the law until voters have their say. That doesn’t mean bail reform will be put off another two years, however.

Several California courts, including the state’s highest, are reviewing cases challenging the existence of money bail, Seale noted.

“It is one of several possibilities that the California Supreme Court through a court decision could effectively mandate some kind of limitation on the use of money bail in California,” Seale told supervisors.

In the meantime, there’s prep work to do at the local level. The county is due $200,000 in one-time state monies to start setting up a local program to conduct pretrial assessments and supervision of defendants, with a matching amount of start-up money coming from the general fund.

Bail reform can’t come quickly enough for Sacramento. Right now, Judge Connelly explained, he and his fellow judges are hamstrung into making decisions about defendants’ liberty that “are inherently conservative.” The veteran magistrate shared that his decisions to take away a young person’s freedom have haunted him even more than the life sentences he’s handed down.

“No one likes to lock up people that [we] don’t need to lock up. We’re doing that now. Just because we don’t know,” Connelly said. “And like you, we’re unsure of the path. … But it is coming. And it’s coming because it’s needed.” Ω

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On the ground, in the air Why unlocking the potential of California’s varied landscapes is critical for the state’s climate goals

by Howard Hardee

7 percent of its 2050 climate goals via natural soluLike many of President Trump’s untruths, his hamtions, while also experiencing—and this is imporfisted assertion that Butte County’s Camp Fire tant—co-benefits such as cleaner air and water. This and other deadly California blazes are the result of may not sound like huge reductions, but actually it’s “gross mismanagement of the forests” contained a 2.5 times the emissions reductions expected from sliver of accurate information. the residential and commercial sectors combined.”

Never mind that he mistook the town of State officials are increasingly looking at land Paradise for “Pleasure” during a tour of the disaster management as an important piece of California’s area with frequent foil Gov. Jerry Brown. There climate change strategy. In September, Brown is, in fact, a science-based argument for thinning signed an executive order committing to carbon California’s overgrown forests with prescribed fire neutrality by 2045 and negative emissions by 2050. and sustainable lumber harvesting—which Brown In response, the California Air Resources Board is supports. Because not only would reducing the developing a plan to turn the landscape into a reliwoodland fuel load reduce the immediate risk of catastrophic fires, it would eventually reduce carbon able carbon sink.

The board heard an update on the Natural and dioxide emissions from the state’s forests.

Working Lands Implementation Plan on November “There’s a broad scientific consensus that we 16. Mary Nichols, chairwoman of CARB, need to make forests more resilient to these said that the state is headed in the [wildfires], but also reduce the risk for wrong direction regarding emissions. people,” said Dick Cameron, director The Because it takes decades to physiof science for the California chapeffects of cally change a landscape, she ter of the Nature Conservancy. argued that “action now is criti“Think of it in those terms first, climate change cal to achieving the long-term and then think of it as a climatehave turned gains our natural environment mitigation strategy second.”

California’s landbase can provide.”

Cameron is co-author of Historically, the landscape “Toward a Carbon Neutral into a source of CO2, has helped regulate our climate California: Economic and rather than a by removing CO2 from the atmoClimate Benefits of Land Use sink. sphere and storing it as carbon in soil Interventions,” a new study toutand wood. But the effects of climate ing the potential climate benefits of change—namely, the rise of catastrophic stepping up land management practices in wildfires and unprecedented tree mortality due to forestry and farming. He worked with Michelle drought and bark beetles—have turned California’s Passero, a senior climate policy adviser with the land base into a source of CO2, rather than a sink.

Nature Conservancy, and researchers from UC CARB’s data indicates that 170 million metric tons Santa Barbara and Bowdoin College, on behalf of of carbon entered the atmosphere from 2001 to Next 10, a group funded by venture capitalist and 2014, primarily due to wildfires. philanthropist F. Noel Perry.

The public comment period for the Natural and The researchers modeled the ability of forests, Working Lands Implementation Plan is open until farms and range lands to store carbon and cut December 10. The plan is set to to be finalized by greenhouse gas emissions. They found that stratethe end of the year. Cameron, Passero and Perry gies such as proactively thinning forests, planting hope their research informs CARB’s final product trees after wildfires, restoring wetlands and avoidand ultimately results in on-the-ground changes in ing land development for housing and commercial land management. buildings would provide enormous climate benefits.

“California’s natural lands could actually So, too, would reducing agricultural tillage (overturning soil) and increased cover-cropping (growing lead to more emissions if nothing is done to increase resiliency in the face of climate in the off season rather than leaving soil bare). change,” Perry said. Ω These wide-ranging practices could cumulatively prevent some 260 million metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere by 2050.

Web extra: For more on the climate effects of urbanization, “That’s about the same amount of pollution find an extended version of this story at newsreview.com/ produced by 65 coal plants,” Perry said. “So, what sacramento. this means is that the state can meet between 5 and

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What now?

Here are my ideas. Tell me yours. by jeff vonkaenel

The Democrats have taken back the U.S. House. In California, Democrats now have a super majority in both the Assembly and the Senate. In Sacramento, we have a Democratic majority on the City Council and the county Board of Supervisors. And of course, we have a super-smart Democratic mayor.

So it is time to turn our attention away from what we are against and toward the much more important question of what we stand for. Here are my ideas.

The Democratic House should begin proposing a progressive agenda for America, even if it is blocked by the Republican Senate and our orange-haired president. We need an increase in the federal minimum wage. We should roll back the Bush and Trump tax cuts for the rich, so we can fund a trillion-dollar federal infrastructure bill for bridges, water treatment and transportation. We should reduce weapons programs. We should approach the drug crisis as a health problem, not a criminal justice problem. And speaking of drugs, we should immediately pass legislation that allows the federal government, as in every other industrialized country, to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

At the state level, we need to help build more housing by removing zoning obstacles and easing NIMBY restrictions. We need to reform Proposition 13, first by establishing a split roll that requires commercial properties to pay more and second by adjusting residential property tax rates to reduce the inequality that results in one homeowner paying 10 times more than their neighbor for the same government services. The revenue raised can fund new housing and reduce development fees.

We need to fix our broken criminal justice system. The recently passed state law on bail reform is an excellent start. We need shorter, more rational

j e ffv @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

sentences. And when we do lock people up, we need to prepare them to return to society with job training and education. Let’s put a greater focus on white-collar and corporate crimes, such as minimum wage violations, environmental damage and financial fraud. Maybe we need a “three strikes” law for bankers.

We must put “affordable” into the Affordable Care Act. We should be paying for successful health outcomes, rather than paying for procedures.

Other countries have demonstrated how to have cost-effective universal health care. We can do this, too.

On a local level, we need to enable Sacramento residents to get from point A to point B easily and cheaply without owning a car. This will require a multi-faceted approach, including community electric bicycles, enhanced public transportation with more funding and routes, denser housing near transit centers and ride-share programs that coordinate with public transportation. Most of us work several months out of the year just to support our car habit.

With the best utility company in the country right here in Sacramento, we could become the most environmentally advanced city in the country.

We should offer incentives to buy electric cars, convert more of our food waste into energy and fertilizer, adopt more energy conservation measures and create our own renewable energy.

We should become a world leader in developing green businesses that can get their start serving the Sacramento market.

These are my ideas. I would love to hear what you think we should do and how we can pay for it. Send me an email at jeffv@newsreview.com. Ω

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Here’S WHAT 70 HOurS Of BODyCAM fOOTAge TAugHT uS ABOuT POliCing in SACrAMenTO.

7

by raheem F. hoSSeini

raheemh@newsreview.com

deadly leSSonS Seventy hourS, 25 minuteS and 56 SecondS. That’s how much video footage the Sacramento Police Department has released to the public in an unprecedented show of arm-twisted transparency since January 11, 2017.

That’s after Joseph Mann changed everything—but before Stephon Clark changed everything again.

The release of body-cam video was supposed to ease the doubts, the questions, the agonizing debate about officer conduct in California’s agenda-setting capital. But elected officials were also playing catch-up.

14 | SN&R | 12.06.18

Smartphones are everywhere, turning each bystander into a potential documentarian.

Often, the footage on social media corroborated what communities of color have been accused of exaggerating or making up.

And so, nearly two years into this brave new experiment, let’s consider the evidence: 292 videos, 30 audio recordings, 253,556 seconds of sights and sounds from inside the yellow police tape, before the chalk outlines the pavement.

What does the evidence show us about policing in a major American city? And where must Sacramento go from here?

lesson 1 Almost everyone who died was black In April 2016, Dazion Flenaugh, 40, accused of acting suspiciously in a Parkway neighborhood, bolted out of a squad car, entered a home that wasn’t his and came out brandishing kitchen knives. Two officers fired eight shots, and Flenaugh dropped into a gutter between the sidewalk and street.

In September 2017, officers attempting to pull over a double-homicide suspect at 65th and Franklin narrowly survived a barrage of handgun rounds as Eric Arnold, 38, emerged from a car firing. The officers shot back and Arnold died.

That same month, residents of a College/ Glen apartment complex wrestled Erik Mencarini, 37, to the ground after he reportedly threw rocks at them. On his knees wheezing by the time an officer arrived, Mencarini lost consciousness and never woke up once the cuffs clicked.

In March, Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old father of two, was shot several times seemingly from behind while holding a cellphone in his grandparents’ backyard. The two officers who killed him had responded to a 911 call of a male subject busting out car windows in Meadowview.

In June, Brandon Smith, 30, of North Highlands, died of a methamphetamine overdose in the back of a paddy wagon on the way to jail.

The following month, George Knox, 42, OD’ed the same way in the back of a patrol SUV. Finally, this past September, a 911 report of a masked man roaming Broadway and pointing a gun at bystanders culminated four hours later with SWAT officers fatally shooting Darrell Richards, 19, in the cluttered yard of a residence.

A pellet gun was recovered near the young man’s body.

Of the 17 critical incidents subjected to the department’s video-release policy—capturing everything from nonfatal shootings to questionable beat-downs to mistaken identity house raids—seven ended with a person dying. There’s no denying other connective tissue: Each of the dead were men. None were rich. Six of the seven were African-American, and six of the seven were reported to be experiencing a mental health or drug-related crisis.

If you want a silver lining, perhaps it’s this: The city’s video-release policy is forcing us to take a good, hard look in the mirror, and admit our collective failure to untangle a web of social injustices long before officers are summoned to an unpredictable scene.

“There’s issues, both historical and current issues, that we have to fix, obviously,” acknowledged police Chief Daniel Hahn, who grew up in the predominantly black Del Paso Heights neighborhood and inherited his department’s video release policy when he was appointed last year.

Asked if the releases have provided the opportunity for teachable moments, Hahn said the department would be “naive” if it didn’t use its relatively recent adoption of body-worn camera footage for training. But he said more has to be done. It’s one reason he has pursued different strategies for embedding new officers in the communities they’ll patrol, but may not know from life experience.

“If you’re not from the Heights, you probably don’t have the experience to fully understand life in the Heights,” Hahn puts it. “To me, it’s no fault of the individual officer. …

But to me it’s shame on us as an organization and probably shame on us as a community to not figure out how to better equip that brand new officer to work in that community.”

Since Clark’s death, the Sacramento City Council has considered other ways to invest in historically neglected and heavily policed neighborhoods.

Whether that changes the numbers of the dead remains to be seen.

Brandon Smith died in the back of a police paddy wagon on the way to the county jail in June.

Video still from the sacramento Police dePartment

In March, two officers fired 18 rounds at Stephon Clark in his grandparent’s Meadowview backyard.

Video still from the sacramento Police dePartment

lesson 2 Calling 911 can get someone killed Over a year after he and another Sacramento police officer shot Joseph Mann more than a dozen times, John Tennis told SN&R he was positive the man he was fired for killing, at some point, held a gun.

This wasn’t based on any empirical evidence. Tennis admitted he never saw a firearm himself, and no gun was recovered from the scene, which started in front of an apartment complex in North Sacramento, where an agitated and inebriated Mann stammered nonsense and flashed a small blade.

Instead, the presence of the supposed gun was based on two 911 calls—one from a man who claimed Mann pulled one from his waistband and another from a woman who said she heard about the gun from her neighbor.

Like a high-stakes game of telephone tag, that rumor was fed to officers responding that day in July 2016. Last to arrive, Tennis and partner Randy Lozoya hijacked the more measured response by their colleagues, cornered the mentally ill 50-year-old with their patrol car and filled him with bullets.

“We didn’t see the gun but … I’m convinced that he had one,” Tennis said last year. “What did he do with it? He probably tossed it. People do it all the time.”

As much as Tennis is rewriting history, we own part of this wrongheaded, alternative-fact, life-unnecessarily-lost tragedy. Words matter.

Each call to 911 is a bell that can’t be unrung.

And bad information can act as an accomplice to a terrible outcome.

Take the September killing of a young Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy.

According to department officials, deputies Mark Stasyuk and Julie Robertson believed they were responding to a routine disturbance at a business in Rancho Cordova, with no indication from the 911 caller that they were about to confront an armed suspect, who ambushed them, killing Stasyuk and wounding Robertson before being captured.

Hahn said flawed intel originates for different reasons.

“There’s times where they’re either wrong … or … people call and say he has a gun even though they know he doesn’t have a gun because they know that will get a quicker response,” Hahn explained. “I’ve seen all of the above. But as an officer and as a dispatcher … you don’t know that. Nor would you want to take the chance that [the caller is wrong].”

Sometimes a 911 caller can do everything right and the result is still tragic.

Dave Reiling was watching TV inside his Meadowview trailer when the sound of breaking glass drew him into the nighttime street, to find a man he couldn’t quite make out near his truck, which now had a busted window.

Worried about the tools in his truck and wanting to be a good citizen, Reiling called 911, did his best to give the dispatcher precise information and waited. Later, he learned that two police officers fatally shot a neighbor’s unarmed grandson in her backyard. It was Stephon Clark.

Weeks after the March 18 killing, Reiling told a Sacramento Bee reporter he regretted picking up the phone. “It makes me hesitant about calling 911 again, it really does,” he said.

“Y’know, ’cause I don’t know who’s going to get shot next time.”

Pastor Les Simmons said he recently heard the same sentiment expressed from a victim of multiple burglaries, who told him he had yet to call 911 because of fear of setting off some street-level butterfly effect.

“This person said to me, ‘This person’s life is more important than some property,’” Simmons recalled.

Think about that: A victim of a crime is protecting his perpetrator from the police.

It goes without saying, but this is not the way things are supposed to work. And, yet, Simmons’ acquaintance isn’t an anomaly.

Those ShotSpotter sensors that police and sheriff’s officials have installed in certain neighborhoods to alert them to probable gunfire were developed out of national estimates that urban residents report gunshots to law enforcement less than 15 percent of the time. That suggests a social breakdown of troubling proportions.

“7 deadly lessons”continued on page 16 12.06.18 | SN&R | 15

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Lesson 3 Broken windows, broken lives It’s a Sunday night in July. A shirtless black teenager pedals his bicycle down a residential sidewalk in North Sacramento. A patrol cruiser bumping metal inside its cab idles alongside the boy. A department press release said the “male subject” was stopped for riding in the dark without a front light.

This case is Exhibit A for how the broken windows approach to policing can turn nothing encounters into near tragedies.

Local cops frequently use minor bicycle infractions to go fishing for hollow-cheeked probationers holding dope or outstanding warrants—the pretext for a legal stop-and-frisk.

In the body-cam footage, the officer riding shotgun keeps his tone light as he eases out of the passenger side.

“What are you so worried about?” he asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I’m not worried,” the boy shrugs.

“You’re not tripping?” the white officer says.

“No,” the black boy says.

“You ever been arrested before?” the officer asks, standing now.

His partner has rounded the hood of the car, flanking the kid. He reportedly recognized the youth from a previous contact. He cross-talks over his colleague.

“You have a warrant?” he asks.

The department would later say it was this question that prompted the teen to run.

Maybe. But from the footage from the officers’ body-cams, it appears the youth was responding to the furtive movements of two adults maneuvering on him.

The pursuit that follows is brief. The boy tries pedaling away, but dumps his bike when one officer briefly gets a hand on him.

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“7 deadLy Lessons”continued from page 15

The youth struck by a police SUV cried in pain as he was handcuffed.

Video Still from the SaCramento PoliCe dePartment

He runs, repeatedly shouting “shit, shit, shit.”

He sounds terrified, like he’s being chased by dogs.

The officer who casually asked his age is now barking descriptions and locations into his microphone.

A police SUV accelerating toward them jumps from the street into the sidewalk, smacking into the teen’s hip at 27 mph and launching him over the hood. He somersaults across the hedges and skids to a front stoop.

The officer gets out and goes to the youth.

The department later said it was to render aid. The officer’s body-cam shows the dazed teen stick his arms out like he’s bracing for a beating. He keeps saying he’s sorry.

Actually, he’s crying it.

Simmons told SN&R he saw his own son in the youth’s blurred face.

“This kid is begging for his life,” Simmons said, his voice starting to shake.

“Man, all I can think of is my son. Just apologizing for his life.”

When the department released its video of the incident less than a month later, it was accompanied with a subtle mea culpa from Hahn, expressing gratitude that the youth wasn’t more seriously injured and suggesting this shouldn’t have happened.

But the department also released a video summary of its investigation, one that essentially blamed the teen for putting himself on the same sidewalk as a police vehicle.

That’s an unusual interpretation of pedestrian right-of-way. It’s also not the first time that aggressive policing turned a minor offense into a near tragedy.

A false jaywalking allegation ended with Nandi Cain beaten and jailed last year.

In May, an officer busted Craig Williams outside a 7-Eleven for the high crime of leaving his car idling in a parking lot. And Clark was suspected of literally breaking windows before he was shot dead.

We don’t know if the officers in these cases faced any internal discipline. Which brings us to our next lesson.

Lesson 4 Some cops should not be cops Prediction No. 1: The two officers who fatally shot Clark won’t face criminal charges.

Prediction No. 2: The public will be outraged.

By now, most people know that Sacramento County’s elected district attorney has been an automatic rubber stamp for any and all officer-involved shootings. Because of state and federal laws and court rulings, officers across California and the nation rarely face criminal charges for killing civilians.

But that’s not the only reason that communities of color, in particular, are frustrated. As far as the public can see, there has been very little accountability of any kind, great or small.

“We haven’t had too many wins,” Simmons said.

Because of powerful police officer unions, the public rarely finds out if officers are disciplined or fired for misconduct.

For instance, when Mann’s killers were

Lesson 5 The public knows when to get upset There were no vigils for Eric Arnold. And no one protested the shooting and arrest days later of Fernando Sanchez, who rammed his vehicle through the gate of a police substation and forced his way into a nearby home before tasers finally brought him down.

In each September incident, the police department released video footage. Unlike after Stephon Clark’s slaying, community members didn’t form a human chain around the Golden 1 Center or plot a rush-hour march across I-5. The lesson, Simmons said, is that the public knows when not to be outraged, too.

“The public knows when something is off,” he said. “You see it. You feel it. You hear it.”

Hahn confirmed that his department’s video-release policy hasn’t led to a sudden spike in lawsuits. “At least in the major cases, there’s going to be legal challenges whether you release video or not,” he added.

That isn’t to say that there haven’t been other downwind effects. Just ask one of the officers who killed Clark how his wedding went.

dismissed, Hahn could only say that they no longer worked for the department.

Tennis confirmed his own firing to SN&R, freeing up the chief to share a little—not a lot—more.

“That’s accountability on the department’s behalf, what he told you,” Hahn said.

“Nobody would know that, because I can’t tell anybody that—I still can’t tell anybody that.”

That could get less rare real soon. In January, a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown will require law enforcement agencies to release previously sealed personnel records of substantiated misconduct and all uses of force or custody deaths.

Simmons called Senate Bill 1421 “a little bit of light to look forward to.”

Hahn said he is of two minds about the new law. He worries department employees and other witnesses may be reluctant to help investigators if they think their statements and recorded interviews will be released upon request. But he’s looking forward to finally being able to answer questions about whether an internal investigation results in an action the public should know about.

“I do absolutely see it as a problem to people believing there’s accountability when you literally can’t say anything,” Hahn said.

“We’ve seen a lot more death threats after the video releases, we’ve seen people show up at weddings, we’ve seen pictures plastered all over the place, and so there’s concern for that, too,” Hahn said. “Right now, with new technology and the trust level in certain segments of our community, we end up where we’re at now. … Once that becomes more standard and that becomes more normalized, I think as with any change, over time it changes. The change changes.”

Timothy Davis, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said he believes public opinion of his profession would improve if the department actually released more footage.

“We’re filming thousands of hours every single day of officers doing their job,” Davis said. These contacts where tense situations are defused and nobody is arrested, he said, “far eclipse events where deadly force is used.”

That may be, but Simmons doesn’t think the videos the department has released—covering incidents where something, sometimes everything, goes wrong—offers a distorted view of law enforcement.

“I think it gives an accurate picture of these incidents and the decisions that were made,” he said. “The larger community is demanding a deeper level of transparency and accountability, and these videos allow for it. … Now the next stage will be to hold the officers accountable … on what the public is seeing.”

“7 deadLy Lessons”continued on page 18 12.06.18 | SN&R | 17

“7 deadLy Lessons”continued from page 17

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Of the 70 hours and counting of footage that the department has uploaded to the cloud, precious little of it documents the precise moments of lives being lost.

The bottom line is a videorelease policy doesn’t achieve true transparency if the cameras don’t start rolling until after Armani Lee is shot, or if the physical altercation that left John Hernandez brain damaged happens offscreen.

One of the most recent examples occurred in September, when a SWAT team converged on Darrell Richards under a stairwell of a cluttered residential yard near Land Park. None of the 83 videos the department released show the actual shooting. One SWAT officer accidentally turned off his body-worn camera, police say. Hahn sees your eyes rolling and says hold up.

“Yeah, if we had body cameras that could miraculously show every angle of everything, that would be great. But those don’t exist,” he said.

His point is that the public isn’t fully appreciating how new all this is, and how being one of the few police departments to chart this path means paving it yourself. So after video showed that one of the officers who shot Clark muted his mike, Hahn said, the department

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In an edited and narrated video, a police spokesman said the pellet gun recovered near Darrell Richards’ body (left) closely resembled a real Sig Sauer P225 handgun (right).

Video still from the sacramento Police dePartment

18 | SN&R | 12.06.18

realized it didn’t have a policy for that and created one. And when the SWAT officer’s equipment bumped the off switch on his body camera, Hahn said, the department started MacGuyver’ing a temporary fix and is working with the camera’s manufacturer on a more permanent solution.

Following Clark’s death, the department also updated its foot pursuit policy, to prevent officers from running headlong into a situation they—mistakenly in this case— believe they need to shoot their way out of. Sure, more suspects will likely get away, he acknowledged, but that just means more people on both sides of the thin blue line will live to fight another day.

“So those are things that you learn as you go. Who knows what else we’re going to learn in the next six months?” he said. “Our commitment has to be that we try to anticipate everything, but as things come up we’re the kind of organization that is willing and able to look at ourselves and go, ‘OK how do we fix that?’”

There have been other learnas-you-go tweaks. The first video under the policy took nine months to release and only after a very public scolding of Hahn’s predecessor. The most recent release, of the Richards incident, took nine days.

The police union’s Davis said quicker turnaround has come at a cost. Before releasing the videos to the public, the department is required to blur confidential information, sometimes requiring

frame-by-frame scrubs that pull officers off the street, Davis said.

“We’re a police force. We’re not a movie studio,” he said.

It is worth noting that the department has been quicker to release video when there is competing footage leaking onto social media.

After all, a bystander’s cellphone video of Mann’s shooting helped usher in this policy in the first place, more than two years ago.

For Simmons, a board member of Sacramento Area Congregations Together and student of the civil rights movement, all this feels a little too reactive. It made news when he resigned from a citizens police commission, saying it lacked authority and relevance.

His departure also elbowed a footdragging City Hall to adopt a raft of reforms, including giving the police commission baby teeth. Police Chief Sam Somers retired, Hahn was plucked from Roseville and the deployment of body-worn cameras soon followed.

Simmons would like to quicken that pace.

“Why does it take these critical moments like Stephon Clark to put these measures into place?”

Simmons challenged. “If reform only moves on these critical moments, we’re moving too slow.”

“It’s time for us to speed up,” added Jamilia Land, a friend of the Clark family. “It’s been 20 years since Rodney King. It’s been 10 years since Oscar Grant. It’s been seven months since Stephon Clark.

When are we really going to push for accountability?”

Police killings will no longer staY in the dark.

Lesson 7 You can’t close Pandora’s box It’s a brave new world. The genie is out of the bottle. Whichever cliché you choose, police killings will no longer stay in the dark. Assembly Bill 748 will help ensure that.

Starting next month, California law enforcement agencies will follow in the tentative footsteps of the Sacramento Police Department, releasing pertinent audio and video footage within 45 days of critical incidents. And let’s be honest— transparency exacts its pound of soul.

There is budding research that “relentless” exposure to police snuff footage is harmful to mental health, and accelerates black trauma. Epidemiologist Flojaune G. Cofer, the director of state policy and research for the Sacramentobased Public Health Advocates, said that while the hypothesis deserves more study, it certainly rings true for her.

“And despite being a generally curious person—epidemiologists are the researcher investigators of the public health world—I NEVER watch the videos,” she wrote in an email. “It is traumatic enough to read and hear about what happened, I think it would be more disturbing to watch someone needlessly and senselessly die in real time.”

Simmons, however, said he’s watched every video the department has released. And it’s changed him.

“I know they need to happen regardless of the personal effect on the person watching them,” he said.

“They’re challenging to watch.”

Hahn thinks about that, too.

“Like if my mom got shot or my daughters got shot, I don’t know if I would go see that,” he said. “I’d want somebody to be able to see it, that I trusted, but I don’t know if it would be me.”

For now, the city’s policy remains the trail blazer. (It already inspired the LAPD to follow suit, Davis said.) Even Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, who has spent the past several months fighting independent oversight, has acknowledged he’s waging a losing battle against greater transparency.

Previously opposed to the idea of implementing body-worn cameras, he told his community advisory board in January that he’d come around because of improvements in technology—and to stave off legislative intervention.

Then, on Monday night, hours before he was scheduled to lobby a divided Board of Supervisors to abandon independent oversight of his department, Jones officially announced it will begin releasing videos of shootings and other critical incidents involving deputies. And he released apparently the first video in his eight years as sheriff. The edited melange of gas station surveillance, in-car camera and jail footage depicts the October arrest of Marshall Miles for vandalizing cars in North Sacramento. Under a scrum of deputies at the jail, Marshall writhed and complained that he couldn’t breathe. He lost consciousness in his cell and died in a hospital three days later.

Even if Jones intended the video release only as a well-timed political maneuver to hold real accountability at bay, the near future—and state law—will beg to differ. Ω

12.06.18 | SN&R | 19

I

by AAron CArnes

rockin' the

cam

t was June 2017 when Tartar Control—a Los Angeles hardcore band consisting of two “Mormon missionaries,” a cardboard box robot and goofy, unhinged energy—graced Café Colonial for a night. Mid-song, the band used their best ministerial voices to plead for the audience to sit on questionably hygienic flooring.

The crowd obliged—but it couldn’t settle down, and for the first time in human history, a sitting mosh pit broke out. It didn’t help that Tartar Control’s singer dove offstage and rolled around in it.

Cam Evans snapped a photo of this insane people pile, where some appear to be swimming. The photo captures the night’s vibe better than your typical band shot. Everyone seems to be having the time of their lives.

But after Café Colonial closed down in November, moments in that janky Stockton Boulevard art complex will now only exist in photos, social media posts or in publications such as Sacramento is Burning.

DIy MAG sACrAMenTo Is burnInG CApTures A rAuCous renAIssAnCe In The CITy’s punk sCene

Sacramento is Burning is local photographer Cam Evans, pictured here shooting the Crystal Method at Concerts in the Park on July 27, 2018.

Photo courtesy of Dan james. all other Photos courtesy of of cam evans.

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That’s the name of Evans’ new, one-off 60-page magazine, where the Tartar Control photo made the cover. It’s not just a gallery of cool shows the local photographer curated from February 2017 to August 2018. It’s a portrait of the city’s sometimes-crazy, wildly diverse, aliveand-kicking punk scene.

Plenty of publications in town shine a spotlight on local musicians, but Evans’ publication is strictly photographs. He likens what he’s doing to rock photographer Shit Show Dave, who documents LA's punk scene, and San Diego world music travel-photog Adam Elmakias.

It’s a whole lot of showing, and not a lot of telling.

“His photography is really dynamic and captures the whole atmosphere of a show,” says Alyssa De la Rosa, the bassist for Las Pulgas, who are playing the magazine’s release show at Phono Select Records on Saturday. “Even though Cam doesn’t play music, he’s very much a figure within the music scene.”

In the pages of Sacramento is Burning, people of varying ages, cultural backgrounds, genders and styles blast out punk in dive bars, outdoor festivals and dingy DIY spaces. Photos show Drug Apts. getting psychedelic-weird at Red Museum on 15th Street, Destroy Boys shouting heart-on-sleeve at Blue Lamp on Alhambra Boulevard, and Dead Weight getting communal street-punk sing-alongs going at Café Colonial.

He inadvertently captured the city’s music landscape influx. At least six Sacramento venues either closed or stopped booking live music, including Café Colonial (and its sister venue the Colony next door) and downtown: Starlite Lounge, the punk house Casa de Chaos, Naked Lounge and Station 1.

“It just seemed like a bummer that most of these neat venues closed, since I feel that there are not any good all-ages venues to host local or traveling independent artists,” Evans says. But that's not why he picked the magazine's name.

Evans says when he first contemplated the zine last year, wildfires had ravaged the area.

Captain Cutiepie getting noisy at Casa de Chaos, a Midtown punk house where basement shows were aplenty until was vacated last December.

ditch these dumplings see dish

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A neW nutcRAcKeR see stAge

24

pOst-punK nOn-cAReeRists see music

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chRistmAs With e-40 see cAlendAR

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The cover shot of Sac is Burning: a seated mosh pit provoked during a Tartar Control show at Café Colonial last year.

Evans spent the last two years shooting shows in all genres (indie, hip-hop, etc.), but when he decided to make a collection of his work, he wanted to show off the local punk scene because he loved its energy.

“The scene here was just welcoming. I grew up with a little bit of punk music in high school,” Evans says. “It’s an interest for me, especially the whole idea of doing it yourself, thinking for yourself. I really relate to that, especially as a suburban black youth growing up.”

The first show Evans shot was at Café Colonial on January 20, 2017, with the Roughies, Pisscat, Jesus and the Dinosaurs, Public Trash, Dead Fucking Serious and Streetlight Cardiacs. It challenged his notion that Sacramento wasn’t a great live music city.

Almost instantly, he felt proven wrong and started showing up to gigs nearly every night.

“I didn’t think Sacramento was a worthy music town, because what do we have here?

Cake and Deftones?” Evans says. “It’s almost like eating my own words.”

He had been working part-time and living with his parents in Elk Grove, looking for something to fill his time. Photographing the local scene fit splendidly.

“It was really enthralling to go out and meet other people that were basically into the same stuff that I was,” Evans says.

He estimates that in those 18 months, he’s taken roughly 8,000 photos. Evans distilled those into approximately 70 of his best shots and arranged them chronologically. Further into the gallery, there are more audience photos as he became more interested in shooting every nook of a live performance.

“I dIdn’t thInk Sacramento waS a worthy muSIc town, becauSe what do we have here? cake and deftoneS? It’S almoSt lIke eatIng my own wordS.” Cam Evans photographer & publisher, Sacramento is Burning

The idea Pick up a copy of Sacramento to produce a is Burning during its release magazine started show at Phono Select last year at the Records Saturday, December 8, at 5 p.m. No cover, 2475 suggestion of Dal Fruitridge Road. Las Pulgas, Basi, who owns Dandelion Massacre and Phono Select Sad Girlz Club will perform.

Records. The two Limited copies available met during a Baby ($20). Order a copy online at Shakes show held camthephotographer.us. at the Fruitridge Road store, where Evans was—of course—photographing. When Basi saw Evans’ work, he was so impressed that he tried to persuade Evans to bring prints to sell in his store, or make a zine, which he ended up doing for a modest, self-financed budget of around $100.

“I always encourage everyone to not wait around. Go DIY. Even if it's not perfect,” Basi says. “Zines nowadays are either too fancy or too therapeutic. They're not fanzines. They're not people being so into something that they’re wanting to share it.” It's exactly why Basi is excited about Sacramento is Burning.

What makes Evans’ photos stand out is his ability to go beyond simply capturing action.

You can feel a wide range of feelings exuding off his subjects in the micro-moments of his photos.

“He doesn’t always go for the rock star pose shot,” Basi says. “I like the way he captures a lot of people looking down.”

You can find Evans camera-ready at shows.

Not every night, like it was when he started— he’s got a full-time job now—but he makes an effort to get out as much as possible.

“I just love doing this. If I don’t make a living off of it, I still want to keep doing it regardless,” Evans says. “Whenever I’m at shows photographing, it’s really just a Zen moment for me.” Ω

The magazine is a collection of Evans' proudest live music and local arts photos, including this one of Whittney Kebschull, singer for the band Drug Apts., at its August 26, 2017 Red Museum show.

12.06.18 | SN&R | 21

iLLUSTRATiON BY ANALiE fOLAND

Burrito baby breakfaSt burrito, la garnaCha

Don’t let the delicate, cilantro-laced broth fool you. It’s followed by globs of starchy dumplings.

PHOTO BY BECKY GRUNEWALD

Of dumplings and disappointment Hao Bao Dumpling House

6821 Stockton Boulevard, Suite 100; (916) 661-6581 Good for: Cheap, filling dumplings Notable dishes: Pan-fried beef dumplings, beef meat pie

$$$

Chinese, South Sac

Why do non-chain restaurants that aren’t fast-food franchises strive to look and feel like a fast-food franchise?

Why is that a thing?

It’s decidedly a thing at Hao Bao Dumpling House, despite there being only one, and it extends to the glossy, generic-looking website as well. The website oddly states that Hao Bao “brings authentic Hong Kong-style dim sum to the west-side,” despite it being located in South Sac. This statement appears to be lifted verbatim from a website for Bao, a dim sum restaurant in West Hollywood with a suspiciously similar-looking website and a vastly more extensive menu. This small bit of apparent plagiarism is a signifier of the lack of character and passion of this sleek and sterile café.

The menu at Hao Bao is claustrophobically small: choose a filling (beef, chicken, pork, veggie), a cooking style (boiled, pan fried) and a dipping sauce. Six dumplings range from $3.99-$4.49. A few starchy sides, such as meat pies ($1) and steamed buns ($3.99 for five) are on order as well.

On a visit weeks later, the “soup dumplings,” which seemed to promise xiao long boa (soup-filled dumplings), were on offer, but were revealed to be boiled dumplings with your choice of meat in a delicate, cilantro-laced broth with lumpy, hand-pulled noodles ($6.49). Although the broth was comforting, the overall effect was too starchy.

22 | SN&R | 12.06.18

by Becky GrunewalD

When choosing from the dumpling menu, the oily pan-fried option is always a superior choice over the thick, doughy boiled specimens. The chicken filling tastes mostly of mushroom, as does the veggie. The minced pork filling lacks salt and is just not porky enough.

Juicy pan fried beef is the clear winner of all fillings and combinations.

The sauces range from underwhelming (house: mostly tastes of sweet soy) to weird (teriyaki and … cream?) to overly dessert-like (thick, sweet sesame paste). They are given as sides in small plastic cups, but forgo those and head for the condiment station for red vinegar to add tang and bite.

Also pass on the steamed buns with their tiny lump of meat filling amid a large cloud of bland dough. One of them lacked any filling at all, and it barely made a difference in the taste. Much better are the meat pies, which are crispy and chewy outside and piping hot inside. With the pies as with the dumplings, beef is more flavorful and preferable to pork.

Our party of four was able to feast for $28 total, with a few of the unwanted steamed buns left to spare.

We left craving a side of greens, or something pickled to awaken our carb-numbed palates.

One in my party mentioned that Dumpling & Tea House on Freeport Boulevard is much better, and, on a later visit, one juice-squirting bite of its pork and chive pan-fried dumpling is enough to erase all memories of the dumplings at Hao Bao. If you are on the west/south side, and need something super cheap and filling, get a few beef meat pies at Hao Bao. But for now, there are better dumpling house choices in Sacramento. Ω

Have you ever wanted to snuggle with a breakfast burrito? Or cradle it in your arms like a newborn baby? It’s possible at the 24-hour pickup window of La Garnacha with its sizable version ($8.99). Burrito seekers can splurge for steak for just a dollar more, but bacon’s where it’s at when it comes to this hearty endeavor. Pro tip: heavily douse in spicy green salsa for extra enjoyment.

The burrito, itself, is pretty basic. Still, there’s no need to reinvent a classic with soft eggs and potatoes, choice of protein and melted cheese all wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Simplicity is next to godliness, and the sheer size of this breakfast burrito means leftovers for at least the next day. 2101 16th Street, lagarnachasac.com.

—robin epley

Make it dirty Vanilla Chai latte, broadway Coffee Unless you prefer coffee black, many of the morning pick-me-up options at neighborhood cafes can be eye-squintingly sweet. This, however, is not the case for the Vanilla Chai Latte at Broadway Coffee. With a welcome aroma that’s comparable to a fresh-baked snickerdoodle cookie, this latte’s comfort factor is elevated by its hint of vanilla syrup. Order it with almond milk for a nuttier depth of flavor, or ask the friendly baristas to “make it dirty,” which simply means to add a shot of espresso, not a clump of dirt because the latter would just be silly. 3200 Broadway, broadwaycoffeecompany.com.

—Steph rodriguez

The V WOrd

Vegan burger kings Would you wait in line for three or four hours for a vegan burger or milkshake? In May 2017, hundreds of vegans and omnivores did get a taste of the Burger Patch at its first pop-up event, tallying about 1,000 orders of burgers, according to co-owner Phil Horn. The all-vegan burger joint is planting roots at 2301 K Street, and Horn says it will be a grab-and-go concept instead of a sit-down eatery. While it won’t be open until early 2019, burger mongers can get the Patch Burger, BBQ Patch Burger and bratwurst at Section 123 in the Golden 1 Center— with purchase of tickets to an event there, of course.

Go Kings. The Patch cart debuted in the arena October 17, and Horn—who owns the plant-based venture with wife, Danea Horn, both vegan for six years—said, “After tipoff, we sold out of all our burgers.” So, maybe plan on getting in line early.

—Shoka

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

Eat. Drink.

Be Merry.

Repeat.

Thank you for voting Kupros! ’18

1217 21st St • 916.440.0401 | www.KuprosCrafthouse .com

dRiNk

That pisco punch

by Amy Bee

Armed with a vague memory of a potent cocktail I once enjoyed at a small joint in San Jose, I visited La Huaca, a Peruvian restaurant nestled inside a nondescript strip mall in Roseville. There I met Jorge, a friendly bartender from Venezuela who gently laughed when I told him that I wanted to drink “all the pisco.” He informed me that if I had even a couple of shots, I’d need to be carried to my car. “Pisco is strong,” he said. “Stronger than tequila. You can’t drink it by itself.”

Pisco is a Peruvian brandy produced by distilling fermented grape juice and aging it for at least three months in a nonreactive container such as copper, glass or botijas (clay pitchers informally named piscos).

Unadorned, pisco is enjoyed by the hardiest souls; the flavor is quixotically harsh, full of grapy sweetness and fragrant like a pre-salted tequila shot. But even most Peruvians prefer their pisco cut with another ingredient such as the utilitarian lime, which happens to be the basis for a classic Pisco Sour.

Jorge started to make me a Pisco Sour and bantered about the “crazy guys who pound down the pisco and make themselves sick.” He pours, mixes and shakes: pisco, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, ice. “You need the lime juice!” he tsked while dotting foamed egg whites with a smattering of bitters. Pleased, he offered me the glass.

On first sip, it’s even better than I remembered.

Pisco Sour is electric. The lime juice amplifies both the sharp edges of hard alcohol and the lush, tart, almostchampagne sweetness of grapes. It jump starts every synopsis in my brain. The foamy egg whites add frothy

texture, and the bitters zap nutmeg-esque aromatics up my nostrils. I had such an instant happy, energetic buzz that I wanted to shout, “Zowie!” or “Eureka!” or “I. Am. Alive!” and hurl my glass at a fireplace mantel.

(FYI: Peruvians say, “Salud!” when they raise their glasses, not “Zowie!” or “Eureka!”)

Jorge nodded in approval and began to make more Sours such as the Chicha Morada with purple corn syrup, the Fresa with strawberry puree and the Maracuya, a puree of delicate passion fruit. La Huaca also serves hybrid pisco cocktails such as the Chilcano, made with ginger ale, or a Peruvian household favorite, Pisco Punch, which is like the Morada, but with the delightful addition of pineapple juice. None of the varieties deviate far from the original. The syrup may change, but the sour stays high-voltage fun and frisky.

Even though pisco is brandy, and therefore closely related to cognac, it’s more similar to tequila in both tang and a brightness. Tequila cocktails, though, often seem crafted to mask the robust tequila flavor.

A Tequila Sunrise mostly tastes of orange juice, for instance. Not so with Pisco Sours. Sours are a cocktail explicitly designed to draw out and enhance the pure, immaculate joyfulness that is the beating heart hidden within Peruvian pisco.

But, I warn you: It is strong. By the end of the evening, I wore a dopey, elated grin, while Jorge looked on with a knowing smile. “See? This is why I have a rule: Only drink piscos when you are off work the next day.” Ω test your tolerance with la Huaca’s pisco cocktails at 9213 sierra College boulevard, suite 140, in roseville.

60% 0FF BUY 1 ADULT BUFFET AND 2 DRINKS GET 2ND ADULT BUFFET 60% OFF ORIGINAL COUPON ONLY • NO COPIES

1 coupon per table. Not for parties of 10 or more. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Expires 12/20/18.

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Open Tues-Sun 11am-9pm 916-272-2939 | www.fnsplanet.com 4220 Florin Rd., STE K, Sacramento, CA 95823

12.06.18 | SN&R | 23

Midtown Radio is here!

Always wanted a local radio station to air your band’s music?

Need to know what’s happening at your favorite midtown location? Tired of the same old hype? Well now you have “The Grid FM” 87.7 FM and streaming on the web!

Revamping a classic

By Jim Carnes

Check us out www.thegridfm.com

isabella Velasquez, mitchelle Katcher and richard smith rehearse. Do they look nervous to you?

The Nutcracker fri 12/14, 7pm; sat 12/15, 2pm & 7pm; sun 12/16, 2pm; thu 12/20, 7pm; fri 2pm & 7pm, sat 2pm & 7pm, sun 2pm & 7pm. through 12/23; $25-$100; sacramento Ballet at community center theater, 1301 l st., (916) 808-5181; sacballet.org.

24 | SN&R | 12.06.18

The spirit of Christmas has inhabited the Sacramento Ballet—not a giddy spirit, but the anxious kind, where all involved look forward but remain aware of all it will take to pull it off. This feeling comes on the heels of a creative shakeup, as the longtime husband-wife director team of Carinne Binda and Ron Cunningham were replaced at the end of 2018 season.

This year, new artistic director Amy Seiwert has created an updated version of The Nutcracker, based, as most are, upon the original choreography of Marius Petipa and set to music by Tchaikovsky.

Seiwert only recently finished work on it, leaving her dancers less than two weeks to master it all before the Dec. 14 opening night. No worries, she said.

In Seiwert’s reimagining, the main character is not Claire, as in some prior versions, but Marie, the lead from the original tale. She’s also a bit older— “about 15 instead of 11,” Seiwert says, “opening possibilities of a young woman exploring her sense of self and self-empowerment.”

The Sugar Plum Fairy, the giant Christmas tree, the bratty brother, the “party children” and the battle between mice and toy soldiers all will be there. So, too, will be the adventurous travel, extravagant, exotic costumes and special effects.

It’s not cheap, and like parents budgeting for a special treat, Sac Ballet faces the looming question, “How do we pay for this thing?”

Seiwert, executive director Anthony Krutzkamp and development director Ron Fredman have that in hand. “Ticket sales are strong, goals are being met and we’re looking forward,” Krutzkamp said.

Everything is beautiful at the ballet. Ω

Photo courtesy of DaviD Desilva

5 A new tradition Last year, Capital Stage introduced the audience to a new Christmas play, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that the company is bringing the show back this holiday season, again under the capable direction of Peter Mohrmann.

The play, written in the style of Jane Austen, is set at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s estate, where he and wife Elizabeth have been living and have decided to host a family Christmas to reunite everyone.

The focus is on middle sister Mary (Elyse Sharp), who got short shrift in Austen’s novel.

She’s the bookish spinster, uninterested in the frivolous romantic adventures of her sisters and resigned to never finding someone who matches her exacting standards. Enter Darcy’s cousin, Arthur deBourgh (Aaron Kitchin), another bookish introvert. These two are so accustomed to hiding their feelings, it is amazing what sparks fly (despite all the problems that arise) before the end of the play.

The cast includes all the familiar characters from Pride and Prejudice, and all but two of the actors are returning after playing their roles in 2017.

Eric Broadwater’s set is as beautiful as I remembered, and the tree that gets decorated throughout the show adds a wonderful holiday flavor.

This is a departure from many traditional holiday plays, but is just a delight, and it’s nice to have it back again.

—Bev SykeS

Miss Bennet: christmas at Pemberley: thu 2pm & 7pm, fri 8pm, sat 2pm & 8pm, sun 2pm & 7pm, tue 2pm & 7pm; through 12/30; $28$38; capital stage, 2215 J st.; (916) 995-5464; capstage.org.

Now playiNg

5

Meet Me in St. Louis

If you enjoyed the MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis, you’ll love the Woodland Opera House stage version. The production is crisply directed by Rodger McDonald, beautifully costumed by Denise Miles and topped with a first-rate cast. Fri 7:30pm, Sat 7:30pm,

Sun 2pm. Through 12/16; $7$25; Woodland Opera House, 340 2nd St. in Woodland, (530) 666-9617, woodland operahouse.org. B.S.

5

Steel Magnolias

Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of Steel Magnolias is like comfort food with top-notch ingredients. The staging is in STC’s smaller venue, a wise choice since it provides an intimacy that’s needed. There’s nothing groundbreaking in the play, rather it’s the simple

1 FOUL

stories of women who have found friendship and family in each other. Thu 7pm, Fri

8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm & 7pm, Wed 7pm. Through 12/9; $15-$38; Sacramento

Theatre Company, Pollock Stage, 1419 H St., (916) 4436722, sactheatre.org. P.R.

4

The Legend of Georgia McBride

An Elvis impersonator in a dinky Florida bar loses his job to a drag queen show in Matthew Lopez’s sweetly humorous—if somewhat sentimental comedy. Jon Kovach is remarkable as Casey, the King-turned queen—but Cameron Folmar, Kevin Kantor, Danielle Mone Truitt and Dave Pierini are all excellent. Jerry Montoya directs. Thu 8pm, Fri 8pm,

Sat 5pm & 9pm, 6:30pm Tue, 2pm & 6:30pm Wed. Through 12/9; $28-$47; B Street

Theatre at the Sofia, 2700 Capitol Ave., (916) 443-5300, bstreettheatre.org. J.C.

4

Visitors

Visitors by playwright Barney Norris is a heart-aching and heartwarming story of a family coping with dawning dementia. Sharp humor and tragic truths combine with Big Idea Theatre’s unflinching four-person cast, making the production uplifting, sentimental and softly sad. Thu 8pm, Fri 8pm, Sat

8pm. Through 12/15; $12-$18; Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 960-3036, bigideatheatre.org. P.R.

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

See the “On Stage” section of the calendar on page 34 for more live performances.

You are never too old to meet Santa

2

3

4

FAIR

GOOD

WELL-DONE

Cal expo’s Winter Wonderland tickets now available on Sweedeals.

5 SUBLIME– DON’T MISS

Scan thiS qr code

PhOTO COURTESy OF ELIzABETh DELGADO

if you like it,

help support it

’s independent Journalism Fund at

Up on the rooftops on the Waterfront, in the streets of Old Sac is where you’ll hunt—for Santa and other holiday characters. These 20-minute performances are centered around the telling of the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” that poem that starts with the phrase “Twas the night before Christmas.” It’s a vibrant, bright show with extensive voice acting by the portrayer of Goofy, Bill Farmer. Bring your childlike whimsy, because you’ll need it. Thu 6pm & 7:30pm, Fri 6pm & 7:30pm, Sat 6pm & 7:30pm, Sun 6pm & 7:30pm, through 12/24.

No cover; K Street in Old Sacramento. (916) 442-8575, godowntownsac.com/events.

Donate to

Light theater

www.inDepenDentJournalismFunD.org

Ho, ho, ho! Cram into Old Sac like anchovies to gaze upon my Santa-y visage!

Enjoy our 12 Days of Gifting

To parTicipaTe in The raffle: Visit the West Sac, South Sac or Davis location between 12/12-12/23 1 load of laundry will get you 1 raffle ticket Prizes include clothing, gift cards and more!

This locaTion: 2907 W.Capital ave West saCramento

916-372-1432

www.lovelaundr y.com

Open Everyday • 6am-10pm (last wash @ 8:30pm)

—Maxfield Morris

12.06.18 | SN&R | 25

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fiLm CLiPS

Driving Mr. Dan

3

Oscar-winner mahershala ali (right) lounges in the back of Uber driver Viggo mortensen’s (left) car.

4

Green Book is one of the feel-good movies of the year. With an essentially true story, a super-smart script, brilliant star turns by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, and matching support from Linda Cardellini, it’s one of 2018’s bullseye crowdpleasers, as attested by its winning the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

The story deals with Frank Anthony Vallelonga, aka Tony Lip (Mortensen), who late in life made a name for himself as an actor (Donnie Brasco, Goodfellas, The Sopranos). But in 1962, when the movie takes place, he was a Bronx-working stiff and bouncer at Manhattan’s Copacabana nightclub. When the Copa closes down for two months of repairs, Tony needs to find work. An eight-week gig surfaces, driving for a doctor—or so he thinks. But the term “doctor” just denotes a degree in musicology; his new employer is the African-American jazz and classical concert pianist Don Shirley (Ali), who hires Tony as driver and bodyguard for a concert tour, starting in Pennsylvania, then moving deep into the Jim Crow South.

We already know that the good-hearted, but uncouth Tony has a streak of bigotry; in his family all the men show up as “protection” when his wife Dolores (Cardellini) hires two black plumbers—and Tony, himself, tosses glasses into the garbage because Dolores served the plumbers lemonade in them.

To add to the early friction, Don is as cultured as Tony is coarse, as fastidious as Tony is slovenly, as circumspect as Tony is heedless. And

by Jim Lane

yet this odd couple finds common ground early on in a kind of honesty that grows into mutual respect—if at first grudging and prickly.

The movie’s script, as it happens, is the work of Tony’s son Nick Vallelonga (with Brian Hayes Currie and director Peter Farrelly), and several Vallelonga relatives play roles in it. All of which underscores the feeling that the movie is giving us the straight dope—if not the way it really happened, then at least how the Vallelongas like to remember it (both Tony Lip and Don Shirley died in 2013). Besides, any doubts are dispelled by the instantaneous chemistry between Mortensen (almost unrecognizable under 30 pounds of flab and a gangland accent) and Ali (so far from his Oscar-winning turn in Moonlight that he looks like a different person with the same face).

Green Book (the title refers to a oncepopular guide for motorists on how to avoid trouble when “traveling while black”) hits all the expected beats. It might have been as painfully predictable and overrated as Driving Miss Daisy if it weren’t for the appeal of its central relationship. To be honest, it’s not always clear just what we’re responding to—is it seeing these two real-life men bond on the road, or simply seeing these two superb actors at the top of their game recreating that bond?

Frankly, it doesn’t matter. Either way, the experience is a pure pleasure. Ω

1 2 3 4 5 Poor

At Eternity’s Gate

The tragic life of Vincent Van Gogh has been realized on film by directors as diverse as Vincente Minnelli and Robert Altman, and there was even a hand-painted animated version of the story released last year. There would not appear to be much meat left on that bone, but if anyone could find new avenues and alleyways in this well-mapped territory, it would be neo-expressionist painter turned biopic director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Starring Willem Dafoe as the tortured Dutch artist, At Eternity’s Gate covers Van Gogh’s productive but difficult last year in the south of France. Schnabel tries to give new life to familiar material through a self-conscious naturalism full of hand-held camera shots, long takes and lens flares. Unfortunately, this breath of fresh air eventually turns stale, and the film is ultimately more academic than tactile. Schnabel coaxes a feverishly potent performance out of Dafoe, but who hasn’t? D.B.

3 Green Book

by DanieL BaRneS & Jim Lane

Fair

Good

Very Good

excellent

Boy Erased

Only another impressive turn from Lucas Hedges elevates this earnest, but slipshod drama above the level of an after-school special. Based on the memoir by Garrard Conley and starring Hedges as Conley, Boy Erased covers the Arkansas teenager’s immersion in gay conversion therapy, while also flashing back to the events that led him to enroll in the sadistic and pointless fundamentalist program. Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman give perfunctory supporting performances as Conley’s religious parents, who initially encouraged him to enter the so-called “ex-gay” program. Scripted and directed by Joel Edgerton (The Gift), who also co-stars as the abusive program leader Victor Sykes (an avatar for the real-life Love in Action director John Smid), Boy Erased is sensitive but distant, with no shortage of hackneyed storytelling devices. There are some powerful moments, but despite Hedges’ nuanced work, we always feel a little emotionally and intellectually removed from the protagonist. D.B.

2

Creed II

2

The Front Runner

If there was any hope that after hogging the screen in Ryan Coogler’s 2015 reboot Creed, Sylvester Stallone would cede the spotlight to Michael B. Jordan and company in this tired sequel, it gets dashed quick. We are not two minutes into Creed II before Rocky Balboa begins the first of many long-winded life lesson speeches, and the film never stops obsessing over him. Ironically, most of Creed II deals with Adonis’ concerns that he will never escape the shadow of his famous father, but he’s clearly worried about the wrong person’s shadow. Even the plot of Creed II is recycled from 1985’s Rocky IV, as defeated Russian contender Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) emerges from decades in exile with a vengeance-minded son named Viktor (Florian Munteanu). Whatever you think about Rocky IV, it is inarguably a mid-1980s time capsule. Creed II isn’t a time capsule, but it should get buried. D.B.

Hugh Jackman sports one of the most mesmerizingly bad wigs in cinema history to play Senator Gary Hart, the Colorado Democrat whose 1988 presidential campaign was destroyed by allegations of an extramarital affair. Based on the book All the Truth is Out

by Matt Bai, The Front Runner is one of the most inane and gaseous political biopics in recent memory—the entire film seems like it was assembled by children at a Build-a-Sorkin Workshop. Director and co-writer Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) once again managed to create a film that is simultaneously robotic and sloppy, and you constantly feel him borrowing moves and moments from better movies without any concept of why they ever worked. The Front Runner is unbelievably naive in its cynicism about the tabloidization of the political process, ultimately (and possibly by accident because

of ineptitude) making an anti-transparency argument that would appease the “fake news” dingbats. D.B.

3

Maria by Callas

3

Ralph Breaks the Internet

The life of world-famous 20th-century opera singer Maria Callas gets the Amy treatment in this serviceable documentary from director Tom Volf. Rather than rely on “expert” testimonials, Volf goes the in-herown-words route, assembling Maria by Callas from period clips and recordings of Callas, as well as her own letters and telegrams (contemporary opera singer Joyce DiDonato voices Callas, who died in 1977 at the age of 52). Maria

by Callas rushes through the American-born, Greek-educated soprano’s early life, largely focusing on the tabloid controversies that dogged Callas at the height of her fame, including her affair with Aristotle Onassis and her public image as a temperamental diva. Nearly two hours long and loaded with performance sequences, Maria by Callas is more for opera diehards, and the most striking revelation here is that once upon a time, people became famous for being the best at something rather than the worst. D.B.

When a new Wi-Fi is installed in their arcade, classic video game characters Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) and Princess Vanellope of Sugar Rush (Sarah Silverman) get their first glimpse of the internet—which comes in handy when Vanellope’s game loses a discontinued steering wheel and they turn to eBay to find a replacement before old Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) unplugs the game for good. This sequel has the strengths of the original—nice rapport between Reilly and Silverman; brilliant, visually witty animation (this time portraying the web as a teeming megalopolis); good supporting voice work (Gal Gadot, Jane Lynch, Taraji P. Henson, Alan Tudyk, etc.). But it’s all too clever by half—or rather, by about 20 minutes; its feathery charms are hard put to support nearly two hours’ running time. J.L.

1

Robin Hood

The legend of Robin Hood gets made over into a mashup of The Hurt Locker in its first half, then morphs into V for Vendetta in its second. The script is by firsttimers Ben Chandler and David James Kelly, and the rotten fruit of their misbegotten labors is moronic and sub-literate. Otto Bathurst directs as if hoping to be the next Guy Ritchie. Meanwhile, the latest actor to embark on the fool’s errand of filling Errol Flynn’s tights is Taron Egerton, who fares no better (indeed, worse) than Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe before him. (The less said about Jamie Foxx and Eve Hewson as this movie’s idea of Little John and Maid Marian, the sooner their careers will recover.)

“Forget history,” says the narration, “Forget what you think you know.” Better advice would be to forget this godawful movie. J.L.

4

Widows

When their husbands are all killed in a robbery gone wrong, three women (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki) are on the hook for the lost money; their only option is to follow through on the robbery the gang planned to commit next. A 1980s British miniseries gets reworked by writers Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen (who also directed) into an all-American story about organized crime and political corruption in Chicago. It’s like Ocean’s 8 for grownups—with all the stylish fun of a good heist movie, but thickened and enhanced by a real-world desperation that makes the caper more than a simple lark. Davis’ powerhouse presence is complemented by Rodriguez and Debicki (in a starmaking turn), plus an equally powerhouse supporting cast: Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall and Bryan Tyree Henry among others. J.L.

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gift guide

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IdentIty BoutIque 2600 J St., Sacramento | 916-798-9787 www.Shopidentityboutique.com Keep them warm and fashionable with winter staples a luxuriously soft Cotton Candy LA chenille sweater ($58). add a statement chevron necklace ($18) for some holiday flair.

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incredible Pets Sacramento, auburn, carmichael, graSS valley and roSeville www.incredpetS.com dog people are known for going above and beyond for their four-legged family members, but cat people can splurge for the holidays, too! tantalize your cat’s senses with a Jackson Galaxy Butterfly Ball ($29.99), Turbo Catnip Spray ($7.99), Kong Botanicals Catnip Mint toy ($5.99) or a Glow in the Dark, Safe Cat Collar ($8.99).

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Lumens sacramento showroom 2028 K St., Sacramento | 916-444-5585 Bring a little light (and fun) into any room with the Alessi Girotondo LED Lamp ($120). this small and portable LeD accent lamp — which comes in blue, green, pink or white — has a rechargeable battery and three brightness levels of soft, diffused light. It makes the perfect gift to keep a modern design lover’s nights merry and bright. collect all four at Lumens Sacramento Showroom on K Street.

SN R SN&

gift guide

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blue diamond almonds nut & Gift shop 1701 C St., SaCramento | 916-446-8438 | www.bluediamond.Com For the ultimate California almond fan on your list, try blue diamond’s California elite Gift basket, ($79.99). this deluxe basket includes 6-ounce cans of Sweet thai Chili, Honey roasted, Habanero bbQ, Salt & Vinegar, wasabi & Soy Sauce, Honey roasted Chipotle and Sriracha. also included are 1 pound bags of Smokehouse, Pastel Jordan almonds and whole natural almonds. For a taste of something sweeter, it also includes 5-ounce bags of blueberry, Sea Salt and dark Chocolate almonds for those with a sweet tooth too.

Kamp-Rite 7400 14th Ave., SAcrAmento | 1-800-709-9905 | www.kAmprite.com camp in comfort with an Oversize Single Tri-fold Tent Cot ($219.99) from kamp-rite. it sets up easily in minutes, comes with a waterproof kamp-rite rain Fly and carry Bag, and can be converted into a lounge chair or standard cot. mention this ad and save $50 off this item until December 23 (in store only)

Sutter Street SteakhouSe 604 Sutter St., FolSom | 916-351-9100 SutterStreetSteakhouSe.com Fill your loved one’s stockings with Sutter Street Steakhouse gift cards. these flavorful gifts are great for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, company parties and so much more. Sutter Street Steakhouse food tastes great on any occasion!

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Historical post-punk Pylon Reenactment Society keeps the fun-first art pop band alive

platters

fala

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

Photo courtesy of Jim Leatherman

we’re writing new material, so it’s exciting.”

Listen to “Messenger,” PRS’ newly released single, and you’ll think: post-punk. A danceable backbeat, a poppy bass-line, a radio-simple guitar lick on low overdrive, and airy synth keys united by Briscoe Hay’s Southerntinged howls.

Her singing style is unique enough to warrant a spot on an alltime list: playful, sometimes atonal PRS is Jason NeSmith (guitar), Kay Stanton (bass), and always freewheeling.

Vanessa Briscoe Hay (vocals), Damon Denton (keys) “I don’t come from right field and Joe Rowe (drums). or center field. I come from left field I guess,” she said. “I didn’t try to sound like anybody [starting out] because I didn’t know how Vanessa Briscoe Hay is a retired nurse with to do that.” quite a reputation. In March, mainstream-culture Good times were the original motivation for magazine Paste ranked her No. 24 out of “The 25 starting the band in 1979, Briscoe Hay says. Art Best Frontwomen of All Time,” alongside Stevie school classmates at the University of Georgia Nicks, Karen O and Beyoncé. She played house in Athens, their goal was to get written up in the parties with the B-52s before they blew up, and now-defunct punk magazine New York Rocker, shared a stage with U2 on its first U.S. stadium then break up. Instead, they were propelled by tour. fellow Athenians the B-52s.

Now, with two adult children and free time, The band peaked by their second album, Briscoe Hay, 63, says she wants to get the band 1983’s Chomp, where they were asked to open for back together. More importantly, she wants to U2. Night after night, audiences didn’t bite, and have fun. displeased, they decided to get off the tour “The motivation for me is to find and disband. something to delight in every day “[Our booking agent] asked us, cuz I’m getting old,” she says ‘Why are you in this business if with a laugh. “I just want to you don’t want to take an offer enjoy my time here on Earth, like this?’” she says, “We making a little art and a little started questioning ourselves, crafts. Making new friends.

‘Well why are we in this Getting to travel a little bit. I business? Well, maybe we think it’s all good.” shouldn’t be in this business, Vanessa Briscoe Hay The band is Pylon we’re not businesspeople.’” singer, Pylon Reenactment Reenactment Society. The band With a full album planned Society was Pylon, the post-punk fourfor the next year, PRS’ guiding piece who are synonymous with star is ironically Pylon. the late ’70s music scene in Athens, “It’s gotta have that great bass drum Georgia. Whose song “Crazy” was sound,” she says. “It’s gotta leave some covered by R.E.M., whose history is colored with space sometimes. It’s gotta be a little quirky, too. cordial breakups and reunions until 2009, when It’s not all about love or hate or baby daddy or guitarist Randall Bewley passed away after a baby momma. Whatever it is lyrically it’s gotta heart attack and the troupe called it quits entirely. come from a more artistic bent, too.”

The sole original member of Pylon, Briscoe But without being pretentious, she added. “It’s Hay has been the driving force in reviving the also gotta be fun.” Ω old band’s tunes through its Reenactment Society iteration which, formed in 2014, grew from a tribute-esque band into a wholly new project. check out Pylon reenactment society at the red museum thursday, December 6 at 8 p.m. Boy romeo and Part/human open. tickets are $10. for “It’s not Pylon Jr. anymore,” Briscoe Hay band info, visit pylonreenactmentsociety.com. says. “We do have our own sound now, and now

“It’s not Pylon Jr. anymore.”

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for the week of december 6

by maxfield morris

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 Maxfield Morris at snrcalendar@newsreview.com.

POst EVENts ONLiNE FOR FREE At newsreview.com/sacramento

thE MARK GiLMORE F--K cANcER shOW: Mark

MUSIC

Gilmore, of local radio fame, is the subject of this benefit show, featuring local rock acts including Prylosis, Brand X Savior, The Ghost Town Rebellion, Paper Coma, Todd Morgan and more. 6pm, $10. The Boardwalk, 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale.

THURSDAY, 12/6 ALt 94.7 PREsENts ELEctRic chRistMAs: There are a few radio stations throwing shindigs this week. Take your pick, though this one features Matt and Kim and 30 Seconds to Mars. Check out the highlight to the immediate left. 6pm, $30-$75. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk.

sAcRAMENtO WOMEN’s chORus: The chorus of women are bringing “Once Upon a December” to the stage. There’s a whole bundle of fun and joy to be found at this event, and you’ll even get to stretch your own vocal chords with a sing-along. 7pm, $25. Unitarian Universalist Church, 2425 Sierra Blvd.

BiNGO PLAYERs: If you like playing bingo, go to a bingo hall. If you like Swedish EDM, come check out Bingo Players at Social Nightclub.

10pm, $7-$20. social Nightclub, 1000 K st.

sAcRAMENtO chORAL sOciEtY AND ORchEstRA: The vocal stylings and orchestral festivities are coming together for the Home for the Holidays music concert. A whole heck of a lot of choral singers will ring in the season music—and merriment is guaranteed. 2pm & 7:30pm, $35-$50. Sacramento Community Center Theater, 1301 L St.

DOYLE: Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein,

thu

formerly of the Misfits, is bringing his eponymous, shirtless, horror-metal band for a night of shredding with supporting acts Twitch Angry and Banger. 7pm, $15$18. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

JOE LOuis WALKER: On Christmas Day, 1949, the world was given a present: Joe Louis Walker, blues guitarist and singer. He wasn’t immediately a guitarist, that took some time and practice. 7pm, $30. The Sofia, 2700 Capitol Ave.

Golden 1 Center, 7pm, $30-$75

P-LO: Paolo Rodriguez is the rapper behind

are up to. V101, the throwback hip-hop and R&B station, is hosting its Holiday Jam in the same venue two days later, bringing Ice Cube, E-40, Mims, Zapp and The Luniz.

The point is, no matter what your musical taste, radio stations are bringing their A-game, so take your pick. 500 David J. Stern Walk, golden1center.com.

J STALIN It’s J Stalin’s Birthday Bash,

featuring Nef The Pharoah and more.

Don’t miss Stalin’s birthday—not again.

1/4, 7pm, $25-$100, on sale now. Ace of Spades, eventbrite.com.

HARLEM GLObETROTTERS Will

the Globetrotters triumph over the Washington Generals? Signs point to yes.

1/11 & 1/13, 7pm & 2pm, $15-$135, on sale now.

Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

bAS The rapper is touring on his The Milky Way Tour, stopping for a show with Rexx Life Raj, K Roosevelt and more. 1/20, 7pm, $20-$25, on sale now. Harlow’s, ticketfly. com.

PUDDLE OF MUDD Failure by Proxy,

Zeroclient and The Stoneberries join. 1/26, 6:30pm, $20-$25, on sale now. Ace of Spades,

eventbrite.com.

A$AP ROCkY Clever, talented and fun to watch? A$AP Rocky’s the whole shebang. 2/1, 8pm, $40-$115, on sale now. Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

MØ The Danish musician, singer

and songwriter will be playing with Mykki Blanco. 2/2, 7pm, $26, on sale now. Ace of Spades, eventbrite.com.

kISS Gene Simmons’

band of aging makeupclad lads brings the show to DOCO. 2/9,

JUSTIN TIMbERLAkE There’s

no way Timberlake’s show can get postponed again. Buy now. 2/24, 8pm, $50-$250, on sale now. Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

bOb SEGER & THE SILvER bULLET bAND The Silver Bullet Band is shooting through Sacramento with Seger—get it?

2/28, 7:30pm, $75-$120, on sale now. Golden 1

Center, ticketmaster. com.

7pm, $30-$500, on sale now. Golden 1

Center, ticketmaster. com.

Mo’ music, MØ.

V101 hOLiDAY JAM: It’s the second radio-

chRistMAs cONcERt LuGGAGE FOR FOstER KiDs: Swing to some holiday music that benefits foster kids. Bring a brand-new rolling duffel bag and get in free to see the Northern California Children’s Chorus and a string quartet. 4pm, new rolling duffel bag$20. Roseville Elks Lodge, 3000 Brady Lane in Roseville.

REMEDY 7 hOLiDAY BAsh: Seven musicians, seven reasons to visit their holiday bash.

Get a free drink ticket with RSVP. 6:30pm. No cover. Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St.

cOMMuNitY BENEFit cONcERt: This benefit show

FRIDAY, 12/7

for Harm Reduction Services is a memorial for Emily Robinson, an apparent victim of drug overdose. The show features Kevin and Allyson Seconds, Ross Hammond, Natalie Cortez Band and many more. It also offers a 30-minute Narcan training, a drug used to prevent opioid overdose deaths. Come out for music and to help saves lives. 2pm, $10$15. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

trombone and audio experience that is the Beam Splitter duo, along with Shanna Sordahl and Biggi Vinkeloe. 7pm, $12-$20 suggested donation. Gold Lion Arts, 2733 Riverside Blvd.

Get a ticket or maybe an egg salad sandwich.

performing into the mic on his Not a Cult Part II Tour. 6:30pm, $19-$80. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

SUNDAY, 12/9

the nom de plume “P-Lo” et la musique hip hop. Bring a friend, as P-Lo will be playing with ALLBLACK, Aux Cord and Kawasaki. It’s almost impossible to Google “Aux Cord” and find this band. 7pm, $22-$27. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

BEAM sPLittER: Join the amplified voice,

ticKEt WiNDOW

sAiNt JhN: The microphone controller will be

sponsored mega concert at Golden 1 Center this weekend—though V101’s holiday shenanigans is two days later than Alt 94.7’s, it’s not to be outdone—the show features Ice Cube, E-40, Mims, Zapp and The Luniz. 7:30pm, $45. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk.

PiNBAcK: Indie music from the San Diegobased duo will share the night’s stage with Morricone Youth, a band that just plays reimagined soundtracks to existing movies.

Pretty neat! 8pm, $20-$25. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

DOcO radio takeover It’s the golden age of radio this week. Alt 94.7 is hosting Electric Christmas, featuring 30 Seconds to Mars, Matt and Music Kim, Sublime with Rome, Elle King and The Crystal Method, too. It’s one metric heck of a lineup, with alternative stars who are solid musically and fun to watch—but it’s not all local radio stations

PHOTO COURTESY OF DILLON FLOWERS

06

It’s the week of the radio-sponsored music events.

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

SATURDAY, 12/8

cONcERts FOR LiFE: It’s a Beautiful Day and

DEAD KENNEDYs: This sold-out show featuring

Tex Whitzel will be rocking for the American Cancer Society and Society for the Blind. 1:30pm, $40. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

the iconic San Francisco punk band is playing with TSOL, Dwarves, MDC, Twitch Angry and The Moans. It’s a celebration of 40 years since their inception. 6pm, $23$26. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

JAKE shiMABuKuRO: Ukulele master Shimabukuruo shreds on the uke, bringing a depth and power to the diminutive fourstringed instrument you might not expect— well, now you might. 7:30pm, $52-$92. Harris Center, 10 College Parkway in Folsom.

FOLK POP With AccORDiNG tO BAZOOKA: According to According to Bazooka, they are one of the finalists for a 2018 SAMMIES award. Check out the folky band with the prestigious C.V. 9pm, $5. Fox & Goose, 1001 R St.

PEtER ROWAN: Bluegrass musician and vocalist

MARiAchi sOL DE MEXicO chRistMAs shOW: Jóse

will play that variety of music. 7pm, $35. Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave.

Hernàndez leads the band and the mariachi music will be flowing heavy and holidaythemed. 7:30pm, $25-$55. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

cALENDAR ListiNGs cONtiNuED ON PAGE 34

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See more eventS and Submit your own at newSreview.com/Sacramento/calendar

Saturday, 12/8

comedy

Sunday, 12/9 nevada City viCtorian CHriStmaS 2018:

breakfast with Santa weSt Sacramento community center, 8:30am & 10:30am, $6-$15

Christmas in the 21st century is OK, but back in Victorian times, it was really fun. That’s the premise for this festival, featuring unbeatable, vintage holiday foods, enough romantic ambiance to thicken the air, handmade goods and more. Don’t wait until a societal collapse to get some hokey holiday experiences—just go to Nevada City. 1:30pm. no cover. Nevada City Downtown Historic District, 216 Broad St. in Nevada City.

Do you like breakfast? Do you like Santa Claus? Well, have I got great news, because this event perfectly caters to your needs. Claus, the seasonal, PHoto courteSy oF nikldn giftFood & drink giving elf, is providing the much needed life of this meal-party. Expect pancakes, activities, crafts and as much time as you want to bask in the presence of Santa Claus. You’ll have to register in advance if you want to eat food near Old Saint Nick. 1075 West Capitol Avenue, westsacramentochamber.com.

Food & drink Friday, 12/7 daviS madriGalS dinner 2018: The Davis Madrigals high school singers will be providing the Renaissance-era music, and food from ye olden times will be served fresh. It’s the 50th year of the tradition. 6:30pm, $65. Davis Senior High School-All Student Center, 315 W. 14th St. in Davis.

Saturday, 12/8 Folsom’s seventh holiday tour, with four homes, two churches, a museum and more historic stops. Expect music and crafts and docents in historic clothing. Runs through Saturday. 10am, $20. Historic Folsom, 823 Sutter St. in Folsom.

Calendar liStinGS Continued From PaGe 33

monday, 12/10 atreyu: The metal band from Southern California recently posted that the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, likes to party.

Sacramento likes to party, too! The band is joined by Memphis May Fire, Ice Nine Kills and Sleep Signals. 7pm, $25. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

Saturday, 12/8 2018 Holiday FeStival oF tHe artS: Clocking in at only six years of operation in Folsom, this festival brings local artists and high school musicians to the stage with live murals and jazz. 4:30pm & 7pm, $15. Jill Solberg Performing Arts Center, 1999 Prairie City Road in Folsom.

elk Grove Community ConCert band: Elk Grove is also getting into the holiday music swing of things, boogying down to some of the classics of the season. 7pm. no cover. Laguna Town Hall, 3020 Renwick Ave. in Elk Grove.

Colonial HeiGHtS Creative CraFt FeSt: Get the crafted holiday gifts you clearly need to make your season a success. If you’re worried that the fest might not have ceramics, succulents and baked goods, you’re worried for no reason. 11am. no cover. Wesley Social Hall, 5010 15th Ave.

tueSday, 12/11 mark o’Connor: The fiddler with a Grammy Award is playing An Appalachian Christmas on tour. Don’t miss the holiday-themed fiddle event of the season from a master of the instrument. 7pm, $45-$65. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

Holiday Cookie Party: Students will be decorating sugar cookies, all while in the presence of Chef Adam from MasterChef Junior. He’ll even sign an apron of yours, if that’s something you want. 10:30am, $40. The Art Institute of California, 2850 Gateway Oaks Drive.

wedneSday, 12/12 bela FleCk & abiGail waSHburn: The folk duo with double the banjo for double the twang is coming to town for one night of Grammy Award-winning goodness. 7:30pm, $45$65. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

FeStivalS

Holiday GiFtS & GoodS: More holiday gift fairs!

Check out this one if you’re in the mood for handmade gifts that likely won’t break the bank. It’s an intimate space for those just interested in some simple holiday gift shopping. noon. no cover. Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th St.

makerS mart at tHe Convention Center: Do you like makers? Do you like marts?

How about a jumbled up association of those two types of things? Get the best that local makers either have to offer or choose to offer. You could be buying gifts for a close friend or just supporting people who make things. Tacos are here. noon. no cover. Sacramento Convention Center Complex, 1400 J St.

tHurSday, 12/6 SaCramento Job Fair: Where else can you find a wide array of employers all in one place looking for employers? LinkedIn, maybe.

Do it in person here, though. 11am. no cover. DoubleTree, 2001 Point West Way.

Friday, 12/7 2018 HiStoriC FolSom Holiday Home tour:

Style witH a PurPoSe: Check out this unique

What says the holidays more than wandering through stately homes that are new to you? Yes, discerning home tourers will recognize that it’s time for

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thrift-styled event, highlighted on this page. 1pm, no cover. Goodwill Sacramento, 2040 Alta Arden Expressway.

breakFaSt witH Santa: Get some breakfast with everyone’s favorite bearded person, Santa. Check out the details to the left. 8:30am, $6-$15. West Sacramento Community Center, 1075 West Capitol Ave. in West Sacramento.

Santa ClauS Pub Crawl: Please—dress up in a holiday-related outfit for this crawl benefiting the Sacramento Food Bank. There will be fun activities at every stop—but again, please dress up like Santa, or an elf, or something. Would it kill you? Just to make the crawl a little more festive? 7pm, $15$20. Milagro Centre, 6241 Fair Oaks Blvd.

Film tHurSday, 12/6 CloSe enCounterS oF tHe tHird kind: The Spielberg sci-fi flick is the last in the Crocker series, Views of America. Michele Foss-Snowden will introduce the piece that pairs well with the Crocker’s collection of landscape oils. Unidentified flying objects are a part of this film. 6:30pm, $8$24. Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St.

CreSt tHeatre: Daniel Tosh Live. You know him for his humor and TV show Tosh 2.0, or potentially you have an uncle who knows his family. Either way, there might still be a ticket or two at one of his shows, so hurry up and laugh. through 12/7. $65. 1013 K St.

lauGHS unlimited Comedy Club: Ward Anderson. David Lew joins Ward Anderson, certified funny-person-who-is-alittle-uncomfortable-to-watch-someof-the-time-to-be-honest. through 12/9. $10-$20. 1207 Front St.

PunCH line: Brent Pella. The Los Angeles comedian is originally from Davis, and his sense for comedy is matched. thursday 12/6, 8pm. $16. Shawn Wayans. The comedian, writer, producer and DJ is coming to Sacramento. Don’t miss the funny man with a list of bona fides as long as an impressively long list of bona fides. through 12/8. $25. 2100 Arden Way, Suite 225.

Stab! Comedy tHeater: Dual Duel 3. Comedians from rival improv gangs go toe-to-toe. The two-person teams have been facing off since last month, and this week marks the semifinals of the tournament that pits STAB! Comedy Theater against ComedySportz Sacramento. through 12/14. $8. 1710 Broadway.

SaCramento Comedy SPot: The Art Critique Comedy Show. The premise is simple, the laughs are genuine, the art is so-so.

Comedians take turns roasting art they found, and the audience gets to bid on it if they want to. It’s a laugh-at-art event like you’ve never seen before. Saturday 12/8, 7:30pm. $15-$20. 1050 20th St., Suite 130.

tommy t’S Comedy Club: Tony Roberts.

Not the actor from Serpico—we’re talking about the Def Jam comic and actor Roberts. through 12/9. $30. 12401 Folsom Blvd. in Rancho Cordova.

on StaGe 6 PlayerS tHeatre: Disney’s Newsies.

Remember when newsboys were the main way people got their news? No? Well, come live that time and place with this story about a newspaper strike that pitted orphans against titans of media. through 12/16. $12$17. 1529 Eureka Road, Suite 110 in Roseville.

biG idea tHeatre: Visitors. This production from Big Idea Theatre set in Salisbury Plain makes a family deal with a tough situation of a mother losing her mind. They aren’t able to handle the situation in an ideal way, but some visitors bring unexpected poignance to the plot. through 12/15. $12-$22. 1616 Del Paso Blvd.

burGertown at manGoS: Gayiel Von’s Legacy Cabaret. Jim Jordan is on the piano and directing the music, local singers are opening up their pipes, reservations are recommended—it’s the perfect night of cabaret fun. through 12/21. no cover. 1930 K St.

CaPital StaGe: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. This sequel to Pride and Prejudice explores a hypothetical question about Miss Bennet and her tiring with her familial situation. It’s a Christmas-themed romp that plays with the style of the Jane Austen work, set two years after the ending of Pride and Prejudice. through 12/30. $25$42. 2215 J St.

Celebration artS: Black Nativity. The gospel song play by Langston Hughes follows the birth of Jesus Christ with songs and drama. through 12/21. $20. 4469 D St.

CoSumneS oakS HiGH SCHool: Nutcracker 2018 Show. There are all kinds of Nutcracker shows for you to take in—if you don’t feel like springing for Sac Ballet’s version, maybe try this annual treat. through 12/8. $15. 8350 Lotz Parkway in Elk Grove.

Hiram JoHnSon HS tHeatre: Holiday Tapestry 2018. A collection of all the marvelous cultures that make up the tapestry of the country we probably all live in. through 12/8. $10-$20. 6879 14th Ave.

old SaCramento: Theatre of Lights Performances. Get some seasonal cheer in your life in the form of a rooftop performance and light show extravaganza. It’s all free, featuring lots of interesting characters, all voiced by Bill Farmer. through 12/23. no cover. K Street between Front and 2nd Streets.

lauGHS unlimited Comedy Club: The Love Jones “Chill Night” Event. Soak in the vibe of music, poetry and sweet language. thursday 12/6, 8pm. $5-$10. 1207 Front St.

mClauGHlin Studio tHeatre: MTC’s A Christmas Carol. Get the Charles Dickens work you’ve been dying to see on stage. See what Ebenezer Scrooge has in store for him this year! Friday 12/7, 7pm. $8. 3470 Swetzer Road in Loomis.

Saturday, 12/8

Style with a Purpose Goodwill Sacramento, 1pm, no cover

Thrifting is a unique pleasure. Finding discarded treasures, bringing new looks to your wardrobe—it can be a treat. This event helps you take it to the next level, with advice from eight local stylists.

There’s Caitlin, Connie, Vince, Heather, Keia Mae, Maiti, Shaystylin and Tuyen, all local folks operating their own style brands. They’ll be present to share their tips and their clothing FeStivalS selections, plus, there will be free refreshments—brand new ones, not used. 2040 Alta Arden Expressway, goodwillsacto.org.

PHoto courteSy oF mattHew reyeS

Friday, 12/7

100 Under $100 Art Reception WAL PubLic MArket, 6PM, no cover

Just three years ago, this prestigious local art event was known as the “10 Under 100” reception—now, the artists have multiplied but the premise is the same. One hundred local ARt creators are sharing their works of art that cost less than $100.

You can wander through the Warehouse PHOTO COUrTESy OF WaL PUbLiC MarkET Artist Lofts for First Friday, you can support your favorite artists and you can give a very trendy gift to your babysitter, Reginald. 1104 R Street, walpublicmarket.com/events.

PAMELA tROKANSKI DANCE WORKSHOP StUDIO tHEAtER: Ephemera & The Little Prince.

Spend a holiday concert with some content that isn’t the same thing playing everywhere else. This show tells a dancing story of love and taking time to stop and smell roses and all that jazz. through 12/9. $10. 2720 Del Rio Place in Davis.

SACRAMENtO tHEAtRE: A Christmas Carol.

Scrooge is back, as he is every year. Show up and see what that crotchety old recluse is up to—probably counting his money.

Will he ever learn? Doubtful; but I suppose anything can happen, especially at the holidays. through 12/23. $30-$40. 1419 H St.

SACRAMENtO tHEAtRE: Steel Magnolias. It’s a lovely story about six Louisianan women talking about their lives in a salon. The ensemble cast works very well together, our reviewer has reported. through 12/9. $38. 1419 H St.

WOODLAND OPERA HOUSE: Meet Me In St. Louis.

Judy Garland was in the 1944 film, but she wasn’t available this year for the role, so come check out the romping good time that tromps through seasons leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair. through 12/16. $67$128. 340 Second St. in Woodland.

arT MILLS StAtION ARtS AND CULtURE CENtER: 5th Annual Holiday Pop Up Art Gallery. Art from 27 artists is the subject of this holiday art show. Come check out some beautiful crafts and consider purchasing some of the crafts to give to someone for the holidays. That’s the idea behind these holiday shows. 11am. through 12/9. No cover. 10191 Mills Station Road in Rancho Cordova.

ALPHA FIRED ARtS: Cobb Mountain Ceramic Show. See what nine artists have simply been dying to show you in this ceramic show. The Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Project works to foster stewardship of the ecosystem. through 12/8. No cover. 4675 Aldona Lane.

C.N. GORMAN MUSEUM At UC DAVIS: Recent Gifts from the Southwest. Private collections have opened up their hearts as well as their collections to share artwork and artifacts from the Southwest. There’s baskets, sculpture and more, all on display for a little longer. through 12/7. No cover. 1316 Hart Hall, 1 Shields Ave. in Davis.

KENNEDY GALLERY: Let It Snow.’Tis the season for inclement weather in the American

New Year’s Eve Party Pre-sale tickets at faces.net

West. As a result, these artists share their works inspired by falling water in its many forms. through 1/7. No cover. 1931 L St.

KONDOS GALLERY: Holiday Art Sale. Need some art? If you haven’t noticed by now, there are a lot of craft fairs to choose from in the area. This one features work by people connected to Sacramento City College. Get your hands on some pottery, jewelry, paintings and more. through 12/8. No cover. 3835 Freeport Blvd.

Buffet • Balloon Drop • 5K in prizes Giveaways • Guest DJ’s

PENCE GALLERY: Holiday Market. If you’re in Davis and want to buy some handmade art, you’re in luck! The holidays have rolled around, and that means there’s a reason for average consumers to support local artists. Stop by to select all kinds of artwork. There really are a lot of these market things. through 12/24. No cover. Fabrications by fiber/DIMENSIONS. This exhibit is an exploration of various mediums and their unique strengths. See what different fibers have to offer your eye for the aesthetically pleasing. through 1/31. No cover. 212 D St in Davis.

VERGE CENtER FOR tHE ARtS: Drop-In Figure Drawing Studio. It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means—time for figure drawing.

Take the opportunity to draw a nude model, as you rarely run into nude models in your day-to-day commute. tuesday 12/11, 6pm. $10-$15. 625 S St.

WAL PUBLIC MARKEt: 100 UNDER 100 Art

Experience México at its Best Inspired by rich Mexican culture, we offer an experience like no other.

Reception. It’s time for 100 artists selling their work for less than $100. Check out the event highlight at the top of this page. Friday, 12/7, 6pm. No cover. 1104 R St.

MUSEUMS FOLSOM CItY ZOO SANCtUARY: Wild Nights & Holiday Lights. Get some holiday lights in a zoo setting—at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. through 12/30. $5-$6. 403 Stafford St. in Folsom.

MCKINLEY LIBRARY: Alt Library Broke A$$ Holidays. Finally, a holiday gift session that’s really cheap—so cheap that it’s free. Show up and learn how to show your appreciate for people without dropping your wallet into a bucket of kerosene and throwing it into a furnace. Enjoy some crafting, some refreshments and … seasonal music. Saturday 12/8, 2pm. No cover. 601 Alhambra Blvd.

CALENDAR LIStINGS CONtINUED ON PAGE 36

1200 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 441-7200 experiencemayahuel.com 12.06.18

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see more events and submit your oWn at newsreview.com/sacramenTo/calendar

CaLendar ListinGs Continued From PaGe 35

saCramento Zoo: Holiday Magic. Spend the holidays with zoo animals. They’ll get special holiday treats, and you’ll get special holiday facts about animals. Also, consider donating new combs, brushes, socks and more to Loaves & Fishes. saturday 12/8, 10am. $9-$15. 3930 W. Land Park Drive.

sutter’s Fort state HistoriC ParK: Hands on History: A Simple Emigrant Christmas. Get a taste of Christmas as it might have been in the 1850s, when history was early and the traditions were vastly different. saturday 12/8, 10am. $5-$7. 2701 L St.

sPorTs & ouTdoors THursday, 12/6 maGiCaL CHristmas train: Hop aboard a holiday train as you travel through some sightly locales along the river. 6:30pm, $39$54. Sacramento RiverTrain, 400 N. Harbor Blvd in West Sacramento.

saTurday, 12/8 ForestHiLL uPHiLL CHaLLenGe 1K: Run 1 kilometer. Sound easy? Well, it shouldn’t, because the average slope of the course is 27 percent. Runners will be racing to the top of the Foresthill Bridge, the tallest bridge in the state. 9am, $30-$40. Foresthill Uphill Challenge 1K, 139 Old Foresthill Road in Auburn.

C R A F T • D A I R Y F R E E • G E L AT O

HoLiday sHoPPe at tHe doWntoWn saCramento iCe rinK: Get your holiday goods at the ice rink downtown. There are, as a matter of public record, local vendors selling their local vendables. 12pm, $6$13. Downtown Ice Rink, 701 K St.

ssunday, 12/9 JinGLe beLL run: Help to end arthritis at this 5 kilometer race that benefits the Arthritis Foundation. Get in the holiday spirit to help a good cause. 7am, $35-$75. Crocker Park, 211 O St.

lGBTQ Tuesday, 12/11 draG Queens on iCe: Another year, another Drag Queens on Ice event. This Outword Magazine event benefits three charities; this year, they’re Front Street Animal Shelter, NorCal AIDS Cycle and the Court of the Great Northwest Imperial Empire. 6pm, $6-$13. Downtown Ice Rink, 701 K St.

wednesday, 12/12 tHe otHer miC: Come to the most inclusive open-mic in the city, catering to communities that don’t often get a space at similar spaces. 7pm. no cover. Lavender Library, 1414 21st St.

TaKe acTion sunday, 12/9 CentraL ameriCan reFuGee Caravan: This discussion on ensuring a lawful response to Central American caravans is led by Duane Campball, Sac State professor. The talk will explore the context of the situation and human rights. 12:30pm. no cover. First United Methodist Church, 2100 J St.

monday, 12/10 amnesty internationaL Write For riGHts: Sit down and start writing in honor of Human Rights Day. This letter-writing campaign works to free human rights defenders unjustly imprisoned. 4pm. no cover. Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th St., Room 10.

classes Tuesday, 12/11 CooKinG WitH CoFFee: Get some coffee into your diet in other ways—see the event highlight on page 36. 6pm, $30. Community Learning Center & Cooking School, 2820 R St.

CodinG For tHe youtH: Kids can come to Cowo and learn how to code from Billy Le, freeCodeCamp Sacramento organizer and self-taught programmer. 5:30pm, call for cover. Cowo Campus, 1507 21st St.

ORDER ONLINE FOR DELIVERY OR PICK UP FREE LOCaL DELIVERY FOR ORDERS OVER $50

Catering available www.ConsCiousCreamery.Com

Tuesday, 12/11

Cooking With Coffee Community Learning Center & Cooking SChooL, 6pm, $50-$60

You’ve been cultivating a relationship with coffee for a long time now—daily java, mastering your pour-over swirl, determining subtle taste notes—but it’s time to take it CLasses to the next level. It’s time to start cooking with coffee. This class walks you through some next-level coffee options: a coffee balsamic glaze, a coffee vinaigrette, coffee pork rub. Mix it up, taste some food and even have a complimentary glass of wine. 2820 R Street, brownpapertickets.com/event/3613862.

PHoTo courTesy oF miKe Kenneally

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submit your calendar listings for free at newsreview.com/sacramento/calendar THURSDAY 12/6 ArmAdillo music BAdlAnds

Poprockz 90s Night, 7pm, call for cover

2003 k ST., (916) 448-8790

BAr 101

101 MAIN ST., ROSEvIllE, (916) 774-0505

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/10-12

Fierce Fridays, 7pm, call for cover

Spectacular Saturdays, 7pm, call for cover

B.P.M. & Sunday Funday Remixed, 4pm, call for cover

Karaoke Night, 9pm, T, call for cover; Trapicana, 10pm, W, call for cover

Samantha Sharpie, 9:30pm, no cover

Merry Mac Band, 9:30pm, no cover

Earthkry and Two Peace Band, 8pm, call for cover

The BoArdwAlk

Angel Vivaldi, Nita Strauss, Jacky Vincent Andrès, Mookatite, Zach Van Dyck and and more, 6:30pm, $18 more, 7pm, $10

cApiTol GArAGe

9426 GREENbAck lN., ORANGEvAlE, (916) 358-9116

with ALLBLACK and more 7pm Thursday, $22-$27 Ace of Spades Hip-hop

SUNDAY 12/9

Blue lAmp

1400 AlHAMbRA blvD., (916) 455-3400

P-lo

SATURDAY 12/8

Flip the Switch, 7:30pm, no cover

207 F ST., DAvIS, (530) 758-8058

PHOTO cOURTESY OF DAN FRANcO

FRIDAY 12/7

1500 k ST., (916) 444-3633

Cyborg Octopus, Princess Kitten, the Rally ’Round the Camp Fire, 2pm, $10 Odious Construct and more, 7:30pm, $10 Punk Rock Pizza Party, 10pm, no cover

Eyes Set to Kill, Rest, Repose and Avoid, 7pm, W, $12

Capitol Fridays, 10pm, no cover before 10:30pm

Dinner and a Drag Show, 7:30pm, $5-$25

Geeks Who Drink, 8:30pm, W, no cover Mark O’Connor: An Appalachian Christmas, 7pm, T, $45-$65

Daniel Tosh, 10pm, $65

Daniel Tosh, 10pm, $65

Mariachi Sol De Mexico, 7:30pm, $25-$55

FAces

Faces Karaoke, 9pm, call for cover

Absolut Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Sequin Saturday, 9:30pm, call for cover

RoadHouse 5, 7pm, call for cover

RetroSpecs, 8pm, call for cover

2000 k ST., (916) 448-7798

FATher pAddY’s irish puBlic house 435 MAIN ST., WOODlAND, (530) 668-1044

Fox & Goose

Irish Jam Session with Stepping Stone, 8pm, no cover

Kevin Seconds, Bobby Jordan, Grub Mitchell and Alex Walker, 9pm, $5

According to Bazooka and Stephen Ruderman, 9pm, $5

Golden 1 cenTer

Alt 94.7 Electric Christmas 2018, 7pm, $30-$60

Metallica, 7:30pm, sold out

V101 Holiday Jam with Ice Cube, E-40, Mims and more, 7:30pm, $65-$75

GoldField TrAdinG posT 1630 J ST., (916) 476-5076

Justin Courtney Pierre, Thin Lips and Juliet Company, 7:30pm, $23-$25

hAlFTime BAr & Grill

College Night, 10pm, call for cover

Brian Lee Bender, 9pm, call for cover

Funk Rockers, 9pm, $7

Pinback and Morricone Youth, 8pm, $20-$25

Joel the Band, 6:30pm, $10-$12; Grooveline, 9:30pm, $10-$12

Saint Jhn and Jazz Cartier, 6:30pm, $19-$80

1001 R ST., (916) 443-8825 500 DAvID J STERN WAlk, (888) 915-4647

5681 lONETREE blvD., ROcklIN, (916) 626-3600

hArlow’s

2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

Jessica Malone and Red Dirt Ruckus, 7:30pm, $10-$15

hideAwAY BAr & Grill PHOTO cOURTESY OF DREW REYNOlDS

2565 FRANklIN blvD., (916) 455-1331

Pinback

hiGhwATer

with Morricone Youth 6:30pm Friday, $10 Harlow’s Indie rock

kupros

Pool Party, 9pm, no cover

Cypress Spring, 7:30pm, $12

lunA’s cAFe & Juice BAr

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

Let’s Get Quizzical, 7pm, T, no cover; Cornhole, 6pm, W, no cover It’s a Beautiful Day and Tex Whitzel, 1:30pm, $30; KRS-One, 8:30pm, $25-$30

YK Osiris and YFL Kelvin, 7:30pm, T, $18-$23

Hippie Hour Jam, 5pm, no cover

Shitshow Karaoke, 8pm, M, no cover; Record Roundup, 8pm, T, call for cover

Kupros Quiz, 7:30pm, no cover Capital Punishment Holiday Special, 8pm, $10

Logan Mize, Keelan Donovan and Amador Sons, 7:30pm, T, $16-$18

The Trivia Factory, 7pm, M, no cover; Geeks Who Drink, 6pm, T, no cover

Dylan Crawford, 8pm, no cover

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

Every Damn Monday, 8pm, M, no cover; Noche Latina, 9pm, T, no cover

Open-Mic Night Every Monday, 7:30pm, M, no cover

Total Recall, 9:30pm, $5

1910 Q ST., (916) 706-2465

1414 16TH ST., (916) 737-5770

Benefit for Harm Reduction Services, 3pm, call for cover

The Mark Gilmore F--k Cancer Show, 6:15pm, $10

cresT TheATre

1013 k ST., (916) 476-3356

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

Niko & the Lion’s Paw and Bap Notes, 8pm, $6

Leo Bootes, 5pm, T, no cover Show Your ID Comedy, 8pm, W, no cover

Voted best dance club in Sacramento

by KCRA A LIST 2016-17-18

Fri dec 7th

James Harkins

Fri dec 8th

Cody Joe Hodges

Fri dec 14th

Brian Form Flat Busted

Fri dec 15th James Harkins and Stoneys Christmas bash!

Fri dec 21st

James Harkins

12th annual new Years eVe Bash ONLY $10 BuCKS BeFORe 10pm

$15 after • $1 draft & $3 Jack daniels 8-9pm • Free late night breakfast open til 3am • VIp tickets available North Forty live music in front bar Country dancing in back!

1320 del paso BlVd in old north sac 2 STepS FROm dOwNTOwN | 916.402.2407 STONeYINN.COm FOR NIgHTLY dRINK SpeCIALS & eVeNTS

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submit your calendar listings for free at newsreview.com/sacramento/calendar THURSDAY 12/6

FRIDAY 12/7

SATURDAY 12/8

momo sacramento 2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

old IronsIdes

Remedy 7 Holiday Bash, 6:30pm, no cover

on tHe Y

Open-Mic Comedy/Karaoke, 8pm, no cover

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

Anarchy Lace, Wendell & the Puppets and One-Armed Joey, 8pm, $7

Open-Mic Night with Donny Penney, 7:30pm, W, no cover Jake Golden and Clemon, 8pm, M, $10

Tom Rigney and Flambeau, 8pm, $18-$23

PlacervIlle PublIc House

Jokers & Thieves, 8pm, call for cover

Drytown Smugglers, 8pm, call for cover

Tom Power, 1pm, call for cover

Retroactive Dance Band, 10pm, call for cover

Bad Santa Pub Crawl, 9pm, call for cover; 8 Track, 10pm, call for cover

Blues Jam, 6pm, call for cover

Karaoke, 8:30pm, T, call for cover; 98 Rock Local Licks, 9pm, W, call for cover

Pop 40 Dance with DJ Larry, 9pm, $5

Sunday Night Dance Party, 9pm, no cover

Reggae Night, 9pm, T, no cover

Element Brass Band, 9pm, no cover

Ross Hammond, 9pm, no cover

Hayez Band, 9pm, W, no cover

PowerHouse Pub

with Thin Lips and more 7:30pm Thurday, $23-$25 Goldfield Trading Post Pop punk

Bourbon & Blues with Nikki Hill, 6:30pm, W, $15-$20

Golden Bough, 8pm, $18-$22

414 MAIN ST., PlAcERvIllE, (530) 303-3792

Justin courtney Pierre

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

tHe Press club

Chris Scolville, 9:30pm, call for cover

2030 P ST., (916) 444-7914

Boogie a Go-Go All-Vinyl Dance Party, 9pm, no cover

sHadY ladY

Poor Man Band, 9pm, no cover

socIal nIgHtclub

Bingo Players, 10pm, $7

1409 R ST., (916) 231-9121 1000 K ST., (916) 947-0434

Crescent Katz, 9pm, no cover

tHe sofIa

Joe Louis Walker and Katie Knipp, 7pm, $35

stoneY’s rockIn rodeo

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

Country Thunder Thursdays, 5:30pm no cover

James Harkins, 7:30pm, $5-$10

Cody Joe Hodges, 8pm, $5

Sunday Funday, 8pm, no cover

West Coast Swing, 7:45pm, T, $5; College Wednesdays, 9pm, W, $5-$10

tHe torcH club

George Napp, 9pm, $6

Hamilton Loomis, 9pm, $12

Island of Black and White, 9pm, $10

You Front the Band, 8pm, call for cover

Sicky Betts, 8pm, T, no cover

2700 cAPITOl AvE., (916) 443-5300

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

twIn rIvers cIder

Peter Rowan, 7pm, $40

Tropical Tuesday and Cribbage Night, call for time, T, no cover

Tasty Phrogg, call for time, no cover

4311 ATTAWA AvE. SUITE 103, (916) 228-4757

Yolo brewIng co.

Yoga at Yolo, 11am, no cover

1520 TERMINAl ST., (916) 379-7585 PHOTO cOURTESY cHRISTOPHER McAllEN

mark o’connor An Appalachian Christmas 7pm Tuesday, $45-$65 Crest Theatre Holiday bluegrass

HolY dIver

Through the Roots, Rod Stinson Band and more, 6:30pm, $13-$15

nothing, nowhere, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and more, 6:30pm, $18-$20

sHIne

Tiny Sounds, Bad Patterns and Evil Seagull, 8pm, $7

The Baddest Beams, Juniper Berries and Anime Aliens, 8pm, $8

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Quiz for a Cause, 6pm, T, no cover; Drainbows, 6pm, W, no cover

all ages, all the time ace of sPades

38

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/10-12

Palms PlaYHouse

13 MAIN ST., WINTERS, (530) 795-1825

PHOTO cOURTESY OF DAN MONIcK

Deacon Free and Acid 9, 8pm, $7

SUNDAY 12/9

Back in the Day Old School Hip-Hop and R&B, 10pm, no cover in advance-$10

1417 R ST., (916) 930-0220 1517 21ST ST.

1400 E ST., (916) 551-1400

12.06.18

P-Lo, ALLBLACK, Aux Cord and Kawasaki, 7pm, $22-$27

Minus the Bear and Tera Melos, 7pm, W, $25.50 Crooked Teeth, the Home Team, Hi, Mom! Redd Kross, Dave Crover Band and the and Flourish, 6:30pm, $10-$12 Mastoids, 7pm, W, $16-$18 Speak Out Sacramento Open-Mic Night, 8pm, W, no cover

For more cannabis news, deals & updates visit capitalcannabisguide.com

higher learning See aSK 420

41

“Houston, we have successfully launched vape cartridges into space.”

nectar of the gods

Photo courteSy oF Sublime canna

Are Sublime Canna’s new vape cartridges truly out of this world?

An SN&R writer explores that notion.

by Jeremy WinsloW

revieW Content: 69-75 percent thc cannabis oil, per cartridge Price: $35 Uses: Great for decompressing after a long day’s work

(neptune); increase focus/productivity (mercury) Pros: heightens sensuality/sensory awareness (Venus) Cons: incredibly dry/cotton mouth (mars)

Sublime Canna, an award-winning cannabis manufacturing company based in Oakland, raised $6.2 million from investors in May to help increase production and launch a new line of products as demand for high-quality cannabis continues to grow.

In July, Sublime debuted its new series of vape cartridges, called Strata. These half-gram, all-glass cartridges are filled with potent cannabis oils made through cold ethanol extraction, one of the more popular methods because it uses controlled temperatures to concentrate the plant’s treasured oils in its purest form. On its website,

Sublime touts that Strata cartridges contain “no added industrial terpenes or harmful solvents” for a clean and flavorful experience. I’ll bite.

There are four varieties and the packaging is intriguing, inspired by (and named after) both our solar system and Roman mythology: Mars (red), Mercury (orange), Neptune (blue) and Venus (purple).

Each cartridge is packaged in a colorful Toblerone-shaped box with clear labels.

But as enticing as the packaging may be, Strata’s cannabis oil is the nectar that awaits at the center.

Described to be “powerful and fiery as the God of War,” Mars has little in common with the Roman god or the fourth planet. It’s J1, a sativa-hybrid strain that’s a cross between Jack Herer and Skunk #1, and it’s much more uplifting and energizing than the images the name evokes. With tangy citrus and pungent earthy tones, this

75 percent THC cannabis oil is dry and tingly like Pop Rocks. While the glass tip does alleviate the dryness, the pungent earthy tones are more dominant than the tingly citrus notes, making it constantly feel like smoking the desert.

But because it’s a sativa, it’s a blissful and uplifting head high, like opening the blinds in spring or the feeling Disney princesses might experience when they open their windows just before they break into song.

Akin to the velocity of the first planet, Mercury speeds you up before take off.

Filled with Sour Tangie, a sativa-dominant hybrid cross between East Coast Diesel and Tangie, it truly is both sour and tangy.

Though the flavor profile is obvious, it’s 71 percent THC oil, so it will shock you like a defibrillator and jump-start your brain so you can finally complete whatever tasks you’ve put off for days. While Sour Tangie

“neW PhOne, WhO DiS?” See gOatKiDD

43

is a bit harsher than other strains, the cartridge’s glass tip mediates the tartness, meaning you can maintain the quick head high without suffering prolonged coughing fits—a plus in any stoner’s book. And because it tingles the palate like a couple of sour Warheads, Mercury will keep you off the couch—and keep you productive.

Like the calm blue hue of the eighth planet in our solar system, Neptune washes over you like the gentle rising of the tide. It’s filled with Skywalker OG, an indica-dominant hybrid cross between OG Kush and Skywalker. At 69 percent THC, Neptune’s as cool as the Roman god himself. While not as euphoric as other indica-hybrids, Neptune’s spicy, herbal flavors calm the mind and soothe the body, producing a light full-body high. Each hit of Neptune is subtle and flavorful, another credit to the cartridge’s glass tip. Whether you’re looking to wind down for a Netflix binge or want to fully enjoy the season’s breeze, Neptune’s calming waves set the mood for all manners of relaxation.

The last in this space-themed series is named after the planet and the goddess of love and beauty: Venus. It’s as divinely relaxing as it is lovingly smooth. The cartridge houses Forbidden Fruit, a sweet and tropical indica cross between Cherry Pie and Tangie. As its name suggests, the fruit is forbidden because smoke enough of this cannabis oil at 76 percent THC and you’ll find that this heavy indica will leave you on the couch. However, in moderation, like the sensuality of Venus, it heightens sexual desire and passion. Couples who incorporate weed with their intimacy will find it also doesn’t interrupt or ruin any mood, giving the goddess of love and beauty the space to work her magic. And because Forbidden Fruit’s so relaxing and heavy, especially when consumed in large quantities, there’s no need to worry about getting a good night’s sleep. Thanks Venus.

With full-spectrum terpenes that are robust and flavorful, the Strata series is a great addition to add to your rotation.

Its design is both elegant and compact, making it an excellent substitute for the joint you normally take to shows. Plus, each cartridge will have you floating like an astronaut. Ω Want to try the Strata series? For more information, visit sublimecanna.com.

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What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? Frost bite.

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By Ngaio Bealum

as k 420 @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Like more money with your weed? See online-only discounts at capitalcannabisguide.com

Dr. Dank Tons of websites claim that cannabis cures everything from psoriasis to cancer.

Is it true, and what are the best places for legit research on weed’s health benefits?

—AnitA Bole

Cannabis can help patients cope with heavy diseases, but saying that cannabis “cures” everything is a stretch.

It’s weird though, because I also know people who say they’ve beaten lung cancer and other serious illnesses with cannabis.

I also know folks who say grass didn’t really help them. It’s almost like people are different.

Huh. My big go-to sources for fairly objective knowledge about cannabis’ medicinal benefits are the book Marijuana: Gateway to Health

by Clint Warner, and Granny Storm Crow’s hella comprehensive list of just about every pot study done in the past 20 years (grannystormcrowslist.wordpress.com/the-list). Enjoy the research rabbit hole!

I heard that South Korea became the first East Asian country to legalize weed. For serious?

—tree Com PArk

Kinda. South Korea recently legalized cannabis for medicinal use, but before you plan your flight, understand that there are no dispensaries open yet. You need a doctor’s letter and approval from the Korea Orphan Drug Center.

Get your paperwork in order before planning a Korean holiday.

For serious, this is a giant step in the right direction. Asian countries have generally been strict about

cannabis prohibition, so a country recognizing cannabis as a boon and not a bane is heartening.

Why do you still use the word “marijuana”? You know that word is hella racist, right?

GettinG reacquainted with cannabis? r e c r e at i o n a

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—merry JAne

I used to argue against that. Something like, “Whatever. Maybe it was kind of racist then, but it isn’t racist now.”

I’ve changed my way of thinking since then. Enough people let me know that the word is still more than a little bit racist. Since I’m working on believing marginalized groups when they tell me that something I think is OK is in fact problematic, and since there are plenty of other good words to use when describing cannabis (dank, tree, weed, pot, grass, loud, etc.), I’ve been doing my best to avoid using the word “marijuana” in print, and saying it out loud. Higher learning, indeed.

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Super terpy with a pleasant mellow high. Just hung out with a few friends, and we all shared some homegrown goodies. My Dr. Demento was nice, but a little harsh (I think I cured it too fast), but my homie’s Black Jack has had me smiling and working all day. Ω iLLuStratioN By aNaLiE foLaNd

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

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by JOEY GARCIA

@AskJoeyGarcia

Seals swim in salt water because pepper water would make them sneeze.

In sickness and in trust My boyfriend has cancer and hasn’t told me. I knew he was going for tests, but when I asked about his test results, he said he needed more tests. I was at his house yesterday and saw a medical folder. It had an appointment confirmation for surgery and a treatment plan. I managed to choke back tears when he came back into the room by pretending I was having an asthma attack. Why hasn’t he told me he’s sick?

Should I let him know that I know?

Your boyfriend hasn’t told you because he’s still processing his diagnosis and treatment. He’s likely an introvert who needs time to handle his internal response to a crisis. Once he tells you about his health, you’ll naturally have an emotional response. If he feels like he doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with your fears on top of his own, it’s easier for him to say nothing.

Don’t take it personally. Trust he is doing the best that he can. He’s facing life or death.

You’re wrestling with a worry that the two of you are not as close as you previously believed. If you push for an answer to soothe your worries, you’re prioritizing your needs over his. Don’t be that girl. This is an opportunity to be selfless, not self-involved.

Tell your boyfriend that you snooped through his medical file. He may have left it in plain sight for that reason, but that’s not a justification for your choice to poke around. Apologize to him for snooping, own your fears and ask how you can help him. Start going to a support group or seeing a therapist. It’s important that you stay aware of your fears and feelings. Don’t drag them into the relationship. He doesn’t need the stress. He needs support so he can heal and thrive regardless of what’s ahead.

of the guy I do like. Now every time I try to talk to the one I like, he says I’m taken. I told him I’m not, but he doesn’t get it. Advice, please!

Compliment the man you do like in front of the man you’re not interested in. Tell the man you’re not into that you’re up for friendship, but never with benefits and never anything more than friends.

You can also ask yourself why you’re hot for a man who runs when he hears you being complimented. You can wonder what kind of strange belief system he must have in order to equate a compliment with ownership.

Was there something in your reaction to the compliment that he recognized but you’re in denial about? Did you hope that the man you like might find you more desirable after knowing that another man wants you? My advice is to look for love outside the office before this triangle tips into a drama that threatens your job or worse. Ω

If you push for an answer in order to soothe your worries, you’re prioritizing your needs over his.

I don’t know what to do about these two guys at work. The one I really like started paying attention to me, talking more and flirting a little. Then the other day, the guy I don’t like complimented my appearance in front

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I asked my friend, “What do you call a reindeer without eyes?” He replied, “I have no eye deer.”

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FRee will aStRology

by Maxfield Morris

by rob brezsny

ma x fie ld m@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

For tHe Week oF DeCeMber 6, 2018 ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I write a

horoscope for you, I focus on one or two questions because I don’t have room to cover every single aspect of your life. The theme I’ve chosen this time may seem a bit impractical, but if you take it to heart, I guarantee you it will have practical benefits. It comes from Italian author Umberto Eco. He wrote, “Perhaps the mission of those who love humanity is to make people laugh at the truth, to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth.”

I swear to you, Aries, that if you laugh at the truth and make the truth laugh in the coming days, you will be guided to do all the right and necessary things.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have a cosmic

mandate and a poetic license to stir up far more erotic fantasies than usual. It’ll be healthy for you to unleash many new thoughts about sexual experiments that would be fun to try and novel feelings you’d like to explore and people whose naked flesh you’d be interested to experience sliding and gliding against yours.

But please note that the cosmic mandate and poetic license do not necessarily extend to you acting out your fantasies. The important thing is to let your imagination run wild. That will catalyze a psychic healing you didn’t even realize you needed.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In my continuing efforts to help you want what you need and need what you want, I’ve collected four wise quotes that address your looming opportunities: 1.

“What are you willing to give up, in order to become who you really need to be?” —author Elizabeth Gilbert. 2. “Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark.

That’s where the most important things come from.” —writer Rebecca Solnit. 3. “You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary.” ―writer Frederick Buechner. 4. “Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” ―novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’ve called on science

fiction writer Robert Heinlein to provide your horoscope. According to my astrological analysis, his insights are exactly what you need to focus on right now. “Do not confuse ‘duty’ with what other people expect of you,” he wrote.

“They are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What does “beauty” mean

to you? What sights, sounds, images, qualities, thoughts and behavior do you regard as beautiful? Whatever your answers might be to those questions right now, I suggest you expand and deepen your definitions in the coming weeks.

You’re at a perfect pivot point to invite more gorgeous, lyrical grace into your life; to seek out more elegance and charm and artistry; to cultivate more alluring, delightful magic.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You know the expiration

dates that appear on the labels of the prescription drugs you buy? They don’t mean that the drugs lose their potency after that date. In fact, most drugs are still quite effective for at least another ten years. Let’s use this fact as a metaphor for a certain resource or influence in your life that you fear is used up or defunct. I’m guessing it still has a lot to offer you, although you will have to shift your thinking in order to make its reserves fully available.

where your enhanced powers of persuasion will be most useful.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In May of 1883, the

newly built Brooklyn Bridge opened for traffic.

Spanning the East River to link Manhattan and Brooklyn, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. But almost immediately, people spread rumors that it was unstable. There was a growing fear that it might even crumble and fall. That’s when charismatic showman P. T. Barnum stepped in. He arranged to march 21 elephants across the bridge. There was no collapse, and so the rumors quickly died. I regard the coming weeks as a time when you should take inspiration from Barnum. Provide proof that will dispel gossipy doubt. Drive away superstitious fear with dramatic gestures.

Demonstrate how strong and viable your improvements really are.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Robert Louis

Stevenson published his gothic novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1886. It was a

bestseller and quickly got turned into a theatrical production. In the ensuing 132 years, there have been more than 100 further adaptations of the story into film and stage productions.

Here’s the funny thing about this influential work: Stevenson wrote it fast. It took him three feverish days to get the gist of it, and just another six weeks to revise. Some biographers say he was high on drugs during the initial burst, perhaps cocaine. I suspect you could also produce some robust and interesting creation in the coming weeks, Sagittarius—and you won’t even need cocaine to fuel you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A blogger on Tumblr with the handle “Ffsshh” composed a set of guidelines that I think will be apt and useful for you to draw on in the coming weeks. Please study these suggestions and adapt them for your healing process. “Draw stick figures. Sing off-key. Write bad poems. Sew ugly clothes.

Run slowly. Flirt clumsily. Play video games on ‘easy.’ OK? You do not need to be good at something to enjoy it. Sometimes talent is overrated. Do things you like doing just because you like doing them. It’s OK to suck.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian athlete

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player who ever lived. He was also the first to become a billionaire. But when he was growing up, he didn’t foresee the glory that awaited him. For example, in high school he took a home economics class so as to acquire cooking abilities.

Why? He imagined that as an adult he might have to prepare all of his own meals. His ears were so huge and ungainly, he reasoned, that no woman would want to be his wife. So the bad news was that he suffered from a delusion.

The good news was that because of his delusion, he learned a useful skill. I foresee a similar progression for you, Aquarius. Something you did that was motivated by misguided or irrelevant ideas may yield positive results.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Bible does not say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or even a “sinner.” There’s no mention of her sexual proclivities at all. Delusional ideas about her arose in the Middle Ages, instigated by priests who confused her with other women in the Bible. The truth is that the Bible names her as a key ally to Christ, and the crucial witness to his resurrection. Fortunately, a number of scholars and church leaders have in recent years been working to correct her reputation. I invite you to be motivated and inspired by this transformation as you take steps to adjust and polish your own image during the coming weeks. It’s time to get your public and private selves into closer alignment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran rapper Eminem is renowned for his verbal skill. It may be best exemplified in his song “Rap God,” in which he delivers 1,560 words in six minutes and four seconds, or 4.28 words per second. In one stretch, he crams in 97 words in 15 seconds, achieving a pace of 6.5 words per second.

I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will also be unusually adept at using words, although your forte will be potent profundity rather than sheer speed. I encourage you to prepare by making a list of the situations

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 realastrology.com.

Sight reseen Dazell Mallory, a former Bay Area resident now living in Sacramento,

was born with a rare eye condition— pathological myopia, an extreme case of nearsightedness that predisposed him to cataracts. Doctors predicted that by the time he reached his mid 30s, Mallory’s eyesight would start to decline precipitously.

After years spent coping with very poor eyesight, his vision did diminish, eventually leaving him only able to distinguish between the presence or absence of light. For 10 years, his condition resulted in his being sent from one doctor to another, he says, never receiving concrete solutions for his prognosis.

In 2017, one referral landed him at the UC Davis Eye Center, and surgeon Jeffrey Caspar suggested a risky surgery that could potentially help restore Mallory’s eyesight. The short story? The complex surgery worked better than either of them hoped.

Now, the 48-year-old Mallory can drive

a car and he can play tennis—sometimes even without his glasses. He shared his

Dazell Mallory had an eye surgery last year that drastically restored his vision.

story with SN&R, and while he can see better than ever before, it’s not all peaches and cream.

Can you tell me about yourself?

All my life I’ve been legally blind, I was born premature and I had a very rare eye condition … as a result of that, I had no peripheral vision and my central vision was very limited. … There were a lot of setbacks in my life because of my vision. In my mid 30s, my vision started to decrease rapidly, to where I had to get on Social Security, because I was driving awful. I had a driver’s license at the time, and I was getting ready to start a new career path, an airport shuttle driver. … I kept going to doctors, optometrists to get a prescription, and two or three months later it would change again. Nobody really understood what was going on. … My whole life was basically seeing doctor after doctor, and they’d tell me to hold on, then they’d refer me to another doctor.

What happened next?

They said back then that in my mid-30s I would lose my eyesight, and that’s exactly what happened. When I lost my sight, I had to learn how to read Braille, I had to walk with a cane, I had to get assistance.

I was like that for 10 years, until UC Davis did a high-risk surgery that wasn’t even supposed to work. … I came out to where I had pretty much, almost perfect vision.

Right eye is 20/30 and left eye is 20/50. …

Compared to what I had before, I’d never had that kind of vision before.

PHOTO BY MAXFIELD MORRIS

Never?

basketball, I kept getting hit with the ball.

When I played football, I ended up getting knocked out, and when I played baseball, I got hit with the bat too many times, and one time I actually got knocked out and I had to go to the hospital, because I was bleeding and everything. It was at that time I realized I couldn’t play contact sports because of my eyesight.

Never in my life.

Had you lost hope that something could be done for your condition?

No, because I wasn’t even worried about it. Because at that time, before it happened, for 10 years and all my life, I knew that my eyesight was going to go eventually, so for anything to possibly happen where it could be reversed? I wouldn’t even imagine it, because everyone said there was nothing to be done … I had no hope.

When you regained your vision, how was that transition?

How did your eyesight affect you throughout your life?

Besides academics, having to read things right in front of my face … when I played sports when I was young, I got injured a lot because I had no side vision.

What sports did you play?

I tried to play contact sports. You know, when you’re a kid, you try to fit in with other people. So I played football, basketball, baseball. Every time I tried to play those contact sports, I kept getting injured. I know this may sound strange—I knew that I had bad vision, because I always had thick glasses—but because you’ve been learning so long, it’s what you’re used to … I tried not to let it worry me, because I was trying to fit in with everyone else. … When I played

It was weird, let me be honest with you.

After the surgery, I was able to start to see people, but once I got home … you know the movie Star Trek? And how they go through the time warp, and you see all these lights, and they go fast, it’s kind of like that. That’s how my eyesight was happening, things started to come into focus very rapidly and colors were very bright, that I’d never seen in that detail before.

Has your life changed at all?

It’s hard. I’m still on Social Security, and that’s my only source of income. … I thought having my sight back would make my life easier—but it hasn’t. Ω

Mallory has a fundraising campaign to help him regain independence; visit it at gofundme.com/ independence-after-blindness.

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