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Can the

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Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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Volume 30, iSSue 45

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thurSday, february 21, 2019

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02.21.19

contents

February 21, 2019 | Vol. 30, Issue 45

Black superheroes at Verge Center for the Arts.

editor’s note letters essay + streetalk greenlight 15 minutes news feature arts + culture music

04 05 06 08 09 10 14 20 24

20 stage dish calendar capital cannabis guide ask joey

25 26 28 35 42

cover design by sarah hansel

Joanna Kelly Hopkins, Julian Lang, Calvin Maxwell, Greg Meyers, John Parks, Perdea Rich, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan, Carlton Singleton, Viv Tiqui N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Laura Hillen

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 Editorial Assistant Rachel Mayfield Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Amy Bee, Rob Brezsny, Aaron Carnes, Jim Carnes, Joey Garcia, Kate Gonzales, Howard Hardee, Ashley Hayes-Stone, Jim Lane, Ken Magri, James Raia, Patti Roberts, Shoka, Stephanie Stiavetti, Dylan Svoboda, Bev Sykes, Graham Womack Creative Services Manager Elisabeth Bayard-Arthur Art Directors Sarah Hansel, Maria Ratinova Publications Designer Katelynn Mitrano Publications and Advertising Designer Cathy Arnold Ad Designer Naisi Thomas Contributing Photographers Jon Hermison

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

Advertising Consultants Mark Kates, 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 Aguirre, Rosemarie Beseler, Kimberly Bordenkircher, Mike Cleary, Tom Downing, Marty Fetterley, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg,

N&R Publications Staff Writer/Photographer Anne Stokes

N&R Publications Staff Writer Thea Rood N&R Publications Editorial Assistant Caroline Harvey

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

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

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costs of the new Simmons Community Center, which will boast a basketball court, a skating rink around it and a video game room.

Simmons sees it as a “safe space” for young people and a community gathering place—as it was when he used to roller skate there in seventh grade—but with some “swag” for the new generation. He Pastor Les Simmons wants hopes to open the center at a safe space with some swag. least six days a week, draw 150 to 200 youths a day and offer a wide range of health California Skate University opened in January and social programs.

1976, when roller skating was all the It could also boost the community’s rage. Located at Mack Road and Stockton economy. Simmons plans to hire at least a Boulevard in South Sacramento, it was adverdozen youths and young adults as skate attentised as the area’s “new ultra modern skate dants, basketball referees and snack bar and center,” offering special sessions for “Adults, custodial staff.

Families, Tiny Tots and Housewives.”

While it’s only the latest project for Its heyday was decades ago, but now the Simmons, he told me that of all his accomroller rink is about to be restored to some of plishments, “this is number one.” its past splendor—for a new generation and a And he’s done a lot. new purpose.

Simmons has been on the front Nearby South Sacramento lines for decades of keepChristian Center bought it in ing young people out of Les October 2015 and fixed it up trouble. He was a leader in Simmons sees enough to put on programs Sacramento’s version of the on child health and parentrenovated roller rink Ceasefire program—which ing, plus youth basketball gave gang leaders a second as a “safe space” for and family skate nights. chance with job training young people and a Les Simmons, the and other help—and was church’s senior pastor and community gathering active in its successor, a prominent community Cops and Clergy. place—with some leader, had much bigger He has also been deeply swag. ambitions, however. involved in the debate over The center closed last October police shootings. In 2015, he for a more extensive renovation that was handpicked by then-Mayor will end up costing about $1 million and is Kevin Johnson as the first chairman of the scheduled to be complete in May. A big fundSacramento Community Police Commission. ing piece came in place on February 5, when In October 2016, Simmons resigned in protest the City Council allocated $350,000 at Mayor after officers killed Joseph Mann because the Darrell Steinberg’s request. commission didn’t have the power to investiFrom the private side, the Sacramento gate such cases.

Kings donated a basketball floor that was There’s no one solution to gun violence used last season. SMUD is making the center and youth gangs. More job opportunities and energy efficient with LED lighting. Sierra safe places will help. That this center is a true Health Foundation, the South Sacramento public-private partnership led by someone HEAL zone and Jesus Culture Sacramento are deeply rooted in his community makes it even also major supporters, Simmons says. better. Ω He is still seeking donations to help cover the estimated $200,000 a year in operating photo by foon rhee

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No weapons needed Re: “Fear of the Left” by Raheem F. Hosseini (News, February 7): Plain and simple, freedom of speech does not include the use of bricks, chains, bottles and knives. I’ve marched, I’ve protested. Not one time have I needed to bring weapons. The only reason someone brings weapons to a protest is because they are looking for a fight.

The ordinance makes sense. Police wear riot gear because harassers shove cameras in their faces, scream, cry and dare them to retaliate. These temper tantrums by adults don’t create compassion, they only make the general public less empathetic. Your tactics aren’t working, grow the hell up.

K.L. RogeRs s acr am en t o / v i a e m a i l

Guessing at homeless Re: “Making the homeless count” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Feature, February 7): In every jurisdiction in California, similar inconsistencies crop up. Until there is widespread use of housing information systems by the most active human services agencies in each city and county, these numbers are just unvalidated guesses. So many folks just fall through the cracks and are stranded without any help at all. Anyone homeless for more than a month or two has been disserved by our cruel system.

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SMUD’s off switch Re: “SMUD isn’t as green as you think” by Thomas J. Meagher (Essay, January 24): We have a 9.1 kilowatt solar ground mount system and I was thinking about adding a similar system next to the existing one. We have a large home, a 40,000-gallon swimming pool and acreage. We run a pump for the pool and a well for watering the large lawn. I had my solar person approach SMUD to see about the permit needed. SMUD informed him that the transformer on the pole was too old and could not handle both systems. I always thought SMUD was for people using solar power. As Meagher states, “SMUD seems disinterested, untouchable and unaccountable.”

Dad’s empty promises Re: “Father refigured” by Rachel Mayfield (Essay, January 17): Rachel Mayfield was absolutely correct: Fathers who make these kinds of jokes and give these speeches are doing absolutely nothing other than boosting their own egos and virtue signaling without “doing any of the heavy lifting required to actually prevent gender discrimination and sexual violence.”

My own dad—since I was old enough to understand what dating was—has always said that if anyone ever hurt me that he would go to jail for what he did protecting me.

Every time we saw a movie like Taken or heard about a news story of a girl hurt or dead because of sexual violence, my dad would always crow about how far he would go to protect me or my mom if anything ever happened. Contrary to what he has always told me, when I finally came to him after I broke up with my ex, my dad didn’t believe me. He immediately grilled me with all kinds of intrusive questions and wanted to know intimate things because he wanted proof. It took him two weeks to apologize.

Most of my friends who have talked to me about abuse they’ve faced from ex-boyfriends have mentioned that their fathers reacted exactly the same way. I wonder how many other women have stories like this to share about their fathers.

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02.21.19

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sN&r

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5

essay

By CrAig segAll

Craig Segall is on the executive committee of the Environmental Council of Sacramento.

Tear down the freeway

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sN&r

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02.21.19

By Ashley hAyes-stone

Asked At sAcrAmento nAturAl Food co-op:

Your unlikely food combo? mAry BlendermAnn psychology lab manager

A couple of evenings ago, [my housemates] and I had lentils and quinoa and it was good … One thing that was weird about it was it had sliced almonds, cashews and whole garlic cloves.

tAtiyAnA weltmAn student

I like Thousand Island dressing and pizza. I got bored one day and we were out of ranch so I thought: Why not try Thousand Island and Hawaiian pizza? It went really well together.

I-5 is a big roadblock to fixing Sacramento’s waterfront find that traffic mostly disperses Sacramento’s riverfront sucks, into a renewed urban grid and that because it’s for cars, not people.

Interstate 5 cuts a gash between long-haul trucks can be steered onto existing roads that loop town and the river, spewing around town. pollution, taking up valuable land Imagine: Bridges open and filling the air with the roar of to bicycles connecting West big rigs. Tear it down before it’s Sacramento and North too late. Short-sighted city and Sacramento to the core in a state officials are planning to sink prosperous whole. People would billions of dollars into dead-end get to know the rivers without freeways over the next few years. zooming past them.

They need to be stopped.

The city is holding an open Removing freeways is not competition on ways to revitalize a radical idea. It’s brought the waterfront, with cities back to life all entries due March over the world.

11. But I-5 is a San Francisco’s huge roadblock Embarcadero Removing to those ideas. bustles with freeways is not Won’t its freeway tearing it gone; so does a radical idea. It’s down cost Portland’s too much? brought cities back riverfront.

Nope.

Seattle is now to life all over the Freeways following suit. take up huge world.

Nor is freeway amounts of removal just for build-able land that fancy big cities: isn’t taxed and cost Rust-belt Rochester billions to maintain. Caltrans filled in the freeway trench in its is proposing $500 million to overdowntown only a few years ago. haul Business 80 and another $1.5 Blue-collar Milwaukee turned its billion to rebuild the I-5 bridge freeway into a thriving riverfront. over the American River, spending The basic idea works anywhere: our gas tax dollars to subsidize yet Replace your roads with houses more driving. With that kind of and parks, and your city will be money, we could stop spending better. on last century’s worst idea and Where will the cars go? On to instead remove the freeways, surface streets, mostly, slowing hiring thousands of workers and down and stopping at businesses. creating high-value land that could Cities that tear down highways

streetalk

bring even more jobs to the city.

The savings don’t stop there.

Highway traffic belches air pollution, raising health costs. And climate pollution subsidized by road building comes at yet more social costs. Experts at the State Smart Transportation Initiative and the Congress for the New Urbanism are clear: Freeway removal is a net plus for city economies.

What about just decking and building over I-5? The city has explored that idea, and it’s better than nothing. But it doesn’t reduce air pollution or the incentive toward sprawl or deal with the above-ground part of the road spoiling the railyards.

Sacramento, itself, once knew better. Our riverfront neighborhoods were among the most densely populated areas of the West Coast, with thriving immigrant communities living in Victorian houses and beautiful old brick buildings. Then we tore them down and put up a freeway and some office buildings.

If we start now, we can have a city for people rather than cars. We can have our rivers again. We can restore our city, just as residents in so many other places have done.

We can put people to work and give them new homes. To do it, we need to demand vision from our politicians and organize ourselves.

Let’s start now. Ω

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greenlight

Dear high school seniors ...

by Jeff vonKaenel

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

In a few very short months, nearly all of I am reminded that my generation has you will be experiencing one of life’s a long way to go if we want to leave a most important milestones—leaving high better world for these students. But their school and going out into the world of hope and optimism is contagious. work and college. Congratulations!

The idea for our college essay contest But before you go, we have a favor to came from my watching my daughter, ask those of you who put your heart and Natasha, spend so much time and energy soul into your college essay. Could you crafting her college essay. The questions please send it to us? were designed to capture her essence.

There will be some prize money And she used the opportunity to think and some fame, for those of you whose deeply about herself. Her essay went essays are selected for publication in the through many revisions.

Sacramento News & Review. One of you Reading her essay, I was struck by will be on the cover of this newspaper! how seriously she thought about things But I am not asking you to submit your and how insightful her perspective was. I essay for your benefit. I am asking you to became even more proud of my daughter. send us your essay for the benefit of the I thought her essay deserved a wider rest of us. audience. And I realized that every year This will be the 10th year that there would be thousands of Sacramento SN&R has dedicated an issue high school seniors whose essays to Sacramento high school deserved to be read by more students’ college essays. people than just their We publish about 10 parents and the blearyThe stories essays in print and post eyed college review are moving and more online. committee members. so real. And through The challenges So in 2010, we faced by many of launched our first them the human spirit these young essayists college essay contest. shines brightly, with have been daunting: And we’re happy to hope for a better overcoming autism, the announce that we’re death of a parent, being continuing this tradition future. of mixed race, experiencagain this year. ing poverty, escaping war to The rules are simple. All come to the United States, being Sacramento-area high school gay, facing bullies, living with an abusive seniors graduating this year are eligible. parent ... and much more. Their stories The essays need to be no longer than 650 take us to places we haven’t been, or words. Students should send their essays perhaps remind us of experiences we had as a Word document, a PDF or in the when we were younger. The stories are body of an email to collegeessay@newsmoving and so real. And through them the review.com with the subject line “College human spirit shines brightly, with hope Essay Contest.” The deadline is Tuesday, for a better future.

May 7 at 5 p.m.

Each year, when I read the college So, high school students, please send essay issue and then meet the students us your essay. Think of it as a community who wrote these essays, I feel energized. I service project. Ω feel more willing to take on the everyday challenges of life and the struggle to deal with global warming, political polarizaJeff vonKaenel is the president, CEO and majority tion, income inequality and all the rest. owner of the News & Review.

8 | Sn&r | 02.21.19

15 minutes

by Maxfield Morris

m a x fi e l d m @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Michael Colen details the storied history of rap in Sacramento.

PHOTO BY maria raTinOva

Sac-rapmento Michael Colen is a rapper. He’s also a math teacher, but that’s another story. Colen lays down lines as First Degree The D.E., making the most of his warbly, throaty voice and a dramatic delivery. He’s been at it locally for a few decades now, and has rapped with some big names: E-40, Tech N9ne, Mac Dre. A few years back, Colen realized the city’s history of rap music was largely overlooked. He made it his goal to document the genre’s early years in the River City, reaching out to artists and conducting interviews. What started as an idea turned into a blog, then turned into his book, The History of Sacramento Rap: 1982-2009. SN&R talked to Colen about the genre, the movement’s local history and more.

When did you start documenting the history of Sacramento rap?

Well, initially I wrote a blog on it. Maybe four years ago, maybe three years ago. And I just realized, it’s our number one commodity. The story was so rich, and people wanted to know.

It needed to be written down. And there was only one person to write it down. So I wrote it, started writing, started interviewing people.

How much do people know about Sacramento’s history with rap?

It’s what people around the world know Sacramento for the most. That was the driving force of this book—was that if you go anywhere in the world and talk about Sacramento, the number one chance is you’re talking about rap music.

And that’s powerful, but it’s the truth. It’s been swept under the rug a long time. But

if you go to Europe, the continent of Africa, Russia, they’re not talking about the Kings, the farm-to-fork … they’re talking about rap music.

We have to embrace that. It’s our history.

Did you come across any really interesting stories in researching?

I would say the number one surprise was the first rap group of all was from Sac: The Triple Threat Three … So Russell Simmons came to town, came to Sac with the new group Run-DMC. They had just hit the scene. The Triple Threat Three, they turned the party out and got Russell’s attention. They offered them a contract, but they had to leave and go to New York to live. And they turned it down.

Two of them wanted to go, one of them didn’t want to … So they stuck together and didn’t go.

It’s just fascinating to think—what if they would’ve just gone, and Sacramento rappers would’ve been dating back to the Run-DMC era?

What was it that made the rap scene fall?

During the rise, everybody was working together. Talent was doing talent, teamed up with business folks doing business. Everybody was working together … Then the fall came ... when people thought they could do it alone, and everyone went off their own way. Artists thought they could do business, business thought they could do artists, and that was when the fall came. … We fell off the map.

Is that still the case today?

Absolutely not. The re-rise came with the Mozzy Lavish D thing—and that’s the next book—but now, Sacramento is as big, maybe bigger than ever with them, and X-Raided getting released. It’s back. Ω Grab a copy of The History of Sacramento rap at Colen’s book reading and discussion at Underground Books, February 23 at 2 p.m., 2814 35th Street.

02.21.19 | sn&R | 9

“May” sits on the railroad tracks spanning her homeless village.

Over the course of a month, the encampment of roughly 13 Southeast Asian immigrants faced heavy rains and flooding.

Photos by Raheem F. hosseini

On the margins of the margins Beside a Sacramento neighborhood, Southeast Asian homeless immigrants battle the elements and avoid exposure

by Raheem F. hosseini

The woman I’ll call May and an older man follow me to my car, parked in a nearby neighborhood that feels like a different universe. A homeowner spots us from an open garage. We try to project normalcy. Nothing to see here. Don’t mind the large homeless encampment just over the hill.

I pop my trunk. Kimberly Church loaded it with tarps, blankets, water, toilet paper and other supplies from her E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. start-up charity. We pack the items into a hobbled wagon.

The older man muscles it—sans help— up a paved hill, across light rail tracks, over a rocky stretch of railroad tracks and down a steep embankment into a muddy gulley.

So this is where May and her people have been.

10 | SN&R | 02.21.19

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

I first met them in the summer of 2016.

The local chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project stumbled onto their massive encampment, scattered across a hard, sun-scabbed dirt lot by 51st Avenue and 30th Street. Almost all were immigrants of Southeast Asian descent. They subsisted in antipodal extremes—from total neglect to total crackdown.

They said the camp existed for years without detection or intervention, but a request by the property owner forced the county’s hand. The Sheriff’s Department evicted 45 occupants while code enforcement officers bulldozed tents. Cards for Sacramento Steps Forward were handed out with the wrong number. A few people got bus passes or food bank referrals. A humanitarian crisis was treated like a quality of life nuisance.

The people scattered. Less than half regrouped two miles south in another lot flanked by automotive shops. A month later, the Sacramento Police Department did the rousting. A smaller group reconnoitered four miles north at Rainbow Mini Park, but the site was too conspicuous. It was raining when the cops came.

That’s about when May’s cellphone number stopped working. In November 2018, I got an email from “the one homeless girl by the park.” She hoped I still remembered her. I find her on January 11.

The bank stretches farther than I can see. Plywood and cardboard shelters have been built into barren tree branches; others are stacked along the shoreline. Tents, tarps, bedsheets and plastic coverings are stretched, propped and battened down with knotted wood, taut twine and heavy rocks.

“Look at this spot we’ve chosen,” May says. “It’s crazy when it floods. You not ready.”

Except for May, who is of Mien descent, everyone else is Hmong.

Because of the stigma surrounding homelessness and her immigration status, I’ve agreed to withhold her real name. May, who is around 30, speaks the best English so she translates. Two other women are in the cluster, one of whom is due to give birth soon. It will be a natural childbirth like the one before it, when the woman knelt in a field next to a Catholic grade school on Franklin Boulevard.

People exit their shanties and unload supplies. This is the village that isn’t supposed to be.

January 16-31 Rain shelled the plastic tarps. It sent mud spurting ankle-high and slicked sharp rocks. The police officers said it wasn’t safe to stay. They offered a ride to the city’s triage homeless shelter. May accepted. She climbed in with her dog. A male friend balked when he saw no food in the car. May believes he just got cold feet.

“Our group, we don’t trust,” she said.

“That’s why I was the one to take the challenge.”

When her people were first discovered in 2016, she was among the only ones to say yes to services. A Sacramento Steps Forward navigator put her on a housing wait list. Then May lost touch with the navigator. Then she got a new one who told her she was no longer on the list.

“Ever since they told me I was off the list, I just don’t want to associate with them anymore,” she said.

On January 16, the police car crawled the length of the city. She scoped blue tarps lining Garden Highway and more of them outside the concrete warehouse where they parked. Inside the gray hangar, strange faces stared from bunks. It made May nervous, but there was a roof and that wasn’t so bad.

May stayed three nights. Bed bugs chewed her arm. The portable restrooms lacked seat covers. She paid a staff

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stateMent speeCH member $5 to keep watch while she showered. Her dog threw up. Her cellphone charger disappeared from the bin beside her bunk. No one talked to her about services.

But there was a roof.

May tried to get two friends in the shelter during a storm, but staff said no walk-ins. Her friends left. May didn’t last much longer.

She said she was the only Asian woman in the shelter, which she found chaotic and boring at the same time. She received written warnings twice for missing curfew.

She had a nighttime babysitting gig across town that made it difficult to get back in time. The third time she missed curfew, she didn’t return. She left her clothes, makeup collection, bedding and $125—her entire savings. She never got them back.

January 30-31 May’s dog Su Yang raises a piercing ruckus from the bottom of a muddy embankment.

May shushes to no avail. She had another dog, a little bucktooth mutt, but he went missing. Five days later, someone told May where to find him. He had been beaten, his eye gouged out. May didn’t want another dog after that, but then someone brought a puppy to the camp.

He was another mixed-breed—long snout and torso, floppy ears, squat legs. He was supposed to go to someone else, but crawled into May’s sleeping bag. She says he fit in her palm. A year later, he’s her protector.

“I just got myself a little tent and my dog, that’s it,” she says with a chuckle. “I live day by day.”

May laughs often. It’s a deflection. It’s permission. Don’t worry about me, the laugh says.

Some teenagers stood atop the ridge chucking rocks at the village. She laughs.

She’s wearing an Army jacket with a february 13-present gaping tear in the pocket. She laughs. She’s A man paddles through the creek’s swift been homeless for five years now, since currents in a canoe. His tree house is her dad died, the bank foreclosed on their surrounded by water, dark water. It hides home and she and her sister were put out. things. It keeps secrets. It froths with lethal She laughs. intent.

Her parents came to this country as Another man drags a wagon up a steep immigrants and became citizens. “That’s bank.

People mill around and stare blankly my next goal, to get my citizenship,” she at their teetering shelters, their sinking tents, says. their disappearing ground. Maybe the water But she wonders if it will be possible will go down. Maybe the storm will break. under this president. “It’s kind of scary May watches and shivers. A wet gust because Donald Trump is trying to deport lashes her hair and rakes her knuckles red. everybody, right?”

After wading calf-deep through stormwater She’s not being rhetorical. Access to rescue the few possessions she has to news is limited and filtered left, she stands in soggy black through social media or wordsocks and sandals. of-mouth. Real-life crises are “That water—if you go “That embellished into straightin, you don’t come out,” up calamities. “I heard water—if you she says. we’re going to World go in, you don’t Two police officers sit War III, too,” she says. in a parked SUV overlookcome out.”

A hazy, late morning ing the shanty town. After sun cast diamonds along May a few minutes, the patrol the fattened creek. Another vehicle drives away. storm is brewing, but May The forecast is ominous. has no plans to leave. She tried The sky is a steel gray. May asks being the bridge between her people and the system. But each time the system let how she and her people can get motel vouchers. I call Ben Avey at Sacramento her down. Each time her people were right: Steps Forward. He explains that while the The helpers don’t help. The helpers bring nonprofit used to dispense the vouchers, trouble. the county controls them and ended that May floats an idea. Maybe she and her arrangement. people could raise enough money to buy “We don’t do outreach for the county a small piece of land where they won’t be anymore,” Avey says. bothered. They’d share it with others in He puts me in touch with the guy at need and take care of the rest. She gestures the county who does. Eduardo Ameneyro to the shanties along the water. says there’s a limited supply of vouchers “This is how people living in Thailand. and fewer motels willing to accept them.

You’d be amazed by what my people can But he offers to send social workers come up with,” she says. “For my group of escorted by law enforcement to the camp people, think about the storm—we survived to do an assessment. May nixes it—no it. The flood, we survived it. I don’t think cops. Ameneyro’s small team comes we’re going anywhere.” across homeless people who decline help all the time.

“We try to be respectful,” he says.

In the nights to come, rain pounds the hidden village. The vegetable garden is submerged. May just got a new puppy she named Sunshine. By morning, Sunshine is gone.

“I lost my puppy,” she texts.

The creek waters rise fast and churn rust-brown. May doesn’t sleep. She waits for the shelling to stop. She shivers from cold and fear. No one comes to offer a ride to the shelter. A countywide homeless count passes without anyone counting them. May and her people are reminded they are on their own. For them that is the best case scenario. Ω

Mayor Darrell Steinberg has now put a dollar figure behind his call for inclusive economic development in Sacramento’s neighborhoods—$200 million over five years.

In his annual state of the City address on Tuesday, Steinberg proposed that an economic equity fund receive $40 million of the $50 million a year in projected additional revenue from the Measure U sales tax increase approved by voters in November.

“Building up all our neighborhoods is good for all of Sacramento,” he said.

Steinberg’s plan must be approved by the City Council, which will also be getting advice from investment experts and a citizens committee.

The mayor moved his speech from the usual downtown site to the Sam and Bonnie Pannell Community Center in Meadowview, less than a mile from where stephon Clark was killed by police officers in March 2018. The protests that followed spotlighted longstanding concerns about lack of jobs and investments in predominantly African-American neighborhoods.

The mayor said that Clark “should not have died” and that he knows there will be “real anger” if the Sacramento County district attorney decides the officers will not face criminal charges. But, he said, there are reforms underway in the Police Department to learn the right lessons from Clark’s death. (Foon Rhee)

not so affordable Plans are underway to transform the historic Capitol Park Hotel into a 134-unit affordable housing development. But it’s coming at double the cost per square foot of a companion project, thanks to the old hotel’s price tag.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously January 29 to work with developer Mercy Housing Corporation and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency to apply for $9.7 million in state funding toward the project.

Before voting, however, Supervisor Susan Peters noted the $847 cost per square foot to transform the 180-unit single-room occupancy hotel into the 134-unit affordable housing project. Peterson was comparing that to the $396 cost per square foot for another affordable housing project, Sunrise Pointe in Citrus Heights.

SHRA Assistant Director Christine Weichert explained that the discrepancy was due to the approximate $10 million cost to acquire the hotel and that the Sunrise Pointe project is being built on vacant land.

According to county and state records, the Capitol Park Hotel is currently owned by Rohenco, Inc., whose owners Ron and Irene Henry battled with the city last year to try to demolish three historic houses on 21st Street. Those plans were later scrapped after push-back from local preservationists.

No preservationists voiced any concerns about Capitol Park Hotel, with Supervisor Don Nottoli questioning if other historic hotels in the county could be transformed.

“Why wouldn’t we go out there and try and help put these deals together and actually be the catalyst?” Nottoli said. “I don’t want to sit around and wait for people to submit an application to me.”

State funding awards are expected to be announced in May. While more than 60 percent of the Capitol Park Hotel project’s $51.5 million cost is slated to be covered by tax credits, a $7.9 million funding gap remains, according to a project document.

(Graham Womack)

02.21.19 | SN&R | 11

Jovana Fajardo and Michelle Pariset discuss rent control at a full house at Sol Collective last week.

Photo by Scott thomaS anderSon

Here come the tenants City’s inability to craft rent control compromise with housing and labor advocates paves way for 2020 ballot fight

by Scott thomaS anderSon

Tenants living in fear of the next rent hike. People choosing between paying rent and eating. Families having to move out as wealthier renters from the Bay Area displace them. There was no shortage of stories at a recent town hall that kicked off the battle to bring rent control and just-cause eviction regulations to Sacramento in 2020.

Organized by a coalition of community and labor groups, the February 15 event drew a full house at Sol Collective on 21st Street.

Tenant advocates spent the evening explaining their upcoming campaign for the Sacramento Renter Protection and Community Stabilization Charter Amendment, as well as recruiting volunteers and neighborhood leaders to spread their message around the city.

“We’ve put all of our best talent together,” said Margarita Maldonado of SEIU Local 1000. “Now we need to get out into the community.”

Tamie Dramer of the Sacramento Central Labor Council told the gathering to prepare for an information battle.

“This is about educating when it comes to all of the myths and 12 | SN&R | 02.21.19

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

misconceptions that we know are going to be coming from the other side,” she said.

Indeed, the real estate industry spent nearly $80 million to defeat a statewide ballot initiative in 2018 that would have given local governments more control over rent protections. Big financial contributions came from the California Apartment Association and Blackstone, a Wall Street hedge fund that owns the majority of rental houses in Sacramento County.

Given that recent history, local rent control supporters are readying for a political street fight.

Similar efforts are spilling into all corners of California. Tenants in Richmond and Mountain View pushed for—and won—rent control protections three years ago. Now, renters in Santa Rosa, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Long Beach, Pasadena, National City, Inglewood, Glendale, Pomona, Santa Ana and parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County are demanding rent control, just-cause evictions or both.

But Sacramento’s struggle stands out because its mayor was outflanked

by his own City Council members California Apartment Association and when he tried to negotiate a comproallied groups make is that rent control mise. In July 2018, Mayor Darrell will discourage developers from buildSteinberg attempted to head off the ing new housing units, thus exacerbat2020 initiative by forging a rent ing the crisis. SHA’s paper argues stabilization and tenants protection that claim simply isn’t supported by measure. But that effort was abanevidence or recent market trends. doned around the same time council “Ironically, cities with active members Ricking Jennings, Steve rent stabilization policies have seen Hansen and Eric Guerra introduced more construction of apartments than a competing measure, the Tenant cities without rent stabilization,” Protection and Relief Act, which Beaty wrote. “In the Bay Area, San housing advocates claim offers no Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland have meaningful protections at all. seen more new, multifamily apartJonah Paul, an organizer with ment buildings than other cities in the Sacramento’s Democratic Socialists of region, even though all three have rent America, doesn’t think Steinberg tried stabilization policies. … Los Angeles hard enough to craft a compromise.

County, which has a rent stabilization “I think he could have done it,” ordinance, saw a 61-percent increase Paul said. “We needed a champion. in new construction from July 2016 Now we just have each other.” to June 2017, with 10,000 new units Steinberg’s office declined to built.” offer comment for this story.

This week, Bob Friday’s town hall Magnuson, a spokesman came just days after for a rent control “We Sacramento Housing opposition group, needed a Alliance issued a doubled down on the white paper summaassertion the ballot champion. Now rizing the extent of measure will hurt we just have each the region’s rental housing. crisis and counter“We all agree other.” ing some common Sacramento has a Jonah Paul talking points against serious affordable Sacramento DSA rent control. housing problem,” he Citing real estate wrote in a statement. data, studies by PolicyLink “But this extreme and and internal numbers from City deeply flawed ballot initiative Hall, the alliance emphasized that will only make the situation worse.”

Sacramento suffered the highest rent Given that the Sacramento increases in the nation in 2017 and Renter Protection and Community saw the median rent outpace median Stabilization Charter Amendment income growth by 3.6 percent last caps rent increases at the consumer year. Now, 80 percent of extremely index price, between 2 percent to 5 low income families are spending more percent annually, SHA’s research also than half their income on rent. The gave advocates a broader economic paper also notes that residents of color message to take to local neighborhave been hit particularly hard, with 64 hoods. The agency estimates that if all percent of African-American tenants Sacramentans spent no more than 30 and 59 percent of Latino tenants percent of their income on rent, there paying nearly a third of their income would be an extra $302 million a year on rent. circulating in the city’s economy.

Authored by SHA policy analyst Housing advocates at last week’s Veronica Beaty, the paper concludes town hall discussed those financial that the housing crisis is threatening to dynamics, with experts standing by “destabilize Sacramento as a whole” to translate into Spanish and Hmong. because nearly half of the city’s resiAnyone wanting to volunteer on the dents are classified as low, very low or upcoming rent stabilization and justextremely low income. cause eviction campaign can sign up at The timing of SHA’s research Housing4Sacramento.org. allowed it to analyze key objections “The start of this year is flying by,” to rent control that opponents raised Dramer told the crowd. “We have 12 in 2018. The main argument the months to build a machine.” Ω

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With 50 percent of eligible voters hitting the California’s Voter’s Choice Act, in which every polls this past November, California saw its high- registered voter in the county received a ballot est midterm turnout in 36 years, punctuated by a in the mail 28 days before the election, with the dramatic increase in historically underrepresented option to fill it out and mail it from home. Los populations.

Angeles County plans to participate, at least in Latinos, Asian Americans and young adults part, in 2020, with around five other counties all voted at a higher rate than previous midterm showing interest. elections, according to a new report by the Simply put, it’s easier to vote in California California Civic Engagement Project at the today. But other factors, including the tumultuous University of Southern California. national political climate, could have played a Both Latinos and Asian Americans effectively role in increased turnout as well. doubled turnout from the last midterm election, “There were two things in this election with 36 percent of eligible Latinos and 33 percent cycle that really we felt should drive turnout of eligible Asian Americans voting—up from significantly higher than past elections,” said Paul 17 percent and 18 percent in 2014, respectively.

Mitchell, vice president of Political Data, Inc., a (Polling experts cannot parse out black voters voter data company based in Sacramento. “One using this methodology, which involves pulling of them is the phenomenon of Trump.” traditionally Hispanic and Asian surnames Leading into the election, President Donald from the state’s voting record, since Trump tried to stoke Republican their last names are often indistinturnout by agitating anxieties over guishable from white voters’.) immigration. Not only might California In Sacramento County, this have increased turnout eligible Latino turnout rose on the right, it also had the has made from 20 percent in 2014 to potential to mobilize the unprecedented 38 percent, while AsianLatino community against the American participation rose president’s rhetoric. efforts to make from 18 to 30 percent.

The other potential factor voter registration Young voters 18 to 24 more for an increased California than tripled in representation turnout was that the state’s easier. from the 2014 midterms, when ballot was the most diverse in only 8 percent cast ballots. In history. In particular, residents saw 2018, 27.5 percent of registered youth more Latino candidates in 2018—and, voted—a figure comparable to the youth share now, more statewide elected officials—than in most presidential election years, when historiever before. cally underrepresented populations are more While Latinos and Asian Americans showed likely to vote. improvement with one-third of their registered According to CCEP founding director Mindy populations turning out in 2018, 61 percent of Romero, it’s not easy to pinpoint the reasons non-Latino/Asian registered Californians showed for this rise in numbers. “It’s really a long game up at the polls. Registered youth made up 14 when you’re trying to make a causal connection,” percent of the state’s eligible voters, but just 8 she said. percent of all voters last November. All three Still, many recent developments may have populations have lower than average registration played a role. For instance, California has made rates. unprecedented efforts to make voter registration “We’re still not seeing the full impact of their easier. Today a potential voter can register online potential and future voting power,” Mitchell said. or just show up at the polls on election day, Romero said that there is always work to do register and then fill out a ballot. The state has to get underrepresented communities to the polls. started a pre-registration process for teens as “I think it’s important that people don’t rest young as 16, which automatically registers them on assumptions for 2020,” she said. “It’s about on their 18th birthdays. mobilization, it’s about people being contacted On top of all of this, five counties, including and reached out to and being told why it’s imporSacramento County, participated last year in tant to vote.” Ω

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Long-suffering Kings fans are hoping to see a playoff game in person for the first time since 2006.

by Ailene VoiSin Photos by Jon hermison

T

Can the SaCramento KingS maKe the nBa playoffS for the firSt time SinCe 2006?

14 | SN&R | 02.21.19

he Sacramento Kings of recent in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors, seasons—of the brooding big man, who coincidentally, would be their likely the plodding pace, the threatened opponent should the impossible or improbmoves—have been replaced by fresh faces, able occur and the Kings’ 13-year postseason younger legs and faster feet. drought come to an end.

The kids are all right. Hell, the kids are Thirteen years. Where were you when the damn good!

Spurs eliminated the Kings in the opening In a season that has led to high praise, round in 2006? head-shaking incredulity and the George W. Bush was president. most joy in the kingdom since Twitter was launched. Paul the wild and wonderful McCartney and Heather “This is teams of the late 1990s Mills split up. Dick a great fan and early 2000s, the Cheney accidentally Kings have transshot his hunting base, and they formed the threebuddy. Closer to love it so much and year-old Golden 1 home, De’Aaron Center into their Fox, Marvin they’re passionate about own personal Bagley and Harry basketball. So there is a playground.

Giles were in lot of pressure, but it’s They run, they elementary school. jump. They pass, Buddy Hield, Willie fun.” they cut. They shoot Cauley-Stein and buddy hield from deep and defend Bogdan Bogdanovic Kings guard some of the time. Yes, were teenagers—the there is still the inconsistent latter in his homeland, sadly rim protection and defensive monitoring the Kings demise rebounding. But let’s not get greedy. with thousands of his fellow hoopGive it a few more weeks. loving Serbians.

At the All-Star break, Coach Dave Joerger “There’s a lot of pressure,” Hield has led the Kings to a 30-27 record, one game acknowledged. “You know why? Because behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the this city hasn’t been to the playoffs since eighth and final playoff spot in the bruising 2005-06. It would be a joy to get them back Western Conference and only two games there. This is a great fan base, and they love it behind the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. so much and they’re passionate about basketTheir delightful run resumes Thursday night ball. So there is a lot of pressure, but it’s fun.”

longest playoff droughts in the nba

Besides being immensely likeable and marketable, and appearing to genuinely appreciate each other, this is a dynamic and entertaining bunch. Even when they lose, they tend to falter in dramatic fashion—blowing a big lead here, overcoming a large deficit and coming up just short there.

If not yet must-see TV for the broader national audience—although you have to figure that is coming—they can no longer be dismissed as the same sad, irrelevant Kings. People are paying attention.

Hield, Fox, Bogdanovic and Bagley all received favorable reviews last weekend after showcasing their skills in the All-Star weekend events in Charlotte. Hield—the aptly nicknamed “Buddy

Buckets”—kicked it in the opening round of the three-point shooting contest. In the Rising Stars game, Bogdanovic displayed his nuanced, all-around abilities, Fox dazzled with 16 assists and Bagley broke out for explosive dunks.

Yet the All-Star weekend is merely the appetizer, the warm-up act to the real deal that takes place two months from now. And what began as a wistful whisper within Sacramento’s postseason-starved, basketball-crazy community (shhhh!! The playoffs!!) has become part of the daily conversation.

When I had coffee with Kings General Manager Vlade Divac recently at a café near his Midtown home, several patrons recognized the beloved Kings

icon and took photos and asked for autographs.

More than a few fondly recalled the glory years, and mentioned Doug Christie, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Chris Webber. Yet most of them represented the current generation of Kings fans who still love Vlade and the gang, still cherish the memories, but want to move on from the past. Mostly, they wanted to talk about that elusive, tantalizing, so-close-you-canalmost-touch-it postseason.

“It would mean so much,” said Divac. “I remember my first time in the playoffs at Arco Arena. It was so loud, the floor was shaking. You couldn’t hear, you couldn’t hear anything. It was unbelievable. I want my kids to experience that because—what we are trying to build here the next three four years—when you taste the playoffs, it speeds everything up. You get hungrier because you want more. And the fans, too. They are buying in, trusting us again.”

SurpaSSing expectationS

new york knicks 5 seasons (not since 2013)

denver nuggets 5 seasons (not since 2013)

l.a. lakers 5 seasons (not since 2013)

orlando magic 6 seasons (not since 2012)

phoenix suns 8 seasons (not since 2010)

sacramento kings 12 seasons (not since 2006)

Divac, interestingly, has a confession to make: Similar to the majority of his colleagues, the media prognosticators and probably many long-suffering fans, he didn’t expect this season to unfold as favorably as it has, either. His preseason best-case scenario had the Kings winning 30 or so games, competing hard, developing individually and collectively and earning a postseason berth a year from now.

As training camp ended, several key personnel questions persisted. Divac had added veteran Nemanja Bjelica Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox elevates to balance the floor with his for a slam during three-point shooting and to offer the 102-96 win over front-court depth, but he was the Miami Heat on unable to upgrade the small February 8. forward position, the team’s most glaring weakness. He inquired about Otto Porter, Jr., Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes and the improving Josh Jackson, all to no avail. And it was impossible to predict how much point guard Fox had progressed from his rookie season and to what extent Bagley and Harry Giles would contribute in their first seasons.

The Bagley-Giles puzzle was particularly significant because of Willie Cauley-Stein’s confounding inability to consistently pursue rebounds or protect the rim. Not much has changed. In the last year of his rookie contract, the 7-foot, fourth-year center is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, up from 7 this time last season. But there are still too many occasions when he stares at loose balls or gets beaten for critical boards.

(See Denver’s Nikola Jokic’s last-second stickback on February 13 that beat the Kings).

Even with the quick start by Bjelica and the emergence of Bagley and Giles after some initial rough patches, the Kings rank near the bottom in both defensive and overall rebounding.

Nonetheless, their surprising success convinced Divac to dip into the available salary cap space and acquire Barnes and swingman Alec Burks at the February 7 trade deadline.

“The kids put themselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs,” Divac explained. “They really jelled. When that happened, we did what we could to help rather than wait for the off season.”

“the longest drought” continued on page 16

02.21.19 | SN&R | 15

“the longest drought” continued from page 15

Can Barnes make a differenCe? The hope is that the addition of the 6-foot-8 Barnes, who averaged a career-best 6.1 rebounds last season, solidifies the small forward position and improves the club on both ends.

“He’s a good fit for me,” Joerger said after the trade that sent Justin Jackson and Iman Shumpert to Dallas. “He’s a versatile player, a little bit of

current western conference standings (The top 8 teams will make it to the playoffs)

1

warriors

2

nuggets

3

thunder

4

trail blazers

5

rockets

6

jazz

7

spurs

8

clippers

9

kings

10

lakers

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timberwolves

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mavericks

13

pelicans

14

grizzlies

an iso player. He has improved 15 suns his jump shot. I can move him around, play chess with him a little bit. He can play the 3, and if you want to downsize he can play the 4. I like our core, and Harrison Barnes is a guy I tried to trade for (back in Memphis). They obviously knew what they had in Golden State.”

Barnes, who posted up more with the Mavericks than he did during his earlier seasons with the Warriors, will have to make some adjustments. These Kings rank second overall in pace and are all about playing fast and having fun, and not mucking up the offense with too many plays—sort of a minor leagues throwback for their 44-year-old head coach.

Later, during Joerger’s three seasons with Memphis, the Grizzlies of Mark Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley excelled with a physical defense and superb execution in their half-court sets. With DeMarcus Cousins on the roster during half of Joerger’s first year in Sacramento, and with free agent acquisitions George Hill and Randolph receiving serious minutes last year until the All-Star break— when Hill was traded and Randolph’s role reduced—those Kings in no resemble today’s Kings.

But even with Divac calmly, but persistently urging him to speed things up, it took Joerger time to again embrace an up-tempo philosophy.

“Over the course of the summer, I couldn’t figure out how I was going to play all these young guys and be competitive,” he said. “I thought about priority, about what’s the most important thing and that was De’Aaron Fox. Playing fast complemented the skills of Buddy Hield, helps him find open shots in transition, 16 | SN&R | 02.21.19

and Bogi—who was hurt early. And by playing Nemanja at the four [power forward], it opens up the floor. But it was literally two weeks before our first meeting at training camp that I decided ‘I’m gonna play really, really, really fast,’ for all of the reasons I just mentioned.

“Once we developed an identity as a team, we started believing. We just ran!” Joerger added. “Go play fast and focused Kings forward and locked in. And while we’re not Harry Giles where we want to be on the court goes in for a dunk against and where our roster is going to be the Miami Heat. in two years, we’ve made major strides. It’s fun to go to the gym every day.”

And like the coach said, it starts with Fox. The exciting style of play. The accelerated growth spurt. The winning record. The postseason push. While the slender 6-foot-3 secondyear guard displayed flashes of spectacular potential as a rookie—notably his ability to slip between defenders and finish at the basket with either hand and from numerous angles, appearing like a contortionist at times—it was obvious that he was capable of so much more.

The Kings urged him to use his sprinter’s speed to blow past opponents, to utilize his long arms and cat-quick hands to strip the ball and create turnovers, to continue working on his jump shot, and more than anything, to command the floor.

“We knew De’Aaron was working hard on his game last summer,” said Divac, “and we are confident about the player he is going to be. I talked to him this summer about his leadership.

That was his next step. ... I told De’Aaron in camp that I wanted him to be more vocal, more of a leader. And I also told him that if I was putting too much pressure on him, to let me know. He said, ‘No, Vlade, no, no. I can handle this.’”

While Hield has been the Kings’ best player this season, Fox has elevated his game at a pace consistent with his playing style, which is to say fast and furious. His numbers are up from his rookie season in scoring (17.2 points), assists (7.2), rebounds (3.7) and steals (1.7), and he is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.6 from the three-point line.

And talk about pressure. Divac passed on rookie sensation Luka Doncic and drafted Bagley with the second overall draft pick last June for two reasons: He projected the Slovenian as a point guard and believed the uber-athletic Bagley better filled a need and projected as a future star.

“I like Luka,” Divac said, “and he’s going to have a great career. Dallas fits well for him, like Marvin fits for us. Look, we know who is our guy (Fox). He’s our marquee player, the guy who takes us to the next level, and he needs the ball. We needed to address other positions.”

“the longest drought” continued on page 18

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“the longest drought” continued from page 16

The Doncic-Fox-Bagley debate isn’t ending anytime soon, but it’s hard to argue with success, even modest success. After everything Kings fans have endured, being three games over .500 with 25 games left in the regular season is cause for a few smiles and a cautious emotional investment in what figures to be an excruciating and suspenseful playoff chase.

So what took So long?

If post-traumatic sports disorder were a recognized ailment, Kings fans would still be in treatment. The Kings have been the masters of disappointment, disarray and dysfunction for the better part of a 13-year stretch that featured an ownership change, three front-office overhauls and nine coaching changes since the Maloofs fired Rick Adelman in 2006.

That’s right, nine coaches in 13 years. Eric Musselman. Reggie Theus. Kenny Natt. Paul Westphal. Keith Smart. Michael Malone. Ty Corbin. George Karl. Dave Joerger.

The time frame also included terrible draft picks, questionable trades and a chaotic, often toxic atmosphere. DeMarcus Cousins overpowered the franchise for most of his turbulent seven seasons, though as it turns out, the divorce worked out well for both parties.

Hield is performing at an All-Star level, Cousins is thriving with the Warriors and the Kings emotionally are in a better place.

Then there was the decades-long saga of relocation hell, with the Kings on any given day rumored to be moving to Anaheim, Las Vegas, San Jose, Virginia Beach, Kansas City, and then, of course, Seattle.

Even majority owner Vivek Ranadive—only weeks removed from hero/conqueror status for outdueling Chris Hansen and assembling a group to buy the Kings in 2013— contributed with his share of rookie mistakes, among them

18 | SN&R | 02.21.19

hiring a head coach (Malone) Kings GM Vlade Divac before a general manager (Pete is no longer D’Alessandro), and then firing embattled.

Malone while Cousins was out sick for several weeks.

And now? For those hoping that peace and prosperity reign again in the kingdom, that terms such as dysfunctional and turbulent are buried deeply in the past, well, sorry to disappoint.

These Kings are not there yet. They still have their “When moments. Sometimes, it just seems like the you taste the adults have very short playoffs, it speeds memories.

While the kids everything up. You were running around Divac’s diploget hungrier because and making friends matic skills were in the opening weeks, tested again more you want more.”

Joerger and assistant recently when several general manager vlade divac of the minority owners Brandon Williams Kings General joined the chatter and engaged in a nasty and Manager threatened to become a much chronicled private distraction. Divac scheduled feud that became public. a conference call and, in arguably Convinced that Williams was his boldest display of leadership, reiterleaking damaging information and trying ated his vision and asked the owners to stay out to get him fired for not giving Bagley and of the way.

Giles more playing time, Joerger banished “I reminded them, ‘We have a plan,’” Divac the assistant GM from a game-day shootexplained. “We have a good thing going here. around—an almost unheard of development It’s like I told Vivek when I took over. ‘It will even in the gossipy, melodramatic, often petty happen. Just give me time and let me do my world of the NBA. work.’ Now everybody is seeing what the plan The relationship between the two looks like.” remains nonexistent, which threatens to become increasingly problematic unless Divac, who was the diplomat in the locker Divac’S return room in his day, somehow fixes the anD riSe dynamic.

“Look, I make the decisions,” said If the big man walks with a bit of a swagDivac. “They each report to me. Brandon ger these days, is less tolerant of internal Williams is doing a great job, Dave is doing nonsense and more inclined to put down his a great job and that’s all that matters.” foot, he has certainly earned that right. This is personal, unfinished business, he likes to say. He returned to Sacramento after 10 years pursuing basketball and business ventures overseas because he loves the city, is invested in the community, was a major player during the glory years and, like a lot of folks around here, still feels the pain of that crushing 2002 Western Conference finals loss to the hated Lakers, who are now competing with the Kings for that last playoff spot.

Besides, these are his Kings, his kids and their future is bright. Apparently so is his.

No longer the “embattled” general manager who vowed to resign by the end of this season if he failed to turn the franchise around, all indications are that the Kings will offer a contract extension before his current deal expires at the end of next year.

Divac won’t talk about his or Kings head coach Dave Joerger talks Joerger’s long-term futures with the to reporters after Kings, but unless the third-year head the win over the coach entertains offers from teams Miami Heat. closer to his young daughters in

South Dakota, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, either.

“I just don’t want any distractions,” Divac said with a slight frown. “This time is for the kids. I don’t want to take anything away from them. They deserve the attention, and I want them to enjoy this. About me? I don’t care.”

But, yes, Divac is having a blast. He stands in the tunnel during games, leaning against the stands, living and dying with every play.

Understandably, he is receiving pats on the back these days—and mea culpas from the national media—and no longer hears suggestions that he should step aside or slide into another position.

That said, he openly admits his early mistakes, among them the 2013 trade with Philadelphia that cost the Kings their 2019 first round draft pick; his failure to act more forcefully and suspend Cousins for his locker room outburst against Karl in the opening weeks of the 2015-16 season; and acquiring the draft rights to Greek center Georgios Papagiannis (13th pick) in 2016, though that swap yielded a gem in Bogdanovic. He also took an inordinate amount of time assembling a front office, largely because he was away from the league for so long and unfamiliar with many of the rising young executives.

But you can’t argue with success or disregard the nightly entertainment in the Golden 1 Center. Perhaps no Kings player embodies the team’s upbeat mood more than Hield, the 26-year-old Bahamian with the legendary work ethic.

“This feels so good,” he said with his infectious smile. “As a young team, nobody expected us to excel. You get to prove them wrong. And as a kid, you dream of winning close games and getting to the playoffs. I really think we will get there this year. I know Harrison can play, and Alec. That [trade] was big. Those are two guys we need to get to the next level.”

Whether or not the Kings reach their postseason goal, a solid, promising foundation has been established. Finally!

“I have friends all over the world,” Divac said, “and I hear the same thing from them.

They like watching the Kings again. We all like watching the Kings again, and this is just the beginning.” Ω

CBD anD Hemp: DistinCtions witH a DifferenCe available seemingly everywhere, they aren’t all the same emp and CBD are enjoying nationwide popularity. The passing of the 2018 H Farm Bill has made growing hemp easier, and hemp-derived CBD is being sold legally in stores without a license. But what are they? How do they differ from cannabis and THC, which the federal government still considers illegal?

Hemp is a variation of the cannabis sativa plant. It is not considered marijuana because it contains only trace amounts of THC and produces no intoxication.

“Industrial Hemp is defined as cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC in the female flowers,” said Lawrence Serbin, president of Hemp Traders, the nation’s largest supplier of hemp fibers. Serbin explained that “Cannabis which has more than 0.3 percent THC in the female flowers is considered recreational cannabis or ‘marijuana.’”

Historically grown in the United States to make rope, hemp is now used in manufacturing food, paper, textiles, lotions, plastics, fuels and CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-intoxicating component extracted from either hemp or cannabis. Although the drug Epidiolex, which contains cannabisderived CBD, was approved as a Schedule V drug by the FDA in 2018 for seizure control, CBD remains an illegal Schedule I drug. Hemp-derived CBD, however, is readily available and legal.

“Within cannabis, there are 85 compounds, and this unique combination provides a better effect than any one cannabinoid by itself.”

Danny Kress, manager, a therapeutic alternative dispensary

CBD products made from cannabis are more powerful than those made from hemp, and more useful in medicine for issues such as pain, anxiety, sleeplessness and cancer-related side effects. While hemp-based CBD is pressed from seeds, cannabis-based CBD takes advantage of the whole plant.

No dispensary needed. CBD products from Hella Glass head shop

these enhanced CBD products. Dispensaries typically stock CBD/THC ratios including 8-to-1, 4-to-1 and 1-to-1 combinations, “from less aggressive to more aggressive,” Kress explained.

Likewise, CBD products sold in dispensaries are tested according to California’s best-in-the-nation standards for potency, purity, heavy metals, molds and accurate labeling. Many CBD products one finds at grocery stores and head shops are manufactured outside the country and untested. For this reason, it is best to rely on the expertise of a dispensary and a well-informed budtender when choosing CBD products to try.

“It’s what I call ‘the entourage effect,’” said Danny Kress, manager at A Therapeutic Alternative dispensary. “Within cannabis, there are 85 compounds, and this unique combination provides a better effect than any one cannabinoid by itself.”

One of those compounds is THC. Added in trace amounts, like an 18-to-1 ratio, THC acts like a CBD super-charger, but without any risk of intoxication.

Because cannabis dispensaries are licensed to sell THC, only they can offer

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vision

by Kris HooKs

It’s unsettling, yet it’s somehow the perfect background noise to play through the room as part of the dual showcases currently on exhibit: Kumasi Barnett’s The Amazing Black-Man and Tavarus Blackmon’s Exquisite Diversion.

The two shows, which run through February 28, stand in stark contrast to one another. Barnett’s is a series of reimagined comic books with black superheroes who are simultaneously the main protagonist and antagonist. The exhibit by Blackmon, whose artist name “Blackmonster” stems from how black people have been historically viewed, comprises several psychedelic installations and includes the unsettling audio.

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Kumasi Barnett uses comic book heroes to represent what it’s like to be black in America.

Liv Moe, Verge’s executive director, says each installation represents related but parallel paths.

“The two of them are exploring things and in kind of similar personal explorations of race and identity and things like that, but in totally different ways,” Moe says.

Yet the two exhibits play off each other’s strengths well. Where Barnett’s comics, despite their playful origins as made-up heroes with powers, offer a more visceral and contemporary look into the black experience, Blackmon’s work, filled with colorful imagery and outlines of gingerbread men, feels more as though it’s inviting viewers to be understood.

PhoTo CourTesy of kumAsi bArneTT

T

here’s an eerie song flowing through the Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento, one almost reminiscent of terror. On it, the voice is deep, but somehow childlike.

The lyrics repeat, but it’s nearly impossible to remember anything said. Still, the music creates a feeling that you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of trauma, no matter how hard you fight to get out.

Two exhibits at the Verge Center for the Arts explore the black experience in striking and unsettling ways

ArTwork PhoTos CourTesy of Verge CenTer for The ArTs

Double Despite their differences, the two share a common theme: The American experience.

On the surface, Barnett’s work may appear as merely an artist’s rendering of famous Marvel and DC superheroes as black men. But it’s more than that— it’s a metaphorical representation of what it means to be black in America.

Black people in America, including this writer, often have cynical thoughts when “officer-involved shooting” is part of a headline. “Are they dead?” one might ask. If not, then the person was likely white. If yes, then the black person killed is sure to have his or her reputation dragged through the mud.

jeff ewing’s lonely stories see Arts & Culture

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sAd girlz Club bops see musiC

high sChool friendships see stAge

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Despite their differences, the two exhibits share a common theme: The American experience.

Tavarus Blackmon, a recent UC Davis graduate, explores homelessness and other issues in his oversized colorful canvases.

PhoTo By MAriA rATinoVA

This reality has exerted major influence over Barnett’s work.

“I don’t have to come up with anything,” he said in a phone interview from Chicago. “I’ve actually cut off cable TV altogether because it’s all too real. It’s us.

Every event is a painting.”

There are three parts to Barnett’s work. There’s a Superman wearing a Confederate flag from the Action Comics series (newly dubbed “Racist Comics”), whose main adversaries seem to be a progressive future full of children learning not to be racist, white people losing their privilege and everyone realizing the real villain is the one most thought to be a hero.

Barnett’s take on the Incredible Hulk is almost too real—a large black man who faces the news media in constant battles not to be portrayed as “The Incredible Thug.”

These characters force us to reimagine stereotypes and other long-held notions, Moe says. “Think about each of them in context, like whether it’s the Hulk or Spiderman,” she said. “Like if you took those superheroes and you made them at their core something else, like especially a non-white character, then how does that change the concept of them being a hero?”

Then there is the exhibit’s title character. Barnett started his The Amazing Black-Man series in 2015

irish pub food see dish

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following Baltimore’s uprising in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of police. Gray was killed after officers failed to secure him in the back of a paddy wagon just a few minutes from where Barnett’s dad lived.

Instead of leaving New York and heading home to join the protests, he opted to destroy his comic book collection—a decision that would confuse (and often enrage) comic book fans and be dismissed by art critics.

It’s a theme that permeates throughout the series—police versus black men. From Baltimore to Sacramento, the black experience with police is often the same, and it’s what Barnett puts into his work despite the pain and emotion.

“Sometimes I wish that I could go back to [painting] abstract, man,” he said. “There’s a safety to [abstract].

It’s like when you’re in college or getting your master’s [degree]. This is more real.”

For Blackmon, the inspiration behind his art is as complex as the art itself. The recent UC Davis graduate and Provost Fellow explores domesticity, homelessness, mass shootings and growing up black in America.

Along with the audio component of the show, Blackmon’s visual art uses colorful imagery reminiscent of the Funk movement, pulling observers closer to the already oversized canvases.

But the art is deceptive. The initial expectation that the work might be playful is gone the moment you step closer. That play on the Funk movement is why Moe wanted to showcase his work alongside Barnett’s.

“He took this very white centric art movement from this region in the late ’60s, early ’70s, and he’s contemporizing it and he’s putting his own personal history into it,” Moe says.

Of the two shows, Blackmon’s is more immersive, requiring the viewer to experience it in full—from the unnerving sounds to the gingerbread-man chalk outlines on the floor.

“That’s directly based on my experience as an African-American,” Blackmon says. “I was having to be aware of my surroundings when I see a police officer. I think women in the community have to deal with the same thing, dealing with violence from men. I think immigrants also feel the same way now with the proliferation of ICE crackdowns.

“I think the majority of the population in America now is very cognitive of this because of the political climate and I really wanted to encapsulate that.” Ω

Check out The Amazing Black-Man and Exquisite Diversions at Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S Street, vergeart.com. Through February 28.

02.21.19 | SN&R | 21

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Dispatches from the dark side Sacramento writer Jeff Ewing’s new short story collection examines loneliness, regret and Northern California It must be nice to write short stories so compelling that a literary journal publisher creates a small press just to publish your collection.

That’s what happened to Sacramento author Jeff Ewing. His new book The Middle Ground, which published February 19, collates wonderful, sometimes disturbing, stories.

“They don’t always seem that dark to me,” Ewing says. “And then later people say, ‘Oh, they’re dark.’”

Ewing, who has written most of his life, started publishing short stories in small literary magazines about 15 years ago. Two appeared in Into the Void in 2017 and 2018. That journal’s editor-in-chief, Philip Elliott, says Ewing’s work helped set him on a new literary path.

“I had always hoped for [the journal] to grow into a small press one day. Jeff’s excellent short stories proved to be the catalyst,” Elliott says.

His new press, Into The Void Publishing, plans to put out a handful of books annually.

One of the stories that so caught Elliott’s imagination, contained in the new book, is “Ice Flowers.” It imagines the life of Snowflake Bentley, a real-life Vermonter who first photographed snowflakes in the late 1800s by catching them on black velvet before they melted.

“It’s a strange, solitary thing to do,” Ewing says. “And a slow process to develop film back then ... I was curious what drove him to that and how single-minded he would have to be.”

The haunting, foreboding story rewards re-reading, and contains a fire versus ice theme that another Vermonter would appreciate: Robert Frost.

Other stories in The Middle Ground hone in on lonely people and lonely places.

“The settings are isolated places, with not a lot of city settings. The stories are mostly isolated to just a few characters; they’re sparse, not quite empty, with not a lot of stuff going on around them,” Ewing says.

He credits Elliott with helping organize the stories in ways that highlight thematic coherence.

“He could see a progression or pattern better than me; I didn’t see the interconnections,” Ewing says. “It’s more of a complete book than just individual stories.”

Throughout, Ewing examines his characters’ choices.

“I get interested in people being stuck in certain places and not making decisions at all, or making the wrong ones,” he says. “In a few stories, there’s some regret. In a way, I like that—not living with regret, but opening that up to how things might’ve gone a different way.

There’s a positive side to regret.”

For those who want a local edge to their literature, the story “Tule Fog” describes Sacramento. “You want to get away from where you grew up—everyone does—but then as you get older, the memories change and you get fond memories,” Ewing says of his hometown.

The tale “Silo” takes place in the Sutter Buttes, where active missile silos are rumored to be hidden in the underground tunnel network built by the U.S. Air Force.

With the release of The Middle Ground, Ewing intends to continue writing short stories.

While he has started several novels, he says he feels more comfortable with a more concise form.

“That length seems more suited to me. I do get hung up on individual sentences to get it just right,” he says.

That meticulousness also works well for his day job; he’s a technical writer for a large Rancho Cordova-based company.

“It’s so straightforward. You still have to whittle text down and get it succinct. You don’t want to waste words.” Ω

Jeff ewing will read from the Middle ground at 1 p.m., saturday, february 23 at the hop gardens taproom, 2904 franklin boulevard. https://jeffewing.com/

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Pop-punk juxtaposition Sad Girlz Club’s boppy tunes for cloudy feels

by Mozes zarate

mo ze sz@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

Photo courtesy of erik caballero

“And Eric and Lys are like the dipping sauces. They’ll add the best flavors to our song.”

Murray and Dunbar, jam buddies for the last 10 years who met in high school, formed Sad Girlz Club last June. They quickly recruited La Febre, who just broke up with his band Hollywood Hotel in San Francisco. After recording a three-song the sacramento pop-punk band is releasing its first album.

EP with Earth Tone Studios’ Patrick Hills (who also produced Hard Feelings), the three gently bullied Hills’ girlfriend If you’ve battled depression, you’re a Mayo—a local music vet who’d drummed member of the “Sad Girlz Club.” The for Little Tents, Dead Dads, Kepi the Band phrase, now the name of a Sacramento and others—into playing guitar. They pop-punk band, was singer Shelby Murray’s played their first show at the old Café inside joke for broken days, similar to “pity Colonial on August 9, and opened for The party.”

Ataris the same month at Blue Lamp.

The four band members bring But their highlight gig was in November, relentlessly uplifting songs to their first bringing down North Pole House, the album, Hard Feelings, available February Davis home of Melissa Schiller, who hosts 22 on Bomb Pop Records. The album’s nine the local music radio show Sleepy Wakey. tracks are mostly breathless, two-to-three Two hundred misfits packed into the minute relay races chronicling peculiarly laid-out house, congestthe wreckage of an abusive ing hallways, the kitchen and relationship and the hills of the back patio. Onlookers bipolar depression. peered through windows.

And they bop.

Crowd surfers kicked “I’m so afraid, I the ceiling. can’t feel anything “It was a nightmare ... my hands are in the best way,” shaking, these Mayo says. people all around With Hard Lys Mayo make this isolation Feelings, Sad Girlz guitarist, Sad Girlz Club worse,” co-vocalist Club rocks to the and guitarist Travis doldrums, a reminder that Dunbar sings in “Lonely you can always spin misery Nights,” a song about with a sunny sonic palate. A debilitating anxiety, and “how second album is already in the works. much it’s kind of alienated me from a “It’s important that sadness isn’t a lot of close friends of mine over time.” negative thing,” Mayo says. “We have Dunbar’s cracking rasp will remind you songs that are kind of happy sounding, and of Iron Chic’s Jason Lubrano. Party-all-night you listen to the lyrics, and its like, ‘It’s riffs are darkened by guitarist Lys Mayo’s alright to be sad. It can still be a positive, foggy, black-metal styled tone. Drummer constructive thing.’” Ω Eric Le Febre attacks with high-blood pressure percussion, and Murray harmonizes with Dunbar to an eerie chorus. In other songs, she leads, filling the room like her check out sad Girlz club at their record release february inspirations: Aretha Franklin, Whitney 22 at the newly reopened cafe colonial. show starts at 8pm. city Mouse, bastards of young and Vinnie Guidera Houston and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. & the Dead birds also perform. tickets are $7-$10 “Travis and I, we are the chicken sliding scale. 3520 stockton boulevard. follow sad Girlz nuggets. We will bring the skeleton of a club at facebook.com/sadgirlzclubband. song to a writing practice,” Murray says.

“It was a nightmare in the best way.”

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Reviews scReeN pick

Smoke and mirrors

Praising the Dead

by Rachel Mayfield

Photo courtesy of Alisyn GulArte

While the setting and subject of female friendship invites nuance, Heifner’s script stops just a little too short. And a climactic reveal doesn’t deliver the drama it promises, instead trailing off into unearned disillusionment.

Still, it’s a fun 90 minutes thanks to the creative direction of Alisyn Gularte. And Klemens is especially charismatic, sliding naturally into the role of a champagne-drunk Joanne. Even before the show, the actors are on stage and in character, doing their make-up in the mirror while Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” plays in the background, lightly foreshadowing what’s to come. Ω

3 Planning a kiss

it’s high school all over again—this time it’s personal.

Vanities

3

fri 7pm, sat 7pm, sun 2pm. through 2/24; $16-$18; imagination theater, 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville, (530) 642-0404, imaginationtheater.net

Remember high school? Remember the friends you promised you would stay in touch with, but slowly drifted apart from? Remember Hair the musical?

Imagination Theater’s production of Vanities remembers all this and more. The 1976 dramedy

by Jack Heifner explores coming of age during the turbulent ’60s and ’70s, as three young women shift from the high school cheer squad to the college sorority house, and eventually into adulthood.

Joanne (Jody Klemens), Kathy (Holly Salvestrin) and Mary (Karen Wolfe) are best friends who bond over the essential things in life: party planning, gossip and boys. Despite their shared interests, their personalities sometimes clash—Mary is emotionally detached and sexually liberated, Joanne is an aspiring homemaker and Kathy is increasingly plagued by existential angst. Their conversations often lead to uncomfortable truths, where each responds to the changing times in her own way.

For the more neurotic folks in the world, a first kiss is a monumental undertaking. How much lip pressure is too much? What if your breath smells like a poorly embalmed pharaoh?

A lot of thought can go into the orchestration of an acceptable first kiss—especially if you’re a middle schooler—and it’s this thought process that B Street intern Kate Crescenzo brought to the stage February 13 in her writing/solo-performing role as Felicity Rose in Felicity Rose & the Big D. The one-person show, directed by Amy Kelly, was quick—about 15 minutes long—and delivered with finality. Following the lead-up to a kiss at a Valentine’s dance and taking place almost entirely in a bathroom, Crescenzo puts the show on her shoulders with overt subtlety and an angelic copy of Cosmopolitan magazine.

There’s a positively hilarious anticlimax when Crescenzo first opens the text for kissing advice, playing off of how unglamorous it really is to read an article about romance and lampooning the liptouch. Hats off.

There are some moments of one-person awkwardness, including a Smeagol/Gollum style self-dialogue that could feel forced at times—but isn’t that what being in your teens is all about?

It was a one-night-only performance, presented at the end of House on Haunted Hill, but it was a good B Street introduction for Crescenzo and for Kelly’s directorial debut.

I don’t remember Bringing Out the Dead resonating much when it hit theaters 20 years ago. Critics reacted coolly to Martin Scorsese’s 1999 paramedic psychodrama, audiences stayed away and the Oscars iced it.

Maybe expectations were too high. After all, this was Scorsese’s first and only pairing with Nicolas Cage, who was still Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage back then and not yet D-movie fiend Nicolas Cage. Cinephiles gushed that the film reunited the director with his Taxi Driver and Raging Bull screenwriter, Paul Schrader.

Then the picture premiered and all that buzz flatlined.

As a devilishly charismatic drug dealer (a scene-stealing Cliff Curtis) puts it, that’s too bad.

Now available to stream on Amazon Prime, Bringing Out the Dead is ripe for resuscitation.

Cage gives a moody, restrained performance as a burned-out EMT unraveling during a threeday odyssey through NYC’s squalid streets.

His supporting cast is stellar, especially Ving Rhames as a born-again medic whose lechery wouldn’t survive the #MeToo era. Robert Richardson’s frenetic camerawork splashes the screen with maraschino-red sirens. And no one beats Scorsese at hairpin music cues (his use of The Clash’s “Janie Jones” to augment a crackup driving scene is a personal fave).

This cinematic jolt of epinephrine stumbles whenever it resorts to the cliché trope of Cage’s character literally seeing the ghost of someone he couldn’t save. But Bringing Out the Dead is an otherwise live-wire look at the messy, unglamorous work of saving lives—and a bleak reminder of when to stop trying.

—raheeM f. hosseini

—Maxfield Morris

1 2 3 4 5 foul

fAir

GooD

Well-Done

Bringing Out the dead is streaming, and Nicolas cage is thrilled.

suBliMe Don’t Miss

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iLLusTRATiOn BY kATE MiTRAnO

The Best Wings lives up to its name. Ten are perfectly fried then doused in Pitch and Fiddle’s Whiskey BBQ sauce.

Vampire-style VaMpire taCo, yard house Finding street tacos in a restaurant sounds counterproductive as “restaurant quality” doesn’t always retain the soul of the streets. But the Vampire Taco at Yard House ($6.75 for a single taco) is in a league of its own. All names aside, it’s a beautiful homage to the streets with a twist. It features your traditional taco fixings: carnitas, bacon chorizo, chipotle, cumin crema, guacamole, roasted garlic and cilantro. But instead of wrapping it all in a simple corn or flour tortilla, the Vampire Taco takes a page out of Squeeze Burger’s book. The result is a deliciously greasy street taco wrapped in a grilled, crispy Jack and Parmesan cheesecrusted flour tortilla. It’s crunchy and it’s spicy, but it’s not as cheesy as you might think. 405 K Street, Suite 100, yardhouse.com

—JereMy WinsloW

Irish pub grub Pitch and Fiddle 8704 La Riviera Drive; (916) 573-4782 Good for: Craft beer, irish whiskey, sports events and trivia night Notable dishes: irish Tacos, Big-Ass Prawns & Chips, Mac & Cheese

$$$

Gastropub, Sacramento

It was a full house on Wednesday night at Pitch and Fiddle, a local neighborhood Irish pub hidden on the east side of Watt Avenue and La Riviera Drive. I knew from online photos that the pub could be packed with college kids, but these weren’t college kids, these were middle-aged working-class folks, talking and laughing with such gusto they must have all collectively had a crappy day at work and were now making fun of their bosses.

With no room at the counter, nor the long bar-like tables with stools, nor the coveted half-booths taking up an entire wall, I made do in the standing-room-only crowd, ogling the nice selection of craft beers and Irish whiskeys, while nursing a creamy-cold Guinness. It felt like every single person knew each other.

On my next visit, I arrived early and found the crowds had thinned, but the core gang still held council around the bar, joshing the tolerant bartender, scrolling through their phones and enjoying some pub grub. Now that the din had died down, I could see that although there were tons of photos of undoubtedly Irish-American patrons hanging on the walls, there was also an inordinate amount of sports paraphernalia, not to mention 17 (yes, 17!) flat-screen TVs surrounding the seating areas like some kind of digital thunderdome. All but one TV had sports on—that day, golf.

It should’ve been intrusive, but the volume was low and my mind was already on to the task at hand: Irish pub eats.

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PHOTO BY AMY BEE

Afternoon delight ChoColate Martini, rio City Café

by Amy Bee

Pitch and Fiddle offers standard pub fare such as the Big-Ass Burger ($11.50), a juicy half-pound sirloin monster with all the accoutrements, or a giant plate of Fiddle Fries ($9), decked with Jack, bacon and buffalo sauce served with a side of ranch dressing to cool things down (which really works, BTW).

They are a couple of deviations to keep the “Irish” moniker alive. My fave was the Irish Tacos ($10): crunchy-fried shells filled with salty, rich corned beef and topped with a zingy mustard lemon aioli. This dish also found success in the form of Irish Sliders (three for $11) topped with house slaw and served in a plump, Hawaiian sweet rolls.

The Dublin Fish & Chips ($14.50) with its crunchy “secret batter” and the Big-Ass Prawns & Chips ($15.50) with its panko-encrusted texture both met expectations.

But they paled when compared to the perfectly fried, Whiskey BBQ-doused chicken wings known as The Best Wings (10 for $12). Another hit was the giant bowl of Mac & Cheese ($12.50): large tortiglioni pasta smothered in Gruyere, white cheddar and Asiago cheeses and plated with a crispy side of garlic toast. Pitch and Fiddle’s weekend menu offers even more dishes of the “Big-Ass” variety such as The Big-Ass Burrito ($11), Breakfast Sandwich ($10), Scramble ($13.50) and Breakfast Burger ($12), plus some good old-fashioned Corned Beef & Hash ($13.50) for the purists out there.

Pitch and Fiddle ends up more sports bar than pub, but there is some serious Irish-American pride going around, as well as friendly staff and patrons who wholeheartedly accepted this non-Irish American into their fold. The food may be no frills, but it is the best version of pub grub: salty, fatty, fried and full of corned beef. Ω

On a rainy day, I found myself in Old Sac and decided to have an “after dinner drink” in the middle of the afternoon. I know, how gauche. But Rio City Café not only has a good selection of indulgent cocktails, it has a great view of the river so you can stare endlessly, hoping one looks less socially awkward than one feels. The Chocolate Martini (vanilla vodka, dark crème de cacao and Godiva white chocolate; $10) was sweet and frilly and friendly enough to lighten my mood, with a nice vodka bite to keep things rated adult. Rio City should take this martini and create a new menu: “Afternoon Delight.” 1110 Front Street riocitycafe.com.

—aMy bee

THe V Word

Fill your calendar and belly Ian Carty of the Vegan Van is trying to fill your calendar and belly. Carty has been cooking up tea-infused meals for Vegan Fridays at Classy Hippie Tea Co. (3226 Suite A on Broadway) from noon to 7 p.m. For February, to celebrate Black History Month, he’ll be serving bowls of West African peanut stew ($10), and he’ll be there every second Saturday for the Vegan Global Food Market, noon to 4 p.m. Still hungry?

That’s fortuitous, because Carty is cooking an Africandiaspora inspired brunch to launch Coalition for Vegans of Color, an organization he co-founded, which has a “goal of serving our communities of color,” because “we have been taught the worst diets,” he said. When promoting a healthier diet, he said, “It helps when people look like you so you can relate.” This is also at Classy Hippie, Sunday, February 24, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $35-$45 on Eventbrite. And yes, there will be mimosas. And dancing. All events are open to everyone.

—shoka

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

Ciao Pizza Now Open!

An authentic Italian pizza restaurant from those who brought you Ciao Restaurant

390 N Sunrise Ave • Roseville, CA 95661 • (916) 784-2426

Eat. Drink.

Be Merry.

Repeat.

Más pan dulce!

Thank you for voting Kupros! ’18

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

Vegan Meals from All Over the World

by Mitch BarBer

“¿Qué más?” or “What else?” the clerk asks after she retrieves a pumpkin empanada before putting it in a small pastry bag. I add a bolillo, or little roll, to my order. “¿Cuántos?” she asks, or “How many?”

One advantage of a full-service Mexican bakery is the opportunity to practice Spanish—and to grab some pan dulce or sweet bread, of course. Everything is so delicious and reasonably priced that responses often require some reflection.

There’s a stretch of Franklin Boulevard between Sutterville and Fruitridge roads that resembles Mexico in its population and businesses. La Esperanza and La Superior supermarkets allow for a virtual visit to the country without the long drive south. The bustling La Esperanza bakery celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The air is festive: in line, families wait patiently in lively conversation. Others wait alone, planning to order a bevy of breads for their coworkers. When it’s my turn, I order

a puerquito, or piggy, a mildly sweet, pig-shaped treat made with brown sugar and molasses. Its flavor is equal parts gingerbread and snickerdoodle.

About a quarter mile north is La Superior with its popular bolillos and conchas. Bolillos are four for $1, and the conchas are round, airy sweet breads that resemble seashells and come in chocolate, pink, yellow and white varieties. Also tasty are the cortadillos, which are triangular pieces of yellow cake with some frosting and sprinkles on top. They’re good with milk and come in green if you need something to accurately represent one of the three colors in the Mexican flag (February 24th is Mexico’s Día de la Bandera, or flag day).

North of the city center on Del Paso Boulevard is La Jerezana, a personal-sized bakery and market owned and operated by the Olazábal family, who specialize in mini conchas. Héctor Olazábal is from the state of Zacatecas in Mexico, and most of the baked goods resemble

those found there. Cross-cultural options include the pan guatemalteco, affectionately known as a gusanito, or little worm. It tastes like vanilla and looks like a short, stubby earthworm.

There’s also the semita salvadoreña filled with pineapple and surrounded by sweet bread made.

Even more personal is Dane’s Bakery at 65th Street and Broadway.

It’s nothing more than a small display case and a long corridor with an inviting aroma. It belongs to the Villarreal family, including three baker sisters from Guadalajara.

A popular delicacy at Dane’s is the pay de elote, a small, rich, whole-grain corn tart with a buttery pie crust. Also on the must-try list is the jerricalla. Lupe Villarreal, one of the three sisters, made it clear that it was not flan. Instead, it’s a traditional treat from Jalisco that is less sweet and more egg-forward than the betterknown custardy dessert that bears a startling resemblance. When I ordered one, Lupe asked, “¿Qué más?” Ω

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Happy Hour

Monday–Friday 3–6pm Voted “Best of Sacramento” 3 years in a row!

1315 21st St • Sacramento 916.441.7100

02.21.19 | SN&R | 27

foR the week of febRuaRy 21

BY maxfield morris

POst eveNts ONliNe FOR FRee at newsreview.com/sacramento

MUSIC THURSDAY, 2/21 CHRCH: The local doom group CHRCH is performing along with Seattle-based doom band Un and local sludgesters Chrome Ghost. 8pm, $10-$12. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

JOHN MeDesKi’s MaD sKillet: Jazzy Seattlebased band Mad Skillet is headed to town—I wonder if they know Un (also from Seattle, featured in the previous event). 8pm, $15$35. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

sOUl ReBels: This New Orleans-style

sat

Duck, duck, d’aww!

Don’t duck this festival Yolo BYpass Wildlife area Headquarters, 9am, $20 per car What has wings, has knowledge about ducks and smells like a duck? You—after you attend the Duck Days Festivals Festival, that is. Now celebrating its 25th year of celebrating the celebrated waterfowl, the Yolo Basin Foundation’s shindig offers more nature activities than you can shake a duck at. You can help make duck nest boxes, learn how to tie a fly, take a duck decoy painting class and

tiCKet WiNDOW

meet some real-live, honest-to-goodness ducks, bats and bird dogs. If your life’s been devoid of wetland wandering, you can wonder at the winding waterways and the wildlife within. You can even learn how to do a duck call, which has numerous real-world applications—unlike trigonometry. 45211 County Road 32B in Davis, yolobasin.org/ californiaduckdays.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH SAVIDGE

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(and -based) group of eight musicians blends a number of jazzy genres and will perform. 7pm, $35. Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave.

UNiteD DeFiaNCe: Punk rockers from Walnut Creek, Calif., United Defiance are headed here, along with Reno, Nev. group Boss’ Daughter and Tacoma, Wash. group Hilltop Rats. A band from Sacramento, Calif., The Bitters, is also performing. 8pm, call for cover. The Press Club, 2030 P St.

Will KaUFMaN: A bona fide professor of American studies from England’s University of Central Lanchashire is coming to perform folk music a la Woodie Guthrie, namely his song “Old Man Trump,” originally written about Fred Trump. 6:30pm, no cover. Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St.

ZaCH WateRs BaND: 2019 SAMMIES Nominee The Zach Waters Band is playing with The Imported. 8pm, $8-$10. Momo, 2708 J St.

FRIDAY, 2/22 aN eveNiNG WitH CHRis ROBiNsON BROtHeRHOOD: Chris Robinson, formerly of The Black Crowes and currently of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, will perform rock ’n’ roll along with the Brotherhood. 7pm, $25-$149. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

BlUes FOR tHe Delta: Papa Hip performs blues, jazz, Latin and soul music all at once to raise awareness of the Delta and the need to protect it. 7pm, $20. The Side Door, 2900 Franklin Blvd.

CHRistiaN sCOtt atUNDe aDJUaH: Trumpet

sensation Christian Scott will perform. 9pm, $20-$25. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

Upcoming shows? Why yes, I have a few!

Davis JaZZ NiGHt: The New Harmony Jazz

SPAMALOT Monty Python’s Arthurian tale comes to Harris Center with more Eric Idle songs than you’ll know what to do with. Maybe just listen to them. 3/213/24, various times, $48-$82, on sale now.

Harris Center, harriscenter.net.

MECHANIzM Painting Fences

and Wendell & the Puppets are also performing in this night of local heavy metal. 3/21, 6:30pm, $10-$12, on sale now.

Holy Diver, eventbrite.com.

WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY? If you like

improv comedy on the TV but wish you could see those improv celebs in the flesh, check out this on-stage version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? with Ryan Stiles and three other guys. 3/29, 8pm, $48-$78, on

28 | SN&R | 02.21.19

sale now. Community Center Theater, mpv. tickets.com.

JAI WOLF The New York electronic music electronic music maker is coming to Sacramento on his Sacramento on his The Cure To Loneliness tour. 5/15, of 6pm, $25-$85, on sale now. Ace of Spades, eventbrite.com.

SHAWN MENDES The

Canadian singer-songwritermodel famous for winning the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Male Singer two years running is coming to DOCO. 7/11,

7:30pm, $65-$250, on sale now.

Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

Beat it, “Weird Al”!

“WEIRD AL” YANkOVIC You know him him from his cameos in from his cameos The Naked Gun, The Naked Gun 2 1/2 The Naked and The Naked Gun 33 1/3 Naked —now catch him performing catch music. music. 8/11, 8pm, $49.50$79.50, on sale now.

Memorial Memorial Auditorium, purchase.tickets.com.

CCHAINSMOkERS

Come see these DJ Come phenoms along with phenoms 5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds and Lennon Stella. and 12/1,

7pm, $29.50-$129.50, on sale now. Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

Band is a 12-piece band that performs jazz monthly for free in Davis. 7pm, no cover. John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st St in Davis.

FeNiX DRUM aND DaNCe: This drum circle encourages audience participation, provides percussion instruments and features traditional African dance accompanying storytelling. 3:30pm, no cover. McKinley Library, 601 Alhambra Blvd.

GaviN CaNaaN: Local music maker Canaan is joined by other local music makers Adam Varona and Martin Potter, who will all be performing. 8:30pm, $5. Fox & Goose, 1001 R St.

ReeD tURCHi: Slide-guitarist and Just a Little More Faith album-tourer Reed Turchi will

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

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.

perform. 8pm, $5-$10. Torch Club, 904 15th St.

saD GiRlZ ClUB: Sad Girlz Club are SAMMIES nominees (story on page 24), as are Vinnie Guidera and the Dead Birds and Bastards of Young. City Mouse is also playing at the venue, under new ownership. 8pm, $7$10. The Colony, 3512 Stockton Blvd.

save COMMUNitY tRaiN: Cosmic Family Productions and Another Family Affair present this evening of music, of trainrebuilding and of love, featured on page 30. 4pm, no cover. Big Sexy Brewing Co., 5861 88th St. Suite 800.

SATURDAY, 2/23 CHRis CaiN: Electric blues artist Chris Cain will perform on the mic and through the vibrations of guitar strings. 7:30pm, $24$28. Auburn State Theatre, 985 Lincoln Way in Auburn.

ClUB seaNCe: DJ Chat Noir (black cat) will weave a tangled web of gloomy music. 9:30pm, $5. Midtown Barfly, 1119 21st St.

DestROY BOYs: Three SAMMIES nominations this year bear the name of Destroy Boys: best music video, best punk/post-punk and release of the year. Slutzville and Madd are also performing. 7pm, $10-$12. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

FaitH aKO: Hula from Sacramentan Halau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie accompanies the music of Ako. 7pm, $30. Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave.

GilliaN UNDeRWOOD aND tHe lONesOMe DOves: SAMMIES nominees are joined by Catalina, Aviel Habermna and David Houston. It’ll be an acoustic evening. 8pm, $5-$10. Luna’s Cafe & Juice Bar, 1414 16th St.

NOtHiNG MORe: San Antonioans Nothing More play with Of Mice & Men and Palisades, and $1 from every ticket goes to the nonprofit To Write Love On Her Arms. 5:30pm, $30$150. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

RHaPsODY iN BlUe: The Sacramento Philharmonic tackles George Gershwin’s super cool composition. Haven’t heard of it, or of Gershwin? You sound like me—before I stopped going for the world record for biggest collection of dirty rags and started learning piano. Google Gershwin. 8pm, $18-$75. Sacramento Convention Center Complex, 1400 J St.

sHaRON CUNeta: The Filipino singer and multi-talented performer plays Thunder Valley. 7:30pm, $84.95. Thunder Valley Casino, 1200 Athens Ave. in Lincoln.

siCKY Betts: SAMMIES-nominated supergroup Sicky Betts bring their Americana music, and Brotherly Mudd and JT Lawrence join for a country night in the city. 8pm, $8. Shine, 1400 E St.

tHat KiD RaJa & CHaRM tHe RiOt: SAMMIESnominated artist That Kid Raja is playing with his supporting band Charm the Riot, along with Mr. Hooper and Beat Bombastic. 8pm, $6. Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St.

YellY: Local rhythm and blues artist Yelly will perform for the Lust N’ Found tour. 6:30pm, $5-$10. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

Thursday, 2/21

Davis Farmers Market in Sac Sutter Medical center, 4pM, no cover

Now you can go to the Davis Farmers Market without leaving Sacramento—you heard me right. Through a partnership with the Sutter Medical Center, you can purchase your fill of farm-fresh seasonal FooD & Drink fruits, vegetable and miscellanea in the nurturing comfort of PhOTO COurTEsy OF suTTEr hEalTh your own city. It just started up, and it’s set to be a year-round event at the steps of the hospital. With several local farmers and vendors of comestibles, it’s yet another step toward making hospitals more appetizing. 2825 Capitol Avenue, facebook.com/ suttersacramento/events.

suNday, 2/24 BUTTEr FUnk: Noc brings an evening of funk, funky soul, funky disco, funky funk and funky everything. 10pm, no cover. B-Side, 1430 S St.

JUSTin TiMBErLAkE: Timberlake performs his Man of the Woods tour in the City of Trees. 7:30pm, $140-$1,000. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk.

LiL MoSEY: The Northsbest World Tour brings you rapper Lil Mosey and Polo G, C Glizzy and Bandkids, all of whom will perform. 7pm, $26.50-$100. Ace of Spades, 1417 R St.

rEGGiE GrAHAM: As part of the Midtown Vanguard Jazz Series at the CLARA, Reggie Graham will perform on the piano along with Lem McEwan, Kirk Wadi, Gary Harang, Michael Otwell and David McKissick. 6:30pm, $10-$20. CLARA, 2420 N St.

MONday, 2/25 LÚnASA: Celtic music performers Lúnasa will be joined by dancers from the McKeever School of Irish Dance. 7pm, $35. Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, 2700 Capitol Ave.

TuEsday, 2/26 BiG SoMETHinG | AQUEoUS: It’s another coheadline, this time between Buffalo, N.Y. groove rock group Aqueous and Burlington, N.C. alt-rock group Big Something. 8pm, $14-$17. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

WEdNEsday, 2/27 BAD SUnS: Two rock groups play in one night. Come delve into the genre that 1950s parents considered dangerous and pornographic with Bad Suns and Vista Kicks. 7pm, $20. Ace of Spades, 1417 R St.

plenty of booths featuring resources and information. 11am, no cover. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

CALiForniA DUCk DAYS FESTiVAL: It’s the 25th year of this duck celebration. Try out your best duck joke at this duck celebration featured on the previous page. 9am, $20. Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area Headquarters, 45211 County Road 32B (Chiles Road) in Davis.

EDFAir CAMPS, EDUCATion, EnriCHMEnT AnD BEYonD: This enrichment expo gives parents all manner of resources for enriching their kids’ lives, like school programs, camps, tutors, classes, activities and more. There’s even a robot giveaway. I wish my folks had enriched my life with an expo like this— maybe then I’d have prospects. 9am, no cover. The Grounds Placer County, 800 All America City Blvd. in Roseville.

SACrAMEnTo STEAMPUnk SoCiETY BAZAAr & EMPoriUM: All your retro-futuristic dreams are coming true in one convenient location, with adventurous vendors selling everything from steampunk to Victorian— and every single thing in between. 10am, no cover. Great Escape Games, 1250 Howe Ave.

suNday, 2/24 BArkHAPPY SACrAMEnTo MArDi GrAS PAWTY: Celebrate pitbulls with this “pawty”/ “dogala”/“oc-canine-sion”/“petstravaganza”/“celebarktion”/“shindog” and benefit the Chako Pitbull Rescue and Advocacy. There will be free gifts for all in attendance. 1pm, $15. Porchlight Brewing Company, 866 57th St.

CELEBrATion oF BLACk HiSTorY: Girls Leading Our World present this evening honoring Del Paso Heights community members as well as presenting all kinds of art and performance, all in celebration of Black History Month. robertson Community Center,

3525 norwood Ave.

FEsTIVals Thursday, 2/21

STAr STrUk riP THE rUnWAY HAir & FASHion SHoW: Check out Black Expo’s hair and fashion runway show. 4pm, $20-$35. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

ECSTATiC DAnCE: DJ Dakini leads this evening of dance, music and more. What’s the “more,” you ask? Thai yoga massage with James Kapicka and sound healing from Maitreya Wolf. 6:30pm, $15. CLARA, 2420 N St.

saTurday, 2/23 THE 31ST AnnUAL SACrAMEnTo BLACk EXPo: Spend two days at this festival celebrating the history of the Black experience. There will be music, fashion, comedy as well as

FOOd & drINK Thursday, 2/21 DAViS FArMErS MArkET: You like the Davis Farmers Market, right? Well, now it’s in Sacramento. More details on page 30. 4pm, no cover. Sutter Medical Center, 2825 Capitol Ave.

02.21.19 | SN&R | 29

See more eventS and Submit your own at neWsrevieW.com/sacramento/calendar

Friday, 2/22

8pm. $16. Taylor Williamson. Williamson is a stand-up comedian from such talent shows as America’s Got Talent and Last Comic Standing. Through 2/23. $22.50. 2100 Arden Way, Suite 225.

Save the train benefit Concert big Sexy brewing Co., 4pm, no Cover

Hall. Autumn Sky Hall is the musical guest, Cory Barringer is the host, Amy Estes is the Xavier Bettencourt and Parker Newman is the Amy Estes of the evening of varietal comedy. Friday 2/22, 7:30pm. $7. The Boast.

It’s the opposite of a roast, so come see what nice things are brewing in the minds of comedians Jacui Pirl, Bill L. Wallis and more.

Sorry to the comedians I put into the “and more” category. Sunday 2/23, 8pm. $7. 1710 Broadway.

FaSHion on Film 2019-tHe Style oF bond: California Film Foundation and Sac Fashion Week bring you this collaboration for the ages, featuring the fashion of James Bond.

With the debonair secret agent in the spotlight, this festival draws your attention to the buttons, the drape of the coif, the color-coordinated laser shark/cufflink combo. 7:30pm, $20-$30. Beatnik Studios, 723 S St.

satUrday, 2/23 battle oF tHe badGeS-911 CooK-oFF: Twenty

satUrday, 2/23 tHe SaCramento FrenCH Film FeStival’S winter SHortS FeSt: See what short French films the SFFF is serving up for their winter show. They’re the nine César-nominated films that include La Mort, Pere et Fils, Vilaine Fille, Les Petites Mains, Au Coeur Des Ombres et beaucoup plus filmes. 7pm, $11.25. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

tHe unSunG Hero’S ProJeCt: African Americans in the military are honored in this exhibit from The Old Sugar Mill. There will be photos, art and memorabilia, and there also is wine tasting going on for a separate fee. 11am, no cover. Old Sugar Mill, 35265 Willow Ave. in Clarksburg.

monday, 2/25 video art reCePtion FeaturinG auma’S Story: This short, silent, animated film by

sUnday, 2/24

local artist Ozola Cody explores stories in cannabis and is loosely based on Auma’s Story. It delves into the legalization of marijuana and the women who help cultivate it. Reach out to Oz Collective Media to register. 7pm, no cover. RSVP for location, Broadway.

maC & CHeeSe CooK oFF: It’s the first-ever macaroni and cheese cook-off at the Auburn Community Tap House, and if things go well, it won’t be the last! If things just go okay, the initial romantic view of the idea having faded, who knows—so come make it a success by either making some mac (three quarts at least) or grabbing a seat and scarfing down some cheesy pasta. 5pm, $10. Auburn Community Tap House and Bottle Shop, 1850 Grass Valley Highway in Auburn.

comedy briCKyard KitCHen and bar: Dejan Tyler. Local comedian and this-show collaborator with Chadd Beals, Aja Mae and Zach Edlow, Tyler will make the absurd comedy happen in your ear, brain and lungs—and if you’re lucky, in your heart. Saturday 2/23, 8pm. $10. 1474 Eureka Road, Suite 120 in Roseville.

Film tHUrsday, 2/21 narCiSSiSter orGan Player: Movies on the Verge brings you this documentary about Brooklyn performance artist Narcisster, a masked performer exploring the experiences of an African-American, Moroccan, Jewish woman through themes of love and loathing. 7:30pm, $7-$9. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

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lauGHS unlimited Comedy Club: Heath Harmison. Trixx is along for the comedic ride with Harmison, who has done comedy with some of the greats—like Brad Garrett and more. through 2/24. $20. 1207 Front St.

PunCH line: Rivest Dunlap. Rivest Dunlap will

02.21.19

perform comedy. They say you won’t be disappointed—but who are they, are do they know your comedic tastes? thursday 2/21,

art Paul mitCHell tHe SCHool: SACFW Emerging Next Showcase. Students designers share their work from schools around Northern California. Check out fashion from John Henry, Cailin Womack and many more. Saturday 2/23, 6pm. $10-$50. 2100 Arden Way, Suite 265.

tHe Guild tHeater: Comedy Night at The Guild Theater. Dru Burks is hosting and hoisting this night of comedy with Kool Bubba Ice, Tay Livingston and Jerrell Parker. Friday 2/22, 8pm. $15. 2828 35th St.

Smud: Community in Connection. Come spend some time with Vincent Michael Damyanovich’s LED sculpture, “Living Colors.” There will be food, entertainment, community leaders discussing what the art piece means to them and more. monday 2/25, 6pm. no cover. 6301 S St.

on staGe Clara: Stories on Stage. Karen E. Bender,

one first responders from El Dorado County figure out who among them has the best chili recipe in the most delicious way possible—by making a bunch of chili and having people taste the chili. Put on your pre-stained chili-eating clothes and get some chili in your mouth, throat and stomach. 4pm, $20-$25. El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville.

America Voices of Undocumented Youth in Maximum-Security Detention. ACME Theatre Company collaborates with International House Davis for this staged reading of poems from undocumented youth in detention facilities in America. thursday 2/21, 6pm. no cover. 10 College Park in Davis.

Stab! Comedy tHeater: YAK w/ Autumn Sky

Cosmic Family Productions and Another Family Affair present this evening of muSiC music, of trainrebuilding and of love. Featuring Jessica Malone, Brian Curtin, Todd Gardner and many more PHoto coUrtesy oF cosmic Family ProdUctions musicians, it’s an endeavor to replace the miniature, ride-able train—a fixture of the Another Family Fair music festival that was lost in the recent wildfires. They need an eagle trophy, a handmade brass steam whistle, a brass bell, a smoke machine and more. See what you can contribute and what music you can hear. 5861 88th Street, facebook.com/itsanotherfamilyaffair/events.

Calendar liStinGS Continued From PaGe 29

international HouSe daviS: Dreaming

Kelley Ogden, Tara Henry and Valerie Fioravanti share stories on stage. Fioravanti founded Stories on Stage. Friday 2/22, 7:30pm. $10. 2420 N St.

wal PubliC marKet: Artist Talk with Andy Cunningham. Andy Cunningham will talk about his new selection of paintings and then participate in a Q&A session. tuesday 2/26, 6:30pm. no cover. 1104 R St., Suite 110.

Celebration artS: The Whipping Man. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the city of Richmond is in chaos. A Jewish, confederate officer comes home and must face his family history of slavery. through 3/24. $10$20. 2727 B St.

Cowo CamPuS: Open Talent Night. Every third Thursday means it’s time for this co-working space to become a co-talent show space.

All kinds of talents can register. thursday 2/21, 6pm. $5. 1507 21st St.

lGBtQ satUrday, 2/23 rainbow FamilieS Play date: The Sacramento LGBT Community Center and Sacramento Rainbow Families put together this night of play. 5pm, no cover. Sacramento Children’s Museum, 2701 Prospect Park Drive, Suite 120 in Rancho Cordova.

HarriS Center: Evita. The story about Eva Peron from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice brings all the energy and music you’d expect to the production. 7:30pm. through 2/21. $48-$83. 10 College Parkway in Folsom.

Friday, 2/22 Queer SaCramento autHorS ColleCtive milK and CooKieS readinG: The Queer

imaGination tHeater: Vanities. Check out our stage review for Imagination Theater’s play about women and their shifting friendships. through 2/24. $18. 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville.

Sacramento Authors Collective brings you this evening of stories, cookies and milk. 7pm, no cover. Lavender Library, 1414 21st St.

taKe action satUrday, 2/23 2nd annual raCial HealinG in ameriCa ConFerenCe: This is a space to discuss how to approach racial healing on a local level. 9am, $10. 9249 Folsom Blvd.

sUnday, 2/24 CounterinG rePreSSion oF aCtiviStS ProteCtinG our riGHt to diSSent and boyCott: This presentation from Sunaina Maira and Marcelle Obeid shares their experiences advocating for justice in Palestine, including attempts to silence UC Davis students and faculty. 1pm, no cover. Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave.

Wednesday, 2/27 wmba’S 7tH annual “literaCy liberateS” booK drive: Share some books to benefit

Sacramento County Juvenile Hall. 6pm, no cover. Underground Books, 2814 35th St.

classes satUrday, 2/23 intro to booKmaKinG: Like making books? Or do you have no idea how to get started?

This class is for you. You’ll get started with single sheet books, move on to a sewn pamphlet, then more and more until you’re trapped in an infinite loop of making larger and larger books. 10am, $60. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

sUnday, 2/24 tHe artiSt emPowerment ClaSS: Danielle Moné Truitt leads this class on pursuing a career as an artist. You’ll learn what it takes to advocate for yourself, how to emotionally handle everything and more. 1pm, $25. B Street Theatre, 2700 Capitol Ave.

CaCti & SuCCulent waterColorinG: Like succulents? Put that passion to the test by painting them in watercolor with instruction and all the materials you need. 1pm, $40. Broad Room, 2311 S St. Suite 3.

Wednesday, 2/27

Sourdough Class The Urban hive, 6pm, $65

Your days of eating plain white bread for every meal are nearly over. All you need to do is attend this class on ClaSSeS making sourdough bread and you’ll be an official resident of Flavortown— “The City That Uses Homemade Bread for Sandwiches.” That’s right, join Niche Bread Company’s Daniel Stephan for an evening walking you through all the steps and leaving you with an uncooked loaf. Can’t make this class? There’s one more next month. 1601 Alhambra Boulevard, cityscoutmag.com/ shop/sourdough-making-class-sacramento.

PHoto coUrtesy oF artUr rUtKoWsKi

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SN&R | AM31 1/31/2019 8:15:21

THURSDAY 2/21

FRIDAY 2/22

SATURDAY 2/23

Anxious Power, 7pm, no cover

Sanity Aisle, 7pm, no cover

Poprockz 90s Night, 7pm, call for cover

Fridays are a Drag, 9:30pm, call for cover

Spectacular Saturdays, 7pm, call for cover

Steve Stizzo Trio, 6:30pm, no cover

Turnbuckle Blues Review, 9:30pm, no cover

Samantha Sharp, 9:30pm, no cover

Chrch, Un and Chrome Ghost, 8pm, $10-$12

Da’Unda’Dogg w/ P-Reek, C-Dubb & Siyeed and more, 9pm, $10-$15

Aethereus, the Odious Construct, Wastewalker and more, 8pm, $12-$15

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Steaksauce Mustache, Pervert, Pound, Heated and more, 7pm, $10

Madman’s Lullaby, Mechanizm and Evolution Revolver, 8pm, $10

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

Dinner and a Drag Show, 7:30pm, $5$25; Karaoke, 9:30pm, call for cover

ArmAdillo music

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Justin Timberlake 7:30pm Sunday, $160-$600 Golden 1 Center Pop

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Trapicana, 10pm, W, call for cover Open-Mic, 7:30pm, W, no cover; Monday Night Trivia, 6:30pm, M, no cover

Guys on a Bus, Brave Coyote and Paper Space, 7pm, T, $10 Boot Scootin Sundays, 8pm, $5

Geeks Who Drink, 8:30pm, W, no cover

Dusk, 3pm, call for cover; We are One, 11pm, call for cover

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

2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation, 7:30pm, $14

The Sacramento French Film Festival’s Winter Shorts Fest, 7pm, $11.25

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Faces Karaoke, 9pm, call for cover

Absolut Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Sequin Saturday, 9:30pm, call for cover

One Eyed Reilly, 8pm, call for cover

The Bottom Dwellers, 8pm, call for cover

Whiskey Society Dinner, 7pm, T, call for cover

Gavin Canaan and Adam Varona, 9pm, $5

The Triple 7’s, 9pm, $5

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

2019 CIF San-Joaquin Section Basketball Championships: Day 1, 10am, $10-$37

2019 CIF San-Joaquin Section Basketball Championships: Day 2, 10am, $10-$37

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Fiji and For Peace Band, 7:30pm, $25-$30

The Darling Clementines Variety Show: Wild Things, 7pm, $15-$20

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College Night, 10pm, call for cover

Scoles & Young, 9pm, call for cover

Left of Centre, 9pm, $10

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet, 8pm, $30-$35

Christian Scott, 9pm, $20-$25

Yelly, 6:30pm, $5-$10; Back in the Day Hip-Hop and R&B, 10pm, $10

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

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2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

Let’s Get Quizzical, 7pm, T, no cover; Cornhole, 6pm, W, no cover

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Madball, BillyBio, Earth Down and Cutthroat, 6:30pm, $17-$19

Ideateam, What Rough Beast and Sweater Zest, 6:30pm, $10-$12

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fri mar 1st

mardi gras Bash with free cajun Boil 6:00pm - 8:00pm

sat mar 2n 2nD

kevin’s annual B day Bash free prime rib dinner 6:00pm - 8:00pm

sat mar 16th

Bobby Zoppi Band st. patties day party

sun mar 17th

st. patties day open at 2pm with 5$ corned beef & cabbage

1320 Del paso blvD in olD north sac 2 steps from downtown | 916.402.2407 stoneyinn.com for nightly drink specials & events

32 | SN&R | 02.21.19

live MuSic 2/21

steve stizzo trio (6:30pm)

2/22

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2/23

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Shitshow Karaoke, 8pm, M, no cover; Record Roundup, 8pm, T, no cover The Trivia Factory’s Harry Potter Trivia, 7pm, M, call for cover

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1910 Q ST., (916) 706-2465 1517 21ST ST.

Big Something and Aqueous, 8pm, $14-$17 Hippie Hour, 5pm, no cover

2565 FRANklIN blvD., (916) 455-1331

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2326 k ST., (916) 441-2242

with Direct Hit and more 7pm Sunday, $18-$20 Holy Diver Pop punk

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

2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Documentary, 7pm, $14

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1013 k ST., (916) 476-3356

435 MAIN ST., WOODlAND, (530) 668-1044

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Destroy Boys, Madd and Slutzville, 7pm, $10-$15

Smoking Popes, Direct Hit, Lightweight and Dog Party, 7pm, $18-$20

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

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1414 16TH sT., (916) 737-5770 2708 J sT., (916) 441-4693

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Robert Kuhlman, 5pm, T, no cover

David Houston & String Theory, Gillian Underwood and Catalina Aveil, 8pm, $10

Jazz Jam with Byron Colburn, 8pm, W, $5 Bourbon & Blues: John Blues Boyd, 6:30pm, W, $10-$12

Sun Valley Gun Club, the Hague and Clevers, 8pm, $7

That Kid Raja & Charm the Riot, Mr. Hooper and Beat Bombastic, 8pm, $6

Live Music with Heath Williamson, 5:30pm, M, no cover

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Tempest, 8pm, $18-$22

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Cafe R&B, 3pm, call for cover; Blues Jam, 6pm, call for cover

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

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United Defiance, Boss’ Daughter, Hilltop Rats and the Bitters, 8pm, call for cover

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

Sunday Night Dance Party, 9pm, no cover

Monday Vibes with MC Ham & Friends, 9pm, M, no cover

shady Lady

Harley White Jr. Orchestra, 9pm, no cover

Crescent Katz, 9pm, no cover

Lee Bob & the Truth, 9pm, no cover

Peter Petty, 9pm, no cover

Sour Diesel, 9pm, W, no cover

DJ Elements, 10pm, no cover before 11pm

Fashion with DJ JB, 10pm, no cover before 10:30pm

The Soul Rebels, 7pm, $30

Greg Adams & East Bay Soul, 7pm, $35

Faith Ako and Halau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie, 7pm, $30

1320 Del PasO BlvD., (916) 927-6023

Country Thunder Thursdays, 8pm, no cover

Hot Country Fridays, 7pm, $5-$10

Two-step Dance Workshop with Kat Painter, 6:30pm, $10

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13 maIn sT., WInTers, (530) 795-1825 414 maIn sT., PlacervIlle, (530) 303-3792 614 suTTer sT., fOlsOm, (916) 355-8586 2030 P sT., (916) 444-7914 1409 r sT., (916) 231-9121

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CHRCH with Un and Chrome Ghost 8pm Thursday, $10-$12 Blue Lamp Doom

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Lil Mosey, Polo G, C Glizzy and Bandkids, 7pm, $26.50-$100

Bad Suns and Vista Kicks, 5pm, W, $20

The Shine Jazz Jam, 8pm, no cover

Sir Corduroy, Stohler Peace and Free Minds Rising, 8pm, $8

Sicky Betts, Brotherly Mud and JT Lawrence, 8pm, $8

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Sad Girlz Club, City Mouse, Bastards of Young and more, 8pm, $7-$10

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02.21.19 | SN&R | 33

How many NCAA basketball players does it take to change a light bulb? Only one. But he gets money, a car, and three credit hours for it.

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

it’s not all weed and roses see ask 420

illustration by kate mitrano

Vape the planet Ditch the disposable vaporizer pen. Refillable vapes are easy-to-use and an environmental win-win.

by Ngaio Bealum

People love their vape pens. Convenient, discreet and easier on the throat and lungs than smoking a joint or a pipe, vaporizers are pushing sales of cannabis concentrates to new heights.

In 2018, vape cartridges accounted for 58 percent of all cannabis concentrate sales, according to Forbes. Clearly, many people see vaporizers as the modern way to use cannabis. No more seeds and stems, no fumbling around with grinders and papers. Just grab your pen, press a button and boom! Instant nirvana.

Disposable vaporizers do have some problems, though. First, there is a very small chance that the pen may explode. Most people can agree that faces and explosions are not a good mix. Also, many vapes are failing lab tests in California due to high lead content from the heating element. And disposable cartridges are not the most

environmentally sensitive or sustainable product in the marketplace. Yes, there are a few dispensaries that have cartridge recycling programs, but these programs are rare.

So what to do?

Fortunately, there are many companies that make great and easy-to-use refillable vaporizers. In the early days of vapor technology, “portable” vapes were unwieldy, cumbersome and needed to be recharged seemingly every 10 minutes, kinda like early cellular phones. But just like cell phones, these new vapes are small, simple to use and the battery lasts all day. Some of them even have their own apps.

When choosing a new refillable vape, a consumer should look for a few different things. A variable temperature heating element is almost a necessity. Instead of burning the plant material, a vaporizer

a sk 420@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

heats all the essential oils in the plant (the terpenes and the THC) until they reach their vapor point and can be inhaled. Because different terpenes have different vapor points, the optimal temperature for proper vaping is a matter of much debate in the cannabis community.

The DaVinci IQ is an expensive device (a little less than $300, ouch), but it is known for having a great temperature range.

Plus, you can download an app on your phone that will help you fine-tune your device.

37

If you like to vape both flowers and concentrates, you will want a vape that has options. Most vapes these days come with two different refillable pods: one for flowers and one for dabs. The challenge, of course, is that cannabis concentrates are kind of sticky and viscous, and it can be a royal pain-inthe-you-know-what to fill your pod without making a mess.

Don’t worry, after a little practice you will be able to refill your pods in a trice. Some of the new portable dabbers such as the Dipstick Dipper double as both a vape and a “honey dipper”—you can place the tip of the pen smack dab (heh) in the middle of your concentrate jar, and the heating element will vaporize the concentrate as you inhale. The Dipper is a nice touch, but it can be a drag to clean if you let it get all gunked up. If you have a lot of money and you really, really like dabs, the Puffco Peak SmartRig may be the way to go. It’s not really portable (it’s about the size of a small bong), but it heats up quickly, is easy to clean and delivers great hits.

My favorite portable vape, though, is still the PAX—easy to hide, fairly easy to refill and very easy to use. The PAX 3 is most likely the best all-around vape on the market right now. And, yes, it also has a phone app that will help you get your preferences dialed in just right.

But those aren’t the only pens on the market. The internet is full of sites that will sell you all manner of vape pen, whether your budget is $50 or $500. Ask your friends, do a little research and find the refillable vape device that bests suits your lifestyle and personality.

Yes, the upfront cost may be a little steep, but you will save money (disposable cartridges cost way more than concentrates in a jar) after a while and maybe even help save the planet in the long run. That’s a win-win. Ω

Just grab your pen, press a button and boom! Instant nirvana.

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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

The ganja next door My neighbor is growing indoors now in an unsealed garage.

He has a state license, not sure rec or med. Last season when he moved in, he had about 30-40 pots outdoors.

Outdoors is not allowed in my city. At harvest time, it stunk up the place. When I brought it to his attention, “Oh you can smell it?” he says. “Well, I can grow 99 plants!”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the flower, but I don’t think his commercial production is appropriate in a residential neighborhood. His attitude of “Freedom!” or perception of “I have a license and I can do what I want with weed” is a problem. It’s not all weed and roses for everyone. Any thoughts?

—GT

Yeah. It’s a tough spot. Your neighbor is breaking the first rules of gray-market activity, which is to be low-key and keep your karma clean. Growing large amounts of weed in a residential area requires subtlety and discretion and your neighbor seems to possess neither.

As to his “I can grow 99 plants!” boast, he is almost correct. He may be under the false assumption that since he paid extra for his letter of recommendation from the medical cannabis doctor, he can do what he wants with impunity.

However, a letter from the doctor only allows him an “affirmative defense” if he were to be arrested, meaning that he would have to prove (in court, under oath) that he actually needed pounds and pounds of weed for his medical condition. And just because he has a letter that says he can grow 99 plants, it doesn’t mean he can ignore local rules and regulations. The odds are not in his favor.

As to the smell of weed during harvest time, I am of the opinion that folks should just put up with it. It’s only gonna smell like weed for a few weeks.

However, I really like the smell of weed (it smells like victory and activism), but I understand that most folks don’t share my feelings.

So what to do? You could call the state Bureau of Cannabis Control and

complain. People with large obnoxious grows get busted all the time, mostly because their neighbors get fed up with all the carelessness and braggadocio. You could call county services and they would probably show up and shut him down.

The process is anonymous, but no one likes a snitch. You are truly in a tough spot.

There may be another option.

Governor Gavin Newsom just announced that he is sending National Guard soldiers into Northern Cali to crack down on illegal grows. Maybe you could strike up a conversation and casually mention to your neighbor that the governor is cracking down on unpermitted grows and that he should double check to make sure he is operating legally. Perhaps you could slip a copy of the rules and regulations in your city under his door. Or maybe you could tell his mom that her son is being an inconsiderate jerk. Good luck. Ω iLLuStratioN By katE mitraNo

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

@Ngaio420

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FRee will aStRology

aSk joey

by ROb bRezsny

For the week oF February 21, 2019 ARIES (March 21-April 19): In December 1915, San

Loving a love child

by JOey GARCIA

@AskJoeyGarcia

while married, I had an affair with a a happy, successful adult, fill in the truth married man and became pregnant. My about her father, but do it slowly over time. husband discovered the affair and we divorced. My daughter’s father is still I recently began taking light rail to married. his wife doesn’t know about the work. one of my co-workers takes the affair so he wants nothing to do with his same train and sees my presence as daughter. She is now two years old and an opportunity for conversation about asking where her daddy is. I don’t know uncomfortably personal topics. I miss what to say or whether she’s too young my quiet time on the way to work. I find to say anything. advice, please! myself getting angry at this guy who is a If your daughter is aware enough to notice nice person, just not anyone I care to be she doesn’t have a daddy and inquires friends with. what should I do? where he might be, she deserves an answer.

When the conversation veers into TMI, say Give her an age-appropriate, 21st century you feel uncomfortable. Bring up something response: “Daddy wasn’t ready to be a you prefer to chat about. If need be, excuse daddy and that’s OK because you have me yourself from the conversation. Once a and I have you. Not all families have week, explain that you need quiet a mommy and daddy. Some time to wrap your head around families have one mommy, a new project. Excuse Your like ours. Some families yourself, and walk on have one daddy. There daughter needs ahead. On another day are families with two each week, take a your explanation mommies or two slightly earlier train. delivered in a consistent daddies. The most Before heading into important thing in and affectionate tone the office, walk every family is love. around the block, of voice.

It will help her I love you and I love giving yourself extra accept that her father’s being your mommy.” time alone. By storing Your daughter will absence is not her more solitude, you likely ask you about will feel less resentment fault. her dad over and again. toward your co-worker. Be That’s what 2-year-olds sure to engage in at least one do. That’s what 4-year-olds do, conversation per week with him. too, so prepare yourself to repeat the same Consider it your community service. Ω answer over the years with infinite patience.

Your daughter needs your explanation delivered in a consistent and affectionate tone of voice. It will help her accept that her MedItatIon oF the week father’s absence is not her fault.

Always speak well of her father. Don’t “How wonderful it is that put him down. Don’t list his bad qualities, nobody need wait a single either. If you do, she will absorb these moment before starting to condemnations, incorporating his faults into improve the world,” wrote her character as a way of drawing closer Anne Frank. Still cranking to him. It makes the teenage years tougher those new year’s goals? than they need be.

Invite a male family member to become a part of your daughter’s life. Their relationship can help her discover how to balance Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review. Give internal gender energy. We all carry male your name, telephone number and female energies within. A man without (for verification purposes only) and question—all female energy will be macho. A woman correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. without balanced male energy will seek to Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA be rescued, instead of managing her own 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 1360; or email life. To ensure your daughter develops into askjoey@newsreview.com.

42 | SN&R | 02.21.19

Diego was suffering through a drought. City officials hired a professional “moisture accelerator” named Charles Hatfield who promised to make it rain. Soon, Hatfield was shooting a secret blend of chemicals into the sky from the top of a tower.

The results were quick. A deluge began in early January 1916 and persisted for weeks. Thirty inches of rain fell, causing floods that damaged the local infrastructure. The moral of the story, as far as you’re concerned, Aries: When you ask for what you want and need, specify exactly how much you want and need. Don’t make an openended request that could bring you too much of a good thing.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges are brothers born to parents who were also actors. When they were growing up, they already had aspirations to follow in their parents’ footsteps. From an early age, they summoned a resourceful approach to attracting an audience. Now and then they would start a pretend fight in a store parking lot. When a big enough crowd had gathered to observe their shenanigans, they would suddenly break off from their faux struggle, grab their guitars from their truck and begin playing music. In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll be equally ingenious as you brainstorm about ways to expand your outreach.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to Edward Barnard’s book New York City Trees, a quarter of the city is shaded by its 5.2 million trees. In other words, one of the most densely populated, frantically active places on the planet has a rich collection of oxygen-generating greenery.

There’s even a virgin forest at the upper tip of Manhattan, as well as five botanical gardens and 843-acre Central Park. Let’s use all this bounty amid the bustle as a symbol of what you should strive to foster in the coming weeks: refreshing lushness and grace interspersed throughout your busy, hustling rhythm.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As a poet myself, I regard good poetry as highly useful. It can nudge us free of our habitual thoughts and provoke us to see the world in ways we’ve never imagined.

On the other hand, it’s not useful in the same way that food and water and sleep are. Most people don’t get sick if they are deprived of poetry. But I want to bring your attention to a poem that is serving a very practical purpose in addition to its inspirational function. Simon Armitage’s poem “In Praise of Air” is on display in an outdoor plaza at Sheffield University. The material it’s printed on is designed to literally remove a potent pollutant from the atmosphere. And what does this have to do with you? I suspect that in the coming weeks you will have an extra capacity to generate blessings that are like Armitage’s poem— useful in both practical and inspirational ways.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 1979, psychologist Dorothy Tennov published her book Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love. She defined her newly coined word “limerence” as a state of adoration that may generate intense, euphoric and obsessive feelings for another person. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Leos are most likely to be visited by this disposition throughout 2019.

And you’ll be especially prone to it in the coming weeks. Will that be a good thing or a disruptive thing? It all depends on how determined you are to regard it as a blessing, have fun with it and enjoy it regardless of whether or not your feelings are reciprocated. I advise you to enjoy the hell out of it!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Based in Switzerland, Nestle is the largest food company in the world.

Yet it pays just $200 per year to the state of Michigan for a permit to suck up about 210 million gallons of groundwater, which it bottles and sells at a profit. I nominate this vignette to be your cautionary tale in the coming weeks. How? 1.

Make damn sure you are being fairly compensated for your offerings. 2. Don’t allow huge, impersonal forces to exploit your resources. 3.

Be tough and discerning, not lax and naïve, as you negotiate deals.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sixteenth-century Italian

artist Daniele da Volterra wasn’t very famous for his own painting and sculpture. We remember him today for the alterations he made to Michelangelo’s giant fresco The Last Judgment, which spreads across an entire wall in the Sistine Chapel. After Michelangelo died, the Catholic Church hired da Volterra to “fix” the scandalous aspects of the people depicted in the master’s work. He painted clothes and leaves over genitalia and derrieres. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that we make da Volterra your anti-role model for the coming weeks. Don’t be like him. Don’t engage in cover-ups, censorship, or camouflage. Instead, specialize in the opposite: revelations, unmaskings and expositions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What is the quality of your access to life’s basic necessities? How well do you fulfill your need for good food and drink, effective exercise, deep sleep, thorough relaxation, mental stimulation, soulful intimacy, a sense of meaningfulness, nourishing beauty and rich feelings? I bring these questions to your attention, Scorpio, because the rest of 2019 will be an excellent time for you to fine-tune and expand your relationships with these fundamental blessings. And now is an excellent time to intensify your efforts.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Michael Jackson’s 1982 song “Beat It” climbed to number three on the charts in Australia. On the other hand, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1984 parody, “Eat It,” reached number one on the same charts. Let’s use this twist as a metaphor that’s a good fit for your life in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you may find that a stand-in or substitute or imitation will be more successful than the original. And that will be auspicious!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Space Needle in Seattle is 605 feet high and 138 feet wide—a tall and narrow tower. Near the top is a round restaurant that makes one complete rotation every 47 minutes. Although this part of the structure weighs 125 tons, for many years its motion was propelled by a mere 1.5 horsepower motor. I think you will have a comparable power at your disposal in the coming weeks—an ability to cause major movement with a compact output of energy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1941, the Ford automobile company created a “biological car.” Among its components were bioplastics composed of soybeans, hemp, flax, wood pulp and cotton. It weighed 1,000 pounds less than a comparable car made of metal. This breakthrough possibility never fully matured, however.

It was overshadowed by newly abundant plastics made from petrochemicals. I suspect that you Aquarians are at a phase with a resemblance to the biological car. Your good idea is promising but unripe. I hope you’ll spend the coming weeks devoting practical energy to developing it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Cartographers of Old Europe sometimes drew pictures of strange beasts in the uncharted regions of their maps.

These were warnings to travelers that such areas might harbor unknown risks, like dangerous animals. One famous map of the Indian Ocean shows an image of a sea monster lurking, as if waiting to prey on sailors traveling through its territory. If I were going to create a map of the frontier you’re now headed for, Pisces, I would fill it with mythic beasts of a more benevolent variety, like magic unicorns, good fairies and wise centaurs.

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.

What did the march say to all the madness? What’s all that bracket.

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