CA Census
‘Let your voices be heard’
“Veterans love to tell war stories, but now they
need to start telling
Census stories.”
— Virginia A. Wimmer.
Deputy director, San Joaquin County Veterans Service Office
[…]
Local Issues
Local Issues
Latinx Support BLM
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Three months ago, a Sacramento teen faced a decision: To be or not to be at a local march against police brutality? A young Chicano, Roger D. Zapata, concluded he had to […]
Local Issues
SacRT Steps Up for the Community
by Allen Pierleoni Sacramento Regional Transit District has been a national model when it comes to implementing conscientious protocols that keep its customers and employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic. For instance, a creative offshoot […]
Local Issues
Riding the (Light) Rails
A Q&A with Light Rail Operator Jessica Clark by Anne Stokes Light Rail Operator Jessica Clark has been with Sacramento Regional Transit District for eight years, driving light rail trains for four. She talks to […]
Local Issues
Volunteers for a Safer Sacramento
by Allen Pierleoni When Jessica Gonzalez learned that Sacramento Regional Transit District had received 60,000 free face masks from federal, state and city sources, she knew just what to do. To help fight the pandemic, […]
Local Issues
A Seat on the Bus
By Anne Stokes For 38 years, Joyce Adams-Watkins has been getting Sacramentans where they need to be. We talked with Sacramento Regional Transit District’s senior-most bus operator to see what it’s like keeping Sacramento moving. […]
Local Issues
Diverse Voices Ask for Change
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ As a newcomer to Sacramento, Katherine Moua admits to not knowing much about Mayor Darrell Steinberg – except that he wields power and influence at City Hall. But when she learned that […]
Disabilities
Freedom of Movement
by Anne Stokes For individuals with disabilities, reliable transportation is key to living an independent life. Sacramento Regional Transit District provides accommodating, reliable and affordable services to help riders with mobility, visual and other impairments […]
Local Issues
Need a ride? A shuttle is on its way.
by Allen Pierleoni The good news is that the Sacramento Regional Transit District has once again broadened its transit service area, offering safe, convenient and easy access to more destinations for riders. The better news […]
Local Issues
A crisis-resolution option
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ People of color increasingly think twice before dialing 911 to report an emergency, be it on the road or at home. This reticence reflects a profound fear of police among growing numbers […]
Local Issues
Safety First
A Q&A with SacRT Safety Specialist Stephen McCabe by Anne Stokes As a safety specialist, what does your job entail? It’s everything from environmental compliance, [which is] protection of soil and water, tracking chemical use […]
Local Issues
Ticket to Ride
by Anne Stokes Whether you’re a regular commuter or just planning a day trip, Sacramento Regional Transit District can help get you where you need to go conveniently and on budget. Fare options include single […]
Local Issues
Modernization Grants
by Thea Marie Rood The future of public transportation in the Sacramento region just got a whole lot more interesting, not in small part because of $27 million coming its way. The Sacramento Regional Transit […]
Local Issues
The Bus of the Future
by Thea Marie Rood It may not fly through the air like George Jetson’s car, but the new bus service on the Yolo Causeway is all electric—and a sign of what’s to come in public […]
Local Issues
Defunding School Resource Officers
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ For 20 years, some members of the Sacramento Police Department had one mission: to help provide security for the Sacramento City Unified School District in their role as school resource officers, or […]
Local Issues
A Community Effort
When is a bus not a bus? When it’s a Wi-Fi hotspot, of course. Between May 4 and July 1, Sacramento Regional Transit District deployed 10 repurposed buses, which provided 60 days of free wireless […]
Local Issues
More buses, more trains: SacRT service ramps back up as people get back to work
By Debbie Arrington As businesses and offices reopen after COVID-19 restrictions, Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) is welcoming back customers and helping them get where they want to go, safely.SacRT recently added more weekday bus […]
Local Issues
SacRT trains to get low-profile upgrade: Sacramento-built light rail vehicles part of system-wide modernization
By Debbie Arrington Light rail service in the Sacramento region will soon get a major upgrade, making riding the train easier and more accessible than ever. At the same time, this modernization supports local jobs: […]
Local Issues
Keeping Passengers Safe and Healthy: SacRT outlines precautions to combat COVID-19
By Debbie Arrington Clean, safe and convenient; that’s the experience customers will find as they’re welcomed back to light rail and bus service by the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT). With cleaner buses and trains […]
Local Issues
Black Lives Matter
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ The 2018 killing of Stephon Clark by Sacramento police deeply impacted Josh Harris, an American River College student. Shocked and angry, he became an activist against police brutality and has joined protests […]
Local Issues
Tale of Two Cities
by Edgar Sanchez Sacramento, one of America’s most diverse urban areas, is fraught with racial and economic fault lines that make it a city of the haves and the have-nots, where race and income can […]
Local Issues
Racial Discrimination in the Time of COVID
by Anne Stokes While COVID-19 is a global pandemic, its origin in China has caused an increase in hate crimes committed against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). In response, the Asian Pacific Policy and […]
Local Issues
Correcting Inequities
by Edgar Sanchez Aaron Howard obeys the rules. And now that he’s trying to get back into Sacramento’s legal cannabis sector, he has a partner in his brother Julian, a truck driver who will deliver […]
Local Issues
Emergency Response
by Edgar Sanchez When COVID-19 hit greater Sacramento, causing unemployment, hunger and dozens of deaths, one local nonprofit did something about it. Sacramento Area Congregations Together, or Sac ACT, created a COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund […]
Local Issues
Staying in Place
By Anne Stokes COVID-19 has changed the way people live their lives across the globe and California has not escaped the pandemic’s health or economic effects. Unemployment rates are at record levels and millions are […]
Education
Facts Matter
By Edgar Sanchez Ivan Caballero has thick skin. That would explain why the Sacramento City College freshman recently revealed he doesn’t care what President Donald Trump says about news reporters. Trump has labeled journalists everything […]
Local Issues
Not your ordinary nonprofit
By Edgar Sanchez Christmas 2019 came early for Julius Thibodeaux. Fifteen days before the holiday, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced during a City Council meeting that City Manager Howard Chan had reached a decision on […]
Local Issues
2020 Census Op-Ed
BY ELEANOR LOVE As a 15-year-old high school sophomore in Sacramento, I like to think I’m well-informed. I follow the news. I’m active on social media. I have still-developing but strong political opinions that I […]
Local Issues
Fighting for Family
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Three years ago, Lan Nguyen, then a UCLA grad student, needed a subject for her Master’s Thesis in Asian American Studies. Rather than pen a traditional research paper, Nguyen undertook something more […]
Local Issues
Activists Seek Justice Reform for Youth Sentenced as Adults
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ As a youth, Kirn Kim made one good decision after another — eventually becoming an honors student at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton, Orange County. “I was in the National Honors Society. […]
Local Issues
Give Your Hair the Love it Deserves
From classic to cutting edge, Spanish Fly Hair Garage makes it work BY ANNE STOKES Midtown can be a hard place for a salon to stand out. By virtue of its name, Spanish Fly Hair […]
Local Issues
Tired of Beer? Try cider!
Midtown’s Cider House is a refreshing change BY ANNE STOKES Sacramento has plenty of brewery options. But if you’re looking for something different, try the newly opened Cider House in Midtown. For those who think […]
Local Issues
Everything Old is New Again
Vintage YSJ can help breathe new life into your old wardrobe BY ANNE STOKES Vintage shopping can have its highs and lows: Finding an amazing one-of-a-kind piece that’s not in your size, or it fits […]
Local Issues
Farm Fresh and Ready to Eat
Spend the afternoon at the Midtown Farmers Market BY ANNE STOKES From winter squash to summer berries, California’s bountiful year-round harvests are envied around the world. Here in Sacramento, we enjoy some of the world’s […]
Local Issues
Eat, Drink and Enjoy Midtown
Hidden gems and tasty treats await BY ANNE STOKES For anyone who has lobbed the age-old question, “I don’t know, where do you want to eat?” back and forth, SacTown Bites Food Tour Adventures has […]
Local Issues
Restoring the Past For the Present
Art conservator Karen Alkons rescues art and history from oblivion BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Karen Alkons is in the rarefied business of professional patience, but that’s just part of it. Her acute eye for color and […]
Local Issues
What’s Old is New Again
The Northside Bar + Cafe is the latest go-to for eats and drinks BY ALLEN PIERLEONI For owner Jasmine Peterhans, opening the new Northside Bar + Cafe has been a step-by-step project played out over […]
Local Issues
Woodlake Tavern is on the move
Comfort food with class, yes, but check out the new events atrium BY ALLEN PIERLEONI First it was the high-end Enotria Restaurant and Wine Bar, then it became the whiskey-wine-BBQ-centric Cask & Barrel. For the […]
Local Issues
The business of small businesses
California Capital is looking to back underserved entrepreneurs. Are you ready for the ride? BY ALLEN PIERLEONI “Almost every day, we hear from small-business owners, ‘I wish I had known you were here when I […]
Local Issues
It’s a wrap (and a delivery)
Box Brothers thrives on Del Paso Boulevard BY ALLEN PIERLEONI “Exciting, interesting things come through the door every day,” said Jay Roth, co-owner with his wife, Lisa, of the Box Brothers packaging-shipping store. “Interesting” like […]
Local Issues
Local Issues
A Toast to the Past
Burly Beverages is hand-crafting old-fashioned elixirs to quench the thirst of new generations BY ALLEN PIERLEONI It’s fitting that Gabriel Aiello chose a building from the 1930s as the site for his Burly Beverages, and […]
Local Issues
Youth Campaign for More Funding
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Four years ago, Dexter Niskala, then a junior at Luther Burbank High, campaigned for Measure Y, which would have created a new tax to fund children’s programs in Sacramento. “I asked hundreds […]
Local Issues
Yvonne R. Walker: Leaders who made a difference
Their grassroots efforts led to real change in their communities How do you create change? You can organize at the grassroots level, inspiring others and nurturing ideas. And you can vote, electing leaders who will […]
Local Issues
Healthy Treats and a Good Cause
Pamper your pup in style BY ANNE STOKES Not only is a dog’s love unconditional, it also can be a lifesaver — literally! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dog ownership can […]
Local Issues
His opportunity to fly and dream
Well-known artist and designer Gerry Otis Simpson showcases his work in gallery-boutique BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Amid the art gallery’s organized chaos of color-saturated paintings, denim “artwear,” stark black-and-white photos and assorted curios is one particular […]
Local Issues
‘A lot of love’ in every sandwich
Shift Coffee House honored for ‘Best Grilled Cheese’ in California BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Shift Coffee House co-owner Carol Mundy sat at a table in her restaurant, near the Grilled Cheese Bar, and recalled how the […]
Local Issues
Keeping People Out of Jail
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ An activist group that stopped an $89 million expansion of Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove says its fight for criminal justice reform is not over. Construction bids for the RCCC […]
Local Issues
Exotic evening on J Street
Kasbah delivers Middle Eastern fine dining and romantic ambiance BY ANNE STOCKS With its arches and columns, cushioned banquette seats and warm copper tabletops lit by candlelight, Kasbah offers an evening that’s like a romantic […]
Local Issues
Custom Treasures
Little Relics offers sustainably-sourced, hand-made wearable art BY ANNE STOKES When you walk through the door, it’s immediately clear Little Relics isn’t like other big-name jewelry shops: There are no high-pressure salespeople or cases of […]
Local Issues
Retro chic oasis offers more than room
The Greens Hotel makes Del Paso the place to stay BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Unless you happen to look up and spot the sign on Del Paso Boulevard that reads “The Greens,” across the street from […]
Local Issues
One Woman of Color is Making History in Sacramento’s Growing Cannabis Industry
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Betty Mitchell’s uncle was a pioneer in developing medical cannabis in Arkansas. Now, Mitchell herself is being called a pioneer in Sacramento’s emerging $4-billion-a-year legal marijuana industry. Her uncle, Dr. Ulysses Hunter, […]
Local Issues
A gathering place to create (and read)
Carol’s Books so much more than a bookstore BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Carol’s Books, which has had a presence on Del Paso Boulevard for 15 years, is more of an artists’ salon than an independent bookstore, […]
Local Issues
It’s Easy Being Green
Propagate can help bring a little bit of nature inside BY ANNE STOKES If you look around your home and feel something’s missing, chances are you need a little greenery. “If you’re working on a […]
Local Issues
These cleaners are a blast
Company specializes in industrial-size pressure washers and other high-powered cleaning tools BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Howard Ditkof was standing inside Steam Cleaners, Inc., his Old North Sacramento business housed in his refurbished 9,500-square-foot warehouse filled with […]
Local Issues
Gilded Age treasures come to Midtown
Collection available for preview before luxury auction BY DEBBIE ARRINGTON Oh, if these furnishings could talk! Once, they graced the greatest houses in the Bay Area. Later, they decorated the sets of motion pictures. Now, […]
Local Issues
Colo’s spices up neighborhood
Former Oak Park restaurateurs bring popular soul food north BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Things have been somewhat hectic since Kevin and Tamar McCree’s soft opening of Colo’s Soul Food & Seafood on Nov. 1. “We’ve been […]
Local Issues
Working Together
Find your new look at Together Midtown BY ANNE STOKES In the cutthroat world of capitalism, “business is business.” But that’s not what you’ll find at Together Midtown where co-owners Rachel Minyard, Stella Manukyan and […]
Local Issues
Greater Sacramento Urban League Program Welcomes People of Color into Booming Cannabis Industry
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Thirteen people of color made history recently by mastering the skills to enter Sacramento’s legal cannabis industry—with the city’s blessing. The eight men and five women became the first to graduate from […]
Local Issues
Make New Year’s Fitness Resolutions with Confidence
Keep going with the right gear and support from Fleet Feet BY ANNE STOKES New Year resolutions start out with the best of intentions: Exercise, eat healthy, live better! At Fleet Feet, you can find […]
Local Issues
Thrill of discovery fills this building
Schiff Estate Services offers help as well as finds BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Stepping inside the Schiff’s Estate Sale Building is a retro trip into a garage sale multiplied by 1,000; a random yet indicative glimpse […]
Education
WALKSacramento Strives to Ensure the Safety of Sacramento Students
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Five days a week, thousands of boys and girls throughout Sacramento walk to school and back—putting themselves in peril. At many corners, the children face motorists who might run red lights and […]
Families
Here to help with what families need
North Sacramento Family Resource Center serves as community hub for people with kids BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Rosemary Schapira has been on the job only since October, but there’s no doubt about her mastery of the […]
Local Issues
Check parking off your list
City offers free street parking in Midtown after 4:30 p.m. and all day weekends through Christmas BY DEBBIE ARRINGTON When you’re dashing to find the right last-minute gift or make it on time to a […]
Local Issues
Fashion for here or to-go!
Wild Poppy & Co. Boutique opens shop in Midtown BY ANNE STOKES Good news for fans of Wild Poppy & Co. mobile boutique: Your favorite shop is open in Midtown! While you can still find […]
Local Issues
Boys & Men of Color Summit Fosters Brotherhood
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Thirty diverse young men—most of whom had never met—sat in a circle recently in a room at Sacramento State University, during the 8th annual Boys & Men of Color Summit. The circle […]
Local Issues
Everybody’s crazy about a sharp dressed man
Head to Midtown for stylish menswear classics BY ANNE STOKES A good pair of pants can be hard to find. Rather than silently suffering in ill-fitting slacks, Shawn Williams made his own. Now as the […]
Local Issues
Glasses with a difference; making a difference, too
Optician combines fashionable eyewear with outreach to underserved BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Walk through the door of That Guy Eyewear and you might think you’re in the wrong place. That’s because the store’s striking decor and […]
Local Issues
Sammy’s keeps diners happy
Celebrating 75 years, restaurant reflects jovial owner BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Khalid “Kal” Farhoud was telling a joke. “When you get old, three things happen to you,” he said. “You start forgetting things, and then … […]
Local Issues
Iceland rises from the ashes
Beloved skating rink rebounds from arson fire BY ALLEN PIERLEONI Terrie Kerth walked a visitor out the back door of Iceland Ice Skating Rink and pointed to a white, two-story wood house. It was built […]
Local Issues
Decarcerate Sacramento Celebrates Victory Over Stalled Jail Expansion
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Criminal justice reform activists won a huge victory this month, when Sacramento County Supervisors walked away from an $89 million plan to expand Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC) in Elk Grove. Opposition […]
Local Issues
Del Paso Boulevard’s History
For 85 years, this fabled street has been important to the region North Sacramento was originally part of a 44,000-acre land grant made by the Spanish government to Eliab Grimes in 1844. Called Rancho Del […]
Local Issues
Associated Sound makes events worth hearing
Family legacy continues at Del Paso business BY ALLEN PIERLEONI One of Sacramento’s oldest thoroughfares is also one of its most dynamic. Each week, join us on a stroll along Del Paso Boulevard, where you’ll […]
Local Issues
Decarcerate Sacramento Opposes Costly Prison Expansion Proposal
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is getting cold feet about proceeding with an $89 million expansion of Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC) in Elk Grove. Most of the five-member board came […]
Local Issues
Del Paso Boulevard’s Southpaw Sushi
A well-known local chef is back with a new destination restaurant in a vibrant part of town BY ALLEN PIERLEONI One of Sacramento’s oldest thoroughfares is also one of its most dynamic. Each week, join […]