Local Issues
Pursuing Justice
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Thongxy Phansopha feels lucky to be alive this Christmas. “I am so grateful” not to be dead, the 32-year-old queer nonbinary Laotian American said in a recent interview. Then, in a pained […]
Cal Endow 2020
Local Issues
A Dialogue Begins
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Delphine Brody, a queer transgender woman who lives in Sacramento, is terrified of the city’s police force. “During emergencies, I avoid calling 911,” Brody told this column on Nov. 21. “I fear […]
Local Issues
Taking Root
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ In March 2016, Alfred Melbourne walked out of Wasco State Prison in Kern County—free at last. He had served 18 years for assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon. […]
Environment
Seeds of Change
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Rubie Simonsen has worn many hats. The 30-year-old Sacramentan has been a yoga instructor, a community volunteer, a poet, a website designer and a youth program manager. But the role Simonsen values […]
Environment
Environmental Justice
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ As wildfires and a merciless pandemic convulsed California, a Sacramento conference explored 2020’s perils and how minorities are bearing the brunt of COVID-19. The Oct. 15 virtual event—entitled “The World on Fire: […]
Local Issues
AGGIE SQUARE
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ In mid-2018, Bill Motmans received an invitation he couldn’t refuse. The Tahoe Park resident was asked to serve on a committee that would help guide development of Aggie Square, the cutting edge […]
Local Issues
Get Out the Vote
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ The long, hot summer of 2020 was unlike any Josh Harris had ever experienced. Once it began, he repeatedly took to the streets to demand that police treat Black people like him […]
Local Issues
Be Counted
BY EDGAR SANCHEZ Abelardo “Abe” Ruiz believes in the power of the census. The proud Sacramentan has participated in every decennial population count since 1980, when he was a new immigrant from Mexico. This year […]
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
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 […]