Replacement of a gas line is postponing the opening of the downtown seafood restaurant Blackbird Kitchen & Bar from Valentine’s Day to Feb. 21, but the restaurateurs are still able to work inside, and the iconic graphic on the front is complete. “The buildout is being done right now, and the menu will be available in a couple of weeks,” said General Manager Shayne “7evin” Iles. “We’re going to open when PG&E finishes the work, so hopefully it’s sooner, or at least on time,” he said. Officials from Pacific Gas and Electric did not return messages left on Friday. Blackbird Kitchen & Bar is located at 1013-1015 Ninth St.

Did you ever want to be in the circus, swinging around on ropes and juggling? The UC Davis Mondavi Center is hosting three free workshops Feb. 5 where families are invited to learn some basic circus skills. “They’ll learn to climb a rope, hang from a rope and do aerial work,” said 32-year-old master’s student Kevin O’Connor, who is one of two artists who will teach the workshops. “There will be juggling, too.” O’Connor is using the workshop as a way to explore how the Mondavi Center can be used to bring people in for creative energy that can then be returned to the outside community, a part of his master’s coursework. Other skills taught in the workshop will include making human pyramid

The Salvation Army of Sacramento is looking for some volunteers to coach in its youth basketball league (13 and under, 10 and under, and 7 and under).   League organizers are seeking individuals with a basketball background and experience managing youth activities. Games are all played at The Salvation Army Ray Robinson Oak Park Community Center (located on the corner of Alhambra and Broadway). For more information, please call 916-469-4620.

Written in memory of our brave daughter, Katie Janae Cramer, who went to Heaven January 6, 2011.   TO THE HOUSE OF THE KING Continued from A Journey of Hope- Part 1 It was January 2007, and our family would spend the next three years, three months climbing out of the valley of childhood cancer. We emerged - battle-fatigued and scarred - but we had emerged! And no one enjoyed being out of that valley more than our daughter. Katie seemed to have a renewed vigor for life. The battle hadn’t dampened her spirit - it energized it! She was ready to put her ordeal behind her and get on with life. She enjoyed her friends, being involved at church, and continued to excel in school. In February

Written in memory of our brave daughter, Katie Janae Cramer, who went to Heaven January 6, 2011. FROM THE DOORS OF AN ORPHANAGE: As the butterfly alights on my arm in the dingy industrial city of Liuzhou, China, our hopes for our newly adopted daughter are high. Life in a Chinese orphanage has been perilous for her, her tiny body telling a story of deprivation through her bloated tummy, pale skin, weak muscle tone, and dry, sparse hair. But a butterfly will soon to emerge. My husband and I return to Sacramento in May 1995, exhausted but elated at being home with our daughter. What was once only a tiny black-and-white picture is now an in-the-flesh baby dressed most often in pink. Alrea

With spring here before we know it, wedding planning is already in full bloom!  Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa invites brides, couples and event planners to a complimentary “Bridal Open House” this Sunday, January 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. where they will enjoy tasty appetizers and refreshments while touring the gorgeous site with three elegant ballrooms, two lush wedding courtyards, the luxurious overnight villas and award-winning spa and salon.  Known as the area’s premiere wedding destination, Arden Hills is the perfect venue for creating events to remember. 

McClatchy High School boys basketball team hung with Sacramento High School for the first 16 minutes Wednesday night at McClatchy, but a 17-1 start to the second half for the Dragons ultimately buried the Lions 82-56. The game was close in the first half, but 3 consecutive turnovers led to six unanswered points for the Dragons to end the half, giving them a 37-29 lead at the break. “It was a good first half, they were doing everything we planned to do-move the ball, rotate the ball, but in the second-half we couldn’t get anything,” said McClatchy head coach Jeff Ota. The Dragons (15-5, 7-0 Metro League Play) won their third straight game to continue their undefeated league season. While

INTERVIEW: DIRECTOR JOE CARNAHAN AND ACTOR FRANK GRILLO [NOTE: THE INTERVIEW CONTAINS SOME MILD PLOT SPOILERS FOR “THE GREY”.]   Recently, in San Francisco, I had a chance to chat with co-writer and director Joe Carnahan and actor Frank Grillo about their new release “The Grey” which opens this week. The film, which is reviewed in a separate article, tells the story of a group of oil workers whose plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, where they find themselves stalked by a pack of almost mythically large wolves. Joe is a Sacramento native and we’ve known each other for several years through the local film community and the Sacramento Film and Music Festival. As we were setting up f

The Grey Directed by Joe Carnahan The promotional materials for “The Grey” would probably cause you to believe that this is a “Jaws”-like adventure, with sharks replaced by wolves. And that’s certainly an easy way to sell a movie – but the truth is somewhat more complicated and worthy of greater respect. This isn’t just a movie about men and wolves, and the conflict between them after a plane of oil industry workers crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. Underneath that surface, it’s more about life and death and our ability to determine our own fate. Liam Neeson plays Ottway, a man whose job is to shoot wolves and remove other threats to the men who work in this desolate place. But he’s als

William Selby remembers well when he first heard about a little cabaret show that was generating buzz among New York theater fans. “I was a full-time actor at the time, and I had a roommate who was a waiter at this place – Palsson’s (Supper Club) on West 72nd Street,” Selby said. “He came home one night raving about something called ‘Forbidden Broadway’ and did a number for me. “I fell off the bed laughing – I knew I loved it right then and there.” Selby wasn’t the only one who embraced Gerard Alessandrini’s concept of a satiric revue that both celebrated and skewered musical theater. Since its opening 30 years ago this month, “Forbidden Broadway” played almost continuously in New Yor