News in Sacramento

Lions Invade Sacramento Supermarket

2009-02-01T22:18:44Z

pop. Pop. popopopopop. Popopopopopopopopop. Pop!

Silence.

BOOM!

Four 30-foot-long chains of Chinese firecrackers attached to kegs of gunpowder detonate, raining a shower of red confetti over a dozen dancers.

Roughly a hundred people gathered in a circle watching the Lun Yee Tong Lion Dance troupe, outside Shun Fat supermarket on the corner of 65th and Stockton. Dozens of shoppers watched the troupe from inside the market’s glass double doors.

The deafening firecracker display, Lion and Dragon Dance, and Kung Fu demonstration all occurred Saturday at 11 a.m. Though the performance was previously arranged, it was not publicized.

News of the event was spread through word of mouth at the Vietnamese New Year Festival. Then, minutes before 11 a.m. a number of people attending the festival collectively proceeded down Stockton towards Shun Fat supermarket on 65th.

The audience was greeted with celebratory firecrackers which seemed to silence even the five performers playing traditional Chinese drums and cymbals. They pounded the beat for nearly an hour, even while the dragon and two smaller lions headed into the doors of Shun Fat supermarket.

The three man-powered creatures slowly proceeded in a circle around the large supermarket, stopping every now and then to pause playfully in front of children.

During Chinese New Year, it is a tradition for Lion Dance troupes to visit storefronts of Chinese businesses to bring good luck. In exchange, business owners will tie a red envelope full of money to a head of lettuce outside the supermarket and hang it above the front door for the lions to eat.

After parading into and out of the store, the pair of lions approached their prizes, then each jumped up and grabbed the head of lettuce from atop the doors of the supermarket. The lions then "consumed" the attached red envelope, but spit out the lettuce in front of the entrance.

Meanwhile, roughly ten more dancers participated in a Dragon Dance. In the dance, a team of people carried the image of a Chinese dragon on poles. They moved smoothly and flowingly to simulate the majestic and frightening dragon.

Another chance to see a Lion Dance by a different troupe will be at the Chinese New Year Celebration taking place at Sac State Saturday Feb. 14.

Moving toward "Safe Ground"

2009-09-21T04:11:15Z

Though homelessness is not a new problem, the number of homeless people in Sacramento has increased over the last few years because of the state's budget crisis and cuts to federal programs. On June 30, hundreds of county shelter beds became unavailable, forcing more homeless onto Sacramento streets.

In answer to the shortfall, Safe Ground Sacramento was inaugurated on July 1. Organized by community members, nonprofits and businesses, Safe Ground seeks to provide the homeless with a safe place to be. Hundreds gathered that day for a rally and march to kick off the movement. Among them was Jacoby Shaddix, the formerly homeless lead singer of local band Papa Roach.

The city of Sacramento enforces a "camping ordinance" that makes it illegal for anyone to use or store camping equipment on public property for more than 24 hours. The police enforce the ordinance by confiscating camping equipment, such as tents and sleeping bags.

By July 14, homeless had been forced to leave four camping locations. They were at 420 Richards Blvd.; 100 Bercut Drive; between the Volunteers of America shelter and the Union Gospel shelter on Bannon St.; and on the corner of North D and North 11th streets.

A fifth location was provided by lawyer and Safe Ground partner Mark Merin on his property near 13th and C streets. Though neighbors have been critical of the location, which is allegedly related to a boundary dispute between Merin and the Pedro Hernandez family, Merin explained his rule that campers must remain drug and alcohol free on and off his property.

"There is no 'safe ground' in Sacramento," Merin said. "The attempt of the whole movement is to get the city and county to designate places where they will allow homeless people to be without threatening them with arrest and siezure of their property.

"My property is obviously not 'safe ground,' " he added. "Homeless people have been arrested three times on the property and [the city and the Hernandez family] are suing me to try to force me to move them out of there."

The issue affects law enforcement, officials say.

"We've always enforced the ordinance, but the number of campers has extended resources and it does cost the department both manpower and [money] to be able to address it," said Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department.

"A couple of Sundays ago, I was working and I received no fewer than three calls for service from residents in the area. Not just the one person who lives directly next to the camp," Leong continued. "Other neighbors are affected by people coming and going from [the camp]."

Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday that in October he will propose three to five sites to the City Council on which a long-term campground could be established. The site would be exempt from the camping ordinance, he said.

The Safe Ground organization has proposed the 3-acre site on Bannon Street as a long-term camping site. The land, owned by the county's housing authority, has running water and shade, and HomeAid has agreed to provide architects to build shelters. However, a Sacramento Bee editorial noted the location was used as a shelter and was shut down in the 1990s because of drug use.

"There is an overconcentration of social services in this neighborhood and the downtown area," said Sean Wright of the Alkali and Mansion Flats Historic Neighborhood Association. "I was on the mayor's committee that looked at an outside facility in the city or county [for homeless shelters]. In the study, the recommendation was if any site was placed in the city or county, it should not be in the downtown area."

"[The homeless should] be able to sleep at night without fear of harassment, or arrest, or confiscation of their meager goods," said Greg Bunker, executive director of Francis House, one of Safe Ground's partners. "It's just common sense that every human being deserves to sleep outside where they are safe."

Tina Reynolds, a Safe Ground board member agreed.

"They are not criminals, they are looking for a place to stay." she said. "How can they raise up if the whole day is spent lugging around your stuff, or finding food, and finding a place on the street to sleep?"

Timothy Richard Boley Jr. described being homeless: "I was in overflow (the Volunteers of America-operated Winter Shelter at Cal Expo), and overflow is nothing but a jail without bars. Getting a bed for a night involves your whole day, so you can't get a job."

Safe Ground is a step in the right direction, according to Boley. "I would like to see people to be able to put a tent up, or someplace they could shower. The system they have right now just doesn't work at all."

Kassandra Perlongo contributed to this article.

Photographs courtesy Anthony Bento.

Map:

View Safe Ground? in a larger map

Wine Symposium in Sacramento

2009-01-31T06:29:15Z

At the center of the United States’ wine making industry, Sacramento proved an ideal place to hold the Unified Wine & Grape symposium.

About 11,000 of the country’s wine elite crowded the Sacramento Convention Center for four days where they educated themselves on the newest in wine technology.

Thursday was the last day of the trade show exhibition at the symposium, which was presented by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG).

Classes started Jan. 27 and ended Jan. 30, but exhibits were on display only Wednesday the 28th and Thursday the 29th.

One of the most important topics addressed at this year's event, said Mike Miller, the symposium's spokesman, is "how to address future wine issues like sustainability." The trade show started 15 years ago and now has grown to be "the largest trade show in the western hemisphere," Miller said.

CAWG Program Director Camron King said attendees responded positively to this year’s event. The exhibition room floors were full of people looking at everything from tractors to bottles to barrels. The third floor housed more exhibits featuring label makers, corkers and wine racks.

King said "Sacramento is a nice central location" to hold the symposium because it is in the center of the U.S. wine industry.

"Ninety percent of the wine in the United States is produced from California Grapes, and fifty percent of those are grown in California's Central Valley," King said.

CAWG advocates for farmers and grape growers who must battle for their rights both locally and nationally, while co-sponsor ASEV is dedicated to the academic research of grapes and wine making.

It was the second visit to the symposium for Christian Ahlmann, vice president of Lower-Lake-based Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyard. He believes the event is great for small wineries like his, which are outside of the area to "learn everything about wine making in one place."

Also Six Sigma's manager, Ahlmann was there to scope out supplies such as irrigation systems for his small vineyard, and to take classes taught by experts in every field from viticulture to viniculture. "It's definitely a great use of time," he said.

Local wine enthusiast and owner of the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen, Marcus Marquéz, said the symposium "is one of the biggest economical boosts" for local restaurants.

Various restaurants are packed with wine drinkers and food lovers, so "we're able to bring out the big guns and show these people what we do," Marquéz said.

Though there are not many wine bars downtown to compete with, Marquéz checked out the symposium in search of ways to implement new technology into his business. One booth he noticed was displaying cardboard box storage units for large quantities of wine. The boxes dispensed wine out of a plastic tap.

"I am always looking for cost-effective ways to own wine. There is always new equipment and new ideas with which you can help facilitate the wine. There is a stigma against boxes, but serving it from boxes in the restaurant would take that away," he said.

"People are drinking the wine by the glass anyway, not knowing it comes out of a tap, so they wouldn't know the difference, since it tastes the same as out of a bottle," Marquéz added.

The wine box is more sustainable because it creates less waste. It's also lighter than glass, so it would be more fuel efficient in transportation.

Surprised at how many people in the process of starting a winery showed up, Marquéz said, "There are a lot of wineries opening up even in this economy."

eWomenNetwork to hold accelerated networking dinner

2009-03-06T08:34:48Z

Social connections are more important than ever in business, especially in todays fast paced environment with increasingly large social networking options. That's exactly why on Tuesday, March 10, eWomenNetwork will be hosting an Accelerated Networking dinner.

eWomenNetwork recently held an event called Real Woman, Real Fashion on Feb. 26, where approximately 200 businesswomen and men (including Mayor Johnson) viewed the works of local fashion designers and raised money through a silent auction for nonprofits in town. "We had [local businesswomen displaying] 20 custom looks - 10 were professional and 10 were evening, and it was just a really good time", said Suzi Sherman, Managing Director of eWomenNetwork's Sacramento Chapter.

The group, which meets every Tuesday of the month, usually consists of between 70-90 people, but has been growing recently, and Sherman hopes to raise the number of people to 120 to help improve the quality and quantity of businesses in Sacramento.

For the month of March, the eWomenNetwork meeting will be held March 10, at the Sterling Hotel at 1300 H Street. Sue Malone, the President of Strategies for Small Business, and the number one provider of the SBA Community Express Loan Program, will be speaking at the event.

"I have to say it is one of my favorite organizations. At least two times during the event we break into small groups and it's kind of like speed dating for business. So we get to know each other and the organization attracts some high quality professional women," said business owner, author, and Sacramento area resident, Stephanie Chandler.

Jennifer Novak Landers, who is an artist, and life coach in Sacramento, has benefitted from the eWomenNetwork events. "My involvement gives me an opportunity to share myself and my business in an authentic way, which ultimately has brought me an abundance of clients that I am very grateful for and so excited to work with," she said.

eWomenNetwork consists of mostly women business owners, female executives within the corporate world and entrepreneurs but they also have male business owners and businessmen as members.

"There is always a ton of networking and everybody gets heard, which makes it a very comforting and welcoming vibe," Sherman said. "In unsteady times people definitely do need to cultivate their relationships. [People who network] are the ones who find opportunities to move businesses."

Vigil for local journalist, colleague detained in North Korea

2009-04-28T05:01:42Z

Imagine having family a member detained against her will in a foreign country for six weeks. That is what is happening to the families of Laura Ling, Sacramento native and Current TV reporter, and Current TV editor Euna Lee, who were both arrested by North Korean officials on March 21.

Sacramento's residents and the journalists' supporters are being asked to attend a candlelight vigil at Del Campo High School from 7 to 8 p.m. The vigil is being organized in part by Brendon McShane Creamer, creator of a Facebook group dedicated to Ling and Lee, and in part by Del Campo staff, including English teacher Jim Jordan, who was Ling's honors English teacher during her junior year in Del Campo.

The goal of the vigil is to raise awareness of the journalists' situation.

Deepak and Gotham Chopra, close family friends of the Lings, wrote in an Intent.com blog that Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained while reporting on a story near the Chinese-North Korean border. Though they are reportedly being held in a governmental guest house, there are also reports that they will soon be tried for very serious crimes which include allegedly crossing the border illegally, and espionage.

"It was just over seven years ago that former President George W. Bush identified North Korea infamously as a member of his ‘axis of evil.’ Whether or not that was fair to begin with, today -- depending on how North Korea proceeds with Laura Ling and Euna Lee -- they now have a chance to shed the ugly stigma of that label," wrote the Chopras.

"Most people don't know that two American journalists have been held for six weeks in North Korea. We have no idea what is happening behind the scenes, but we want our government officials to negotiate for their release," said Jordan.

Laura Ling and her older sister Lisa Ling both participated in Del Campo's newspaper, and were both high school journalists. Lisa Ling is a well known reporter who is perhaps most famous for being a host on The View, numerous CNN appearances, and her investigative reporting for The Oprah Winfrey Show.

In a message on the vigil's Facebook page, Lisa Ling said that she was not attending the vigil and she asked for people to "please understand that due to the extreme sensitivity of the case, it is vital for our families to stay quiet. Please know however, that when you are out there holding those candles, that we are there with you with fires lit in our hearts."

Sacramento's vigil was originally planned in conjunction with another outside the Current TV offices in San Francisco, but both have been consolidated to the Del Campo location due to the proximity of the Current TV offices to tomorrow's Giants-Dodgers game at AT&T Park.

According to Creamer, 2,000 people are expected, mostly the 1900 students of Del Campo, but also faculty, alumni, and the family and friends of the two women. He also said Mayor Kevin Johnson's Chief of Staff Kunal Merchant will try to be there.

Currently, Creamer’s Facebook group has 2700 people, but it is growing rapidly. Creamer mentioned that "there will be [a vigil] in San Francisco if needed. It's creating its own momentum right now."

"There are vigils going on around the world," said Creamer. "There are vigils going on in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America from what I've heard."

In addition to attending the vigil, "people need to write their legislators and people in Washington as well as the media, to help keep it in the public eye. These are true journalists telling hard stories, and they are telling dangerous stories, and we need to support them," said Jordan.

Del Campo High School is located at 4925 Dewey Drive in Fair Oaks.

*Images courtesy Facebook Group 'Detained In North Korea : Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, please help.'

Haik Kocharian - A Single Moment

2009-01-13T21:37:02Z

Haik Kocharian is from Armenia. He graduated from the Armenian Theater Academy in 1994 and moved to New York where he became a photojournalist.

Inspired by the dynamics of New York city, Kocharian developed his style over the next ten years, contrasting the relationship between a subject and his or her environment.

After graduating from Brooklyn College's Photography and Film programs, he began working as a professional fine art photographer.

Kocharian has participated in numerous charity auctions, donating his photography to good causes, and has won a number of awards for his photos, including being a finalist in the Smithsonian Magazine Annual Photo Competition.

He currently lives and works in New York City. In addition to being a photographer, Kocharian is also a singer/songwriter and filmmaker.

His exhibit, A Single Moment, ran through the month of December at Appel Gallery, but Steve Appel, the gallery owner, will still show the photos if asked. The gallery is based on the idea that "Our life is nothing more than an accumulation of countless moments." Kocharian's personal website attached at the bottom of this article also displays his photos. His short film "Charlie" was aired on PBS last July and his album "Heaven" was released in 2007, now available on iTunes.

I asked Kocharian about his life, his art, his equipment, and his plans for the future.

What was life like growing up in Armenia?

I grew up surrounded by artists from different backgrounds - sculptors, photographers, theater directors, actors and so on. So from a very early age I grew up in a world of art. It was wonderful. I have wonderful memories of my childhood, the early part of my youth, and teens. It was full of life and full of wonder. That period of my life has a lot to do with who I am now.

What is your regular equipment for shooting photography?

I shoot with a Canon 35mm. I print with Inkjet equipment on artists' canvas paper.

Who is a photographer that you admire who has influenced you, and what kind of photography inspires you the most?

Photos that inspire me the most are ones that connect with something private within myself. I am inspired when I can relate to the image on a personal level, understand the story it tells, and the emotion it provokes. I am inspired by the image that speaks to me as friend or someone I trust and I'm interested in. I would probably be unable to single out one name simply because I have been inspired by so many artists in so many ways. My work is constantly influenced by the art that surrounds me, an ongoing discovery of self.

Some of your photos have people as your subjects. Are they people you know or do you go to different places and capture anonymous subjects in a specific moment?

It's almost always anonymous subjects in a specific moment. Usually it revolves around the idea of some individual within an environment. As the title of the show reflects, it's usually a fraction of a moment that tells a short story that I emotionally connect with. Occasionally, I mix that with a little bit more conventional photography when I do know the subject. Let's say I am working on one particular project and one of the images catches that symbolic meaning or visual style that corresponds with the voice of my work. Then, I include it in in my portfolio.

I also noticed that some of your photographs have some elements of nature - rain or fog, or a body of water. Are you inspired by nature as well?

Absolutely. I believe that in general my work is the relationship of the individual, a human being, and the surrounding nature - whether it be an ocean, a forest, a foggy environment, the snow, or an urban environment. All of it for me, if you can put it in the context of nature, makes it a relationship between a person and environment. I am fascinated with the beauty in nature, and the transformation that nature brings, such as fog, snow, and rain. Water, of course, is a very dynamic visual attribute to the photography. So yes, environment and nature are very much a part of my photography.

After you've taken the photograph, before you've printed it do you process your photo at all?

I only apply very limited, conventional photographic applications such as contrast or exposure, or dodging or burning, but there are no additional effects. What you actually see is just the one shot. Just a single image.

What are your plans for the future?

Currently, I am working on the exhibition of the working knowledge of the self. This show has been photographed entirely in India. It is a trilogy. It revolves around the subject of searching for a person, revealing him or herself in the quest for better knowledge of themselves, and an ideal birth or death. Currently the images have been shot, and my editor and I are now working on the final stages. We are hoping to have an exhibition in New York City this year.

Was this your first exhibition in Sacramento? Have you ever been to Sacramento?

It was my first show in Sacramento. I unfortunately have not been to Sacramento, but I am looking forward to visiting.

How did you come into contact with the Appel Gallery?

I wanted to have some representation in California, and I did some research looking in to the galleries that are listed on the web, and some I felt were inappropriate for the kind of work that I'm doing. When I saw Appel gallery, I really liked the artists that are represented. You get a sense looking at the website the type of gallery it is. I contacted him, and he liked what I'm doing, and the rest is history. We had our show.

http://haikkocharian.com/
http://www.haikkocharianfilms.com/
www.myspace.com/haikkocharian

Lunar New Year Celebration

2009-01-23T21:05:13Z

Monday, Jan. 26th is Lunar New Year's Day, so whether you are following the Lunar Calendar or just would like to celebrate, here is a list of events in the area that you can attend, as well as some additional information about the first day of the Year of the Ox.

Here are some random facts. The Chinese Calendar is actually Lunisolar, which means it is calculated based on the positions of both the sun and the moon. Those born in the Year of the Ox are people who were born in: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997. According to the Chinese zodiac, Oxen tend to be persistently hard workers, and are most compatible with Rats. Famous Oxen include Bach, Handel, Van Gogh, Dvorak, Walt Disney, and Charles Chaplin.

Sacramento Youth Symphony and San Jose's Firebird Chinese Youth Orchestra will be holding a Chinese New Year concert at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. During the concert, which begins at 3:00 pm, the Chinese Youth Orchestra will be playing traditional Chinese instruments.

Also on Jan. 25th, the Korean American Community Association (KACA) will be holding a New Year's celebration with traditional Korean dancing and music. Held at the Crest Theatre, doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event will start at 6:30 p.m. Though the event organizer Mr. Alex Lee says that tickets are sold out, according to a source on the Sacramento Korean Language and Cultural Meetup Group Page, tickets may still be available at Hana Supermarket, located at 9531 Folsom Boulevard.

During the weekend of Saturday, Jan. 31st, a small Vietnamese New Year (Tết) Celebration will be held in a parking lot on the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Florin Road. The information was not available at the time this article went to press, as the planning committee recently postponed the original date of Jan. 24th due to rain. (Updates will follow in the comment section.)

On Feb. 12th, Thy Tran, founder of wanderingspoon.com, will discuss various cultures' approaches to the celebration of Lunar New year and food at the Barton Art Gallery. Following the discussion, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and other Asian food will be served, as well as a number of Asian beers. Located at 1723 I street, the event will take place at 6:30 p.m.

On Feb. 14th, over a dozen Chinese community organizations will come together to celebrate and ring in the Year of the Ox at Sac State. It will be an all day event commencing at 11:00 am. The first part will feature a lion dance, martial arts and other performances, as well as games for kids. Then, from 7 to 11 p.m., ballroom dancing will be held for those who enjoy dancing late into the night.

What are your Lunar New Year's plans? Can you provide us with any additional information?

Alleys into Sacramento's future

2009-03-26T07:28:59Z

The smell of stale urine, trash, puddles, cracked pavement - these are the things one might find in a dingy, unkempt alley. But can Sacramento turn those alleys into commercial and residential areas resembling something more like an oasis, complete with plants, permeable pavement and a sense of safety?

That is what more than 75 Sacramento residents met to discuss on Wednesday, March 25. A monthly gathering organized by Sacramento's Urban Design Alliance (UDA), this week's dialogue was entitled Alleys in Sacramento's Future, and was standing room only for about a third of the crowd.

The meeting began with everyone introducing themselves, viewing a photograph of an alley, and telling what they liked, or didn't like about it. No one seemed completely disappointed or disgusted with the alleys, with most describing something positive.

Panelists Jeremy Drucker, principal of Stitch-Space, and Aaron Zeff, project developer of Restaurant Row, gave brief presentations about why they were inspired to develop alleyways. Tom Pace, long-range planning manager for the city of Sacramento, added that "Alleys should feel enclosed and safe, and give people opportunity to make use of backyard space."

This was followed by a facilitated dialogue moderated by Brian Fischer, founder of Midtowngrid.com. More than a dozen people brought up issues that developers should consider when remodeling alleyways.

Several people noted that many alleys smell like garbage. Some businesses have trash cans in their alleyways, and we in general seem to simply lack the ability to clean our alleys enough others said.

Another important issue was the slope of many alleys being American Disabilities Act (ADA) noncompliant, meaning they are inaccessible to disabled people who are in wheelchairs.

Others brought up the point that fire and emergency response vehicles might also not be able to access alleyways.

Several others mentioned that though delivery trucks might block many alleys and create a hazard during the day it was agreed that each case should be looked at differently, so that each alley has an organic feel. A few others mentioned that alleyway trucks also pollute the air with their loud obtrusive sound.

A number of people voiced their concerns that the history of many of these alleys should be addressed and even be focused on during a renovation, while others discussed how to deal with storm water in alleys.

Zeff closed with a challenge to citizens and the city to give their input and help create interesting alleyways so as not to create another suburb.

Next month's free meeting will be held at the same location – the AIA Central Valley Conference Room at 1400 S Street in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 29.

Property dispute at latest "Safe Ground" location

2009-09-17T01:04:14Z

For about 30 years, the Hernandez family has owned the only house on the block of 13th Street between B and C Streets. Until Aug. 21, the rest of the block surrounding their home was filled with vacant lots.

"Safe Ground" came to the block when Sacramento lawyer and homeless advocate Mark Merin, who has owned several of the adjacent lots since 2007, teamed up with non-profits, businesses and other individuals. Tightly fit rows of matching tents complete with a "Safe Ground" logo (click here for photograph) began filling the one vacant lot directly behind the Hernandez's house, and for nearly a month, tents have housed about 40 homeless people on the property.

Monday, the Hernandez family, with the support of attorney Aldon Bolanos, filed a lawsuit against Merin on the grounds that the encampment on the property is a private nuisance. Though the tenants of the house are Pedro and Gracilla Hernandez, who are both in their early 70s, their daughter owns the title for the house.

The city had already filed a similar suit on Sept. 9 against Merin for the property being a public nuisance .

Bolanos met the Hernandez family when he was walking his dog. He stopped to watch the campers move onto the Merin-owned property, and the Hernandez family struck up a conversation with him as they watched the tents being installed.

Bolanos also lives in the Downtown area, but further from the camp area. After hearing the Hernandez's story, he felt compelled to take the case, he said.

The dispute over the property began in March 2007 when Merin purchased the plot of land behind the Hernandez residence. Because it was too small to build upon based on city code, he wanted to connect it to an even smaller piece of property he owns on the corner of 13th and C Streets, also next to the Hernandez residence.

After finding out that the only way to do this was through the Hernandez's plot, Merin approached Pedro Hernandez, 72, to try to purchase their backyard. When Hernandez refused, wanting to keep his yard, Merin sued him, alleging a property line boundary dispute.

The suit dragged on for over a year, costing the Hernandez family north of $100,000 in legal fees. But when they won the case last October (the dispute was unfounded), Merin was forced to settle the case out of court.

"It's called playing dirty," said Bolanos, referring to both the lawsuit and Merin's use of the property as a "Safe Ground" location. Since the encampment has taken residence, the Hernandez family has complained about loud noise, garbage, urine, feces, cockroaches, rats and even drug transactions including crack, heroin and meth, Bolanos added.

"[Mr. Hernandez] has observed these campers urinating on his home," Bolanos added. "It's tough for them, and they have a host of health problems, so this has made it a lot worse for [them]."

"You tell me how you would feel if you had this problem in your backyard," Hernandez, 72, said in a Sacramento Bee article. "You can imagine how [my family and I] feel."

Because the encampment is a violation of a city ordinance that prohibits camping for more than 24 hours, police have been regularly entering the property, arresting campers and confiscating tents and other camping equipment. Tents and camping equipment have been donated after every raid.

"I'm sympathetic to the plight of homeless, and if somebody wants to live outside, that's fine with me," Bolanos said. "But to do it in the Downtown core of a major city--and they do it in a manner that affects other people; other people's rights have to be considered, too."

Bolanos expects both the public and private nuisance suits to be combined since they are "substantially similar," he said. If all goes according to plan, Bolanos said the campers might be restricted from Merin's property beginning Thursday, Sept. 17.

He also said that Merin could receive an injunction against campers on his property as early as Tuesday, Sept. 22. But the court's decision on whether Merin violated the law and provided an opportunity for "unlawful camping" could take up to 10 months, Bolanos added.

2009 New Year Festival (Tết)

2009-02-01T05:54:08Z

Gathered in an empty parking lot, members of Sacramento's Vietnamese community celebrated the Tết Festival giving life to an otherwise meaningless location.

Several hundred people crowded together in the parking lot on the corner of Florin Road and Stockton Boulevard to watch musical acts, kung fu demonstrations by the Sacramento Kung Fu Academy, and to purchase food and clothing.

Fireworks rang in the new year with a bang, and under a large tent sat a diverse crowd of Vietnamese families watching a variety of entertainers on the main stage. Around the large tent stood smaller exposition booths run by Vietnamese community members, where some were socializing while viewing items such as clothing and religious artifacts.

Saturday Jan. 31 was the beginning of the two-day festival, which continues on Sunday Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $3 and can be purchased at the door.

As an added bonus, located in the same parking lot is a carnival midway, which holds a selection of rides, midway games, and fun for the younger crowd.

Prop 8 decision: initial reaction

2009-05-27T00:21:51Z

There was a strange combination of emotions in Headhunters Video Lounge and Grill around 10 a.m. when the California Supreme Court decided to uphold Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Perhaps it was the nature of the initial announcement, which was shouted by an on scene KOVR 13 reporter while hearing the breaking news through a cellphone.

Several people cried, but most didn't have time to react, because stations like KXTV 10, KOVR 13, and KTXL 40 were already on the scene videotaping and interviewing people about their initial reactions outside of Headhunters. After the crowd of nearly 100 calmed down a bit, Laurie McBride and Paul Curtis of the No on Prop 8 Fundraising Committee explained the decision, which was a 6-1 decision to reject challenges to Prop 8, and a unanimous decision to have existing marriages remain valid.

"I hope they repeal Prop 8, but the reality is we're prepared if they don't," said Tina Reynolds of Equality Action NOW in an interview minutes before the decision. Through a megaphone, she led the crowd in cheers before and after the decision at the grill and video lounge.

"We are filled with hope. This is not the end, this is just our new beginning. We are going to have true equality!" said Reynolds to a fervent crowd after the decision.

"I'm not at the point of my life where I'm ready to get married, but there are plenty of people I'm surrounded by who are," said Jade Baranski, 23, of Equality Action NOW. "And I feel like their love is being invalidated. This is our generation's Civil Rights Movement."

Later, an 11 a.m. press conference in front of the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center featured speeches from Gretchen Bender, President of the Sacramento County Board of Education, Dave Jones of the State Assembly, and Doreena Wong of Asian Pacific Islander Equality, along with several religious leaders.

"This is the first day of a new movement to show our state and the whole country that freedom, family, and civil rights should never be the subject of a popularity vote," said Bender, who married her wife during the six month period before last November, and has a 4-month-old child.

"18,000 lesbian and gay couples living in our communities throughout the state of California [are] demonstrating each and every day that they can love just like love everyone else," said assembly-member Jones to a cheering crowd in front of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Sacramento. "[Because of] the incongruity of that with this decision, I am confident that we will prevail."

"50 percent of me is really happy because I get to stay married, [because] my partner and I got married last October after being together for 18 years," said Jason Lindo, who brought his framed marriage certificate. "Part of me is really pissed."

"I'm now in a completely unique and, I find, repulsive, legal category," Lindo added. "Having something the rest of California can't have, just because I happened to be available for a wedding within that six months."

Read the court's press release on the decision here.

Equality Action NOW has the following events scheduled for tonight:

Until 5 pm: Sign making at the Gay & Lesbian Center (Headhunters will also remain open) – 20th and L Streets

5:30 pm: Rally – 20th and L Streets

6:30 pm: March to the Capital – West Steps of Capitol on 10th and L

7:00 pm: Capitol Program begins

Local landscape designer on 'Yard Crashers'

2009-05-08T17:41:04Z

As we get closer to summer and people are spending more time outdoors, an ugly backyard becomes harder to ignore - or excuse.

One solution is to look to a local landscape designer like Lorena Beightler of Lorena Beightler Landscape Design, who has owned her own landscaping business for five years, and was once an employee of The Sacramento Press. Beightler was recently a featured designer on a cable television show called Yard Crashers that teaches people how to complete landscaping renovations themselves or with a group of friends.

The show was created by Sacramentans Bill Swan and Peter Holmes from the production company Idea Factory, and it was so successful that it was picked up by the popular DIY Network.

In the show, Bay Area resident and host Ahmed Hassan scours home improvement stores and offers to help people remodel their backyards. Instead of merely offering his professional opinion, he uses funds to transform people's backyards into the landscape of their dreams.

For the episode entitled "Backyard Living Room," Beightler worked with David Abrahams from local company Abrahams Landscaping & Concrete, while Hassan worked with the Sacramento homeowners and their friends. The whole process took two days, and cameramen shot 30 hours of footage which was cut down to 20 minutes.

"The idea is that someone at home can recreate [what is done on the show]," says Beightler.

In the episode, Beightler helped a Tahoe Park couple who had moved into their new home only a few weeks earlier. She said in a phone interview that the couple's backyard was "the ugliest thing you've seen in your life," but now, "it looks so cool."

"I'm really green-conscious, so I was really conscious about what we were using. There was a dead tree, so instead of taking it out, we turned it into a stump with a table. The table, windows and doors are all salvaged material," she said.

Though the show aired Monday, May 4 and reran Tuesday, May 5, Beightler has not yet seen the show itself, she says, because, "I don't own a television because I'm a really active person, and I'm never still enough to sit in front of the television." However, her brother and parents have seen it and she has also heard from friends that, "I'm in the show being funny and silly a lot."

The producers of the show liked her episode so much that she was asked to reappear in the third season's "Holiday Special" episode due to air during the holidays this year.

Here is DIY Network's description of the show and the next few showings will be: May 19 at 5:30 p.m., May 20 at 9:30 p.m., and May 25 at 7:30 p.m.

*Photographs courtesy Lorena Beightler

Nice Racks Appearing in Sacramento!

2009-02-12T02:08:38Z

Sacramento's newest bike rack is just in time for this weekend's Amgen Tour of California. There it sits, on the corner of 19th and O, right outside of Zuda Yoga Center. The smell of fresh concrete, a green metal masterpiece, new paint - it's the real deal.

The Sacramento-themed bike rack, which has a depiction of a bicycle inside the State Capitol Building, was installed earlier this morning. The work of art already had a blue bike locked to it this afternoon.

Zuda's owners, spouses Anne Marie Kramer and Bill Prysock, had been actively "trying to get a bike rack installed" outside their business for approximately six months, said Yoga Coordinator Amanda Johnson.

Johnson added, "We are proud to have it since we have a lot of students who bike to their yoga class."

Recently, the Department of Transportation agreed to take over the issue of bike parking, and according to the Sacramento Bee, the city plans to install about 100 more.

Jerry Way, City Director of Transportation said to the Bee, "We are adding a good-looking parking asset that will accommodate no less than two bicycles at a time." He also said that in some cases they will be larger and hold more bikes.

Local comedian recording live at Luna's

2009-04-16T05:51:31Z

Looking for an unusual comedic experience? Luna's Cafe and Juice Bar might be the answer with its three nights of Keith Lowell Jensen comedy. Heck, you may even be able to grab a drink with the comedian after the show.

Jensen has been a part of the Science Comedy Tour, the Coexist? Comedy Tour and is notorious for cracking jokes about religion and science – not your typical stand-up fare.

Jensen became a regular attendee of the Midnight Movie program at the Crest Theatre at the age of 15. Then he got more familiar with the Crest and started watching a larger variety of films as well.

It didn't take long for him to meet the theater's manager Sid Heberger, who has since worked with Jensen on a number of festivals at the Crest like the Trash Film Orgy and, most recently, the All Sketch Comedy Festival.

"He was always full of ideas, saying, 'You should do this. We should do that. You should do that,' ” Heberger said. “I thought of him like, 'Go away kid. Stop bothering me!' But he was persistent and kept coming around with new ideas.”

"In 2001, he convinced me to do the Trash film Orgy,” she added. “We partnered on that, and that helped build our relationship, since we were working together all the time. We've become the best of friends. It's really great working with him because he's just really enthusiastic. He just sets his mind to something and then does it."

On the Coexist? Comedy Tour, which has already run for two years, Jensen looks at religion from an atheist perspective. "I co-founded the Coexist Tour," he said, "[because] I like people coming together laughing at their differences, and then afterwards all having a drink."

While doing this tour, he met Brian Malow, who was the "guest Jew" in a group that already included a Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and atheist.

His material for the science comedy came naturally for Jensen. "I'd written jokes that I didn't do anywhere else, jokes about different scientific stories that I'd heard on NPR, and then when I was done, I'd sit down and say, 'Well, I'll never use that.' Then Brian says, ‘Hey do you want to do this science comedy show?' and I'm like, 'Yeah, I've got a whole file of jokes I'd never use otherwise.' "

A self-proclaimed internet addict, he's constantly blogging about everything from dreams to the jobs he's had to sea monkeys. He's even completed a book, Atheist Survival Guide, A Humorous Guide to Getting By in a God-Fearing World and a film Why Lie? I Need a Drink .

The motivation behind the book, which will be published by American Atheist publishing and will "make a great Christmas present" he said, was to explain some of the stories behind the jokes.

"I did research into these religions and these religious groups" Jensen said , and it goes "a little deeper into the subject matter I delve into in the Coexist? comedy tour."

As a part of the making of the film, Why Lie? I Need a Drink, Jensen spent time over a few years as a panhandler. He starred and directed the documentary which received some positive and negative attention.

"The experiment is as much an extended gag and art project as a serious social commentary, but it can't help being thought-provoking in the process" said a review of the film in the Capital Weekly. Other reactions were not as receptive, but quite a bit more visceral.

"Some of the initial responses we got were, 'How dare you make fun of homeless people?'” said Jensen, who wanted to have "[the homeless] be viewed as full, three-dimensional people, not just someone you feel sorry for or ridicule."

"What I got to see was that they're just people, and they might actually just be really funny," he added.

For three nights, Friday, April 17, Saturday, April 18, and Friday, April 24, Jensen will be doing a recording of his own live at Luna's Cafe and Juice Bar at 1414 16th St. The first night will be his club act, the second night will have a religious theme and the third night will be experimental. Tickets are $10 for each night and doors open at 7 p.m. for drinks, while the comedy starts at 8 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets early, because the venue is small, and seats will sell out quickly.

"I hope my whole audience will, after Luna's, cross the street to Simon's and hang out for a while," Jensen said. "I have some cigars to smoke, and it should be a really nice time."

Super Bowl in Sacramento

2009-01-29T06:32:46Z

Superbowl Sunday is just around the corner, and with a number of local venues featuring food and drink specials, why slave away in your kitchen? Why sit at home with your friends and argue about who is going to refill the beer during the commercials? Let someone else refill it, no questions asked. Even if you don't like football, here are some great Sacramento locations to spend your Sunday, Feb. 1:

According to Ron, the owner of MVP's Sports Grill, located at 1629 Capitol Ave., Bud Light and Jack Daniel's Girls will be in the Grill. Tri-tip ($7.95 includes coleslaw) and pizza ($19.95 includes four salads) will be the featured food specials, and Jack Daniel's and beer will be on sale.

• Vega's Nightclub and Sports Bar, said owner, Rick, will be having $1 Rolling Rock drafts, $2 Bud drafts, $3 cocktails, $1 hot dogs, $2 tamales and nacho specials. It is located in Old Town at 910 Second St.

• Cheaters, at 3221 Folsom Blvd, will be having Miller and Tuaca Girls from 1:30-3:30 p.m. "The #1 Steeler Bar in Sacramento," according to the owner, Bruce, will have 13 TVs playing the Big Game, as well as $1-off Miller and sales on Tuaca, a brandy-based, citrus vanilla liqueur.

• Center Court, Chris Webber's basketball-themed sports bar, will have a DJ, a barbecue on the patio, a VIP tent with 60" TVs and a lounge area. Located at 3600 N Freeway Blvd. in Natomas, C-Webb will be there to make Superbowl XLIII even more memorable.

• The Depot Video Bar, at 2001 K St. will be having a Superbowl party with a pre-game celebration starting at noon. There will be $1 draft beers, $2.50 microbrew beers, and $3 pitchers.

• Pyramid Brewing Company, located at 1029 K St., will have happy hour during the Big Game, which includes $4 cocktails and beertails.

• Riverside Clubhouse, 2633 Riverside Blvd., will be having a Superbowl buffet, and $15 will buy you all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hot wings, pork sliders and lamb kebobs. There will be happy hour prices for traditional food, as well as a raffle ticket for shirts, wine and gift cards. Happy hour prices for drinks will include $3.50 draft beers, well drinks and wine.

• Streets of London, located at 1804 J St., will be having a Superbowl barbecue with hamburgers, hotdogs, and nachos.

• R15, on the corner of R and 15th Streets, will be having a Superbowl party with different types of appetizer specials, including hot wings and nachos, and the prices will be determined on the day of the event. According to bartender Al, they will be having $2 domestic beers, $2 bottles of beer and $2 well drinks.

• Club Raven, on 3246 J St, will have a potluck, so everyone is encouraged to bring food, such as hors d'œuvres, sandwiches, and salads. The bartender, Jim, said well drinks and beer will be $2.50, and people often buy rounds for the house.

• Taro's by Mikuni, located at Market Square next to Arden Fair Mall, will have happy hour all day, with $3 cocktails and draft beers, and select appetizers and rolls priced at $5. Also, party platters will be $50 instead of the usual $65, and a raffle will be held to award prizes such as gift cards. Mikuni locations in Fair Oaks, Roseville, and Elk Grove will be having all-you-can-eat sushi buffets priced at $25 for adults and $12 for seniors and kids.

So pick your favorite place, and don't forget to invite your friends. What are your plans for Superbowl Sunday? Can you provide details about a special event you know of that didn't make the list?

Parents split over possible Montessori school move

2009-10-28T04:56:49Z

A five-hour board meeting on the fate of California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus ended around 10:45 p.m. Monday night with a resolution: If an assessment says the Marshall School building in which the school resides is not compliant with state building codes, the school must move "expeditiously."

If the assessment, which has still not been made public, says the building does meet minimum state codes, the board will reconvene to decide if the school will move or not.

Nearly 100 people - parents, elementary school students and the California Montessori Project's nine board members, superintendent and a legal advisor - filled a multipurpose room at the Marshall School in Midtown to see if the school would need to move. They voiced a range of concerns, asked questions and offered suggestions to the board and its director.

The public charter grade school opened at its current location, 2700 G St., on Aug. 17, after eight years of being located in the Pioneer Congregational Church, 2700 L St.

California Montessori Project leases the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter.

Last week, parents received a letter from CMP superintendent Gary Bowman saying new SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond had recently performed a study, deeming the building unsafe.

"I don't think (previous) staff did a thorough job, and that was something that I uncovered when I started," Raymond said to KCRA 3 last Tuesday. "(Students) were already in there, and we started to ask questions (like) 'Why were they in before we did a thorough review?'"

California public schools are required to pass strict earthquake standards designated in the 1933 Field Act, but since the Marshall School was built in 1903, it does not meet them.

"We know we don't have Field Act compliance, (because) we predated the Act by a number of years," said Bowman.

As a charter school, however, CMP only needs to meet minimum building requirements and not the Field Act. Their previous location, Pioneer Congregational Church, was not Field Act-compliant.

Bowman told those gathered Monday night that Raymond told him last week, "it's not your mistake, it's the city's mistake." He also said Raymond told him that "we will do everything we can to make it whole," and that he wants to meet again next Tuesday.

A CMP facilities team proposed Jefferson Elementary School, in the College Glen neighborhood, as the best fit for the school to lease. Several parents praised Jefferson's newer facilities, which include a larger grassy area for children to play, a more modern kitchen and a multipurpose room with a stage.

"In terms of the move itself, SCUSD is going to bring in packers, movers, they're going to go full tilt to support this move," Bowman added.

However, others felt skeptical of SCUSD's motives, shocked and betrayed at the sudden news.

"We felt that the building was safe enough," said Cécile Downs, the parent of a kindergartner and a second grader. "To my knowledge the school still has not received any written instructions to move."

Many parents voiced their concern that moving would disrupt students' education and take parent volunteer hours. Others alleged that the district wanted to rent out the Marshall School, which Bowman denied.

A number of parents demanded transportation to the new school it moves. Some said they would not be able to transport their children because it takes too long.

"This building is over a century old, and I don't believe there have been any problems related to earthquakes in this building," said Rich, a parent of a first grader who did not give his last name. "There is far more risk to our children driving on the freeway for two hours a day to get to a new location."

The Sacramento Press contacted SCUSD's public relations office manager Maria Lopez and asked if the Marshall School building violates any codes. She said the code is not the issue.

"Our superintendent said that no students should be in any structures not compliant with the Field Act," Lopez said. "There's a little bit of a grey area on whether independent charters (should) go into non-Field Act-compliant structures. Some think that they can, some think that they cannot."

Addendum: "Safe Ground" property dispute

2009-09-18T04:07:51Z

In a previous story in The Sacramento Press about a "Safe Ground" encampment behind the Pedro and Gracilla Hernandez residence, Mark Merin, civil rights attorney and Safe Ground partner was not contacted. He is the owner of the property and responded to the article Thursday.

Merin explained the land dispute differently. He said "it's unfortunate" the story made it seem as if he were trying to harm the Hernandez family financially or use the homeless to bully them.

Merin explained that when he bought his property, he had been planning to use the corner lot at 13th and C streets as a law office, and the strip behind the Hernandez residence as a parking lot. It turned out that, in a rare instance, his deed and the Hernandez deed overlapped by seven feet.

Merin and Hernandez hired lawyers for the ensuing "quiet title action" lawsuit that would draw property lines to resolve the land dispute. Merin said the lawyers settled the case; the fence would be moved, and Hernandez would have a gate in the fence to access a small strip of land that was on Merin's property where Hernandez had kept his barbecue.

Merin offered to purchase the strip of property from Hernandez. As part of that deal, Merin also would have handed over a strip of his property so that Hernandez could enlarge the property behind his house. According to Merin, Hernandez refused.

To reside at the Safe Ground location, Merin required campers to be drug and alcohol free on and off the property, he said.

He added that there was one instance of a camper violating this rule, and he was ejected.

Sactown Magazine moving

2009-12-01T05:44:18Z

Sactown Magazine will celebrate its 3-year anniversary by packing and moving. The move anticipates the bi-monthly magazine's hopes of going monthly and increasing editorial, advertising and sales staff, said Rob Turner, Sactown's co-editor-in-chief.

Sactown will move Saturday from one historic skyscraper, completed in the 1920s, to another one a few blocks down the street. The move will more than double Sactown's office space, to 4,100 square feet.

Co-Editors-in-Chief Turner and Elyssa Lee hired their first Sactown Magazine employee, art director Jason Malmberg, in January 2006. At the time they were operating out of their house. They moved into the Elks Tower that June, and have published 19 issues and won six awards at the 2008 and 2009 Western Publishing Association's annual Maggie Awards.

Over the last few years, Sactown's 12 employees have outgrown the space on the 13th and 14th floors at Elks Tower. They'll move seven blocks down J Street into the California Fruit Building on the corner of J and 4th streets.

"We literally don't have room for one more person here, so it just became obvious that we would need more space" Turner said, adding that both buildings have panoramic views of the city, the river, downtown and the Capitol.

Turner said the publication will benefit from the California Fruit Building's amenities. The building once held the California Fruit Exchange, but now holds a number of smaller offices.

"We'll have a conference room and a break room in the new place," Turner said. "We're going to have a library in the new space, (to) store thousands of magazines we subscribe to."

Those magazines will be the most difficult items to move, Turner said.

Other changes may be afoot for the magazine.

"I'm not sure how many (new people) we'll need to go monthly, but we can barely put out a bi-monthly with the staff we have," Turner said. "We're like a lot of people waiting for things to get better, but there are hints of the economy improving (so) we want to be in a position where we can hire quickly when that happens."

Turner said that he has been pleased by how many Sacramentans have told him that the magazine makes them proud of their hometown.

"That was one of the big missions when we launched, to give people in the Sacramento region a sense of pride," he said. "We're really happy that the community has embraced the magazine."

Photos show Sactown's premier issue cover and the latest cover, the third anniversary issue. Photographs courtesy Sactown Magazine.

Home grown Sacramentans paint Hydroponics mural

2009-04-20T05:13:23Z

A DJ spinning some records, friends dancing and playing football, and a graffiti artist completing a mural for gardening store Hydroponics -- the spirit of hip hop was alive on Saturday, April 18, in Midtown Sacramento.

Sacramento Press stopped to check out the happenings on 16th Street between S and T, and was lucky enough to have a friendly chat with Hydroponics's manager Dave West and graffiti artist Steve Yorgason.

"He volunteered," West said, referring to the story of Yorgason's reaction after West first pitched the idea of painting the mural. "I think it is awesome," West said of the product, which was nearly complete by 6 p.m.

Yorgason, a veteran of graffiti art and the artist behind the "Three Women and an Armiore" mural on F and 12th Street, draws inspiration from local artist Anthony Padilla, who painted the mural behind Hot Italian.

"He's got incredible talent," Yorgason said of Padilla, who was an inspiration for him to do graffiti as a teenager in 1993. "It's really sad, there are a lot of artists and they need to let us start [painting] these walls out. They used to have [a public wall] on C & 22 but they ended up shutting it down."

Yorgason's girlfriend, Amy, who did not want her last name to be used, sprayed the lettering for the mural. Though she's only been painting for about five years, she was excited, she said, because "if they like this one, then we get to paint the rest [of the Hydroponics store locations, two more besides this one]."

Sacramento Steps Forward initiative announced

2009-11-06T04:36:58Z

Thursday morning, journalist Lisa Ling, members of the City Council and the homeless and formerly-homeless community joined Mayor Kevin Johnson in launching the "Sacramento Steps Forward" initiative. A crowd of several hundred waved blue initiative flags and cheered as Johnson announced his goal "to end homelessness and focus on permanent housing."

He applauded permanent housing shelters such as Mercy Housing, Turning Point and Martin Luther King Jr. Village, 3900 47th Avenue, where the launch was held.

Johnson said the goal of Sacramento Steps Forward is to provide 2,400 "decent and affordable" permanent housing units over the next three years. That would nearly quadruple the amount of permanent housing units created in the city over the last two years.

The mayor asked the Sacramento residents to advocate for the homeless, educate others about services needed to end homelessness, and to help find public, corporate and nonprofit funding.

"The homeless do not need a handout, they need a hand up," Johnson said. "They want to be empowered."

Johnson is chairman of a multiagency task force, part of the Policy Board to End Homelessness, that found funding for 269 winter shelter beds last month. This came despite an 84 percent cut in county funding for homelessness and the elimination of funding for winter shelters in September.

Tim Brown, director of the Sacramento Ending Chronic Homelessness Initiative, said last week that federal stimulus money will house 150 people who are now in shelters, freeing up 150 shelter beds over the next few months.

With an expected 419 beds, the city and county intend to provide 151 more beds this year than last year's 268 beds. According to the 2009 Homeless Count Summary Report, there are about 2,800 homeless people in Sacramento, including 711 in emergency shelters, 895 in transitional housing and 1,194 who have no shelter.

After Johnson thanked Brown, Sister Libby Fernandez and Joan Burke, both of of Loaves and Fishes, he introduced Sacramento-native Ling, the host of National Geographic Explorer. Earlier this year, as a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, she reported on Sacramento's "tent city," which brought other media outlets to the site.

"Your mayor, so many members of the homeless advocacy community, members of the city and county rose to the occasion and decided to tackle (homelessness) head on," Ling said. "I'm so proud of the way so many members of this community have come together (and) if Sacramento is successful (housing the homeless), it could be a model for the rest of the country."

County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, St. John's Shelter director, Michelle Steeb, and City Council member Rob Fong also spoke. Fong explained the Faith and Families initiative that he helped create.

"We're asking the faith communities to see if they would be willing through their congregation to make a commitment for one year to help house a homeless family," he said. "In the last year we've housed 10 homeless families (and) we're hoping to get a dozen more housed before the holidays."

Three formerly homeless people spoke about their experiences. They credited programs such as Serna Village, St. John's Shelter and Lutheran Social Services with changing their lives and giving them hope.

"It was absolutely marvelous," Fernandez of Loaves and Fishes said about the city's effort. "In one year, this mayor has talked more about the issue of homelessness than any mayor ever has. He spends time with the homeless, policymakers and advocates."

Although she applauded the push for transitional and permanent housing, she noted the nine-month waiting period to get into Quinn Cottages, a transitional housing shelter. This means that homeless need somewhere to go in the meantime, Fernandez said.

"It takes too long for the next step. (Creating a) 'safe ground' is just an added piece to get to the final goal, which is permanent housing."

Swearing-in of New Sacramento Citizens

2009-02-21T20:20:01Z

Becoming a U.S. citizen is a big deal, and that's exactly why nearly 3,000 people showed up at the Memorial Auditorium Thursday, Feb. 20. The approximately 900 new citizens crowded the auditorium, while their families and onlookers sat in the balcony to witness the event.

Doors opened at 7 a.m., but the ceremony took place at 10 a.m. By 11:15, the new citizens were out the door, many in line for a social security card. Outside the Memorial Auditorium, representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties registered new voters, and vendors sold frames for the citizenship certificates.

The line, which nearly reached all the way around the block, was filled with many people speaking in their native tongues. In fact, when approached, many did not want to talk, or could not answer questions in English.

Michael Biggs, Field Office Director for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in Sacramento, which oversees the administration of the naturalization ceremony says, "upwards of 60-80 countries may be represented" at each ceremony.

Biggs added, "It's a very diverse crowd. Sacramento has a lot of ethnic and nationality diversity. Certainly there are more Mexican and Central American citizens than anybody else. One of the things we do during the ceremony is we call out the countries and everybody cheers when they hear their country. It helps celebrate diversity, and give them a sense of community, since at the end we declare them all American."

Jenny Ang, a young woman from Hong Kong, said she was "relieved" to finally be a citizen. "Now I'll have benefits like retirement." Before getting in line, she registered to vote and later said that she liked Obama.

Victor, who did not want to give his last name, said that he came from Russia 11 years ago and feels "good" to be a citizen. He was not able to speak much English and didn't register to vote.

One man, said Biggs, "tried to get everybody's autographs. This was an older gentleman, and he wanted my autograph and he wanted to capture the event forever. To him it was as big as being at the Oscars, maybe bigger. "

Two years ago the Sacramento USCIS started having only 300 people per month to naturalize. They used to have the ceremony at the courthouse, then when the numbers increased, they were forced to move to the Crest Theatre. Then the cost of naturalization was going up roughly around Jan. 2008, so everyone rushed to apply before the fee increased, and the Sacramento USCIS started having about 2000 people per month for a time.

"We were kind of scared, but we moved to the Memorial Auditorium, since it's the only venue large enough in town that's downtown and inside," said Biggs.

The staff, who are comprised of part paid workers and part volunteers, will increasingly be comprised of volunteers in the future. Biggs hopes to have more high school students volunteer as community service to assist the recent average of roughly 1000 new citizens per month.

As for the ceremony itself, which begins at 10:00 a.m. usually begins with someone singing the "Star Spangled Banner." Someone else may sing "America the Beautiful," then a guest speaker will speak for five minutes (this week it was congresswoman Doris Matsui), then the judge swears in the citizens, then a new citizen will lead the rest in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Eventually president Obama will have a video where he welcomes new citizens.

Next month's ceremony, taking place on March 18th at 10:00 a.m. will have a local high school band and choir performing at the ceremony. A student from the high school who recently won the school's public speech competition will give the keynote speech.

The monthly event, according to the Sacramento Convention Center website, "has been impacting morning rush hour and parking in the downtown area. Please expect delays before and after these ceremonies and allow extra travel/parking time."

Q & A with DJ and Artist Parker Scott

2009-01-11T00:30:46Z

Parker Scott is a local artist whose eclectic style blends elements of graffiti, traditional Japanese wood block prints, tattoo art and Chinese characters. Currently a student of graphic design at CSUS, Scott is back from a one-year hiatus from art exhibitions, during which he DJ’d Hip Hop.

The art of Parker Scott will be displayed at Formoli’s Bistro (3260 J St.), with an opening reception on Second Saturday, 6-9 p.m. Jan. 10. The images attached to this article will be displayed at Formoli's.

Is there an era of art that you really admire?

I absolutely love Japanese wood block prints. That’s probably one of the things that got me into art in general. But I really enjoy the classical style Japanese painting more than the newer styles. The newer styles are a little bit easier to do, though.

I saw that there is script in some of your paintings. Can you tell me a little bit more about this?

Most of those scripts are actually Chinese. I have a book that my cousin gave me a while back that is like a 365 quotes of inspiration. There are different Chinese characters and an explanation behind them, not just the word. So I’ve used that as inspiration to add meaning to some of the general feelings that I want to have with some of my pieces. I love Japanese style, but I really like the Chinese letters better. They just have such a soft flow to them – they’re not the hard lines that the Japanese ones usually have.

What kind of equipment do you prefer to use when you are painting?

I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different things. I’ve tried boards and canvasses and what not. I find that economically, it’s the easiest to get canvas. Almost all of my pieces are mixed media. Once in a while I’ll just stick to acrylic, but for the most part, it’s a combination of spray paint, acrylic, and paint markers – and sometimes ink markers as well. But the simplicity of the marker is just so beautiful. So, pretty much, they are all mixed media pieces.

You said that you’d been taking some art history classes. Were you interested in art a long time before that or did you go to art school and become interested after that?

I've admired art for a while, but I definitely didn’t begin pursuing it much until I started taking classes in school. I just took some of the basic GE classes, and I found that they really inspired me. And from there I went and took more and more and more. I got completely addicted after that.

Where did you go to school?

I took a lot of art classes at Sac City, but currently I’m doing the Graphic Design program at Sac State. So I use graphic design techniques in order to create some of my art. I use different mediums and styles than maybe you would traditionally.

Is this your first show at Second Saturday?

About a year ago was my most recent. I was showing for a while, but I used to DJ professionally, so I was focusing my time more on that. Recently, I just stepped away from the DJing and I haven't done as much, and just focused on my art. I’m really trying to bring that up and have more shows. This is the first in a little while, but I plan on concentrating a lot more on this in the future.

How did you hook up with Formoli’s Bistro?

I actually know someone who used to co-own Café Milazzo over on Folsom Blvd, which was like a staple in East Sacramento for a long time. They closed down about a year or so ago, and that was right after my last art show. They have since opened up Formoli’s, and I actually ran into the person while I was out and about and we had a conversation. She mentioned coming in and was talking about doing a show. Since I hadn’t done one for a little while, I went in and talked to the owner and that’s just how everything unfolded.

I also heard you were involved in doing a mural. Is that true?

Yeah. Like I was saying, I like to experiment with different mediums and techniques. I recently really got into using stencils. I took a silk screening class and I had been experimenting with that a little bit, and I wanted to try doing something a lot larger-scale. It’s a lot of fun, but it is limiting in its scale because you can only get it so big. So I went ahead and did my first mural at my friend's house. I did her office wall. I did a gigantic mini bamboo forest with butterflies, hanging Japanese lanterns, and various things – mostly sticking to the Japanese theme. It was really fun doing it, but in the middle of it, I didn’t know how much work was really involved. When I got to the final stage, I was so happy with it. It was definitely a good experience.

Locals join national "Stop Lou Dobbs" campaign

2009-10-22T03:28:05Z

Noon-hour visitors to Cesar Chavez Plaza were able to view more than just a farmer's market Wednesday.

They also witnessed about 20 activists and members of the media in a press conference announcing the "Stop Lou Dobbs" campaign created by the national Latino community group, www.presente.org.

The group formed as a response to anti-Latino sentiment in the media, starting with who they feel is the worst offender: CNN's Lou Dobbs. According to the group's website, www.bastadobbs.com, Dobbs uses his news program "Lou Dobbs Tonight" to spread false information about immigrants and Latinos.

Held only hours before CNN debuts a four-hour documentary called "Latino in America," the group came together to challenge what it called "CNN's hypocrisy."

"I think that CNN can't continue to present this dichotomous view of Latinos as strong people and then (have Dobbs) trash our heritage," said Rafael Aguilera of Sacramento's La Raza network.

Gathering around the statue of Cesar Chavez, several of the speakers included Sacramento's Chicano Consortium director Efren Guttierrez, CSUS ethnic studies professor Eric Vega and Sacramento's Council on American-Islamic Relations director Basim Elkarra.

"The location has always been symbolic of Chavez, a humanitarian who fought for all of us, at the center of our hearts," Guttierrez said.

"Lou Dobbs and others have been spreading hatred through the airways," he said in a speech to the small group of local media and gatherers.

A press release from www.bastadobbs.com said that out of 140 broadcast hours from Jan. 1 to July 23 of this year, 77 hours of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" included segments on immigrants. The website stated, "Dobbs helps popularize the myth that Latino immigrants flood the U.S. with disease (and) a third of our prison system is made up of illegal aliens." The website states both claims are not true.

It also said that Dobbs promoted extremist groups such as Federation for American Immigration Reform and The Minutemen on his show.

"Incitement (of hate) leads to hate crimes," Elkarra said. "Organizations like CNN have a responsibility not to support hate."

"Dobbs hides behind the first amendment, and his speech leads to an increase in attacks against Latinos," Vega said.

Local photographer Francisco Dominguez said he thinks Latinos have suffered racism since this country's inception.

"(Racism) has no business on television (posed) as news," Dominguez said. "There needs to be checks on the program, (especially when) the No. 1 victims of hate crimes are Latinos."

Rob Griffith, a local reporter from Capitol Television News Service, said that while he's never watched Lou Dobbs' show, the Stop Lou Dobbs campaign is misdirected.

"The people behind (Stop Lou Dobbs) misunderstand how the first amendment works," he said. "Efforts to silence opposition violates American freedoms."

Guttierrez explained that www.presente.org has already received 70,000 signatures on a petition to pull Dobbs off the air, but the goal is 100,000. Though Guttierrez urged Latinos and others to watch the CNN program airing tonight, Domiguez said that he was ready to boycott CNN entirely.

"CNN will understand that," he said. "It's the same thing that Chavez did with the grape growers. He was a master organizer."

Guttierrez said that he would watch "Latino in America" out of respect for the people whom the program features. He mentioned that CNN is the most trusted name in news, but added "if this is how CNN builds trust, (they) will lose it."

The Bloc Concert Series canceled

2009-07-03T02:54:02Z

The Bloc Concert Series has been canceled.

Paragary marketing director Callista Wengler confirmed today that the series will not continue. It was scheduled to run the last Saturday of each month through September.

The Paragary Restaurant Group organized the and ran the first two concerts to earn money for the Marshall Park Fountain Fund Committee.

"We'd love to keep doing it, but it's just really expensive, and the costs were just way more than was expected," Wengler said. "The synergy between the outdoor space and the restaurants makes a great entertainment venue for people."

Problems such as a lack of communication and organization began before the concert's debut on May 30, the same day as Midfest. The first concert had been held in conjunction with Midfest, which led to obstacles in obtaining a special events permit.

"It sucks. It really does suck," said MBA Board Member Shawn Eldredge. "I'd like to have as many events as I can possibly attend."

Eldredge has long supported Midtown events at Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) meetings. In one instance, he and 17 Midtown residents attended a NAG meeting to show more support for Midtown events.

He created a Facebook group entitled "We Live Here Too" whose mission is to support the active nightlife and urban lifestyle in Midtown and Downtown.

Bill Burgua, chair of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association said better planning would make future events more successful.

"I don't think the neighborhood is going to be that sad," he said. "We're not against events, [as long as] they have a well spelled-out policy [and] a designated limit on numbers of events."

Burgua said they have had success working with the city for a jazz event at Grant Park.

"Hopefully down the road when the economy gets better we can try it again," Wengler said.

School moving from old Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary

2009-11-05T03:04:47Z

It was confirmed last week California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus will move from the Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the College Glen neighborhood.

Since August, CMP leased the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter. Next Thursday and Friday, the school will be closed for the move and will resume at the new campus on Nov. 16.

SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond met with CMP board members, students and parents Tuesday night at the campus' new location. After stating reasons for the move, he answered questions from parents.

"The old Marshall School, although a very beautiful facility and by all appearances structurally sound, does not comply with two very important requirements," Raymond said. "No. 1, the Field Act, (which) simply relates to the ability of a building to withstand a seismic event; the other important component is this building does not meet state building codes - it is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."

He stated that charter schools are required by Prop 39, which passed in 2005, to comply with either one of these codes, and the Marshall School does not. Raymond also took responsibility for the error, and said he looks forward to helping CMP move to the Jefferson campus, which is Field Act and ADA compliant.

"We're going to do it expeditiously, with (the) least disruption to the children and to the families of California Montessori Project, first and foremost," Raymond said to the crowd of nearly 200 gathered in the multi-purpose/lunch room.

This includes providing bus transportation to the new school site throughout the remainder of the school year. Details on the bus routes will be given in the next week, Raymond said.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary School closed at the end of the 2008-09 school year after suffering from low enrollment and loss of revenue. Although CMP Capitol Campus' enrollment is also low, in the low 200s, moving to this location is an opportunity for the school to expand and use the facility the way it should be used, Raymond said.

The school also has a new rooftop ventilation system with furnaces and thermostats added last year, said Mellissa Truitt, SCUSD Associate Superintendent of Capital Asset Management Services.

Some parents said they were still upset about leaving the downtown location so quickly in the middle of a school year. They were notified in late October about a possible move.

"The move is disappointing because we lived in the (Marshall) neighborhood," said Rachelle Barbour, parent of a first-grade student at CMP. "If it wasn't for the liability reasons [if a seismic event did occur, the district and the CMP board would be liable for any injury], it wouldn't have happened so fast."

However, Barbour said she felt "reassured" that the superintendent met with parents and will use the buses provided by the school district. She also noted that there are too few schools in the grid, and said she would like for another school to open in the downtown area.

Darrin Greer, another parent of a first-grade student, thought that the meeting was informative and answered questions.

"The superintendent was open and it helps (that) the district is committed to transportation," he said. "Moving is difficult to do in the middle of the year."

Greer said it would be interesting to see how many people will stay at CMP and how many will leave, but he expects most will stay for at least the rest of this year. He also wanted to know if any other schools in the SCUSD have ADA or Field Act compliance issues.

"This was the only one," Raymond said in an interview after the meeting. "We want to see it thrive. We want to provide whatever support we can to ensure that they do, it's important for the community."

He also said that creating downtown-area schools is a priority.

"We have people living and moving in there, and we need to provide school facilities for those children too and those families," Raymond said. "I've told the community and others in the neighborhood that's something I want to work toward."

Sacramento Film Festival celebrates local and international flavor

2009-03-28T02:58:29Z

With only one film down, and 120 to go, the Sacramento International Film Festival is still going strong until April 5 at a staggering five different locations.

Whether it is exposing local filmmakers to the world, or exposing filmmakers from around the world to locals, the Sacramento International Film Festival has something for everyone.

"I'd have to say both are important. It's good to have Sacramentans see different cultures and ways of living. Sacramento has been known as 'Cow Town,' so it's also a plus to expose our filmmakers to the world," said Administrative Director Patricia Collins.

Collins, a jane-of-all-trades for the festival for the last three years, handles everything from writing grants to speaking with sponsors and filmmakers — even occasionally catering the event and shuttling filmmakers from the airport.

She says her schedule, might "be a juggling act, but it's a good thing to have multiple locations to highlight different spots in Sacramento. When you have multiple locations it brings more variety and more things to see every day. I like it."

Continuing Saturday at the Artisan Theater, the festival will premiere a variety of films by local and student visionaries. From then on, each day will have a different theme, with some poignant ones being California History Day held at the Railroad Museum and Cine Latino which will be held on César Chavez's birthday.

The festival has been in Sacramento since 1995, under the name Sacramento Festival of Cinema, which was sponsored by Access Sacramento.

"They decided they didn't want to do it anymore, then I took it on and went into a new direction. We changed the name and ownership structure in 2005 and it became the Sacramento Film Festival," explained Festival Director Martin Anaya.

Anaya said that he was looking forward to a few days in this festival, and to make sure not to miss the History Day or Cine Latino.

"Cine Latino is a Chicano, Latino and international celebration. But if someone wants to see hard-hitting documentaries on social issues, come on March 30 to see the documentary on Maria Shriver's father," he said.

The film about Sargent Shriver, which is called American Idealist, details the life of the famous Kennedy family member and his impact on politics and society during the 1960s and 1070s.

"It is the best documentary of the 1960s that I've ever seen," Anaya added. "It's about this man and what he did and his impact on the War on Poverty and the Peace Corps that really helped define the late 1960s and early 1970s."

Collins recommends seeing the film Prince of Broadway, a film about a West African street hustler left to take care of a child who may or may not be his.

Anaya summed up his feelings for the festival: "I think that the main thing that Sacramento needs to know is that they have a world-class film event that happens every spring. There are other ones, not to disparage anyone else's, most of which I've been to, but ours is literally on par with other festivals around the world."

Professional Bikers Practicing in Sacramento

2009-02-13T21:45:52Z

Minutes after leaving the office today, a giant swarm of bikers nearly hit my car as they quickly turned the corner from 9th onto H street. They made their way up H street at about 20-30 miles per hour, before turning left again onto 16th.

I was far behind the small group, but when I caught up, I realized it was Team Rabobank, one of the teams in the Amgen Tour of California. Like a stalker, I stuck my head and camera out the window and snapped a few photographs from only a few feet away during the practice ride.

Rabobank, a Netherlands based bank is also committed to sponsoring the Tour of California for the next three years. Team Rabobank includes three-time World Champion Oscar Freire, two-time Vuelta a España winner Denis Menchov and current Cyclocross World Champion Lars Boom, making them strong one of the stronger teams in the race.

Later on, I continued down 16th, got onto highway 160, and exited Arden Way, where I saw team Type 1, but was not in a good position to take a photo. Did anyone else see a team practicing around town?

Mayor Kevin Johnson announces travel plans

2009-09-09T22:25:38Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced he would be travelling everywhere from Sacramento Elementary Schools to New York City in a press conference Tuesday. Johnson made it clear that education is on his long term agenda.

Johnson visited Oak Ridge and Sequoia elementary schools for their first day of school Tuesday to participate in back-to-school rallies. He also announced his desire to take a more active role in schools, perhaps even creating an "education liaison" position.

The position would help work on five issues of reform for city's schools announced in his recent White Paper Document: improving school accountability, increasing school choices, supporting educators, engaging and empowering parents and leveraging external resources.

He also announced his travel plans for the next week.

Johnson will be traveling to New York on Thursday to meet with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He will meet with 15 other mayors from around the country and speak about a national service day on Sept. 11. It will be the first national service day around the country in memory of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Sacramento will be holding its own Sept. 11th Day of Service and Remembrance ceremony at noon in Northgate Park, located at 2825 Mendell Way.

Next Monday, Sept. 15, Johnson will be traveling to San Diego to spend time with Mayor Jerry Sanders and tour the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego's shopping, entertainment, dining and business district. He wants to look at some of the successes of the district to find out what he can bring back when looking at developing Sacramento's J, K and L street corridors.

Casspi celebrates Hanukkah with community

2009-12-12T04:55:19Z

Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday, grabbed eight rebounds and notched two assists. Thursday, he noshed and schmoozed with about 200 people at a Hanukkah party at Memorial Auditorium put on by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region.

Casspi sat in the lobby for nearly an hour signing autographs, talking to fans and posing for photos. He also spoke of how he celebrates the Jewish holiday in Israel.

"I usually (celebrate it with) a small group of family, we get everybody to come together, light the candles, sing songs and pray together," he said. "Usually we do that all week (and) on the last night, we go to my grandparents' house, invite all the family and go out together."

Casspi said he misses his father, but is happy his mother, brother and sister could come to Sacramento to celebrate Hanukkah with him. "I'm not a religious person, but I love to pray to God and celebrate all the holidays," he said.

Casspi ranked sixth on www.NBA.com's rookie rankings this week and teammate Tyreke Evans ranked first. He sounded happy about his first season with the Kings.

"It's great we have a young team," he said. "It's (a) very talented (team) and throughout the season, we're only going to get better."

Thursday's celebration included another guest from Israel, Lior Suchard, who provided what he called "supernatural entertainment." His one-hour performance blended magic, comedy and reading the minds of audience members.

Aside from honoring In addition to Casspi, the Jewish Federation honored three generations of Jewish activists -- Lou Weintraub, Dr. E. Scott Rosenbloom and Brian Fischer -- for community service. A man dressed as Judah Maccabee, founder of Hanukkah, passed a ceremonial torch to each of the three men, who then spoke.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees triumphed over the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. The first of eight nights of celebration began Friday at sundown with the lighting of the first candle on the Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiyah.

"It was great fun. We came because we wanted to support the community," said Anne Eisenberg, 69, of Congregation B'nai Israel. "They honored good people (who) work for the community and deserve it. The community only works because of volunteers."

Eisenberg's husband, Hal, 70, said their Hanukkah celebration will be different this year because their children are in France. They mailed Hanukkah presents and potato latke (pancake) recipes to them and will chat online via Skype during the gift opening.

Mike Singer, 64, a member of Congregation Mosaic Law, said he enjoyed the celebration, adding that Suchard was an astonishing entertainer. The board president of the California State University, Sacramento/UC Davis Hillel House for Jewish students described his ideal Hanukkah present.

"We've already raised $3 million for a new UC Davis/Sac State Hillel House," he said. "What we need is $1 million more."

The fun continued late into the night with plenty of gelt (Hanukkah chocolates) to be eaten, dreidels (Hanukkah tops) to be spun and Hanukkah children's book to be read.

Photos by Anthony Bento of Anthonybento.com

Game Plan Academy opens camp

2009-03-16T06:05:06Z

“Go!“

Two people sprint towards each other at full speed while a third throws a football directly in between them. As they converge towards one point, one of the sprinters grabs for the ball, while the second snatches it from the air at the last second.

Sacramento Press has already previewed the Game Plan Academy (GPA), and we've recently heard from the GPA's Brent Pottenger, who invited community members to attend the sports and education camp. But for those who missed it, this is what happened on Sunday, March 15.

All the students who came to Hiram Johnson High School showed up early Sunday morning, and their sense of enthusiasm to meet and run drills with professional athletes was permeable. Besides practicing football skills, the nearly 40 high-schoolers from eight local schools took diagnostic tests of math and writing skills and surveys about college and the expectations for the rest of their lives.

When John Fleming, football coach and athletic director of Hiram Johnson High School heard of the program, he jumped on the opportunity to volunteer the football field and classrooms at the school to the GPA team.

"I'm appreciative of [GPA] giving their time. It's real positive for the kids," he said.

"It's been really fun, and I'm very excited the [high school football] players showed up early, and showing they had enthusiasm," said Gio Carmazzi, one of the two football coaches who played quarterback for the San Francisco ’49ers. Carmazzi is joined in the program by his sister Veronica, the athletic trainer of the camp who evaluates injuries, and their brother Matt, an academic coach who brings a background in business administration.

Many parents sat in the parking lot in their cars seeking shelter from the rain while watching their sons work on quickness, strength and agility skills.

Paul Bennett, the parent of a Rio Linda High School student, was particularly proud to see his son attend the camp. "The addition of professional players is a good inspiration for the students to pull some knowledge from these guys," He said.

"I think the fact that [the professional athletes] are here and giving back to the community is great," said Tony Melton, father of another Rio Linda High School student.

"There's a lot of camps and programs that do nothing more than football, but the most important thing is academics, you know?" said Clarence Gandy, father of a Florin High School quarterback.

"It feels great joining this program, and it helps individuals get down the road I once took," said Alex Van Dyke, the other football coach, who played wide receiver for the Eagles and the Jets.

"If we had one kid, it would be great just working enlarging his work ethic, but it's a tremendous feeling doing this with a larger group. To have a function like GPA where we try to be inspirational, it can help fill a void in their lives" Van Dyke added.

*Photographs by Anthony Bento

Lance Armstrong in Sacramento

2009-02-13T07:26:45Z

Lance Armstrong, contenders in the Tour of California, and hundreds of global media representatives filled Sheraton Hotel's conference room downtown. The riders, tour organizers, and other public figures such as Mayor Kevin Johnson and commentator Phil Ligget made statements to the frenzied media representatives.

A panel representing perhaps the strongest racing team ever assembled in the United States fielded questions, mainly expressing their excitement for the race, which begins in Sacramento this Saturday.

"It's an honor to have these professional cyclists here in Sacramento," said Mayor Johnson. "You'll see Saturday in Sacramento how thrilled we are. We are pleased to have been a part of this event the last three years."

"This year, because the prologue starts in Sacramento on a Saturday, we're going to generate 8.5 million dollars. People will be staying in our hotel rooms for five nights, 2500 rooms, and our local businesses, restaurants, shops and hotels are very thankful."

One main contender and winner of the inaugural Tour of California, however, was missing. Disqualified Tour de France winner Floyd Landis suffered from a bruised hip after a bicycle crash about two hours before the conference. Though he required medical attention, he will be fit to race Saturday.

Many questions were geared toward Armstrong, concerning his fitness level and past and present doping scandals, as well as his relationships with other riders. He said of his fitness level, "at 37 I feel just as good as 27."

As for questions about doping, Armstrong answered that he was "clean as a whistle". But more interestingly, he added "I'm on twitter, so you'll always know where I am. I think the key is transparency."

Most importantly, however, Armstrong made it clear that his participation in the ride is to raise awareness about cancer.

"Sometimes sensational news comes along and trumps old complacent stagnant news, like the number one killer in this country," he said wryly.

Armstrong mentioned that he was very happy to be riding with friend and Tour De France rival cyclist Ivan Basso, since the Italian recently returned from retirement as well. However, this will be the first time that Armstrong will be riding on a different team than George Hincapie, who refers to Armstrong as his "best friend".

Saturday's race will begin near Capital and 9th and end near L and 11th. Bikes and public transportation to the event are encouraged. The event is free. 75,000 people are expected.

Costumed characters promote California Museum's 'Out of this World' exhibit

2009-10-01T03:49:15Z

Halloween came to Sacramento early Wednesday morning as a group of six local science fiction lovers marched downtown dressed in Klingon, Death Star Trooper and Sith Lord costumes. Dozens of children and sci-fi fans flocked to take photographs and speak with the costumed characters.

Others gawked, laughed and one child even cried as they meandered from the California Museum down K Street and past the Capitol to Cesar Chavez Plaza.

The march was organized to promote The California Museum's new sci-fi exhibit "Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television," which will run from Oct. 3 to Jan. 10. It will feature more than 50 props and costumes from some of Hollywood's most memorable sci-fi films.

Among some of the exhibit's main attractions are the Darth Vader robe and cape from Star Wars, the leather jacket worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

Besides viewing these items, visitors will also learn how clothing designers and artists came up with ideas for the costumes and props, according to Ashley Robinson, the California Museum's communications manager.

Mark Lin, normally a business analyst in Elk Grove, was dressed as a death star trooper from Star Wars. He and another costumed storm trooper represent part of a group called the 501st Legion, a group of friends who dress up as villains from the Star Wars movies, Lin said.

Besides comic book and sci-fi conventions, the 501st Legion attends the Rose Parade and even visits children at Shriner's Hospital and the Salvation Army. Lin mentioned that he is looking forward to some of the older sci-fi costumes at the upcoming exhibit, especially the jumpsuit, proton pack and utility belt from Ghostbusters.

Three other costumed sci-fi fans were part of a Sacramento Klingon Assault Group (KAG) called "Ikvnomhegh," which means "swift death," said Chris Mumma, a KAG officer. Mumma wore a Klingon warrior costume from Star Trek complete with a plastic "bat'leth" or "sword of honor."

KAG "Ikvnomhegh" member Julio Alcala was also dressed as a Klingon, but in a plainer costume from the original Star Trek series. He mentioned that sometimes locals must travel as far as Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas to attend sci-fi or comic conventions.

After displaying an uncanny vocal impression of a Wookie from Star Wars, Alcala added that he was looking forward viewing the black leather jacket that Arnold Schwarzenneger wore in The Terminator at the exhibit.

Another KAG members, Von Bean, dressed as a female Sith Lord from Star Wars. Unlike others, she sewed the costume herself, she said.

David Mello, not affiliated with any costume group, dressed up as Fourth Who, which he explained was the fourth incarnation of Dr. Who from the BBC series "Dr. Who." Recently back from San Diego's Comic-Con, Mello blogs about movies under the pen name Impaler General.

Mello said he is excited about the variety at the Out of this World exhibit. "Even if one person is a drawn to a [specific] genre, they will look at others," he said.

"[By] putting sci-fi costumes in the same gallery space as the Lincoln exhibit, the museum will be able to reach people with different interests," Robinson added. Besides being for sci-fi fans, it's also for people who love movies or costume design in general, she said.

California Museum members will get a sneak preview of the exhibit this Thursday at 6 p.m. during a members-only preview reception. In addition to being able to party in the Star Wars cantina and eat from a table based on the monkey brains scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the gatherers will also participate in a costume competition.

Prizes include a round-trip ticket from United Airlines, a resort package from Le Rivage and Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar and four tickets to see "Star Wars: In Concert" which takes place Oct. 9 and 10 at Arco Arena. Non-members can attend the preview by signing up at the door, calling (916)-653-1752 or visiting Californiamuseum.org/membership.

The California Museum is located at 1020 O St.

Hmong rally for accused conspirators

2009-10-06T03:44:01Z

"What do we want? Case dismissed! When do we want it? Now!"

Tria Vang, 25-year-old Hmong activist and part of the Hmong American Ad Hoc Committee, led a spirited crowd of nearly 1,000 through cheers as well as a march around the Matsui Courthouse building.

Organized by the Ad Hoc Committee, Hmong Americans and their supporters protested an indictment against 12 Hmong men accused of conspiring to overthrow the Laos government. It mirrored a similar rally in May of this year for Hmong leader and former general, Vang Pao, 79, who was recently dismissed of the same charges on Sept. 18.

Only one day earlier, Sept. 17, brothers Jerry Yang, 58, and Thomas Yang, 47, were added as conspirators with the 10 others indicted nearly two and a half years ago. According to The Sacramento Bee, there will be very little movement in the case until March; U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. wants to allow the defendants time to review the government's evidence against them.

Vang, who also emceed the Pao protest in March, said more people showed up than he expected.

"(The protest) turned out good, considering it was very sudden," Vang said. "We only talked about it since last Friday. We hope they throw out the case. There's not sufficient evidence to charge the (defendants)."

Some of the speakers included Vaming Xiong, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, committee member Thomas Lee and lawyer James Brosnahan all spoke to the crowd.

"We've been betrayed by this case," Lee said. "There are 12 innocent defendants entrapped; they have no capability to overthrow a government."

Lee added that the previous Vang Pao rally brought good publicity to the case. "It does send a clear message not only here but throughout the world that (U.S.) foreign policy is not fair. We feel that the U.S. is using us as bait to work with the Lao government.

"We don't want to fight the government, but they want to arrest us," he said.

"There is no conspiracy here," Brosnahan said.

"The charges are stupid," said William Thomas, a veteran from Sacramento. Thomas was passing by when he was drawn into the rally by American flags, he said.

Thomas said he supports the Hmong and opposes the indictment. "Give them the benefit of the doubt and drop their charges, too," he said. "The case is a waste of money."

A status conference, or meeting between attorneys, is scheduled for Mar. 15, 2010.

High school students welcomed to Newton Booth neighborhood

2009-11-20T04:39:54Z

Wednesday night's Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association meeting saw an increase in teenage members.

Held at Temple Coffee's 28th and S streets location, the meeting was attended by Country Day high school students and several faculty members, including headmaster Steve Repsher. Though a long permit process lies ahead, the school is closer to the goal of moving into the vacant Newton Booth School, 2600 V St., by August.

The neighborhood group consisted of residents from three areas: Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth and Alhambra Triangle. Richard "Bud" Halliday, Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association president, welcomed the school's representatives and invited them to attend future meetings.

Last month, Repsher identified two major hurdles the school needs to clear before moving the private high school students into the building: being granted a Special Use Permit by the city and raising $1.8 million to complete the first phase of reconstruction, which will renovate the first floor for classroom use.

The pre-K to 12th grade school, now in the suburban Sierra Oaks neighborhood east of the central city, has 520 pre-K and elementary students and 152 high school students that Repsher said he hopes to move into the first floor of the Newton Booth campus by August. It will fulfill a dual campus vision first imagined by Dan White, the school's headmaster 20 years ago.

Repsher said that a planning committee likely will convene in January to plan for the move. Repsher said he hopes the school can accommodate at least 100 more high school students, and expand beyond the first floor over the next several decades.

Since hearing about the possible move last spring, the neighborhood has welcomed the school. Last month, Halliday told The Sacramento Press that the situation is a "win-win," and that he has heard no opposition to the move.

"It's a good fit for the neighborhood," said Dairl Helmer, a Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association board member. "So far, we haven't heard anyone objecting to it." Helmer said that he was looking forward to seeing what kind of culture the school would bring, and that he would like to attend school plays and concerts.

Repsher added that Councilman Rob Fong and Mayor Kevin Johnson approve of the move.

"Welcoming us is the biggest thing," Repsher said. "When I first looked at the facility, the first thing I did was check with the neighborhood leadership to see what they thought."

Country Day students aren't as uniformly supportive of the move.

"Some students are nostalgic about moving from the old campus," said sophomore Richard Whitney. "They've been there their whole lives."

However, Whitney and his friend Cabot Jackman, also a sophomore, support the move and are excited about the prospects of a larger school. Jackman said that once students visit the campus and get to know the neighborhood, they will lose their preconceptions and "forget about" the old school.

"It seems to be a great community," Jackman said. "At the old campus we are limited to what we can do in the community."

He pointed out that the Newton Booth area is closer to a larger concentration of businesses, museums and historic buildings.

Friday from noon to 1 p.m., students and Newton Booth community members will get their first taste of the Newton Booth campus. Middle and high school students will be transported to the site for a tour and they and members of the neighborhood will be served free hamburgers. Neighbors who wish to attend should e-mail office@saccds.org.

Hot Italian makes its mark on Sacramento

2009-03-22T01:36:32Z

Shake shake shake. Pfffft. Pfffft. One thin coat at a time, a spray of paint creates a bright new decoration over the gray brick wall. An artist with a rubber mask stands on a ladder while his suitcase full of aerosol cans waits below.

He steps off and away from the ladder, looks at the black-and-white photograph in his hand and tilts his eyes upward to view the entirety of his 10-foot-tall mural. Pffft. Pffft. He continues to touch up the wall with black and white paint, the words "PERONI ITALY" nicely stenciled in the top right corner.

Anthony Padilla holds a day job as a graphic designer, but for the last 10 years he has been expressing himself by doing graffiti art and murals during nights. Today he is creating a comic book and graffiti-inspired urban work of art for the Hot Italian, a pizza restaurant and Italian culture boutique on the corner 16th and Q Street.

Graffiti artists might usually only have a few moments under the cloak of nightfall to illegally tag up a wall before being chased away by police or business owners, their cursory artistic expressions quickly re-coated in another sheet of paint.

But Padilla is very lucky, not just because he has had hours to work on this particular mural over the last week, but because he is being commissioned to spray here, his creation to be viewed by many over the years to come.

"Mike Villareal helped me get this painting gig, and he is helping me with it along with the support of Andrea Lepore [Hot Italian owner], and Doug Woodward [of DBI Beverages which distributes Peroni to the Hot Italian]," Padilla said.

Lepore, who managed many of Hot Italian's aesthetic details, chose the photograph from a catalog of Peroni advertisements. "Other cities have urban murals, and we knew we wanted to serve Peroni, because it's a very modern Italian beer."

Lepore also plans to have a 20-foot laminate decoration incorporated onto the building's exterior depicting a couple on a scooter. Located on the 16th Street side of the building, it will be done by Italian company ABET Laminati.

Though Padilla usually uses color, today he has over forty cans of black and white paints in his suitcase to compliment the restaurant's modern Italian design. When he's done, he would love to work on a few more projects in the city.

One, he says, would incorporate the beauty of sculpture into the installation of solar panels. "Thinking about new ideas for energy sources is beautiful, so you should have a beautiful piece of art to complement it. Art that is functional and aesthetically pleasing would fit well in this city," said Padilla.

He would also like Sacramento to catch up with other modern cities by creating and maintaining legal walls for graffiti artists to paint on, uncensored. "If they had more of an outlet, there would be a better chance of them learning how to create something, rather than being chased away," he added.

Jewish Film Festival

2009-02-09T06:57:52Z

Sacramento's premier venue for film festivals did it again, as more than a thousand people showed up at The Crest Theatre to attend the two-day Jewish Film Festival. The 12th annual Spring festival held unique, humorous and powerful films from around the world that focus on the Jewish experience.

This year's festival, Saturday Feb. 7 and Sunday Feb. 8, was once again run by festival cofounders Margi Park-Landau, volunteer coordinator and Sid Heberger, Crest Theater manager.

The Sacramento Friends of the Jewish Film Festival, a 60-member group, supported the festival, helped to "bring things that we might not be able to have just on ticket sales alone," Heberger said.

Saturday night at 7 p.m. attendees watched the film The Secrets, a story of two young women who encounter a mysterious woman who forces them to question their lifelong-held beliefs. It was followed by a 7-minute short film entitled A Trip To Prague.

At 10 p.m. a handful of "Not So Kosher" comedy shorts were screened to a younger audience, which stayed until the festival's late end. The shorts included Circumcise Me, the story of American-born Yisrael Campbell, who converted to Judaism three times before becoming one of Israel's premier comedians, Let My People Grow, Getting There is Half the Fun and Jewno.

Sunday's program was longer, featuring the three full-length films Praying With Lior, Love and Dance and Blessed is the Match, followed by the Academy Award-nominated short film Toyland.

Festival co-founder Park-Landau said that she and Heberger collaborated to choose the films, which are meant to target a diverse variety of people. "We try to have a little romance, history, shmaltz. We have exit surveys to help us with feedback."

"The festival," she added, "is a partnership between a faith-based nonprofit coordinating with a non-faith-based for-profit business. People who attend care about film and art in general. The festival attendees attend while "disregarding race, religious fervor, income and gender."

Park-Landau estimated that 1,500 people come to the festival every year. Next year the festival will be held at the Crest on Feb. 6 and 7, 2010.

Jetsons Land in Sacramento

2009-02-11T07:07:40Z

The Astro and the Elroy are quickly becoming one of Sacramento's coolest hangouts. The two newly renovated buildings, which were converted from motels, are collectively known as the RetroLodge.

Originally meant to house 50 work/live studios, RetroLodge's amenities include bathrooms, conference rooms with kitchenettes, and shared courtyards. The style is meant to evoke 1950's and 1960's Palm Springs, but the most important feature the property boasts are its 50 parking spaces for lease, a rare find in midtown.

One of the first tenants in the Jetsons-named Elroy building was Dig Music - the label of notable Sacramento musician Jackie Greene, perhaps the most successful Sacramento musical product of late. Back in August, Greene's manager and record label owner, Marty DeAnda, had to move Dig and it's three-and-a-half full time employees after outgrowing their old office.

DeAnda said of acquiring Dig's new digs, "My whole house is full of all retro furniture and stuff, so this [property] was really interesting to me. The RetroLodge is going to have a lot of hip little businesses."

"The Naked Lounge is a great hang out, and their coffee is great. They're also thinking of making an all ages music venue," says DeAnda, who volunteered to apply his audio expertise when the proposed venue is ready to set up their speakers.

DeAnda was speaking of the newly opened Naked Lounge, which is practically a midtown institution. The Naked Lounge became the first storefront business in the Elroy building when their doors opened earlier this week.

The Naked Lounge also owns a local coffee roasting plant, at 3527 Broadway, which is open to the public on Mondays where coffee is half off. As for the new location, Naked Lounge had similar reasons as Dig Records for moving, according to manager Jenn Fox.

"There's one in midtown already, but everyone knows our name, so we're always trying to expand. Why not? We're all for local independent business." Besides, "The [RetroLodge] building is going to be great."

These two businesses are perhaps the most visible in the RetroLodge, which hopes to expand by the end of the year. Sacramento Press spoke to RetroLodge's Project Manager Andy Ekstrom about his hopes for the office space.

"I would say it's a little more difficult [to lease] than usual, but we have been able to sign 17 office leases, and the Naked Lounge for retail. Obviously we're not 100% full, but we expect to be by the end of the year."

The RetroLodge's 50-year-old building recently underwent a "green" renovation. The motel underwent structural changes, but for the most part the old structure was reused to build new amenities like showers, bathrooms, and conference rooms.

Ekstrom added, "I think the beauty of RetroLodge is diversity. Right now we have web developers, music management, the Naked Lounge, and pretty soon there will be a sandwich shop. Are there other spaces with offices [for rent]? Certainly. But none of them have a Palm Springs type of environment in downtown."

Citizen Hotel Opens

2009-02-27T07:49:08Z

If you saw some bright spotlights weaving through the downtown sky Thursday Feb. 26, the source was probably the Citizen Hotel, which is owned by Joie de Vivre Hotels. The 83-year-old building located at 926 J Street was filled with hundreds of formally-dressed partygoers from 5 to 8 p.m.

Guests enjoyed appetizers prepared by Chef Michael Tuohy from the hotel's Grange Restaurant, while sipping from a champagne fountain and a martini luge. On other floors, guests enjoyed wine, chocolate and jazz.

At 6:30 p.m, Kipp Blewett, the Developer of the Citizen gave opening remarks via monitor thanking the downtown area and Joie de Vivre, "which has a long history of revitalizing historic assets. This project was conceived with the theme: Citizen of Sacramento, Citizen of the State."

The Citizen Hotel boasts a panoramic view of the Sacramento skyline on its 7th floor, as well as spectacular penthouse suites complete with jacuzzis on the 14th floor. Each of its 198 guestrooms have unique architectural features, but all have HD televisions, iPod docking stations, and luxury bedding.

The Citizen also holds 11,000 square feet of event space and meeting areas including the historic Plaza Park Ballroom, and a capital-area-inspired political movie lending library. In fact, one guest said that she ran into prominent civil rights and political activist Marian Wright Edelman, though this was not confirmed by Sacramento Press.

Joie de Vivre Hotels generally have a theme, and though this one displays historical photos of civil rights era activists throughout each hall, one might simply conclude about the Citizen Hotel: it's nice.

photos by Anthony Bento

Grand opening: Sacramento's newest saloon

2009-04-10T07:18:16Z

Three friends recently opened a saloon with a classic feeling, classic drinks, and a classic name: The Shady Lady. The saloon, which held its grand opening Thursday, April 9, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. is part of a newly renovated R Street Corridor which already includes new restaurants such as Burgers and Brew and Magpie Catering.

According to a previous Sacramento Press article, the three owners, Garrett Van Vleck, Jason Boggs and Alex Origoni wanted the saloon's warm, yet dark architectural theme to draw on Victorian influences. It also features 1920s music such as jazz, simple American food, and black-and-white decór to honor the prohibition speakeasies.

"I want it to look like it's been there for a while, that it's lived in, that nothing is new, and that things have collected over time," said designer Whitney Johnson in the earlier article.

"We're just happy that people showed up," Origoni said while walking around through the standing-room-only crowd which neared 100 as it reached 11 p.m. There were large crowds coming in through the rain to take refuge and shelter from the pouring rain, though many still took a breather in the patio area, which was a location for more intimate discussions.

The boisterous crowd spoke loudly as private conversations filled the room in booths, at tables, and by the bar. A large number of people were dressed in black and white hats, dresses, and old-style pinstripe suits.

Waiters and waitresses were dressed in black and white wearing classic accessories like flowers and suspenders as they served dishes like grilled cheese, meatloaf, and tomato soup. There was a clear juxtaposition with the Shady Lady serving a decidedly older and classier crowd than Empire, located only three doors down, which had less sophisticated crowd waiting to enter the nightclub.

The Shady Lady does not offer a lounge with a television, or top 40 dance hits, but a place for people to have a conversation and gossip after a hard day. It adds a sense of history and wonder to the R Street Corridor, and it's land-marked as a historical building to boot.

"It's been a really smooth night for an opening night and there haven't been any problems," added Van Vleck.

Last Comic Standing Dat Phan does standup in Sacramento

2009-03-13T07:55:22Z

Dat Phan won the first season of NBC's Last Comic Standing and has since catapulted himself into the headlining spot in a comedy tour across the U.S. Besides television appearances on Comedy Central and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Phan is going to be in an upcoming movie called "When in Rome" with Kristen Bell, Jon Heder, and Danny DeVito.

Though originally from Saigon, Vietnam, Phan grew up in San Diego, and according to his website, his mission is to bring a more positive portrayal of Asian Americans to mainstream entertainment and Hollywood.

He will be headlining a row of four shows every night at the Punch Line on the corner of Howe Ave. and Arden Way from Thursday, March 12 until Sunday, March 15. All shows begin at 8:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday night, additional shows will be held at 11:30 p.m. Kevin Camia and Chazz Hawkins are also going to be performing standup at the club, which is an 18-and-over venue with a two-drink minimum. Tickets cost $15 on Thursday and Sunday, and $20 on Friday and Saturday.

The following is an e-mail interview with Dat Phan completed hours before beginning his string of Sacramento shows.

When did you move to San Diego?

I'm actually originally from San Diego, it's a beautiful place. I only moved to L.A. to pursue comedy, then to Vegas for a little while. I moved back to San Diego a couple months ago, but it's close enough to L.A. that if I have any opportunities there I can just drive up. I'm lucky to have a great fan base and following all over California, the Punchline here in Sacramento is great.

How have your experiences in San Diego affected your comedy?

It's like moving back home really. My work is on the road so much that it's really great to be able to go back and see my friends and run on the beaches in La Jolla. Really helps me to focus my mind and relax. You can even see pictures of me running on my website.

I'm glad you're representing a positive image of Asian Americans. Can you give me an example of a time you've been stereotyped, and what's to be said of Asians in the media?

It's tough man, I try to do TV & Movies in Hollywood, but you can imagine I don't get offered the same roles and auditions that a white guy gets. Hollywood is slowly changing, but primarily still writing the same parts for "Asian" characters in American entertainment. I am very happy though to have landed a very comedic role in a big movie coming out this August called "When in Rome". It stars Josh Duhamel, Kristen Bell, Jon Heder, Danny DeVito and a bunch of other big names. I'm happy to be part of such a great cast, and my role as an "Asian Magician" is very funny.

Have you ever been to Sacramento before, and if so, what did you think?

Yeah I've been here to Sacramento a couple of times, here at the Punchline and a couple years ago I did a fantastic show the Sacramento Asian Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce. They put on a huge fun event at the Hyatt I believe it was. Californians seem to forget that this is our state's capital, and there's lot going on here.

How was your experience on Last Comic Standing? How has it affected your visibility and helped your career?

Definitely, Last Comic Standing exposed me to all of America and people still recognize me from that show. You can also see me on Comedy Central, but winning the first season of Last Comic Standing is really a big achievement because America was watching and voting. Now I headline all over America, trying to perform for all of those fans face to face. It's really great because they saw me on TV, and now they get a chance to come to the show, see me afterwards and take pictures, autographs, shake hands. It's a really fun time.

Did you already know Kevin Camia or Chazz Hawkins, who are going to be at the shows in Sacramento, and what can you tell me about them?

I've worked with Kevin at Cobbs before, he's definitely entertaining. Some of his bits are truly unique - as you listen you're wondering "how did this guy come up with this oddball thought?!" while you're laughing your butt off. Punchline does a great job of bringing great comics to the stage.

Do you have any other comedians who you look up to?

Y'know my early influences were from TV, I really enjoyed John Ritter in "Three's Company" and Benny Hill. Both of those guys were very talented in making people laugh, especially while incorporating a little bit of physical humor. What really got me about them was that my mom had just moved here to America from Saigon, barely speaking any English at all, and she laughed at Jack Tripper and Benny Hill. That's a really amazing thing to be able to translate comedy across cultures and languages. If you see my live show, you can see me incorporate that physical style of humor from them into my act.

Can you comment on people accusing comedians of stealing content?

Not really, I mean it does happen and it's not cool. Stand-Up comedy is very competitive and sometimes separate comics will by chance have very similar jokes, but there is also a dark-side to people sometimes too. So I try to stay constructive, focusing on writing really original material that fits me and my style. I'm there for the fans and to make them laugh and forget about their troubles for a while.

Is there anything else you would like to say about the upcoming Sacramento shows or anything else that I haven't asked about?

Come on out to the show, it's a great break from the regular week. Watch for the big movie coming out in August, "When in Rome", and check me out online at www.datphan.com. There are some hilarious video clips that you can watch and forward to your friends. See you soon!

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosts town hall forum

2009-09-04T03:20:16Z

Upon Mayor Kevin Johnson's invitation, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came to Sacramento Thursday to discuss his views on charter schools and education reform. He also met with Sacramento legislators, students and teachers, before answering questions in a town hall forum.

A little after 5 p.m., Johnson introduced Duncan to a public audience who gathered inside Sacramento's Central Library. In a five-minute speech, he outlined Duncan's resume as a Harvard graduate and superintendent of Chicago's Public Schools.

"I'm more excited about the state and the potential of what we can do in this country with the leadership of President Obama and U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan," Johnson said. "They are talking about some bold reform ideas that I think we all know make good sense."

Duncan took the microphone to a round of applause and gave a 10-minute speech. He also posed questions such as, "How do we as a country get dramatically better (in education)?" and, "How do we educate our way to a better economy?"

"California is a big deal, hold(ing) one eighth of the United States' students," Duncan said, adding, "How California goes, the country goes."

"We want to invest north of $10 billion. We've never had this kind of discretionary money to invest in states, districts and nonprofits to help close the achievement gap. It's a time of tremendous opportunity," he explained.

Then he opened up the floor for 30 minutes of questions.

When asked about his opinion on charter schools, Duncan said, "I'm not a fan of charter schools. I'm a fan of good charter schools."

"What we need in our country is more good schools, and a number of things have to happen; charters are a piece of the solution - never the solution," he added.

Another community member asked what Duncan thought about promoting arts in schools.

"It's always the arts that get cut when money gets tight, (but) it's often band, choir, musicals, being on a sports team, being on a debate team that keep children in school," he said. "We cannot afford to narrow the curriculum, and (teaching the arts) is one the best underutilized strategies for keeping children in school."

Duncan also addressed a question on how to engage parents to be a part of the learning process. "Parents are always going to be kids' first teachers, and they're always going to be their most important teachers," he said. "When parent's aren't engaged or they're fighting the teachers, they're part of the problem."

"We need to do as much as we can to challenge parents to meet us more than halfway," he added.

Yoga sends 'chi' to Deftones bassist in coma

2009-10-07T17:59:16Z

Last Sunday, the Yoga Solution studio was filled with the relaxing sound of "namastes," "oms" and a meditation gong. But what spoke the loudest, perhaps, were three chants of "Chi."

On Oct. 4, 10 people came together to practice yoga and send "chi," or life force energy, to Chi Cheng, bassist for the Grammy-award-winning Sacramento band, Deftones. Cheng has been in a coma since Nov. 4, 2008, after being involved in a motor accident.

The event was organized by yoga instructor Julie McKechnie, who normally teaches classes for members of the Gold River Racquet Club. Her friend Jennifer Sadugor, the owner of Yoga Solution, 887 57th St., allowed her to use her studio for the fundraising gathering, she said.

"I'm such a big (Deftones) fan and when (Chi) had his accident, I was upset and distraught," McKechnie said before the class. Looking for updates on Cheng's condition, she found a way to help through the website www.oneloveforchi.com.

A little over six months ago, another Deftones fan, Gina Blackmore, set up the website to update fans on Cheng's status and allow fans to send "get well" messages as well as donate money to pay for his medical bills. At the time of publication, more than 2,334 donations totaling nearly $73,000 has been donated through the website.

"'One Love for Chi' touched me because I was once in the hospital and received overwhelming support from friends and strangers," McKechnie said. She decided to get her family and friends together and hold a yoga fundraiser, she said.

At a cost of $20 per person, all proceeds went to www.oneloveforchi.com. Among the attendees was McKechnie's mother, there for her first yoga lesson.

"It was great, even though I don't know (Cheng); he's a friend of a friend," said Christine Nicholson, one of the attendees. "It was a great way to get into yoga and to do something for someone else."

In fact, only one person practicing yoga on Sunday actually knew Cheng: his ex-wife Adrienne Cheng. Their son Gabriel also attended the fundraiser, but waited in the other room playing video games during the lesson.

"It was amazing; I'm blown away and really touched," Adrienne Cheng said after the yoga lesson. She mentioned that benefit shows for her ex-husband have been held all over the world.

"Chi's family wants me to thank everyone for coming to this event as well," McKechnie said after the lesson. "Our energy has made its way to (him and) his family."

The next fundraising event will be during this weekend's Second Saturday event. Vintage clothing boutique Bows and Arrows, 1712 L St., will be selling "One Love For Chi" t-shirts.

Those who want to donate can check www.oneloveforchi.com for future fundraisers or donate directly to Cheng's family for medical bills via Paypal.

Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour

2009-10-03T04:39:04Z

Thursday afternoon, about 50 seniors, homeless and other community members participated in the Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour. The tour surveyed 10 different housing options and stopped to provide in-depth tours of three housing complexes.

Guided by Shamus Roller, director of the SHA, Ken Cross, CEO of Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Paul Ainger, Mercy Housing project developer, the four-hour tour began and ended at the SHA office in Midtown.

"It's important to know what affordable housing means," Ainger said. According to the federal government, housing is considered "affordable" when a person renting or buying it spends no more than 30 percent of his or her income for housing.

"Affordable housing is an economic stimulus," Roller added.

"None of these [properties on the tour] are owned by non-profits," Ainger said. "They are all owned by for-profit guys."

The first stop was the 84-unit complex Serna Village, located in McClellan. A transitional housing community developed by Mercy Housing of California and Cottage Housing, Inc., the complex consists of one- to four-bedroom residential units.

The bus unloaded and took an in-depth tour of the community. One requirement for residency is to have children. Arla, who did not give her last name, gave a speech detailing her experience in Serna Village to the tour group.

She was referred to Serna Village through Quinn Cottages, another housing site for single homeless individuals run by Cottage Housing, Inc. She and other residents, besides meeting minimum requirements, must identify and commit to other lifestyle changes in order to remain in the community, she said.

"You're able to be yourself [here]," Arla added. "I'm in college for the first time in 18 years. It's an awesome program."

Like Arla, Kelly Dean, another Serna Village resident, spoke of her recovery from drug addiction. Dean held a six-month-old baby in her arms during her speech.

Serna Village offers parenting classes, mental health and drug and alcohol recovery programs, she said. "They take people from a homeless nightmare and turn them into the American Dream."

Rent at Serna Village is determined on a case-by-case basis and the average tenant stays for 14 months out of a two-year limit, said Cottage Housing's executive director, Robert Tobin. He also mentioned that Cottage Housing plans to more than double its residential capacity from 241 to 500 units over the next decade.

Victory Townhomes in North Sacramento was the tour's next stop. Developed by Sacramento Mutual Housing Association in 2003, the complex holds 21 three and four-bedroom town homes and tenants are allowed to stay as long as they want.

It serves people who are considered very low income, earning less than 50 percent ($25,500) of the 2009 annual Sacramento Area Median Income, $51,950. But it doesn't lack in high-tech amenities, explained Rachel Iskow, SMHA's executive director.

For one, the town homes are part of Sacramento's first green street, on Dixieanne Avenue, and have solar panels on their roofs. It's the first multifamily development to incorporate photovoltaics, or solar energy.

Opened in 2003, the property also offers a computer lab and free wireless Internet access. Residents who complete a computer literacy series in the computer lab and donate community service hours receive a free computer, which residents can keep.

The last facility toured was the Forrest Street build site developed by Sacramento Habitat for Humanity. When completed, the site, which features four three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-family homes, will be SHFH's 200th home completed worldwide.

Though it is unclear when the homes will be completed, they are all expected to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design "gold" certification, the second highest award possible.

Qualifying families must be low income (80 percent AMI, $40,800 or less annually) and their current housing situation must be overcrowded, unsafe or overpriced. Once approved, the family must complete 500 hours of "sweat equity" by helping to complete their own home, someone else's, or contribute in some other capacity in an SHFH office. The family must then make payments on the home.

Though the building of the homes is sponsored by local corporations, "families earn homes," said Cross, SHFH's director. "These are not handouts."

The tour then drove by The Park at Del Paso Nuevo, Loaves and Fishes, Quinn Cottages, 1801 L. St., Freemont Mews Apartments, and a former Safe Ground location at 1220 C St. owned by Mark Merin. The tour did not have time to stop as planned at Vintage at Natomas Field, St. Francis Terrace, Francis House, St. Anton Building or Pensione K, all of which have affordable housing options.

"I love the tour," said Sister Libby Fernandez, director of Loaves and Fishes. "It's wonderful to see a variety of affordable housing with good resident services."

"There are not enough shelters and not enough transitional housing," added Tina Reynolds, Safe Ground board member. She announced to the bus that Safe Ground is close to completing a shelter near Bannon Street which will use Tuff Sheds as transitional housing for three to 18 months.

Its goal is to have built-in bathrooms, cooking and laundry facilities and solar power, she added.

"There is a lack of SRO-type housing. Most homeless are single males," said John Krayntz, a homeless man and Safe Ground "elder," or leader, who once lived at 1220 C St. "The tour showed a lot of stuff that was very good, but there is still a need for [housing with] more services and disability advocacy."

Jill Hurley, who lives in Riverview Plaza, a low-income independent living facility downtown, said that she wanted to see more accessible showers built into affordable housing for seniors. "The biggest reason for hospital visits [among seniors] is falling and the most dangerous place is the bathroom."

For more information on affordable housing, please visit the SHA website.

Photographs one through six show Serna Village. Photographs seven through show of Victory Townhomes. Photograph ten shows the SHFH's Forrest Street build site.

Bicycle group puts the "bike" in Sacramento

2009-03-26T00:22:41Z

Imagine, for a moment, our city without traffic: Families safe to walk through downtown, cross the street, take their time to look at historic buildings and storefront window displays. No cars in sight. Bikes, skaters, and runners in the middle of the street and people out to play and have a great time.

This is how Sacramento could look thanks to a local bicycle advocacy group, Bikeramento, which wants to create a more bike-able Sacramento. They have already secured the first Sunday of every month for Sac Sunday Streets, an event which closes Capitol Avenue to traffic between 18th and 28th streets, to take place every month from May to September from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The idea is this: take out the cars, add some street vendors performers into the mix, and tap into the seemingly unending possibilies for family-oriented fun and creativity.

The group began over a meal at Dad's Kitchen, when a group of friends got to talking about how great it would be to connect the American River bike trail to Old Sacramento through a "Central City Bikeway."

Sac Sunday Streets is just the beginning said the members of Bikeramento. At their latest Tuesday night meeting at Capsity Offices, a weekly occurrence, they discussed Bikeramento's five year multifaceted plan. One goal is the creation of the Velobahn – the group’s version of the famous German Autobahn expressway. The idea is a highway of interconnected bike paths throughout Sacramento, as well as an improved Sacramento-Davis Causeway bike trail.

Capsity Offices offer rental office space for professionals and entrepreneurs, and Capsity co-founders Jeff Louie and Ricardo Robles also sit in the Bikeramento meetings. Robles coined the term "Bikeramento Velobahn," and both provide moral support. Ed Cox, Sacramento's alternative transportation coordinator, also advises the group.

"We are a bronze [level of bike-ability]; we are not even silver or gold, but the ultimate goal is to have the city reach that platinum level that Boulder or Davis have," said Lorena Beightler, a member of Bikeramento and Sacramento Press employee, who markets the Press by riding a bicycle around Sacramento.

"This all starts off with culture. It's about how you live with the bike," added Linda Khiev, who works at the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.

"It's going to take time, but we're trying to get more people involved. We currently have a list of 100 people on our newsletter and we're trying to get more people to sign up on our website," Louie said. "We're really trying to promote bikeramento.org, so you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and all the social media sites."

Makiko Yamashita, who just moved to Sacramento, loves the concept of Bikeramento. "It's a great idea. I lived in Tokyo and in Japan everyone bikes; it's a very common thing, but here it's very difficult," she said. "One of the things I liked in Chicago, where I lived before I moved here, was that most people were taking the initiative to make the city more bike-able. I found this group and thought it was perfect and wanted to take part in it."

Yamashita became a member of the group after attending every event in Bikeramento Week, which is a week-long event highlighting bicycles that happened last month in Sacramento.

Several members of the group said during their meeting that one potential benefit of the Velobahn is an increased sense of community. Khiev noted that people from the Bay Area tend to simply say they are from the "Bay Area," while people from Sacramento say they are from "Downtown" or "Midtown." Increasing the connections between areas such as East Sacramento, Downtown, Midtown, will give new meaning to the "Sacramento Area".

It will also give businesses a great chance to increase their customer base, members of the Bikeramento group say. "When you're in your car, driving past [a business], you don't know what's there, but when you're biking or walking, you know what's there. That will create a great opportunity for businesses around the area," said Beightler, who blogs at SacCycleChic.com.

Brian Fischer, who works for Midtowngrid.com said, "Beyond business, it's perspective of your own city [that the Velobahn will add]. You look at every building from a different angle, and you see the architecture of the houses."

He added, "Why do we take it for granted? Perspective could be altered during this event, and while we're hoping it drives a friendliness towards bike-ability, it's also about walk-ability. When a city empowers its adults and children to relate to each other in a different way, it creates a sense of creativity and optimism."

The group needs volunteers. Fischer hopes to get over 200 volunteers by Earth Day.

"As much as we are driving it, so to speak, it doesn't belong to us in many ways," Fischer said. "It really is a hope to change the city. As many people from the city and region who can support it, and invest their time and energy into it, that's really what it's going to come down to. If people don't participate, it's not going to matter."

If people are interested in volunteering, they can email the group at their website, and sign up for their newsletter.

Photos credit Anthony Bento, and Bikeramento.

Sacramento's GPA Provides Positive Role Models

2009-02-25T08:16:11Z

Sacramento has produced a number of world class athletes - Dusty Baker, Bill Cartwright, Debbie Meyer, and of course Mayor Kevin Johnson to name a few. But what's to be said about young athletes who have talent, but not the means to be successful?

A group of seven successful Sacramento athletes, including former NFL players Gio Carmazzi and Alex Van Dyke are now back in Sacramento to help steward underprivileged high school athletes to succeed not only in sports but also in life.

Their organization, Game Plan Academy (GPA), will be holding an eight-week camp on Sundays from March 15 through May 10 at Hiram Johnson High School. It will focus on recruiting from schools with low Academic Performance Index (API) ratings and schools from low-income areas.

Says Academic Mentor Brent Pottenger, who will be teaching math and SAT preparation, "We are trying to have an academy style camp so we can bond with the kids and mentor them over a longer period of time. This is one way we thought we could operationalize our love for community involvement, plus we were all student athletes, so it relates closely to what we did as students."

GPA, which is a nonprofit, relies on corporate sponsorship so students who would not usually be able to afford a mentoring program will be able to learn positive new skills. Besides working on math, English, college and career preparation, the program would like to address the question: what do these high school students want to do beyond college?

Pottenger added, "I have a health background, so one of the things we're trying to promote is the development of a whole person. Sports just provides a healthy outlet for people, but we're also working on an explicit health, nutrition, and fitness part of the program. Where there are monetary and learning disparities, there are also health disparities."

GPA has already contacted coaches in low API schools to nominate students who have potential to succeed but need a little encouragement. Then students who are nominated must submit an essay where they write about the challenges they face in their lives. Though there are only fifteen submissions so far, there are 40 spots in the camp, so what it comes down to is: students who write the best essays will be chosen to participate.

For now, only football players who are wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks can apply, because those are the positions Carmazzi and Van Dyke, the camp's two sports teachers, can teach.

GPA would love to expand into other sports such as baseball, golf, and perhaps basketball, and get more professional athletes to coach.

Pottenger says, "Sacramento is a hotbed for baseball, and we want to make baseball our next sport. We would like to approach J.P. Howell of the Tampa Devil Rays, or Greg Vaughn and begin our baseball camp in August or early fall."

After the high school athletes graduate from the camp, they will have a sense of accomplishment, and according to Pottenger, Mayor Kevin Johnson may even speak at the graduation ceremony.

*Images credited to Gameplanacademy.com

The Urban Hive beginning to create some buzz

2009-06-06T00:02:51Z

When Levi and Jessie Benkert from local development firm LJ Urban decided to leave their Midtown business and pack up their families to start an orphanage in Ethiopia, something had to be done with their workspace until 2010. When Brandon Weber, marketing consultant to LJ Urban, found out about the company's hiatus and downsizing, he wanted to make the warehouse building into a co-working space, and he posted the idea on his blog.

Meanwhile, James Pierini and his friend Janna Santoro, who had been working on bringing co-working to Sacramento, were looking for other work-at-home professionals who would be interested in sharing a physical office space, when they came across Weber's blog. Roughly six weeks ago, these three people got together, realized the great potential in this opportunity, since LJ Urban's space and even some of their furniture was just sitting there, and they acquired the space.

The Urban Hive was born and has been buzzing ever since.

"People who are here now are basically people who heard through word of mouth," said Weber of the space, which just last night held a meetup called Green Drinks, an informal monthly event where people in the environmental field meet up for drinks. The event was sponsored by Green Sacramento, an environmental building and products consultant, and one of the the Urban Hive's tenants.

The Urban Hive has also held such public events as Cereal Creative, a public event to promote a creative environment where participants network over their favorite bowls of cereal, and Buzz Night, an informal after-work social event where participants have a cold brew and stimulating conversation before heading home.

"We had [Cereal Creative] as kind of a brainstorming session, where people come and we had a question that people would discuss," Pierini said. "The question was, 'What can co-working be?' We wanted to get people in the community and see what co-working could mean to them."

"We're likely to leave at 4:30 and crack a beer," said Weber of Urban Hive's working environment. "The goal is to create a collaborative environment — it's a community."

"Basically there are three sections to this warehouse building," Pierini said. "The front section is the Urban Hive, the middle section is Green Sacramento, and in the back we have some artist studios with individual spaces associated with VOX Sacramento [art cooperative]."

Conference rooms, private spaces and hallways fill in the rest of the space. The building is replete with solid steel tables that weigh over 1,000 pounds, artwork and boxes of cereal for Cereal Creatives, but Weber still plans to knock down a wall and create an entire kitchen with an island, so working professionals will visit the office instead of the coffee shop.

"On the scale of coffee shop to office, it feels more like a coffee shop," said Weber, who mentioned that coffee is served in all offices, but French-pressed Old Soul coffee is served at the Urban Hive.

This Second Saturday, VOX will be holding SHE, the third annual women's show benefitting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, displaying art and musical acts such as Ricky Berger and Reggie Gin.

"We not only want this to be something that the community at large embraces so someone who's not a co-worker can be a part of what we're doing here," Pierini said. "We want businesses to come over here and feel like they can spend the day out of the office, and use our space for a brainstorming day. It could be a benefit to everyone."

Instead of seeing Sacramento's other co-working space Capsity Offices (see previous Sacramento Press article) as a competitor, the two have teamed up and have been working closely on some shared events, like an office swap, where each office visits the other office.

"I think that Sacramento has a great culture for co-working, and this is just the beginning of all of it," Pierini said.

The Urban Hive is located at 1931 H St.

Capsity Offices

2009-02-09T21:33:47Z

Midtown Sacramento often conjures the images of nighttime culture, good restaurants, and boutique businesses setting new trends. But what happens when your Midtown business is failing, especially in this economy?

And what if you're just starting your business, or haven't yet started an office location yourself?

A visit to Capsity Offices might be the answer for those who need to be "refueled" by working in a fun and comfortable, yet professional environment. Sac Press talked to Capsity co-founder Ricardo Robles about his business, which rents out a lively and positive location at 2123 P Street, for the community, businesses or anything else.

Capsity Offices also offers mailing address services for those who do not have a physical mailing address, as well as phone answering services.

According to Robles, Capsity "started at my partner's dining table where we were thinking about different ways to use our office space and our location," he said. "Renting out space by the hour and using the conference space was the most efficient way to do that."

Robles and his partner, Jeff Louie, first met while working at Wells Fargo. They opened a mortgage branch, and soon moved to real estate, where Capsity Offices emerged. Louie is the COO and Robles is CEO.

The daily scene in the office varies. "Every day is different," says Robles. "We have random days where people come into the office and work. We have other days where we have 10-15 people doing presentations. Most of the time there is not a dull moment."

One particularly interesting aspect of the office is the "Feel Good Button" pictured above. When pressed, the button plays "I Feel Good" by James Brown, which usually leaves a smile on people's faces. Robles said, "Our goal is to have someone walking out of the office to be happy."

*photographs courtesy of Capsity

Mayor Kevin Johnson addresses homelessness

2009-09-23T04:02:45Z

Tuesday morning, Mayor Kevin Johnson was joined by a handful of Safe Ground supporters for a weekly press conference inside City Hall. After reiterating his goal to end homelessness in Sacramento, he invited Sister Libby Fernandez and Greg Bunker, the respective executive directors of Loaves and Fishes and Francis house, as well as a homeless man named Thomas Jackson Ashmore III, to speak.

Johnson spoke about his meeting over the weekend with campers at the recently vacated 1220 C St. campground owned by Mark Merin. At the camp site, Merin had also been involved in a property dispute over the land with the neighboring Pedro and Gracilla Hernandez residence.

Johnson mentioned that a comprehensive plan to end homelessness would be launched in October, but also that two immediate issues are the most pressing: creating a legal "safe ground" called Stepping Stone; and helping finda location for winter shelters as they are set to open in mid November.

Johnson has created a task force for both issues, but it will take up to three to six months to create Stepping Stone, he said. Some key factors the task force is looking at for Stepping Stone include size, location, resident selection criteria, governance, security and services.

"The county cut 84 percent of their funding for the homeless," Johnson said. "They're talking about making even more cuts; that means there's a disproportionate amount of cuts going to the homeless population."

"This is a moment that we advocates really appreciate," said Fernandez. "This is the first time a city mayor has stepped up to the plate to think not only for the city but also for the county and the region of Sacramento when it deals with homelessness."

"We need to stop the arrests on people being homeless; we need to put a memorandum on enforcement of camping ordinances," said Ashmore, a homeless man, whom Johnson introduced to the crowd by the nickname "Hawk."

"It's a waste of taxpayer money. Every time we are arrested, it costs between $1500 and $2000 to take us all into jail," he added. "Then we're put back eight hours later on the streets, just to be arrested again."

Bunker also applauded Johnson and asked the entire community to join the effort to think of solutions to house the homeless.

Asked if Johnson would do a good job in helping homeless people, Merin said last week, "I think the Mayor is certainly well intentioned. The question is: can he get the majority of the city council to support him? It just depends on him knowing how to get something accomplished."

"The goal is to get people into housing," said Tim Brown, director of the Ending Chronic Homelessness initiative, in a phone call before the press conference on Tuesday. "We're spending so much on keeping them homeless, it's cheaper to provide housing and services in a lot of cases for chronically homeless."

"With federal stimulus money, for the first time, we're going to be able to prevent homelessness," Brown added. About $4.8 million will become available Oct. 1 for homelessness.

"We've housed 350 people in two-and-a-half years," Brown said. "What has made a dent is the switch to permanent housing."

As far as the vacated Safe Ground location at the Merin property (only a pair of port-a-potties remains), the Hernandez family have expressed "gratitude and relief" that the camp is gone, said their lawyer Aldon Bolanos. Their health has been deteriorating since the campers moved behind their property, Bolanos said.

"They're trying to get on with their lives," he added. "They absolutely are traumatized and it's going to be a while if ever before life gets back to normal for them."

"I'm not going to tell you that what [Merin] is trying to do [for the homeless] is wrong," Bolanos said. "This time when he did what he did, it really trampled on the lives of some innocent people; the real civil rights that were violated here were Pedro and Gracilla Hernandez."

Bolanos explained his view of the homeless.

"This whole episode really seems to underscore a leadership problem in this city, where no individual or group is willing to take accountability for what was happening here for over a month. This [homeless] situation is not going to go away, and providing this 'safe ground' outside of the downtown grid is just going to push the problem into someone else's backyard and the city is going to experience sad and difficult times and consequences."

Photographs one, two and three credit Sacramento Press staff reporter Suzanne Hurt. All other photographs credit staff reporter Jonathan Mendick.

Mayor Kevin Johnson: New arena is a "front-burner" issue

2009-09-30T04:53:15Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson brought up the possibility of a new sports arena in Sacramento at a press conference Tuesday.

Johnson announced his top-three priorities are public safety, education and economic development, the latter of which a new sports arena could positively impact.

Johnson reiterated that a new arena would be crucial not only in keeping the Kings in Sacramento, but also in terms of creating a "world-class" downtown. Currently, Arco Arena holds more than 200 spectator events each year.

"We got a wake up call with the NCAA when they said we are no longer going to hold big-time college basketball in Sacramento because [we] have an outdated arena," Johnson said.

Last week, after learning about the NCAA's decision, Johnson said he became worried that Sacramento might lose the Kings and wanted to see a new proposal for an arena at Cal Expo.

The National Basketball Association is now leading the effort to build a new arena at Cal Expo, according to a recent Sacramento Bee article. However, it has been difficult in the current economic climate to find a developer for the plan, said a Bee editorial.

Johnson, however, seems willing to change turn the conversation away from Cal Expo, still not ruling out downtown as a location for a possible arena.

"Before I was the mayor, I would have always liked to see an arena downtown; and now that I am mayor, I would still like to see an arena downtown," he said.

One possible location would be the Sacramento Railyards, one of the largest infill projects in the country, Johnson said. Though technically not downtown, the city is buying about 33 acres of the 244-acre site, enough room to fit both a planned transportation corridor as well as a new arena.

Johnson said it fits into a larger plan to revitalize Sacramento.

"Part of our overall strategy, [which includes] Westfield Plaza and the J, K and L corridors, is how we revitalize the mall, retail, offices and housing," he said.

Johnson also pointed to his time as an NBA player, which he said he doesn't talk about a whole lot.

"I lived in Phoenix when there was no arena downtown, and I was also part of a team that helped bring an arena downtown," Johnson said. "Phoenix was a ghost town, much worse than Sacramento. If you go to downtown Phoenix now, it's a whole new town because of the catalytic impact that the arena had [on] downtown. I think the year was 1993; if you look at what has transpired over the last 16 years, [it proves] that [an arena] can galvanize a downtown community."

Downtown arenas have a "multiplier effect" in boosting local economies, he added. However, Johnson said a downtown arena could just be "wishful thinking," and still has not mentioned how the project might be financed.

Maloof Sports and Entertainment was contacted for this article but declined to comment.

Second Saturday at Vintage Cafe

2009-02-13T18:59:42Z

This weekend is Valentine's Day, Second Saturday, and the beginning of the Amgen Tour of California, so there will be plenty to do. Understandably, many people will be out in search of some good eats, to look at art, and to hear some live music.

So why not do all three?

This Saturday, Feb. 14, from 7-10 p.m. Vintage Cafe will be holding an art and live music event. Ana Candioti will be displaying her Afro-Haitian art to honor Black History Month, and attendees can enjoy live music from the DoubleLion Band, Ruben Lopez, and Ryan McCarroll.

The event is hosted by Bridge to Art, a group of arts promoters, educators, and artists, founded by local art promoter and events producer Kevin L. Santos-Coy.

Santos-Coy said, "Second Saturday is about original art, and Candioti's significant because she's documenting the indigenous people from different lands. She's been exhibited in 13 museums internationally."

The musical performances will begin with Ryan McCaroll, who is "one of those guys who straps a guitar to his back, seeking musical fame," says Santos-Coy.

"I wanted to have an informal audition outside the cafe Monday, and he started drawing a crowd." He recommended being there early because McCaroll's set begins at 7:00, and is only 25 minutes.

Then Ruben Lopez, who Santos-Coy says sounds like "a cross between Santana and Joe Satriani," will perform a solo set on electric guitar. Lopez, who used to perform as the guitarist for The Seeds recently relocated to Sacramento. Originally from Puerto Rico, his melodic set complements the Black-History-Month themed art.

Also performing will be DoubleLion, an amazing duet featuring very traditional roots reggae singer/songwriter Xsample, and multi-instrumentalist/composer King Hopeton. Hopeton recently came to the U.S. from Jamaica, and in Santos-Coy's words, "these two gentlemen found each other through their traditional education in music, which makes them a very powerful group. When you see them, it's hard to believe that you're seeing it at a small cafe."

Vintage Cafe, located at 2110 L Street, serves $1 organic coffee. Santos-Coy adds, "They also have good quality cheap food. So what I think it boils down to is it's a reasonably priced venue, that is focused on emerging art events."