Outdoor Activities

Photo essay: A look at the St. Patrick's Day Block Party

2010-03-18T18:18:17Z

Sacramento Press witnessed the block party at de Vere's firsthand. We had a booth set up in the middle of the festivities. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Beer Brats

Sonny Mayugba interviews the Kennelly Dance Company.

Sonny sits down with Henry de Vere White.

Sonny interviews Rob Kerth for the Sacramento Press livestream.

The Sacramento Kings dancers at the Sacramento Press booth.

Sonny interviews Simon de Vere White.

News 10's Jennifer Smith and camera man check out The Sacramento Press.

Mascots to play kickball game at Raley Field

2009-07-16T23:02:41Z

The Sacramento River Cats' mascot, Dinger, is celebrating his 10th birthday this Sunday at Raley Field. The guestlist includes all of his mascot buddies and his best friend, Mr. Jelly Belly.

Prior to the River Cats game against the Reno Aces, Dinger and his friends will play in a mascot kickball game at noon. After the kickball game, all the players and kids at the ballpark will gather in the Coca Cola Kids Corner for his birthday bash. Dinger's Kids Klub members will receive a goody bag and cupcake. Balloon artists and face painters will be on hand, and the mascots will conduct a seventh-inning autograph session.

Below is a list of the two teams and their respective strengths that could prove key in the kickball matchup.

The home team lineup is:

Mr. Jelly Belly, first base. Mascot for Jelly Belly. Note: Always prepared with snacks.

Herky, left field. Mascot for Sacramento State. Note: Always swarms to the ball.

Smokey the Bear, third base. Mascot for U.S. Forest Services. Note: Puts out rallies, as well.

Humpty Dumpty, short stop. Mascot for Fairytale Town. Note: Known to crack under pressure.

Mr. Helmet, second base. Mascot for PG&E. Note: Able to light up opposing pictures.

Goldie, catcher. Mascot for Golden1. Note: Winner of multiple Goldie Gloves.

Chick-Fil-A, right field. Mascot for Chick-Fil-A. Note: Loves moo-ving runners over.

The Don, pitcher. Mascot for University of San Francisco. Note: Throws more curves than Lombard Street.

The away team lineup is:

Archie, short stop. Mascot for the Reno Aces. Note: Not always playing with a "full deck."

Gunrock, catcher. Mascot for UC Davis. Note: Too much horsing around.

Gus, third base. Mascot for the Sacramento Zoo. Note: Hops in and out of the lineup.

McGruff, first base. Mascot for West Sac Police Deparment. Note: Manager's best friend.

Mr. G, second base. Mascot for Yuba Sutter Gold Sox. Note: Always keeps eyes on the ball.

Powercat, center field. Mascot for University of the Pacific. Note: He keeps earning his stripes.

Cosmo, left field. Mascot for Sac City College. Note: Known for catlike quickness.

Thor, right field. Mascot for Stockton Thunder. Note: Always ready to bolt to next base.

Poppy, pitcher. Mascot for California State Fair. Note: Coaches say he's a late bloomer.

To purchase tickets, click here. For more information on Dinger's Birthday Bash or the River Cats game, click here.

All photos and information provided by Nick Lozito of the Sacramento River Cats.

The river is best enjoyed with a life vest

2009-06-15T19:44:31Z

The summer edition of the Sacramento Fire Department's Community Newsletter discusses the dangers of swimming in the river.

It mentions that the river bottoms can be uneven and have steep drop-offs and the currents are strong, so a life vest should be worn at all times.

Under the City and County of Sacramento ordinances, it is against the law for a child under the age of 13 to enter public waters without a life vest. Parents or guardians who do not put life vests on their children can be fined up to $500 and cited for a misdemeanor.

If you don't have a life vest on hand, there are plenty of places to borrow one.

The following fire stations have life vests for the public to borrow:

FIRE STATION 5 (731 Broadway)
FIRE STATION 8 (5990 H Street)
FIRE STATION 11 (785 Florin Rd)
FIRE STATION 15 (1591 Newborough Dr)
FIRE STATION 60 (3301 Julliard Dr)

For more information, visit sacfire.org,

What's happening at the Capitol: May 11 and 12

2009-05-11T07:28:16Z

Here are the events at the Capitol occuring May 11 and 12:

Monday, May 11

9 – 11 a.m.

The Hmong American AD-HOC will hold a rally in support of General Vang Pao, a Hmong American community leader. An expected 500 participants will hold a peaceful protest on the west steps of the Capitol and then march to the Sacramento Federal Courthouse.

4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

The California Youth Connection will be holding a reception with music, food and tents for an expected 200 attendees at the south steps of the Capitol.

Tuesday, May 12

8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Health and Human Services Agency will be holding a blood drive in the Bateson Building Atrium with an expected 100 participants.

8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Foster Care Awareness will celebrate May being National Foster Care Month at the north steps of the Capitol with an expected 300 participants.

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

California School-Age Consortium will hold its California Afterschool Challenge activities with tents, tables and food. The event will take place at the west steps of the Capitol and is expected to draw 200 attendees.

Air Jordans

2009-03-17T05:25:16Z

Random hanging pairs of shoes on power lines has always been a source of confusion for me. I attempted to solve this mystery by calling the Sacramento Police Department, PG&E and SMUD.

According to Sgt. Darrell Martin, the hanging shoes are not a sign of gang activity, at least not from local gangs.

Brian Swanson, spokesperson for PG&E, told me that the hanging shoes could cause two major problems:

1. The shoes can weigh the wires down which can impact traffic. Tall trucks such as garbage trucks may snag the wires and cause power outages.

2. The shoes can also bring the two wires together which can short circuit the wires and cause damage to the electrical equipment on power poles, such as transformers and circuit breakers.

The worst case scenario, according to Swanson, would be if energized wires were brought to the ground because of the shoes.

Swanson advises that if anyone sees a safety issue — including a pair of hanging shoes that cause a wire to hang lower than normal or bring two wires together — they should report the problem to PG&E by calling 1-800-743-5000.

The SMUD representative could not be reached by the time the article went to press.

Does anyone else know the reasoning behind why people throw pairs of shoes on power lines? Has anyone done this personally? Can you refer me to anyone else who might know the answer to my longstanding question?

The pictures above were taken by laverrue and Dave Gorman.

Hail Sacramento

2009-02-11T23:29:14Z

It's hailing outside! Or at least it was around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

According to the National Weather Service, the thunderstorms and hail could continue into this evening, however, I haven't heard any thunder, yet.

Does anyone remember the last time it hailed in Sacramento? Has it been very long?

It feels more like winter since this storm has come through. Is anyone particularly happy that we're getting this rain? How do you think this will affect the Amgen tour, if at all?

If you renovate it, they will come

2008-10-30T01:03:09Z

Have you noticed anything different about Southside Park lately?

You may have seen the signs or the fencing around the lake and wondered what exactly is being changed in Southside Park and why.

It started years ago with a meeting in the community. According to Hindolo Brima spokesman for the Department of Parks and Recreation, "[The Department of Parks and Recreation] hold periodic meetings within the community and usually send out invites to people in that [surrounding] neighborhood, saying 'Come in, we're remaster-planning this park and we want to know what you want to see at this park.'"

Brima stresses the importance of engaging the community on these remodeling projects because of the changing demographics that sometimes go unnoticed. "If the demographics favor older people they may say 'We don't want to have basketball courts, we don't want to have a skate park,' because they don't want younger people there. If the demographics favor younger people they may want some of those kind of things."

The main goal of the Southside Park Lake Master Plan, according to Gary Hyden, Supervising Landscape Architect, "[was] to reinvigorate this space... This is basically a beautification project - creating better amenities, updating some handicap accessibility - and just making it a nice place to be."

Erosion prevention is another focus of the renovation - the Department of Parks and Recreation has restored the lake banks adding native trees, shrubs, ground covers and grasses. There is a 90-day period where the City waits to see if the plants take and everything has been done right before moving forward

There are three phases to the Southside Park Lake Master Plan with a projected cost of $594,473.

Hyden says these kinds of projects are broken up into phases partially because of funding. "The upfront end of obtaining funding to build these things is the trouble - always." Phase 3 will begin early February of 2009 as it waits for the rest of the funding to become available, and the whole project is expected to be completed by late summer.

Other parks will soon be getting makeovers also, the next one being Burberry Community Park in Natomas. The Department of Parks and Recreation created a Sustainability Master Plan and, Hyden says, "One of the goals of this plan is to develop a certain amount of each park as natural areas - [meaning] something that could grow with very little water and have some kind of a habitat value but not take a lot of water and maintenance."

He adds, "The entire department has been moving towards making sure that we have these wilderness type areas and natural plant areas that are drought tolerant and have a good root system."

Park-goers will get to enjoy three new piers - to fish on, lounge on, etc., two new lawn areas for picnicking, reading and a new tubular steel fence which will stand three feet tall around the lake - making it feel less like a barrier and more like decoration.

Anxious to get to Southside Park and frolic among the new amenities? You'll have to wait until next year before they will be available - for now you can ogle and admire the changes from behind the fence.

Have you seen these changes? Is there anything you're especially looking forward to? Any other parks you would like to see renovated? Please comment below.