The Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association (NBNA) is honoring Mike McKeever, Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), with the organization’s 2011 Growing Together Award for his role earlier this year as the volunteer mediator in a neighborhood development controversy. The NBNA represents the Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth, and Alhambra Triangle neighborhoods in Sacramento’s District 4. The award will be presented to McKeever Thursday, November 10th, at Newton’s Night Out, a neighborhood event to be held at Revolution Wines, 2831 S Street, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  McKeever will be in attendance. The Growing Together Award, established in August 2011, is gi

Men of all ages and shoe sizes gathered at the corner of 18th Street and Capitol Avenue, ready to walk one mile in women’s high heels to support WEAVE’s first “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event. “There are so many men that are affected by sexual assault, and this is a way for men to show their support,” said Amber Stott, WEAVE director of communications relations. Stott estimated that since Friday WEAVE has raised over $63, 000. Stott said all proceeds will go to WEAVE and benefit the various services that WEAVE provides, including counseling, WEAVE safe house, legal assistance, prevention programs and 24-hour support and response teams to help survivors of sexual assault. In addition to

Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2009-10 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year. I attended the press conference and spoke with the Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie, Tyreke's Brother - Doc Evans, Tyreke Evans, Kings owners - Joe & Gavin Maloof, and Tyreke's childhood friend - Duane Davis. Joe & Gavin Maloof also said President Obama suggested they pick Tyreke during the draft and plan on getting more advice from Obama for the next draft! :) Tyreke was the fourth pick in the NBA Draft 2009 and averaged 20.1 points, as well as team-high 5.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Tyreke joins Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the on

Jamie Gonzales was a good journalist and a better friend. Her tragic death at age 25 as a result of colorectal cancer never seemed fair to those who knew her. Despite her short career in journalism, Jamie made an impact, and her work was recognized last week when the California Newspaper Publishers Association awarded her first place for column writing in its annual Better Newspapers Contest. Her column/blog series focused on her “experiences and struggles with rectal cancer.” Jamie graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in government-journalism in 2007. She spent some time as an intern at The Auburn Journal before working as a reporter at the Elk Grove Ci

INCLUDED IN THIS E-NEWSLETTER: • City 2009/2010 Budget Adopted • Sidney Pope Memorial Orchid and Onion Awards Presented at Pops in the Park • Screen on the Green – August • McKinley Rose Garden Proposed Enhancements Update • Free Hours of Bike Rentals • SHPS/ Mercy Construction Update • Sacramento Fire Department Open Houses UPCOMING EVENTS • Neighborhood Services Department Community Hours • July 4th Fun and Run in River Park • Friends of the River Event- July 11th • Taste of East Sacramento – July 12th • Friends of McKinley Park Tennis Tournament – August 1st and 2nd • National Night Out – August 4th • Blood Drive in River Park, August 9th • St. Mary’s 78th Annual Festival – August 16

The Sacramento News & Review Music Fest and SAMMIES (Sacramento Area Music Awards) Ceremony made its outdoor debut Saturday at Cesar Chavez Park in the sweltering heat but kept music lovers cool with the help of a dunk tank, beer and wine garden and the park's fountain. In the past, the annual event has been held at the Crest Theatre, but this year, organizers of the 19th annual fest chose to celebrate in the sun, with art and fashion vendors and a huge inflatable slide. The mood was celebratory throughout the festival. Children and adults alike splashed in the park’s central fountain as the 14 bands performed on two stages. The beer garden offered shaded areas for the 21 and over to lou

The California State University Sacramento (CSUS) College of Education recently awarded Hiram Johnson High School's Education and Leadership Academy with the Educational Partnerships Award. The program’s director Shana Just, who teaches biology at Hiram Johnson in addition to coordinating the Education and Leadership Academy, accepted the award on behalf of the program. (Disclosure: she’s my Mom!). The Education and Leadership Academy, a small learning community at Hiram Johnson funded by a grant from the State Department of Education, partners with the College of Education’s Accelerated College Entrance (ACE) and Preparing Urban Teacher Leaders in Secondary Education (PULSE) programs to