In some Sacramento neighborhoods, plant-filled traffic circles hardly get noticed by passers-by, but in Boulevard Park, neighbors see them as an opportunity to beautify an otherwise ordinary traffic-calming device in the middle of an intersection. This weekend, members of the Boulevard Park Green Thumb Brigade will be out in force to weed, trim and water the vegetation in neighborhood traffic circles to keep them in tip-top shape. Friends, neighbors and fellow green thumbs are invited to join the brigade from 9 - 11 a.m. Saturday to help out. For more information, call Green Thumb Brigade organizer Sally Flory-O’Neil at 446-3390, or email sfoniel@comcast.net . More events this week: M

Neighborhood Advisory Group members expressed concern about the growing number of social services centers – and the type of people they attract – within the Alkali Flat, Mansion Flats and Boulevard Park neighborhoods at the NAG meeting Monday night. A new Goodwill drop center is planned for the corner of 16th and G streets and none of the speakers at the meeting were in favor of the new development. Members said that these drop centers are often neglected and become a hub for vagrants. Martha Domjanovic, a Midtown resident and representative for the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, shared her concerns at the meeting with the lack of knowledge she had of the proposed Goodwill dro

Seven months of review and countless hours of debate and negotiation came down to a 20-second vote Tuesday night as Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 in support of redesigning a single-family home proposed for an alley site in Boulevard Park. The action prevents the infill project from moving forward without changes to either the height or design style. The builders of the proposed home, Nathan and Erica Cunningham, said they are done and cannot take on redesigning the home. The council listened to two hours of discussion about the project, including testimony from neighbors, city Design Director William Crouch, the builder and the architect. More than 20 area residents showed up to opp

By Debra Belt It is a small, unkempt patch of land on a dirt alley in Sacramento’s Boulevard Park neighborhood. Yet, the modest site at 2207 C St. is the subject of an intense debate that is expected to heat up as a proposed residential project for the alley lot heads to City Council Feb. 1. At issue is a single-family home, a modern infill project that has neighbors, preservationists, politicians, architects, the city and the builders deadlocked over the design of the residence and its alley location in one of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods. As Midtown’s alley development movement advances, interest in the project is high, and followers say it could set a precedent in residential nei

Many would agree with Reine Thibeault when she says, "I like to get a glimpse into other people's lives. It's fun." That's just what Sacramentans had a chance to do at Sunday's Sacramento Old City Association's (SOCA) 34th annual historic home tour in Midtown's Boulevard Park neighborhood. More than 300 history hunters visited 7 seven restored homes on a self-guided walking tour that featured architectural, interior design and landscaping highlights of the mostly Craftsman-style homes. Craftsman design was popular from the end of the 19th century to the early part of the 20th century. The movement emphasized handmade over mass-produced and was in large part a reaction to the Industrial

On Sunday, September 20, the Sacramento Old City Association will hold its 34th annual historic home tour in the Boulevard Park neighborhood. Tour hours are from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. The SOCA Home Tour is an annual event, and the main fundraiser for the Sacramento Old City Association. This home tour includes an inside look at eight restored historic homes in Boulevard Park. Tour visitors can walk through each of the homes on the tour to see how the workmanship of historic homes is often as beautiful on the inside as the outside. The Home Tour also includes a street fair, including artisans and craftspersons specializing in historic home repair and restoration, local artists, crafters

Playing music outside is like playing to the ocean, local musician Kate Gaffney said. "If you're standing near the ocean, anything that's ever bothering you, you can just toss it out into the sea, and the sea will just engulf it and you won't have to worry about it again." On Friday, the Philadelphia-native singer/songwriter will be headlining Concerts in the Park. Opening for Gaffney are Boulevard Park, West of Next and Christopher Fairman & The Stilts (click on links for MySpace). Gaffney first visited California during a college internship, instantly deciding it was the place for her. After earning her bachelor's degree from Penn State, she moved here and took a job at Sacramento Coun