Wednesday evening, the Department of Parks and Recreation presented plans to expand Old Sacramento’s excursion train and further explore the underground ruins to provide visitors a more exciting learning experience of the Gold Rush, commerce and river transportation. The preliminary general plan for Old Sacramento State Historic Park would span 20 years. The project is currently set to develop the Front Street area between J and I streets. Capital District Superintendent of Capital District State Museums and Historic Parks Catherine Taylor explained that the project will educate visitors on the Gold Rush era. The underground ruins will feature active archaeological digs and exhibits and

It’s back to the drawing board for designers from the Department of Parks and Recreation and City Councilman Steven Cohn. Plans for a new park in Midtown need to be refined after a community meeting Wednesday that revealed concerns about the future park’s amenities. Community members gave their input Wednesday about the proposed neighborhood park site at 19th and Q streets, which sits on contaminated land. Located across the light rail tracks from Safeway along T and S streets, the 0.9-acre plot of land was acquired by the city of Sacramento in 2008-2009 for approximately $2 million and the property remains gated off according to Mary Debeauvier, a principal planner with the Parks and Re

The Green Restaurant Alliance of Sacramento has a hand in 10 local restaurants and hopes to reach more with its mission of establishing a sustainable restaurant industry. GRAS is "dedicated to making Sacramento a leading sustainable food community and a leader in the green-restaurant industry," according to its website. The year-old organization helps restaurants reduce waste by composting food scraps and biodegradable material. "This is not a brilliant idea, it's being done worldwide," said GRAS co-founder David S. Baker. "Why can't it happen in our town?" The 10 members of GRAS are Hot Italian, L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen, Mulvaney's B & L, One Speed, Selland's, Grange, Ella, Tuli

Imagine playing softball at your local park and seeing an ad for a local sports equipment store, or going to a city skatepark and finding out there's a sale at the nearest skate shop. This type of city-business interaction could be possible with the Department of Parks and Recreation's Community Sponsorship Initiative. Thursday afternoon at the Sacramento Softball Complex, the department unveiled its new funding program, CSI, which was approved by the City Council April 6. The program provides individuals, groups and businesses sponsorship and advertising opportunities, all while funding Parks and Recreation programs and facilities. "It's taken us a year to get to where we are now, but t

The Sacramento City Council passed an initiative from the Department of Parks and Recreation to raise money through sponsors and advertisers during Tuesday night's meeting. The program, formally called the Community Sponsorship Initiative, is intended to allow the department to find alternative funding amidst the state's hefty budget deficit. According to the department's April 6 report to the City Council, creative means of funding are now desirable for the department that has faced two consecutive years of budget cuts. "All we're putting forth is permission to advertise at our specialized facilities," Operations Manager Dave Mitchell said. "This endeavor before you tonight is not new t

Midfest is happening this weekend after organizers won two permits early Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the event is scheduled to begin. But Sacramento city staff notified organizers that city employees will be on the lookout for code violations after neighborhood residents complained that a previous event wasn't adequately managed. The Bloc Concert Series permit was awarded to Paragary Restaurant Group for the festivities being held in Marshall Park, 915 27th St., from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. A separate permit was issued to the Midtown Business Association (MBA) and T & M Organization for the Arts for Sunday's Midfest Summer Celebration at the park. In the final hours bef

A group of Sacramento residents is fighting the city’s proposed cuts to its parks system and providing suggestions for maintaining park services. The city’s proposal to cut parks services is one of many possible reductions council members are considering as they deal with a $50 million budget gap.   About 15 members of the group, which is calling itself Rescue Sacramento Parks, attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting to voice their concerns about cuts to parks. Members of the group are involved in neighborhood associations.   Craig Powell, the group’s chairman, told the City Council that the proposed budget cuts to parks have “deeply alarmed Sacramento’s neighbors, neighborhoods and cit