Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "east sacramento"

McKinley Park Rose Garden: Getting closer to completion

2012-02-02T02:35:21Z

The long-awaited renovations at the McKinley Park Rose Garden are nearing completion, and the garden is expected to be open by April – just in time for spring weddings in the park.

“The process feels like it’s taken forever,” University of California Master Gardner Ellie Longanecker said Wednesday.

The rose garden was scheduled to be closed from September to mid-February for renovations, including a new irrigation system, accessible walkways, planter curbs, new signs and handicap-accessible parking spaces near the garden entrance.

The work has been extended until the end of March or early April, Longanecker said, because of problems with the new irrigation system that created delays in completing other work, including more plantings.

Longanecker, a rose specialist and one of the many volunteer coordinators responsible for much of the recent work on the garden, said the project has been on the neighborhood’s radar for a long time.

“We initially brought a proposal to the city for this work to get stared in 2009,” Longanecker said. “For three years it’s been one step forward, two steps back.”

Once the work got under way in September, however, it’s been full steam ahead for city workers and volunteers, she said.

Since 2009, more than 400 new rose bushes have been planted in the garden on the southeast side of McKinley Park.

Thanks to a generous donor, Longanecker said, an additional 465 new rose bushes were recently given to add to the garden.

A “plant-a-thon” to get those additional bushes in the ground was originally planned for Saturday, but it has been postponed. A new date has not been set yet.

Longanecker said the planting day was postponed because the city needs to put in new sod around the planting beds, and it would be easier to get that job out of the way first.

It is also important to make sure the new water system is fully up and running before putting in new plants, she added.

“I’m glad it’s finally coming together,” Longanecker said. “It has taken a very strong volunteer effort.”

Longanecker said volunteer workers – including groups of Americorps volunteers, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department work crew and many neighbors and residents – put in about 1,500 hours of labor working on the garden in the last four weeks alone.

“That’s spading, weeding, pruning and wheelbarrowing in 100 yards of topsoil to spread throughout the garden,” Longanecker said. “(It’s) not easy work at all.”

The effort to refurbish the McKinley Park Rose Garden has been supported by donations including money, gifts of roses and numerous donations of tools and materials.

“It seems to be going well,” East Sacramento resident and garden volunteer Lisa Schmidt said Tuesday. “There’s a lot more to putting in roses than people think.”

Schmidt said that, despite the long wait and all the work that has been necessary, it will be worth it to see the result when the first roses bloom.

“It’ll be like brand new – irrigation, beds, plants, everything,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said Wednesday.

The garden’s new irrigation system will use water more efficiently, Cohn said, and the planter curbs will make the beds easier to maintain.

“The beautiful thing is, we’ve kept the original design (of the garden),” Cohn said. “It’ll really ‘pop’ once spring hits.”

Cohn said that the city didn’t put in the investment it should have in the rose garden over the years.

“Over time, the roses started to lose their vibrancy,” Cohn said. “They were looking sad, really.”

Now, Cohn said, the rose garden will have “new life” and will be more enjoyable for visitors – especially the many couples who have their weddings in the garden each year.

“I’m excited about it,” Cohn said. “We want to save it for future generations and enhance the appearance for everyone who comes to see it for years to come.”

Cohn said a ribbon-cutting and grand opening will be planned when the rose garden is finished, but a specific date has not been set.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Clunie Center saved by donations from community

2012-01-17T23:56:10Z

East Sacramento residents and businesses succeeded in preventing the closure of the Clunie Center at McKinley Park, which was scheduled for later this year, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday.

The center was slated for closure in June because of budget shortfalls, with the McKinley library likely to follow.The Friends of East Sacramento, a nonprofit organization, set forth a plan to take over management of the facility three years ago, Johnson said. He added that under nonprofit management, the facility will save $20,000 in operating costs each year.

“Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and not let something you truly value disappear,” said Cecily Hastings, publisher of Inside Publications, and co-founder of the Friends of East Sacramento.

The organization needed to raise $45,000 to cover the transition and operating costs for this year. Sizable donations came from Wells Fargo Bank, Soroptimists of Sacramento, Haven Lending, Freeport Bakery and Mercy General Hospital, Hastings said. City Councilman Steve Cohn said he committed $5,000 from city funds and made an additional, personal donation of $1,000.

Community members, neighbors and small businesses also contributed to the cause.

Marissa Cruz lives in the neighborhood and said she helped raise money to keep the Clunie Center open. She said she uses the park five days per week and visits the library an average of three times per week.

“I’m really happy it’s staying open,” Cruz said, adding that it is a cause she’s been following closely.

An additional anonymous donation of $15,000 will go to a fund dedicated to pay for renovations to the building. Hastings said a total of $60,000 is needed to pay for renovations, above the $200,000 in labor she said will be donated.

Hastings said she expects the center to be self-sufficient and does not anticipate the need for a fundraising drive of this scale in years to come. Plans include marketing of the facility and a full-time manager – a position that has been vacant for five years.

“This serves as a great example as to what other parts of Sacramento can do,” Johnson said, adding that facilities like the Hagginwood Community Center can stay open under similar management.

After the press conference, Johnson briefly answered questions about the strong mayor initiative, the struggle to have a new sports facility built in Sacramento and his upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He will leave immediately following Tuesday’s scheduled City Council meeting.

Johnson said Tuesday that he expected a decision about the strong mayor initiative that evening. He said the city manager runs the city right now, and reports to nine bosses, a system that is ineffective.

“What we are asking tonight is for the people to have the ability to vote on this in June,” Johnson said.

Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour kicks off the holiday season

2011-12-01T23:29:03Z

The holiday season kicks off on Friday with over-the-top holiday decorations that sparkle and shine behind the doors of five homes in the “Fabulous Forties.” The 38th annual Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour welcomes thousands to tour arguably the most gorgeous homes in Sacramento to benefit the Sacred Heart Parish School.

“Our goal is for these homes to be like Christmas explosions. It just really ignites the spark for the holiday season,” said Leslie Wilson-Lopez, co-chair of the home tour and Sacred Heart school parent.

The homes on this year’s tour include four in the colonial style circa 1920 and one new home that has been added to a foundry (a factory that produces metal casings) dating back to 1915.

Each home is decorated by local designers and florists who start drafting their designs months in advance.

“No two houses are the same, and the designers have really gotten creative this year,” Wilson-Lopez said.

Co-designer of the foundry home on 44th Street and part owner of Beyond the Garden Gate, a home and garden store in Davis, Pat Stromberg, said that they got their design inspiration from the owner who spent much of her youth living in France.

“Rather than hanging stockings from the fireplace, we have European vintage shoes in the family room, which are traditional decorations in Provence, France,” Stromberg said. “We also have 13 beautiful desserts representing and honoring Christ and his 12 apostles, a tradition to eat at Christmas in France.”

In Provence, France the traditional Christmas meal consists mostly of vegetables and is followed by 13 desserts. Thirteen signifies the number of people at the last supper, the last meal Christ and the apostles shared together. The meal and desserts are eaten before going to midnight mass on Christmas.

The home will have three Christmas trees: two inside and one out front. One tree will be decorated with actual instruments and ornate ribbon that will complement the elegance of the living room, which has a baby grand piano.

“If you think of going to an opera or a symphony, that is what the living room is like,” Stromberg said. “We love the sparkle of the living room and the warmth of the family room.”

One of the five homes is designed by the homeowner herself, Jill Dudensing, who is an interior designer.

“She has a real eclectic contemporary minimalist style,” Wilson-Lopez said. “She likes a traditional Christmas, so it’s like Norman Rockwell meets Andy Warhol in her home.”

Each of the homes has been labored over by designers for months, and most started the installation process of the holiday décor weeks ago.

This year, in addition to the decorations on the bottom floor of each of the five homes, the backyards have been incorporated into the holiday design. Landscaping, lights, wreaths and flowers have been added to many of the backyards, Wilson-Lopez said.

In addition to viewing the homes and getting holiday decoration ideas, guests can actually purchase decorations from the local retailers who designed two of the homes.

Don Garcia from Haus Home Décor and Specialty Gift is the designer for one of the homes on the tour. Hand-blown German glass bird ornaments are decorating the Christmas tree in a bird-themed room at one of the colonial homes. An entire line of hand-blown German glass ornaments are sold locally at the store.

After the walking tour, visitors are encouraged to stop by the Holiday Cafe & Gift Shop located at the Sacred Heart Parish School, 856 39th St. The cafe will have warm beverages, champagne, wine and other holiday treats available. There will be vendors selling holiday gifts including home accessories, hostess gifts, holiday ornaments, candles, candy, jams and jellies, wreaths and more. No ticket is necessary for admittance to the cafe and gift shop.

The walking tour starts on 46th Street between J and M streets, and parking is available in front of all of the tour homes and at the Holiday Cafe & Boutique, located at the Sacred Heart Parish School. The tour should take approximately two hours to complete, and the homes can be viewed in any order.

The tour times are as follows:

11 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Friday
10 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Saturday
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday

Tickets can be purchased for $30 at the Sacred Heart Parish School or at one of the tour homes located on 46th Street. To purchase tickets online visit the website here.

All proceeds go to support the Sacred Heart Parish School in East Sacramento. The entire home tour is organized and run by parent volunteers.

For more information about the Sacred Heart Holiday Home tour, visit the website here.

Run to Feed the Hungry Splashes Through East Sacramento

2011-11-24T19:56:33Z

Soaked turkey hats, rain gear and lots of slogging marked the 18th year of Run to Feed the Hungry. It was wet, but it was wonderful.

East Sacramento Preservation set up a camera at the Y—45th and J Streets, where the 10k and the 5k split. The rain thinned out the throngs, and weakened the resolve of some to peel off the sheets, but the turn out was still enormous.

The charity race is a cultural event in East Sacramento. You can’t watch without a smile and a warm heart, even on the wettest, dampest of days.

New East Sac deli pleases locals

2011-11-23T03:58:43Z

East Sacramento’s month-old Juno’s Kitchen & Delicatessen focuses on serving sustainable food out of a small space with a name inspired by a unique dog.

“Juno is a very unusual dog,” owner Mark Helms said of the pit bull/bull terrier mix. “She likes to swim underwater; she likes to carry around sticks that are like twice her weight. She’s an extreme athlete.”

Helms and his wife, Susan Vasques, opened Juno’s, located at 3617 J St., at the end of October, mere months after selling their restaurant in The Pocket, Ravenous Cafe.

They sold the upscale American-style restaurant to be closer to home, Helms said.

“I always wanted to have a place where bread was kind of the focus,” Helms said, explaining that most of the bread products are made in-house in a pizza oven that was already installed in the 1,100-square-foot space. They are then sliced on one of his prized possessions: an electric bread slicer that dates back to the 1940s.

The shop offers a wide range of sandwiches for lunch and dinner, including Vietnamese-style banh mi pork sandwiches, steak sandwiches, salmon sandwiches and grilled burgers. Also on the menu are dishes such as couscous.

Ingredients are grown locally, and nitrate-free meats and cage-free eggs are used. All sauces are made fresh in-house as well.

“That’s really important to me,” Helms said. “We don’t want to have a bunch of processed food in here. We’re serving something that’s really higher-end, but at a more reasonable price.”

Sandwiches range from $8 - $12, and Helms said he expects to bring in some new dishes in the near future, including scallops with curry served on bread.

Helms said the pizza oven – a leftover from when the space was Pizza Guys – allows him to bake airy bread, since it can cook with steam.

The bread is one thing customers eating at the deli took notice of Tuesday afternoon.

Sarah Miles, a 38-year-old registered nurse from Curtis Park, said the baguette on her steak sandwich was perfect.

“Sometimes baguettes are too hard, but this one was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside,” she said. “The meat is really tender, and the mushrooms are like butter in your mouth.”

Miles was brought to the restaurant by her friend, 52-year-old Rose Varesio, an instructor at Sacramento State.

Varesio, however, praised the fact that there wasn’t any bread on her sandwich.

“I don’t eat gluten, and I don’t eat pork,” she said. “My banh mi doesn’t have bread or meat, and I really like it that way. They’ll work with you to make you exactly what you want, whether it’s vegan or gluten-free or whatever.”

Though without bread the sandwich was directly on the plate, Varesio said it was still very tasty.

She added that she lives nearby and has already picked it out as a favorite where she takes her friends.

“I love this place,” she said.

Helms, 44, said he has lived in the area for more than 20 years, and the response from customers has been better than he expected, with more than 200 people coming in one day – a surprise for a place that seats 12 people inside and 12 more on the patio.

“I wanted to set this up to be available for a lot of takeout,” he said, adding that the business is also available for catering.

Julie Holt, a 46-year-old Sacramento City College professor from the Arden area, came to Juno’s with her parents for her birthday Tuesday.

“It was amazing,” she said, adding that she had a burger with caramelized onions and Manchego cheese, a style from central Spain. “The bun was great, and it was the perfect size – not too much and not too little.”

The restaurant is currently open from 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, though that might change as business demands, Helms said.

“I’ve been a chef all my life,” Helms said. “This is my life, and it’s what I want to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Editorial Note: Spelling corrections have been made to this story. Rose Varesio's name has been corrected.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Uptown Fashion Night in East Sacramento

2011-11-07T06:20:52Z

What is chic? A long list of customers found out firsthand Thursday night at “Uptown Fashion Night: Celebrating a Piece of East Sac.”

The event was hosted by Sandra Gonzalez, owner of Sparkle Bridal Couture; Mary Kawano, owner of Krazy Mary’s Fashion Boutique; and Peggy Orr, owner of The Pink House Shoe Boutique. All three shops opened their doors to customers, offering special sales during the evening.

The three shops occupy Folsom Boulevard at 33rd Street, and on Thursday night the area was alive with music, shoppers, friends and neighbors. Pure Entertainment provided DJ services. Delicious food and drinks were also served as guests enjoyed an exclusive shopping experience.

Sparkle Bridal specializes in wedding and special occasion gowns for sizes 14-30. The boutique had many elegant, stylish and sophisticated gowns to fit many tastes.

“We opened this year, but our family has been in the bridal business for 20 years, so we know our stuff,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to open up something new, something different.”

Gonzalez, Kawano and Orr joined forces to put Uptown Fashion Night together and, as Gonzalez put it, “to remind people that we have boutiques on this side of Sacramento.”

“We’re trying to highlight that there’s downtown, Midtown, and here we are in East Sac, which we’re now calling it Uptown,” said Gonzalez, pointing out nearby coffee shops, eateries and other businesses in the area.

For the fashion show, Sparkle Bridal provided cocktail dresses and bridal gowns. Gonzales pointed out Erica Felton of Haus of Mirth, an in-house designer with exclusive lines and several bridal accessories.

“I used to be the head crafter for the opera in San Jose and other theaters, and I’ve done a couple of Disney productions,”Felton said. “I do a lot of crafting, belts, masks and hats for other people, and then I decided to do my own line.”

The models for the show were all local, and some were even clients and friends. Strands Salon and Spa did the hair and makeup. Strands incorporated their spring 2012 look so people could get an idea of what’s coming up from the salon.

Gonzalez’s enthusiasm for her shop and customers manifested itself as she pointed out a couple of young women who came to support Sparkle Bridal.

The two brides-to-be were Faye Bowles, who has a May 5 wedding date, and Naomi Rubenstein, who will be getting married on May 26. They said their wedding gown selections were already done. They seemed like longtime friends, but they had only met each other half an hour before.

At another station, stylist Robyn Groves from Stella & Dot showcased her fashionable accessories. Customers flocked to her tables and as guests sipped on their Sparkletinis and hors d’oeuvres.

“This is like the perfect venue for this,” Groves said. “The lights are right on it, and customers have a lot to choose from.”

The fashion show included 10 looks from Krazy Mary’s Boutique, and Kawano was busy greeting customers at their booth.

“I love it,” Kawano said. “This is the first time I’ve had to talk to people and mingle. We worked so hard for this event. When you do a group event, you can’t slack even if you want to.”

Kawano, who has been in business for 11 years, is quite an enthusiastic person, driven to make sure her customers are taken care of. She seemed to know most customers by name and was always jovial and caring as she talked to them.

“Coming home to East Sac has been enjoyable,” she said. “I feel my customers are getting older and I’m getting older, and so I have to change with my customers. You have to in this economy.”

Her passionate commitment to her boutique and keeping up with current fashion trends keeps her customers coming back. She feels that in her boutique you’ll find something that you might find in a fashion magazine.

“In fashion you have to get excited and bring great things to our customers,” she said. “I ordered winter stuff five months ago. I want my customers to be excited to see what’s going on for fall and the holidays before they’re here.”

Food and drinks were also available at Krazy Mary’s, with a DJ station manned by Roger Carpio.

Peggy Orr purchased The Pink House last September, but the store has been there four years. She said she used to be a customer, which in itself is a great endorsement.

“I was born and raised in East Sacramento,” she said. “ I just think it’s the best place in Sacramento. It’s a unique place to live.”

Elegant, classy and chic shoes, handbags and accessories were displayed throughout the store, which strives to carry merchandise for all ages. In the fashion show, they showcased handbags, scarves and jewelry.

The fashion show capped the night and showcased things available from each of the three shops. Visiting each of these businesses gave new customers a small peek as to what is available in East Sacramento, or Uptown as it may begin to be called.

The three boutiques continued to entertain guests after the fashion show.

Krazy Mary’s, The Pink House and Sparkle Bridal are great representations of businesses in the area, and Uptown Fashion Night appeared to be a great success.

The Rise of Sactown's Social Athletes

2011-08-08T03:47:28Z

The Fall season officially begins this week for Sacramento’s very own sport and social club. Appropriately named the Sacramento Sport and Social Club (SSSC), this unique adult sports experience has something in store for all types of social rec athletes in the Sacramento area.

The idea first arose in 2008 when SSSC founder Brad Satterwhite (“the Commissioner”) and a co-worker of his wanted to get a group of their colleagues together for some good-natured out-of-office fun. They decided on bowling, but when the crew couldn’t find a local league that fit their needs, Satterwhite stepped into the role of league organizer. This league of work colleagues started with 12 teams in what later became known as the Planning, Policy, Urban Development Bowling League (or ‘PUDL for short, named after their career field). Three years later, PUDL is back for the Fall season and more popular than ever before. Longtime PUDL member Jim Clark says:

“PUDL gives you that chance to have a really great time with really great people. You will not find a bowling league that has as much fun both in the alley and out than we at PUDL do.”

But even this is just the tip of the sport and social iceberg... Last year league members started asking about other sports and activities. Recognizing the potential, Satterwhite has since set up leagues that appeal to the socially inclined, coed crowd, adding Cornhole (bean bag toss), Team Trivia, and Indoor Soccer to the mix.

The Club also offers bike and pub crawls, parties, and philanthropic opportunities. The Commissioner also emphasizes rewards and prize opportunities for SSSC participants. Thus, SSSC is creating a niche for itself as THE social league in greater Sacramento. You can almost think of it as a well-organized, never-ending carnival for adults.

If you’re interested in trying something new and fun, now is the time to register for one of SSSC’s upcoming leagues or tournaments.

UPCOMING LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTS

All of our leagues include two games a night, weekly raffle prizes, awards to season winners, and more. Everyone makes the playoffs. Teams can be male, female, or coed. There is no need to be experienced as our leagues use a handicap-scoring format.

Monday Night Bowling League                       Thursday Night Bowling League
10 week season                                                  8 week season
Teams of 4 (6 on roster)                                    Teams of 4 (6 on roster)
League starts: Sept 19                                       League starts: Sept 8
Registration ends: Sept 12                                Registration ends: Sept 1

These two leagues also include discounted bowling on non-league nights, discounted shoe rental, and discounts at Frank’s Pro Shop.

Cornhole (Bean Bag Toss) League (Sunday Nights)
8 week season
Teams of 2 (4 on roster)
League starts: Sept 11
Registration ends: Sept 8

Indoor Soccer Tournament                 Bowling Tournament
Nov 12th @ South Natomas Arena     Oct 22nd @ Capitol Bowl
Men’s 21 and up                                     Teams of 2, coed, handicap format
Includes 3 games min., medals for Includes 3 games min., pitcher of
top 2 teams, MVP, and best goalie,     beer and pizza, prizes and medals
and free round of beer to winners.       to the top 2 teams.

Visit SSSC online at www.SacSportandSocial.com for registration and more information.

Be sure to “like” Sacramento Sport and Social Club’s Facebook Page!

Disclosure: Erin is an active SSSC league participant.

East Sacramento's Cookie's Drive-in Goes Wild

2011-07-30T00:45:09Z

In Australia they call them kangatarians — people who eat kangaroo exclusively. Such a person in East Sacramento would need to know about Cookie’s. The East Sacramento drive-in has gone “wild” and now serves ostrich, buffalo and kangaroo meat burgers.

Lean-diet advocates have long touted the health benefits of game meat. Compared to its beef cousins, it wins the low-fat contest.

But kangaroo?

Will Americans warm up to “Skippy” and other game burgers? Are they soon to be in the meat sections, or will they remain a culinary oddity?

The test

On a warm afternoon, East Sacramento News conducted a scientificish test. Three average East Sacramentans were ready to try the wild burgers.

Each subject volunteered to taste ostrich, kangaroo and buffalo. All of the meat was humanly raised or harvested. They cringed at the inclusion of kangaroo but gamely acquiesced.

The test subjects were Jon Lynch-Lloyd, Tessa Stoddard and Eileen Lynch. They would rank the burgers according to texture and taste.

The control group was Pat Lynch, Lynch’s sister. She was supposed to eat the beef burger but instead licked a soft serve.

“I know the burgers are delicious,” she said. “You can’t pay me enough to eat a kangaroo.”

Finally, three generous burgers were served up. The group eyed the choices with raised eyebrows.

Each guinea pig smelled the burgers, inspected them visually and then started with the buffalo. They cocked their heads, breathed deeply and began. The trio silently nibbled the bison.

“I can’t think about what it looks like,” Eileen Lynch said, grimacing. “When I do, it’s weird.”

Next was the ostrich. Stoddard gazed at the burger, bit and swallowed a morsel. She frowned.

“It looks less appetizing,” she said. “It’s smoother than other meats.”

Buffalo meat is processed in the same way as beef and looks very similar. Ostrich is another story. Most of the meat comes from the thigh and it is reddish in color, even after cooking.

The ‘roos were last. The burger warriors were most reluctant to sample the marsupial, but each gingerly noshed a bite.

“What does a kangaroo really look like?” Lynch-Lloyd said. He pulled out his iPhone and googled kangaroo. A giant red kangaroo peered from the screen.

“OK, but where does the meat come from on it?” Lynch-Lloyd eyed the tail and paws suspiciously. The concept was difficult to digest.

What he didn’t know is that there are 48 known species of kangaroo, but only four are harvested for meat. The ‘roos are culled from the wild or large privately owned ranges. There are no kangaroo farms, barns or pens. The meat is portioned much like beef, and Australia exports the meat around the world.

The winners and losers

The three conferred and unanimously agreed on the ranking.

1. Buffalo
2. Kangaroo
3. Ostrich

All acknowledged the superiority of game’s nutritional value but wanted to stick to beef.

“Yeah, it’s good they serve this meat,” Lynch-Lloyd said. “There’s such a disconnect between the food we eat and where it comes from. Wild game makes you think more about what you eat, that it’s a living creature.”

The buffalo was very similar to beef with a richer flavor and slightly smokier, they said.

“I could easily order a buffalo burger,” Eileen Lynch said.

Pat Lynch stayed out of the fray, licking and watching.

“I would never eat game, but this cone was harvested from a wild glacier of soft serve.” She smiled and popped the end of her cone into her mouth.

All three said that none of the game burgers came even close to Cookie’s high-quality, sizzling beef burgers.

Cookie’s

American drive-ins are cultural icons, and Cookie’s is one of the front -runners. So why would the owners dive into the exotic meat market?

Paul and Stella Chuk have owned the restaurant for 25 years. They live in the Pocket area and commute to 56th and H streets six days a week. The drive-in was named after the wife of the first owner, who started the neighborhood favorite in 1956.

The Chuk kids, Joyce and Jesse, grew up behind the counter and still help out in the restaurant.

“I grew up at Cookie’s,” Joyce said. “My mom even came to work when she was pregnant with me.”

Paul still flips the burgers and Stella now works part time. They loved the original drive-in menu but decided to add healthier choices.

“We added ostrich first because a customer requested it,” Stella said. “The others came later, all by customer request. They all sell very well, but the best seller is the ostrich. Many people enjoy wild game. It took a while for the meat to take off, but now it’s popular.”

There are not many local eateries that have the Roo-Ostrich-Buffalo trifecta. If you want to walk on the wild side or just want good ol’ American drive-in grub, Cookie’s is the place.

Disclosure: This article first appeared in East Sacramento News.

East Sacramento’s Bertha Henschel Wading Pool Braces for a $22,000 Bill: Volunteers Needed to Help

2011-07-29T15:53:08Z

Laura Barrett and a dedicated band of volunteers kept the Bertha Henschel Wading Pool open this summer, but now they are faced with a mountain to climb.

“We raised money for the past two years to help support the pool and keep it open. Now the need is much more extreme. We are bracing for a possible contribution of $22,000 to keep the pool running next year,” says Barrett, coordinator of The Friends of Bertha Henschel Park.

All city resources are dwindling and more and more neighbors and community members are relied on to keep services running, especially in our parks. For Bertha Henschel the news is grim.

“At this point the City Parks and Recreation department is saying that there will be no funding for next summer," says Barrett.

The group is considering trying to find sponsors to fund the pool through advertising. This would mean banners and other forms of advertising at the pool site. Hopes are high that East Sacramento businesses will help out.

But such efforts don’t happen by themselves. “Our basic need is to have volunteers sign up to assist with fundraising efforts,” says Barrett.

The group also welcomes donations. “We have an account through the city's Gifts to Share program. This program allows neighbors to make tax-deductible donations, which would be directed to Bertha Henschel Wading Pool.

Send your tax-deductible donation to:

Gifts to Share, Inc.
915 I Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
(Tax ID # 94-29285546)

Please write “Bertha Henschel” in the memo line.

Or donate on-line www.giftstoshare.org by clicking on their “Donate Now” link and then designating Bertha Henschel Pool in the “Program Designation” tab.

To volunteer to help contact Friends of Bertha Henschel at BerthaHenschel@gmail.com

East Sacramento Preservation Opinion—Mercy Hospital Must Build Loading Dock

2011-07-29T00:04:27Z

When Jim Ferry (an East Sacramento resident) contacted his neighbors to address the impacts of Mercy Hospital using J Street as their primary loading dock, he got a lot of supportive response.

The neighborhood is stressed by Mercy's inconsideration.

Mr. Ferry has done an admirable job of documenting a fairly shocking misuse of the public way for a loading dock through his blog at http://mercygeneral.blogspot.com. More than any petition, Mr. Ferry's blog uses photos to show the truth.

A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

The loading situation on J Street is patently hazardous.

There are frequently semi-tractor trucks parked in a seven foot wide space that impinge upon the west-bound travel lanes forcing vehicle and buses into the center turning lane. There are often multiple commercial vehicles at that location simultaneously.

These trucks sometimes park their wheels up on the public curb or in the landscaped median strip to reduce impact on the travel lanes.

Traffic on one of East Sacramento's primary vehicular and bus routes must weave through MGH's illegal loading facilities.

Off-loaded materials are left on the public sidewalk and there is a lot of pallet jack activity in the public way and sidewalks at all hours of the day.

The City Planning Code must be adhered to unless a specific variance is applied for and granted. That Code requires that a facility the size of MGH have a minimum of ten 10' x 40' loading spaces.

Despite the construction of a half billion dollar project, the city has allowed MGH to have only a single code-compliant loading space on-site while allowing the vast majority of their unloading functions to occur in sub-standard spaces within the public way on J Street.

No other facility of this size, or even of a significantly smaller size, in this City, has been permitted to function in this manner.

The only Environmental Impact Report documentation that pertains to this function is a site map that shows the MGH Service Circulation. This map does not show that MGH intended to use J Street as their primary loading facility.

MGH has no intention of changing these dangerous and unsightly loading practices once their project is finished.

But Mr. Ferry is not alone in his objections, private citizens and East Sacramento Preservation support Mr. Ferry and his work and call on Mercy to do the right thing—develop a loading dock on Mercy property and leave the street alone.

Thank you, Mr. Ferry.

Happy Endings at Happy Tails Pet Sancturay

2011-07-27T23:11:01Z

Tarzan

The longhaired, blue-eyed punk scaled a 30-foot tree and got himself stuck in the canopy for eight days. He made the evening news. A tree-trimming crew bagged the bad boy and rappelled him down. He then spent time in the pokey until Happy Tails bailed him out. With three of his nine lives ticked off, he is one lucky kitty.

Cats like Tarzan are “second chance cats” and they are Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary’s specialty.

Rescued from an uncertain fate at the Sacramento City Animal Shelter, he was brought to Happy Tails on Folsom Boulevard for a second chance at adoption. He was cleaned up, chipped, checked, vaccinated and neutered.

Happy Tails won’t refuse a cat. “But first do everything you can to help us out,” says Cathryn Rakich, events coordinator. “Ask everyone if they’ll adopt the cat. Try to find the owner. People should know that we are bursting at the seams.”

Established in 1993, and located at 60th and Folsom Boulevard, the Sanctuary is a no-kill facility (all cats are kept until adoption or death, no euthanasia). An all-volunteer team of 300 people, with 50 foster homes, moves a continuing cycle of cats, like Tarzan, through a careful adoption system.

From cage cleaner to board member, there are no paid positions.

Volunteers can work from one to 20 hours a week. There are no set requirements for volunteers. People do what they can.

About 70% of the felines come from the Sacramento area community and about ten percent are rescued from other shelters. These are cats like Tarzan--lots of character and pizzazz that deserve a second chance.

Happy Tails also has an adoption partnership with Pet Smart. The store provides a holding room, bank of cages, food and litter for adoptees. The Happy Tails team maintains the location and shows animals for adoption Saturdays 10-4 and Sundays 11-5 at Arden and Watt.

Kitty out!

A brindled tabby squirmed quickly through an open condo door.

“Kitty out!” several volunteers shouted. The crew hustled to secure the middle and exterior doors to catch the escapee. Speed saved the day and the cat (with a surprised look on his face) was returned.

The Folsom Boulevard site includes exam and intake rooms, a sick bay and a triple secure door system: interior, middle and exterior door.

The residents aren’t kept comfortable in cages, instead there are seven glass walled enclosures, or condos, that divide different populations. One is for the more senior residents, two are for adults and four are for special needs cats.

Special needs include positive tests for cat leukemia, FIV, or social challenges and provides sick cats ‘assisted living’ until they’re back on their paws.

Every room is decorated with toys, cat trees and ample bedding. Cleaners keep the rooms clean and the cats are relaxed.

Kitten season

The saddest time of the year for cats may be spring.

“Traditional kitten season kicks in when the weather warms up,” Rakich said. “It used to be primarily May through July but now it runs late April through September.”

This is the time when unsprayed mom cats give birth to kits that are very hard to place in good homes. The cat population swells, as do deaths and abuse.

Happy Tails kittens are kept in foster homes. On the day this writer visited there was a wiggling carry bag on the floor. “A homeless man found four abandoned kittens and put them on the conveyor belt at Pet Smart,” said Joelle McChesney, Adoption Center Coordinator. She gently poked a rubber nipple into a grey kitten’s protesting mouth. “These are young, maybe three weeks old.” McChesney will be a surrogate mom, feeding and loving the babies, until they are old enough to be put up for adoption. The bag of kittens was on its way to a foster home because the sanctuary is not equipped for kitten needs. “Each kitten takes more than $100 to move through the adoption process,” said McChesney.

Life on the edge

Feral cats also fall under the protection of the shelter.

“We have two secret feral cat colonies in Sacramento,” said Rakich. “We practice catch and release - spay and neuter, and feeding. The sites are secret so people won’t dump cats near the area.”

“A hard life does not make a grumpy cat,” Rakich continued, stroking and hugging a chubby black tom named Bronco. He was moved into the sanctuary from the feral population. Purring and limp, Bronco carries a ragged neck scar from a collar that had grown into his skin. His frayed ears and nicks made him look like a hardened felon.

“We have to have thick skins,” said Rakich. “We never get used to (the cruelty). We want all cats to be safe, sound, nurtured and have a home to blossom in.”

We need help

Happy Tails needs any help Sacramento can offer, but it especially needs homes for the cats.

Potential adopters are screened carefully and some balk about the shelter’s no outside cat rule. All new owners must pledge to keep the cat indoors, no exceptions.

“It’s just safer for the cat,” says Rakich.

Rakich ponders the plight of the animals.

“People say it’s not their responsibility… I just found it… or I’m just helping to get it to the shelter… I believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to help these animals.”

By the way, Tarzan, the bad boy acrobat, he’s happy, fluffy, reformed and waiting at Happy Tails for a loving forever-family.

Side Bar

You don’t need to adopt a cat to help. Happy Tails welcomes all kinds of support. Here are some ideas.

• Donations (any amount)
• Join the volunteer program
• Tell a student about the Junior Program for community service credit
• Attend an event held by Happy Tails. Check with the website below for specific dates of important events coming up!

The website at www.happytails.org has complete details. All donations are tax deductible. Happy Tails is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Disclosure: This story first appeared in the May issue of East Sacramento News.

East Sacramento Preservation's Guessing Game

2011-07-27T23:00:00Z

Finders seekers! Here's our second East Sacramento Preservation's ‘Where in the Neighborhood Is This?’ If you can find this spot in East Sacramento you’ll win a free yogurt from HeavenLys Yogurt in East Sacramento. You must tell where it’s located and why it's there. Place your best guess in the comments section of the East Sacramento Preservation web site. First correct entry wins the prize. All Sacramentans are welcome to try. The location is in the traditional boundary of East Sacramento. Pull out your binoculars and hit the road. It’s out there somewhere!

East Sac July 4th Parade Photos

2011-07-04T22:18:39Z

It has become a tradition for me to photograph East Sacramento's parade on July 4 that moves along 41st and 42nd Streets each year.

Here's some snapshots from this morning:

Redistricting 'Top Four' maps revealed

2011-06-22T00:42:40Z

The number of potential redistricting maps in the running for City Council consideration dwindles to five as the city of Sacramento gets closer to finalizing a new redistricting plan.

Maria MacGunigal, staff member for the Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting, said Tuesday that when the committee met on Monday, each member brought a list of “top five” and “bottom five” lists for discussion.

At the conclusion of the meeting, committee members had decided on the “top four contenders,” MacGunigal said, plus one more map that is still under consideration, but may be eliminated at the next advisory committee meeting.

City Council members will be on summer recess for two weeks starting Monday, however, the Advisory Committee on Redistricting will continue to meet to analyze the remaining maps and to prepare for a final recommendation to the City Council.

The advisory committee is expected to report to the City Council on July 12 with “anywhere from one to four” final maps for the council to consider, MacGunigal said.

The maps that have made it to this next round of eliminations were submitted by individuals, residents of Tahoe Park and East Sacramento, the African American Leadership Coalition, and even one anonymous submission.

The new set of maps being considered are (in no significant order) map numbers: 17, 24, 30, 31 and 35.

MacGunigal said updated map information will be available soon on the redistricting website, and the public is encouraged to review the information and comment to the advisory committee through the e-comment system on the website.

Advisory committee meetings are available online here.

Gönül's J Street Cafe and Formoli's Bistro swap locations

2011-06-07T01:15:11Z

Two East Sacramento restaurants with Mediterranean roots – Gönül's J Street Cafe and Formoli's Bistro – are trading places this month.

Gönül's will be the first to open in its new location. After eight years near the corner of 39th and J streets, owner Gönül Blum will open just six blocks away at 3260 J St. on Wednesday.

In about two weeks, chef Aimal Formoli and wife Suzanne Ricci will reopen their restaurant in Blum's former space at 3839 J St.

Blum first made an offer to switch locations with the couple two years ago because she wanted to downsize her restaurant.

"I have way too much room that I don't use," Blum said. "I just wanted something cozy."

With the move, Blum's restaurant is undergoing a reincarnation to become Vanilla Bean Bistro. Blum said she changed the name of the restaurant because customers had a hard time remembering it when they wanted to recommend the place to friends.

She will launch the restaurant with a summer menu and an infusion of vanilla beans. Blum will keep the same menu, dropping just a couple dishes and adding two more.

She'll add desserts with a vanilla bean base, such as vanilla gelato and Meyer lemon and orange marmalade bread pudding, using oranges and lemons from citrus trees at her home. Blum also will add vanilla beans to organic teas made with herbs she picks from her garden.

On a cold, wet morning last week, she brewed a tea made with sprigs of lemon verbena, lemon balm and mint and a freshly cut lemon in a cast-iron pot on the stove in her sunny yellow kitchen.

"The tea that I have in the restaurant – people love it," she said. "You can get really addicted to it."

Blum was born and raised in Turkey. The Mediterranean bistro food is a mix of French, Italian and Turkish recipes all influenced by Blum's creativity and using organic ingredients from local farms.

Farmers who are now her friends call her regularly to let her know what's ripe and drop produce off every other day. Blum also uses merlot and chardonnay grapes and grape leaves from her home vineyard in her cooking.

In a few months, she'll begin working to see if she can add tables on the sidewalk in front. The hours will remain the same: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday.

Formoli and Ricci, who runs the front of Formoli's, recently decided they were ready to move the 3-year-old restaurant to a bigger space. They are trading a 1,300-square-foot location that seats about 42 people for one that is double in size. Their new spot can seat more than 60 inside and other people in a sidewalk cafe out front.

The new American and Mediterranean bistro will keep the same cooking style, with a menu that changes every two months. Dishes include a warm date salad, eggplant portabella Napolean, stuffed dates and a pan-seared petit filet.

The restaurant’s last day in its original location was June 1. Formoli and Ricci said hope to open within two weeks.

Hours will change slightly – they're adding Saturday lunch and will start Sunday brunch soon after opening. Lunch hours will be 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Dinner will be served from 5:30 - 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, although the restaurant may stay open Friday and Saturday nights until 10 p.m.

A renovation is under way to change the yellow interior to an Italian or Mediterranean color scheme. They will also open up the kitchen, change bar seating and add new lighting. Having more space will allow them to add more kitchen equipment and have more than two people on the kitchen line.

That will also enable them to offer a farmers market brunch on Sundays, fresh baked bread from a pizza oven, more small plates and more desserts.

"I wanted to progress more as a chef," Formoli said. "The space I had was pretty limited."

Ricci said they're eager to expand the culinary offerings and be able to accommodate more customers while keeping the same ambiance and charming service.

"They put amazing food out. I want everyone to come in and get that experience," she said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Clark's Corner takes over landmark home of Shakey's pizza

2011-05-19T00:28:54Z

An East Sacramento native is taking over the corner building that was home to the original Shakey's Pizza Parlor and later Sweetwater – turning what was most recently The Corner Restaurant & Bar into Clark's Corner.

New owner Clark Branscum grew up playing Little League baseball in East Sacramento and chowing down on Shakey's Pizza at 57th and J streets after games.

Branscum spent five years in San Francisco, where he was a partner in two Marina District establishments: a restaurant and bar called U Street Lounge on Union Street and Kelley's Tavern on Fillmore Street.

Now 30, Branscum recently bought The Corner Restaurant & Bar business and building after the previous owner decided to focus on acting. Branscum is remodeling the space and plans to open Clark's Corner there as his first solo venture on May 27.

"It's kind of an iconic landmark in East Sacramento. There's always been a restaurant in that building since there was a Shakey’s," Branscum said. "It's nice to come full circle and to own the place I used to go to after baseball games as a kid."

In 1954, Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson – who got his nickname from nerve damage caused by malaria contracted during World War II – and his partner, Ed Plummer, opened the first Shakey's Pizza at the site of a former grocery store at 5641 J St.

Joyce and Jerry Thompson bought the building and operated the Shakey's Pizza Parlor in the early 1990s. A fire in the late 1990s closed the business and the building lay vacant. The family later reopened the place as East End Bar & Grille, then sold the business to another operator who opened Sweetwater Restaurant and Bar.

After Sweetwater moved, Jerry and son Joel opened "The Corner" on Oct. 4, 2009, as partners. Joel Thompson developed the concept and operated the restaurant and bar.

The family put the business and building up for sale after Thompson's acting career blossomed. The ability to own the building into which he'd pour remodeling money sold Branscum on opening his business there.

He also considered the corner location that formerly housed Cornerstone at 2330 J St., and Le Petit Paris at 1221 19th St., which closed in September 2010.

Remodeling those locations would have cost far more than Branscum was willing to spend as a tenant, he said.

"This is a risky industry. It's harder if you don't own the building," Branscum said this week while at a restaurant supply shop with Executive Chef Marlaw Seraspi.

He also liked the building's location and friendly neighborhood vibe, as well as its history and place in his childhood.

The Corner’s last day of business was May 11.

Branscum is doing a minor remodel inside and overhauling a 1,600-square-foot patio he described as a hidden gem. He's giving the patio street visibility by removing bushes, trees and a wooden fence. He's installing an iron lattice fence with a gate for street access and raising a canopy to allow more sunlight into the space.

New furniture, landscaping and potted plants are being added. Branscum plans to add a waterwall – a water feature running down a wall – and a fire pit within the next few months. Dogs will be welcome out there, said Branscum, who has a golden Labrador retriever.

"It's just a gem of a patio,"he said. "I don't believe you should waste a single square foot in your restaurant."

The exterior will get a touchup with new paint and awnings. The interior will be repainted in light neutrals. New carpet will be installed and bathrooms will get makeovers. The dining room will be reconfigured by removing a partition. A new pizza oven and other kitchen appliances are being added.

"We're getting the kitchen all tricked out the way we like it," said Branscum, who attended the California Culinary Academy.

The menu of classic American and pub food is still being finalized. Items include roasted beet salad with hazelnuts, goat cheese and a sherry orange vinaigrette; a pulled pork sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise, local cheddar cheese and pickled veggies; and pan-roasted petrale sole.

Clark's Corner will be open daily from 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. The kitchen will likely close at 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. The bar may also close early Sunday through Wednesday if no one is there. A cook will be working until 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday so the kitchen can serve food until the bar closes, Branscum said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

H Street Bridge Repairs Project

2011-05-05T22:26:17Z

The City Council approved $30,915 for the design phase of H Street Bridge Repairs Project Tuesday, which will be done by Dokken Engineering.

H Street Bridge is located where H and J streets come together on the west side of the bridge. The bridge turns into Fair Oaks Boulevard and connects the areas of downtown and East Sacramento.

Assistant Civil Engineer for the Department of Transportation Josh Werner said the bridge was built in 1932, and improvements were last done in 1991 to 1992 to widen the bridge and reconstruct the bridge approach on the east side.

Department of Transportation Engineering Services Manager Nicholas Theocharides said that while the work being done is nothing major and fairly routine, it is important for a number of reasons.

“For example,” he said, “joint seals allow for expansion in the heat and contraction in the cold of the structure. If those seals are not in good repair, rocks can get in, and when the bridge expands again with the weather, this can lead to damage.”

“It’s a very important preventative measure,” he added.

He said the same of resealing the bridge deck – the actual street driven on – in order to prevent air exposure and water penetration, which would eventually corrode the reinforcing steel in the concrete.

Initial designs were created to repair damaged joint seals, seal the bridge deck, repair chipped concrete and add a concrete approach slab at the west end of the bridge.

But as a result of the discovery of new damage to the concrete slab at the east side of the bridge, further repairs were added to the design, which were approved at Tuesday’s meeting.

Theocharides said the addition of those repairs brings the total cost of the design phase to about $113,000.

The project was initiated by complaints from neighbors over the past year about damaged joint seals that are causing a lot of vehicle impact noise. The joint seals are protected by a plate, which is actually what is making all the noise. Werner said that the use of a joint plate to protect the seals is an old method and that the old joint seals will be replaced in the renovation project.

Theocharides said the design phase of the project should be done in the next month or so and, once completed, it will be about eight to 12 weeks before construction can begin. Actual construction will last a couple of months, during which one lane in each direction will remain open.

Theocharides said Sacramento residents can expect a fully renovated bridge by the end of the year.

To Beer, Or Not To Beer

2011-04-30T05:42:01Z

Sacramento has its share of fine brew pubs such as Rubicon, Brew It Up and Pyramid but what about a place with no beer of its own name? Perhaps a ridiculous selection of fine beers from all over the world? We found this and more when we happened upon the shack in East Sacramento.

Walking into The Shack you find a small but welcoming room where the staff is busy, the guests are smiling and the beer selection is endless. The Shack reminds me of a beach bar you might find in Santa Cruz or even San Diego. A very laid back neighborhood joint with lot’s going on.

You can find every style of beer here from light pilsners to hoppy IPA’s and rich malty stouts and porters. By the bottle or on tap, The Shack has what you crave. With 16 tap handles and an entire book of beers by the bottle, this little place has the chops to play with the big boys.
I think everyone can tell at this point the direction this review is headed but my reasoning is sound. While I would love to base my findings on the beer list making me feel like a kid at a candy store we all know there needs to be more, and there is.

We weren’t terribly famished but as always, I could eat. We ordered onion rings, a French dip and a Cajun bleu cheese burger. I dare say it is not what we expected. It is sad to say when I enter a casual dining establishment like a pub there are areas where I unfortunately have learned to lower my expectations. Quality of food is one of the areas where I rarely see anything special. Service is another one of things I tend to brace myself for.

Our server was a young man by the name of Chris who was happy, attentive, knowledgeable and engaging which enhanced our experience 200%. Chris was able to talk expertly about the beer with us and answer all of our questions while giving us solid recommendations. While many of you may think this not a big deal since he was just doing his job, I need to remind you many places employ people who only cover the basics without becoming part of the guest experience.

Our food arrived and we began to divide and conquer. The onion rings were titan sized and full of deep fried goodness. The French dip had an aus jus which had some of the best flavor combinations I have had in quite some time. You could see little pieces of meat and spices floating in the aus jus which made it a quick favorite. The Cajun bleu cheese burger came with all the usual fixings along with grilled onions and bacon. First I must say it was larger than I thought it would be which is never a problem in my world. The meat was perfectly cooked just a touch beyond medium rare and melted as it hit the roof of my mouth. The Cajun spices mixed with the bleu cheese made it the king of the table. In a nutshell, an overall slam dunk for my money.

It was refreshing to find a place that was able capable of filling my need for food, drink and service for an affordable price. I highly recommend the Lagunitas "Waldo" which is an IPA who's hops fill the air with herbs. Another class act is the Old Stock Ale which drinks lighter than you would imagine for an ale that stands proudly at 11.9% alcohol.

The Shack is open Monday 11am-3pm, Tuesday through Friday, 11am-8pm, Brunch Saturday and Sundays, 8am-3pm, 5201 Folsom Boulevard . Sacramento, CA 95819, Phone 916.457.5997 Fax 916.457.5999. friends@eastsacshack.com

Andy Soto

Chefs compete in Iron Chef-style contest

2011-04-28T01:28:29Z

Six chefs. Five secret ingredients. Three dishes. Forty-five minutes. While hundreds watch.

That's what's happening Friday when the Celebrity Chef Challenge by InAlliance takes place in Sacramento. Half a dozen local chefs will compete in this Iron Chef-style cook-off that raises money to help people with developmental disabilities.

The nonprofit's ninth annual chef challenge will be much more spontaneous than other types of cooking contests because no one will know what the secret ingredients are until minutes before the event begins. The chefs are planning to have a good time in this friendly competition.

"It's going to be fun," said Evan's Kitchen owner Evan Elsberry. "We're going to put on a good show."

Elsberry will take the stage in a lion costume – joining his sous chef, Michael Steele, who will be dressed as a lamb. While the theme song "Born To Be Wild" plays, Steele will prance around until Elsberry the lion takes out a fake pistol and pretends to shoot. Lamb chops will be served at the East Sacramento restaurant's booth at the event.

He will be going up against Richard Pannell of Cuisine Noir magazine, Mark Liberman of Black Sheep Butchery, Ramiro Alarcón of Tequila Museo Mayahuel, Jim Turknett of the Vizcaya and Keith Richardson of Colusa Casino.

About 600 people are expected to watch as the chefs use five mystery ingredients in three dishes they create on stage. Starting at 6:30 p.m. and spaced 15 minutes apart, the chefs have 45 minutes to prepare and plate their dishes. They'll then have 10 minutes to present and explain the dishes to six judges also on stage, said event organizer Jessica Bean, public relations coordinator for InAlliance.

The chefs will also have booths in the event's food, wine and beer show from 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the California Auto Museum, 2200 Front St.

More than 100 restaurants, wineries and breweries will provide samples of their wares. Three pastry chefs will be set up in three different locations in a separate pastry competition.

The chefs will all have access to a pantry with basic ingredients such as flour, eggs, spices and fresh produce. They can bring sauces, oils and rubs they’ve made. But if they bring any other ingredients not in the pantry, they’ll have to share with the other chefs, Bean said.

Minutes before the cooking begins, the competitors will be told what secret ingredients must be included in the dishes. The ingredients include a meat, seafood, fruit, vegetable and a "wild card.” They’re encouraged to use as many secret ingredients as they can, she said.

The chefs are given a four-burner stove top, convection oven and assistance from one sous chef.

Russell Michel, the winner in 2010, found he had to slightly alter his game plan in last year's competition after one of the secret ingredients turned out to be goat leg meat. He used another secret ingredient – papaya – to braise and quickly tenderize the meat, then served that on crostini with black truffle goat cheese, white truffle oil and red Alaea Hawaiian sea salt.

"What fun that was!" said Michel, executive chef at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento and its Morgan's Central Valley Bistro.

The competitors didn't want to give all their secrets away before Friday. A few were willing to share some of their plans.

Pannell has been cramming for the challenge by watching competitions on the Food Network and practicing presentations in the kitchen. He's watching to see what's thrown at chefs and how they present.

"I'm in training," said Pannell, who was the chef at Table 260 until the downtown Sacramento restaurant closed a month ago. He operates Pannell Quizine Catering. His cousin, Sam Pannell, was married to City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell.

He said he may have an advantage over the other chefs because his cooking doesn't have to represent a restaurant's menu or personality. Pannell said he hopes to get an edge with an array of international cuisine or fusion cooking that might mix southern-based food with another culture.

"My strategy is basically to go around the world (with the dishes). I figure I can go anywhere – from the Caribbean to Italy, Mexico, Africa or Asia," he said. "I have the freedom to be very eclectic and very open."

Liberman will use experience picked up at competitions like the Bocuse d'Or USA in New York or at restaurants such as San Francisco's La Folie and the Joël Robuchon Restaurant in Las Vegas.

He'll bring ingredients and equipment such as knives, a handheld blender and a thermal immersion circulator used to make waterbaths. He'll also bring half a dozen spoons of different shapes and sizes stolen from restaurants where he's worked to commemorate his time there.

"I'm kind of a klepto with the spoons," he said. "I love my spoons. It's pretty much an extension of my hand at this point."

The judges are Russell Michel, Guy Farris of Sacramento & Co., Michael Anthony of SacDine.com, Alex Lane of Yelp, state Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, Bryan May of News10 and Melissa Crowley of News10 Good Morning.

The chefs are encouraged to make an appetizer, entrée and desert because they’re judged on the three dishes as a whole. They’re also judged on taste, quality, originality, creativity, overall presentation, personality and theatrics.

The winner takes home a medal and bragging rights. Organizers hope to raise $40,000 to $60,000, Bean said.

The chefs are trying to decipher two clues sent out this week about the secret ingredients. The first clue was that Colombian pastry chef Carlos Sanchez was responsible for the success of a certain ingredient for nearly four decades.

Elsberry will bring staples from his kitchen, such as favorite herbs, stocks and marinades. Thursday night, he'll start reducing what he described as a "killer super stock" that will go with chicken, beef or pork.

"There's really not too much you can do until you know the ingredients," he said. "I'm pretty crazy. I should be able to figure something out."

East Sacramento Home to Neighborhood Electric Vehicles

2011-03-17T02:41:39Z

When gas creeps up to $4 per gallon and affordable, full-sized alternative-fuel cars are in the nascent stage, it’s time to get smart about city driving.

East Sacramentans who drive Neighborhood Electric Vehicles show it’s possible to forget hybrids and go totally electric right now.

The flat Sacramento streets are a NEV paradise, and petite, lightweight, low-speed cars can zip into Safeway parking slots and park and charge in city garages for free.

Pat Lynch of East Sacramento went electric in 2008.

“We didn’t replace our combustion engine,” she said. “We use our other car for long drives but still chock up about 2,500 miles a year in the GEM car.”

Lynch really likes the free city parking and charging. But the no-gas engine makes her grin.

“I love to cruise smugly past the pumps,” she said. “Why not drive a small electric car around the neighborhood? It fills a great niche. Short neighborhood trips guzzle gas.”

Lynch never has to smog her car, registration is about $100 and insurance is minimal.

California offers rebates, and tax breaks are available. Farmers Insurance gives discounts for those who drive alternative-fuel vehicles.

Look around the city for the small cars. They are colorful and look like tricked-out golf carts. The drivers are usually smiling because they’ve never filled up on gas.

City wants 65th Street bike lanes

2011-03-15T00:35:46Z

New bike lanes could be added to 65th Street if the city receives enough cash from the state.

The City Council is expected to approve the application for funding to install bicycle lanes on 65th Street between Fourth Avenue and Folsom Boulevard. The issue will be reviewed at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The city’s transportation department estimates the new bike lanes will cost $337,000 to install. California would pay most of the project’s costs if it selects the city’s application for the state’s Bicycle Transportation Account grant program. The city would pay 10 percent of the cost from revenues from Measure A, a local half-cent sales tax applied to street projects, according to Ed Cox, the city’s bike and pedestrian coordinator.

“The city is seeking to put bike lanes at this location because there are few opportunities to cross Highway 50,” Cox said in an e-mail Monday.

Bike lanes at the 65th Street site would link bicyclists to several key spots, he said.

“This location happens to connect existing student housing at Fourth Avenue to the (Sacramento) State campus,” Cox said. “It also connects East Sacramento residents to the new Target store, and it connects residents south of Highway 50 to the 65th Street light rail station.”

Tricia Hedahl, executive director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates organization, spoke positively about the city’s plans. She said bike lanes on 65th Street would link with the T Street bikeway, allowing bicyclists more access to points such as Sacramento State.

“This is a really important connection,” Hedahl said.

At the same time, she said she is concerned about the high traffic on 65th Street. If the city moves forward on the project, it should ensure that bike lanes are 6 feet wide and “very visible,” she said.

The city could create the bike lanes by October 2012 if the state decides to fund the project, according to Cox.

Read the report by city staff on the bike lanes proposal here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

East Sacramento Preservation documents weekday bumper to bumper traffic near Mercy Hospital and Sacred Heart School

2011-03-04T06:12:10Z

When parents collect students at Sacred Heart, traffic comes to a stand still. It’s one of the worst traffic jams in East Sacramento and it’s caused by a school.

Sacred Heart Parish School was relocated to the west side of 39th Street between J and H Streets in 2010. The school is new and has 310 students. The campus was developed as part of Mercy Hospital’s expansion currently under construction in East Sacramento.

At three o’clock vehicles are often backed up all the way to J and sometimes to H Street, two major East Sacramento thoroughfares. The worst of the congestion only lasts for about 10 or 15 minutes during morning or afternoon student drop-off and pick-up.

There is a school monitor with a flag and vest assigned to manage the flow at the school entrance, but he often doesn’t appear until 3 pm. Cars begin to gather much earlier.

Theresa Sparks, Principal, Sacred Heart School stated that the school sends employees out to monitor the traffic. "… we do have all employees on deck at dismissal to get cars through our traffic loop in the most efficient manner we can. That means that after school there are about 20 employees keeping walkers, bike riders and cars safe and on the move.”

It’s clear the school does not have 20 employees directing traffic, and the people who do help, do not prevent parents from parking in red and hydrant zones, idling in cars or even leaving their cars parked illegally.

Parents regularly park or idle in the crosswalks or wait in the middle of the street to turn into the school property. They cannot wait on the campus because there is no room.

The photos accompanying this article were taken this week at 3 o'clock dismissal and clearly show the lack of traffic management.
Notice cars parked in red zones, the cars stopped in the middle of the street and the bike rider forced onto the sidewalk. You can also see the cars exiting the Mercy Hospital parking lot, which compounds the problem. Finally, note that there are not 20 Sacred Heart employees managing the problem.

The jam-up is a detriment to the neighborhood and it’s a clear safety problem. Fire Department and ambulance services cannot get through the street at this time.

Sacred Heart and Mercy Hospital need to work together to solve this problem. A traffic plan and management strategy must be created for the hospital area. There currently is none and this jam up is one of the area’s biggest traffic problems.

Mercy General Hospital Construction Update

2011-03-03T22:01:20Z

Construction is progressing on the Alex G. Spanos Heart & Vascular Center at Mercy General Hospital. To celebrate completion of structural steel, Mercy General hosted a topping off event on February 17, 2011, during which the last piece of steel was put in place.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the residential housing project is expected to be released in late Spring 2011. Permitting is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2011 with construction starting in early 2012.

At the February 22, 2011, Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) meeting held in Mercy General Hospital’s Main Auditorium, community members learned about, questioned and discussed a wide range of topics including but not limited to:

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) mandated that as of January 1, 2011, all of their facilities were required to adhere to a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. All patients, guests, physicians, staff and volunteers are not permitted to smoke anywhere on hospital grounds. I expressed concern to Denny Powell that the effect of the policy has been to push smokers onto its neighbors.

Mercy Hospital administration reports that they will be taking the following steps:

Offer a six-week smoking cessation program, “No Ifs, Ands or Butts” available at a reduced rate to employees and neighbors. Call 453-4268 for more information on this program.
Continue to have ongoing communication with staff about being respectful to neighbors and choosing alternative locations for smoking in public areas;
Employees are asked to remind each other should they see a fellow employee smoking in front of a nearby home;
Purchase of several concrete receptacles that will be placed in public areas on the perimeter of the campus but not near homes in the hopes that smokers will be directed to those areas.

I am not optimistic that the above actions will solve the problem, but we will continue to monitor the situation and ask Mercy to work on cooperative solutions with neighbors.

Neighbors also shared concerns about vendors utilizing the center turn lane on J Street for unloading and loading. Ron Yasui of the City of Sacramento’s Development Services Department noted that such usage is citable and the Sacramento City Police’s non-emergency number should be called to rectify any such violation.

Angie Louie of the City of Sacramento’s Traffic Engineering Division provided an update on the Neighborhood Traffic Management Project (NTMP) traffic calming measures enacted as a condition of approval for the project and are being installed and overseen by the City of Sacramento. In short, work is progressing and should be completed by this fall. Improvements include a pedestrian island on H Street at 42nd and Mission Way; five enhanced pedestrian crossing signs with pedestrian-activated flashing LED borders; and four-second crossing advance at the traffic lights on J and H Streets at 39th
Street. For questions or more information on the NTMP for the area, contact Debb Newton at 808-6739 or dnewton@cityofsacramento.org.

Shred-it, the vendor that comes to the Mercy General Hospital campus on a regular basis to shred private documents related to patient care had been performing its duties within the curtilage of the hospital campus on J Street. The act of shredding was loud; neighbors expressed concern about the noise it generated. In response, Mercy General Hospital has relocated the Shred-it truck to the interior of the hospital campus to alleviate the noise spilling over to private residences.

Standing water at the site of the old Sacred Heart Parish School was brought to the attention of Carmine Faro, CHW Area Manager, Design and Construction. Working with the Sacramento Vector Control, measures have been implemented to ensure existing standing water is filtered and discharged to the storm drain system, and as rains cause future puddling, the Team will work to drain any/all standing water.

The next NAC meeting will be held at a date and time to be determined in May, 2011. In the meantime, should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call Mercy’s Construction hotline at 552-6931 or email mghconstruction@chw.edu.

Bicycle Chef to reopen as bike shop brewpub

2011-03-03T03:10:23Z

Bicycle Chef has temporarily closed until the business is transformed into Sacramento's first bike shop/microbrewery.

Owner Christopher Davis-Murai, a longtime cyclist and chef, is currently hunting for a space where he can open a hybrid business that combines a full-service bike shop with a microbrewery and restaurant.

The Land Park resident has been looking for a 4,000- to 6,000-square-foot building to lease or buy for several months. He put the entire contents of his East Sacramento shop into storage and closed the doors a month ago after being unable to find a space before the lease ran out at 3184 N St.

Belgium and France have several bike shop/brew pubs. Davis-Murai has wanted to open one in Sacramento since 2006, about a year after he first opened Bicycle Chef at 2409 J St. in Midtown.

"I wanted it to be a nice taste of Europe, but in Sacramento," he said.

He grew up in Elk Grove, where he started racing at 17. He got his first job working in restaurants shortly after. Graduating from high school in 1984, Davis-Murai spent the mid-1980s to early 1990s riding and racing in Sacramento.

He worked just about every job in the restaurant industry, from graveyard-shift dishwasher just out of high school to bus boy, waiter and cook. Working at restaurants at night allowed him to ride and train during the day.

Davis-Murai graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1994. He spent several years traveling. He raced or rode throughout the country and worked, often as a personal chef for clients such as the Cabot family of Boston at its 50,000-acre property in Colorado. He returned to Sacramento in 2001.

He opened Bicycle Shop in Midtown, then moved the shop to East Sacramento in December 2008. He spent most of 2010 working on a plan to buy the building at 32nd and N streets and open the bike shop/microbrewery there.

But there were challenges involving structural and permit issues with the building, which had been built in 1918. He and the property owner weren't able to agree on a price, Davis-Murai said.

He's now considering three buildings in Midtown and Oak Park while real estate brokers search for other property in the central city – ideally with a patio or courtyard. One candidate is an old, Spanish-style church complex at 24th and K streets owned by Thomas A. Roth.

While Davis-Murai searched for space in East Sacramento, the business won't work there because none of the available spaces offer enough parking. But he said he will keep it close to the central city.

"I want it to be easily accessible for people on bikes," he said.

Davis-Murai is determining which areas of town can handle the wastewater that would be produced by a microbrewery. He is also searching for one more investor in addition to the two he has recruited.

Plans call for a 400- to 500-square foot bike shop with room for a mechanic, a small inventory of customizable bike frames, bike clothes and accessories.

The microbrewery would take up about 30 percent of the space. The microbrews would be German-style lagers such as pilsners, India pale ales, imperial stouts and Belgian-style beer.

The gastropub would celebrate the slow-food movement. The small, flexible menu would focus on local and seasonal products bought from farmers and farmers markets and suggested pairings with beer and wine – something like The Monk's Kettle in San Francisco, said Davis-Murai, who will serve as the chef and chief mechanic.

He said he hopes to reopen Bicycle Chef this summer. In the meantime, he’s operating Bicycle Chef Catering.

Others in Sacramento's growing bike community said they were happy the shop's closure will be temporary.

"I'm glad to hear he's bringing it back to life," said Cassidy Castleman, co-owner of Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento. "The way the economy is these days, you've got to be creative to make it work."

East Sacramento notes Mercy Hospital's prompt response to construction nuisance

2011-03-01T05:47:19Z

Pooling water and warmer weather is a recipe for mosquitoes. While the weather has not turned warm enough for egg laying to begin, Mercy Hospital responded promptly to neighborhood concerns about the growing pond on the East Sacramento Mercy Hospital construction site.

"Sacramento Area Mosquito and Vector Control (SAMVC) visited our site today, and they believe our on-going efforts to filter and drain water will go a long way towards ensuring there are no issues," stated Carmine Faro of Catholic Health Care West, the Mercy Hospital parent organization.

"(SAMVC) indicated that, notwithstanding the recent 'warm spell,' mosquito breeding/hatching isn't a problem until late May/early June. Moreover, there is no vegetation in the area of the (formerly) standing water, and without vegetation, there is neither food nor hiding places for the bugs to grow. It is more likely that the City catch basins are haven for the breeding than our site, according to (SAMVC). Regardless, (we) will monitor the area and take the necessary steps to ensure we do what we can."

On this issue Mercy Hospital, successfully addressed neighborhood concerns. The water is being drained and SAMVC was brought out to survey the site. This is a great help to the neighborhood.

Folsom Blvd. pot shop moving

2011-02-21T23:05:15Z

A medical marijuana dispensary is swapping a controversial East Sacramento location for a new spot in an industrial zone following opposition from neighbors.

The Healing Center or "THC" stopped operating at 3257 Folsom Blvd. on Friday, Feb. 11. A consultant for the dispensary, which has also done business as CC 101, notified the city it will be moving to 6435 Florin Perkins Road.

City staff got the news an hour before a meeting between the East Sacramento Improvement Association and Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, city Zoning Administrator Joy Patterson and city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson. At the meeting, the association's board members let city representatives know they opposed the shop, according to city staff and the association.

"They were facing denial of their permit," Cohn said. "They made a wise decision and chose to pick another location."

Dispensaries had to turn in permit applications by Feb. 7 under new city regulations.

Neighboring business and property owners and area residents had already contacted the city to question the Folsom Boulevard dispensary's legality and express concerns over its impact. The dispensary's owner, Ted Smith, would have to prove the shop had been operating there by Oct. 26 and fight continued opposition to the permit request.

The dispensary's permit application hadn't been evaluated by that time. The city didn't order a closure, Patterson said Friday.

The dispensary’s marketing consultant, Justin Karapetyan, who previously identified himself as one of its owners, decided to close the dispensary rather than continue fighting neighbors.

"It was being presented to me that the neighborhood is having some sort of an uprising. They do not want me there," Karapetyan said. "I asked if I did shut my doors if they would allow me to move. They granted me an OK."

He expects to open the new shop within about two weeks.

The City Council passed the city's first ordinance regulating the shops in November in response to an expansion of dispensaries. Under the ordinance, only 39 dispensaries that registered with the city by August 2009 could apply. City staff are now processing applications from 35 dispensaries that met the deadline.

The Folsom Boulevard dispensary is apparently the only one that was opposed by neighbors, Patterson said.

The city now requires the dispensaries to be located in six types of commercial or industrial zones. Dispensaries located in the correct zones by Oct. 26 could apply for special permits by Feb. 7.

The dispensaries are all applying for discretionary land use permits that will be decided on a case-by-case basis after going through a public hearing process. During those hearings, people can voice support or opposition to individual dispensaries.

At that time, neighbors may express concerns about any shops that don't meet limitations to be 300 feet from residential uses or zones; 600 feet from sensitive uses like a church, school or daycare; and 1,000 feet from each other, Patterson said.

THC amended its permit application with the Florin Perkins Road location, Patterson said.

Seven of the 39 dispensaries – including Smith's – were told they needed to move. Three stayed put and will now have to apply to rezone their property to a zone where such use is allowed.

One closed. Two others have moved: R & R Coffee and Collective moved from 8701 Center Parkway to a general commercial zone at 75 Quinta Court and Sacsterdam University moved from 1009 1/2 Ninth St. to a heavy commercial zone at 315 N. 10th St., she said.

Neighbors who opposed the Folsom Boulevard dispensary are happy the shop moved, said Paul Jorjorian, who owns buildings across the street.

"I think the rest of the merchants are quite pleased," he said. "I think maybe (the dispensary owners) saw the writing on the wall."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

East Sacramento Preservation starts guessing game

2011-02-21T22:00:51Z

Finders seekers! We’re calling all sleuths to our first East Sacramento Preservation's ‘Where in the Neighborhood Is This?’ If you can find this spot in East Sacramento you’ll win a $10.00 gift certificate to HeavenLys Yogurt. You must tell where it’s located and what it stands for. Place your best guess in the comments section of the East Sacramento Preservation web site. First correct entry wins the prize. All Sacramentans are welcome to try. The location is in the traditional boundary of East Sacramento. Pull out your magnifying glasses and hit the road. It’s out there somewhere!

East Sacramento hears the whisper of spring

2011-02-21T06:52:04Z

The clouds broke apart and the wind slowed. Under a spanking clear blue sky East Sacramento gave a hint of spring. Blooms, the highly esteemed and the lowly weeds, opened their eyes and peeked out at the day.

East Sacramento stone sisters endure

2011-01-31T04:58:32Z

When the Zelda Stone Quarry closed its doors in 1931, it left behind two enduring legacies in East Sacramento: East Portal Park and the “stone sisters” houses.

Peppered through East Sacramento are craftsman bungalows built with large cinder blocks and granite. The cinder blocks are composed of stone excavated over the years from the East Portal pit. Most of these houses were built in the aughts of the last century, and the homes are easy to recognize. They tend to be squarish, have small rooms and the exteriors have rough-hewn, chiseled and buffed blocks. Many of these houses also have granite in the construction and exquisite interior detailing.

Longtime residents of East Sacramento see these homes as significant heritage points.

“They are worth preserving,” said Will Green, president of East Sacramento Preservation. “They are unique and reflect the local history of the East Portal quarry. I’ve seen several such homes in the Louisville and Cincinnati areas built of quarried stones, and they are preserved beautifully. This type of heritage must be kept.”

In April 1931 the quarry closed shop. The Great Depression’s grip tightened on Sacramento and unemployment numbers soared. Homeless camps, or Hoover Towns, sprouted up and the city’s economic gears stalled to a slow grind. The quarry became one of the casualties. The city bought the quarry as parkland by eminent domain. The owners first demanded $18,000, but after a brief tussle over price and the beginning of condemnation proceedings, the company settled for $7,500.

Today the former quarry is East Portal Park, a scooped-out, bowl of lawn nestled deep in the neighborhood on 51st and M streets. From any side you enter the park you start a descent. It’s a natural amphitheater. The flat bottom makes a comfy seat to enjoy Pops in the Park. But this modern, treed venue almost didn’t exist.

The Depression put the kibosh on city park development plans, but President Roosevelt and the Work Progress Administration saved the day. WPA workers leveled much of the quarry, planted trees and framed the park with sidewalks. It was ready to go in 1936.

Four stone maidens still stand around the park today. Two butt up to the northwest corner of the park. These two buildings look suspiciously like they might have been housing for the quarry owners or foremen’s families, but their original function is unclear. They were originally single-story, box-like houses, almost identical to each other.

Some of the homes have undergone extensive additions, but you can always spot the stone maidens because of the distinctive first floors. Tasteful changes that blend well with the neighborhood expand many of the homes vertically.

“When expanding or redesigning, the original architectural style of these historic homes needs to be carefully included,” Green said. “Recently one house at the edge of East Portal Park underwent a remodel and it blends seamlessly with the existing design.”

Two others are located west of the park. These are stately two-story ladies. One of these had a spicy career as a sorority house and many of the original interior features were altered.

For 24 years, Doug and Anna Skewes have been the stewards of the second of these houses.

“It’s a very comfortable home,” Doug said. “The insulation of the stone keeps it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”

They have kept the exterior in pristine, original condition, adding just a coat of paint. The interior was remodeled to correct 1950s-era changes.

“Most of the original cherry wood features and original wood floor were lost in earlier modernizations,” he said. “But in one room we have an original five-panel door with an antique knob and plate.”

The residence reflects an earlier mode of flood control, with the second floor rising high above the ground. The Skeweses live on the top floor. There is a mystery room on the lower floor.

“A threshold leads up to the room and it has no windows,” he said. “The floor has what appears to be embedded carbon. It’s the size of a wine cellar and there’s no light. It might have been some type of heating or furnace area. There's a rumor that prohibition money is hidden in the house.”

The couple has yet to find the stash.

Perhaps the most exquisitely preserved stone home sits on 43rd and F.

“Remarkably, I’m only the third owner,” Marsha Hartberg said. “The home still has an original Murphy bed, and when we worked on the house, we found gaslight piping in the ceiling. We slightly altered the back porch and found the stones to be a mix of what appeared to be cinder block and solid granite.”

Hartberg’s one-story house has the original interior and exterior detailing. The facade has three different stone cuts and shaping. A river-rock fireplace crowns the living room, and built-ins, wainscoting, picture molding and the original wood floor add priceless touches to the historic home. All remain, unpainted and in excellent condition. It’s in a true turn of the century craftsman.

“Even the windows are original,” Hartberg said of the antique wavy glass that glassblowers produced up until about 1910. “I thought about weatherizing, but I didn’t want to loose the waves or the antique hardware.”

Further original details abound in her home. The porch is “roped” by a single linked iron strand with decorative hooks. Crushed rock and embedded stone inlay add unique details.

Midtown, East Sacramento and Oak Park are just some of the neighborhoods that boast original, last-century jewels. Preservation of these homes is a critical part of city management. The stone maidens of East Sacramento survived into the 21st century. May they see many more centuries to come.

If you can find your house address in the old city directories, you’re on your way to discovering its past. Go to the Central Library’s Sacramento Room to start your search. You can also visit “History of a House” for more information.

Volunteers count homeless on cold night

2011-01-29T00:40:56Z

Mike Morris wore a headlamp late Thursday night as he searched for homeless people in McKinley Park and areas around the freeway at 29th Street.

Morris, with two other volunteers and a law enforcement officer, interviewed two homeless individuals Thursday night as part of the Homeless Street Count event organized by the Sacramento Steps Forward group. A third homeless person declined to be interviewed. The Sacramento Press shadowed the group.

About 400 volunteers turned out on a cold and foggy Thursday night to count the homeless living in Sacramento County. The count is done every other year to comply with the federal Housing and Urban Development Agency.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Morris said. “I didn’t even know this (count) existed, and I work for the Department of Human Assistance.”

The federal Housing and Urban Development Agency (HUD) awards about $14 million annually to Sacramento County for services and housing for formerly homeless people, according to Lucinda Serynek, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Assistance (DHA). HUD mandates that Sacramento County carry out the homeless counts, Serynek said.

While Sacramento Steps Forward managed the count, the data will be used by DHA, said Tim Brown, director of Sacramento Steps Forward, a group that address regional homelessness.

The 400 volunteers who participated in Thursday’s count were split up into small groups and sent to areas within Sacramento County, as well as parts of the county’s unincorporated area.

Morris was part of a volunteer interview team with two of his colleagues from the information technology unit at DHA. An armed law enforcement officer from the fraud investigation unit at DHA accompanied the volunteers as they searched areas near freeways and other remote spots.

“I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was,” Morris said, referring to the count. “It’s a pretty big effort.”

Teams did their searches as temperatures dropped into the 30s. Lt. Lori Babbage, the law enforcement member of the team, said it’s better to count homeless people at night because they won’t be moving around as much.

Homeless people move from spot to spot during the day, responding to various groups who don’t want them around, Babbage said. “We know they’re going to hunker down for the night.”

The teams asked homeless people a variety of personal questions. Kelly Newell, who was part of Morris’ team, said interviews included questions about mental health issues, substance abuse, disabilities, domestic violence and HIV.

Newell interviewed a cooperative homeless man who was sleeping near a tree in Midtown. “We won’t ask you your name,” she told the man, who answered her questions.

Another homeless man approached the volunteers. He listened as Newell explained the interview questions, but then walked away. Later that evening, the volunteers spotted him at 29th and E streets. This time around, he readily talked with Morris and Todd Dunbar, another volunteer in the group.

The man appeared to be more willing to talk when Babbage, who was wearing a vest printed with the word “Police,” was not near him.

The team fanned out at McKinley Park and searched the grounds and bathrooms thoroughly. A few joggers were doing laps around the park, but the only other people inside the park at 9:30 p.m. were a young couple sharing a blanket.

Brown said he thinks homeless people might not be sleeping at McKinley Park because law enforcement officers drive around the park and tell people to leave.

Isleton was the only part of the county that wasn’t included in the count, said John Culbert, GIS lead for the project. Areas were selected with input from many groups, including law enforcement agencies, park rangers, homeless people, citizen groups and homeless outreach workers, according to Culbert and Brown.

The count began around 8 p.m. and ended at midnight. Some groups finished their walks before midnight.

Numerous area law enforcement agencies participated in the event. Brown said there were no public safety issues with Thursday’s count.

In an interview Friday morning, Brown said he hopes to have a report on the new data from Thursday night’s walk in March. The report will be handled by the MKS Consulting firm.

County Supervisor Phil Serna joined the volunteers Thursday night.

“I think it’s important for local, elected leaders to see for themselves the extent of this challenge,” he said.

The public will be able to read the results of the count online in March, according to Serynek.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Folsom Blvd. riled up over marijuana dispensary

2011-01-21T02:18:02Z

A controversy is growing over a medical marijuana dispensary that wants to do business in East Sacramento.

There's mixed reaction, but not everyone is happy a medical pot shop may be operating out of a storefront and attached house at 3257 Folsom Blvd. There's disagreement over whether the dispensary has opened shop yet.

Questions arose after representatives of the dispensary and the landlord notified some neighbors the building's lease had been taken over by the dispensary and the storefront's windows were tinted black in late December, then retinted darker in January. The space has been vacant since a charitable thrift store, This 'n' That Thrift & Gift, left in early September.

Half a dozen nearby business and property owners expressed concerns about the dispensary's legality, operations and impact on neighboring businesses. At least three have voiced their concerns to the city, which is in the process of legalizing and regulating such dispensaries following a City Council vote in November.

"I just don't think it's an appropriate venue for what we're trying to do in this corridor," said Peggy Orr, who took over ownership of The Pink House, a shoe and accessory shop, at 1462 33rd St. in September. "I'm not making a judgment on medical marijuana. I'm just saying I don't think it enhances the neighborhood."

But others said they don't think the dispensary will harm business in the area.

"Anybody's welcome to open any business they like, as far as I'm concerned," said D. Neath, who moved Archival Framing to 3223 Folsom Blvd. three weeks ago. "I just went through the death of a friend from cancer. And that (marijuana) was the only way she could eat."

Sacramento's new city ordinance, which took effect Jan. 7, only allows the 39 existing medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for permits. The 39 dispensaries had all been registered as operating within the city by August 2009.

However, the city told about six of those to move because they were operating in residential areas, rather than areas zoned for commercial or industrial use. The dispensaries had to move by Oct. 26, said city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson.

All dispensaries now have to go through an extensive, two-phase application process. The first phase includes getting a special use planning permit from the city Planning Commission, which helps ensure locations are appropriate. Those decisions can be called up by City Council members. The second phase involves getting a special operating permit from the city Finance Department's revenue division, he said.

The deadline to apply for the first phase is Feb. 7. Only one of the 39 dispensaries has applied so far, Wasson said.

Some neighbors said the dispensary didn’t meet the city's deadline for dispensaries to move and violates a criteria that dispensaries not be located within 300 feet of residential areas. Two said the black windows make the business look like an adult store.

A political fundraising group – reportedly Republican – recently leased a small office space next door.

None of the business or property owners saw any activity at the site until late December or early January, said Paul Jorjorian, who owns buildings across the street from the dispensary.

Some people believe the dispensary has not opened. The only activity has come from contractors renovating the building, said one person.

Jorjorian and some of his tenants said they are concerned that people might congregate outside the business and cause problems. Parents may not allow their children to go to the businesses, which include a skateboard shop, he said.

The dispensary is called THC, or "The Healing Center," said Justin Karapetyan, who identified himself and Ted Smith as owners.

The dispensary, which has about 350 customers, will sell two types of medical marijuana: one that relaxes and increases appetite, and one that energizes. The shop will also sell small starter plants, edibles such as brownies and cookies, plus cannabis massage oil, lotions and lip balms. They will offer counseling and classes, Karapetyan said.

No one will smoke marijuana on site, he said.

"There is no medicating on premises. That is a stigma we're tyring to get away from," he said. "I would not want somebody opening up a shop and having a smokeout there. Or drive from the premises and, god forbid, get into an accident."

Karapetyan initially said THC had occupied the space for six months, or since mid-July. He later said the dispensary moved into the space in mid-September and began selling marijuana by appointment Oct. 1.

The dispensary that signed the lease for the 4,800-square-foot space had previously registered with the city as a mobile dispensary called CC 101, which was based in Paradise and whose owner was listed as Theodore Smith. The dispensary operated within Sacramento and had initially tried to register to dispense from a private home, but the city wouldn't allow that, Wasson said.

THC hasn't turned in an application to the city yet. However, the owner sent a letter stating that it began operating at the location Oct. 1. The owner or owners now have to prove that they were operating there before Oct. 26, Wasson said.

"I'm not saying they were, I'm not saying they weren't," he said. "I haven't gotten an application to look at."

Star Ginger opens next week

2011-01-19T01:08:23Z

Lemon Grass Restaurant owner and cookbook author Mai Pham is expanding her culinary empire to new regions, with a different name and broader-range cuisine.

Pham said she expects to open her newest restaurant, Star Ginger, in East Sacramento on Jan. 25. She's also working on plans to open more Star Gingers on the East Coast in the next year or two.

She cooked up Star Ginger as a modern, pan-Asian dining concept that would allow her to widen the menu to include more Asian cuisines while offering quicker daytime service.

"As I cooked over the years and as my horizon expanded.... I became enamored with other Asian cuisines," Pham said.

The former TV reporter and public relations professional launched her career in the food industry by opening Lemon Grass Restaurant, featuring Vietnamese and Thai fine dining in Sacramento's Arden-Arcade neighborhood in the late 1980s. She cooked what she knew, serving customers food from her homeland, Vietnam, and dishes she learned growing up in Thailand. Her family had fled Vietnam in 1975 after the fall of Saigon.

Pham later developed a scaled-down eatery with faster service called Lemon Grass Asian Grill & Noodle Bar, and opened two of them on nearby Howe Avenue and at the Sacramento International Airport.

She wrote or co-wrote three cookbooks and developed the curriculum to teach Southeast Asian cooking at the Culinary Institute of America. As she gained more national exposure, Pham's interests widened. She said she wanted to expand her menus after exploring Southeast Asia's mother cuisines from China and India.

The "Lemon Grass" name has become too common, so Star Ginger was developed as a unique brand, said Derrick Fong, chief executive officer of the Lemon Grass Restaurant Group.

Pham opened the first Star Gingers on college campuses, starting with the University of Massachussetts Amherst in 2006, followed by others at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Located in commercial food courts or in dorm dining halls, the eateries are run by the universities or a food service company. Pham developed the menus and recipes, Fong said.

Two more may open this year at Emory University in Atlanta and UC Davis, although the latter may be housed in a food truck, Pham said.

Sacramento's first Star Ginger Asian Grill & Noodle Bar will be opened at the corner of Folsom and Alhambra boulevards, on the border of Midtown. The restaurant will be Pham's first in the central city.

Star Ginger will feature a small menu that focuses heavily on street foods such as soup and noodles, plus other dishes from Southeast Asia, China, India and Japan.

To speed lunchtime service, the restaurant will offer only counter service during the day and table service from a wait staff after 5 p.m., said Tina Weinmeister, a culinary and marketing project manager with Be Our Guest Consulting.

The restaurant will open at 3101 Folsom Blvd., which operated as a See's Candies store in the 1960s and 1970s. The building housed a Togo's sandwich shop most recently.

Pham said she wanted the look and feel of Star Ginger to reflect the natural, authentic and exciting Asian flavors of the food. The exterior and interior of the new space combine modern, urban textures and finishes with soothing earth tones and reclaimed woods.

As part of the building’s transformation, the front of the concrete masonry block building was cut and reshaped, and wooden columns and composite wood planks were added to increase texture and depth, said Mark Hefling, design construction manager for Star Ginger.

"It was an ugly building," he said.

A stainless steel kitchen was added to the 2,700-square-foot restaurant, which will seat about 75 people.

For the first two weeks, hours will be 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Starting Monday, Feb. 7, hours will be 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The renovation was designed and overseen by Pham, Hefling, Fong and Darryl Chinn Architects of Sacramento.

Inside, in-wall lights, partitions and other art contain lemongrass accents to pay homage to the flagship Lemon Grass Restaurant. Bamboo tables and wall tiles also help create a modern Asian setting.

“The vision for this place is more modern, more urban,” Pham said. “Authentic flavors served in today's setting.”

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Philipp's Bakery sold

2011-01-11T01:40:20Z

Sacramento developers Ken Fahn and Mark Cordano are searching for tenants after buying the shuttered Philipp's Bakery Monday.

Fahn and Cordano are looking for one to three businesses to lease space at the historic East Sacramento building, which operated as a bakery-cafe for about 80 years.

"Mark and I are both native Sacramentans and are very much into design and preservation," Fahn said. "We love older buildings. It's a beautiful building. It's a terrific location."

The 3,256-square-foot building was last listed at $699,000. Fahn didn't want to comment on the purchase price.

The building closed escrow Monday after being on the market for at least three years. The sale proved difficult despite multiple offers. An environmental issue involving a fuel tank on the site may have discouraged some buyers. The tank was inspected and removed, and the site was tested and found to be free of contaminants, said broker Jay Richter of Cassidy Turley BT Commercial, who handled the sale.

"It turned out it was a clean property," Richter said.

The bakery was most recently run by Cindy Philipp, who was married to the grandson of the bakery's founders. Philipp ran the business from 2003 to 2007 but closed the neighborhood bakery at 3300 Folsom Blvd. due to needed repairs.

Fahn said they plan to preserve the building's architectural integrity. They will replace the roof, repair the back parking lot and make other improvements, such as fixing basement leaks from the sidewalk. The brick exterior is in good condition, but they may restore more of the building's original look by removing portions of brick façade that covered original doors and windows.

Philipp's Bakery was opened in 1925 by Julius and Angelina Philipp. The German immigrants moved to Sacramento from Calistoga, where they'd also operated a bakery. Philipp's Bakery was one of three tenants who first leased space at the building. The bakery was so popular that they expanded into the entire building, then bought the property and remodeled it into one space.

"At that time, Folsom Boulevard was the freeway to get to the mountains. That's how you got to Tahoe," Fahn said.

The couple ran the bakery until 1955. They were famous for their cakes, but they also sold food. They sold Thanksgiving turkeys, sandwiches and other food ideal for picnics. The family lived in a house behind the bakery that was later moved to Oak Park to make way for a parking lot.

Son Julius ran the bakery from 1955 to 1982. The bakery was then run by two other operators. But the Philipp family continued to own the building.

Fahn is known for developing the Park Downtown at 15th and L streets. The complex originally held the Park Ultra Lounge, Mason's and Ma Jong's. Mason's was rebranded as Cafeteria 15L. He also developed UC Davis medical office buildings on Stockton Boulevard and turned Posey's at 11th and O streets into a multi-tenant building now home to a La Bou, Posey's General Store, The Dragon House and Vallejo's.

Fahn and Cordano have developed two other multi-tenant properties. The Firestone Building at 16th and L streets, which won the Downtown Sacramento Partnership 2010 V.I.B.E. award, houses de Vere's Irish Pub, Mix Downtown, Sapporo Grill Japanese Steakhouse and California Pizza Kitchen. Their other building at 38th and J contains a Peet's Coffee and Time to be Fit.

The Philipp family wanted the next tenant to be a restaurant that could carry on the building's heritage as a neighborhood eatery. That may not happen. However, Fahn and Cordano are looking for a good fit for the busy area.

"We want to make sure whoever goes in would be a positive addition to the neighborhood," Fahn said.

Photos provided by Cassidy Turley BT Commercial. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Editorial Note: Drew Wheatley of Cassidy Turley BT Commercial also worked as a broker on the sale.

East Sacramento Rose Society and city host prickly event

2011-01-10T04:27:02Z

It was cold. It was gray. But despite the January chill, dozens of volunteers came out for the McKinley Rose Garden Prune-a-Thon. The the cheerful crew cut, pruned and clipped to make the garden grow. Although rose pruning reduces the plants to stubs, those who can endure delayed gratification will get their payoff in summer, when the garden is thick with a palette of blooms.

The McKinley Rose Garden has about 1,300 plants. The city works hard to maintain the park, but neighbors and rose-lovers help groom the garden. McKinley Park, originally know as East Park, is in the heart of East Sacramento and one of its treasures.

The Sacramento Rose Society was on hand to give expert advice on rose-pruning. East Sacramento residents, AmeriCorps, rosarians and city employees joined together to make this event a success.

Check out the Sacramento City Volunteer Program and the East Sacramento Preservation page for more opportunities to help East Sacramento and the city.

East Sacramento pottery show attracts residents

2011-01-10T03:13:05Z

Potters from around Northern California sold their wares in the warm and cozy Shepard Garden and Arts Center Saturday. The annual “seconds” show brought art buffs and residents out on a cold January morning. The show is advertised as a "seconds" show, but the art is first-class. Displays ranged from toothbrush holders to gleaming, fantastical creatures.

While welcoming, some artists were reluctant to be photographed.

"I've had photos used to create knockoffs that were produced in Asia," artist Sharon Bloom said.

It's easy to see why the ideas would be pirated. Many of the designs are unique and original interpretations of American nature and whimsy. In East Sacramento, anyway, no shenanigans occurred.

JAYJAY show marks 10 years

2011-01-04T01:49:14Z

The owners of the East Sacramento art gallery JAYJAY will celebrate 10 years Saturday by doing what they do best: introducing Sacramentans to some of the finest works in the region.

Partners Beth Jones and Lynda Jolley exhibit a mix of modern and post-modern art, with a lot of abstracts and some figurative/narrative work, mostly from regional artists – rather than the landscapes and other forms of realism that Sacramento and Northern California are known for and many Sacramentans are more comfortable buying. The last two years have been hard on art sales in Sacramento, and especially for galleries that don't focus on landscapes, they said.

For that reason, it hasn't been easy for Jones and Jolley to stay true to their vision, showing only what they think people should buy. But that's how they earned a reputation as "tastemakers" in Sacramento – a description used by David Roth of squarecylinder.com.

"It's a more risky way to run a business," Jones said Monday in the gallery as they prepared for the show.

"I couldn't sleep if we ran it any other way," Jolley said.

The pair first opened "Beth Jones and Lynda Jolley Present" in 2000 in a storefront at 2906 Franklin Blvd., where Gale Hart had run Gallery 8. For six months, the gallery was open only on Saturdays. But the business was such a success they expanded their hours, Jones moved her art consulting business to the gallery and they reopened as JAYJAY in January 2001.

In 2002, they relocated to 5520 Elvas Ave. after Jones and her husband, interior designer Steve Jones, bought the building. Jones gutted and redesigned the space to showcase the first floor gallery.

On Saturday, Jones and Jolley are throwing an artists' reception from 6 - 9 p.m. featuring their anniversary show, "JAYJAY NOW and then.” The show will contain 50 pieces of art – two pieces per artist – to highlight what each of the artists was doing a decade ago and what they're doing now. An annex will also be open to present other pieces not in the show.

Some of JAYJAY'S stable of 26 artists have been creating art for 30 years. They include familiar names like Suzanne Adan, David Wetzl and Linda Day.

About 80 percent of the JAYJAY artists are in the permanent collection at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St., with a handful hanging currently – a testimony to the strength of both artists and gallery.

Jones and Jolley complement each other in many ways. Jones, 55, is known for her taste for fine things and elegant parties, while Jolley, 45, has an engaging and enthusiastic personality.

They have one crucial thing in common: their taste in art. Jones got Jolley hooked on abstracts more than 10 years ago when they began working together in Jones' art consulting business. Now their aesthetics are nearly identical.

"We have very similar eye," Jones said. "And that's very important."

The show runs through Feb. 19. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Wednesday - Saturday and by appointment.

Electric Bike Shop opens

2011-01-03T09:05:03Z

A new East Sacramento shop is offering commuters an alternate method to get to work or run errands around town – electric bicycles.

Mike Majors opened The Electric Bike Shop at 3644 J St. on Dec. 11.

“No one really knows much about them,” Majors said. “There are other stores that sell them here in town, but they don’t market them much.”

Majors sells electric bicycles that come complete with batteries, electric motors and pedals, so riders can either use them as standard bicycles, electric motorbikes or a combination of the two.

“I like to ride mine with the pedals, but if I get to a stop sign, I’ll use the throttle to get up to speed when I take off,” Majors said.

Federal law requires that electric bicycles not be considered motor vehicles, so there is no need to license them like motorcycles or cars.

Four or five years ago, electric bicycles cost about $5,000, according to Majors, but the prices have come down, and he sells electric bikes for as low as $500 and electric scooters for as low as $300.

“It’s not an alternative to a bicycle,” Majors said. “It’s an alternative to a car.”

Majors, whose background is in civil engineering, said he has always been a bicycle enthusiast and enjoyed riding to work, but considered himself fortunate in always having a locker and shower at his job sites.

“With these, you can ride to work, save money on gas and not have to deal with parking,” he said. “It’s a green option to your commute.”

Majors said his ultimate goal is to get a sound business footing before franchising the store in about five years to set up shops throughout the Central Valley.

“Most bike shops cater to bike enthusiasts,” he said. “They don’t cater to the commuter. This is going to be something huge, especially with gas prices always going up.”

Majors will hold his grand opening in conjunction with the Second Saturday Art Walk on Jan. 8.

In keeping with the theme for his shop, antique bicycle art work by Lucas Himovitz will be on display.

Majors said business has been good so far, but he is really looking forward to the warmer months, when he hopes to get a lot of traffic from people frequenting the adjacent Big Spoon frozen yogurt shop.

Nine-year-old Cooper Carinci rode his bicycle to Big Spoon recently and stopped outside Majors’ store.

“I really like it,” he said. “We need another bike store around here.”

While Cooper was riding a traditional bicycle without a motor, he said he thought a motorized bike would be “pretty cool,” and added that he’d be interested in one.

“I’d ride it to school,” he said.

The Electric Bike Shop is open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, but Majors said he will expand the hours during summertime.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

East Sacramento Christmas Lights-From the Fabulous to the Funky Forties

2010-12-23T22:04:48Z

The list of original American folk arts includes bake offs, Amish quilting and decorating your house with flash and dazzle in the Yuletide. In the past 10 years or so, a fever’s swept East Sacramento. Simple light displays have bubbled into massive community efforts that require entire blocks of neighbors to cooperate. Be sure to hit these spots in the 2010 season.

53rd Between G and H Streets

This is a lone wolf spectacular that must be seen. This single house will pop right off the street when you go by. It’s well worth the trip.

The Corner of Elvas and C Street

The fun and flair of flying swine and color cannot be missed. Continue down C street to see a gentle cluster of whimsy and community effort.

39th Between M and J Streets

A smaller home, with animals that move, makes a sweet visit for children on foot.

40th Between M and J Streets

Most trees are wrapped in bright, white lights mixed with delicate decorations-an arresting sight.

41st Between M and J Streets

This well decorated street has 9 houses sporting large, bold peace signs.

42nd Between Folsom Blvd. and J Street

Sparkling boughs of light hang from stem to stern and the eclectic, well-festooned houses are a must see. Don’t miss this one.

43rd Between Folsom Blvd. and J Street

Shimmering boughs and barber pole trees create a glittorama. It’s a deservedly well toured street. Bring the family.

4100 Folsom Blvd.

The concrete condo’s penthouse tenant covered every balcony with white lights, surrounding the whole building. Nice work!

46th Between Folsom Blvd. and M Street

Cartoon animals and spotlights will delight the children.

41st and H Streets

Look north and you’ll see the red nosed dragon with lit up bat wings. (The dragon does live here year-round, but he is gussied up for the season.)

Technically, Elmhurst is not East Sacramento, but our neighbors to the south have two of the area’s most stunning displays.

53rd and T Streets

Peek north down 53rd at T Street and you will see a block gone wild. These lords of light start the day after Thanksgiving with a large block party and set every house ablaze with decorations, lights and even have a live Santa to take requests.

48th and T Streets

For years and years this bold artist has lit up the night with a packed display loved by scores of visitors. It’s even visible from the freeway. A Christmas tradition.

Enjoy the holiday spectacle and hope for balmy, cool, partially cloudy, light wind nights to take in the fun! Be sure to leave a comment if you can add to this list.

Fab Forties Christmas Lights

2010-12-23T04:17:28Z

A great area to see Christmas lights is in East Sacramento in the Fab Forties. It's the streets 40th through 49th located between J St.and Folsom Blvd.

Here's some lit up homes:

SacPress Photos |Kati Garner

Fab Forties Aglow

2010-12-07T01:02:46Z

‘Twas the first weekend in December and all through East Sacramento, five homes were decked with holiday decorations and filled with Christmas spirit. Local decorators hung stockings by the chimneys with care so thousands of visitors could enjoy Sacred Heart’s Holiday Home Tour.

Now 37 years strong, the tour has witnessed custom homes in the Fab Forties district (38th to 46th streets, bordered by J Street and Folsom Boulevard) cover their doorways in wreaths and garlands, display Christmas trees in their living rooms, and illuminate their windows with the sparkle of ornaments and the flickering glow of candles for the benefit of Sacred Heart Parish School.

Tour Chairperson Leslie Lopez said the decorators gave it their all, and that this year, it looked like Christmas exploded.

“Every single home was amazing,” she said.

Decorators from Holiday Home, Haus Home Decor and Specialty Gift, Twiggs Floral Design Gallery, East Sac Florist, Impressions Designs, Inspired Interiors, and Beyond the Garden Gate all volunteered their time and resources to stage the homes in Christmas flare.

Not only were homes done up in holiday charm, but Sacred Heart’s new library and gym were also recipients of a holiday makeover, compliments of Holiday Home.

Holiday Home’s owner Carol Shellenberger, along with a team of volunteers and students from the Art Institute of California, went to work transforming the school’s library into a winter wonderland.

“It was more theatrical this year, requiring installations and more than just decorating,” Shellenberger said.

Shellenberger added a touch of seasonal magic to the library, which was themed after the classic children’s novel “The Secret Garden,” by constructing six-foot-high walls and hand carving styrofoam into moss-covered rocks to place throughout the room.

A gazebo sat poised at the center of the room, housing a tree inside. Manzanita branches painted snow white and covered in ornaments gave visitors the impression that they were meandering through a real garden, lightly dusted in fresh snow.

In her fourth year on the tour, Shellenberger and company had previously worked exclusively in home settings.

“We work with what the homeowner has,” she said.

With a small budget, Shellenberger explained that her company makes many of their own ornaments and decorations, making good use of cellophane and wrapping paper for candy canes, oversized lollypops and other whimsical diversions.

“We are not interior designers,” she said. “We are decorators and designers.”

Homeowners are not always sure about how they’d like to decorate their homes, but Shellenberger said they are usually vocal about what they don’t like.

All homes are volunteered for use on the tour by homeowners wanting to benefit Sacred Heart School. Three of the five homes this year were volunteered by homeowners who don’t currently have children attending the school.

Lopez said the proceeds from the tour go to help offset tuition for students in need of assistance. Due to the economy, the number of families needing assistance has risen by six percent over the last three years, Lopez said.

“The tour acts as the school’s biggest fundraiser of the year,” she said.

In years past, the tour has drawn about 4,000 people from Northern California and Nevada over the course of the weekend. As of Saturday night, Lopez said the funds raised this year had surpassed those of last year.

Lopez said they hoped to net as much as $75,000 from the tour’s proceeds, but this year’s official count has yet to be tallied.

Photos | Kati Garner

The French Hen to close

2010-10-29T22:42:11Z

After seven years on Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento, The French Hen will be shutting its doors.

In an e-mail message sent to patrons, Owner Nicole Turner said that her lease is up at the end of the year, and she is moving out her wares. She also wrote that all items – with the exception of consignment items – will be priced at 25- to 50-percent off.

The store is located at 3200 Folsom Blvd.

Turner’s statement in full:

I wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to close The French Hen.
It has been an amazing seven years. I have enjoyed being able to explore my creative side and I hope I have been an inspiration. I am going to miss seeing all of the friends I have made but I feel I am making the right choice for myself and my family. My lease is up at the end of year so I must begin moving out my merchandise. The store is very full so come down soon for the best selection. All items excluding consignment will be 25% to 50% off. I want to thank all of you that have been faithful customers all these years. I really truly appreciate getting to know and working with all of you.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Hurting thrift store moves to survive

2010-08-26T01:44:05Z

Adjusting to new realities, This 'n' That Thrift & Gift is trading East Sacramento's Folsom Boulevard for a Curtis Park location next month.

Owner Lynda Tyler has operated the charitable thrift store at 3257 Folsom Blvd. for 10 years: first on behalf of California Hospice Foundation, then as the owner partnering with the community-based nonprofit People Reaching Out.

Tyler knows she's giving up a busy commercial section of Folsom Boulevard by choosing to move. Café Capricho opened next door in April, Krazy Mary's boutique moved in across the street in June and a cafe, wine bar and market called Good Eats held a soft opening down the street this week.

Fear can hold many small business owners back from making needed changes. But over the last 20 months, every aspect of the store’s business operations has been impacted by the economy.

Donations and volunteers are down, rent at her current location is going up and a large nonprofit, Goodwill Industries International, has opened two competing, express drop-off donation centers nearby, she said.

"With the economy, we've learned to take chances again," Tyler said.

She stayed despite a rent increase five years ago. But in this economy, instead of staying put and paying more rent, Tyler shopped around for a new location for her store.

By moving to 2590 21st St. in Curtis Park — home to Kushida TV for 35 years — Tyler said she'll save more than $4,000 a month in rent. The cost for her monthly lease on 3,000 square feet in Curtis Park is $2,200, compared to $6,400 for her current 4,800-square-foot location. The store is also gaining longer on-street parking and a customer bathroom it never had before.

The existing store, which sells recycled clothes, furniture, housewares and other goods, will continue to operate until Sept. 4. Current store hours are Sunday and Monday, noon - 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. The new store is expected to be up and running Sept. 10.

The belief that all thrift stores are thriving because of the recession is simply untrue, Tyler said.

Business at consignment resale shops, where people can trade or sell their old clothes and other stuff, is up. But in the last two years, the quality and quantity of donations at charitable thrift stores like Tyler's, where all merchandise is donated, are down, she said.

Donations at the store range in size from a bag's worth to a loaded-up pickup truck. Where an average of 30 people per day used to make donations, that number has dwindled to about 12. Customers have dropped from an average of 100 per day five days a week to 35 to 45 a day, which forced This ’n’ That to expand hours to seven days a week a year ago to make up for the difference.

This 'n' That is run as a for-profit and pays a percentage of gross sales that results in nearly all profits going to People Reaching Out, she said.

During the recession, people have been doing two things: holding onto clothes and other goods longer because they don't want to or can't afford to buy new merchandise, and selling those items to consignment shops, on eBay or at garage sales, Tyler said.

"The casualty is the thrift store," she said. "In a thrift store, I'm only as good as my donations."

Sales are down from an average $100 an hour to $60 an hour. Volunteers have dropped from 30 two years ago to 11.

"People can't volunteer — they're out there making a buck," said Tyler, who employs her son and daughter at the family business.

Tyler has substantial business experience. She worked previously as the business manager of the Sacramento News & Review and its two sister weeklies, Sacramento Cable and Sacramento Blood Bank.

Six months ago, her own demographic research showed that her donors and customers had largely shifted from East Sacramento to Curtis Park and Land Park. She determined that her rent savings would be substantial enough to offset her losses after the move, giving her enough time to build word about the relocation. She estimates the store will be able to survive even if only 20 percent of its donors and customers follow.

"Anytime you move a business, I think you're starting over," she said.

Her plan is to resume marketing strategies she used to first grow the business: printing regular sales fliers and buying ads. They're also actively seeking donations of unretrieved clothes from dry cleaners and unsold merchandise from consignment stores.

"We treat it like a start-up business, and not like it's just next year," she said.

She wouldn't have considered moving even a year ago and didn't "have the courage" then to look closely enough at her business. Now, she tells other business owners not to feel too stuck to re-examine every aspect of the business — including rent and location — to survive what's happening right now.

"I'd say: Don't be the slightest bit afraid of looking out there," she said.

New store hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday, noon - 4 p.m. Donation hours will be extended from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff writer covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Soft opening for Good Eats

2010-08-24T01:50:32Z

Good Eats — a cafe, wine bar and market by Raley's heir Michael Teel and partners — held its soft opening Monday.

The gourmet takeout kitchen was a bit overwhelmed, serving 180 customers on the first day. Management asked prospective customers to be patient while any kinks are worked out at the market cafe, 3145 Folsom Blvd., throughout the rest of the week, said a manager.

The official opening will be held in September. Hours are expected to be 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sundays, said Julie Rollofson, Good Eats chief executive officer and Teel's wife.

The first Good Eats specialty grocery opened in Arizona but shut down in March.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

East Sac poised for Good Eats

2010-08-20T01:05:07Z

Raley's heir Michael Teel and partners will open a new cafe, wine bar and market called Good Eats in East Sacramento Monday.

Similar to Selland's Market-Café and Corti Brothers, which operate on other end of East Sacramento, the kitchen will offer hot and cold takeout foods, wine and coffee. The specialty grocery will include wine, butchered meats, seafood, cheeses, bakery items and flowers.

On Thursday, Good Eats official Julie Rollofson led food and wine tastings to prepare for a soft opening set for 6 a.m. Monday. The opening follows a lengthy renovation of what used to be Andiamo restaurant and the Rosemont Grill at 3145 Folsom Blvd., near Alhambra Boulevard.

The establishment promises to be the flagship store for the Good Eats company founded by Teel and venture capitalist Michael Ashker, who partnered previously to run Prosper Media in Midtown. Ashker also founded Internet companies Healthaxis and Courtlink.

Teel — grandson of Raley's founder and son of its owner, Joyce Raley Teel — was named president and chief executive officer of the West Sacramento-based Raley's grocery chain last January after an eight-year absence. He'd also served as Raley's CEO between 1996 and 2002.

Teel's original plan to open his first Good Eats specialty market at 5810 Folsom Blvd. — a retail space long occupied by Corti Brothers — in 2008 met with stiff opposition from locals because it would have forced the Italian gourmet shop to move. Teel canceled those plans and opened several Good Eats markets in Arizona.

Good Eats was previously scheduled to open last December. The building's brick and brown adobe-style exterior is accented with an outdoor terrace, new landscaping and trellis work.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City takes lukewarm position on medical pot dispensaries

2010-08-04T01:25:26Z

Jeanne Larsson is worried that the city government may not give her East Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary a permit to operate.

The Sacramento City Council agreed last week that it would not place a cap on the number of medical marijuana shops in the city. But it also supported proposed rules that could possibly lower the number of dispensaries.

Currently, there are 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento, including Larsson’s.

So, does this mean the city will allow the 39 facilities?

Judging by comments from city staffers and operators of medical marijuana shops, the answer to that question is yes and no.

Since the City Council has said it doesn’t want to cap the number of facilities, Larsson’s dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative, is not likely to be kicked out because her shop is one of 39. However, she said she thinks her dispensary may not pass muster with the city’s planned rules.

Among other rules it’s considering, the City Council said it wants to to keep medical pot dispensaries 500 feet away from places that focus on youth, such as parks, schools and churches.

Larsson said Sutter Middle School is 470 feet away from her East Sacramento shop. “I’m concerned that I won’t make it through the process,” Larsson said.

She would not be able to relocate to another site that fits within the city’s planned rules. “I can’t afford the expense of moving and starting,” Larsson said, adding that when a dispensary moves, its members don’t necessarily follow.

The City Council is leaning toward rules in which the majority of the 39 dispensaries would need to qualify for special permits, according to Michelle Heppner, special projects manager for the city.

Larsson, who also sits on the board of directors for the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, said she thinks the city may use the permits to cut the number of shops. “The special permitting process would allow them to close a lot of doors if they choose to,” Larsson said.

The special permit would come with costs that may be daunting for dispensaries, according to Heppner. She said she’s heard medical marijuana dispensary representatives express concern that they might not be able to apply for the permit because of the cost.

“This may end up being an expensive process,” Heppner said.

Meanwhile, Sonny Kumar, executive director of the El Camino Wellness Center, is taking the planned rules in stride.

“I am not concerned at all that we’ll have any problems meeting or exceeding any of their criteria,” he said.

Kumar praised the city on its plans for the medical marijuana ordinance, saying it “did a good job.”

On the issue of the number of dispensaries in town, Kumar claimed that some of the 39 dispensaries that registered with the city did not actually open.

The issue of regulating the dispensaries cannot easily be described in concrete terms: there are many nuances and caveats. For example, Heppner drew a line between issuing permits and allowing the medical pot dispensaries to apply for permits. “The objective is not to issue 39 permits,” Heppner said. “It’s to give them the opportunity to apply.”

On top of the rules being planned for the city, Larsson pointed out that California voters could decide in November to legalize pot.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell. A worker at Canacare waters medicinal marijuana plants.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Krazy Mary's circles back to East Sac

2010-07-24T01:18:12Z

Krazy Mary's owner Mary Kawano said the store is thriving after its return to her home turf in East Sacramento.

The boutique moved out of Midtown earlier this summer to a store at 3230 Folsom Blvd. — almost right back to the same place where the business opened 10 years ago. The contemporary designer store opened at 3200 Folsom Blvd. in 2000.

The store was the first to carry premium denim and other fashions in the area, she said. The East Sacramento resident said she moved her first store out of her neighborhood and over to 2527 J St. in 2005 after competitors including Dara Denim and Barby K opened in Midtown.

"That's where our market was," Kawano said. "I've always missed East Sac, 'cause that's where I first started."

Kawano was just 26 when she opened her first clothing store in Sacramento. She had sold hair products for a company called Fashion Formulas and managed a hair salon before then. In 2003, Kawano opened a second store, Sugar Shack Boutique, carrying eclectic local designers and affordable, funky clothes targeted to Midtown women at 2425 J St.

Krazy Mary's original competitors, which were a block away on K Street, have since closed. Kawano considered moving back to East Sacramento a year ago, but was afraid to lose business by being closed for a move, she said.

With the current buyer's market, she felt the time was right to return to East Sacramento in early June. The new space is bigger than the last — about 2,250 square feet, while the J Street location was about 1,500 to 1,600.

The new space also gets a lot more natural light and has better parking, she said.

"Now I know why I wanted to move back to East Sac: It's convenient. The parking is great," she said. "We love the location."

A grand opening is expected to be held at the new store in September. The store's hours are Mondays 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesdays - Saturdays 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sundays noon-5 p.m.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

East Sac July 4th Celebration!

2010-07-05T06:44:25Z

East Sac held its annual July 4 parade and get together.

Here's some snapshots:

SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

Fundraising for strong mayor effort continues

2010-06-24T01:16:09Z

Less than 24 hours after the Sacramento City Council barred the city attorney from drafting language for Mayor Kevin Johnson’s updated strong mayor proposal, Johnson was expected to attend a fundraiser Wednesday night in East Sacramento to press for a strong mayor form of government.

Shawn Callahan, who works for Johnson’s strong mayor campaign, said Wednesday that the fundraiser had been planned before last night’s City Council vote. Johnson is scheduled to appear at the fundraiser, which will take place in the wake of the council’s 7-2 vote to reject Johnson’s ideas, according to Callahan.

Callahan said more RSVPs for the fundraiser came in after last night’s vote.

“We’re happy to see that we got more RSVPs today,” Callahan said, adding that he thinks the new RSVPs are encouraging.

Callahan said the fundraiser will generate dollars for the campaign, which is now known as Open Sacramento, A Coalition for Accountable, Efficient and Transparent Government.

Open Sacramento is the new name, or re-brand, of the previous campaign known as Sacramentans for Accountable Government.

While the fundraiser will still take place, the campaign’s next efforts are unclear. Johnson told The Sacramento Press Wednesday that he will evaluate his options this week and next week.

He acknowledged that the City Council’s Tuesday decision prevents the public from voting on his plan in November.

By press time, Callahan had not e-mailed information that includes the price of admission to the fundraiser.

***

Johnson spoke to The Sacramento Press on Wednesday about his reaction to the City Council's vote and his next steps. He held one-on-one conversations with reporters at Cesar Chavez Park.

The Sacramento Press:

What are your thoughts the next day (after the City Council voted against your effort)?

Johnson:

I think, number one, disappointed. I truly thought that today I’d be able to say, “I want to thank my council member colleagues for last night (and) for really allowing this proposal to go forward. It’s an example of us taking one step forward to let the voters vote on something as important as modernizing the city’s charter.”

Unfortunately, that’s not what I’m able to say today. Once again, business as usual prevailed. The rules of City Hall are still dictating what goes on. The agents of status quo — a small group of people — are still dictating what happens in our community. I was just disappointed and I think people expect more from their elected officials.

Second thought: You know, I’ve still got a job to do. And I’m going to do it with all my might, and just as much vigor as I had yesterday before the vote. I think our governance system is broken. I think we have too many problems that aren’t being addressed. So, I’ve got to try to find a way to get at them, and solve some of the things that the community of Sacramento ... wants addressed. That’s my commitment — you don’t let up because it doesn’t turn out the way you want.

And then thirdly, in terms of next steps, we’re going to keep fighting. I don’t know what the next steps will look like. Keep fighting for Sacramento, generally speaking, and then certainly looking at our options for charter reform. I can tell you, at the few events I attended this morning so far, people are like, “Don’t quit. We want it. We don’t like the system. It’s dysfunctional; it’s broke. Mayor, don’t give up. We’ll speak louder; we’ll fight louder.” So, we can’t give up. I just don’t know what the next option looks like quite yet. But we’ll evaluate all those options this week and next week, and have a report out.

SP:

How are you going to work with the council going forward? After that vote?

Johnson:

I made a commitment to say council relations is a top priority of mine. You can disagree without being disagreeable. I felt the council members last night did not do their duty. Because they did not let this topic of discussion go forward to let the public weigh in on it ... As a mayor — you talk about how weak the structure (is) — I can’t even get the city attorney on my own to draft some language to have people look at it without five council members saying, “Look, we don’t want to hear about it.”

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Cohn wins in District 3

2010-06-09T16:44:45Z

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn has prevailed over realtor Chris Little, his toughest challenger.

Cohn, who has held his District 3 seat since 1994, took just under 54 percent of the vote with all precincts counted. Realtor Chris Little followed Cohn with nearly 38 percent.

Cohn, who is a top attorney at the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, garnered 4,792 votes. Little received 3,351.

Election results have not yet been certified, said Brad Buyse, the county’s campaign services manager.

More than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots came in Tuesday, Buyse said Wednesday morning, and they are still in envelopes.

It was unclear how many, if any, of those vote-by-mail ballots would affect the District 3 race.

While Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno noted that results were semi-official, she noted that the vote spread showed Cohn as the winner of the race.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

POPS IN THE PARK (East Sac)

2010-06-06T04:35:14Z

Whiskey Dawn, a popular and energetic country music group, successfully opened Pops in the Park for the summer in East Portal Park in East Sacramento.A huge crowd was in place before they began.

Pals listening to the music.

Rich Cazneaux handed out free popsicles.

Everyone loved the music.

Everyone had a good time hanging out.

An East Sacramento tradition that has become renowned for showcasing some of the finest musical talent in Sacramento, the Pops in the Park Concert Series offers a relaxing evening in the park with entertainment from live local bands. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy these free concerts!

The Pops in the Park concerts are BYO everything (minus the music) if you choose ~ including chairs, umbrellas, gourmet picnics, cocktails and cool drinks in fancy plastic cups. Or you can choose to keep your load light and purchase food, drinks and desserts from vendors that come out to make the experience complete, like Sacramento Catering and Burrs Ice Cream.

The concerts run from 6-9PM Saturday evenings in June. For more information call 916- 808-5240.

Councilman Steve Cohn and the Pops in the Park Committee are pleased to present the annual "POPS IN THE PARK" summer concert series! All concerts are free and open to the public and begin at 6:00pm. Food and beverages will be for sale, and proceeds go to neighborhood and park improvements. People should bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.

Free Bicycle Valet Parking is provided at all events!

For the schedule visit eastsacpopsinthepark.com/

SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

East Sacramento set to rock this month

2010-06-04T03:58:29Z

Grab your blankets and lawn chairs and and get ready to enjoy those June nights. East Sacramento is gearing up for this year's annual Pops in the Park concerts, starting Saturday with the country band Whiskey Dawn at East Portal Park.

Pops in the Park began in 1991. “The Sacramento Symphony did outdoor concerts in every council district in order to pay back the community,” recalled Councilman Steve Cohn. The concerts took place in the afternoon, but because of the heat, Cohn said attendance usually was low. Upon entering the city council, Once he became a council member, Cohn decided to change things. “I decided to do evening concerts and do a series and get really good bands that folks would really enjoy,” he said. The evening series has been running annually since 1995.

“It’s kind of almost like a more innocent time,” Cohn said of the series. “You see every age from newborns to 90-plus year olds.”

In the past, concerts had jumphouses and face-painting for the kids, but Cohn said now the committee tries to keep it simple.

“We found that the kids actually have more fun hanging out in the park with all those people,” he said. “We really don’t need to have much else. People entertain themselves.” Attendance at the concerts ranges from 3,000 to 4,000.

Planning for the concerts is a year-round event. Sue Brown, Cohn's district director, does much of it. Along with Cohn and a team of volunteers, she obtains sponsors by the end of the year, and has the lineup figured out at the beginning of the next year.

The Kiwanis Club once again will raise money by selling hot dogs, pizza and hamburgers. The concerts also feature a beer and wine garden. All the proceeds go back into the community.

“We decided to use the Pops money to put towards neighborhood parks,” Cohn said. “In the past, we’ve done a lot of improvement and enhancements to parks.”

The money has helped to build playgrounds and the plaza and fountain at 45th and N streets. This year’s funds will go to something a little different. “Most of it this year is going to keep the Glenn Hall, Bertha Henschel and McKinley Park pools open for recreational swims,” Cohn said.

Performances will include Beatles tribute band Because playing at Glenn Hall Park on June 12. SwingMasters will bring its big-band sound to Bertha Henschel Park on June 19, and The Q-Balls will wrap up the series with classic rock at McKinley Park on June 26. The Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates will be provide free bicycle parking in an area with attendants.

There will be more fun later in the summer with the fifth annual Screen on the Green. Every August Saturday evening, movie lovers can see family flicks in East Sacramento parks. For more information on the events, visit http://sacscreenonthegreen.com/ and http://eastsacpopsinthepark.com.

All images courtesy of the Pops in the Park and Screen on the Green websites

Stage one of 2010 Amgen tour to end at Capitol

2010-02-10T05:51:19Z

"For us domestic riders, this is our Tour de France," Chris Jones said of the Amgen Tour of California. "It's the biggest race of our year," added the 31-year-old cyclist from Auburn.

Jones and Michael Sayers, a retired professional rider, are Amgen tour veterans. They joined John McCasey, Sacramento Sports Commission director, at a Tuesday press conference at Mason's Restaurant. They introduced the tour's first stage -- from Nevada City to Sacramento -- with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmen Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn also in attendance.

The event kicked off with a video that provided a glimpse of the scenery cyclists will see when they ride from Nevada City to Sacramento on May 16.

Several months ago, fans learned via Twitter that Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer will race again this year. Starting Monday, preview videos began revealing each stage with aerial shots and and cyclists giving first-person accounts. The videos will continue to be released on YouTube and amgentourofcalifornia.com, two per day, until Friday. Each stage log, with turn-by-turn directions, will also be available on the Amgen tour website.

"Nevada City, the start this year, has a rich history," said Sayers, who is a Sacramento native. "Some of the biggest names in American cycling have competed in the Nevada City (Bicycle Classic), and I think it's a big honor that the race is giving Nevada City a few circuits before the stage starts."

After several miles in Nevada City, the 104.2-mile day will take riders through Grass Valley, Placer County and Meadow Vista before entering Auburn.

"My favorite part is going through Auburn about two blocks from my house," said Jones. "Then we'll head over the (Foresthill) Bridge."

Jones explained in the stage-one preview video that the Foresthill Bridge is the tallest in California. Built in 1973 to accompany the never-built Auburn Dam, the bridge provides breathtaking canyon views 738 feet above the American River.

Aside from a 1,500-foot climb to Cool, cyclists will continue downhill through El Dorado County into East Sacramento, before finishing at L and 11th streets. The stage will favor sprinters, and close to the finish line, cyclists may reach up to 40 mph. Streets will be closed to traffic along the entire stage route, details available here.

Sacramento will host free events May 16, McCasey said, including the mayor's ridealong in the morning and festival sponsor Anschutz Entertainment Group's Lifestyle Festival, from noon to 4:30 p.m. Stage two of the tour will feature a 109.5-mile ride from Davis to Santa Rosa.

The local economic impact of the Amgen tour is considerable.

"You're talking about $8 million," said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "Quality of life, a free family event, 80,000 people downtown, and we'll all look like Chris (Jones) if we cycle enough."

Photos 4 and 5 credit Anthony Bento.

McKinley Park and the critters

2009-12-30T03:24:53Z

Seems whenever I spend time at McKinley Park in East Sacramento I leave feeling in a lighter spirit. The geese seem to catch my attention first, with their noises and posturing.

Folks love to feed them!

Squirrels are active in trees and on the ground. Dogs love to chase them.

And some hand feed the little things.

Or watch them scamper away from them.

This duck did a hard landing.

And this dude stood its ground and scared a dog away.

Marathon passes through East Sacramento

2009-12-07T03:29:57Z

Runners of the 27th Annual California International Marathon passed through East Sacramento on a crisp Sunday morning.

Photo credit: anthonybento.com

"Devils night" in the fab thirties and forties

2009-11-01T09:29:23Z

They came in packed SUVs to fill the streets of East sacramento. Several hundreds of them for the effect of a totally calm,safe environment and to give their kids a night of pure bliss and the motherload of all sugar highs. Perhaps also to get scared and pass on this American pleasure moment to their progeny and to show them the higher levels of living and community.

There was no controversy here . People of all subcultures of the human race coming together and sharing whats good about america. Lots of first rate Holloween effects here as many of thr houses looked like Hollywood sets for a certian film genre and the jack-a-lanterns were almost all cut to perfection. My gut feeling is it will hardly see a word in print do to the very fact that this was a glaring example of how we can really get along. No story there the running dog press will tell you!

Being my first Im not sure the history of this but this community never to my knowledge prevented this sort of onslaught but seems to have embraced it and never looked back. I couldnt help but think that my least favorite holiday was so alive and well in East Sacramento and that i couldnt help but revisit how wonderful it used to be as a child.

My astonishment of this civil and obedient mass of scary people is do in part of what I do. You see Im entrusted in delivering wonderful pizza, pasta and salad creations for Onespeed, a restaurant on 48th and Folsom, by bicycle. As I split the massive crowds that were in search of the ulimate scare and the highest of sugar highs, I was fully amazed how cordial and caring everyone was in my path. How could the favorite holiday of Detroit be such a joy for all concerned here? Inquiring minds want to know.

All I do know is that I bow to the wonderful people of East Sacramento for opening their doors to all walks of life despite all reasons they shouldnt.

John Boyer

Ediblepedal.com

Orphan Breakfast right at home in East Sacramento

2009-10-22T04:08:24Z

The name sounds misleading, eliciting imagery of "Little Orphan Annie," or playful puns from Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist". But the food served at Orphan is absolutely no joke.

Chris Pendarvis, owner of Naked Lounge and Naked Coffee in Sacramento, opened his new restaurant on Sept 28.

"Coffee is very competitive," Pendarvis said. "I wanted to move forward on a different level, and round out the Naked Coffee business. We certainly now have all morning needs covered."

Orphan is located across the Cannery Business Park in East Sacramento. The space has already been used as a restaurant over the years, Moxie Jr. initially, then the more recent Sapor and Soprattutto Salumeria & Ristorante.

The name Orphan just felt right when he saw the space, Pendarvis said.

"I don't believe in brand identification," he said. "I was attracted to the sound and it just felt right. I looked up the definition and found it to also mean, 'to deprive of commercial sponsorship, not partnered.' I knew that was the name right away."

Pendarvis redesigned the interior giving it a modern contemporary feel. The seating is intimate, allowing only about 24 sit-down patrons. Wood tables, wrought iron chairs and black and white photographs hang from colorful walls around the building. Three windowed roll-up doors face the east side, obliging patrons the opportunity for outdoor dining.

"I wanted it to be accessible and comfortable," he said. "The feel should be eclectic, but not shabby. I wanted to utilize the space and got rid of some ugly windows that were in here previously."

The menu is identical to Isabel's Catina, created by Chef Isabel Cruz, whom Pendarvis worked with in Pacific Beach, California. The Asian and Latin fusion cuisine creates healthy vegetarian and meat dishes. All the ingredients are fresh and delectable, Pendarvis said.

"I want people to leave an empty plate, but not feeling like they ate a horse," Pendarvis joked. "The meals are not super weighty or heavy, but you will leave feeling satisfied."

Banana blackberry pancakes are served with fresh fruit puree with real maple syrup. Breakfast tamales are made from sweet corn served with eggs, black beans and garnished with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes and cilantro. Both are priced under $10.

The "eggs lulu" is made with cream cheese, scallions and roma tomatoes scrambled with three eggs, which is served between a fresh house-baked croissant and a side of fresh fruit.

The $4 breakfast special going on right now is one of the best in town, Pendarvis said.

"It involves two blackberry pancakes, two pieces of bacon and two eggs," he said. "We call it the two-plus-two-plus-two equals four special. It is a great value for what you are getting."

Staying true to Naked Coffee's roots, all coffee served is roasted right on site.

"All of our coffee here is single origins," Pendarvis said. "There is no blend, it is all drip, roasted right here. That in itself is different from other breakfast places in Sacramento."

Pendarvis said he has no future plans for expansion, or opening up the restaurant for late lunch or dinner.

"I am perfectly satisfied with how things are right now, I don't want to expand," he said. "Quality is lost if the product becomes too diluted. The food is well prepared with lots of love. It is all about quality for me."

Orphan is located at 3440 C St. Operating house are Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m until 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday 8:00 a.m until 3 p.m.

Orphan only accepts cash and checks.

East Sac Logging

2009-09-29T01:41:09Z

Driving to the Post Office along J Street this morning, I noticed a "detour"sign posted at 43rd St due to road work. Glancing down the road I saw deep piles of greenery and limbs blocking the middle of the street.

And there was a huge crane in the midst of it.

So I drove down another street to M St, approached 43rd, and then drove about a quarter of the way down it and parked, all the while keeping one eye on the crane.

I couldn't quite figure out what was going on at first when I saw this:

Is it a really really really long chainsaw blade thinning out the trees near the road?.

Then I looked at it from this angle:

Then it all came together once this happened:

There's one guy up in the tree with ropes, directing the segments of the tree being

cut to be hauled out.

Each segment weighs around 8,000 pounds and is carefully laid onto the street

and placed into a truck bed to be hauled away. The limbs were put through a

woodchipper onsite.

Being taken out is a redwood tree which has three HUGE branches. When the current owners of the white house

bought it 50 years ago they were told by the seller that their son had a small redwood in dirt, growing on the fireplace

mantel. He planted it to the side of the house as it got bigger.

As the picture shows it is extremely close to both homes.

The lumberjack adjusts the cables for the removal of the segment on the right side.

It took a lot of chainsaw power on both sides.

Up up and away it goes.

Crews from Maxim Crane Works and Arborwell worked together. A stump

grinder finished the job once the tall parts of the tree were gone.

Photos | Kati Garner

Traces of Italy in Sacramento

2009-08-01T03:17:50Z

Sacramento's Italian community is known to produce gourmet food, but there's much more to the community than Biba, Sofia's and Hot Italian.

With this weekend's Festa Italian opening Saturday and running through Sunday at The Croatian Culture Center, we take a look back at the role Italian immigrants and their descendants played in Sacramento's history.

Italian Americans have a long history in the Sacramento area. Agriculture and food processing are just some of the many successes of Italian Americans who settled in the area in the early 1850s, but their successes are hardly limited to that.

Early Italian Americans

Many of the earliest Gold Rush settlers who migrated in the "Mother Lode" area surrounding Sacramento were from the Liguria region of Italy -- specifically the city of Genoa. That was followed by a second wave of Italian immigrants from other areas such as the Veneto region.

By 1880 an estimated 10,000 people from the area around Genoa began to dominate the farming industries to meet the demands of the local population. The people are known as "The Genovese," which also refers to the regional Italian dialect they speak.

By the end of the century, Italians were one of the largest groups of immigrants working in the deep gold mines. But they were also masons, woodcutters and ranchers.

The Italians continued to thrive after the Gold Rush, Italian farmers produced large amounts wine, olive oil and other crops. Italian fishermen established themselves on the Northern California coast.

After the Gold Rush, Ligurians Antonio Cerruti and Marco Fantana founded the Del Monte canned food label. Giovanni Lombardo built the Lombardo Winery in El Dorado County, which is now the award-winning Boeger Winery.

Domenico Ghiradelli, who had traveled through the Gold Rush towns selling chocolate and candy, settled in San Francisco and built a chocolate empire. Many local Italian Americans shared similar stories of success.

"Italians in Sacramento had a concentrated community," said Bill Cerruti, founder and executive director of the Italian Cultural Society. "Many had farms and lived in East Sacramento near East Portal Park."

By the mid-1900s, the community, now unofficially referred to by elders as "Little Italy," had a weekly newspaper called La Capitale, which ran from 1906 to 1945, as well as festivals and dinners.

Men were known to play bocce ball in East Portal Park. The group is now the East Portal Bocce Club.

Italian American Internment

As America’s involvement in World War II became imminent, many Japanese, German and Italian immigrants in Sacramento were detained and forced to relocate. Italians, who were at the time the largest immigrant group in the United States, were interned, restricted and taken from their homes.

"Ten thousand were forced to relocate," Cerruti said. "The Exclusion Act used on Italian Americans destroyed the [Northern California coastal] fishing industry."

After the end of the war, Italians built East Sacramento's St. Mary's Catholic Church in 1948. This was the "golden era" of the community, according to Cerruti.

Italians from other areas in the city moved to East Sacramento, and the community reached new heights. But in the 1960s, Cerruti explained, many second generation Italian Americans looked to drop their "foreign" identity to assimilate into a more "American" identity. The next generation, in the '70s and '80s, wanted to learn about their Italian roots again.

Italian Cultural Society

In 1981 Cerruti created the Italian Cultural Society (ICS) with several goals in mind. His dream was to create a newsletter, have a location where Italians could gather and learn to speak Italian and hold a cultural festival. All of these dreams were realized in the first five years of the ICS' operation, which was originally headquartered in a room at the Sierra 2 Community Center in Curtis Park.

As the ICS grew, so did the need for new facilities. The group used a second classroom in the Sierra Center and other facilities such as Cal Expo and the Croatian Cultural Center, for its festivals.

Then, in 2007, the ICS moved into a building in Carmichael, near Carmichael Park.

Complete with custom marble flooring, a library, four classrooms, a full kitchen, a ballroom with multimedia equipment and alabaster chandeliers and a patio overlooking Carmichael Park, the Italian Cultural Center is a sight to behold.

Cerruti took out a mortgage for the center, located at 6821 Fair Oaks Blvd. The biggest question is how to pay it off.

"Basically we figured to pay it off in 10 years," Cerruti said. That was before the economy tanked. Now the ICS must cut costs and hold more fund-raising efforts, he said.

Currently the ICS has more than 1,000 members, and its monthly newsletter Altre Voci (other voices) is sent to nearly 11,000 households. Annually, more than 1,000 students attend 13 levels of Italian language classes at the center.

The original location in the Sierra 2 Community Center still holds half of the ICS' language classes.

Lately, Cerruti said, traditional dinner dances have become less popular. In order to increase community involvement, a youth group named Gioventú formed to bring together a younger 18- to 40-year-old Italian American crowd.

"I'm amazed at the activity in the Italian American community," Cerruti said. "Right now there's more activity than ever before, due to a revitalization in Italian American culture."

A "Hot" Italian

Igor De Angelis is one young Italian immigrant from Milan who wants to bring an authentic Italian flavor to the community. Currently working as a waiter at Hot Italian, Igor's dream is to be a successful rapper.

"It was an obsession," De Angelis said of his love of hip hop. "My dream was always to make my music."

As a teenager, he became a member of a graffiti team, break danced and studied the lyrics of American emcees. After moving to the United States to pursue his dream, he bought a laptop and began making beats.

By chance, De Angelis ran into an old friend of 2Pac's, who listened to his music. She told De Angelis that his beats were better than many other musicians’ who had been in the industry for years.

This motivated him to find a recording studio, and he eventually record an album. In 2008, De Angelis was finally able to achieve his dream of creating his own album, called La Nona - The Ninth District of Milan, rapped almost entirely in Italian. It was recorded under the stage name "Rigo of Di Casa Nostra."

"Rigo" was his nickname name back in Milan, when he was in a graffiti crew called Di Casa Nostra, or DCN for short. It means "our house."

A single from the album, "Grand Prix," was recently played on Yuba City's KRYC 105.9. Having a friend tell him, "I heard your song on the radio," De Angelis said, was a great moment.

Festa Italiana

This weekend, everyone is Italian at Festa Italiana. The ICS' 24th annual celebration of all things Italian will be held Aug. 1-2 at the Croatian Cultural Center at 3730 Auburn Blvd. (The Italian Cultural Center would hardly hold the estimated 3,500 attendees)

The highlights include an Italian marketplace, car show, children’s activities, festival queen pageant, bocce ball, music and dancing. The festival features food from Northern California's Italian restaurants and caterers. On the menu is calamari from Monterey Bay Calamari, lasagna from La Famiglia and Gelato from Hot Italian, among other dishes. The ICS describes the festival as "like attending two-day wedding reception."

Festa Italiana will take place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10. Visit italiancenter.net for more information.

Screen on the Green begins Saturday

2009-07-31T05:03:20Z

Babe the sheep-herding pig and his talking farm friends will revisit the big screen Saturday night at East Portal Park in East Sacramento.

The '90s classic Babe is the first film to be featured at Sacramento's fifth Screen on the Green free movie series, held in different local neighborhood parks for four consecutive Saturdays in August.

Founded by City Councilman Steve Cohn, Screen on the Green has grown immensely in attendance each year since it first began five years ago, said District Director Sue Brown. Although anyone is welcome to attend, the films are geared toward families. Last year's films included Charlotte's Web, Hairspray, Ratatouille and The Goonies.

Screen on the Green is simply "good, fun, free family entertainment," Brown said.

All screenings begin at sundown and are free and open to the public.

Families and friends are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and snacks.

East Portal Park is located at 1120 Rodeo Way, at 51st and M Streets. Babe is a G-rated film.

Other screenings scheduled in August include:

Aug. 8 – Grant Park at 205 21st St. – Bee Movie

Aug. 15 – Babcock Park at 2400 Cormorant Way – Beauty and the Beast

Aug. 22 – Glen Hall Park at Sandburg and Carlson Drives – The Parent Trap (1961 version)

For more information click on this link.

Image provided by Screen on the Green.

Sac residents dish about their neighborhoods

2009-07-24T04:06:44Z

When asked to talk about their neighborhoods, Sacramento residents have a lot to say. Sacramento dwellers who follow The Sacramento Press on Twitter revealed their feelings about their neighborhoods on Wednesday and Thursday. Check out their tweets:

@ShermanLoehr: I dwell in River Park. Love being so close to the wonders of East Sac & Fair Oaks Blvd. And listening to trains at night!

@journalistnate: I was born and raised in Oak Park. People from elsewhere are a lot more freaked out about my neighborhood than I am.

@johntodd: RioLinda is not NEARLY as miserable as many make it out to be. It’s much more Mayberry than South Central.

@swellyn: West Tahoe Park. Highly diverse, some artists, some hippies young&old, friendly, neighborly folks.

@JulieBerge: I love midtown dwelling, especially the diversity, energy and beautiful tree-lined streets in the fall

@lizconant: I like my Land Park hood -- nice streets to walk on, proximity to Tower Cafe, Masullo Pizza, Target! & my 5 min commute!

@kb_metrochamber: I love West Sac’s Southport area. Get the best of suburbia and hit downtown in less than 15 minutes.

@SuzHOPkins: Luv the wonderful sense of community & older homes in Land Park & walking to my faves: Vic’s Ice Cream, Freeport Bakery...

@_kelli: East Sac is amazing--can walk to get just about everything I need, the charming homes, it’s a great community of friends

@AngDRC: I love Blvd. Park. The old houses, big trees, all one block away from restaurants and bars!

@Lesley3fold: I love East Sac’s quiet shady streets; walking distance to fro yo, mexican food and starbucks, mckinley park, old homes

@andyleggett: Nothing. Sierra Oaks is upper middle class and quiet as $*@$.

@philanthrophile: re: top-of-mind @ my ‘hood N of Jesuit: wild chickens! U get used to the roosters but it’s the 1st thing visitors say

@tamihackbarth: Front yard garden boxes w/neighbors, amazing library, walking, biking, best yoga studio in town, friends=Poverty Ridge.

@Crystalsmom: I’ve lived in citrus hts, carmicheal, rosemont, college greens, DOWNTOWN, Elverta & now I’m LOVING upper land park.

Follow The Sacramento Press on Twitter. Our Twitter handle is: @sacramentopress

Fresh from the pizza oven: East Sacramento's One Speed

2009-07-21T02:34:38Z

Rick Mahan was shaping hand-rolled pizza dough for Friday's lunch rush at his newest restaurant, One Speed, when a customer brought in tomatoes fresh from the garden.

The plump red fruit later found its way onto a Caprese salad -- almost as quickly as pizza had made its way into the chef's heart. Mahan said he's been dreaming about creating a pizza place since opening The Waterboy in Midtown nearly 13 years ago.

"I've never gotten over my pizza fascination," said Mahan, one of two pizza cooks cranking out pie after pie. "For me, the most satisfying thing to cook from start to finish is pizza. I've cooked everything over the years and I've loved it. This is proving to be a very satisfying thing."

Although the 48-year-old likes to call the restaurant at 4818 Folsom Blvd. his "little pizza joint," this is no corner pizzeria. The upscale-minimalist East Sacramento space opened in June to serve artisan pizzas, hand-made pastas and other fare using as much locally grown food as possible.

Local and organic is even better, he said. Dressed in shorts, tennis shoes, a baseball cap and black One Speed T-shirt, Mahan blended with the rest of the fast-moving cooks working in the open kitchen behind a 26-foot-long granite counter.

During Friday's lunch, he made pizzas, cut five pounds of pasta for lunch and dinner, helped the pastry assistant make raspberry bread pudding and oversaw everything and everyone in the restaurant, tucked between a hardware store and yoga studio in the space where Cafe Milazzo used to be. Mahan said he's spending most of his time at One Speed.

"It's a big event to get a restaurant opened and running the way I want it," he said.

Just over a week ago, the restaurant's hours expanded to include lunch. One Speed is now open 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. every day except Monday. Sunday breakfast may be added soon.

And with Mahan bringing his standards to the place, One Speed isn't likely to be East Sacramento's secret for long.

"It's the new hottest restaurant," said Sean Kohmescher, owner of Temple coffee and tea houses. "The foodies all know it's there."

But why the name "One Speed"?

"All the good pizza restaurant names were taken," said Mahan, smiling. Actually, he chose the name partly because he loves bikes with fixed gears. Mahan collects them.

"The name 'One Speed' refers to my affection for Schwinn one-speed bikes," he said. "It's also a token towards the slow-food movement and just enjoying a good meal with family or friends, rather than wolfing food down while sitting in your car."

Pizzas are even delivered using a single-speed, heavy-duty, Dutch delivery bike. The restaurant's bike decor is subtle: metal gears hang from pendulum lights and combine with round mirrors to function as wall art. Later, water-bottle cases will be repurposed into pepper grinder holders and wine bottle displays.

"I wanted a place with a casual vibe, but the food and service is no different than The Waterboy," said Mahan.

Behind the bar, One Speed General Manager Michael Ng peeled and chopped white peaches to make the classic Italian cocktail known as a Bellini.

"We like to do it right, because the peaches literally came off the tree this morning. That's why I was five minutes late. I was picking peaches," Ng said. "That's what Rick's all about, too. It's got to be fresh. It's got to be good."

Mahan has cultivated a following in Sacramento because he creates inventive food using the best ingredients he can find. And because he's always "tweaking" the food, the menu and the service to be better, said Ng.

"He has so much passion for what he does. He never goes stagnant because he's always trying to find a better way to do anything," he said. "I think that's the sign of a great businessman, a great chef, a great person -- you don't settle."

Mahan got started in the restaurant business as a 16-year-old washing dishes. He worked at a little family restaurant in Carmichael, where he grew up. The family passed their love for the restaurant business on to Mahan.

At 19, he left for San Francisco to work as a chef's apprentice at The St. Francis hotel. Three years later, the company wanted to send him to its new hotel in Boston. He returned to Sacramento to kill time while waiting for the hotel to open.

Mahan started working at an inventive little restaurant called Cafe Natoma in Folsom in 1984. The cafe joined other restaurants on the cutting edge of the California Cuisine movement. Mahan quickly cast off the classic French style so dependent on heavy sauces for lighter, fusion fare using fresh ingredients.

A year later, he went to work as the chef at Paragary's Bar and Oven. In 1988, he and a partner took over a struggling Paragary's (now Zinfandel Grille) on Fair Oaks Boulevard. They built another in Folsom in 1991 and opened that with Randy Paragary as a partner.

Mahan later opened Cafe Oaxaca and Cantina on Fair Oaks Boulevard before he created The Waterboy. He wanted to make pizza at The Waterboy, but the kitchen couldn't handle a big pizza oven.

One Speed's pizza starts with four ingredients that are mixed and hand-rolled and then allowed to ferment and develop flavor overnight. To keep the dough consistent, only Mahan and two others are currently allowed to make dough. During Friday's lunch rush, he taught pizza cook Christie Randolph how to shape the dough into a pizza pie.

The pies were laid onto a wooden paddle and placed into a double-stacked Marsal and Sons gas pizza oven from the East Coast. Valentino Fernandez, once a waiter working for Mahan, turned the oven into a centerpiece by hand-tiling it in a yellow mosaic. As beautiful as it is, the oven's not the secret to good pizza, Mahan said.

"I think the most important thing behind a good pizza is the people making it," said Mahan, who's spent two years developing the pizza dough recipe.

True to form, he's still making it better.

City (Finally) Gets Tough on Bin Scavengers

2009-03-04T07:47:47Z

It's about time.

On Tuesday night, the Sacramento City Council voted 6-3 to make it a crime to dig thru recycling and waste bins. (City Council members Fong, McCarty and Pannell were the votes against it).

Anyone who lives in Midtown, downtown, East Sac, Land Park, and other areas will appreciate the new ordinance. That's because stealing recyclable materials has become a full-time activity for plenty of folks -- and a headache for those of us who live in the city.

During the past few years, the problem of bin raiding has gone from bad to worse.

A few months ago, a friend in Midtown told me how the scavengers had taken to jumping his fence and coming into his backyard to go after the goods in his trash and recycle bins. He's had to padlock his gate to keep unwanted strangers from entering his backyard.

He's not alone. Just about any time before the garbage and recycling trucks arrive, you can see plenty of folks with their shopping carts, brimming with bottles and cans stolen from trash bins, traveling thru the streets. I've seen it near the Fab 40's as well as downtown.

It's not just the homeless. Just a few weeks ago in my neighborhood, a late model Ford mini-van drove up and down the street. A middle-aged woman was behind the wheel, and three kids jumped out and proceeded to dump bins out on the street. The kids took the bottles and cans (each worth between 5 and 10 cents) and piled them into the back of the van. Meanwhile, garbage was strewn all over the pavement. The five-minute operation was swift and efficient -- and probably deprived the city of $50-$75 bucks or so on my short block in Elmhurst.

Multiply this by the hundreds of streets in dense neighborhoods and it adds up to a significant revenue loss for the city -- something we can't afford when we're facing a $50 million deficit.

One city council member apparently suggested we let things be because it "helps" the homeless. Are you kidding? Is this the way to "help" the homeless? By letting them pick through garbage? I don't think so. How about the city collect the revenue from recyclables and THEN fund programs to help those who need assistance?

Thank you to the city council members who supported this ordinance. Now let's hope that it's enforced.