The keeping of chickens in urban residential settings is gaining popularity across the United States. Advocates of backyard chickens cite more nutritious and flavorful eggs, nitrogen-rich garden fertilizer, and natural pest control among the benefits of backyard chickens. Opponents worry about noise, odors, and the potential to spread diseases such as Salmonella and Avian Flu. The debate to legalize egg-laying chickens in residential areas is making its way to local governments throughout the country, with city councils trying to balance the health, safety and interests of both residents and chickens. In August, after debating the issue for nearly two years, the Sacramento City Council ap

Easter is fast approaching and along with it comes the requisite egg hunts and candy-fests. Before you go snacking on the Snickers, though, you may be interested in having a good old-fashioned Easter brunch with your friends and family. If you’re looking for good food on Easter Sunday in the central city area, here are a few places offering brunch and drink specials on this special day: Tower Cafe 1518 Broadway Brunch: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner: 4:30 to 11 p.m. Tower Cafe’s large brunch menu includes their Famous French Toast, Eggs Tower, the Borracho Burger, and Thai steak salad. Or, try one of their specialties: a chorizo burrito with sauteed onions, garlic and dry chorizo sausage scramb

Whether you are hunting for speckled eggs or spending time with loved ones, don’t forget to stop by local eateries for their special Easter desserts this weekend. Get ready for the cuteness overload. Freeport Bakery 2966 Freeport Blvd. Freeport Bakery has a beautiful display of Easter decorations and a variety of creative and beautiful cookies, cupcakes and large cakes. You can purchase bunny, duck or Easter egg cookies in a bag, box, on a tray or by the piece. You can also purchase rich chocolate or golden buttermilk cupcakes, topped with buttercream or chocolate frosting and Easter decorations.  Each cupcake is $2.95. There are a variety of cakes available on their Easter menu, i

City staff will draft an ordinance that, if passed, will allow up to three egg-laying hens to be kept in backyards within city limits. The Law and Legislation committee of the City Council gave the nod to city staff to draft the ordinance in a unanimous decision Tuesday. City Councilman Steve Cohn, who walked out of a previous meeting to prevent the issue being shot down in a 3-1 vote, called Tuesday’s decision a victory, and said the ordinance should come to the full council for a vote within one or two months, where he expects it will pass. “I was very pleased,” said Cohn, who has been advocating for allowing hens in city backyards for more than a year. “I don’t think we’ll have a pro

Before you weigh in on either side of the great Sacramento chicken debate it’s worth considering the effort and cost that goes into the creation of a city poultry ordinance. The City’s Law and Legislation Committee will consider the costs and consequences of city chickens on February 15th, 3:00pm at New City Hall. It’s apparently not free to analyze chickens. The City’s Staff Report to the Law and Legislation Committee calculated spending approximately 40 man hours at a cost of $4,000 on the research and review of the potential ordinance. Costs to develop and implement a permitting process are estimated in the range of $1,000. Current nuisance enforcement is nothing to cluck at either. T

The fate of chicken keeping in Sacramento is still undecided after Tuesday’s Law and Legislation Committee meeting when Councilman Steve Cohn walked out and prevented Sandy Sheedy and Lauren Hammond from voting down the ordinance advocated by CLUCK (Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping). Cohn was the only supportive voice on the committee. “What I’d like to do,” he said, “is allow more work to be done and have an actual ordinance be drafted.” Hammond said, “I have never been enthusiastic about the idea.” Cohn replied, “If you wanna kill it, kill it, but I’ll bring it back when you’re gone.” This was a disappointing finale for CLUCK as supporters were left puzzled by Cohn’s abrupt

 Sacramento gardening activists want to take urban agriculture to the next level and legalize raising chickens in your back yard. "It's really been a hot topic lately," said Jaclyn Hopkins, volunteer coordinator for Environmental and Agricultural Taskforce Sacramento. "A lot of cities are changing their regulations to allow chicken-keeping, and Sacramento's on it's way." EAT Sacramento and its partner group Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping (CLUCK) were founded this year to advocate for more sustainable and organic gardening in the city. To promote the cause of backyard chicken coops, CLUCK will be hosting screenings of the indie documentary Mad City Chickens at the Guild Theatr