Sunday evening Patrick Mulvaney couldn’t be found in the Mulvaney’s B&L kitchen. Instead, the chef and restaurateur was at Time Tested Books with Shawn Harrison, executive director of Soil Born Farms, discussing local agriculture as part of The Sacramento Living Library series. The series is presented by Midtown Monthly and Time Tested Books. Tim Foster, editor of Midtown Monthly, moderated the talk. Harrison began the conversation with the historical context of Sacramento’s agriculture addressing the question: Why it is the way it is? “Farmers were unable to sell their crops in Sacramento because there was not a huge demand for those crops so they went elsewhere,” said Harrison. Mu

New environmental rules for the Sacramento sewer district mean that local residents and businesses will be forced to pay high fees, according to opponents of the regulations. But the new restrictions approved Thursday night will likely be viewed by many others as a big win for clean water and the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Five members of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, a state regulatory body that oversees water quality in the region, unanimously set new restrictions on the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District just before 11 p.m. on Thursday night. A crowd of more than 330 people gathered for the meeting in Rancho Cordova, which starte

  Fall was definitely in the air Saturday as the Davis Farmers Market held its annual festival to celebrate the season. In addition to the typical market fare of garden-fresh fruits and vegetables, the festival, which is held on the last Saturday in October, brought a fall theme including Halloween decorations, a scarecrow display, additional vendors and more activities for families. Overcast skies and cool air accompanied the dozens of Mylar balloons, cornstalks and hay bales that made up the many decorations in the market area. Joy Wills, the assistant manager who has worked at the market for 18 years, described the festival as a “celebration of the fall harvest.” Wills also mentioned

Sacramento and Davis residents will visit a Grand Aioli feast in the southern France style this weekend, without having to go all the way to Provence. The Davis Farm to School Connection, a nonprofit organization and project of the Davis Farmers Market Foundation, along with Slow Food Yolo will host its sixth annual Village Feast. Three hundred community members will enjoy this Grand Aioli community dinner under the sycamore trees in Central Park Saturday in Davis. Attendees can taste local and fresh ingredients from Davis Farmers Market farmers in a four-course meal catered by Buckhorn Grill. To make the event zero-waste, participants are asked to bring their own plates, silverware and

California has a long history of farming, and as the capital of California, Sacramento provides a great central location for farmers from around the state to sell their crops. Sacramento Press already posted a story on the four farmers markets opening in the grid on May 1. One of the first Sacramento farmers markets started with family farmers Dan and Renae Best in 1980. Danielle Best, daughter of Dan and Renae, wrote an article in the Bee about her experiences growing up with parents who managed the Certified Farmers' Market. She is now the manager of several of the markets, following her parents' footsteps. She describes the appeal for farmers and buyers when they participate in farme

The following is a schedule of farmers markets in the grid. While Sacramento Central Farmers Market is open year round, Roosevelt Park, Fremont Park, Cesar Chavez Plaza, and Downtown Plaza Farmers Markets will be open starting May 1, 2009. The next article in this storyline will interview the owners of the farmers markets. Sacramento Central (Southside Park) Farmers Market Located in the State Parking Lot 8th and W Streets, the farmers market is open from 8 a.m. until 12 noon on Sunday mornings all year long. Roosevelt Park Farmers Market Roosevelt Park is among two farmers markets along P Street held weekly on Tuesdays. "Along the perimeter of the park, shoppers can buy vegetables, fr