City Councilman Darrell Fong was recognized by District 7 residents Thursday for his part in establishing an event that brought more than 500 neighbors together for a common cause: the safety of their children. Valley-Hi residents James Shabazz, Donald Johnson and Joseph Sillands surprised Fong at the City Council meeting with a scrapbook of photos and letters from event attendees commemorating the Valley-Hi Safety Day fair organized by Fong and his staff in July. “It was important for us to find time to thank (Councilman) Fong for the work he did to put on the safety fair,” Shabazz, an apartment manager at Ridgestone Apartments in Valley-Hi said after the presentation. “We appreciate h

Alkali Flat is the oldest standing residential neighborhood in Sacramento, with homes and businesses that date back to the early 1850s. The story of Alkali Flat is etched in the constantly shifting cultural and socioeconomic climate and the homes and buildings themselves. Alkali Flat is nestled between Midtown and downtown. It lies within the boundaries of H Street and North B Street and extends from Seventh to 13th streets. I have lived in Alakli Flat with my husband for nearly six months. Curious about the history of the buildings that I walk by regularly, I started researching the stories behind the homes and businesses that surround us. Tom Tolley and James Scott’s book, “Sacramento

Now in its second season, the Oak Park Farmers Market provides neighborhood residents with fresh produce, live music and a sense of community, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m at McClatchy Park. The market was started by NeighborWorks Sacramento, an organization whose mission it is to strengthen communities and create opportunities for affordable housing. NeighborWorks has made it possible for vendors at the market to accept EBT payments, and, thanks to funding from the Sacramento Hunger Coalition, EBT recipients receive an extra market dollar for every dollar they spend there.  The Sacramento Press staff paid the Oak Park Farmer’s Market a visit on Saturday and was not disappointed. W

City Planning commissioners gave the go-ahead Thursday to a residential building project at 24th and T streets that has been a source of contention between the developer and residents for months. The proposed two-building, five-unit residential apartment complex met opposition from neighbors almost as soon as it was proposed by developer Andrea Rosen last September, and the project has since undergone numerous changes in both concept and design. “It’s been over 10 months and staff put up with a lot of twists and turns on the route and destination,” Rosen said. “But I think this is an exciting, well-designed project, and it will add value to the neighborhood for decades to come.” Initial

Celebrating our 25th year of incorporation, the nonprofit community media center Access Sacramento hosts the annual membership meeting Thursday June 16 7-8 PM . You are invited to attend the event in the television studio at the Coloma Community Center or just watch the event on cable TV channel 17 or streamed on the web site www.AccessSacramento.org to any computer in the world. The 15 member Board of Directors will offer highlights of the year past and look forward to another year of Hometown-TV events, Game of Week football and basketball, "Listen Up, Sacramento" local music, and arts and entertainment reporting weekly on "Livewire". Ten new films are in production in the 12th Annual "

Francis House held a benefit concert from 7 - 10 p.m. Friday night at The Guild Theatre. The concert featured Victoria Vox and The Boulder Acoustic Society. The concert was held in memory of Greg Bunker, former executive director of Francis House, who passed away unexpectedly days after Christmas last year. About 100 people attended. The music was an old-fashioned folksy blend of eclectic sound. The Boulder Acoustic Society opened with keyboards, drums, upright bass and banjo. The keyboardist switched to accordion and the drummer to a marching band bass drum. Victoria Vox, 32, lives in Baltimore, Md. She sings and plays ukulele. She said she finally quit her day job in 2003 to tour and

Seeing a lack of regular jazz shows in the central city, Grady O’Bryant sought to fill that void with a weekly series called Jazz on J at Shenanigans bar on J Street. Jazz on J features a local jazz band every Thursday. The first Jazz on J show was on Feb. 17. Grady worked with saxophonist Ava Lemert to create Jazz on J, which had its fourth show Thursday. Lemeret performs every week before the featured band. “Grady and I met up at Shenanigan’s to talk about putting something together,” Lemert said. “He and I are the creators of the series. Grady had the idea that he wanted to put something together. Maybe have something every week.” Every Thursday, from 6 - 7 p.m., local jazz artist A

The Vibe Foundation held Cake Craze Saturday night. The Vibe Foundation hosted their Cake Craze fundraising event Saturday night, pitting nine local bakeries against each other in a cake-decorating contest themed “Generation Y” at 1725 K St. The event was fundraising for the organization’s opening this summer. Julia Hidalgo,18, another Christian Brothers senior, is the chair of Vibe’s youth board. “The fundraiser is really just to get our doors open,” Hidalgo said. Hidalgo expressed her vision of Vibe as molding to the needs of the youth community that leads it. “It’s all about what kids want,” Hidalgo said. “If kids want free SAT classes, maybe we’ll do that,” Hidalgo said. “We’re ho

Access Sacramento is putting together a network of news bureaus in the South Sacramento area. The goal is to get youth to report for their communities, producing news stories about South Sacramento. The effort is based around a website that access Sacramento has set up called accesslocal.tv. Ron Cooper, executive director of Access Sacramento, said that besides being known for negative news, South Sacramento seems to be absent from the news altogether. He wants to help revitalize the area through empowering the youth to become news reporters and serve them by developing their journalism skills. “South Sacramento is big area with lots of people and lots of ethnic diversity,” Cooper said.

Ladybug Ladybug opened its second location at 2512 J St. last November, where they sell greeting cards and gifts. “It’s kind of your one-stop gift shop,” said Sheila Istvanick, 40, Ladybug Ladybug’s owner. Istvanick opened her first gift card store in San Francisco’s Noe Valley at 24th and Sanchez in 2002. Since opening the store, Istvanick has had three daughters. She recently moved to Sacramento to be closer to her extended family. Istvanick worked at Papyrus before partnering with a friend to open the first Ladybug Ladybug. She said she really values small business and locally sourced products. From cards to gifts, Istvanick tries to find and promote local items. “I hope to carry m

Sacramento native and humorist Jack Gallagher is returning to the 24th St. Theatre/Sierra 2 Center for the Arts & Community after his sold-out performance of “The Joke’s On Me” last year. His encore show, “The Joke’s On Me....Again,” will run twice on Feb. 26. The show will be a combination of music and personal stories, Gallagher said, with a mix of music from the last four decades and will be performed by the Dick Bright Band. The stories will center around Gallagher’s life as a performer. Band members will recount their experiences with some of the original musicians of the covers that will be played. Members of the Dick Bright Band have played with prominent musicians like Todd Rund

The Sacramento Food Bank was filled with about 50 people Thursday night as Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at the Oak Park Neighborhood Association meeting. Johnson spoke about the green economy, downtown development, the state of Sacramento’s schools, volunteering in the city and homelessness. He emphasized the need for a strong and vibrant downtown and a growing green economy. “You kill two birds with one stone,” he said. “No. 1, you improve the environment, and No. 2, you can create jobs.” Johnson said he is a proponent for building the sports arena downtown. “Our community deserves a world-class facility, and I’d like to see that downtown because it creates jobs, and all the other busin

The Friday, January 21st hearing at which development firm Petrovich Development planned to request a permit from the City of Sacramento to remove Heritage Trees from his Curtis Park Village site has been cancelled until a future date. The postponement is the  result of a meeting arranged between Sacramento Councilmember Jay Schenirer and members of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association (SCNA) on the evening of January 19th. Representatives of SCNA’s Neighborhood Concerns Committee who attended the meeting are encouraged about what transpired, and feel that what was agreed upon and what is still being discussed amounts to good news for trees at the future site of the development proj

The Sacramento Preservation Commission took an important step toward protecting the River District's history Wednesday by recommending creation of a new historic district and designation of other properties as landmarks. The commission's six present members voted unanimously to recommend the Sacramento City Council create the North 16th Street Historic District and add nine properties found elsewhere in the River District to the Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources. At the same time, the commission postponed a decision on whether to start the historic landmark nomination process for the state printing plant at Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard. The building was design

One of Sacramento's oldest markets — a store that stood in the heart of Alkali Flat since 1868 — was ravaged by fire Sunday. The little brick store had first been damaged by fire last December after a blaze at an adjacent apartment building spread. The market was shut down, then fenced and boarded up. A man had been squatting in the building recently. Nearly 40 firefighters from nine companies responded Sunday after neighbors heard a boom and saw fire break out on the second floor of the building, 427 10th St., at about 7:30 a.m. A search dog found no one was inside. Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading but weren’t able to save the building. A city crew later tore the rest of th

As children are about to return to school and the temperature is about to drop, the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association invites everyone to Curtis Park for its last Music in the Park of the summer of 2010. On Sunday, August 29th from 6 - 8:30pm the eighteen-acre parcel at the heart of the Curtis Park community will play host to rock, rhythm and blues for adults, songs and games for kids, and an assortment of innovative health and wellness ideas. This free concert is part of the season of events of one of the busiest neighborhood associations in the state of California. Making his debut performance at Music in the Park will be singer-songwriter G-Whiz, who will present his unique line-u

Mansion Flat will get a new neighborhood hangout when Shine opens next month. Part coffeehouse, part bistro, part entertainment venue — the idea is to create a community gathering place that nurtures local artists and performers of all kinds, said co-owner Rena Davonne. The small wooden stage being built for the place is symbolic of the grass-roots entertainment Davonne and her partner, building owner John Stricklin, are planning: everything from acoustic open-mic nights and poetry readings to games and karaoke for the theater crowd. "The vibe will be your living room," Davonne said. "But not your mother's living room." The establishment is named for the newly renovated Shine Building,

Hello community members and partners throughout the City of Sacramento. As you may know, the City’s approved Fiscal Year 2010/11 budget for Neighborhood Services shows a reduction of2.00 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff and our team has lost two Neighborhood Resources Coordinators due to layoffs.Due to loss of staff, Neighborhood Services is rearranging the areas in which we all work. Below are the changes that went into effect on Monday, July 12, 2010: Council Districts 1 & 2 Kris Wimberly 808-6172 kwimberly@cityofsacramento.org Council Districts 3 & 4 Janine Martindale 808-8193 jmartindale@cityofsacramento.org Council Districts 5 & 6 Khaalid Muttaqi 808-4057 kmuttaqi@cityofsacrament

  The Sacramento Press will be live streaming video at the launch of the first Oak Park Farmers' Market Saturday, May 15. This new farmers' market will continue throughout the summer every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 34th and Broadway across from Old Soul Coffeehouse . Join us for the ribbon cutting ceremony and live music as well as all the wonderful fresh produce of the season. The residents of the Oak Park community have been working for years to bring a farmers' market to this, at times, troubled neighborhood. The Oak Park Farmers' Market is a project of NeighborWorks Sacramento, in partnership with community residents, community garden advocates, backyard growers, and fresh

Free video chat by Ustream   Join us for the 4th Annual Celebrate Oak Park Party in the Park Saturday, May 8, 2010. The Sacramento Press will be live streaming video of ' The Party in the Park' today from 12 pm to 5 pm at McClatchy Park, 35th Street and 5th Avenue. Celebrate Oak Park brings residents from all neighborhoods together to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the Sacramento's oldest suburb . This wonderful family friendly event includes performances by local musicians, great food, and information about various organizations and agencies geared to enhancing our community. Kids will love the UC Davis Med Center Passport Play area featuring a Rock Climbing Wall, V