The Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association (NBNA) is honoring Mike McKeever, Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), with the organization’s 2011 Growing Together Award for his role earlier this year as the volunteer mediator in a neighborhood development controversy. The NBNA represents the Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth, and Alhambra Triangle neighborhoods in Sacramento’s District 4. The award will be presented to McKeever Thursday, November 10th, at Newton’s Night Out, a neighborhood event to be held at Revolution Wines, 2831 S Street, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  McKeever will be in attendance. The Growing Together Award, established in August 2011, is gi

Members of the Marshall School/New Era Park neighborhood came together Wednesday night at Sunny’s Market to garner community support in the effort to help the new owners keep the market’s doors open. The meeting at Sunny’s, located at 2800 G St., was a forum to discuss a critical issue: how to continue to make Sunny’s a thriving business. For the last 40 years, beer and wine made up 85 percent of sales at Sunny’s market, new store owner, Josh Patel said. Yet because of a change in a law that governs liquor licenses, Sunny’s Market’s new owners have to wait one calendar year to apply for a liquor license, due to the revocation of the previous owner’s license. Patel and his wife Monica be

With help from neighborhood volunteers and a group of rose-lovers, the rose garden at McKinley Park will be getting a facelift this fall. The 1.5-acre rose garden, which was originally planted in 1928, will be closed from September to mid-February for renovations, including a new irrigation system, accessible walkways, planter curbs, new signs and accessible parking spaces near the garden entrance. According to a recent historical assessment, the 83-year-old garden has not been upgraded or improved for several decades except for the rose arbors, which were replaced five years ago. “This may be the first time (the rose garden) has ever been given this much attention,” said Claudia Bordin

BarWest Burgers & Wings will be taking the place of Aura on J Street in Midtown, and in addition to food, it is bringing a sense of cooperation with a local neighborhood association that has filed complaints for previous bars in that area, including the now-closed GV Hurley’s. The opening day is tentatively set for mid-July. Co-owners Trevor Shults and Todd Zancaner are teaming up with local restaurateur Randy Paragary, for whom Shults worked in numerous positions – most recently in marketing. Shults said he has always been a fan of the block that contains Centro Cocina Mexicana, Red Lotus and Harlow’s, so moving into the two-level spot at 2724 J St. was a “no-brainer.” “It will be affo

Curtis Park residents know how to throw a party. The 20th Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction event converted the Sierra 2 Center into a interactive showcase of fine wine, beer and gourmet eats. With 450 tickets sold before the event even began, only 100 were still available for purchase at the door. Curtis Park Neighborhood Association President Rosanna Herber said she expected the event to sell out. More than 35 wineries offered tastings of their red and white wines and many provided food pairings to complement their generous samples. People wandered slowly down the line of sampling tables with plates and wine glasses in hand. With no particular agenda or method, they followed thei

(please note: For the purpose of this overview, "downtown" and "central city" are used in the traditional sense of designating the urban business core AND including the area bound by two rivers and two freeways, which includes Midtown)   Gallery owner Michael Himovitz brought Second Saturday to Sacramento two decades ago, to "educate and connect people through discussing art." He advocated coordinating individual efforts into an event that benefited all the galleries, their customers, local culture and the community. It worked. The synergy resulted in a Second Saturday tradition where art lovers gallery hopped, enjoyed artist receptions and mingled with lively crowds in different parts

The Muslim Mosque Association of Sacramento announced plans to expand its presence in the Southside Park community by converting a nearby building at 2110 Fifth St. into a multiuse facility and community center. Southside Park Neighborhood Association President Beverly Bumpas said it was the first time the MMA had sent representatives to a neighborhood meeting. Bumpas said she believed their desire to build a new facility has now given them “reason to make the effort to be involved.” A vibrant Muslim community has existed in Southside Park since the first mosque west of the Mississippi River was constructed there in 1946. The Muslim presence in the community has aided in transitioning Mu

Below is the letter that is being voted on by the board of the Winn Park/Capitol Avenue Neighborhood Association (for those unfamiliar with WPCANA, we are the neighborhoods between K and R Street from 19th to 29th, recently adding a few blocks around Fremont Park to its area. The policy shift doesn't actually streamline the planning process--it moves responsibility from Parks & Recreation to Development Services, and changes the appeal body from Parks & Recreation Commission to Planning Commission, but doesn't actually take out any steps. It has not yet been approved (emails are still coming in) but I expect it to pass, and join letters by NBNA and other neighborhood groups in formally opp