Old Sacramento in the fall would be a little more lifeless without its scarecrows. Every year for at least a decade, the scarecrows have turned up on balconies, wooden sidewalks and a spooky-looking park to enchant visitors. But the scarecrows fell apart as they grew older. Business owners have become reluctant to adopt them for storefronts in recent years. So six Sacramento artists -- most who live in the grid -- were recruited to breathe new life (death?) into more than two dozen scarecrows in time for Halloween. Melissa Martinez, the Old Sacramento Business Association's new leader, is playing up Halloween in the business district this year to draw more visitors and shoppers. "This

A night parade is in the works to be revived in Sacramento, more than 115 years after the spectacle lit up city streets to celebrate what was said to be the world's first long-distance electric power transmission. The parade was first held Sept. 9, 1895, during a Grand Electric Carnival that heralded the arrival of electric power in Sacramento. Sacramento's electric carnival parade was so beautiful that Walt Disney Co. later used it as a model for its Electric Light Parade. The Old Sacramento Business Association is working to revive the night parade during winter holiday festivities in 2011. The plan is to recreate the parade to expand the seasonal celebration and to play up the city's

  Locals who hit Gold Rush Days over Labor Day Weekend will notice some changes in Old Sacramento.   New business activity including historic building reconstruction is underway. While the addition of new ventures hasn't totally offset the loss of others, tourism revenue for 2009 seems to be holding steady with 2007 and 2006, said Melissa Martinez, executive director of the Old Sacramento Business Association, a business improvement district. "We're staying steady in tourism," said Martinez. "That’s a really good sign." In 2007, retail businesses brought in $2.25 million in sales tax revenue, about the same as 2006. Tax receipts dipped by $129,000 in 2008 — primarily due to the I-5 re