South Sacramento residents can now enjoy the Sacramento River by bike again as the Freeport Regional Water Authority reopened a section of the Pocket Area Bike Trail Friday. Four years of construction on the Freeport Water Intake Facility kept it closed to the public. The Pocket Area trail stretches along two miles of the Sacramento River from Garcia Bend Park on Pocket Road around the Freeport Bend—a bend which makes the river run parallel to Freeport Boulevard—and ends at the Freeport Water Intake Facility. Councilman Darrell Fong of District 7 attended the reopening ceremony Friday morning along with 20 members of the Pocket community and unveiled the newly installed public amenities

 Looking for an explosive way to spend your Fourth of July? Well, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Fourth of July events in the Sacramento area. Sacramento Cal Expo will once again host an Independence Day Celebration sponsored by Coca-Cola and Miller Lite at the Miller Lite Grandstand near the East Gate entrance. The festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a performance from Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers. State Fair mascot Poppy will also be there to entertain the crowds. Cal Expo’s media partner, radio station 107.9 The End, will provide music to the spectacular fireworks show, starting at 9:30 p.m. Parking for the event is $10, and general admission to

Wildfires burning throughout California make for hazy days and beautiful sunsets this evening over the Sacramento River along Riverside Blvd in the Pocket area south of downtown Sac.   Photo | Kati Garner

Two homes caught fire Thursday around 2:51 p.m. As firefighters arrived, the fence between the two homes was completely on fire and the side of the two story home on the left was well involved. The second home (one story), caught fire and burned into the attic. There was an initial report that victims may have been in the home. The first in engine crew executed a search of the home and no one was found. In the end, the two story home experienced a partial roof collapse while firefighters were inside. Firefighters pulled out and went into defensive mode to save the one story home and protect other surrounding exposures. The two story was a total loss and the one story home had fire damage