Q: My issue revolves around my neighbor, who many years ago planted bamboo straight into the ground, along our shared fence line. As you may or may not know, bamboo is terribly invasive and spreads rapidly, and it is recommended that it be planted in a metal garbage can to prevent it from spreading. You can probably guess that my neighbor's bamboo plant has spread into my back yard and it's been a nasty headache to deal with. It's been such a burden that when a storm knocked over the fence it's next to a few years ago, my home's previous owner simply gave up a portion of the yard to accommodate the bamboo plant's size. At this point, the bamboo is once again pushing hard against the fence,

For about 30 years, the Hernandez family has owned the only house on the block of 13th Street between B and C Streets. Until Aug. 21, the rest of the block surrounding their home was filled with vacant lots. "Safe Ground" came to the block when Sacramento lawyer and homeless advocate Mark Merin, who has owned several of the adjacent lots since 2007, teamed up with non-profits, businesses and other individuals. Tightly fit rows of matching tents complete with a "Safe Ground" logo (click here for photograph) began filling the one vacant lot directly behind the Hernandez's house, and for nearly a month, tents have housed about 40 homeless people on the property. Monday, the Hernandez family