The growing season is over. In the California capital, dead autumn leaves lay heavy on the damp, manicured lawns of Sacramento City College as students learn that through death, something else will eat. City Farm, Sacramento City College’s organic urban farm, concluded its first semester cultivating students into stewards of the land outside of Lillard Hall on Dec. 2 with an experiential learning experience—naturally recycling organic waste to create healthy, valuable, nutrient-rich compost for the next growing season. “It's also called ecologically intelligent design,” says Robyn Waxman, City Farm faculty coordinator and graphic communication instructor. “Instead of taking, making and

The City of Sacramento Transportation Department is considering a redesign of traffic lanes along Freeport Blvd between Sutterville Road and 4th Avenue. This part of the roadway is scheduled for resurfacing in 2013 and last August the city approved a Bike Lanes Project to study options for redesigning Freeport Blvd into a "complete street" as part of the resurfacing effort. From the National Complete Streets Coalition website: "...a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind - including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities."

Not everyone has this coming Monday off (alas!) but for those that do, Sacramento has a few options for using your day off to celebrate the man it honors—Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK365 is presenting the 31st Annual March for the Dream, which includes a peaceful march (choose to begin from the Oak Park Community Center, Grant High School, or Sacramento City College) that convenes on the Sacramento Convention Center for an afternoon of celebration. There will be something for all ages and interests—vendor booths, kids’ crafts & activities, entertainment, an art village featuring local artists, and more. The Crocker Art Museum is opening their doors for their free Holiday Monday program. Mo

The Quad at Sacramento City College was occupied Nov. 10 with approximately 350 students and faculty as guest speakers approach the stage to show their support and appreciation for the U.S military. U.S Army veteran Kim Mack, served 3 years as a military police officer. She addressed the crowd by telling a personal story of the importance of veteran’s day. “Service comes in all forms,” said Mack. “Service comes in many different ways. Today we honor our veterans and our people currently serving. Our young men and women who are putting their life on the line in Afghanistan and Iraq so you can go to school here, and get a job in a field that you want to work in.” According to Mack, for ov

Members of Sacramento’s Latino community gathered Thursday night to ask questions and voice concerns at the first of Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Town Hall meetings for his 2012 campaign. Education and lack of funding for city public schools took top priority in the discussions. “There is nothing more important than our public education system, and we must do a better job with our schools,” said Mayor Johnson. Approximately 150 people attended the Town Hall at La Familia Counseling Center in North Franklin. Seats filled quickly and dozens of concerned community members stood in the entryway and aisles. Affordable access to health care, racial profiling by police, support and funding for the art

Sacramento City College students, faculty and staff gathered on campus Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the kickoff of the City Farm pilot project, an experiential curriculum-based community garden that will serve as an alternative teaching mechanism for multiple disciplines throughout the next school year. The project was developed over the spring semester by a group of students and administrators led by the school’s faculty garden coordinator and graphic communications professor, Robyn Waxman. “We had been thinking about how to get all these other disciplines to learn from the dirt,” Waxman said, adding that future students will be able to use it for hands-on learning. “It signifies a r

Sac City College Film students win Sacramento Film & Music Festivals, back-to-back! San Francisco native, and Sacramento City College honor roll student & film major DonCarlos Sanders won the Audience Choice award for best film in the 10×10 filmmaker challenge at the Sacramento Film and Music Festival. Filmmakers, families, and friends filled the historic Crest Theatre in Sacramento, California on August 21st, to watch the various projects submitted by filmmakers of all ages. The 10×10 filmmaker challenge was the film festival finale, and host to over twenty great short films competing in various categories such as best use of color & image, emerging filmmaker, and audience choice for bes

For Allen Pryor, selling his original artwork was the obvious way to earn money to pay for college. Pryor had his first opportunity to showcase his art at The Sandwich Spot located at 2108 11th Ave. As an art major at Sacramento City College since last spring, Pryor said that he has tried to find galleries and other such places to feature his art, but that many of them charge prior to displaying pieces. He added that he is blessed that his art is featured at The Sandwich Spot. “It really gives me the opportunity to get my work out there,” Pryor said. “Everything helps. This is more than a hobby.” Courtney Florian, manager and co-owner of The Sandwich Spot, said the shop is a place for a

As part of the Verge Center for the Arts’ second annual fundraiser jumble sale, VCA will host a preview party Thursday, where 20 artists will invite the public into their studios. VCA is a nonprofit organization that promotes career working artists by helping them display and promote their art as well as providing affordable studio space for rent. Funds from the jumble sale, which runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, will allow VCA to continue the expansion project. The Verge Center for the Arts was founded in 2008 and expanded into a 22,000-square-foot warehouse space downtown in 2010, and the space is being developed to include a classroom for public art courses, a printmaking lab, extra

The 4th Annual Sacramento Homeless Connect event will take place this Saturday, May 21 at Sacramento City College from 10:00 am-3:00 pm. It is hosted by Sacramento Steps Forward, with support from presenting sponsor The Salvation Army. Speakers at the event include Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Mayor Kevin Johnson and Supervisor Phil Serna. Over 1,000 homeless guests are expected; additionally the event hosts 500 community volunteers and over 60 different service providers. Project Homeless Connect is a national Best Practice model for bringing services directly to homeless folks. Started in San Francisco, it now occurs in over 150 communities across the country. Homeless Connect events

On May 21st at Sacramento City College, Sacramento Steps Forward will be hosting its 4th annual Sacramento Homeless Connect event. In addition to the over 800 homeless guests and 60 service providers in attendance, 500 community volunteers participate as well. Volunteers provide help at important stations like housing or health services, serving lunch to guests, guiding guests to services, checking guests in at the intake station or participating in the job readiness fair. There are many positions available, and folks can sign up to volunteer at Hands-On Sacramento. This is a very popular event, so sign up as soon as you can! Volunteer positions tend to go quickly. Community volunteers

Sacramento City College's theater department, City Theatre, presents a program of eight short plays at the West Sacramento Community Center "Black Box" Theatre, at 1075 West Capitol Boulevard. The plays all center on Sacramento's iconic Tower Bridge, ranging from the historic to the fantastic. Because the City College's campus theater is currently undergoing renovation, they have moved their 2011 program to the "Black Box" Theatre, a new facility in West Sacramento. This location provides a most fitting setting for plays with this subject--chances are good that those who attend will cross over or pass within view of the Tower Bridge on the way to the theater. Eight playwrights composed s

What’s The Reason? By Shani Lee Sacramento Press Open 2011         It’s a tale as old as time. The school needs computers, or books right? I can remember that being said time and time again as far back as elementary school. Well in this economy it’s the adults who need some help at school. Students at Sacramento City College are from a wide variety of backgrounds, & races, and create an even more diverse group of professionals. Did you know that a group of SCC’s film students won the 2011 Winterfest Sacramento Film & Music festival? Seeing first hand the passion of these students in every aspect is amazing, and encouraging. In such tough economic times it’s good to see people eager to ac

After spending much of his life in the spotlight, Tower Records founder Russ Solomon got behind the camera lens to showcase the faces of Sacramento’s art scene. His photography exhibit – The Faces of Art – opened Thursday at Sacramento City College’s Gregory Kondos Gallery and will run through March 4. “It’s basically portraits of people in the art community, which includes as many portraits of local artists as I can, as well as wives in some cases, art dealers – people that involve themselves in the arts,” Solomon said. Solomon said he has been taking photographs for 70 years, but he has never before displayed them in a gallery. “For a long while, I was peddling records,” he said. “I

Six and a half years in foster care is enough to turn a boy into a man. At nineteen Jonathan Michael Littman, known better as Jon, is not only a student at Sacramento city College, but a father and a husband, and just to put the icing on the cake he is a mentor for young foster care children,  Monday through Friday. Just looking at Littman you have to admit he looks like every other nineteen year old guy on campus, curly hair, bright shoes and a skateboard; also known as his right hand man, he seems almost a little too laid back sometimes. Who would have known that he has seven siblings, a thirteen month old baby, a wife and an overactive imagination. "I like to believe that life is a g

Sacramento will be hosting the 2011 World Masters Athletic Championships, and registration is now open. The worldwide event draws track-and-field athletes from about 80 countries every two years and is rarely held in the United States, with the last time being 16 years ago, according to Bob Burns, spokesman for the Sacramento Sports Commission. “It’ll mean quite a bit of business here locally,” he said, explaining that most of the estimated 5,000 athletes and their families will be staying in the area for at least a week, as the event is held from July 6-17. The biannual event is open to everyone 35 and older, and Burns said there is usually at least one athlete 100 years or older. Reg

The play Othello is about a black officer whose marriage to a white woman ends very tragically due to the ingenious scheming of an "honest" friend of Othello. I love the storyline of Othello. I had seen the movie Othello starring Laurence Fishbourne about 10 years ago and again about 1 month ago. I read the play, also about 1 month ago, and even read another book, "Othello - Shakespeare Made Easy" so that I would be able to better interpret the language in the play. I had even seen a very contemporary version of the play in a movie called "O" starring Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles. So it seemed fitting that the only thing left for me to see was a live performance of the play that I love s

As unemployment rates rise, now over 12% in California, individuals are starting their own businesses and looking for ways to cut expenses. Many moms are now opting to stay home with their children and find a way to add to the family budget working from home as virtual assistants. Some small business owners are reducing costs by using virtual offices and assistants instead of hiring a part-time assistant and renting office space. What is a virtual office and a virtual assistant? A virtual office business in Sacramento is Capsity Offices located at 2321 P Street in Midtown Sacramento. Capsity combines the traditional office environment with coworking and virtual offices. This allows busine

 Mayor Kevin Johnson held a second meeting on his Greenwise initiative Tuesday at Sacramento City College detailing his monthly plans through December and highlighting his four major focuses within the project. The “Four Major Principles” Johnson discussed were regional economy, green jobs, innovative policies and green IQ. Regional economy was emphasized at the meeting and Johnson said that for this project to work, the entire region, which consists of 6 six counties and 22 cities, must all work together and make the leap simultaneously. “There are strength in numbers,” he said. “If we look at just one policy for one city, we will not have a competitive advantage. It has to be a region

The UFL Draft will be held on June 2. It will consist of 12 rounds. Each of the 5 UFL teams will have one pick in each round, thus adding 12 players to each roster. Each team also has 20 players returning from last season under protected status, and looks to add as many as 20 players through free agency. Many of those free agents will come from the NFL. A source close to the league says that as many as 52 players have already been invited to each team’s minicamp. That minicamp is scheduled to begin for all teams on June 8 in Arizona. At the Sacramento Mountain Lions open tryout at Natomas High School on May 15, Head Coach Dennis Green said that each team had 74 total spots on the roster