McClatchy High School boys basketball team hung with Sacramento High School for the first 16 minutes Wednesday night at McClatchy, but a 17-1 start to the second half for the Dragons ultimately buried the Lions 82-56. The game was close in the first half, but 3 consecutive turnovers led to six unanswered points for the Dragons to end the half, giving them a 37-29 lead at the break. “It was a good first half, they were doing everything we planned to do-move the ball, rotate the ball, but in the second-half we couldn’t get anything,” said McClatchy head coach Jeff Ota. The Dragons (15-5, 7-0 Metro League Play) won their third straight game to continue their undefeated league season. While

Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall. Here’s the city government year in review. CITY MANAGER DRAMA The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010. Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas. The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions bef

The Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering a potential campus “swap” for two central city schools – a move that has stirred up a storm of criticism from parents, students and education advocates in the city. The proposed swap would move the West Campus High School program from its current 58th Street location to the old Sacramento High School facility and replace it with the Sacramento Charter High School program, which is currently at the old Sac High campus. Proponents of the swap say the move will allow the popular West Campus program to expand and will create an opportunity to establish a non-college preparatory high school program for students in central city n

In a King Solomon-like compromise, Oak Park lost one of its key components Tuesday when City Council members voted to divvy up the 100-year old neighborhood between two council districts. District 5 gets to keep most of the Med Center neighborhood and Sacramento HIgh, but District 6 gets the coveted Med Center. In a 6-3 vote, council members approved a variation of the “Neighborhoods 2.0” base map, drawing the boundary between Districts 5 and 6 – right down the middle of Stockton Boulevard. “We have let you down as a council,” Mayor Kevin Johnson told the audience just before the vote. “We can say anything we want and make it all fancy, but you guys see right through it.” Tuesday’s Cit

Photo Tips for Busy Parents was a class set up and conducted by Jenn Bartell, on September 25, at her studio on 2418 K Street. Eleven parents (all moms or expected moms except for 1) attended the workshop. This was a free workshop held by Jenn Bartell at a studio she shares with Catrina Maria Arcularius who specializes in Event Planning and Design and Suzanne “Weedon” O’Brien a floral designer-owner of Garden of Weedon. This is a good business location and the usage of space is greatly utilized by having three small businesses under one roof. The class started off by going over the technical aspects of the camera. Most parents in the class had entry to intermediate level digital single-le

  The 34th Street Dance company put on another high energy performance last Saturday at the Guild Theater. The theme was Fiat Lux, which is Latin for "let there be light.  The show wrapped up with a tribute of dance routines to the late Michael Jackson, along with a heart felt and tearful ceremony to the seniors graduating from the company. “Our mission is to use dance as a tool to build community and develop each dancer as a creative thinker, dance technician, and a leader” said Sheila Coleman, the founder and director of the company.  The company trains in modern, hip-hop, and contemporary movement forms and for seven years, has shared its passion for dance with audiences all over Cali

 Six high school basketball games Saturday at Arco Arena decided the Northern California boys and girls representatives for next week's state championships at RaboBank Arena in Bakersfield. Four more games were played Saturday at Folsom High to determine the remaining NorCal representatives against the Southern region. For these basketball players, it was the biggest day of their lives.  The Sacramento-area representatives struggled throughout the day until the Oak Ridge High Trojan girls team advanced to the Division I championships with a hard-fought 52-42 victory over the longtime NorCal power Berkeley Yellowjackets. It's amazing to watch what high-school basketball has become.  Th

Competition can come in many forms and styles and the Sac-Joaquin Section Les Schwab Tires 2010 high school basketball championships  was a perfect example of that Friday night at Arco Arena. Approximately 5,000 hoop fans saw four section championships decided in different fashions.   Perhaps the most competitive battle came out of the Boys V section title game when Victory Christian of Carmichael outlasted Ripon Christian 68-64 in overtime. Both teams squandered possessions at the end of regulation to win the game, but sophomore Clayton Coppernoll made a three-pointer from the right wing to help coach Bob Grexton's senior-laden squad to win the section.   "They've been talking about

Chuck D of Public Enemy spoke Thursday night at Sac State's Union Ballroom. Students from Sac State, Sacramento High School and community members braved the rain to listen to him speak for an hour-and-a-half. D directed his speech to the younger students in the room, the freshmen and sophomores who are new to the higher learning system. He spoke about the importance of education, stressing that it is a way for people to improve their lives. He credited his wife,Gaye Theresa Johnson, a college professor who was in attendance, with instilling a love of knowledge in him. D captured his audience by using slang and references of the younger generation. "(Chuck) gave us the tools necessary t

A good day of hoops was had Saturday at Jesuit High School's 8th Annual Father Kelly Tribute. Some of the area's best hoopers displayed their wares. Sheldon High School junior Darius "Boo" Nelson helped lead the Huskies to a 92-86 overtime victory against the Clovis East Timberwolves. Nelson, along with Sacramento junior guard Josiah Turner, are deemed the two best players in the area. It's amazing that Nelson already fits into a category of "How good he could be, if..." Nelson is listed at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds. Nelson, whom I still see as an under-publicized player, is being recruited by many of the nation's top college basketball programs. If (there goes that word again) he ever real

From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence. On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture. In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East

The first article in this series discussed the mixed reactions from community members regarding the decision to turn Sacramento High School into a charter school. You can read this story by clicking here or by clicking on the green storyline tab to the right. For those of you who don't know, Sacramento High School became a charter school in 2003. This surprised me, because I had always thought, "Once a charter, always a charter.” But, in learning more about the current Sacramento High School, there is a unique story.  The current school is a collaborative project put together by Kevin Johnson and St. Hope. Concerned with low academic performance, Johnson returned to his former Oak Park