Sixty years of haircuts on Stockton Boulevard are being celebrated over the next two months as the Master Barber & Beauty Shop showcases a photography exhibit highlighting the barbershop environment. Called “Hairitage,” the photos by local artist and photographer Gerry “Gos” Simpson give insight into not only the hair-cutting aspect of the business, but the role of the barber shop as a communal gathering point. “Taking these photos took me back to my first haircut,” Simpson said, adding that one photo of a young boy getting his hair cut sticks out in his mind. “Young men come here and get their first haircuts, their dads slip them a few dollars to tip the barber, and they learn the basic

The Cave is a new music and multi-use venue coming to Stockton Boulevard, moving in next door to the Colonial Theatre. Formerly a shoe store, The Cave is currently used to hold wrestling events put on by Total Wrestling Federation, and starting Feb. 24, it will be opened to live music, standup comedy, art exhibits and other uses, said Mike Flanagan, who books the venue. “We want this to be a public space where people can come and see a show, hear some comedy or see an art exhibition,” he said. “We have no intention of getting a liquor license, because we want this to be an all-ages place.” Flanagan, who owns Bad Current Records and has been involved with the local music scene, said he w

About 150 people marched through Oak Park Thursday in a “unity march” to fight against the City Council’s proposed redistricting map that would move the UC Davis Med Center out of Oak Park’s council district. “The purpose for tonight is to try to find a hero in this whole controversy, and by that I mean someone who will find a real compromise,” said Michael Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association. The marchers Thursday night walked from the intersection of 34th Street and Second Avenue to the Med Center, chanting slogans and carrying signs along the way as police blocked the streets and kept a clear path. Residents of Oak Park have repeatedly made their voices heard at

Some people say a neighborhood is better defined by the residents who live, work and play there than by physical boundaries, lines on a map or the number of inhabitants. Just ask the people who live in Oak Park – or Elmhurst, or Med Center or Tahoe Park. Glenn Corngold, an Elmhurst resident who spoke at the Aug. 23 City Council meeting, told council members, “Med Center’s dirt is in our yard. It’s our neighborhood.” As the once-a-decade redistricting process for Sacramento comes to a close, there has been a lot of emotion, protest – and, yes, drama – focused on the redrawing of district lines that would shift the UC Davis Medical Center from District 5, where it has been since it was bu

A review of the proposed McDonald’s site on Second Avenue and Stockton Boulevard by the Community Development Department for the city of Sacramento has found no evidence that the restaurant would significantly impact the environment. However, some community members argue that the the environmental findings and the traffic study, reported in the Mitigated Negative Declarative released Aug. 1 does not tell the whole story about the health and traffic impact a McDonald’s would have on the Oak Park neighborhood. “I understand that McDonald’s does provide healthy choices if you choose to go down that route. I don’t think we ought to tell people what they can and cannot eat,” said Sam Allen, c

A native of Trinidad and Tobago is bringing gourmet cakes and the taste of the Caribbean to Sacramento with the newly opened Spotlight Cakes on Stockton Boulevard. Donna George, 54, learned the art of Caribbean cooking and cake baking at an early age from her family, and at 16, they moved to New York City, where she later began a career in nursing. “I’ve always dreamed of opening my own restaurant and bakery,” she said Wednesday, adding that it opened July 21. Her move to California from New York was prompted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I witnessed the first plane fly into the first tower on my way to work,” she said. “I have seven kids, and one of them was in college near the towe

The Sacramento African-American Art Collective is kicking off its monthly “First Saturday” art tours this week, looking to bring to light art that organizers said isn’t well-represented. “There’s something happening over here, there’s something worth seeing,” said Gerry “Gos” Simpson, whose paintings are on display at Master Barber & Beauty Shop on Stockton Boulevard. “The African-American community has a lot of things to share. The First Saturday Art Walk is going to bring a lot of people in, and they will be pleasantly surprised.” Despite showing African-American artwork in businesses owned by African-Americans, everyone is encouraged to attend, according to Brady and A. Michelle Blake

The annual Tet Festival was packed with more meaning than usual this year. This year's festival, which celebrates the Vietnamese new year with food, dance and carnival rides, among other festivities, also featured the official designation of Little Saigon. The two-mile stretch of Stockton Boulevard between Fruitridge and Florin roads is home to a large Vietnamese community. The official designation of the area came Saturday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Stockton Boulevard and Fowler Avenue. The title is the result of a recently passed City Council resolution. More than 200 people attended the ceremony, including the Little Saigon Committee, City Councilman Kevin McCarty, and

Tuesday night's City Council meeting featured dancing, cheering and even crying. The excitement anticipated the City Council's unanimous vote for the area on Stockton Boulevard between between Riza Avenue and Fruitridge Road to be named Little Saigon. Councilman Kevin McCarty, whose district includes the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Little Saigon, proposed the vote to the City Council in January after months of public input from South Sacramento business owners and community members. It's now the city's inaugural cultural district. Starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, hundreds of Vietnamese and supporters of the campaign for Little Saigon began filling the city council chamber for a pre-council

John Canfield is a World War II veteran who values Sacramento County’s contributions toward a veteran’s center on Stockton Boulevard. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 67, of which Canfield is a member, faces difficult economic times. The county, too, is in a financial crisis and faces a projected $180 million deficit. One of its numerous proposed cuts would halt $16, 476 in funding for VFW Post 67 during the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Canfield, 85, told the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Thursday that the VFW post’s revenues have declined “drastically.” Many of the post’s members served in World War II and the Korean War, Canfield said, and these veterans are reaching the