Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "the sacramento bee"

Artober celebrates Sacramento artists

2011-09-03T02:21:20Z

October was officially declared as National Arts and Humanities Month by President Obama back in 2009. Artober is a month-long event starting Oct. 1 that highlights the talents and art resources in Sacramento and celebrates the meaning of the month. It will include local artists, businesses, art walks, festivals, workshops and other special events in Old Sacramento and the downtown area.

Last year, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that the For Arts’ Sake Coalition would be introducing a new action plan for the Sacramento area. A team of 20 artists and art enthusiasts worked to bring resources together such as getting organizations and businesses involved in the process of making the public aware of the power of the arts. Last year, “Arts Open October” was held, which was a test run and smaller idea of what will be going on this year.

“This is our first year doing it quite like this (bigger than ‘Arts Open October’), and we are trying to rally everyone together, from individual artists to big names like the Mondavi Center,” Artober spokeswoman Veronica Delgado said.

According to Veronica, Sacramento alone holds about 30 museums, a professional ballet company and opera company, music groups and more than 125 theater companies.

“We have different stages of how people are involved,” Delgado said. “We've been sending out letters and making phone calls because we want small and big event supporters. We've also been offering businesses the option of doing an Artober indulge product such as a signature drink or meal.”

The businesses that agree to this will be donating 50 percent of the proceeds to the art organization of their choice, or giving a $200 minimum to it.

“We got enough positive feedback and support to come back and do it again,” Delgado said. “We started with two pages of scheduled events, and now we have almost seven full pages – it's really great that so many people want to jump in and help.”

Some big names that are sponsoring and involved are the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, For Arts’ Sake, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, Sacramento365, Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Midtown Business Association, the city’s Department of Convention, Culture and Leisure, The Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento News & Review.

“We want individuals to get active also, and we are giving them the option of doing artist 'hot spots.' They can team up with their biggest collector and have an in-home art show. The same goes for musicians. It doesn't have to be big, but if two people bring 10 friends and host it in their backyard, that is giving them a great opportunity to market themselves,” Delgado said.

There is a variety of ways to get involved, and every style of art is included. Fashion designers, singer/songwriters and private dance or theater companies are all welcome.

Clemon Charles, 47, is a local artist who moved from Barbados 20 years ago and has been performing in the United States ever since.

“I'm a very busy singer/songwriter, and I also play guitar,” Charles said.

Charles will be in the global village set up in Old Sacramento on the “Storytellers Stage” (set-up location not yet announced) doing Caribbean-style storytelling for children on Oct. 1 (he does not know his official time yet).

“Children are my favorite (audience), but everybody is welcome,” Charles said. “I do a lot of folk songs with Jamaican and Indian dialects that people won’t understand, so I tell them what I am singing about.”

The World Music and Dance Festival in Old Sacramento will be kicking the month off for the first two days of October.

On Oct. 9, there will be the Arts Open House, which is an entire afternoon of theater performances at the Community Center Theatre that will also include an art fair.

On Oct. 26, Synthia St. James will be the guest artist at the For Arts’ Sake Coalition Meeting at the Guild Theatre located on 2828 35th St. It will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the For Arts’ Sake implementation and hear what’s going on around the region with Artober activities.

The Artober calendar will be finalized in the coming weeks.

“We are not only raising awareness for art, but we are helping local (forms of the) arts build up their potential customer base and giving them the ability to take action into their own hands and make new opportunities for themselves,” Delgado said.

For more information, visit Artober's website or Facebook page.

Review writing panel May 12 with Rachel Leibrock, Carla Meyer and Nick Miller

2011-05-04T05:45:12Z

With Concerts in the Park kicking off Friday and the California Music Circus season around the corner, there will be lots of opportunities to review shows, both indoors and outdoors.

Looking to share your great or not-so-great experiences with others? The Sacramento Press will hold a panel on review writing at our office from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Thursday, May 12. Three panelists will teach you the do’s and don’ts of review writing and share some of their own experiences.

This is a great opportunity to ask the pros how they review concerts, theater, comedy and other performances.

The three panelists are Rachel Leibrock, Carla Meyer and Nick Miller.

Leibrock writes about arts and culture for the Sacramento News & Review. She also teaches journalism at Sacramento City College and previously worked at The Sacramento Bee as an arts and entertainment writer. You can find some of her work at thursdayafternoongirls.wordpress.com and www.writegrrrl.com.

Meyer is an entertainment writer at The Sacramento Bee. She was The Bee's movie critic from 2005-2009. Carla came to The Bee from the San Francisco Chronicle, where she wrote film reviews and features and co-wrote "Stein & Meyer: Movie Insider," a twice-weekly column about film and the film industry. Meyer also once worked as an assignment editor for the datebook and sports sections of The Chronicle.

Miller edits Sacramento News & Review's news and arts sections and writes a weekly column on the local music scene. He got his start as a distribution driver and is now associate editor.

Badges will be awarded to participants for attending the workshop. To become a verified community contributor, please bring a government-issued ID.

Our office is located at 431 I St., Suite 107, in the Amtrak station. We are in the same building complex as Starbucks.

We recommend you find parking on the street, bike or take light rail, as the Amtrak parking lot charges $2 per half hour, and we cannot cover the cost of parking. If you take light rail, we will give you two passes when you get here – one to cover your trip here and one to cover your trip back.

To RSVP for this workshop, email workshops@sacramentopress.com. If you RSVP and decide later not to attend, please send us an email to notify us that you will not be coming so we can have an accurate head count.

Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

Table Talk Sacramento Live Chat today at noon

2011-03-30T14:47:27Z

Today at noon, The Sacramento Bee's Allen Pierleoni will host a live chat with Rick Mindermann of Corti Bros. and John Paul Khoury of Preferred Meats, Inc.

Visit sacbee.com/live from noon - 1 p.m. to ask questions relating to "What's new in the Sacramento food scene?"

The live chat is a preview of what will be discussed at Table Talk Sacramento, April 13. Read more about Table Talk Sacramento here.

Click here to go to the Bee's Live Chat page.

The Bee, Sac Press present 'Table Talk Sacramento' April 13

2011-03-23T19:01:04Z

Do you love talking about food? Do you flip to the food section of the newspaper before even reading the front page? Is a trip to the grocery store an excursion? For all you foodies, bloggers and lovers of Sacramento’s restaurants and food: The Sacramento Bee and The Sacramento Press have teamed up to bring you “Table Talk Sacramento: The region’s food community comes together for an evening of lively discussion.”

There will be two panels addressing different topics, including “What Sacramentans Eat” and the quality of local food writing.

Chris Macias will moderate the food writing panel. Macias has served as the Bee’s food and wine writer since 2008. The panelists include:

Niesha Lofing, who writes food and family stories for the Bee as well as a parenting column, Mom.me.
Catherine Enfield, a state worker by day and a local food blogger by night – or whenever she can sneak away to a computer. She is also a food truck advocate and co-organizer of the SactoMoFo mobile food festival scheduled for April 30.
Micah Rousey, who eats out at least five times per week and shares his experience on Yelp. He has contributed dozens of restaurant reviews and been named a member of the “Yelp Elite Squad.”

Allen Pierleoni will moderate the second panel, “What Sacramentans Eat,” which will cover local food trends. This panel consists of:

Rick Mindermann, an internationally known grocer and wine merchant and store director of Corti Bros. Market. He has 34 years in the food and wine business and acts as a personal assistant to Darrell Corti, who has been called “the man who knows the most about food and wine in the world.”
John Paul Khoury, the corporate chef for Preferred Meats, Inc., a premium meat company in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on sustainable husbandry and smaller farm operations. He is also certified as a chef de cuisine with the American Culinary Federation.
Kelly McCown, the executive chef at Ella restaurant and a 1990 graduate of the California Culinary Academy. He was worked in the kitchens of Martini House, Flying Fish, Fleur de Lys, Hayes Street Grill and others, and he has been named “a rising star” and “top young chef” by several magazines, including Bon Appetit and Japanese GQ.

“Table Talk” will be at The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., at 6 p.m. April 13. Source Global Tapas will provide light snacks.

The event will be live-tweeted by @sacramentopress using the hashtag #SacTableTalk.

The event is free, but registration is required. If you do not register, you will not be allowed to enter. Registration is limited to 160. To sign up for “Table Talk,” click here.

Come join the conversation as we discuss Sacramento’s rich food and restaurant culture.

Bee cuts 32 staff positions

2011-02-11T01:43:27Z

The Sacramento Bee announced its decisions on 32 staff cuts Thursday.

Early in the afternoon, management was still in the process of notifying those who are being laid off after an undisclosed number of employees took buyouts. The employees' last day will be Friday, Feb. 18.

"Our goals were reached with a combination of voluntary and involuntary methods," Bee Community Affairs Director Pam Dinsmore said.

Nine people will be leaving the newsroom, and a full-time critic job will become part-time. Jobs were also cut in advertising, circulation, support, finance and building services.

It's too early to say what changes will be made in the paper to accommodate the staff loss, she said.

Several people working in the newsroom kept their jobs after others agreed to take buyouts amounting to two weeks' severance pay for every year worked, up to 40 weeks.

The staff cuts will bring the number of jobs lost at the paper to about 387 since 2008. Bee employee numbers will drop to 754, with about 168 in the newsroom.

Health care writer Bobby Caina Calvan was among those who accepted buyouts. He's worked at the Bee for about five years. He was a general-assignment reporter before taking on the health care beat two years ago.

Calvan said he was happy to take a buyout. He will be heading to Laos through a fellowship from the International Center for Journalists and then freelancing while he contemplates his next career steps.

"It's unfortunate that the industry has fallen on such hard times," he said. "I still consider journalism to be a fine and noble profession. It's unfortunate so many people have lost their jobs, and that so many people like me have had to reassess their futures because of all these cutbacks and setbacks."

Newsroom mood 'grim' over impending cuts

2011-02-05T01:55:42Z

The mood in The Sacramento Bee's newsroom has been grim this week after its parent, the McClatchy Company, announced another 32 jobs will soon be cut.

Management notified 32 people on Monday that they were facing layoffs unless others agreed to take buyout packages. Dozens of people have since been asked to consider accepting buyouts that amount to two weeks' severance pay for every year worked, up to 40 weeks.

Their responses are due by 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. Announcements about the layoffs are expected soon after, Bee Community Affairs Director Pam Dinsmore said.

"We're calling it a job elimination, so it means those jobs are going away," she said.

Newsroom employees are still "reeling" from the news, said features writer Niesha Lofing, Guild unit chair.

"We're really worried," she said. "It's terrible having to see people make these gut-wrenching decisions again and again."

From the Newspaper Guild unit, the Bee plans to lay off 12 people, including two reporters, one artist, one content developer, two copy editors, three page designers, one graphic designer in the advertising department, an outside ad assistant and an ad account manager. A full-time critic job will become part-time.

Jobs will also be cut in circulation, support, finance and building services.

The cutbacks will bring the total number of jobs lost at the paper since 2008 to about 387. The Bee closed its regional newspapers in 2008. In the newsroom, 50 jobs have been cut in the last two years, Dinsmore said.

Bee employees will number 754 after the cuts. There were 177 people working in the newsroom as of Jan. 20.

Some people have already turned in response forms to accept the buyouts, but still have time to change their minds. Others were still evaluating the company's offers Friday.

A continued reduction in newspaper ads and the size of the paper has concerned employees like Lofing.

One of the worst things about the staff cuts is how helpless employees feel as they watch coworkers leave the paper, she said.

"When you cry on the way to work – not for yourself but because your colleagues are so upset – it's a terrible feeling," Lofing said. "All I can do is write the stories and hope the advertising comes in."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

2010 Elly Awards for Adult Theater

2010-10-04T03:21:56Z

The best of local theater talent was recognized last Sunday night at the Elly Awards.

After presenting the young people’s awards, there was an intermission, and then the adult awards were presented.

Selected musicians from the Runaway Stage Productions’ Resident Orchestra played the audience back into the Crest Theatre’s main auditorium. The orchestra had been provided transitional music, played the winners on to the stage and had accompanied the live musical performances all evening.

“Dreigroschen Finale,” performed by the California Stage cast, started the Elly adult theater portion of the evening. The performance showcased the Elly Award-winning costuming by Angelina Reaux. All the musical production performances were great, but this one stood out.

The adult Elly Awards are divided into three categories: comedy, drama and musical.

First up was costume design, set design and lighting design:
Best costume design, comedy, was awarded to Rebecca Ann Valentino for “Much Ado About Nothing” at Solano College Theater. Drama went to Sharon Olson for “Cyrano de Bergerac” at Paul Emery Presents, and the award for musical went to Angelina Reaux for “Three Penny Opera” at California Stage in Sacramento.

The best set design for a comedy Elly went to Virgil Toothaker for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theater.

The set design award for a drama was won by Michael Baranowski and Pamela Hodges for the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra production of “Snow Falling On Cedars.”

John Bowles’ set design for “My Fair Lady” at Magic Circle Theatre won for best set design for a musical.

Best lighting design for a comedy was a tie between David Patrick for “The Foreigner” (Imagination Theater) and Nic Candito for “Almost Maine” (Big Idea Theatre).

Best lighting design for a drama was won by Chris Goetzke for the “Snow Falling On Cedars” production at Community Asian Theater of the Sierra.

Chris Guptil, “The Producers” (Solano College Theatre), tied with Erin Briting, “In to the Woods” (Sutter Street Theatre), for best lighting for a musical.

Next was supporting actor, supporting actress and choreography and musical design. Supporting actor, comedy, went to Jouni Kirjola for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theatre. Supporting actress, comedy, went to Trina Palmer, City Theatre, Sacramento for “Peter Pan, A British Panto.”

For drama, best supporting actor went to Patrick Murphy for “Crime and Punishment” at KOLT Run Creations, Sacramento, and the supporting actress award went to Kelley Ogden, KOLT Run Creations co-founder and producer in the same production.

Kelley Ogden, Brian Rife andPatrick Murphy

The musical supporting actor winner was SKelley Ogden,in the Runaway Stage Production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The best actress award also went to a Runaway Stage Production, “Footloose.”

Best choreography in a musical went to Lisa Clark-Schmeling for “The Producers” at Solano College Theatre.

Musical direction of “Into the Woods” at Sutter Street Theatre, Folsom, won for Susan Mason.

These awards were followed by a performance of “Betrayed” from Solano College Theatre’s production of “The Producers” by cast member Edward Hightower.

Hightower, who is quite the comedian, went on to win leading actor in a musical. The production also won best director for a musical for Ken Sonkin and best overall production of a musical for Solano College Theatre.

The next awards were for the category of original works. The adapted script award went to Ingrid Laurentis-Wilson for “The Pilgrim’s Progress” at One Way Productions, El Dorado Hills. This also won the production of an adapted script Elly for One Way Productions.

The original script award went to James Wheatly of Celebration Arts, Sacramento, artistic director, for “Petra.” "Petra" also won Celebration Arts the Elly Award for production of best original script.

Sacramento Magazine feature on James Wheatly

Leading actor and actress in each category followed.

The award for leading actor in a comedy went to Stephen Kauffman for the Sutter Street Theatre production of “Harvey.”

Best actress was a tie between Kellie Raines for “Beyond Therapy” (Kookaburra Productions) and Shaleen Schmutzer-Smith, “Deathtrap” (Big Idea Theatre).

Kellie Raines in "Beyond Therapy"

An audience favorite, Mitch Agruss, won the Elly for best actor in a drama for “Krapp’s Last Tape” at Actor’s Theatre of Sacramento. Kristine David won best leading actress in a drama for “Dutchman” with “Petra” at Celebration Arts.

Best leading actor in a musical went to Edward Hightower for “The Producers” by Solano College Theatre.

Allison Johnson won best actress in a musical for “Annie Get Your Gun” at Stockton Civic Theatre.

The final Ellys were the big ones: for direction and overall production.

The best direction Elly Award for a comedy went to Lanny Langston for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theater.

The Acting Company won the overall production of a comedy Elly for its production of “Steel Magnolias.”

Best direction for a drama went to Vada Russell for “Dutchman,” with “Petra” at Celebration Arts.

“Snow Falling On Cedars” at Community Asian Theater of the Sierra won the best overall production of a drama Elly.

Ken Sonkin won best director of a musical for “The Producers” at Solano College Theatre.

Best overall production for a musical also went to Solano College Theatre for “The Producers.”

The big winner of the night of theaters producing adult productions was Solano College Theatre with five awards. With its win for leading actress in “Peter Pan,” the theater was the No. 2 winner overall after El Dorado Musical Theatre, which won more awards in the young people’s category.

There was a large number of different theaters that won Elly Awards with a great variety of programing. It is a tribute to the high quality of the theater productions in the greater Sacramento region.

This was the 28th Annual Elly Awards at the Crest Theatre. The Elly Awards cover participating theaters in the 10-county region. The Elly Awards are sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA).

Created 28 years ago by local actors, the Elly Awards program has grown tremendously. In the 1981-82 season, 12 theaters participated, and 27 Elly plaques were distributed. In the 2009-10 season, 83 theaters participated, and 85 Elly plaques were handed out. Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of The Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrate excellence in Sacramento regional community theater.

It takes 35 volunteer judges to cover the 70-mile radius of Sacramento to see and rate the different categories for each production submitted by the participating theater companies.

There is a standardized numerical rating system. All judging is kept secret, even from other judges. All the judges have varying backgrounds but cannot judge in any category they are active in. The process produced 419 nominations for 2009-2010.

The 2010 Elly Award Show itself was an entertaining event. The addition this year of the orchestra of selected musicians from the Runaway Stage Productions’ Resident Orchestra greatly enhanced the event. The production numbers were first-class, and the show moved right along. It was easy to tell that much of the audience knew or was familiar with the winners. Everyone was very supportive. All in all, it was great fun.

For those who would enjoy seeing live theater but have concerns about the cost, check out any one of the community theater companies that won awards by clicking on the links provided. The SARTA website is a great resource to find shows. There probably is a theater close by in the greater Sacramento region.

For a longer list check out the SacramentoPress.com article, “Elly Nominations Out,” published Aug. 17. Just because they were nominated but did not win does not mean that they are not producing great shows. The Ellys are very competitive, and only so many shows can win.

I would particularly encourage parents to take their children to young people’s theater programing. You can start them on a lifetime of theater enjoyment. Don’t worry – just because it is children’s programing doesn’t mean that it isn’t fun for adults, too.

Come to the Elly Awards next year and see how your favorite production fared.

An Evening with David Plouffe a Very Timely Start to California Lectures New Season

2010-09-15T19:46:37Z

California Lectures opened its 2010-2011 Season Monday night with what was billed as a special event, “An Evening with David Plouffe in conversation with Dan Morain.”

The timing of this lecture could not have been better. With the 2010 midterm elections having become so contentious and being looked at as a referendum on President Barack Obama’s first two years in office, eyes are back on Plouffe to see if he can continue his success he had in helping get Obama elected in the first place.

David Plouffe along with political strategist David Axelrod are credited with “creating and executing” the “blueprint” the got Obama elected. He published “The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory” on Nov. 3, 2009. The book is an inside view on the strategy that he and Axelrod used to get Obama elected.

During the interview, Plouffe demonstrated how articulate and focused he is. An insight he shared was how difficult it has become to reach, educate and influence voters.

Television and other traditional media were some of his examples. Television and radio traditionally were the means to reach the majority of voters, along with print media. Today, large numbers of voters and potential voters never watch television, listen to radio or read print newspapers. They are connected to the outside world for their news and entertainment through computers and the Internet. He stressed how every social media, emphasizing every, must be employed to reach voters and, more importantly, potential voters.

The use of social media went beyond getting votes for Obama. It was also hugely successful in securing funding for the campaign. Instead of focusing on large donations from fewer sources, it focused on using social media to find huge numbers of individuals willing to donate smaller amounts of money. This was greatly successful. Richard Wolfffe of the Daily Beast states that Plouffe helped amass $750 million in campaign funds for Obama.

Plouffe talked about how politics have been part of his life since childhood. His favorite board game when he was a kid was “Landslide!” He dropped out of college in 1990 to work for Senator Tom Harkin’s re-election campaign. After Obama’s election he went back and completed his degree.

In regards to the midterm elections, he referred to his “now is not the time for bed-wetting" statement after the party lost the Massachusetts Senate election. He reiterated what he had stated in a UPI article: “This will be a tough election for our party and for many Republican incumbents as well. Instead of fearing what may happen, let's prove that we have more than just the brains to govern – that we have the guts to govern."

Dan Morain did a good job with his questions for Plouffe. The questions led Plouffe to speak about the kind of things that were of interest to most of the audience.

Morain is new to The Sacramento Bee, having become a senior editor, columnist and member of the editorial board in January. He has had a long and diverse career in covering politics with the Los Angeles Times, including the 2008 elections.

One of the interesting asides last night was the makeup of the audience. There are two distinct but not mutually exclusive groups that make up the California Lectures audiences. One is the series subscribers who enjoy the diversity of presenters. The other group is made up of those drawn to a specific presenter.

While there were a large number of the latter Monday night, what was interesting was the number of young people in the audience. Lots of college age people, high-school students and even younger audience members were in attendance. Many kids were with parents. Lots of these kids looked like they were on date night. It is encouraging to see so many young people interested in politics, and credit must be given to Plouffe for having contributed to this.

Next up:
Michelle Norris, National Public Radio host of “All Things Considered” and author “The Grace of Silence” (September 2010)
Oct. 6 at the Crest Theatre
Tickets are $30, but students with ID get in for $15

Elly Nominations Out

2010-08-17T21:22:46Z

Sunday evening’s show was nearly sold out at the new Arden Playhouse, a wonderful 150-seat venue that opened in March.

All ages were represented in the audience. Were they waiting for the curtain opening on the latest play? No – the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) was announcing the 2010 Elly nominees.

The Elly Awards are named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of The Sacramento Bee. The Elly Awards celebrate excellence and the outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the greater Sacramento area.

Elly Award nominations included Lead and Supporting Actor and Actress, Director, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Set Design, Overall Production plus Musical Direction and Choreography, if applicable. The nominations were announced for productions in the following categories: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Original Works, Education Musicals and Plays, and Young People's Musicals and Plays.

This past season 262 shows were submitted by 83 theaters. Fifty-nine theaters received nominations. Of the more than 410 Elly nominees, the top 81 vote-getters will receive the Elly Award at the 28th Annual Elly Award Ceremony on Sept. 26 at the Crest Theatre.

SARTA Board of Directors President Leslie Addiego opened the evening introducing Peggy O'Guin, Elly Judging Coordinator and Steve O'Guin Elly Judging Tabulator who would read the list of nominees in each category. The audience was asked to hold its applause until all nominees in each category were read. In spite of this request, lots of folks found it difficult not to show their excitement when they or a friend were nominated. The nominees in each category were greeted with a very hearty round of applause.

El Dorado Musical Theatre had the most nominations with 43. Its production of “The Wizard of Oz” had 16 nominations, and “Les Miserables” grabbed 13, making them the two most nominated in the youth programs category.

El Dorado Musical Theatre was founded in 2001 and does both education and stage productions. It is located in El Dorado Hills. To learn more about the company, click here .

Dorothy (Krista Mackin), Scarecrow (Alex Levy), Lion (Joey Saffren), Tinman (Stefan Sorgea), Wicked Witch (Jenna Lillywhite), Glinda (Lauren Wells), Toto (C.J.) El Dorado Musical Theatre production of “The Wizard of Oz”

Runaway Stage Productions had the next-largest number of nominations with 30. It received 21 for its youth programs and nine for its adult theater productions.

Runaway Stage Productions was founded in 1997 and performs at the 24th Street Theatre at the Sierra 2 Center in Sacramento. It has an 18-piece Resident Orchestra dedicated to providing "live" music during performances. Click here for more information on Runaway Stage Productions.

Magic Circle Theatre, the former Civic Theatre West, located in Roseville, also produces adult and children’s programming. Magic Circle Theatre received 24 nominations – 18 for youth programs and six for adult productions. More information on Magic Circle Theatre can be found here.

Solano College Theatre received 16 nominations, 10 of which were for its production of “The Producers.”

Solano College Theatre is part of the Solano Community College, staging productions both in a 374-seat venue on the main campus in Fairfield and a more intimate 175-seat theater on the waterfront in Old Town Suisun City. Click here for more information on Solano College Theatre, it’s shows and programs.

Solano College Theatre production of "The Producers"

A private Sacramento Catholic girls’ high school, St. Francis, received 16 nominations with its production of “Taming of the Shrew,” receiving 12 of those. This was the fourth-most-nominated production in the youth programs category. More information.

Rounding out the top productions in the youth program category were “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Woodland Opera House in Woodland (information), and “Seussical” (10) and “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” (10) both at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs (information).

The Adult category productions were the aforementioned Solano College Theatre production of “The Producers,” (10) “Snow Falling on Cedars” by the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra in Nevada City (7) (information), “Reefer Madness” by the Artistic Differences Theatre Company of Sacramento (7) (information) and “Crime and Punishment” by KOLT Run Creations also in Sacramento (7), (information).

Lyra Dominguez (Hatsue) and Tucker Braga (Ishmael)

“Snow Falling on Cedars” by the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra Nevada City

“Reefer Madness” by the Artistic Differences Theatre Company

“Crime and Punishment” by KOLT Run Creation

Now that the Elly nominations are out it is a safe bet that the excitement is building in the community theater and education theater communities for the Elly Award Ceremony. To add to the fun and excitement, every nominee in a musical category is asked to perform a musical number at the show. This is an opportunity to see the best and the brightest of community theater and education theater in the Greater Sacramento region.

To see the complete list of nominees click here.

The Elly Awards Ceremony
September 26, 2010 at the Crest Theater 10th and K Streets Sacramento, CA
Youth Awards begin at 6pm; Adult Awards begin at 8pm.
Tickets go on sale on Monday, August 16th. Visit here for more information or call (916)443-8229

Vicki Lewis Triumphs in “Funny Girl”

2010-08-12T05:38:59Z

“Funny Girl” is a star maker. It made a star out of Barbara Streisand first on Broadway, then in film. Vicki Lewis most certainly shines as Fanny Brice the title “Funny Girl” in this the latest Music Circus production of the show.

Everything in the play centers on the character of Fanny Brice. Brice herself was one of the biggest stars of her time. From 1910 through the 1930s on stage, screen and radio, Brice was wildly popular and influential.

Legendary Broadway producer David Merrick worked with lyricist Jule Styne and equally well-known composer Bob Merrill to turn what had started as a screenplay into a Broadway musical.

Having seen Streisand in her first role on Broadway in “I Can Get It For You Wholesale,” Styne hired her for the leading role.

“Funny Girl” opened on Broadway on March 26, 1964. In 1968, “Funny Girl” was released as a film winning Streisand an Oscar for best actress. Both the musical and film were major critical and financial successes, and Streisand is a major star to this day.

This is the Music Circus’ fourth production of “Funny Girl.” The Music Circus applies its magic to what is now nearly a half-century-old play to not just make it alive, but to really make it shine.

The Music Circus magic is the very high production values it uses with everything involved in its productions, starting with casting.

Lewis spoke of pushing hard for the role of Fanny Brice and her lifelong desire to appear in “Funny Girl” in an interview with Dixie Reed published Aug. 6 in The Sacramento Bee. Music Circus artistic director and “Funny Girl” director Glenn Casale was impressed with her audition and wisely cast Lewis in the lead.

From her opening number, “I’m the Greatest Star,” to he finale of “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” Lewis’ powerful, gorgeous voice brought ovations from the audience. Her Fanny Brice was funny, warm and very accessible. She totally fit in the role of a star.

Don’t let my praise of Lewis overshadow the rest of the cast. Everyone’s performance rises to the level of the star.

Michael Paternostro plays Fannie’s first big supporter, mentor and fellow professional Eddie Ryan. Paternostro is a fine dancer and singer and has several numbers in the show to display his talent.

Veteran Broadway actor Brad Little, best-known for “Phantom of the Opera,” is cast well as Nicky Arnstein, having the right looks and bearing. Sadly, the role does not allow Little to fully exhibit his incredible vocal talent. Oh yes, he does know how to wear a cape well.

Alex Korey as Mrs. Brice and Helen Geller (Mrs. Strakosh), Jennie Scott (Mrs. Meeker) and Kim Arnett (Mrs. O’Malley) do a good job adding a lot of humor to the production.

Ron Wisniski in his third of four Music Circus roles this season is Florenz (not Florence) Ziegfeld Jr. His Ziegfeld is just the right balance of domineering and loving. As a great veteran character actor, Wisniski has made a wonderful contribution to the Music Circus, appearing in five productions in previous years.

A special mention is due to J.D. Daw, who appears as the Ziegfeld Tenor and several incidental roles.

Daw played the role of Jinx beloved by Sacramento audiences in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret’s inaugural one-year production of “Forever Plaid.” Daw gets to show off his great voice in “His Love Makes Me Beautiful,” Fannie’s first big production number with the Follies.

Glenn Casale’s direction and Bob Richard’s choreography make excellent use of all these talented actors. Their expertise at using the Wells Fargo Pavilion to best advantage also shows. They also make great use of Stephen Gifford’s scenic design, lighting design by Pamila Z. Gray and Robert Sereno’s sound design.

The period costumes by Marcy Froehlich and hair, wig and makeup design by Judi Lewin are great fun. The wig Judy Lewin created for Lewis adds much to the sense of her character.

Music direction by Dennis Castellano and the always-excellent Music Circus Orchestra beautifully support this very talented group of singers and dancers.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Music Circus can take a relatively old musical that is so strongly associated with an iconic lead performance and revision and recreate it to be so powerful and new for a contemporary audience.

Photos: 1. Vicki Lewis as Fanny Brice 2.Michael Paternostro as Eddie Ryan 3. Vicki Lewis as Fanny Brice and Brad Little as Nick Arnstein 4. Michael Paternostro as Eddie Ryan and Vicki Lewis as Fanny Brice 5. Vicki Lewis as Fanny Brice and Brad Little as Nick Arnstein, 6. Vicki Lewis as Fanny Brice

All photos by Charr Crail courtsey California Musical Theatre

'Paying for Content' panel to be aired on Access Sacramento

2010-07-02T22:51:13Z

In case you missed the June 22 Paying for Content panel put on by The Sacramento Bee and The Sacramento Press, you will have the chance to see it on Access Sacramento, Channel 17 at the following dates and times:

Sunday, July 4 at 10 p.m. (and repeated Monday at 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 11 at 5 p.m. (and repeated Monday at 9 a.m.)

To read the recap, written by Agnus-Dei Farrant, click here.

Ten 22 Responds to Bee Review, Offers Deal

2010-05-12T19:05:10Z

In light of recent KCRA coverage, Old Sacramento’s Ten 22 restaurant is bringing back its "You Be the Judge" promotion. The offer was announced by Ten 22 Partner Terry Harvego, who appeared in a taped-segment for a story on Blair Anthony Robertson, food critic for The Sacramento Bee, on Thursday.

From today through Sunday, just say the words, "I'll be the judge," and you’ll receive a 50 percent discount on the following menu items: salmon entrée, slow-braised baby back ribs, Hearty burger, any pizza and mac & cheese.

The offer – the latest of two – is a direct response to a review Robertson wrote last month. In the review, Robertson referred to the food as “free range - that is, ranging from mediocre to horrible.”

The review has received more than 34 comments, which range from glowing reviews to criticism of both the restaurant and the reviewer.

Commenter "pkthomsen" called Robertson’s review inaccurate and misleading.

“We have dined with friends on two occasions at Ten22 and our impressions are completely different from those of the reviewer,” the commenter said. “No wine was spilled, food was B+ and service was very good. We were able to sit in a booth and have conversation that was easily heard. We would definitely go back, but may stop reading the Bee's restaurant reviews until they get their act together.”

Harvego said he appreciates the support he’s received from Ten 22 patrons. He said the review was both unexpected and difficult to read.

“We’ve been through the (review) process with News & Review, Sactown and Sacramento Magazine, and those have all been really positive,” Harvego said in the interview which aired May 6. “And then when the Bee review came out, we were, quite frankly, disappointed. We were disappointed first and foremost because a guest…came in and had a bad experience. At the same time, we’re disappointed because for a lot of people it’s the first time they’ve heard about Ten 22. That’s something that really hit home and was kind of painful.”

Disappointment aside, Harvego said the restaurant – and kitchen in particular – is taking the review in stride, while simultaneously working to improve the shortcomings mentioned in the review.

“What we took away from this review was that we need to refocus our efforts on being consistent,” he said. “Every plate that comes out needs to be great; every plate that comes out needs to meet the guest’s expectations.”

Disclosure: Ashley Wilcoxson is a marketing intern for Harvego Enterprises, LLC, which does promotion for Ten 22 and The Firehouse restaurants.

The Sacramento Sustainability Forum: "The Media and Sustainability"

2010-03-15T00:52:54Z

As the influential “Fourth Branch of Government” the Press impacts our understanding of all topics. So how is the media here in Sacramento addressing the topic of sustainability? Attendees of the next Sacramento Sustainability Forum (SSF) will have the opportunity to ask that question, find out what key members of our local media are doing themselves to be more sustainable, and learn about how these news leaders view the sustainability of their industry.
The Sacramento Sustainability Forum has assembled a panel of local media leaders that includes: Joe Barr, News Director – Capital Public Radio, Ben Ilfeld, Co-Founder and Operations Manager – The Sacramento Press, Michael Sanford, VP of Content Creation – KVIE Public Television, Ron Trujillo, Editor – The Sacramento Business Journal, Mary Lynne Vellinga, Business Editor – The Sacramento Bee, and Jeff von Kaenel, CEO – The Sacramento News & Review. The panel will be hosted at a special SSF venue this Wednesday, March 17th, at the Green California Summit and Exposition from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM in Theatre 103. Entry into the Green California Summit and the Sacramento Sustainability Forum is free to the public.
The topic of sustainability is immensely broad, often misunderstood, and frequently controversial. First officially defined in 1987 in the Brundtland Report to the United Nations, sustainability has within only the past few years become a hot topic in business, government, and the general citizenry. Today, more and more organizations report on “triple bottom line” principles, and the position of Chief Sustainability Officer or Director of Sustainability have become almost commonplace in corporate America.
The Sacramento Sustainability Forum is a monthly venue for connecting businesses, non-profits, government and interested citizens in the Sacramento region in order to promote sustainability, share insights and resources, and support movement towards a more sustainable future. SSF is a volunteer endeavor formed by Jacob Griscom, Regional Manager for BetterWorld Telecom, and Richard Noss, CEO of GreenVision for Business, Inc. Supporting volunteers include Ben Phillips-Lesenana, of e-GreenItems, Jon Haas of Healthy Gardens, and Sarah Piper, biologist at ERM.
Please register for the Green California Summit & Exposition at: www.green-technology.org/gcsummit/
Please also register for the Sacramento Sustainability Forum at: www.sacramentosustainabilityforum.com

Bee to cut 25 jobs

2010-01-13T03:58:42Z

The Sacramento Bee and other McClatchy newspapers are making another round of job cuts.

The Bee announced Monday it will cut 25 people by month's end, while McClatchy newspapers including North Carolina's News & Observer and The State in South Carolina announced additional layoffs. The total number of layoffs at the country's third largest newspaper company was not available.

Reporters will not be among those cut at The Bee, although the paper will lose a photojournalist, two copy editors, two designers and two others in the newsroom, said Pam Dinsmore, the paper's community affairs director.

"We've made the decision that the reporting staff — that's not a place that can go down in any numbers," Dinsmore said.

Currently, 71 reporters work in The Bee's newsroom and Capitol Bureau, and total newsroom staff numbers 197, she said.

Bee management will offer buyouts to trim positions in four departments: 16 in audience development and membership services, one in human resources and one in advertising, in addition to the seven newsroom cuts. Employees will be offered a maximum of 40 weeks' pay, depending on how long they worked at The Bee, Dinsmore said.

"It's a pretty generous severance package," she said.

The Bee will lay people off to meet the goal of cutting 25 by Jan. 29 if enough buyouts are not taken. These are the fourth round of cuts in about 18 months. McClatchy cut 15 percent of its workforce last spring. Before that, the company had already cut more than 4,000 positions, or a third of its employees, in about a year.

On Monday, The Bee also jointly announced it will team up with Capital Public Radio over the next year to offer a series of stories exploring Sacramento's attempts to pull out of the recession. The two news agencies will coordinate the project, which they described as the first of its kind for Northern California. Reporters will work on stories for their own agencies rather than collaborate to produce joint stories.

“We’re looking forward to this ongoing collaboration with Capital Public Radio," said Joyce Terhaar, The Bee's managing editor for content, in a prepared statement. "We each bring different expertise to the partnership that augments what we offer readers online."

The Bee lifted a wage freeze last month and has hired three people since November. Two journalists, one from the Los Angeles Times and the other from the Boston Globe, joined the editorial board this month.

McClatchy owns 30 daily papers and dozens of non-dailies, among other interests.

A representative of the Bee's Newspaper Guild unit could not be reached for comment.

The Sacramento Bee and the $100,000 reward

2009-12-06T06:27:04Z

I have never heard of a newspaper anywhere in the United States that has been so tormented by the truth as I have of the Sacramento Bee.

In late 1990 Raley's published and distributed their so-called account of Tom Raley's success story. Then on March 4, 1991, The Sacramento Bee did an article about Raley’s, their success and the man who they had been told and believed had created their success, CEO Chuck Collings. That was the one-two punch that made us come out fighting.

What Raley's and the Sacramento Bee wrote were fighting words and we began fighting for the truth. In Raley's history book and the Bee article, Collings was basking in his self proclaimed glory that he was the savior of the company. In a sense he was because he was the man who ultimately hired our father Charles Nordby but then he proceeded to cheat him out of everything he was promised.

When we read the article in the Bee we questioned every word they had written. We knew according to our father, it was Collings who was leading Tom Raley’s company into bankruptcy. When our father started implementing his program at Raley's, nearly everything he saw wrong at Raley's led to mismanagement and the accounting department of which Collings should have been aware of since he was head of Raley's accounting department for many years before taking the position of President.

When we first discovered the errors in what The Bee was reporting, we knew they were reporting out of ignorance because the truth had been concealed from them as well. It is quite possible that The Bee was given a copy of Raley's history book and was basing their March 4th article and the information in it from a source that was not reliable.

When we first called the The Sacramento Bee, we called in meekness in hopes of getting this error corrected, and we talked to a reporter named Mike Castro. He heard our rendition of the Raley's success story and without ever doubting it, the only thing he could say to us was “Do you think Raley’s wants the public to know about this?” I replied back "why not, it is the truth.” We never heard back from Mike Castro.

We later approached Business Editor Jack Sirard about this error in The Bee’s reporting of Raley’s success. We shared the same story with him and his only response to us was on a sheet from a Sacramento Bee memo pad that stated “We have no interest in pursuing this story at this time,” signed Jack Sirard. We still have that memo and every little piece of evidence and information that we found along the way.

We realized that The Bee had already published fifteen years of a fairy tale success story of Tom Raley and it is our opinion that they couldn’t retract many years of misinformation that they had been sharing with their readers. Along with the enormous advertising budget that Raley’s was sending The Bee’s way, The Bee could not afford to lose this big advertiser in their paper.

Since The Bee had made the decision not to "pursue" this story, we decided to approach the Sacramento Union newspaper. They had run an article in October 1973 about our father and what he was doing for a local chain of stores(Raley’s). Ironically, the article was titled “The Great American Rip-Off” . How appropriate to have an article written 36 years ago with a prophetic title that has become “The Great American Rip-Off”. When we shared our fathers story with the Union's Editor, Joseph Farah, this is what he said to us:

“Guys, I have no reason not to believe your dads story, but if I print his story Raley’s will close my doors”.

That blew us away. We thought that newspapers were suppose to print the truth. We just didn’t know that if it is about one of their largest advertisers in the area it wasn’t going to happen. Whenever we would see Channel 3’s advertisement for it's news broadcast that said “This portion of the news, is brought to you by Raley’s”, it made us shake our heads because we also knew that the news was also being hushed by Raley’s.

In fact, since 1991 and the breaking of this story, not one local news reporting company has been able to touch this story because of the financial impact it would have on them. The influence of a billion dollars is unbelievable. Remember, a billion is a thousand million. How many news reporting companies could one buy or hush with a thousand million? We found out, possibly every one of them. Sad but true that money talks but money also hushes.

We did get one enquiry from a self proclaimed writer of truth. She thought that "truth matters", until she realized who and what she was up against. Her email is worth repeating and tells it like it is:

“Hello Mr. Nordby,
No, I have never heard this story - what a horrid story it is. However, very sadly, I am not surprised. There are people who will do absolutely anything to gain wealth, and/or hang on to wealth (power). Crushing another person seems to be nothing but collateral damage for them.
I am interested in your story. My columns are not just rhetoric - I write what I believe. As you have already discovered, the threat of Raley's financial resources is huge. While I cannot and will not jeopardize (her company), I am interested in finding the proper venue for your story.
That could take some time and research. It is a compelling story but as I previously said, most people in Sacramento have too much to lose given the size, scope and far-reaching tentacles of the Raley's family. I still think it needs to be a book and not done by a newspaper - a newspaper would and/or could lose all of their advertisers. A newspaper …..could be shut down in one day by Raley's.”
Katy G

After my father wrote his book "Raley's Exposed", he wanted to advertise his book for sale in the Sacramento Bee. He had a block ad of about 3"x 4" created to place in The Bee. He submitted it to the Bee and their response to him was "this ad is inappropiate for the Bee". The Bee had no difficulties placing ads for strip joints with almost naked people in them, but Charles Nordby's ad was innapropiate? The one thing The Bee had no problem publishing in their paper about Charles Nordby was his funeral notice and obituary. In fact, when you read it, they are almost gloating in it and probably thinking to themselves that his story is dead too! But it didn't die, and in fact it has become even bigger with new information that has surfaced.

The Sacramento Bee has been offered the $100,000 reward since its inception. They know this story is true. They can't refute it and neither can they afford to report. It shatters the credibility of their own reporting of Tom Raley's success story. We have noticed that there is very little reported about the Teel's and Raley's anymore.

Earlier this year my brother Frank and myself discovered that the SacBee was censoring our comments that we posted on their website. Keep in mind that we have been a thorn in the Sacramento's Bee side for over 18 years. We realized that whenever Frank would post a comment I could not see it but Frank could. Whenever I would post a comment I could see it but Frank couldn't. We were baffled until we came to the conclusion that the Bee is able to censor, silence and hush anyone who writes anything contradictory to the Bee's editorial stance.

I emailed Coleen Belcher at SacPress to set up a time when Frank and I could stop by and talk to her about something. She agreed, so we went by the SacPress office with a laptop in hand. We asked Coleen to turn on her computer and go to SacBee's website. We showed her our comments on our laptop but she was unable to see the comments on hers. We all figured that somehow the Sacramento Bee is able to censor, silence and hush our voice on their website. They might be doing it to others as well. Unless you have a reason to question it, you would never discover this blatant form of censorship with a dose of deception to give a person the appearance that everything in the Sacramento Bee is fair reporting as well as the fair opinion and voices of its readers.

Someday something could happen that will force this story to the forefront of news. How will the Sacramento Bee handle Charles Nordby's story then?

Sources: News logos from www internet images, Charles Nordby's obituary compliments of the Bee, Sacramento Union article October 24, 1973.

Raley's Incites the $100,000 Reward? Part 3

2009-11-24T04:02:46Z

When homeless looking man Frank Nordby realized that if what he believed was true, then an incredible injustice had taken place. He felt if a billion dollars could create this horrible injustice maybe it's possible to tip the scales of justice with a little incentive for anyone who would be willing to investigate his story and prove him wrong. So with the David vs Goliath state of mind, Frank began offering a $100,000 dollar reward in his quest for the truth. All anyone had to do was disprove with evidence the following claim by our father Charles Nordby:

"I saved Tom Raley's company from going bankrupt"

A simple claim with a very hard answer. Because if he did save the Raley's company, then Charles Nordby is a hometown hero who has been treated like a villian. When you consider all of the people, families, companies, communities and on and on that have benefited from Raley's since 1973, he has made a tremendous contribution without any acknowlegement, publically or financially. Like I mentioned before in a previous segment, which is an incredible fact, and that is Tom Raley didn't even know him. And why didn't Tom Raley know Charles Nordby?

This is what I know: There are two people in Sacramento who should have the ability to produce the evidence necessary to disprove Charles Nordby and silence this story, but they can't. Those two people are Jim and Joyce Raley Teel. They have access to all the financial records of Tom Raley(unless they have been shredded already). All they have to prove is Tom's financial condition in 1973. If Tom Raley had plenty of money in 1973, then Charles Nordby didn't need to save his company and no turnaround would have been necessary. But even Raley's own history book states that 1973 was the year of the "turnaround". That was the same year that Nordby came to Raley's. Mere coincident? Not likely!

Recently I received a nice email from Casey Kirk at the SacPress, and I was graciously warned that if the story about my father and Raley’s went into the “dangerous territory of libel," it would be pulled. And it should be if it is libelous. Then she wrote this "We have consulted two journalism professors at CSUS who specialize in media law and have been told that so far the stories seem safe, but they do have the potential to go that route."

I appreciate The Sacramento Press' precautions and we are well aware of the dangers of libel, but since our family has been telling this never changing story for over 18 years now, we are very careful to speak and write only what we know to be true or our expressed opinions.

After I read their email and I became aware of their concern, I remembered the April 2nd, 1991 letter Charles Collings (Raley's president) wrote to my brother Frank stating the following:

"I am telling you that the story you are trying to spread about Raley's is inaccurate and could be damaging. Now that you know, if you choose to continue to spread falsehoods, I suggest that you get an attorney, you will need one."

Wow, what a powerhouse threat from the man and the company of Sacramento's big local success story.....Raley's. That threat was made over 18 years ago. Since then we have spent thousands of hours and dollars investigating Tom Raley, Raley’s, Chuck Collings, the Teel’s and others.

We searched through archived newspapers, public records of Raley’s finances which also include divorce proceedings, tax delinquency files, stock issuances, assessor’s filings, as well as police and criminal records just for the fun of it. We knew if for some reason our investigation was not complete or accurate, we would never be able to prove our father’s story and we would also run the risk of having to face Raley’s in a court of law where we would have no chance against this uncircumcised giant.

One of the greatest sources of evidence that we found was their own history book of Tom Raley’s success story. It is called "Raley's, A Family Store". That book was freely given to all of Raley’s employees in 1990 of which I was one. I don’t think they thought that an employee of over ten years would read this book and begin questioning their so-called actual and factual account of their success story.

It was within their own pages of their own book that we discovered events, timelines, quotes and even important omissions that gave us what we needed to prove our father’s story. All of the information from other investigated documents were like little pieces of the big puzzle, and like shavings of chocolate sprinkled on the icing of a cake. Yes, I enjoy chocolate.

In the 1980’s, the Proctor and Gamble company and its logo with the man, the stars and the moon was subjected to many rumors that the company was somehow related to Satanic worship. Since the rumors were untrue and damaging to the company’s clean image(no pun intended, okay there was), the P&G company sought after every individual as well as groups who were creating and spreading the negative publicity and ferociously pursued them in the court of law to stop the libelous and damaging accusations against them.

I say all that to say this. In the last 18 years of our family promoting the true Tom Raley success story that is really Charles Nordby‘s success story, there has never been any opposition from Raley’s or Jim and Joyce Raley Teel, the two people who could have protected Tom Raley's name, reputation and legacy if it were possible. If they had any evidence to disprove Charles Nordby's claims, they could have claimed the $100,000 reward and given it to a charity of their choice.

Eighteen years later my brother Frank continues to speak the truth. His animated website, with all of its bells and whistles reminds me of Jim Cramers show "Mad Money", except Franks website is all about fraud money and should have been voted "Best of Sacramento" for a fun, zany, educational and news worthy website. Frank will never get a "Sacramento's Best" for his website because Mike O'brien from the Sacramento Magazine doesn't want to believe that this is a true story. A woman sent him an email and asked him about the Charles Nordby story. Here is what Mike wrote to her in reply:

"We have gotten rambling notes from the person you reference for years, as have many media. We considered his diatribes years ago and found the specific charges meaningless."

Mike O'brien should think before he speaks or writes emails. Charles Nordby died over 13 years ago. How could have Mike got any "rambling" notes from Charles Nordby. Maybe Mike is passing notes with the dead. Is this a little paranormal activity going on here? Maybe Mike should get one of his magazines "Sacramento's Best" for "Foot in Mouth".

Anyways, Franks website has been online since 2003 and has nearly 1/2 million page views and he is still waiting for Chuck Collings, Jim and Joyce Teel and Raley's to settle this matter. In fact, Frank is still waiting for Collings to follow through with Raley's threat of legal action made towards him on April 2, 1991 when Collings wrote he would need an attorney if he was to continue spreading falsehoods.

I am glad that the SacPress editorial staff is reading the articles and questioning the credibility of its writers, just in case the stories appear to be too incredible. Especially an unheard of story like this one that involves the wealthiest people in Sacramento and the company that they own.

The $100,000 reward that is being offered has been available for almost five years now and was initially offered to journalist and the news media as a lure to find someone who would be willing to grab this story by the balls and investigate it. We wanted an outsider to either come to the same conclusion that we have or be able to gather evidence that would prove otherwise. We just wanted the truth. Not one reporter ever approached us about trying to disprove the story. Maybe they were told or knew it was a true story that could not be disputed. Or, maybe they were told not to by their superiors where they worked. Watch the YouTube journalist invite listed at the bottom of the page.

Raley’s attorney’s perverted and corrupted justice in this matter. They prevented our father from getting his day in court which would have proven his story and his claims that every penny of profit that Raley’s has made since he came on board with them in 1973 was money made from his program. He made them billionaires and they used ill-gotten gains to make sure he didn’t get his day in court.

Charles Nordby died in the midst of dragging them into the courts. It is our opinion his death could be attributed partially to the stress he endured while fighting corrupted legal paperwork from attorneys Peter Glick and Robert Strauch. And the only person who ever faced him in court was a very red faced woman named Kimberly Peterson acting on behalf of Peter Glick. We are still trying to investigate if she was even an attorney at the time of her courtroom appearance or just an office girl.

One of the most incredible facts about this whole story is this: Here we are 18 years after we first discovered many careless errors in the Raley’s history book that simply did not make any sense, and they are still holding on to their facade. Everyone who hears this story says to us “why don’t they (Raley’s) just settle with your family?” One possible reason is, they may think they will have to admit they commited a crime against our father. Or maybe they think because they are billionaires, they don't have to answer to anyone.

Most people who get got stealing normally end up paying restitution to the victim for their crime. Wealthy people generally don’t care about doing the right thing unless they are caught and forced by the law to do so. For them, stealing from Charles Nordby and his family, then taking credit for his legacy is all part of their American dream which is not a dream at all.

I feel for all the Raley/Teel family members who have had to live with this story hanging over their heads. Nobody but Jim and Joyce Teel, Chuck Collings and Frank McMinn knew anything about it. The rest of the family had no idea what our father was doing for grandpa Tom, but neither did Tom. So when this story began breaking in 1991 it must have been a horrible horrible shock to the Raley family, but especially to the three men listed above because they were the ones personally involved in what Charles Nordby was doing.

I believe as long as there is life, it is never too late to do the right thing. I don't know why Jim and Joyce don't want to resolve this for their children and grandchildrens sake?

Coming up in future segments: Read the crucial part played by the Sacramento Bee, my meetings with Mike Teel and then Jim Teel that almost erupted into a brawl. Also, the legal shenanigans of Raley's attorneys at Downey, Brand Seymour and Rowher….. and how Judge Joe Gray in our opinion is either a very stupid judge, jaded or perhaps even paid off.

Sources: Photo of 1st Store Courtesy of the El Dorado County Museum www.hungry4justice.com www.raleysexposed.com Raley's: A Family Store http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrsG_kNeGXg

R.E. Graswich on why he left journalism for City Hall

2009-08-21T02:48:28Z

Sacramento journalist R.E. Graswich is not sad to leave his 37-year journalism career for a new job as special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson.

“I figure I got one last shot in life here to do something worthwhile as opposed to what you guys do,” he joked while addressing reporters Tuesday.

Graswich, 54, left a 35-year career at The Sacramento Bee in 2007. In the two years following his departure from the Bee, he took up “wonderful chances” to work as a co-anchor at KFBK and commentator at KOVR CBS 13, he said. Now, though, he wants to work in the political arena. This is his first week working as a staffer at City Hall in the special assistant position with a salary of $80,000.

At Johnson’s office, Graswich will hold several roles. He will be a point-man in negotiations and discussions between the City Council and Johnson. While he won’t be the mayor’s contact for the media, he said he will provide assistance on communications issues and strategies. Graswich will work on policy issues relating to both K Street development and public safety in the city. In addition, he will work with community members on behalf of Johnson’s office.

Graswich told The Sacramento Press in an interview in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday that he achieved his goals as a Bee columnist covering city issues. “I ended up writing what I think was the top column in town. It was the most popular, the most widely-read column.” Additionally, he spent several years writing a sports column.

He also wanted to leave the Bee because he felt it had changed for the worse. “When you look at the decline of the traditional media -- and the Bee in particular -- I just didn’t want to stay around and watch that,” he said.

“I was there during the glory years,” he added. “I was there when it was a wonderful, viable, vital place to work. I thought it was a job for life, frankly...And here we are at this situation where it’s just not the same anymore. And there are a million reasons for it. But I just thought, it’s time to step away.”

Graswich noted that some people have told him that his move to Johnson’s office from journalism is like going to “the dark side.” But he argues that private sector media outlets are “the dark side” because they’re working for the sake of profits rather than for the public.

“The dark side?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m getting paid by the people. I’m working for the people.”

“You’re on the dark side,” he said, laying out his response to journalists critical of his career move. “Your boss is trying to make a dollar... Clear Channel and McClatchy — those are the two people I’ve worked for. They’re in it for the money. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m working for the people now. And they’re paying my salary. And by God, they’re going to get their money’s worth.”

He also said that he is taking a pay cut to work for Johnson's office.

Graswich freely acknowledged he has a hankering for politics. Though he’s considered running for local political office, he said he’s not able to run in the 2010 elections.

“In the back of my head, I always thought — if I could get into government,” he said. “I love the city issues; I love policy issues. There was some thought about me running for office.”

He said he would have needed three things to run for a City Council seat in 2010. One of those things was the backing of Councilman Robbie Waters. Graswich, who lives in Waters’ district, would have considered running for office if Waters decided not to run.

Graswich also said he would have needed the support of his wife, as well the backing of Mayor Kevin Johnson.

But Waters is running for office again in 2010, and Graswich’s spouse, Elizabeth, put her foot down. “Honest to God, I think it was that she didn’t want to be married to a politician,” Graswich said. “There was also a period of fund-raising -- the rubber chicken circuit, the stuff that you got to go through as a politician to get yourself elected...There’s a significant loss of income because I couldn’t work while I was campaigning.”

While Graswich denies plans to run for office in the 2014 local elections, he indicated that the issue could be raised again in a couple years. “It’s too far out there,” he said. “Talk to me in 2012.”

He also said he made an eight-to-10 year commitment to work with Johnson as a staffer. “In many ways, it’s better than being a politician,” he said. “You don’t have to run for office -- you’re already in there. You get to deal with all the same issues...I think it could potentially be more fun, though. All of that’s conjecture at this point because it’s only three days into it.”

Read The Sacramento Press Friday to learn more about what Graswich will do in his special assistant position and how he accounts for his changing views of Johnson’s performance as mayor.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

McClatchy profits grow

2009-07-22T05:43:33Z

Sacramento-based McClatchy Co. on Tuesday announced a surge in second-quarter earnings following the latest round of company-wide downsizing.

More cutbacks are still in the works to staunch a continued loss in revenue. Next week, members of the editorial employee union at The Sacramento Bee, the company's flagship, will vote on a proposal to use accrued vacation days rather than face unpaid furloughs this year.

However, a small amount of hiring is still taking place.

Net quarterly profit rose to $42.2 million, up from $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2008. Per-share earnings grew to 50 cents, up from 24 cents for the same period last year, according to the report released Tuesday by McClatchy.

The news was met with a spike in the value of McClatchy stock, which leveled off at 74 cents a share — up 20 cents — by the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.

The "hard work" of restructuring and cutting expenses has led to the earnings growth in the midst of the recession and turbulence in the newspaper industry, according to Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive officer.

"Our challenge in this extremely tough environment is to stabilize cash flow, reduce debt and continue a transition to an integrated multimedia company," he said.

"Looking ahead, we know that economic slowdowns do not last forever, and our 152-year-old company has been successful by taking a long-term view and staying true to our strategic plan," he said. "We are working to put ourselves in a good position to weather this downturn and to create value for all of our stakeholders."

Second-quarter revenues dropped to $365.3 million, a 25.4 percent decrease from 2008's $489.7 million. Although ad revenue of $283.7 million marked a 30 percent decrease since this time last year, the loss of ad revenue this year has been slowing slightly since at least April.

The growth in earnings followed a 15 percent workforce reduction in the spring. McClatchy had already cut more than 4,000 positions, or a third of its employees, in about a year.

McClatchy currently owns 30 daily papers and dozens of non-dailies, among other interests. In May, the Bee lost 128 positions, including 29 in the newsroom, or 11 percent of its workforce, said Pam Dinsmore, the paper's community affairs director.

The paper has been able to make a few hires, including eight people in advertising and a new business editor, she said. The ad positions had been cut, and those who left were contacted about the jobs.

Someone also has been hired to fill a capitol bureau opening, and the paper's attempting to replace an opinion editor, said reporter Ed Fletcher, who chairs the Bee's Newspaper Guild unit.

In another move that could offset expenses, the paper has entertained an offer to buy its two-level parking garage after someone approached the Bee. No deal was made on the structure, which was built to allow additions for office space or other uses. But management would consider other offers, she said, adding that selling the garage isn't part of any cost-cutting plans.

"It's not like there's a for-sale sign out there," Dinsmore said.

Employees, including the entire features staff, have been moved from the newspaper headquarter's third floor to the second floor. Management has talked about using the third floor as a conference center for staff. Dinsmore said she hasn't heard anything about the possibility of leasing the third floor out to someone.

The Bee is now opening up its Eleanor McClatchy Center — known to employees as "the Bee Hive" — to neighborhood and community groups free of charge. The center holds an 80-seat theater and a conference room.

The Bee is considering additional cost savings. Guild members have agreed to vote next week on "vacation burn down," or using all vacation they earn in the next six months, as well as five more days of vacation accrued previously — and all by the end of the year. Bee management said such an agreement would prevent a week of unpaid furlough days, Fletcher said.

If the union agrees, everyone else at the paper will get the same deal, including management, he said. The Guild contract expires at the end of the year. In the last few months, all employees also have taken 6 percent pay cuts, and the Bee has capped pension plans at current levels and frozen 401K matching.

"I would say higher profits are good. But it would feel a lot better if it didn't come on the backs of workers who didn't have to take paycuts or see their 401K plans obliterated," said Fletcher.

Staff cuts have impacted the newsroom's climate as well as coverage. Editorial staff were cut from features, sports and the metro section, and regional coverage was the biggest loser, Fletcher said.

Reporters don't have as much time for investigative stories, Fletcher said. Many reporters and editors' assignments have changed in recent months. The movie critic is now covering general features and entertainment, including music reviews. The TV critic writes a new wine column.

Layoffs have stopped. But people are still leaving the paper on their own.

"People aren't real sure about whether the jobs will be there a year from now, or two years from now, or three years from now," he said. "Morale has bounced back slightly. But there are a lot of people looking over their shoulder or looking for work."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 916-804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.

The business model of news

2009-04-06T12:39:57Z

The current fear goes something like this: "If the newspapers disappear, so does all the real original reporting with it." The basic charge is that there is no business model for "giving away" news online, because online revenue is too miniscule and newspapers spend an enormous amount to get us that amazing original content.

The trouble is that a lot of those assumptions are just plain false. Once you start delving into the numbers those assumptions begin to wash away.

For instance, what does an average major daily pay, in terms of a percentage of its overall budget, for its editorial department? While one's inclination may be to assume that it is a huge portion, the reality is that the number averages between 7 and 10 percent. That means the rest of the cost of running a paper is tied up in printing, distributing, marketing and selling that paper.

Considering those percentages, let's look at McClatchy's 2008 numbers. McClatchy as an organization reported total earnings of approximately $1.9 billion. They also reported online advertising revenue of approximately $180 million. Some quick math indicates that about %9.5 of McClatchy's total revenue came from online advertising. Sound like a familiar percentage?

But that's McClatchy, what about the Bee? While numbers haven't been published breaking down the Bee's costs specifically for 2008, we can make some estimates and compare those with revenue numbers. The revenue numbers can be broken out of the McClatchy reports. Of the $180 million that McClatchy makes in online ad revenue, approximately $30 million comes from California and of that, slightly more than half comes from The Sacramento Bee.

That means that The Sacramento Bee has about $15-16 million in online ad revenue. And if I had $15-16 million dollars I could provide Sacramento with one really stellar newsroom and mountains of daily reporting on the region. But you don't have to take my word for it. In fact the Bee already does provide stellar coverage for near that amount. With approximately $211 million in revenue, it is likely the Bee's editorial department costs in the neighborhood of $15-20 million.

In a recent Bee article Al Tompkins, a Poynter faculty member, was quoted as saying, "Who's going to cover the planning and sewer commissions?" The answer: Geoff Doughtery plans to. Geoff Dougherty of chitowndailynews.com is building a newsroom for approximately $2 million. Click on the link to check out his extensive coverage.

While this analysis is not done by a professional economist, or accountant, it is clear that in general, the news about news, is not as grim as some make it seem. My aim was to ground this panic with a few numbers that make sense of the world we live in, so that we will begin to be able to figure out the new world we are heading for.

Statistics sited in this story can be found in this press release from the McClatchy website.

Bee survey

2009-03-30T15:10:10Z

This survey was conducted of The Sacramento Bee, from Monday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 29th. The aim of the survey was to pinpoint how much of the written content of The Bee was written by The Bee and of that content how much was local and how much was not.

Each day was divided into the sections of the paper. Sections of the paper that had no attributable articles were simply not included. Within each section, all the different publications were separated out on to their own lines, with special lines for local Bee content and McClatchy content (from the Washngton bureau, or a foreign bureau).

Each mark per line denotes an attribution for a piece of text.

Shortcomings of this survey:

While thorough, I am not a professional statistician
Images were NOT included as a part of this survey
There was lots of content that had no attribution and was likely organized by editorial staff
Weather was excluded from this survey
There is some degree of subjectivity as to what is local or not, I tended to err on the side of counting more as local

Monday, March 23, 2009
Total: 70
Bee: 27
Bee/Local: 16

A) Front (Total: 25 Bee: 7 Bee/Local: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The Sacramento Bee Local: |

Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |||
New York Times: ||
Miami Herald: |
Washington Post: |
Oakland Tribune: |
Special to the Bee: |

B) Our Region (Total: 9 Bee: 9 Bee/Local: 9)

The Sacramento Bee:
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||

C) Sports (Total: 25 Bee: 5 Bee/Local: 4)

The Sacramento Bee: |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||

Orange County Register: ||
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| ||||
Newsday: ||
New York Times: |
San Jose Mercury News: |

D) Books & Media (Living Here) (Total: 11 Bee: 6 Bee/Local: 2)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Total: 84
Bee: 46
Bee/Local: 30
McClatchy: 4

A) Front (Total: 28 Bee: 11 Bee/Local: 2 McClatchy: 3)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The sacramento Bee Local: ||
McClatchy: |||

New York Times: ||
Washington Post: ||
Associated Press: ||||| |||||
Los Angeles Times: ||
National Review: |
Special to the Bee: |

B) Our Region (Total: 27 Bee: 24 Bee/Local: 21 McClatchy: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: |||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |
McClatchy: |

Associated Press: |||

C) Sports (Total: 18 Bee: 7 Bee/Local: 5)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The sacramento Bee Local: |||||

Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |

D) Living Here (Family) (Total: 11 Bee: 4 Bee/Local: 2)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The sacramento Bee Local: ||

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Total: 118
Bee: 49
Bee/Local: 34
McClatchy: 3

A) Front (Total: 45 Bee: 11 Bee/Local: 3 McClatchy: 3)

The Sacramento Bee: |||||
The sacramento Bee Local: |||
McClatchy: |||

New York Times: |||||
Associate Press: ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |
Los Angeles Times: |||||
Washington Post: |
Kathleen Parker (Washington Post?): |
San Diego Union Tribune: |

B) Our Region (Total: 32 Bee: 24 Bee/Local: 21)

The Sacramento Bee: |||
The sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |

Associated Press: ||||
Fresno Bee: |
New York Times: |

C) Sports (Total: 19 Bee: 9 Bee/Local: 7)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||

Associated Press: ||||| ||
Newsday: |
Ventura County Star: |
San Jose Mercury News: |

D) Food & Wine (Living Here) (Total: 8 Bee: 5 Bee/Local: 3)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The Sacramento Bee Local: |||

New York Times: |
Washington Post: |
Chicago Tribune: |

E) Fun & Games (Total: 4 Bee: 0 Bee/Local: 0)

Universal Press Syndicate: |
Horoscopes: |
MarketWatch: |
Gloria Glyer: |

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Total: 89
Bee: 53
Bee/Local: 34
McClatchy: 5

A) Front (Total: 27 Bee: 14 Bee/Local: 4 McClatchy: 4)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||
McClatchy: ||||

Los Angeles Times: |
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| ||||| ||
New York Times: |||||
Washington Post: ||
Denver Post: |
Public Policy Institute: |

B) Our Region (Total: 32 Bee: 26 Bee/Local: 20 McClatchy: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| ||||| |||||
McClatchy: |

Associated Press: |||
Fresno Bee: |
Washington Post: |
San Jose Mercury News: |

C) Sports (Total: 21 Bee: 11 Bee/Local: 8)

The Sacramento Bee: |||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| |||

Washington Post: |
San Jose Mercury News: |
Associated Press: ||||| |||

D) Outbound (Living Here) (Total: 9 Bee: 2 Bee/Local: 2)

The Sacramento Bee:
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||

Friday, March 27, 2009
Total: 124
Bee: 68
Bee/Local: 49
McClatchy: 1

A) Front (Total: 34 Bee: 13 Bee/Local: 5 McClatchy: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |||
The Sacramento Bee Local: |||||
McClatchy: |

New York Times: ||||
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |||
Los Angeles Times: |
Anna Tuttle Villegas (individual): |
Washington Post: |
Tribune Media: |

B) Our Region (Total: 31 Bee: 27 Bee/Local: 26)

The Sacramento Bee: |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |

Associated Press: ||||

C) Sports (Total: 26 Bee: 8 Bee/Local: 6)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| |

Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |||||
Washington Examiner: |
San Jose Mercury News: |
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: |

D) Drive (Total: 3 Bee: 0 Bee/Local: 0)

Wheelbase Communications: ||
Click and Clack: |

Ticket (Total: 6 Bee: 4 Bee/Local: 4)

The Sacramento Bee:
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||

Tribune News: ||

Movie Guide (Total: 9 Bee: 4 Bee/Local: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: |||
The Sacramento Bee Local: |

Associated Press: |
Orlando Sentinel: ||
Miami Herald: |
St. Petersburg Times: |

J) Style (Total: 15, Bee: 12, Bee/Local: 7)

The Sacramento Bee: |||||
The sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||

Washington Post: |
Horoscopes: |
United Media: |

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Total: 100
Bee: 48
Bee/Local: 32
McClatchy: 2

A) Front (Total: 30 Bee: 10 Bee/Local: 2 McClatchy: 2)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||
McClatchy: ||

New York Times: |||
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| ||||
Los Angeles Times: |
Special to the Bee: |
National Review: |

B) Our Region (Total: 25 Bee: 21 Bee/Local: 16)

The Sacramento Bee: |||||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| ||||| |

Associated Press: |||
New York Times: |

C) Sports (Total: 26 Bee: 11 Bee/Local: 9)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||

San Jose Mercury News: |
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |||
Special to the Bee: |

D) Home & Garden (Living Here) (Total: 14 Bee: 6 Bee/Local: 5)

The Sacramento Bee: |
The Sacramento Bee Local: |||||

Heloise.com: |
UC Cooperative Extension: |
Baltimore Sun: |
King Features Syndicate: ||
Creators Syndicate: |
Orlando Sentinel: |
McClatchy Tribune: |

E) Fun & Games (Total: 5 Bee: 0 Bee/Local: 0)

Sunday, March 29, 2009
Total: 134
Bee: 57
Bee/Local: 35
McClatchy: 3

A) Front (Total: 28 Bee: 5 Bee/Local: 0 McClatchy: 3)

The Sacramento Bee: ||
The Sacramento Bee Local:
McClatchy: |||

Associated Press: ||||| ||||| ||||
Bee news service: |
Los Angeles Times: |
Fresno Bee: |
Washington Post: ||||
New York Times: ||

B) Our Region (Total: 13 Bee: 12 Bee/Local: 11)

The Sacramento Bee: |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| |

Oroville Mercury-Register: |

C) Sports (Total: 29 Bee: 8 Bee/Local: 7)

The Sacramento Bee: |
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||

New York Times: |
Newsday: |
Dayton Daily News: |
Associated Press: ||||| ||||| |||
News & Observer: |
Denver Post: |
Dallas Morning News: |
Los Angeles Times: |
Charlotte Observer: |

D) Business (Total: 13 Bee: 0 Bee/Local: 0)

Associated Press: |||
Los Angeles Times: ||
The Motley Fool: |
Wall Street Journal: ||||| ||

E) Forum (Total: 12 Bee: 6 Bee/Local: 1)

The Sacramento Bee: |||||
The Sacramento Bee Local: |

Special to the Bee: ||
New York Times: |
Washington Post: ||
Miami Herald: |

L) Health & Fitness (Living Here) (Total: 18 Bee: 11 Bee/Local: 5)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||| |
The Sacramento Bee Local: |||||

New York Times: |
McClatchy Newspapers: |
United Feature Syndicate: |
Universal Press Syndicate: |
Washington Post: ||
Horoscopes: |

Explore (Arts & Travel) (Total: 21 Bee: 15 Bee/Local: 11)

The Sacramento Bee: ||||
The Sacramento Bee Local: ||||| ||||| |

Editorial: Facebook and community

2009-02-03T03:00:44Z

Jill Duman's column "My View: We need more than Facebook 'friendship'" in The Sacramento Bee today is scary. However, the online comments below the story are encouraging. Link here.

I am having trouble actually putting together a proper response, but I will try.

The thrust of the column is that Facebook cannot replace real friendships and community. That could have made for a fine column. Unfortunately, she uses most of her column to demean those who participate in social networks while dismissing the community these networks foster. Hint: facebook does not replace friendship, it supplements. Facebook is a tool.

Here are a few choice cuts with some of my responses:

"[Facebook] apparently is the grown-up equivalent of asking everyone you know to sign your yearbook. It's Facebook, and it gives people with too little to do (or a lot of work to avoid) a way of creating a personal billboard in cyberspace."

Nice way to start the discussion, demean the people who use online social networking services. Oh, by the way, Jill has a profile on linkedin.com.

The notion that a service like facebook is the equivalent of yearbook signing makes me a little sick. Hundreds of software engineers toil to build something special just so that she can spit on their work. I guess newspapers are just like toilet paper that you can read?

"I suppose there are advantages to using Facebook. It's certainly a good networking tool for the thousands of us who are unemployed or underemployed. It's a way to keep track of family bloodlines and avoid inadvertent intermarrying."

More of the same demeaning. Thanks for the solid insights. She goes on:

"It allows us all to quickly check in and skim headlines from the lives of people wanting to maintain us as friends – here a great job; there a wonderful apartment in the big city; across the country, a new baby."

This is where I find the column takes a turn for the scary. She clearly realizes, through her sarcasm, that Facebook is delivering important news people care about. This is the kind of thing newspapers should stand up and notice! This is the kind of thing newspapers ought to emulate! Instead of celebrating personal and local news, Jill dismisses it. I honestly fear that this kind of thinking is rattling around inside The Bee.

I want our local newspaper to survive and thrive. This is my plea to stop this kind of madness. Facebook is a tool. It is not a community, it is a tool for community building. It is a way to deliver news and information. It is a way to allow for responsiveness and multi-dimensional conversation. Facebook is not your enemy, it is a tool.

Please use it to drive readership and inform young people about local news. Please use it to get feedback from your readers and create rich conversations. Do not print things that demean 95% of young people who graduated college in the last few years. Please stop putting down the readers and writers of the next century. Make an honest effort at this and fight back. Do not fade into the sunset and then blame fantastic services like facebook while you willingly disconnect with the future contributors who want to make Sacramento better.

"I guess what is troubling about all this cybercontact is that it creates the illusion of community without the commitment. Facebook will allow two dozen former friends to reconnect, but will they really do more than exchange e-mail addresses? Will they watch each other's children grow up? Could you really call a long-lost Facebook friend with a dissolving marriage, a positive biopsy or an imploding mortgage?"

I have to say, the answer to all those questions is: YES! I do not want to get into personal details, but reconnecting with someone from high school on MySapce led me to a wonderful and fulfilling relationship with my girlfriend. When someone gets sick or is getting divorced, Facebook can bring so much love from friends. Then those people can go meet up in person.

I suppose if by using Facebook I abdicated my right to actually go see people in person then the column would make some sense, but that is hogwash. Facebook friending is not about relieving you of your duties as a friend, family member, or community member. All it does is allow for a richer relationship with more communication. It is a supplement, not a substitute. People love real community. Online social networking is built on the idea that people love community.

"In a real community, you meet over common ground – the bike path, the dog park, the PTA meeting. You share interests and concerns. And most important, you respond. You're the back-up baby-sitter or kid pick-up. You have the needed hammer, wrench or phone number.

"You'll pick up your neighbor's newspaper when they're on vacation. You'll buy Girl Scout cookies or Boy Scout popcorn. And when someone dies, you'll bring a casserole, go to the funeral and hug the bereaved."

Real communities can benefit using tools like Facebook:

create support for the bike path and organize an event on Facebook to keep it clean once a month.
create a dog park group to pressure local government to add the second gate that is so sorely needed
take the PTA online so that parents who cannot attend can watch a video uploaded to facebook of the meeting and respond with comments below
ask your friends for a recommendation of a baby sitter or see who has time to help watch the little ones (same with pick-up, hammer, or wrench)
The Girl Scouts would make a killing selling their cookies using a facebook application
these days when someone young dies many times their MySpace page becomes a living memorial to that person

Whew! You all get the idea.

One final time: Facebook is a tool. Real communities and real friends communicate and interact in absolutely vital, engaging ways using social networks. You don't have to use them or like them, but please do not attack those of us who do. And if you work for The Bee please ask your editor to respond and distance yourselves from this kind of mentality.

By the way, I have a feeling the column will make it onto The Sacramento Press facebook page.

Editing a new kind of newspaper

2008-12-17T23:13:08Z

As the Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com, and a life-long journalist of more than 30 years, I thought I should start a storyline about what I'm trying to do here. My purpose is to get feedback, and to give you, the potential or current contributor, and above all, to give MYSELF, some idea of what's going on with SacramentoPress.com. Despite my experience as a writer for The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento (and other) magazines, my own blog and with stints at radio, this is as new for me as it is for everyone else.

Because this is NEW. The internet is not yet a generation old, blogging far newer. And journalism - well, what is that? Our Thursday, Dec. 18 workshop will answer that, in part, but let me try to demystify it a bit for you, especially in context of SacramentoPress.com. Because while we use the word "press," your laptop is the press. There are no big - and we're talking BIG - presses like those that cost The Sacramento Bee so much money to run. There is no paper, though founders Ben and Geoff routinely refer to the press as "the paper."

So what is this? It's not a "paper"; that’s just a convenient metaphor. SacramentoPress.com is something new. It's contributor-driven, amateur in the best sense of the word (for the love of doing it) and, especially as we get more and more people contributing, self-edited. There is no way that Editor-in-Chief Geoff Samek or I can edit everything that goes on this site, and that will become even more true as the readers/contributors grow in number, as you already have significantly, in just a month.

So, how to get a handle on this thing? As I see it, the essence of what drove newspapers into existence two centuries ago, and continues to drive the news, is very simple: STORIES. We love to hear stories, to tell stories, we tell each other stories all day long, just as we tell ourselves stories as we live our lives. These stories range from purely factual (and possibly even accurate) to fantastical. Along with Geoff and Ben, I’d love to see SacramentoPress.com become a repository of stories about this central city, where there is so much going on, against a backdrop of so much history, and with so many unimaginable things yet to come.

Stories boil down to people. "Who?" is always the first in the old cliche who-what-when-where-how (and why). Yes, the trees are beautiful, the architecture rich and sometimes grand, the art and music compelling at times. But it’s always the people who make Sacramento what it is, and that should always be our focus. Good people, bad people, and as often as possible, interesting people.

Regarding journalism and how that applies at SacramentoPress.com, amateur as it is, the main thing that it boils down to is what journalists call “reporting.” You’ll all heard the word, and everyone knows that journalists are “reporters.” But what does it mean?

It means that, above all, your responsibility as a reporter for SacramentoPress.com - self-assigned though you may be - is always to find out what is, to the best of your knowledge, true. What was actually said, what was actually done, where and when did it actually happen? In blogging, it’s too easy to just go straight to the WHY - you’ve got a theory about why trees are being cut down, why drug dealers are suddenly in an apartment complex, why a developer is building in this spot rather than that spot - but if you post accurate information, you empower every reader who comes after you to add more, to build something true, together. Something that will literally serve the entire community, in ways you can’t even imagine now. Perhaps even years down the line. But it has to be TRUE.

How do you know it’s true? Best is to see it with your own eyes, though even that’s not foolproof. Next best is to talk to someone who saw it themselves, and better still, two or three people who did. You do this every day, in things that matter to you. So, write about things that matter to you.

And if you get to a point where you don’t know something - and that is devoutly to be hoped for, because when you have to learn something, then you’re really going somewhere - you need to call someone. You may not know what you need to know, but someone else does, and more often than not, they’re happy to tell you. And they’ll tell you something that you didn’t know, and it may well be something completely contrary to what you thought you’d find. And that’s when it really gets good.

OK, that’s enough for now. I’ll be posting more, in part to give you a break, and also to give you a demo on how storylines work. And to get myself better at it. Because I’m just a step or two ahead of you...