The Central Valley Regional Water Board held its third public meeting in Sacramento on Monday to discuss control of discharges of Organochlorine pesticides in water bodies throughout the Central Valley. Eight Delta waterways, portions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, have been included in the discussion, in addition to other water bodies throughout the state. These water bodies have been listed as impaired on the 303(d) list, meaning that they exceed the minimum pollutant level permitted by the Federal Clean Water Act. This meeting is one of several that have been held since June 2010 by the Board to discuss with waterway stakeholders the development of Organochlorine pesticide TMDLs

The cocktail is one of few things Americans can call their own as part of the American legacy, aside from Texas barbeque and jazz, Erick Castro told his Cocktail 101 class Saturday afternoon at Midtown's Dragonfly. A former Zócalo bartender and cofounder of Sacramento’s annual Midtown Cocktail Week, Castro taught a group of almost 30 how to make an Oriental, gin gimlet and Manhattan in just two hours, while sharing more knowledge and history about the art of cocktail-making than they could hope to remember. This is the first year the class has been incorporated into the week-long event.  Participants worked at tables lined with shakers, jiggers (or measures), bottle openers, martini glas

"Sculpture doesn't have to answer to society or beauty," Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Takako Araki once said. Referred to by some as sacrilegious, her lifelike tattered Bible sculptures, one of which she made by silkscreening text from the Bible onto fired clay, are part of the Soaring Voices ceramic exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. The exhibition opened to the public Saturday and features a collection of more than 80 ceramic pieces by 25 female Japanese artists. Until the 1950s, the world of ceramics in Japan has been a "man's world," exhibit organizer Maya Nishi told an audience at Sunday's gallery talk. She elaborated on how Japanese women had been

Renowned hip hop icon Too $hort, known by many as the "Godfather" of Bay Area hip hop, will be performing at Chris Webber’s Center Court Friday night in Natomas. The show was arranged by Everett Hunter Presents and will include appearances by guest DJs MP 3, Reese Roundtree and Steve DTrix. The multi-platinum artist began his career on the streets of East Oakland during his early teens, selling $5 cassette recordings of his work. He gained widespread acclaim in the hip hop scene with the success of Born to Mack, released in 1986 on his independent label Dangerous Music. The album was later re-released on the Jive Records label and went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. He has relea

Babe the sheep-herding pig and his talking farm friends will revisit the big screen Saturday night at East Portal Park in East Sacramento. The '90s classic Babe is the first film to be featured at Sacramento's fifth Screen on the Green free movie series, held in different local neighborhood parks for four consecutive Saturdays in August. Founded by City Councilman Steve Cohn, Screen on the Green has grown immensely in attendance each year since it first began five years ago, said District Director Sue Brown. Although anyone is welcome to attend, the films are geared toward families. Last year's films included Charlotte's Web, Hairspray, Ratatouille and The Goonies. Screen on the Green i

Just a few steps into Taiko Dan's dojo stands a Goliath-like wooden drum looming overhead. The drum is 780 pounds and rests on a 860-pound stand, standing nine feet tall altogether, according to the dojo's owner and founder, Tiffany Tamaribuchi. Despite its intimidating proportions, the drum is beautiful, with a glossy finish and a large black and white skin stretched over it. Dojo is another word for a school of training in Japanese; in this case, the Sacramento Taiko Dan performing ensemble uses its dojo to teach the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming. Behind the large drum inside the dojo are smaller drums stacked on wooden shelves, and the dojo's walls are lined with even more dru

California's air may start to look a little cleaner, thanks to the California Department of Transportation and its project partners. Caltrans's revolutionary "green locomotive" debuted Wednesday morning at the Amtrak Sacramento Valley station. Members of Caltrans and its project partners assembled within the train station at a press release to make statements regarding the new locomotive, considered a major step toward reducing California's carbon footprint. It is one of the 15 F59PHI model locomotives owned by Caltrans and operated by Amtrak that is now installed with a 710ECO Repower upgrade package. The package is said to consist of the latest microprocessor-controlled locomotive eng

Pop culture has power - enough power to affect the wine industry. In 2004, the feature film Sideways came out, and according to Sonoma filmmaker Rudolf N. McClain, merlot sales in the United States dropped. Of those well-studied in wine statistics, McClain is among them, having just completed his first documentary on merlot in 2008. The dramatic effects of Sideways boil down to one pivotal scene, he explained at the Sacramento premiere screening of Merlove Saturday night. It’s the scene where protagonist Miles Raymond, the oenologist in the film, says, “I’m not drinking any f***ing merlot.” That one statement statistically curbed the sales of merlot, and pinot sales went up by 30 perce

Each morning, Amy Parker and her husband Michael Palmer step from their front porch into a sanctuary nestled among flowers and rocks shaded by trees, luring butterflies and bees to stop and pollinate.   The Sacramentans recently transformed the front yard of their 10-year-old home into an inviting rock garden. Before it became a garden, the space was a lawn with fruit trees. Now it is abundant with colorful plants that require short watering sessions throughout the week.   Currently, city code allows Sacramento residents to water their yards three times per week during the summer. The Sacramento City Council passed additional changes to the outdoor water conservation ordinance, which t

In the midst of Bordeauxs, chiantis, pinot noirs and chardonnays, merlot can be underappreciated in the world of wine, or at least that's what Napa Valley filmmaker Rudy McClain would argue. On Saturday, the crimson underdog will have a shot at glory as the Revolution Wines winery and the Sacramento Institute of Fun hosts a Sacramento premiere event for the screening of McClain's new documentary, Merlove. McClain's film includes interviews with merlot makers from around the world. A complimentary dinner will be provided at Revolution Wines, including pizza from Midtown's Luigi's Slice, and local merlot labels Black Hole and Route 3 prior to the film. The screening will be held at the nea

Peace, love, war, sex and hair -- Sacramento will have a one-night opportunity to revel in hippie counterculture at Harlow's Thursday night. "HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" will rock the nightclub in the form of a concert. Local theater company Artistic Differences will perform musical numbers from "HAIR" as part of the company's Summer of Rock series, which kicked-off with "Tommy" at the Crest on Memorial Day. Many of the original cast members from the company's five-week run of the show in 2007 will return to sing the numbers, accompanied by a seven-piece band.   "HAIR" the musical brings to light a group of young flower children who band together as a "tribe" in the East

The race is on as local filmmakers scramble to produce a 10-minute film in less than 10 days. This year marks the sixth annual 10 x 10 filmmaker's challenge, and the theme is 'milestones and markers.' Local filmmakers, actors and film crew members form teams annually to compete in the challenge, using the year's specified theme and an assigned prop to create a 10-minute-long film in 10 days. The films will be presented in a three-hour gap during the closing weekend of the 10th Sacramento Film and Music festival at the Crest Theatre on August 1. Submissions will be judged by a jury for overall production quality. Participants showed up Thursday evening at the Crest Theatre to find out th

Jonathan Smalley, an employee at City Bicycle Works, said he has been stopped three times within the past five months for riding his fixed-gear bike without brakes, but has managed to evade a citation each time by playing the "ignorance card." Of the people in Sacramento who ride brakeless, knowing that it's illegal, Smalley suggests some do it as a "f--- the cops" gesture, while others do it because "they know what they are doing." Smalley said he rides without brakes because he, too, "knows what he is doing." "It's a purely cosmetic thing for me," he said. "I like the minimal look." Wayne Sigmund, service manager at Mikes Bikes, said that by subtracting brakes from fixed gears -- bike

The cozy, cottage-like storefront that used to be Benny J’s in Downtown Westfield Plaza is a meeting place for yogurt and coffee lovers once again this summer. Owner Jason Yee opened the cozy nook’s doors to the public Thursday as Yummy Yogurt, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop and café. With its easy-to-spot sprinkles sign and bright pink walls in view from the storefront's window, Yummy Yogurt is currently the only yogurt shop in Downtown Plaza. Yummy Yogurt is sold in cups by the ounce, Yee said. Yogurt junkies can choose from and mix mango, strawberry, chocolate, cheesecake, vanilla and tart-flavored nonfat yogurt, and throw in toppings like almonds, mochi, almond roca, marshmallows, r

As Sacramento hosts With Malice Toward None this week, the Abraham Lincoln exhibit commemorating the president's bicentennial birth, local author Larry Tagg is traveling to Los Angeles to promote his book The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln: The Story of America's Most Reviled President at the San Gabriel Valley Civil War Round Table in Pasadena. While many project Lincoln as one of history's greatest and most honorable presidents, Tagg has something else to say on the subject. The former musician, who currently teaches English and drama at Hiram Johnson High School, spent the last six to seven years researching for and writing his second book, which he released in stores just over a month ago. Ta

What did the nation's 16th beloved president have in his pockets the night he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in April 1865? Starting Wednesday, a visit to the California Museum will provide the public with a rare opportunity to see such artifacts with a naked eye. After its premiere in Washington, DC beginning February 12, the Library of Congress art exhibit With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition was scheduled to show in five locations on its national tour, with the California Museum being the only stop on the West Coast. The exhibition marks the bicentennial birth of the 16th president, its focus expanding beyond Lincoln’s presidency, capturing the year

Paul Imagine is about as DIY as they come in Sacramento. A self-taught screenprinter and longtime rock poster artist, Imagine can often be seen at Peets Coffee on J Street sketching poster ideas, each sketch taking anywhere from three to eight hours to draw. His posters and flyers that he distributes on foot around town can take up to 16 hours for him to produce between drawing, screening and printing, and selling his work pays for little beyond what it takes to produce it. Imagine’s labor of love will gain recognition in Tuesday night's screening of American Artifact, a documentary tracing what it refers to as America's 21st century "rock poster art movement" from the '60s to the present

 The second day of the eighth annual All American Tattoo festival brought a much larger crowd to the Convention Center Saturday than on its opening night, Friday. Attendees had various reasons for checking out the tattoos and tattooed. Justin Maulit came with his wife and 16-month-old daughter to finish part of their wedding vows. “I’m here to get tattooed. It’s for our wedding. Me and my wife are getting matching ones. It’s a lady and a skull, and it says, ‘Til Death Do Us Part.’” She always wanted to get one, and we had [our daughter] and she couldn’t get one for the past two years, so now she’s getting hers done. [We brought our daughter] just as an experience, I’m pretty sure she’s

A man wearing a red beret, spandex shorts, black motorcycle boots and a black leather vest posed for photos, and local DJs Christophe and Roger spun French music in the background at the Crest lobby during the opening reception of the Eighth Sacramento French Film Festival Friday night. Meanwhile, French film enthusiasts sampled wine, cheese, chocolate fondue, wraps and flatbreads from local restaurants and businesses. The man’s unmistakably French attire may have caught your eye while passing this year’s SFFF posters around town, on which he appears equipped with a Martian helmet and an Eiffel Tower gun wearing the same costume, with the words “It came from Bordeaux!” above him and a spa

"French trash" vacationers, a late-in-life marriage, a self-taught painter gone mad and Beauty and the Beast will take to the screen at the Crest Theatre this weekend. Usually occurring in July, the eighth Sacramento French Film festival has an early start this year with its opening reception tomorrow night. The festival is held annually at the Crest Theatre as a project of the Alliance Française de Sacramento; it will run Friday through Sunday this weekend and Saturday and Sunday next weekend. Cecile Downs, co-founder of the SFFF, said the festival's selection will include comedies, dramas and thrillers as well as "midnight movies" — one is the erotic film A l’Aventure by Jean-Claude Br