Newest articles and comments on The Sacramento Press written by Adam Jeske

Adam Jeske on "Prepping for Gold Rush Days"

2009-09-05T21:03:45Z

Hey i was just cruising through there yesterday on the The Sacramento Press bike. Reminds me of being a kid.

Adam Jeske on "What's Poppin Sacramento?"

2009-08-19T04:17:35Z

Hey Dave great to see you on here and i hope you like the story...

What's Poppin Sacramento?

2009-08-18T05:50:26Z

Sacramento has a new and delicious gourmet treat that's made by a Sacramento local.

DavePops are creamy, drip-free ice pops that leave you swearing to yourself that you just had a cup of ice cream. But don’t let that creamy texture and taste fool you, this is no ice cream, this is a completely different process patented by creator Dave Feldpausch.

These treats come in a variety of different flavors including favorites like mint chip and mocha, and fruit flavors like mango, lemon, lime and much more, but I think the most unique flavors that he has are the energy drink flavors like Red Bull.

The most amazing thing is that although the popsicles are creamy and taste just like ice cream, they have no dairy, no fat and are only about a 100 calories each!

Dave himself is a super-friendly guy who is really excited about his new product and can’t wait to see what’s next for his new business.

He has only started to sell his new dessert this summer. If you want to grab yourself a Dave Pop I would suggest making it out to the Farmers Market on Tuesdays before the end of the summer. But keep your eyes peeled because you might just see them in the grocery store freezer section sooner than you think.

Here is a link to a video about Dave Pops

http://gooddaysacramento.com/?articleID=55992

Adam Jeske on "City rakes in state IOUs"

2009-08-02T16:55:22Z

We are all locals of California and its the state who has the overall problem...look at the real issue my friend and you will see that it is not this guy or the city itself exactly. It is our entire states government that has put us in the position to even right IOU's...

Mopeds Vs. Scooters...

2009-07-01T04:54:13Z

The amount of mopeds and scooters out on the roads these days in Sacramento, and really all over the U.S., has been steadily growing in the past few years. I would imagine that this is the most common they have been since the mid to late 70s. I have been watching it happen since about 2005 when I purchased the first moped I had ever even ridden. But even The Wall Street Journal is reporting about their increase in sales.

The Wall Street Journal reports that “domestic sales of scooters have surged as budget- and environment-minded consumers look for relief from high pump prices and as more-appealing models come on the market.” Sales of scooters with engine sizes of 150CCs or less…have jumped 200% to 48,000 by 2004 from c.16,000 in 1999 and they continue to rise."

With so many models to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you, moped or scooter? A moped has pedals so if you run out of gas, you can still pedal home; a scooter does not. If you plan on owning any scooter, you have to have an M1 license, insurance, registration. This isn’t a bad thing considering that most scooters can do a maximum speed of about 39-80 mph.

The decision for me is more about style and preference. Although I myself am a moped person, most people tend to be scooter people just because they are more cushy and comfy and they go faster.

The moped these days is a lot more about restoration and customization. There are so many things that you can do to them and ways to make them look really cool for a lot cheaper than what it costs to buy a scooter.

Here in town if you're looking to find your way into the moped scene you might want to make your way over to Motomatic Mopeds located behind Bows and Arrows Vintage, in the alley. But it is the only place in Sacramento where you can get this type of moped expertise since they don’t really make very many more new ones. In fact, there is only one brand of moped around anymore, and that is Tomos.

So if you really want to get a moped the best way to go about it is to head over to Motomatic or hit up craigslist and start searching for an old rusty moped to get your hands on and then head over to Motomatic to get it running like a champ. Mike Rafter and all the Land Squids over there (Land Squids is the Sacramento Moped gang can do anything from the littlest tune up to full-on customization and overhauling.

If you are in the market for a motor scooter, however, there are a vast number of options to chose from. You can go all over the place and get a scooter for about $1500 brand new. But Vespa still reigns supreme in the scooter world. The Vespa is the classic Italian scooter that basically every other scooter you see on the road was modeled after. If you are looking for Vespa specifically, head to the Internet and check out Vespa.com or you can check out Hot Italian on 16th and Q as well.

I wouldn’t mind having me a sweet old Vespa at some point in time. Regardless of which one you choose, you are getting some bang for your gas buck. Mopeds get around 80-100 miles to the gallon. Four-stroke 150CC scooters top out at 60 mph and get around 70-80 miles to the gallon.

If you are considering alternative transportation, just do a little research, take a few test drives, and you’re bound to fall in love with one of them.

Adam Jeske on "Foreclosures staying off the Grid"

2009-06-30T16:58:57Z

You are so right there are a few more bank owned homes than just one in Midtown. But the auther is most likely correct that it is the only one on the market. But i have seen more than 5 just while riding my back through midtown. The way that you can tell the foreclosed homes in midtown is either by the boarded up windows or if you walk up closely to the home there will be a city notice on the front door or on one of the main front windows. But over all yes midtown is the only are in sacramento where the home prices have gone up since 2005. even if it is only by about 2.5%

Second Saturday: Hot Italian

2009-06-15T06:11:36Z

So last night Saturday June 13th 2009 was another amazing second Saturday here in Sacramento but among the normal routine of the event it was Hot Italian’s Grand Opening bash. The people showed up in full affect for this event last night. The whole place was packed wall to wall with all types of people all with one common goal, pizza! And of course the beer and wine. But on top of all the great food was the entertainment, all night there were DJ’s spinning records on the roof all the while a local Sacramento Mural/Graphitti artist painted an awesome Hot Italian couple on the 16th street side of the building. Up All Night TV was also on site shooting and interviewing folks as well. But the high light of the evening was definitely the now Sacramento local Italian rapper Rigo Di Casa Nostra. Who moved to California about nine years ago and finally landed in Sacramento only a year ago. When Rigo performed it was the biggest event of the evening with people pouring out into the street to get the best view but causing a little bit of traffic on 16th street but overall no problems were reported due to the blockage of the street. The night really turned out to be a huge success and everyone really had a lot of fun.

Mobile Office 1

2009-06-08T16:27:27Z

Some of you out there may not know me and my role at The Sacramento Press so let me fill you in just a bit, I work in our marketing department and it's my basic job to get out there and interface with the people and let them know we are here for their communities. However I often take advantage of this wonderful paper and write stories as well, and you should too.

Last Tuesday, I set out on my mission to put together our first official mobile office. I needed to think of a good place to set it up and get a good feel for it. I instantly thought back to the story that one of our interns had done about some people in the River Park neighborhood who are working with the city to close the access point at Paradise Beach.

The short version of the story is that the citizens that want it closed are sick of the crowds of college kids and other people that visit the river to hang out, barbecue and drink beer. Now I do understand that it is illegal to drink at this point on the river but that is no excuse to close the area down. The plan is to place turnstyles at the access point to the river, making it an exit only!

So there I sat most of the day with my mobile office, which actually turned out to be great. My office was right at the top of the levee so I was able to catch everyone coming and going to let them know that A) we exist, and B) we had done this great story about their neighborhood.

While I was sitting in my office writing a little story it gave me a chance to talk to a lot of people. Most notably I spoke with the teachers and parents of the Davis Waldorf School who were having an outing with their kindergarten class.

"The kids spent three weeks building their sailboats, painting them, all leading up to this day. And we were so grateful to have such a beautiful and safe place on the river to bring the class to finally test out their boats, as well as teach them about the river and its surrounding nature," one of the teachers said.

“This is so great what you are doing out here and I will definitely have to check out the full story,” a parent added.

So at the end of this day I felt really good because if this access point did get shut down people like this would not be able to use it either.

Adam Jeske on "98Rock's Rob Williams To Fans: "We Have Failed You""

2009-06-08T16:22:42Z

Dang this makes me even more mad about the fact that KWOD is no longer in the air because 98 rock is a terrible station that plays mostly bad music and bad moring shows. BRING BACK KWOD AND ADAM COROLLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday Night Fights

2009-06-08T02:04:11Z

Last night right about 1:30 am just a few minutes before last call a huge fight broke out in front of the downtown club Image. Seeing Police cruisers flying down I the turn left at 15th we rushed over to get the scoop. Pulling up bicycles there were already three Police cruisers stopped with Officers trying to break up the brawl and detain the suspects. About a total of 18 Cruisers and 2 Bicycles Officers as well only 2 suspects were taken into custody that we could see but there were many more people that were clearly involved some took off on foot. By the time that the Officers had the 2 suspects in the cruisers the Police Helicopter was in circle pursuit in about a 6-7 block radius in search what we assumed were the other people involved in the brawl. Police had everything cleared out of the street by 2am.

Adam Jeske on "Don't Put the River in a Cage"

2009-05-18T14:51:22Z

You are so right about this. You cant punish all people for this. And honestly the people who party down at the beach on the weekend is no different than any ocean beach town. People just want to enjoy what is rightfully theres. Just because you own some property somewhere doesnt make you the devine power in that area. There are kids skim boarding poeple walking dogs(myself included) and many other things. But you can bet if they built a fence that wouldnt stop me from enjoying what was never theres to take away in the first place.

Friday NIght! CIP

2009-05-10T16:26:27Z

Friday Night Concert in the Park kicks it off real big this week after an upsetting bout of rain forced event coordinators to cancel last week’s performance.

It was a little bit of a different scene this year with all types of new vendors, including Buckhorn Grill, Jealousy Catering, Joshua’s Ribs, Toppings Pizza and Fuzio, just to name a few.

Also this year were booths set up for information about the city with lots of flyers and things to do in downtown Sacramento. One booth was for a group called Greensol, which is a company that produces bottled water, except their niche is that they have bottles that are made from corn and are biodegradable (and yes their bottles are colored green).

Besides all of the new vendors, the park was packed full of people last night for the first official week. The beer garden was of course full of downtown Sacramento’s 21 and over crowd enjoying the music and just hanging back with friends and family.

The music for last night’s show was a nice bluegrass country style and it sure did make for a nice show. The opening act was The Fortunate Few followed by headliners Rick Estrin and The Night Cats.

The Fortunate Few rocked the stage for a good hour and the Night Cats ended out the night at about 8:30. Now if you had your heart set on seeing the performers on what would have been the first week, no need to fear as they have rescheduled those acts for July 17th, according to the event coordinators.

Rainy Weekend

2009-05-04T00:16:44Z

Rain brings a damper to the first weekend of May. To start things off the very first of the concert in the park series was supposed to start this Friday night and was rained out by 3 pm and right there it felt like the weekend was going to be a quiet lazy house weekend. And then the very next morning I head out to work to set up our Sac Press booth at the Sacramento Zoo for the California Celebration and already I can see that we might be in for a rain out. By 10 it was clear that all the performers would be pulling out of the event except for the Aztec Dancers. And shortly after that it was clear that no one was coming to the Zoo in the rain and all booths were packed up by noon. Another event in the Land Park area was the Garden Tour and Tea which was supposed to happen between 10-4; however I just don’t see how they were able to put this event on. Don’t be discouraged though if you are still itching for a nice garden tour there is still the upcoming East Sacramento Garden Tour is coming up this Mothers Day. In Midtown we had the Indie Sacramento side walk Shopping at the Freemont Park off of 16th street which was not canceled but from what I could see it was clear that the turnout was not what it should have been. But luckily the next weekend is looking great as far as weather go and it’s Second Saturday.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

2009-04-27T16:00:03Z

Friday afternoon at around 4:30 there was yet another accident on Qst. this time it was at the intersection of Q and 11th. A blue Nissan Altima was heading down Qst seemingly at the speed limit minding his own business, when from the 11th st. side comes a Woman rolling through the stop sign. The Woman driving an 80’s model blue Toyota Camry didn’t even come close to a stop, barely even a California roll. Meanwhile the man in the blue Nissan was forced to slam on his brakes locking them up but ultimately smashing into the woman’s Toyota with massive force. Now the woman in the blue Toyota was clearly at fault and surely a little shaken up, but she seemed a little more than shaken up. The woman was very spastic and really wanted nothing to do with the police or anything. The man in the blue Nissan was on the phone with his insurance and the police trying to sort the whole thing out while the woman sit there yelling at him and just yelling in general. The man calls back to the woman to ask her if all the parties in her vehicle are all right, when the woman proceeds to respond by screaming back at the man. “I don’t know if anyone is hurt! My babies are all shook up; I got toddlers in the car. I don’t know if they are ok. Yeah I’m gonna take them to the nurse! I just wanna give you my information and get out of here. All the time yelling this at the man who simply asked if the woman who smashed up his car was all right. What is going on Sacramento? Why can’t people in this world treat each other with just the slightest amount of respect?

T-Bone and we're not talking steak

2009-04-20T20:09:34Z

On the corners of 21st and Q St. this afternoon people were shuffling about for their normal lunch routines when suddenly the peaceful spring day was interrupted by screeching tires and crunching metal.

A blue Infiniti was driving down Q st. while a red Chevy Monte Carlo was traveling down 21 st. It's not clear at this moment which vehicle was at fault but an eye witness reports that the the red Chevy hit the Blue Infiniti causing it to go into a spin in-turn causing the two cars to collide once again. On second impact, the airbags deployed from the blue Infiniti, causing injuries to the chest of the man who was driving.

The man then crawled out of the car getting himself to the side walk where he laid waiting for the fire department to show up.

Shortly after arriving to the scene the Sacramento PD arrived on scene with 5 squad cars to help with traffic and the removal of the blue Infiniti out of the middle of the intersection. Medics quickly respond to the woman still sitting in her car and removed her from the scene by ambulance on a stretcher.

Shortly after the woman was taken, medics noticed that the man holding his chest was the driver of the other car. Shortly thereafter the gentleman that was driving the blue Infiniti was also put on a stretcher and removed by ambulance.

It took a total of five police squad cars, two ambulances and one fire truck to get the scene under control. Officers were unable to move the blue Infiniti by pushing it with the squad car due to its extensive front end damage. At this time there is no information on whether or not anyone ran the light or anything along those lines.

How is your house?

2009-04-14T03:01:13Z

In relation to the nationwide housing slump, how bad is it in Sacramento? And more specifically, how does your neighborhood stack up?

As I was riding the Sacramento Press bike around today I came across an interesting poster in the window of McMartin Realty, with every Sacramento neighborhood listed as well as the average housing prices from August 2005 to February 2009. It also outlined the difference in prices.

To my surprise, it's really much worse than I had imagined (not being a home owner). The difference in price has plummeted by nearly 50 percent in almost every neighborhood in Sacramento. Some were much worse than that and only one neighborhood in Sacramento actually had an increase over the past four years and that was Downtown. It wasn't
a big jump, only around 2.53 percent.

Some neighborhoods like Oak Park have gone down an amazing 81 percent. The average price for a home in the Elmhurst/Oak Park area in 2005 was $275,000 and is now a jaw-dropping $42,000.

If you're in the market to buy a house, this may be a good time to do it, and get the most bang for your buck, as they say. If you're curious to see the exact stats for your neighborhood, visit McMartin Realty or head over to www.sacrealtor.org.

Flaming Fords!

2009-04-13T06:28:24Z

So we all know that last night was an amazing second Saturday and that there were a plethora of people out last night. But what some people might not know is that after all was said and done in downtown there was a white Ford F-150 on the I-5 southbound ramp at I st. This particular ramp is a spiral and you don't see the freeway for a few hundred feet as i was going up the ramp i noticed the car in front of me came to a stop and as i looked past the SUV and what do i see is none other than a newer model white Ford F-150 and the whole front end of the car was engulfed in flames. the ramp quickly became backed up with no one wanting to go around. It seemed as though there was no one around or in the car and there was no one calling police or anything. My girlfriend quickly called 911 to report what was going on. My self and the driver of the car ahead of mine got out and helped to direct the traffic back off of the ramp and down to I st. Once the ramp was clear we blocked the ramp entrance with our cars to save other people the trouble of driving up, and waited for police and fire department. Which to Sacramento Fire and Police credit both arrived on scene rather quickly to take over. Now fortunately the Fire Department was able to put the flames out before the car exploded, and to my knowledge there were no injuries involved.

Caravan For Justice 2

2009-04-10T00:07:00Z

A large group of protestors who had caravanned in from the Bay Area, as well as a number of locals, rallied on the steps of the State Capital today April 8th, for a few hours starting at 12:30 p.m., with several different speakers presenting.

Named the Caravan for Justice, the group buses and drives in large numbers of people from around California in the hopes of getting lawmakers to reform different laws that specifically affect urban youth, touching on such subjects as law reform, prison reform and school reform.

This was not the first protest that the Caravan for Justice has hosted on the steps of the Capitol. On February 19, the Caravan for Justice bussed in hundreds of people who had been attending town hall meetings in nine cities in and around the Bay Area, motivated by the killing of Oscar Grant III by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, as well as other major threats in the community.

The focus of today’s protest was to have the Three Strikes Law reformed or removed, because, the group claims, it continues to put non-violent offenders behind bars for too long. The group also believes that lawmakers should be focused on why there are more urban youth in prisons and correctional facilities than in schools. The Caravan believes that citizens should be looking toward helping to keep the youth in schools and out of gangs.

After a few hours on the steps of the Capitol, the group rallied supporters and headed inside the Capitol to be heard by lawmakers.

For more information about the Caravan for Justice visit caravanforjustice.com.

A Land Park Landmark

2009-04-08T21:46:18Z

Vic's Ice Cream opened its doors to the public in 1947 and has since
become a true Land Park landmark. After more than half a century in
business, this quaint little ice cream parlor has managed to stand the
test of time, even with competition from companies like Baskin
Robbins.

It's easy to see why the people of Land Park love their little
neighborhood treasure so much. From the moment a person walks in,
Vic’s instantly takes him or her back to another time and place, from
the black and white tile floors and the pinstripe wallpaper, all the
way down to the one-cent Ford gumball machine. Its menu items all date
back to its grand opening during the Truman administration.

Vic's carries 29 standard flavors of ice cream but throughout the year
offers several seasonal flavors. Each year Vic's is contracted out to
produce 3 gallons of garlic ice cream for the Gilroy garlic festival
in Gilroy, California, a flavor otherwise unavailable.

In addition to the local Land Park patrons that venture in the shop
everyday, many local politicians, including life-long Land Park
resident, Phil Angelides, also claim Vic’s as a favorite. Vic's was a
long time favorite to former California Representative Robert Matsui,
and continues to be for his wife, incumbent California Representative
Doris Matsui.

In 2005, Vic's received an award from Sacramento Magazine for third
place in their Subscribers' Choice Dining Awards Ice Cream Parlor
category. Most recently, Vic's landed a spot on the 2009 KCRA A-List
for Best Ice Cream Shop in the Sacramento area.

It's no wonder why this mom-and-pop style parlor is sticking around
and will continue to serve its loyal and loving patrons in Land Park.

Forest Hill Suicide

2009-03-21T19:51:22Z

A Citrus Heights man takes his own life in a tragic leap off of the infamous forest hill bridge in Auburn. I read a little bit about this story in the Auburn Journal and I really didn’t think too much of it other than it was a tragedy. The 27-year-old man had gone up to the Sierras to go snowboarding for the day, apparently the man had been depressed before he had even left Sacramento. The mans wife told local Police that he had called her that day from a bar close to the resort and said that he would not be returning home that night and would be staying in a local hotel. I actually found out about this story yesterday from one of my good friends who lives and works up at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. Some how my friend and all of his roommates met this man that day before he had left to try and drive back to Citrus Heights. It was St. Patties Day thought so i am sure it wasn’t hard to meet people around town that day. My friend told me that he just kept saying how he had to get home to his wife because she was “trippin” or something like that. He said that he tried to do everything he could to get him to just stay in Tahoe that night and eat some food, but the man was clearly set on something else. The mans car was first seen near the forest hill bridge on Tuesday night around 9:45 by a local Sheriff who was actually on his way to start work that night. Later that night Sgt Kurt Walker drove back by the bridge only to find the car still sitting there with the keys in the ignition. After running a license plate check to see if the car was perhaps stolen it led to a conversation with the mans wife and the possibility that the man had jumped off the bridge. At least 44 people have fallen or jumped to their deaths during the 34-year history of the bridge, according to an unofficial Auburn Journal count. The forest hill bridge is about 730 feet high above the north fork of the American River and the young mans body was found 30 yards from the river and about 700 feet from the railing. Sheriffs officers and state parks department hiked down to the mans body but needed the assistance of the CHP helicopter to get the body out.

Pancho's Cocina & Mexican Grill

2009-03-10T03:14:51Z

So Mexican food I would say has to be one of my all time favorite styles of food so this time what’s for lunch is Poncho’s Mexican grill. Located rite on the corner of 21st and Broadway it is convenient for everyone. The first time I ate at Poncho’s was actually very much by chance, a friend and I had just finished a class at city and had some time to spare between our next classes. We decided to grab a bite but needed something close to school we just happened to be stopped at the light and looked over and were like hey why not this place. This could not have been a better choice, from the moment we walked in the service was amazing. Friendly people and just a good warm welcoming environment, and I can only say the same for the food. Chips and salsa is standard at a Mexican restaurant but fresh baked hand cut flour and corn tortilla chips with house made salsa and guacamole blew my mind. On top of the fresh hand made chips and salsa the tortillas with my entrée were hand made as well a personal fave of mine. It’s really hard to find truly good authentic Mexican food but I would say that with Poncho’s you defiantly get the real deal. So if you work around this area or just want to take your girl or boy to a great Mexican plate at a great price go stop by Poncho’s Mexican Grill trust me you will not be disappointed.

A Dog Day Afternoon

2009-03-01T19:24:21Z

While here in Sacramento for the past few weeks visiting family and friends, Sgt. Kevin Cameron and his k-9 partner Ramo have also had the time to visit a few elementary schools in the area. Just giving the kids a chance to meet a real GI Joe and his dog, seems to be just as fun for Ramo as it is for the kids.

I had the chance to catch up with Sgt. Cameron and Ramo at Crocker Riverside Elementary to see just what takes place in these show and tells.

Cameron usually brings Ramo in and gives him a chance to sniff around and assess the situation; old habits die-hard I guess. Then he will give the kids a chance to go ahead and ask all sorts of questions about Ramo, himself and what it is that they do in the army.

Cameron goes over how they train the dogs and what kind of jobs that they do in the military, like bomb sniffing and take downs. It's great Cameron says, because if an enemy runs he just sicks Ramo on him and he does all the grunt work. And although Ramo is a great dog and very friendly he can definitely get the job done.

After a little bit of Q&A that’s when the fun starts and the kids are allowed to come up in small groups and spend some time with Ramo in a relaxed state. At the end of it all, Ramo even has his own trading card to hand out to all the kids. Looks like retirement is going just great for Ramo the war hero.

Shucking

2009-03-01T00:51:23Z

So the past few weeks have been quite wet and wild and it puts a little bit of a damper on my marketing tools for the company. Don’t really want to leave flyers to just get rained on and ruined. However the rain never stops my riding and working. So after a day or two it clicked in my head. The stickers that’s it, the stickers I will leave them in all the vending machines I can find then people will have to see them. So I spent the next day and a half going around town looking for vending machines in the right areas. Once I did I put the stickers inside the slots where the candy and sodas come out. After a couple of days I decided to head back over to all the vending machines and see how my ideas had gone. I started to notice a little bit of a pattern after checking back. I went to put more stickers in the slots and I noticed that the only ones that had been taken were the ones out of the soda machines. This makes me think two possible things, people in Sacramento don’t drink water or water drinkers don’t take random stickers.

Adam Jeske on "Fat, Dumb and Happy"

2009-02-23T04:36:31Z

i actually know the soldier in this story so i had an easy time with this one

Fat, Dumb and Happy

2009-02-21T21:44:16Z

Local Staff Sgt saved by his canine, in turn earning the dog a home for his own life.

A young Sacramento Staff Sgt Kevin Cameron spent his past years in the army training canines, only to have his own life saved by one of the very dogs he helped to train and was partnered with. Cameron a local of Sacramento is here only in passing right now to see his wife and stepson before continuing on to his new station in Washington. But after spending the past 3 years of his duty partnered with his dog Ramo, Cameron found out that his beloved pooch was going up for retirement and he knew where Ramo needed to be. So Cameron did everything with in his power to make sure that Ramo was going home with him to be a house pet. And sure enough the U.S. Army did just that and gave him the approval for adoption. After all the dog did save his life from a roadside bomb he says. Ramo the 8-year old German Shepard has now met Cameron’s wife and stepson, he is positive that Ramo will fit right in as one of the family. “He’s earned it,” Cameron said. “All he wants now is to retire. He’s gonna be fat, dumb and happy living on the couch.” Cameron has informed me that most K-9’s are retired around Ramos age, as getting older makes them less effective in sniffing those deadly bombs. “Dogs get tired and make mistakes, like we do, they don’t find everything but more often than not, they do.” Cameron said. A little over a year ago in Iraq, Ramo actually discovered a roadside bomb that was meant to go off as soldiers passed. Cameron and his unit were in route in response to a bomb in another area when Ramo detected the imminent danger and alerted the soldiers. “It amazes me when they find something like that,” Cameron said. “The dogs will look out for what you can’t see. They sense danger before it comes.” A nearby unit was not so lucky. A roadside bomb exploded injuring several soldiers. Cameron tells me that these bombs are designed only to kill or severely wound soldiers, and Ramo saved his life from a very similar fate.

Adam Jeske on "The Street Life"

2009-02-13T01:30:30Z

I dont think that we need a solution at all actually i dont even wish for these people to leave i like having them there actually. i dont know why really i always have since i was a kid seeing these little hideaways. i think they should be allowed to stay there as long as they are not bothering anyone.

Adam Jeske on "The Street Life"

2009-02-13T01:24:57Z

sorry you found it to be so offensive but its the truth. and if you read it says that im not going to reveal the exact location because i didnt want them to be hassle because although i know that there are plenty of dope smoking losers livng in there, but i also saw many people and kids my own age that i could see were just trying to survive and get some food. i have been shooting photos of poverty in sacramento for a long time now. so thats why i have mixed feelings about those places. but i would never want anyone to be hassled for just having a place to sleep...read more carefully

The Street Life

2009-02-12T00:33:31Z

So its no secret that the American River Bike trails is one of my favorite places to spend my free time. I think it’s one of Sacramento’s best treasures for all types of riders. The fact that it goes from Sacramento all the way to Folsom is amazing. I’m sure that many of you have ridden this trail and seen all the beauty that it has to offer, like the deer that can be seen all the way from Sac State to Folsom. But there is a certain area of this bike trail that may give you something a little bit different to look at then the serene nature setting I was just describing.

As you come up on this section of the trail, if you look closely into the brush you will begin to see a few campsites set up in the brush right of the side of the path. Trek on just a little bit farther and you now see an even bigger camp area off the side of the path. No big deal right, if you were riding at the pace of most riders on this trail do, you would more than likely never think twice about these little Homeless hide-aways, perhaps never even notice them at all. But for the past few years now I have always noticed them and have followed them around as they move about this certain section of the city.

This particular day I decided to venture off the trail and head back into the brush to see if maybe there were more people living off the bike trail. As I trekked around with my mountain bike I was very surprised this was the largest I had ever seen. If you could see it with your own eyes you would think to yourself, "Wow, where is city hall?" Like a little city amongst our city, nicely tucked away in this certain section of the American River where the brush clears and it is flat and open for miles.

I quickly started to snap photo after photo, this being the biggest gathering in one place I had seen thus far. Just tents as far as the eye could see, people shuffling about doing there normal daily routine. People coming home with their groceries and cooking; it wasn’t just your normal homeless looking person. There were kids my age, people with kids. Some of the tents almost looked as though they had built fences and other permanent structures to make it just a little bit more homely. But when I really sit down and think about what could be going on in these camps I really have mixed feelings.

On the one hand there is that vagabond traveler side that loves the idea that if I decided to pick up and leave to backpack the US there might be places like this in every town. Unfortunately it’s just not that safe; there are a vast mix of people living in these little communities. Its not just good people in bad situations, no it’s a lot more crank smoking, and needle sharing than that, I hate to say.

It just makes me feel as though riding on this trail at night is just not a good idea, you just can’t always trust those kind of people. On the other hand I won’t reveal the exact location of these camps because I know that the authorities will go in and hassle these people and force them to move yet again. And not all the people in these camps are bad and some of them are just trying to survive the real street life. And I will continue to document these times with my camera.

Adam Jeske on "Let's be bike savvy"

2009-02-06T22:09:44Z

man i know what you mean about people not caring less. i was skateboarding down the street befor going across the cross walk guy truned right into me. i had to jump on to his hood and rolled off inot the gutter and he looked at me like i was crazy.

What's for Lunch?

2009-02-06T22:04:18Z

Ok so if you’re like me then you know you love to eat. But eating in midtown is not always as quick an easy as we might hope for especially when you’re at work. It’s not like there are not plenty of good places to eat in mid town, but there are some places you might have over looked at least for lunch. One of those places is one of my favorite places to eat lunch actually. Aioli Bodega Espanol on 18th & Lst may not be a new name for you as they have been a thriving member of our midtown restaurant community for years now, but mostly for their amazing dinner plates and spectacular wine list. However I urge you to try their lunch, it is reasonably priced, always cooked to perfection no matter what you order, but let me suggest the steak sandwich. You will be very delightfully surprised when you see it, like no other in town. And the service no matter what time of day you go in is always top notch. A lot of times you may even see the owner himself in there waiting your table and you could never meet a nicer fellow. So the next time you’re stuck on a lunch spot, think of a dinner spot and head over to Aioli. Keep your eyes peeled for my next spot.

New Zealand Mud Snails

2009-02-06T21:42:02Z

In 2007 New Zealand Mud Snails were discovered in the Lower American River near Sunrise Bridge. This area of Sacramento is very well known for its fly fishing. The NZMS in large numbers can have a profoundly negative impact on a trout or salmon fishery. It’s not really known exactly how these snails made it to Sacramento, but once introduced into an environment the NZMS can rapidly reproduce, and upwards of 750,000 mud snails per square meter have been found in some waters. The mud snail does not seem to be self-limiting from density dependent effects. Their numbers can dominate the base of the food web and they can consume over 80% of a river’s productivity. The presence of these mud snails exerts a negative impact on mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies and some midges. It was also said that in one stream in Montana only 3% of the streams macroinvertabrate biomass was now indigenous due to the over population of NZMS. Here are some links to sites for tips on how to help.

www.flyline.com/environmental/nzms/

www.esg.montana.edu/aim/mollusca/nzms/

Let's be bike savvy

2009-02-04T01:30:28Z

Sacramento needs to become more bicycle savvy in these days, today I was riding the Sac Press bike around and I had 3 cars make right hand turns right in front of me. One of these cars cut me so close to the point where I was forced to put my left hand on her car and push off the car as I take the turn with her. Had I not been able to do this or had I been a less experienced rider this could have caused a bad situation. The worst part is that I can see these people in there mirrors and they are clearly not looking or on their phone or something like that. We really need to work on this as a city cycling is on the rise in Sacramento and we need to be aware out there when we are behind the wheel. And to all you riders out there stay safe.

California's Budget Cap

2009-01-29T04:33:49Z

While riding through the downtown area today I spotted a group of people walking down the street heading toward the plaza. After following them around for a few minutes to investigate, I quickly realized that they were protesters.

This small group of 8 was heading for the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza in downtown Sacramento this morning, chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, budget caps have got to go.” I followed these protestors for a block or so, before they finally stopped in front of the conference room at Holiday Inn.

Apparently the legislature was having a meeting in this hotel working on ways to cap California’s budget. There I found out that the protestors were actually part of the SEIU of California. The SEIU says “Don’t lock out our future!”

The Governor and legislative leaders are continuing to deliberate on proposed solutions on our State’s $40 billion shortfall in the budget. The SEIU protestors that I spoke with this morning say that The Governators proposal is for more drastic budget cuts on top of $10 billion in reductions that have already been made to schools, health care, social services, as well as countless other vital programs this year. Adding a rigid budget cap will only force more cuts to education, health care, and other critical services year after year.

“California has been hit hardest by the economic meltdown. Unemployment is skyrocketing, food prices are up, and wages are down. More then ever, we need to protect the vital public safety net that keeps our kids our grandparents, people with disabilities and our communities safe.

”The Governor’s proposed cuts and spending cap unfairly target low and moderate income families, and set the stage for perpetual cuts to schools, health care, and public infrastructure that will damage our economy and quality of life for generations.” said Ben Mendoza

The Midnight Run

2008-12-31T08:29:01Z

It was a Tuesday like any other or at least that what I thought as I worked my day job board as can be watching the people pass by on J St. When I got word of a large fixed gear ride that night and I knew my day was looking up. As I sat longer at work I started to hear more and more word of mouth about this ride, and that this was no regular ride. But a race rather and not just any race a scavenger hunt race, once I heard this there was no way I was going to miss this. So some friends and I showed up around 10pm to see what was happening with this ride. When we rolled up there was about 45-50 people so all of us were pumped for this ride, and couldn’t wait to hear the rules. So turns out there were two parts to the race, one part was a manifest of addresses ranging from anywhere in downtown, such as 4th-28St and G St.- T St. these addresses each had a question about the landmark of that address. Now part two of this race was picking up packages, now each of these packages had an address to another package. So there were no real rules to this race other than you don’t get the ending point until you pick up the last package. You could do anything in any order just as long as the manifest was completed by the time you ended the race with the final package in hand, witch keep in mind contained the ending address in itself. You think that sounds like a lot to do all in 2 hours time, well just imagine how everyone felt when it started raining a good 30 minutes in to the race. Have to say that the rain turned out to be one of the highlights of my evening just added that challenge and set the mood just right for this race. I just hope that we can get another one of these races going again as soon as possible. Thanks to Bike Kitchen, and Upper Play Ground, plus anyone else who helped to put this race together…lets do it again!!!!!

Adam Jeske on "Fire on H st."

2008-12-31T07:20:18Z

hey i saw that fire in the sky today while i was working the corner at the citizen hotel(vallet of course)...but yeah so many fire trucks came flying by my work. And it seemed like it happend so fast to i was running a car and the i got back and the sky was filled with smoke! im glad someone was there to catch that...