What will it take to propel our region beyond the present slump into a thriving vibrant future? That was the question asked to the community on Tuesday. The Sacramento Region Community Foundation, Capitol Public Radio and The Sacramento Bee have joined forces to organize civil discussions at local coffee houses. A total of eight coffee houses facilitated the conversations Tuesday. Locations were determined by City Council district. I attended the discussion at the Old Soul Coffee house in Oak Park. Each discussion had a mediator representing the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. To begin, the mediator set the ground rules, making sure all participants understood this event must rem

May is Bike Month, and this weekend is the best time to celebrate. Sacramento has earned a stop on the international tour of the Bicycle Film Festival. The festival will be held Friday and Saturday, with the festivities extending into Sunday as part of the Amgen Tour of California. The Friends of Fremont Park, along with pizza and panini bar Hot Italian, will host the event. The film festival starts Friday in Fremont Park with movie shorts. They will begin at 9 p.m., but the event will kick off at 7 at nearby Hot Italian, which also will be the site of the night's after-party. And it will continue "as long as people are there and drinking," Lepore said. "The Bicycle Film Festival is a co

Tom Myers has melded his passion for vintage postcards and love for Sacramento in his newest book, "The Postcard History of Sacramento," out now by Arcadia Publishing. For more than 42 years, Tom and Sally have been published photographers located in Sacramento. The last 35 years have been dedicated to freelance stock photography, where their company, Tom Myers Photography, houses more than a half million exclusive images available for purchase. "The Postcard History of Sacramento" features vintage postcards mailed from 1905 to the 1930s, including antique images of the Sacramento Valley. Each image reveals a scene from a dusty time, giving readers a glimpse into an era before Sacramento

It begins with utter disbelief and leaves you with a changed perspective on the human body. Saturday marked the public opening of "Bodies Revealed," located at 2040 Alta Arden Way. "Is THAT real?" was a reoccurring question uttered by patrons at the entrance on Saturday. To answer your question: It's all real. "Bodies Revealed" has returned, with many improvements and changes, to Sacramento after a two-year hiatus. More than 200 individual organs and 14 full bodies are currently on display, 11 of which were not part of the 2008 tour. All parts have gone though polymer preservation, a process of draining all liquids from an organ and replacing it with a liquid silicon rubber. After the pr

Sacramento's own indie press company, Flatmancrooked, showcased a number of rising literary talents Thursday in Davis. Elijah Jenkins, executive director and founder of Flatmancrooked, took over the "Poetry Night Reading Series" at the the John Natsoulas Gallery and spiked it up a bit. The first 100 attendees received a complimentary beer or wine, and were rewarded with a second if they purchased a book for $5. The crowd was lubricated, the talent was hot and the venue was intriguing. At one point in the night, I traveled through a secret door to a disturbed man printing unknown documents at night (requiring an entire ream for his hush-hush project), traveled up a cascade of stairs lined