Newest articles and comments on The Sacramento Press written by JT Long

JT Long on "Editorial: Crime and the City "

2010-11-30T18:54:46Z

DWB: Great questions. While you may not have the staffing to do breaking news, you could use your reach and technology to do more thoughtful trend pieces that look at what types of crime are happening where and how that compares to previous years. It could tell the whole story with quotes from law enforcement, sociologists and those involved. You are already doing a great job being proactive with the ask an officer pieces. I like Craig's idea of getting involved with the neighborhood associations. You could profile each one to help people identify and feel pride in where they live.

JT Long on "Innovation and Inspiration Converge at Clean Tech Showcase"

2010-10-29T15:30:46Z

I left inspired. One particularly helpful discussion was New Drivers of Opportunity: How changes in AB 32, AB 811 and the stimulus act will reshape the regional clean tech economy. Valley Vision's Kristine Mazzei and SACOG's Mike McKeever offered a glimpse into the bright future they see if we stay focused and CEC advisor Panama Bartholomy was refreshingly frank. Thank you to the organizers. I know how much work goes into something like that.

JT Long on "Sacramento Press holds Sports Writing workshop"

2010-08-26T22:19:39Z

I have great respect for sports writers. It (almost) always ends the same: one team wins and one loses and the reporter has to quickly tell the story behind the numbers. James is one of the best. Thanks for hosting these Sac Press. Looking forward to food writing (and perhaps tasting).

JT Long on "Going to the Fair?"

2010-07-27T05:16:30Z

Great pictures.

JT Long on "Party chairmen prime the press for November election"

2010-07-01T20:06:45Z

PS: Great pictures.

JT Long on "Party chairmen prime the press for November election"

2010-07-01T20:05:59Z

Jon: Thank you for taking the time to cover this. You did a wonderful job of cutting through the insider jokes to get at the meat of how this important election will impact real people. I look forward to reading more in the next five months.

JT Long on "Paying for Content Panel June 22, 6 - 8 p.m."

2010-06-21T18:58:12Z

Thank you Colleen and Stella for the votes of confidence. I think this is an important discussion and look forward to hearing from the people on the front lines about their vision of the future. Thanks for hosting.

JT Long on "Locally-headquartered Mattress Retailer Celebrates 25 Years in Business"

2010-06-03T00:07:29Z

Go Dale!

JT Long on "Justice for Doris"

2010-06-03T00:04:55Z

So sad. Thank you for making it personal. Sometimes we forget these are real people behind the headlines.

JT Long on "California State Home & Garden Show"

2010-01-07T21:47:42Z

Looking forward to seeing the Duct Tape Guys.

JT Long on "Niche TweetUps—There’s One For Every Interest"

2009-11-24T07:35:32Z

Thank you Laura for posting this. I will send people here for an explanation if they give me that raised eyebrow "whaaat" face like I am talking a foreign language when I invite them to these valuable networking events. I look forward to seeing you at the next one.

JT Long on "Social Media for the Social Good—Non-profits Explore New Methods of Outreach"

2009-11-20T16:36:10Z

Laura: Great advice. Thanks for sharing. Your consistent communication through social media brings people together.

JT Long on "Cynthia Linville"

2009-11-19T17:50:16Z

Thanks for sharing.

JT Long on "Hello NEW mural"

2009-10-30T14:41:39Z

Great pictures of a landmark mural by a talented local artist.

JT Long on "Life After Layoff: Two Sacramento Reporters Speak Out"

2009-10-29T21:19:31Z

Thank you for the article. Sacramento is home to a lot of great journalists, full-time, freelance and otherwise. Sacramento Press and the unrelated Sacramento Press Club are great resources for finding places to sell articles, fine tuning your research skills and sharing best practices with other journalists in the same situation. Best of Luck. We are all figuring out this thing together.

JT Long on "Bill Herenda Joins Positive Coaching Alliance as Executive Director for Sacramento"

2009-10-29T21:08:34Z

Congrats Bill. This is a great organization.

JT Long on "Excited about Global Entrepreneurship Week in Sacramento from Nov 16 - 22"

2009-10-02T15:24:18Z

I love the energy of these economy-changers. Looking forward to a full week of events supporting and celebrating business creation in Sacramento.

JT Long on "Valerie Fioravanti brings writing workshops to Midtown "

2009-09-10T21:37:59Z

Sacramento Bee book club features local and visiting authors as does the Sacramento chapter of the National Kidney Foundation, which has its annual lunch in November. Amicus Books in Marysville is a writer's haven and a number of local book stores do book readings. We also have a growing community of small publishers, agents and book packagers in the area who help with everything from concept, coaching and editing to design and printing services. I'm sure most of these groups could use all the help they can get. You can find many of these people on the Writers Who Wine site on Facebook.

JT Long on "Valerie Fioravanti brings writing workshops to Midtown "

2009-09-10T18:08:31Z

Actually Sacramento already has a vibrant writer community. I have attended two writer gatherings in two days - Sacramento Press Club Freelance Social Journalism panel discussion where more than 40 attended and Writers Who Wine at Scandals where more than 20 shared their progress. Sacramento Press puts on some wonderful workshops. UC Davis Extension offers a plethora of writing courses and is presenting a workshop on how to write about your mother later this month. I know of a number of writer meet-ups and critique groups who help each other word-by-word. Urban Hive hosts freelance and writer events and I just heard about an indie publishing seminar going on in Roseville later this month. I have attended no fewer than four book launches by local authors over the summer and two more were announced last night. Local authors have had a great deal of national success in a variety of genres. The word is out. Sacramento writers are thriving and we welcome you to the literal (and possibly literary) capital of the state.

JT Long on "One Temple not enough"

2009-06-23T18:05:06Z

I worked at Levinson's back in the day and was very happy to see the front preserved and the space put to fitting use. It has become a magnet for creative types. Plus the coffee is rich and the mochas works of art. I am sure the new location will have the same activating effect on the surrounding neighborhood.

JT Long on "Who attends tattoo festivals, why?"

2009-06-22T21:49:07Z

Great question and unexpected answers. I wonder if this is a similar crowd to the one that will be there at the end of the week for the Boomer Festival. http://www.sacramento365.com/event/detail/38905

JT Long on "Advisory Committee Meets to Protect Community Interest"

2009-06-19T15:16:26Z

We have one of those here in Granite Bay, a school my sister and brother attended back in the day has now been closed because of declining enrollment. A lot of history in that building. How will they fill those shoes/classrooms?

JT Long on "Will the Construction Market Continue to Slide in Sac?"

2009-06-16T17:50:11Z

As a reporter for California Construction and Engineering News-Record, I can tell you that I am hearing bids on everything from roads to wastewater treatment are coming in as much as 30 percent under estimates. Because of the shovel-ready requirements in the ARRA stimulus funds, many are sped up timelines on projects that would have started later in the year or next year, but some - including smart signs on Sacramento freeways - are projects that might have languished on the shelf for many years without a funding source. The hope is that state dollars freed up by the federal funds will be used to refill the pipeline with designed, approved projects that can be funded with a second round of stimulus or saved local dollars so it isn't a one-time hit.

JT Long on "Bringing the workout outside "

2009-06-11T17:23:01Z

Great pictures.

JT Long on "Foodies and wine enthusiasts unite at Raley's 7th annual Grape Escape"

2009-06-08T19:24:25Z

This is the third year we have attended and it is always wonderful. My only suggestion would be to have water available.

JT Long on "Street Interview"

2009-06-05T18:12:56Z

Great feature. I love how interactive Sacramento Press is becoming.

JT Long on "Port of West Sacramento Channel-Deepening Funding in Obama's 2010 Budget"

2009-06-03T15:10:39Z

I was just out touring the Port this week. This channel deepening was a long time coming. It will help the three new recycling tenants and existing shippers by making this valuable resource more efficient.

JT Long on "Doggy Dash and Bark at the Park has highest attendance of 16 years"

2009-05-31T18:03:09Z

Great photos. You can't lose with a dog story.

JT Long on "Why Sacramento Needs Coworking"

2009-05-22T15:29:53Z

Sacramento has a successful history of shared small business space. In the late '90s they were called incubators and we had a number of them around town. Chris Soderquist ran a lively one in a basement in old Sacramento. The McClellan Technology Incubator is still home to a number of innovative green companies. In addition to sharing printers and coffee pots, they also shared access to veteran management talent and sometimes legal and accounting experts along with a line to venture capitalists and angel investors. Like this generation of coworking spaces, they became community resources, hosting networking events, launching community initiatives and supporting nonprofits. People have a basic human need to interact with other people so as large corporations downsize, it is only natural that "solopreneurs" look to fulfill that need in ways that enhance their productivity.

JT Long on "State may take local funds, Sacramento sounds alarm"

2009-05-21T16:30:38Z

More than 40 cities all over the state have declared a state of fiscal crisis with new resolutions passing almost daily. League of California Cities and CSAC are working to protect local governments from the "loans" of Prop 1A funds or at least make it possible for cities and counties to borrow against the anticipated repayment in three years. We wrote about this at www.publicceo.com on Tues. eve and are running a series of stories on the very real impacts municipalities are feeling in everything from social services to public safety. As with all legislation, the details will determine the winners and losers. In order to "borrow" the $2 billion in tax revenues, the legislature must pass by 2/3 vote a bill that includes details about what interest rate that will be paid and how it will be repaid (the increased tax measures expire the same year the loan comes due). This will be interesting to watch.

JT Long on "A photographer's tour of Gladding McBean"

2009-05-14T18:07:21Z

Great pictures. This place really is a jewel, even if these days they specialize in sewage pipe.

JT Long on "Lots at Stake for Sacramento in May 19th Election"

2009-04-30T00:16:26Z

I think you mean "unacceptable" on HJTA's stance on tax increases in the fourth graph, but you are right that people are confused and frustrated. It is a no-win situation. They don't like the implications of voting yes and they are not going to like the reality of cuts if they vote no. And even if everything passes, it looks like we still may have to have more cuts. You have a tough job ahead of you.

JT Long on "Local History Articles Available Online"

2009-04-22T23:17:52Z

This is a wonderful resource. I also recommend going in person to the California State Archives http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/archives_about.htm#hours and the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Library http://www.saclibrary.org/?pageId=732 for research and enjoyment. The staff at both places are enormously helpful and the time is invaluable. I remember one time I was researching redevelopment districts. All of the planning documents going back to the 1960s were in the Sacramento Room. It was sweet holding in my hands works of art with their futuristic renderings of what Capitol Mall would look like in the far future of 2000 and traffic impact statements that read "By 1990 we will have new ways of getting around and won't need increased road capacity." So wide eyed and hopeful...

JT Long on "Sacramento Philharmonic Debut Brubeck Ansel Adams: America Puts Sacramento on the Musical Landscape"

2009-04-14T16:06:57Z

One note that didn't make it into the story. On Friday, 120 tickets were left. A notice was posted on Twitter and by the end of the day all tickets were sold. It could be a coincidence, but....

Sacramento Philharmonic Debut Brubeck Ansel Adams: America Puts Sacramento on the Musical Landscape

2009-04-14T05:40:24Z

Sacramento Philharmonic’s sold out presentation of “Brubeck Ansel Adams: America” on Saturday night set a new standard for classical music. By commissioning an original composition by one of the premier jazz and classical father-son duos in the world set to a backdrop of images by one of the most famous nature photographers of all time, Sacramento’s orchestra raised the stature of the city and exposed a new audience to the possibilities of classical music.

The April 11 Sacramento debut of a wide-ranging classical piece composed by the legendary Dave and Chris Brubeck was a tribute to the love of the west shared by Dave and the late photographer Ansel Adams. Both men spent relatively isolated childhoods looking for ways to express themselves. They persuaded the world accept new forms of art by reinventing their respective mediums.

As a child, Adams studied Bach and Chopin with plans to be a concert pianist until he visited and fell in love with Yosemite at the age of 14. His black-and-white photos defined the allure of the west for a world that dreamed of following in his footsteps. He credited the attention to detail and discipline of music lessons with teaching him the patience required to compose the perfect photograph.

The 88-year-old Dave Brubeck was a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Library of Congress Living Legend for his innovative classical and jazz work, including the creation of the jazz standard Take Five. Dave was touched by Adams’ autobiography and, after some hesitation, agreed to create piano sketches his son, Chris, would edit, orchestrate and match to some 93 photos from the Adams collection. Chris, a multi-instrumentalist and leader of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, composed “Mark Twain’s World: A Symphonic Journey for Orchestra and Genuine Thespians” for the Stockton Symphony in 2005. When approached about the project, he immediately loved the idea, seeing the opportunity to merge music and photography to create something larger than either one alone.

The result is a piece that fills the senses while evoking nostalgia and hope. As majestic images of Half Dome and Horsetail Falls fade in and out on a giant screen, the music builds and then melts to mirror the majesty of a church or echoes the southwestern style as a mission takes the screen. When the final moonlit mountain went dark, the music stopped and the full house erupted. The entire 22-minute piece was underwritten by an architectural beat that repeats the percussion of Ansel Adams’ name. It also includes musical references to Adams’ early mentors, Bach and Chopin and a shared love of California’s grandeur. The effect is both inspiring and humbling.

The pairing of art and music was the brainchild of Sacramento Philharmonic board member Jennifer Basye Sander who three years ago orchestrated the commissioning of an Andre Previn piece honoring artist Wayne Thiebaud as part of California Compositions. For the “America” project, Sacramento Philharmonic teamed with a consortium of six other orchestras – Stockton Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, Monterey Symphony, Baltimore Symphony orchestra, Temple University Symphony Orchestra and Abilene Philharmonic along with Meet the Composer and the James Irvine Foundation. The Center for Creative Photography provided the photos and Jack and Dolores Cakebread underwrote the projection design by famed Broadway designer Jeff Sugg. Wells Fargo sponsored tickets for 100-students to fuel the next generation of artists.

America may have been the big draw of the night, but it was not the only high note. Sacramento’s own 19-year-old Levi Saelua debuted his first commission exclusively for Sacramento Philharmonic. His jazz interpretation of Bach’s Suite No. 1 deconstructed a familiar harmony by stretching out the rhythm to create a new narrative that is fresh, yet familiar. Rounding out the pre-intermission offering was Richard Strauss’ Don Juan, a piece Sacramento Philharmonic Executive Director Marc Feldman labeled the grandfather of show music.

The second half of the evening was dedicated to Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 with it’s fateful themes that cycled back to the three generations of artistry that started out the evening.

The night of firsts was the second show of the season that has sold out and Music Director Michael Morgan plans to build on the momentum for the 2009-2010 season with a return of Beethoven’s 9th and Egyptian conductor Nader Abbassi. The combination of original works with traditional favorites and broad crowd and sponsor support puts Sacramento in an elite group on the world musical landscape.

JT Long on "Local Author Releases New Book"

2009-03-25T00:55:10Z

Congratulations on your completed project. I agree that writing does not have to be a solitary endeavor and is best done with a support network of fellow writers who can share secrets, encourage and hold you accountable for reaching your goals. Sacramento is actually a vibrant writing town with lots of very talented and generous wordsmiths willing to mentor anyone interested in debating comma placement and character development as well as book marketing techniques. Writers Who Wine meets the first Thursday evening of the month at Scandals in the Citizen Hotel. It is an informal group dedicated to talking about projects and seeing everyone succeed. For non-fiction writers, I suggest Sacramento Press Club and the Press Club Freelance Committee (No relation to Sacramento Press). The Freelance Committee meets the second Tuesday evening of the month at the State Net offices. You can find out more about the April 14 meeting featuring David Watts Barton at www.sacpressclub.org Both of these meetings are free and all are invited (please RSVP so we know you are coming).

Sacramento Embraces Coworking Trend at Capsity Offices

2009-02-23T20:21:10Z

Shared Office Space Equals Greater Networking Potential

As the definition of work has changed, so has the destination. Entrepreneurs not content to serve a sentence isolated at home or ready to take on the overhead of an office staff are joining forces in new coworking spaces where they can network with other creative types while sharing resources. The growing trend is visible at 3rdward in New York City where desk space starts at $300 per month with access to a digital media lab, wood shop and dance studio. It also pops it’s well-groomed head up at Conjunctured in Austin, Texas, where a team of four technologists share space and ideas with creative entrepreneurs in a remodeled old house. And in Sacramento, the solution born of economic necessity is called Capsity Offices.

The Capsity perch at the corner of P and 23rd streets in Midtown Sacramento is the brainchild of founders Ricardo Robles, Captain Visionary; and Jeff Louie, Chief Operations Dynamo. The goal for the duo was to mix dynamic entrepreneurs in a warm, informal space to facilitate the growth of new projects. That is why they turned a Midtown office complex on into Sacramento’s first rent by the hour, day or space studio geared for entrepreneurs who want to get out of the house and coffee shop into a cost-effective professional space that gives them access to a conference room, reception services and other motivated professionals.

“Capsity Offices is designed to be comfortable, professional, and entrepreneurial,” Robles explains. “What started as simply providing open office space blossomed into a community of entrepreneurs, thinkers, leaders, organizers, catalysts, freelancers, teachers, technologists and activists.”

Some of the first young business owners to flock to the art-filled space include Room to Breathe, PDC Technology, MidtownGrid.com, America's Youth United, Clear Printing and Graphics, Art Peace Massage and The Purnell Partnerships.

A January 2008 Christian Science Monitor article traces the coworking trend back to a lonely San Francisco software programmer who, with a few friends in similar circumstances in the heady days of 2005, leased an office space, installed printers, fax machines and wireless Internet and called it coworking. The article pegged the number of similar setups across the country at 29. A more informal version of the 1990s incubators, the collaboration can be spontaneous and powerful.

Robles and Louie are more than creative landlords, however. They see themselves as entrepreneurial boosters. The two have led in such community-building efforts as Global Entrepreneurship Week, Bikeramento and the first-ever Sacramento Tweetup – a physical meeting of networkers who connected on the growing Twitter micro-blogging site. Capsity hosts classes on effective networking and has become a hub in the live-work neighborhood. Their energy has not gone unnoticed. Louie was named Ambassador of the Year by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.

About Capsity: Capsity Offices is an Entrepreneurial Fueling Center located at 2321 P Street in Midtown Sacramento, providing virtual offices and executive suites in a comfortable, yet professional, setting. Affordable virtual offices feature access to conference rooms, meeting spaces and professional business services such as shared receptionists and office equipment. Paired with the creative power of networking with fellow entrepreneurs, Capsity is the perfect first space for technology and business services start-ups as well as executives looking for a local home base or downsizing from a large footprint. Capsity was also the launching pad for Global Entrepreneurship Week and Bikeramento. Learn more at www.capsityoffices.com.