One of the most well-known hotspots in midtown Sacramento is undoubtedly the Naked Lounge on Q Street. Now, as of last week, downtowners can enjoy the same Naked proximity with the newly opened Naked Lounge located at the corner of 11th and H. True to its name, Naked Lounge on H Street also gets its coffee from Naked Roasting on 36th and Broadway. "We roast all of our coffee and espresso; whatever coffee, we only serve one particular coffee at a time, and then our decaf," says Naked Lounge barista Justin Short. "We do it all at 36th and Broadway." "We work really hard to keep the coffee consistent, so that people know they're getting good coffee no matter what," he adds. But that's wher

On Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reported that Mayor Kevin Johnson has decided to postpone the strong-mayor initiative to focus on more pressing issues like the budget. The strong-mayor initiative has been a pretty hot topic on Sacramento Press in the past few weeks, with readers voicing their opinions for and against the initiative and discussing the actual campaign tactics. Now that the initiative has been pushed back, what is your opinion? Did Kevin Johnson make the right move by postponing it? What are your suggestions for the next round of campaigning? What would you like to see from Mayor Johnson before you are willing to sign the initiative? Here are some previous SacPress article

 Tesla, Cake, Deftones — these are the bands that immediately come to mind when one thinks of the Sacramento music scene. But what about the lesser known but equally great Sacramento musicians? A few days ago, I met with Sweet Vine/Looking Star/The Nibbler's Hans Eberbach, a Sacramento musician who knows the scene inside and out. Eberbach started out as the lead singer of Sweet Vine and was with the group when it was picked up by Sony/Columbia's record label. Unfortunately, internal strife broke up the band in its prime. Now, after singing for Sweet Vine and Looking Star, Eberbach is doing his own thing. He released his latest EP, "Up Is The Only Way Out," in December, and will be kickin

Minutes before the change in power at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, a crowd of people gathered at A Touch A' Class on the corner of Stockton Blvd. and 14th Avenue. People were enthusiastically watching the flat screen TV's, and at 9 a.m. a few collectively said, "the Government is ours." Amidst the diverse crowd, a sense of pride emanated from the dozens filling the bar. The historic moment was shared by young and old as everyone in the bar glued their eyes to one of the screens, cheering, hugging, and crying. Party organizer Sandi Burden-Bradley felt exceptionally proud and politically moved for the first time in her thirty years of voting. "I'm on top of th

Here is a link to the Initiative Measure to Amend the City of Sacramento Charter to Change the Structure of City Government. It can be found on the Sacramentans for Accountability website, and is the same link provided by Mayor Johnson in the previous article's conversation. To view the previous article, click on the "storyline" tab to the right.

Monday marked the kick-off of Mayor Johnson's unprecedented campaign to transition the mayorship from a weak mayor to a strong mayor. The campaign needs over 32,000 petition signatures by Jan. 16 to make the change. Sacramento has previously operated under a "weak mayor" type of city government. The city council operates as the executive body as well as the legislative and the city manager - an unelected official - acts as the city's Chief Executive Officer. The mayor serves only ceremonial duties. A "strong mayor" type of government gives the mayor a wider range of political independence and authority. The city council functions solely as a legislative body while the mayor retains his e

I like to consider myself a nice tipper. Whenever I buy coffee, the excess change goes straight to the tip jar. I always leave 15% or better in a restaurant, and 20% to my hairstylist after a haircut. This routine occurs the whole year round. So what extra do I do to show them my appreciation at the end of the year? I know my dad gives extra Christmas tips to the guy who cleans our pool every Friday and to the family that delivers our daily Sacramento Bee. When I lived in a dorm I left Christmas gifts for the custodians who cleaned my bathroom. And I would always get a nice holiday gift from the families that I regularly baby-sat for. It's customary to leave annual end-of-the-year tips

As I spend more and more time in downtown Sacramento, it seems that I see more and more tattoos. This realization led me to wonder: does the economy affect tattoo parlors? Do less people get tattoos? Do different people get tattoos? According to Royal Peacock tattoo artist Jan Hill, not much has changed. "I haven't noticed a decrease in business from the economy at this time," he says. There is a noticeable economic trend influenced by the weather. Less people are liable to get tattoos during the winter than during the summer. "Wintertime slows business down for tattooing," says Hill. "When it's harsher weather, people don't come out." Business also tends to decrease specifically around

As a result of the recent wintry weather, downtown Sacramento is coated with layers and layers of leaves. While driving around I noticed that there were tons of leaf piles in the street gutters. And they were everywhere, from H street to U Street. One thing I noticed about the piles was that some people would make theirs so large it would actually spill over into parking spaces. I later learned that this is one of the reasons why the department asks people to sweep out their piles less than 24 hours before scheduled pick-up time. 311 informed me that the Solid Waste Department of the City Utilities Department is in charge of picking up the leaf piles. For even more information about lea

In my previous article about Sacramento tattoo parlors, which you can access by clicking on the "storyline" tab on the right, I wrote about the business aspects of a tattoo parlor: how to get a license, laws about sterilization, etc.. To get a more rounded perspective on the typical tattoo parlor, I spoke with a couple of artists from different parlors around town. The foundation of a successful tattoo parlor is its artists. So what sets an individual artist apart from all others? "What sets them apart would be style, the way they draw, and the way they lay out the tattoos," says American Graffiti tattoo artist Ryan Tanton. Artists can also distinguish themselves by learning multiple sty

As I mentioned in my previous article about the Crocker Art Museum's expansion, which you can read by clicking the "storyline" tab on the right, the New Crocker's exoskeletal structure has officially been completed. But the development process doesn't stop there - there are still a few steps left before the New Crocker will be completed. Construction-wise, there is still a long way to go. The next step is cement, followed by the exterior panelling. It is expected that the New Crocker will be completely finished and ready for opening by mid-2010. The Crocker still needs to raise the remaining 10 million of its 100 million dollar fiscal goal. When I spoke with Kathleen Richards, the Crocke

The art scene continues to expand in Sacramento. I recently had a chance to view its newest gallery, the 429 Gallery located on J at 5th Street. One thing I immediately noticed that separates the 429 Gallery from the rest in Sacramento is its emphasis on Chinese art. The entire gallery is comprised of beautiful modern Chinese paintings. Situated in downtown's Chinatown, the building used to be the Bank of Hong Kong. "[This building] just begs for Chinese art," says Brent Hamilton, one of the gallery owners. "It begs for those colors and all the little novelties, and the way they dressed their paintings." Not only does the gallery express the changing faces of Chinese culture, it also pr

Whenever I spend time in downtown Sacramento, I can't help but notice the vast amount of tattoos and tattooed people. They're everywhere: the barista making your coffee, the waitress serving your food or that guy riding his bike across the street. Tattoos have become an inherent part of the Sacramento culture. No wonder — there are over twenty licensed tattoo parlors scattered throughout the midtown and downtown areas. Each one is unique and based entirely on the individuality of its tattoo artists. Parlor registry is regulated by the State of California. According to AB 186, to get a parlor license both the artists and the parlor must register with their county health department, pay th

On December 5th, the west steps of the Capitol were lit up by tiny lights held by family, friends, and Citizen's Commission for Human Rights (CCHR) activists, in the memory of Ramona Knapp. Three years ago, Knapp had been killed in the psychiatric clinic where she was a patient when a nurse injected her with medication and forcibly and excessively restrained her. She was laying face-down at the time of restraint. According to the clinic, Knapp died of a heart attack. CCHR, clearly has a different opinion. CCHR believes that Knapp is another victim of human rights abuse from a psychiatric clinic and that her death was actually murder. CCHR organized last Friday's candlelight vigil at the

Curmudgeons, cripples, and Christmas spirit — what more could you ask for in a traditional holiday play? After listing some of the local plays currently in production in my last article, I couldn't wait to start seeing some of them for myself. B Street Theatre's version of A Christmas Carol looked like the perfect place for me to begin. The audience was packed with children, families, and Dickens readers eager to see Buck Busfield's rendition of the timeless classic. The scene opens on Miss Havisham's establishment, where Charles Dickens comes to find his peace, quiet and inspiration. It's Christmas Eve and he has a day to finish writing his Christmas novel. Amid "humbugs," insults thro

After being away from Sacramento for a couple of years, I realized that I have really missed out on a lot of great bands. In an effort to reconnect with the Sacramento music scene, I went to Old Ironsides last Friday to check out Casual Fog. I really lucked out; my first foray into Sacramento music led me to a band that I really enjoyed. Ryan Donnelly's clear, almost throaty tenor voice lends itself to the mellowness of the music. With a range of songs from "Want the Day" with its eerie tonality, to "Dive the Blue" with its comforting familiarity, the melody and lyrics flow together to form the kind of music that you want to stop what you are doing just to listen and absorb. However, the

The Sacramento as we know it is changing. There are several development projects designed to "improve" Sacramento — to make it a political center, to make certain areas more vibrant, to give it an accessible waterfront. There are even projects underway to further promote Sacramento as a formidable center within the art world. The biggest development project aimed towards advancing Sacramento's art reputation is the Crocker Museum's drastic expansion. This past week, construction of the New Crocker's 100,000 square-foot exoskeleton was completed. Built alongside the current Crocker Gallery, the New Crocker will hold triple the space and art as its historical counterpart. The New Crocker i

 You may not be aware of this, but Sacramento is a burgeoning center within the theatre world. There are so many theatres scattered around the downtown area alone, that it can be a bit overwhelming. To help you out, I have researched which shows are currently playing and which shows are coming up within the downtown area. At the B Street Theatre, two shows are currently running. The first is B Street Theatre Director Buck Busfield's updated version of A Christmas Carol (now—Dec. 4th). The other show currently running is The Seafarer, a play about five drunk Irishmen who begin by playing poker and end up bargaining for their souls (now—Dec. 6). Playing on the Delta King's Capitol Stage fr

After writing my little epic on the Docks DEIR, I received a lot of great feedback. Native Sacramentan and published historian William Burg provided me with an interesting insight into the history of the Docks area. Here are a few excerpts from our conversation. To read the full conversation, attached to "The Docks' DEIR: part I", click on the "storyline" tab, or simply click here). WILLIAM BURG: "Underutilized" basically means "there's something here, but we'd like to do something else with it." "Undeveloped" implies land that has never been developed into anything, like open forest land. Perhaps a better way to describe the Docks area, or the corner of 8th & K, both of which were intens

In my last article about the R Street improvements ("Is R Street an improvement for everyone?", which you can read by clicking the "storyline" tab), I talked with some local R Street business owners about the impending project. I was left with some very interesting questions. What about parking? Where is the project's funding going to come from? How much of a priority is this project? To find my answers I contacted the R Street Development Manager, Todd Leon. The first issue we discussed was the overwhelming concern about parking. "R Street is really unregulated," Leon says. "All parking that is there is really random as it is." However, Leon informs me, CADA is already working towards