Mayor Darrell Steinberg calls Daniel Hahn the “best police chief” in the United States. The praise comes with a hyperbole warning. The U.S. has about 12,300 police departments, which means maybe Steinberg overlooked someone better than Hahn.

Or not. This time, the mayor could be right.

It’s not easy to win support from a mayor who tries to withhold funds from your police department. But that’s Steinberg. He wants it both ways. The mayor can gush about his favorite police chief while arguing against requests for police hiring, training and internal affairs.

The essay below appeared in February 1996 in our first Inside East Sacramento. I found it recently in a book of the first year’s editions my husband made for me as a gift.

My first reaction was astonishment. As I read, I realized little has changed with our mission after 25 years.

Last month, Inside Sacramento was honored with two special awards. First, we were selected as part of “10 News Publishers That Do It Right 2021” by the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.

Jessie Tientcheu has spent her career empowering people.

As CEO of Opening Doors, Tientcheu is responsible for a complex organization that provides economic and social services to refugees, immigrants, human trafficking survivors and underserved Sacramento area residents.

Before becoming CEO in 2019, she volunteered for the organization’s refugee resettlement program, helping newcomers connect to their new community.

Onit Coffee’s motto is “Impacting lives one cup at a time.”

Founder and owner Shadi Khattab chose the phrase for his business—Sacramento’s first mobile gourmet coffee truck—as a homage to his partnerships with nonprofits and coffee’s integral role in his Middle Eastern upbringing.

“In my culture, we’re very big on quality tea and coffee,” says Khattab, who emigrated from Syria at age 5 with his family so his father could pursue medical studies. “Family and friends sit down together and bond over a cup of coffee. It’s a very big cultural thing for me, so I thought, why not bring aspects of my culture into the business I want to create?”

Growing up in Sacramento in the 1980s, I could easily count the number of Thai restaurants. Today, keeping count is almost impossible. The region supports around 100 Thai places. And it’s not just a city thing. I’ve seen Thai restaurants in Susanville and Alturas.

It’s no wonder. Signature Thai flavors pull together sweet and savory, sour and bitter. Fresh vegetables and rich, pungent sauces deliver satisfying fare. Rice dishes, noodle dishes, curries and small bites create varied and exciting meals any day of the week.