Recently I read an essay about the “third place.” The idea has been around for years. Our first place is home. Our second place is work. The third place is everything in between, the locations where we gather, linger and connect.

Sacramento has always had strong third places. But we can no longer assume they will sustain themselves.

Think about a Saturday morning at the Midtown Farmers Market or Sunday morning under the freeway. Strangers stand together and sample citrus, buy flowers and debate which bakery line is shorter. Everyone participates and builds familiarity and a sense of trust.

“Public buildings often accurately reflect the beliefs, priorities, and aspirations of a people.” —former Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell

If Justice Powell was right, the Gordon D. Schaber courthouse on Ninth Street should have been put out of its misery long ago. Now on the market for $13.6 million, its days hosting trials are over.

The city’s Planning and Design Commission is no ship of fools. Planning commissioners showed their smarts earlier this year when they discussed changing the rules for short-term housing rentals.

They declared—for the record—Sacramento isn’t Barcelona or Pismo Beach. Thanks for clearing that up.

A dozen or so people in the City Hall audience absorbed the news as one might expect. No shrieks. No boos. Just silence.

Comparisons to beach towns in Spain and central California are rare at City Hall. But comparisons are handy when local authorities try to corral short-term rentals.

Every city has pressure points. In Sacramento, one point is the growing disconnect between what the city spends and what it can afford.

Sacramento Regional Business Leaders Council steps into this discussion with a clear voice. Formed in 2012, the group is a roughly 60-member coalition of business leaders from banking, manufacturing, agriculture and development. Its focus is how governmental decisions affect the cost and feasibility of doing business in the region.

Its chief executive is John Vignocchi, a local affordable housing developer. He explains, “We’re trying to help Sacramento realize its full potential through advocating for common-sense government policies.”

If Kate Farrall has her way, there will be no more starving artists.

As a visual artist, Farrall knows it’s hard to make a living. But as an experienced marketer and art business coach, she also knows the right tools and skills make all the difference. 

“So many artists are so capable,” she says. “We can build walls, put colors together and problem-solve like nobody’s business. All of those skills are very transferrable.”

Farrall built her skills through school and various jobs. She majored in art history and photography in Maryland and worked at a Baltimore art gallery.

After grad school at California College of the Arts, she got a marketing job. A career path quickly came together.

At Twin Peaks Orchards in Newcastle, Camelia Enriquez and her husband Justin grow delectable heirloom fruits and vegetables, including the rare amagaki persimmon and a nearly extinct summer favorite, Royal Blenheim apricots.

Enriquez is the fourth generation to care for this land. Her grandfather, Howard Nakae, began Twin Peaks on his parents’ property in 1912. The family’s love of the land and attention to the foothill ecosystems let them cultivate historic California varieties.

In 2020, a fire ripped through the property and destroyed 98% of the infrastructure. Enriquez’s parents were devastated. They couldn’t bring themselves to rebuild.