R.E. Graswich

Writer and Editorial Team

About This Author

R.E. Graswich is a journalist, author and media expert. His book “Vagrant Kings” is the definitive history of the Sacramento Kings basketball team. He was Special Assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, managed the Sacramento Voices program for the Maynard Institute of Journalism Education and worked for the Sacramento Bee, CBS 13 and KFBK.

Articles by this author

Officer Involved

Fifty years ago, at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, 1974, a Sacramento Police homicide lieutenant named Robbie Waters left the bar at Neptune’s Table restaurant on South Land Park Drive and killed Terry Lee Miranda with a bullet between the eyes.

There were mitigating circumstances. Moments before Waters pulled the trigger on his service revolver, Miranda pointed a shotgun at the detective and said, “We want your money.”

Miranda and his crime partner, Christopher Thomas Garland, were young criminals, Miranda 22, Garland 21. Neither expected to meet a plain-clothes policeman in the suburban mall parking lot.

They realized their mistake when Waters said, “I’m a cop. Drop the shotgun.”

Nowhere Bridge

The community is digesting the negligence and coverups that allowed a $12 million unsafe bicycle bridge to rise over Interstate 5 and Riverside Boulevard.

Meantime, Inside Sacramento discovered archival documents that show how the city set the stage for the bridge fiasco by delaying the Sacramento River Parkway bike trail for nearly 50 years.

After announcing a river levee bike trail in 1975, the city let a small group of property owners in Pocket and Little Pocket block the parkway’s completion.

Off Track

I worry about losing these experiences as horse racing dies in California.

First comes the freedom to move around. Horse racing is the only sporting event where fans—real fans, not tourists planted at reserved tables in the grandstand high above the finish line—are always in motion.

With 30 minutes between each race, horse players have ground to cover. Find a quiet place to review the program or Racing Form for the upcoming race. Then get moving. No time to waste.

My first destination is the paddock, the equivalent of a theater’s backstage. From there, look for a betting kiosk, a miniature slot machine that takes your cash, provides a receipt and pays back when your hunch finishes in the money.

All The Marbles

A new basketball season beckons and something bizarre is happening at Golden 1 Center. The Kings believe now is the time to win an NBA championship.

I began to follow the Kings for a living in 1984. They were based in Kansas City. My newspaper sent me to Missouri to see what the fuss was about.

For the next 40 years, I never saw the Kings march into a new season with a win-it-all attitude. Until now.

Fast Company

Kristi Matal figured fast cars, soccer kids and dogs made a bad combination. Kids and dogs were fine. Speeding drivers meant trouble.

She decided to do something about it.

The problem roared into Matal’s view as she visited the dog park at Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex on Freeport Boulevard. Dog owners were frustrated by motorists flying past Conlin on the rural, two-lane highway that borders the park.