Sep 28, 2023
Five weeks after his arrival, the new executive officer at the Central Valley Flood Protection Board appeared to ignore state law when he quietly signed three authorizations for private fences to block access to the Sacramento River Parkway and levee.
Two additional fence authorizations soon followed.
By allowing temporary fences, Christopher Lief reversed years of flood board practice and seemingly violated a California regulation that requires the board itself—not executive officer Lief—to authorize levee fences.
Sep 28, 2023
Agood life is achieved with habits that bring happiness and well-being. Eat healthy. Move your body. Sleep well. Develop meaningful relationships. To those time-tested strategies I’ll add another. Cultivate kindness.
Three years of pandemic and lockdowns didn’t help a society well on its way to being far less connected and more self-absorbed.
One way out of this mess is for each of us to reconnect with the idea of shared kindness. It’s all about being aware of your impact on the world.
Sep 28, 2023
Scott’s Seafood on the River is a hidden gem for some, an old standby for others. Tucked away near Riverside Boulevard between Land Park and Pocket, Scott’s has delighted locals and travelers for 15 years.
Attached to the Westin hotel on the river, Scott’s hides in plain sight. Some readers may not think of heading to a hotel restaurant for a nice local meal. However, Scott’s Seafood on the River is independently owned by husband and wife Sigrid and Alan Irvine. They are independent from Westin and separate from other Scott’s in Folsom and the Bay Area.
The riverside location brings great views and Delta breezes to the dining room and patio. Earlier this year, it also brought the Army Corps of Engineers.
Sep 28, 2023
On April 4, 1991, I was halfway finished with a yearlong chaplain training program at UC Davis Medical Center when a social worker approached me with news.
“Our team is on standby tonight,” she whispered. She meant our Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team, which was specially trained to debrief people who witness horrific incidents.
“Why?” I asked.
“You better catch the news,” she said, pointing toward a waiting room of people watching television. The special report conveyed the early hours of what is still the largest hostage crisis on American soil.
Sep 28, 2023
Soil Born Farms is the farm in the farm-to-fork capital.
Walking the farm at American River Ranch, off Chase Drive in Rancho Cordova, the bounty and its possibilities present themselves in powerful ways.
First, let’s admire the farm beds, prepared a year or two in advance with cover crops that promote carbon sequestration. Next, here’s an area soon to be planted in tall oaks. Nearby is a restored creek, cleared for salmon and steelhead spawning.
A walkway features hundreds of California native plants. An outdoor classroom is shaded by hanging grape clusters. At the demonstration garden, children find runner beans, sunflowers, peppers and tomatoes flush for picking.
