Sep 28, 2023
In every city with a decent daily newspaper, historic decisions swirled around the building where journalism was conceived, produced, printed and distributed.
That was certainly true at 21st and Q streets. For seven decades, the Bee reported on political scandals, natural disasters, athletic achievements, social shifts and horrific crimes. Stories from the paper’s Midtown headquarters impacted generations.
In my 16 years at the Bee, I was fortunate to work with many talented journalists at 21st and Q. I covered elections, earthquakes, floods and murders—endless human accomplishments and failings. It’s natural that I feel melancholy when I see the Bee building today, silent and empty.
Sep 28, 2023
“Everyone should be given the option to feed their baby human breast milk,” says Janel Silva, a lactation consultant and co-founder and director of Human Milk Connection, a new nonprofit that helps families access pasteurized donor human milk.
“There’s a knowledge gap that exists. People don’t know about (donor milk) and think the only option is formula,” she continues. “We’re working on getting the word out.”
Sep 28, 2023
Stone is not fragrant. It doesn’t bloom or sway in the breeze. Bees and butterflies treat it like a flyover state, settling on flowers. It’s not plucked and tucked in a vase, and rarely photographed. Moss and lichens find it, but gardeners too often ignore it. Yet it commands that other indispensable garden design group, hardscape.
Hardscape is any structure or feature unrelated to plants. Gardens stir conversations about trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses. Stone, should you look beyond plants, is stacked, mortared and set into patios, pathways, retaining walls, water features and dry stream beds, or placed for decorative purposes. Stone serves garden whims and fundamental needs.
Sep 28, 2023
Homelessness is more than a housing crisis. It involves mental illness, drug addiction and criminal behavior, often committed by homeless individuals against others in encampments. While unsheltered individuals suffer, so does the quality of life in some of our neighborhoods.
Sacramento County takes a balanced approach using what I call the “four C’s”—compassion, coordination, capacity and consequences.
