Dennis Newhall knows about sound. He’s worked for decades as a radio and internet broadcaster, disc jockey, producer and voice talent. He understands the power of sound, how it motivates and transforms people.
This past year, he learned something else. How sound, reduced to sheer noise, can drive a neighborhood nuts.
That’s an exaggeration. Newhall doesn’t believe weeks of pounding by equipment to strengthen the Sacramento River levee literally drove his Pocket neighbors crazy.
It’s not yours. It belongs to all of us. That convenient parking spot in front of your home or apartment is public property. Property rights don’t extend into the street.
It’s frustrating when outsiders—commuters, shoppers, restaurant guests, students and visitors (but not yours, of course)—zero in on “your” spot and fill “your” street.
Competition for on-street parking is more crowded than ever. Curb space is needed for hydrants, deliveries, transit, parklets, outdoor dining, curbside pick-up, bike lanes, wider sidewalks, shared bikes, scooters, electric vehicle charging, taxi-Uber-Lyft and, someday, automated vehicles. There’s a developing field called curb management to figure out how best to use this scarce resource.
Rich Desmond faced a competitive campaign in 2020 to represent the suburban unincorporated area on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. He won.
Responsibility for essentials such as schools, parks, water, electricity, fire protection and flood control falls to elected officials from special districts. Many of these posts are up for election this November. But voters won’t see many names on the ballot.
There’s no interest—and no competition.
The Arden Park Recreation and Park District has five members on its board of directors. All incumbents are up for election. Each is running. But don’t look for them on your ballot. All are unopposed. They win automatically.
If you can imagine how frustrated a preacher would have to be to swear a blue streak, then you might understand the old expression, “It’s enough to make a preacher cuss.”
I grew up in a Baptist church, so it’s safe to say I never heard a preacher cuss. But that changed when I began my Air Force chaplain’s career at Mather Air Force Base.
The Rancho Cordova base is now a civilian airport, but I spent three years there as a first lieutenant under the mentoring of five active-duty chaplains.
Talking about mental health is Nefertiti Khemet Goudjayi’s mission.
As a licensed clinical social worker, mental health therapist and member of the Stop Stigma Sacramento Speakers Bureau, Khemet Goudjayi wants to normalize conversations about mental health.
“I joined the speakers bureau because I was looking for something to do with my time that also gives back in a more personal way,” the North Sacramento resident says. “As a therapist, you’re there to support people, but you’re removed. You provide expertise, but not your own experience. This volunteer space allows me to use my lived experience to help and support people.”
