In the 1980s, only 10 federally funded research centers for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia existed—and East Sacramento resident (not to mention former Arden Junior High and Rio Americano grad) David Troxell got to spearhead one of them.
“I was the person in charge of creating a network of services at the University of Kentucky Alzheimer’s Research Center,” Troxell says. “Of course, this was in the mid-80s and there was such a stigma around the disease.
Many of us know of the Transcontinental Railroad—a significant venture in United States history when an expansive railway system was built to connect our country in ways people could only imagine. However, not all are aware of what went into constructing such a large undertaking and what it cost a specific group of people—Chinese workers.
The California State Railroad Museum has set out to expand our knowledge with an exhibit called the Chinese Railroad Workers’ Experience. Between 1865 and 1869, approximately 15,000 Chinese migrants, comprising 90 percent of the railroad workforce, labored at a grueling pace and in treacherous conditions to help construct America’s first Transcontinental Railroad.
A prominent supporter of Measure G, the Sacramento Children’s Fund Act on the March 3 ballot, will pay state authorities $400,000 to settle a lawsuit for allegedly taking public money from migrant housing and spending it on restaurants, hotels, taxes and other personal expenses while overcharging farmworkers for rent.
Derrell and Tina Roberts, married co-founders of the Roberts Family Development Center of North Sacramento, quietly settled a lawsuit in August filed by State Attorney General Xavier Becerra. The settlement allows the Roberts to avoid a trial.
Katie Valenzuela saw people struggling to pay rent and buy groceries. She saw taxes going up. She heard promises from City Hall. But the promises were empty. And the problems got worse.
For solutions, she looked to her City Council member, Steve Hansen. She heard only excuses.
One of the most important questions I recall from childhood is, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” The question was not necessarily about jobs and pay. It was about life. Choosing a field of work defines who we are and how we live. It’s about what we accomplish and achieve.
The opposite of work is not leisure or play. It’s idleness. The philosopher Aristotle declared happiness resides in activity, both physical and mental. People who lack the joy of work—the feeling of a job well done—miss something important.
