Community Shame

Community Shame

Generations of families loved Land Park Plunge and Riverside Baths. They celebrated the pool’s opening every April, rode bikes, walked or took the No. 2 bus down Riverside Boulevard.

They splashed in “artesian” waters on summer days. They swam on moonlit nights. Admission was 25 cents, kids a dime.

Then Land Park Plunge and its diving boards, patios and dressing rooms disappeared, dropped from conversations, expunged from memories, an embarrassment best forgotten.

Today nothing memorializes the significance of a once-grand community sports and recreation center. Let’s pretend this never happened. But it did happen.

Cover Artist Laurie Curran

Cover Artist Laurie Curran

Inside East Sacramento January 2024

Laurie Curran studied art at UC Berkeley and San Francisco Art Institute. Her style is a masterful balance between abstraction and realism.

Transit Triumph

Transit Triumph

Mirasol Village is a mixed-income redevelopment housing project in the River District along Richards Boulevard. It’s a project I worked on and supported for all eight years of my City Council term.

Like most projects that use public funding, this one was a challenge. It required numerous grants to reach the finish line. I applaud the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency for its tenacity in obtaining grants over the last 10 years.

The project is largely complete. Residents are moving in. But there’s a problem. The neighborhood has limited mobility options. Only one bus line serves the isolated area with minimal connections.

Death Trap

Death Trap

The call came into the Wildlife Care Association in early September. A great horned owl was caught in a metal art structure at the Franklin Light Rail Station near Consumnes River College. The large bird of prey had been trapped for at least 24 hours.

Chris Lay, a Wildlife Care volunteer with eight years of experience, was first to respond. “He was alive, but there was no way to get him out,” she says.

Road Warrior

Road Warrior

Inside Sacramento readers might be surprised to learn I write this column every week for syndication in 35 newspapers across the country. I’ve been doing it for 22 years. My favorite part is connecting with readers through personal visits, speaking tours, letters and emails.

Over the past year, I’ve visited a half-dozen places where I employ my Phil Donahue schtick. With permission of my host, I begin a pre-show routine, roaming the room with a microphone, asking guests if they have questions.