Sampino’s Kitchen at Joe Marty’s offers a traditional Italian American experience, spaghetti and meatballs included, on Broadway. Across the grid, newcomer Willow presents Italian food through a fine-dining lens. Both are special places.
My millennial son asked if it’s possible to grow summer vegetables indoors. A large, rambunctious dog roams his backyard, which resembles Road Warrior terrain.
It wasn’t the site question that intrigued me, but his reason for growing his own food for the first time—nutritional and health benefits. He and my daughter-in-law are workout fanatics. They’re extremely particular about ingredients they use in meals.
It was only a matter of time before they stopped “borrowing” my fruits and vegetables and explored their own home garden.
Cory Whetstone, 69, had a hard time finding affordable housing. At some apartment buildings, he recalls, there were “a lot of young people, people into drugs and other issues going on. When you mix seniors in that bunch, you have ready-made victims and predators.”
Whetstone is particularly vulnerable because he is a transgender male. LGBTQ people often suffer housing discrimination.
Last year, Whetstone moved into Lavender Courtyard, a low-income apartment building for LGBTQ seniors. His housing problems were over.
When the Great Recession took hold in 2009, Sacramento found itself in dire financial straits. Revenues plummeted. Nearly 20% of the city workforce was laid off. It was tough times.
Has the current City Council learned from those days? Apparently not. No member of today’s council was at City Hall in 2009 to deal with the municipal fiscal emergency. Now they face a similar situation, but with different causes.
Since 2016, the city finance team warned of deficits down the road. The budget now shows a $47 million shortfall for the next fiscal year. State law says the budget must be balanced. This means the council must either increase taxes or make drastic cuts.
Many years ago, Ray Kerridge, then city manager of Sacramento, invited me to lunch. Between his salad and my cheeseburger, he asked a profound question.
If I were on City Council, where would my loyalties stand—with the district that elected me, or the entire city?
I fumbled for an answer and made up something diplomatic. If I didn’t look after people in my district, nobody else would. But my City Council decisions would impact everyone in town, not just one council district. My loyalty goes to the city.
