Roger Jones has a thicket of trees named for him. It’s called Rawge’s Grove, situated in the Bufferlands natural habitat refuge on the outskirts of the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Elk Grove.
Rawge’s Grove—a nod to Jones’ nickname—is part of the 2,150-acre Bufferlands. The grove honors the man who helped create the barrier between the treatment facility and surrounding neighborhoods.
In 1990, when Jones was a young wildlife biologist from UC Davis, he was hired to oversee the area’s habitat restoration.
A handful of residents near the Sacramento River levee portray themselves as victims, their safety imperiled by pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists. They want levee access closed.
Facts tell another story.
For decades, property owners along the river harassed, bullied and threatened anyone who walked on the levee in Pocket and Little Pocket. They even frightened flood prevention authorities.
Officials allowed illegal encroachments such as fences, stairs, retaining walls, plumbing and electrical gear to spread along the levee.
A handful of residents near the Sacramento River levee portray themselves as victims, their safety imperiled by pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists. They want levee access closed.
Facts tell another story.
For decades, property owners along the river harassed, bullied and threatened anyone who walked on the levee in Pocket and Little Pocket. They even frightened flood prevention authorities.
Officials allowed illegal encroachments such as fences, stairs, retaining walls, plumbing and electrical gear to spread along the levee.
The caller to my church office had a question. “First,” he said, “I’m curious as to what kind of church you are running up there?”
This was the kind of question I get since returning to the pastor role.
Many callers are like the young mother of three who told me, “I have three churches I’m considering attending. But first, I’m asking the pastors to answer some questions.”
She squashed that ordinal number “first,” as if drawing a line in the theological sand.
The young woman who shamed community leaders and brought down Land Park’s “whites only” public swimming pool is buried in a mass grave in Pennsylvania.
Hazel is mixed with eight or 10 other people who died without friends, family or money in 1969.
A representative from Mt. Zion Memorial, the cemetery near Philadelphia International Airport where Hazel is buried, tells me:
Crossing the street in the Sacramento region can kill you.
Local traffic accidents killed 377 pedestrians from 2018 to 2022, ranking the capital 20th on Smart Growth America’s list of the most dangerous U.S. communities for people on foot.
Isaac Gonzalez is working to reduce those horrific numbers.
