Over the years, I spent lots of time in two buildings that have generated countless colorful stories—the state Capitol and county courthouse.
Both spawned captivating tales of intrigue and chicanery, but it was no contest when it came to which was the more inspiring structure. The original neoclassical Capitol is 149 years old and one of the most graceful statehouses in the nation.
The Gordon D. Schaber courthouse, named after the late, longtime dean of Sacramento’s McGeorge School of Law, is as far from graceful as you can get.
About five years ago, Sebastian Bariani moved from his Land Park home to be closer to the Bariani family’s olive groves in Zamora, north of Woodland. He became intrigued with the idea of constructing his new farm home with steel shipping containers.
I still have nightmares about a guy who came to City Hall and talked about floods. He worked for the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency and spoke words that terrified me.
Growing up in Sacramento, I knew about floods and the dangers they presented. Thankfully, those dangers were always theoretical or viewed from safe distance.
When big floods came they inundated Peach Tree Mall in Yuba County. Or they swamped roadways and overflowed canals in rural areas such as Wilton or Arcade or Dry Creek. That’s what I knew.
Floods didn’t happen in Sacramento, at least not anymore. A system of dams, weirs and levees guarded the city. The last time rowboats floated on Downtown streets was 1862, when a levee broke near today’s River Park and flooded the town.
