Out And About Sacramento April 2020
Find out what is happening in Sacramento in April 2020!
Parkway Progress
The Pocket-Greenhaven community has two citizen-warriors who work hard to keep bureaucrats honest. They are the two Jims—Jim Geary and Jim Houpt. Both lawyers, they love to deploy their expertise to dissect documents, ask tough questions and insist authorities deliver services as promised.
The two Jims give special attention to the river and levees that make Pocket and Greenhaven unique. They are serious about parks and recreation. They believe the city must deliver on its 1975 promise to complete the Sacramento River Parkway atop the levee from Freeport to Downtown.
Crowded Out
The world’s population keeps growing. In 1900, the planet was home to 1.6 billion people. Today, the population is 7.7 billion and it’s projected to approach 10 billion in the next 30 years. Most of the growth will be in urbanized areas.
The California Department of Finance expects Sacramento County’s population to increase 54 percent by 2060—nearly 800,000 more people. El Dorado and Placer counties are growing at faster rates. Yolo County is just behind. Those three counties could add another 430,000 residents to the region’s population, bringing the newcomer total to more than 1.2 million.
All You Need Is Love
The renaissance of the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is a remarkable volunteer success story. In the words of the Cemetery Master Plan, the cemetery was “barren and lifeless” until volunteers transformed a “neglected burial ground to a vibrant historic cemetery that is a horticultural attraction.”
The plan states a vision for the historic cemetery, recognizing three major areas devoted to gardens: Historic Rose Garden, Hamilton Square Perennial Garden and California Native Plant Demonstration Garden.
Fido & Farmers
It’s a brisk Sunday morning and the farmers market at 8th and W streets is already alive with a confluence of characters. Young families with strollers, college students in knitted sweaters and loyal patrons carrying baskets all buzz from booth to booth collecting organic acorn squash, cage-free brown eggs and lightly bruised oranges.
A young man and woman meander down the center corridor doting over a heap of broccoli with a wagging corgi in tow on a short leash. Passersby gesture to the sandy-colored dog with giddy chuckles and small gasps of amusement. When a balding gentleman in jeans and a plaid jacket strides up and gently pushes a piece of paper into the man’s hand, they all smile politely.
Are you really saying thank you?
It was an icy morning when I trudged the uphill sidewalk that skirts the University of Nevada campus. Behind me, I heard the huffing of a fellow student approaching on his bicycle and I moved to my right to yield for faster traffic.
However, I unwittingly detoured the bicyclist already approaching my right and sent him onto a muddy knoll. He managed to stay upright as he passed me. Then, with his tires spitting mud and his voice dripping sarcasm, he yelled, “Thank you SO much!”
