Dec 30, 2019
In the past decade, news outlets across the country have been gutted and closed, reporters laid off, and publication schedules cut. In 2018, more than 200 news publications closed their doors. There are now huge swathes of our country without local news coverage. They are called “news deserts.”
Locally, we face the same trend. The Sacramento Bee, our largest local news organization, had 9,000 employees a decade ago. Today it’s down to 2,800. But even with a skeleton reporting staff, the Bee remains a primary source for local news. The paper’s work filters across to other media, including television and radio.
Dec 30, 2019
Trees are the first to go. About 3 acres of valley oak and slightly more than one-tenth an acre of Fremont cottonwoods are being cut down and chopped up as crews strengthen the Sacramento River levee from Pocket to Broadway. That means about 153 trees pulled out, with another 178 trimmed back.
“This represents a relatively small amount of vegetation in proportion to existing trees and shrubs,” says a report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Dec 30, 2019
The twilight sky is amber with hints of rust from the late summer sun. Towering 300-year-old oak trees canopy the expansive lawn. We gather at the edge of a grass knoll overlooking acres of lush grape vines laden with fruit almost ripe for fall harvest. Everyone is still.
Debby Duvall, a volunteer with the Wildlife Care Association, stands before us with two plastic pet carriers, each holding an orphaned barn owl. A young guest is her assistant for the evening. They both don heavy leather falconry gloves. Unlatching the first carrier’s metal door, Duvall gently pulls out the imprisoned bird, and instructs her guest assistant to grip the owl’s legs while she holds the bird in position for release, the owl’s fierce talons gripping the sturdy gloves for balance.
Dec 30, 2019
When Patricia Sturdevant sees a problem in her community, she doesn’t just notice—she acts. When the Land Park resident saw excess citrus on the trees that line Sacramento streets—fruit that could go to hungry mouths—she did something about it.
Sturdevant has been on the pages of Inside Sacramento before for her work with the Land Park Community Association’s partnership with Harvest Sacramento, a collaborative project that gathers surplus citrus—fruit that would otherwise go to waste—to feed the underserved.
Dec 30, 2019
“Watching the garden grow with you is a beautiful, physical representation of the journey to healing,” says Kaitlyn Devereaux, novice gardener and apprentice at Shakti Rising, one of four recipients of a 2019 micro-grant awarded by the Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund.
The micro-grants, typically $300 to $700, provide critical one-time funds to promote nutrition, health, a healthy environment and the cooperative movement.
Shakti Rising, a nonprofit helping women with histories of addiction, abuse, depression and self-destructive behaviors, launched its Sacramento location in 2018 at a charming Victorian house called Casa Luna Y Lobos. The holistic organization aims to empower women by cultivating foundational skills for emotional well-being, personal health, leadership, meditation, nutrition and gardening.
