Oct 28, 2025
Look close at any neighborhood and you’ll see it. A neighbor delivers a meal to a friend recovering from surgery. A teenager rakes leaves for an elderly couple. Volunteers stack crates at the food bank or help with park cleanups.
We know these acts strengthen our community fabric. What’s new—and encouraging—is evidence that they strengthen our minds too.
A recent study by the University of Texas and University of Massachusetts in the journal Social Science & Medicine finds frequent helping—whether through volunteering or support to neighbors, friends or family—slows cognitive decline by as much as 20%.
Oct 28, 2025
The biggest off-season Kings news happened in July and had nothing to do with the Kings. This was rare for an NBA team that controls its destiny by driving off cliffs.
The news concerned Mike Brown, the coach fired by the Kings at Christmas. The dismissal was a gift for Brown, whose poorest career decision came in 2022 when he agreed to coach the Kings.
There was no doubt Brown would quickly resurface after he was shoved out by Kings lead owner Vivek Ranadive. The question was where Brown would land.
Oct 28, 2025
Midtown Farmers Market is a nice place to visit. But I wouldn’t want to stock up there.
The produce is ripe, the salespeople helpful, the prices reasonable. But look past the street theater charm and the Midtown market is a specialty destination.
A moveable feast built on fresh, edible impulses. Great for grazing. A treat for tourists. Not for real grocery shopping.
Real grocery shopping requires a real grocery store.
Fortunately, Sacramento has the best real grocery store in California. I’m talking about Nugget in Lake Crest Village on Florin Road.
Oct 28, 2025
Find out what is happening Sacramento during the month of November!
Oct 28, 2025
It doesn’t happen often in politics, but sometimes we get the right outcome despite long odds and low expectations. Senate Bill 79, which encourages high-density housing near major transit hubs in Sacramento and other California cities, is a prime example.
In an interview with Inside, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sponsor of several impactful housing bills in recent years, admits he was lukewarm about SB 79 earlier this year.
“We have done a lot of different housing work over the years, and it’s been fantastic,” Wiener says. “But the idea of rezoning around transit is a very tough one politically because so many cities have zoned for single-family homes around the highest quality transit. And that’s just not sustainable for housing or for these (transit) systems.”
Oct 28, 2025
Sacramento and its sister city Jinan, in China’s Shandong Province, are similar. Both are capitals, both have rivers and both share rich cultural scenes. Grace Liu knows this firsthand.
Liu is a Jinan native. She attended Shandong University before coming to Sacramento State¬. The J Street campus was the only U.S. school she applied to, due to its sister city status. She earned a master’s degree in management information science.
When Liu arrived in 1996, she was contacted by the Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation, a nonprofit set up in 1984 to “foster mutual understanding, cultural awareness and friendship” between Sacramento and Jinan.
