Oct 28, 2022
A dog with no microchip, no ID tag. A door left open or a hole in the fence. Someone willing to do the right thing—get the dog off the street.
Now what? Is taking the lost canine to a local animal shelter the best way to reunite him with his owner? Is that where he will be safe? Is that where his parents will look first?
Or is it better to hold onto the dog, place signs around the neighborhood, post photos on social media, walk door to door?
Phillip Zimmerman, manager of the city’s Front Street Animal Shelter, likes the second option. So much so that he has instituted a “managed intake” policy at Front Street.
Oct 28, 2022
Ten years ago, filled with energy, optimism and can-do spirit, Lisa Schmidt and I took on the monumental job of saving the Clunie Community Center and McKinley Rose Garden in McKinley Park.
We founded a nonprofit called Friends of East Sacramento in 2010. That was the easy part. The rest of the story is an adventure in generosity, volunteerism and community pride, along with the darker parts of human nature, from petty jealousy and troublesome neighbors to crime.
Faced with drastic cuts to city park budgets, the rose garden and community center faced a crisis after the Great Recession in 2009. The center was headed for closure. The city was unwilling to spend $100,000 a year to keep it open. There were no funds for much-needed maintenance.
Oct 28, 2022
Moments before signing a package of bills aimed at easing California’s affordable housing crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom used some colorful language to describe the issue. He called it “the original sin of the state of California.”
“That’s the issue of housing and affordability,” he said. “It touches more things in more ways on more days than any other issue. It is at the core of so much of the frustration many of us have about our state and our future.”
Oct 28, 2022
Jayna Gyro is easy to miss. The corner of Alhambra and Folsom boulevards sports several chain eateries, and, without a closer look, Jayna Gyro blends in and disappears.
But take that extra look. You’ll learn this new Mediterranean restaurant paints outside the lines of “fast-casual” and brings an unexpected level of sophistication.
Jayna, the third California restaurant of Yusuf Topal and his ownership partners, improves the relationship between casual and fine dining. It’s no wonder. Topal’s other restaurants, Tarla Mediterranean Grill in Napa and the first Jayna Gyro in Emeryville, sit proudly in the upmarket and quick-eats categories.
Sacramento’s version of Jayna blends the best of these worlds. It’s an order-at-the-counter place with a narrowly focused menu and small drink menu. But lurking in the peripheral vision is an interior bright with touches of the Greek isles.
Oct 28, 2022
An anniversary is often a special occasion, but for Philanthropy Inspired by the Needs of our Community Sacramento this year’s 10th anniversary signifies a decade of helping those who help others.
“It’s been quite a 10 years—I get quite emotional when I talk about it,” says Margot Hunt, founder and president of the local chapter. “The first year, we didn’t know what we were doing. We just knew our mission was to be a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits.
“We threw our first fundraiser for Angels for Hearts, an organization that assists families of pediatric heart patients, at the Croatian Center. We raised $17,000. From that point on, we grew and grew and grew and now we’re raising a quarter of a million dollars or more per year for the Sacramento Children’s Home.”
