Aug 28, 2026
They had a new team and needed a name. Something memorable. Something that tells a story.
They considered Solons and Senators, baseball names from the city’s past. But this team doesn’t play baseball.
This is a hurling team, ready to master an Irish game contested on soccer pitches with sticks and a ball and no gloves. Part lacrosse, part baseball, part football, part golf. Rough and tumble and exhaustive and exhilarating. The world’s fastest field sport not involving horses.
The name they chose is Kavanagh’s. Pronounced like it reads, silent g. The name arrives with serendipity and Irish luck.
One player heard about an old Irish priest who made South Sacramento his domain for 65 years. The priest ran a parish, orphanage and school on Franklin Boulevard. He became a legend for his relentless, godly work. Parishioners worshiped him. Diocesan leaders were jealous of his influence.
Aug 28, 2026
Sacramento is a foolish, stubborn place. The city spends millions on separated bicycle lanes that many cyclists hate. Yet the city won’t spend a dime on signs telling riders to keep off sidewalks when pedestrians are around.
I gave up long ago expecting innovation from City Hall. Even when I worked for Mayor Kevin Johnson, our best ideas came from elsewhere. For Kevin, elsewhere meant Mike Bloomberg of New York and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.
Kevin liked to think big. He loved the concept of “world class.” He borrowed ideas to improve public schools, solve homelessness, and fund arts and culture. Most of his ideas fizzled out by the time he left office in 2016. But at least he tried.
Aug 28, 2026
The numbers don’t mean anything. Not the 50 years, not the final scores, not the cumulative sums of families served and participation trophies handed out.
What matters is Greenhaven Soccer Club’s steady presence as a community unifier, the glue that holds people together.
For a half-century, the soccer club has taken children shy and awkward, children blessed with athletic grace, children who would rather pick daisies, and kitted them out in kelly green shirts and shorts and brought them together for weekend celebrations.
Jul 28, 2026
Just when I thought the story about public access to the Sacramento River Parkway was winding down, losing its punch, along comes the Central Valley Flood Protection Board to restore the outrage.
The useful idiots at the flood board spent a month this summer agonizing over four property owners who want to build permanent fences across the levee top in Pocket and Little Pocket.
Jul 28, 2026
Give the A’s credit. Halfway into their Northern California farewell tour, they have spotlighted the challenges Sacramento faces as it pursues a Major League Baseball expansion team.
Local sports fans know by heart the attributes that make Sacramento an obvious choice. Market size. Loyal fan base. Great weather.
Jul 28, 2026
In my crusade to stop cyclists from running down people on city sidewalks, I overlooked something.
I ignored the fact that some cyclists don’t chase pedestrians into doorways or gutters. Some cyclists are civilized. They follow rules.
Around two dozen readers contacted me after my first two Inside columns about sidewalk cycling. Everyone was gracious and polite and thanked me for highlighting an overlooked problem.
