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.
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.
Jun 28, 2026
From Joyce Raley Teel to Sofia Tsakopoulos, women do the heavy lifting to keep local stage lights burning.
But when it comes to cultural philanthropy, nobody beats a shy, frustrated playwright named Eleanor Grace McClatchy.
For five decades as Sacramento transformed from sleepy farm burg to capital metropolis, she pumped oxygen into theater arts with cash and publicity.
May 28, 2026
The city’s Planning and Design Commission is no ship of fools. Planning commissioners showed their smarts earlier this year when they discussed changing the rules for short-term housing rentals.
They declared—for the record—Sacramento isn’t Barcelona or Pismo Beach. Thanks for clearing that up.
A dozen or so people in the City Hall audience absorbed the news as one might expect. No shrieks. No boos. Just silence.
Comparisons to beach towns in Spain and central California are rare at City Hall. But comparisons are handy when local authorities try to corral short-term rentals.
Apr 28, 2026
Homeless crises are nothing new in Sacramento. The first one happened in August 1850, when outrageous real estate prices caused people to camp on land that didn’t belong to them.
Everybody had guns in 1850. The guns went off when city officials tried to clear camps around Fourth and J streets and Tahoe Park. Five people died and six were wounded before things calmed down.
Mar 28, 2026
Pity the pedestrian, lowest creature on Sacramento’s evolutionary ladder. Cars are king. Bicycles come next. Then homeless people, who have more agency than a resident who wants to take a walk.
I learned this by accident, never thinking it was true until I realized there’s no other explanation.
Pedestrians need to face facts. The city has no love for us.
I made this discovery while researching a column last month about my friend who stands his ground when bicycles barrel toward him on city sidewalks.
