Aug 28, 2023
Sacramento’s majestic urban forest is a shady embrace. As fall approaches, return the love by replacing or adding trees to the landscape.
Trees, arm in arm with farm to fork and tomatoes, are as Sacramento as it gets. We jog, nap and dine under trees, often not acknowledging the benefits our woody friends provide.
The urban forest accommodates family gatherings, recreation and relaxation. It yields food. Trees purify air, cool homes, save energy, provide wildlife habitat and prevent soil erosion. Trees are beautiful, boosting property values.
The city’s Urban Forestry Division reported 305 street trees lost and 191 park trees downed during January storms. Officials lack precise figures for tree losses on private property, but estimate 1,500 were swept away last winter. Many more vanished from drought, stress and diseases.
Aug 28, 2023
Everybody loves a good story—better yet, having a good story read to them. Stories on Stage Sacramento, a literary performance series, delivers stories to appreciative audiences by bringing page to stage and pen to performance.
Founded in 2010, the nonprofit SOSS offers stories of all shapes, sizes and types of literature—from poetic to personal, fabulous to funny. This award-winning reading series features stories by local, national and international authors performed out loud by professional actors.
Jul 28, 2023
In late June, Mayor Darrell Steinberg received a letter from Michael Bowman, presiding judge at Sacramento Superior Court. The message was clear. Homeless conditions surrounding court facilities at 720 Ninth St. prevented justice from being served.
Bowman cited the disheartening environment and numerous encounters between unsheltered people and members of the public who need to be in court, including court employees.
“These daily incidents include, but are not limited to, physical and verbal assault, public sex acts, open fires, nudity, urinating and defecating on walkways,” Bowman wrote. “Court security removes unsheltered individuals, who have no business with the court, from the main courthouse daily and our facilities team must regularly remove feces and other waste from our entryways and grounds.”
Jul 28, 2023
Everyone knows we need additional housing, but 29 families soon moving into Washington Commons in West Sacramento are searching for something more elusive.
They want a community. A place where people look out for one another, share responsibility, and team up for walks and bike rides. Where they help with communal meals and offer a place for visiting friends and family for a night or two.
Washington Commons, a four-story cohousing condominium project under construction across the river from Downtown with 35 one- and two-bedroom units, is expected to be finished early next year.
Jul 28, 2023
One afternoon in my community college English classroom, four students arrived with an assortment of Fiery Hot Cheetos, Skittles and sodas. Students aren’t supposed to eat in classrooms, but it was lunchtime. I knew the students were hungry and didn’t interrupt their snacking before class.
No surprise, by our 1:30 p.m. break, the students who devoured vending machine snacks were lethargic and barely able to participate.
The trends are horrifying and unmistakable. Forty percent of California fifth graders are overweight or obese. A disproportionate number among them are minority students. We know young brains need nourishment. The mind-body connection is under-addressed in our schools.
The Food Literacy Center wants to change how kids eat, teaching them about nutrition and how to prepare culturally relevant, nourishing foods.
Jul 28, 2023
Zelda’s Gourmet Pizza opened in 1978. To say it hasn’t changed is false, but close. I mean, they take credit cards now. That’s a change.
To walk into the narrow, shotgun dining room and bar is to step back in time. From the high-backed plywood booths to the stubby laminate bar, the wooden trellis with plastic grapes to the sparkly black cottage-cheese ceilings, the place has a vibe.
And the vibe is perfect. The fact that the pizza is exceptional is a bonus.
