My first encounter with Bariani Olive Oil was my first encounter with California olive oil.
Roaming the Berkeley Farmers Market, I found the Bariani stall and took my first oil shot, delivered by one of the brothers who grew the olives and pressed the oil. The oil coated my mouth in a grassy fattiness, soothed my throat and sank into my belly.
Four decades ago in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the only olive oil available to me was mild, light and imported from Italy and Spain. In California, I savor a drizzle of amber green oil pressed from olives a few miles from where I cook. This oil makes leafy greens and grilled fish or meats sing complex songs.
This is the motto of Brent Sorlien, lead pastor of Southpointe Christian Center on Stockton Boulevard. Southpointe has served the South Sacramento community since the 1950s—it will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025—and recently received some help of its own.
Last summer, Southpointe was chosen from approximately 2,200 entries to receive a Lowe’s 100 Hometowns grant as part of the home improvement retailer’s centennial. The grant allowed Southpointe to update its clothes closet, which serves hundreds of people each week along with its on-campus food closet. The home improvement chain provided materials and labor.
I’m convinced most folks have no idea how much work happens behind the scenes with local government and leaders trying to resolve our homeless crisis.
Frustrated friends and neighbors tell me the city or county “does nothing” when an encampment gathers and grows. I decided to take a close look at two camps near my home and report on what’s really being done.
Commerce Circle is a commercial zone with offices and warehouses west of the Cal Expo Boulevard Costco. For two years, businesses on Commerce Circle endured some of the most extreme impacts of homelessness.
Just when scientific literacy seems more needed than ever, there’s good news in a tidy space along the riverfront near Old Sacramento.
Adults will love the recently opened SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity, MOSAC for short, at 400 Jibboom St. But this place is really about kids and teaching them that science matters—it’s formidable and we ignore or scorn it at our peril.
Here’s the most important fact if you are a kid: The museum aims to show youngsters that science is cool because, well, it is.
Next time, let’s leave the politics to the professionals. Amateur interference just creates a mess. At least with pros, outcomes are transparently based on self-preservation, greed and vengeance.
The latest example of mud pies created by amateurs at City Hall involves the redesign of City Council districts. This exercise commences around the turn of every decade, in alignment with census upheavals.
Officially, the process is called “redistricting,” but that’s a word I’ve sworn never to write or speak. It’s deadly for anyone trying to hold an audience.
It might be easy to overlook, but the wine scene is changing. Several local wine bars are influencing a new generation of wine drinkers. Whether it’s unique varietals, novel appellations or changing attitudes about California’s iconic consumable, there’s plenty new in wine.
You’ll see trends on display at Ro Sham Beaux wine bar on J Street. The small, creatively appointed space combines modern sensibilities with a swinging 1970s fern bar vibe. The wine is cutting-edge: natural, low alcohol and from unexpected climes. Ro Sham Beaux’s menu takes a detour from routine chardonnays and zinfandels. Start with a glass of orange wine from Georgia (the country, not the state).
