Debra Celiz was not in the best spirits when she returned to Sacramento in 2013 after 45 years in San Francisco.
In the midst of a busy career in health care administration, Celiz was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disorder. There’s no cure. Patients gradually lose peripheral vision. Celiz decided to move back to her hometown to be closer to family as she figured out how to live with declining eyesight.
Tucked among other news roiling our lives is a growing drumbeat about environmental justice.
President Joe Biden has promised his administration will keep it “in the center of all we do.” Health and Human Services director, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, spoke often about environmental justice. Becerra joined residents in San Bernardino to oppose plans to expand the airport for Amazon’s logistics needs.
Since normal life stopped last year, we’ve all coped in different ways. We’ve hurt in different ways and changed in different ways. Few people have had more difficult times than my friends in the restaurant business.
As restrictions lift for restaurants, the demand for dining out is palpable. Restaurant owners scramble to find staff. Reservations are a must at many joints. I’ve seen dining rooms run out of food before dinner service ends.
The homeless crisis has defied all solutions advanced by local and state politicians. In Sacramento, strategies to end the crisis have only made the problem worse, with increased numbers of people living on our streets.
The challenges are complex and seemingly endless. Homeless people struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Many suffer from mental illness and physical health issues. Some engage in criminal behavior. Few are prepared for employment opportunities.
Sacramento artist Gregory Kondos passed away in late March. He was 97 and worked in his studio most days until his death.
Denis Zilaff knows what it takes to run 92,000 miles because he’s done it. Among the requirements are two good hips and a functional mitral valve. The hips keep the legs moving. The valve prevents blood from flowing backward into the heart.
When his hips began to fail and his mitral valve became floppy, Zilaff was in trouble, mostly because he wanted to keep running. The repairs were piecemeal and took about two years. Delays were caused by the pandemic and the fact that doctors won’t fix two hips and one heart in a single marathon surgery.