Weathered, wrinkled and wrapped in a headscarf, the face was all smiles. Cupped in outstretched hands were three cucumbers. “You?” she asked. How could I refuse?
Thanking her, I felt a twinge of guilt for not being able to match her generosity. A language barrier limited communication, but I knew from past growing seasons that she coveted the cantaloupes growing a few feet away in my community garden plot. None were ripe that day, but there would be cantaloupes to share in days to come.
Susan Peters has represented District 3 on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors since 2004. Stepping down this year, she helped recruit a Highway Patrol chief, Rich Desmond, to run for her seat. On the Nov. 3 ballot, Desmond and SMUD board member Gregg Fishman are in a runoff.
While the campaign has become a largely virtual affair in the pandemic, Desmond and Fishman have worked hard to distinguish their views, many of which are similar.
The need for affordable housing is acute in Sacramento and much of California. How do we make a dent in such an intractable challenge?
For Mutual Housing California, a local nonprofit that has been building sustainable homes since 1988, the answer is straightforward. You scramble for money and creative solutions and never give up, no matter the obstacles.
Within days of the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Underground Books in Oak Park launched a long-planned website for the sale of literary works online.
Not only did the Sacramento community respond, people across the nation took note. In the first two months, Underground Books received nearly 2,500 orders.
Since I have no school-age children or grandchildren, I’ve watched the debate over school openings from afar. But every American has a stake in the discussion over how, when and if to bring kids back to school. Pandemic-driven closures last spring affected 62 million pre-primary, primary and secondary school students, along with parents and teachers.
Sadly, the debate is taking place at a divisive time—the 2020 presidential election, as our country experiences unprecedented civil and economic unrest and a rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
With each month it becomes more difficult to see even a few weeks into the future when it comes to the restaurant scene. We’ve lost beloved favorites. Local treasures have reopened only to shut down again within weeks. Some landlords have been graciously flexible with rental and lease terms. Others have not.
It’s with confidence, though, that I say the following local institutions will still be plying their wares well after this column comes out. The humble bakery—set up for takeaway business and designed for in-home consumption—is an integral part of the community.
