Cathryn Rakich
Editor and Home Design and Pets Columnist
About This Author
Cathryn Rakich has been a writer and editor in the Sacramento area for 35 years, with articles in local, state and national publications. She is also active in the animal-welfare community, volunteering for local animal rescue groups. Her latest endeavor is as a ceramics artist.
Articles by this author
Right Project, Wrong Place
The lawn signs read “Light the Field.” Neighbors want to “light” Rio Americano High School’s sports stadium.
The problem: the proposed project would negatively impact the American River Parkway.
Rio Americano backs up to the parkway levee, steps from the bike trail, grassland and riparian habitat, the lower American River and its wildlife.
It’s not that the stadium doesn’t have lights. Evening practices and games are lit by portable diesel-powered LED lights. The school wants “improvements to the existing Rio Americano facilities.”
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Stronger Together
It’s 10 a.m. at the River City Food Bank in Arden-Arcade. A line of recipients winds down the side of the building and into the parking lot.
When the doors open 30 minutes later, volunteers, including Nicole Martin and her daughter Phoebe, greet the crowd with friendliness and efficiency.
Nicole and Phoebe pass out shopping carts. They then move inside to join others in handing out food staples, such as canned goods and fresh produce. The mother and daughter are on bread detail.
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Safe Haven
Lost in piles of fresh hay, Maggie happily surrenders to belly rubs. Weighing 400 pounds, the 2-year-old pig grunts and snorts in contentment.
The black and white Hampshire is one of 23 pigs at Animal Place, a sanctuary for farmed animals, in the rural hills of Grass Valley.
Maggie was raised for Future Farmers of America and destined for auction where she would be sold for slaughter—until her owners changed their minds.
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Crisis Control
A dog with a foxtail imbedded between her toes. A cat with severe dental disease. A kitten whose tail needed amputating.
All pets in Sacramento County whose owners could not afford medical care. All pets who received financial assistance from RedRover.
With headquarters in Midtown, RedRover is a national nonprofit that serves animals in crisis in the United States and Canada.
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Coyote Calling
The large plastic bin holds everything coyote. Color brochures and door hangers, binders with Power Point presentations, a paw print casting, faux fur, teeth and scat.
The contents are Guy Galante’s arsenal to talk about his favorite subject: coyotes.
The Carmichael native is a local naturalist, educator and wildlife photographer. Some people call him a coyote specialist, but he admits to no formal training in the species, “other than 20 years of boots on the ground,” Galante says. “Coyotes teach you everything you need to know.”
Galante’s fascination with coyotes began while working at Gold River Elementary School. He taught kids about the flora and fauna of the American River Parkway using a book of black and white drawings. He wanted to create a color photo version of the book.
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