City Beat
Promise Zone
Tyrone Roderick Williams knows how to get money in Sacramento. He asks for it. So far, Williams has hauled in more than $175 million. His secret? Ask the right people.
Williams is director of development for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. As part of his job, he manages Sacramento Promise Zone. The zone is essential to Williams’ fundraising triumphs.
Promise Zone is a rare and coveted federal designation that connects Sacramento directly to federal agencies, along with state, corporate and nonprofit partners. Sacramento received the designation in 2015.
Last Breath
There’s one excellent reason why the Sacramento River Parkway trail is finally ready to roll past those obscene levee gates in Pocket and Greenhaven. The homeowners who despise public access have run out of gas.
For decades, a tiny but influential group of homeowners along the river have frightened City Hall with loud voices and litigation threats. They blocked public access to the river for 46 years, fencing themselves into private backyard compounds along the levee. Their success at self-isolation was a tribute to the effectiveness of political influence and perpetual whining.
More on “Fenced Out”
Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen has objected to a column published in the July editions of Inside Publications written by R.E. Graswich entitled “Fenced Out: Councilmember Blocks Public From River Parkway.”
To Catch a Thief
Most small businesses operate on a thin profit margin. Burglaries and robberies can make those margins thinner still. How can local businesses combat crime?
Sunil and Pam Hans own and operate the popular Compton’s Market in East Sacramento. “I know my customers,” Sunil says.
National Spotlight
This is definitely not the kind of publicity Sacramento wants or needs, but the city’s homeless crisis continues to draw national attention. The latest spotlight comes from Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson, whose crews recently filmed homeless people in public places around the community. Here’s a transcript on the May 13 broadcast.
Larger Than Life
Randy Paragary has never built a hotel before, but he has built plenty of restaurants and bars, more than anyone in Sacramento. He figures the trickiest part of the hotel business, after securing the pile of dollars required to create one, is food service. On the dining and booze front, he’s already a local Conrad Hilton.
His first hotel, the Fort Sutter, is rising at the corner of 28th Street and Capitol Avenue, where Paragary’s flagship Café Bernardo stood for 25 years. Bernardo created a new dining style in Sacramento—a well-priced, classy environment without waitstaff coming around to take orders. Customers order at the counter. The concept still thrives in the region, including three Cafés Bernardo.
