Interesting People

In 1984, a group of singers formed the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus to provide a safe place for gay men to meet and make music as the AIDS epidemic began to rage.

That same year, Lynda Walls was in Washington state managing and promoting bands at the start of the grunge movement, while “doing everything from stuffing envelopes to organizing marches” as an AIDS-awareness activist.

Little did Walls know that decades later, she would become executive director of the chorus that provides a voice—in more ways than one—for more than 100 LGBTQ residents of the Sacramento area.

Phil Rios lives by four values: honor, discipline, clean teeth and an even cleaner shave. The last two may seem incongruous, but Rios knows they can be a matter of life and death.

As a combat veteran of the U.S. Army Military Police, Rios was responsible for keeping his squad safe under dangerous conditions in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Korea.

There aren’t many coffee table books that combine original artwork, architecture, history and humor, but James Patrick Lane’s new book, “Painting the Grand Homes of California’s Central Valley,” fits the description.

“This is not your standard coffee table book,” the Arden-Arcade artist says of the project he began in 2019. “It’s actually quite rare to find a book like this with paintings instead of photos. Plus, I’ve included painting tips like, here’s how I made the light in the windows. If you’re an artist, you should get a lot from this book.”

“I’ve had a very eclectic past,” Doug Money says. “I’m not one of these people who just did one thing my whole life. If I told you all the different things I’ve done, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Money has indeed done many things in his 78 years, with stories to prove it.

Born and raised in Idaho, he’s been a competitive runner since high school and has completed eight marathons. The first winter after he and his wife moved to Alaska, a mother moose and her calf wintered in their front yard. He was a pastor for 12 years. He owned a successful contracting business. And he still runs by himself every day, even though he’s been legally blind for almost 11 years.