Interesting People
Protecting The Parkway
Protecting The Parkway Broadcast veteran advocates for American River By Jessica Laskey July 2021 George Nyberg knows what the American River Parkway means to Sacramento. He can often be found biking, jogging or kayaking along the majestic waterway near...
Devil’s Due
Devil’s Due Singer explores emotions through music By Jessica Laskey July 2021 Sara Noelle Kronenberg had a revelation when she plunged into the Pacific at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve 2018. “I realized I wanted to do something to...
Nursery With Purpose
Part of the magic of The Prickly Pear is finding this hidden treasure as you stroll down U Street in Southside Park. Follow a path into the backyard of a historic two-story home, weaving through arches of wisteria and fairy lights.
The manicured succulent garden opens up like a scene from a semi-arid fairy tale. Amethyst geodes and signs pointing toward Narnia, Westeros and Hogwarts keep company with a pair of pygmy goats nibbling mischievously on the leaves of an overhanging pineapple-guava. Underneath a broad awning of corrugated plastic, a who’s who of popular succulents dominates the space.
An Open Book
As a writer, Patricia Newman has a radar that is “always up and looking for ideas.”
The prolific children’s book author and Carmichael resident turns those ideas into educational and entertaining books that tackle complex subjects for readers ages 4 and up. She’s on the lookout for inspiration.
“You have to follow those cryptic signs placed in your way throughout your life and be open to what they’re telling you,” says Newman, whose newest and 18th book, “Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean,” was published this year.
Opportunity Knocks
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.
Whimsical Wonderland
If you walk down Taylor Way and notice a yard that looks like something out of “Alice in Wonderland”—colorful mushrooms, stepping stones, a burbling fountain—then you’ve discovered Adam Salinger’s East Sac residence.
Salinger and his wife, who have owned the house for 20 years, have gradually transformed it into a whimsical gathering place for neighbors and passersby. Everything in the yard—from artwork to strategic plantings of fragrant herbs and trees—are pure Salinger, an avid outdoorsman and educator who has channeled his love of nature and innate artistic abilities into a showstopping abode.
