Interesting People
Mixing It Up
When Linda Novi heard that Mixed Bag, a Midtown shopping fixture for 38 years, was closing, she knew she had to step in.
“It’s like Christmas every day!” says Novi, referring to her favorite store’s abundance of cool and creative merchandise.
Novi and her husband Tom, who live in Carmichael, purchased Mixed Bag, located at the corner of 24th and K streets, earlier this year from original owner Susan Larson who was ready to retire.
Take A Hike
Here’s one cheap and easy way for sports fans to improve their chances of living longer and healthier lives: Park on 15th Street and walk to an event at Golden 1 Center. The secret to longevity can be found in each step.
October may be the perfect month for walking in Sacramento. The blazing summer heat has eased. The dreary skies and soaking winter rains have not arrived. Pollen counts are reasonable. And the benefits of a hearty walk improve each time a new medical research study is published.
Century of Aces
Sutter Lawn Tennis Club celebrates its 100th birthday in September, which prompts one Grand Slam question: How did the little East Sacramento jewel manage to last a century?
A tempting story would tell how Sutter Lawn’s guardians intuitively aced the future and moved with the times at 39th and N streets. They adapted to changing tastes, acquired nearby properties and relentlessly expanded to become the city’s dominant sports facility.
Stand-Up Guy
A comedy club owner once told Grant Lyon that to get booked, he needed three things: to be very funny, to be easy to work with and to be able to sell tickets.
“I can’t sell tickets yet,” Lyon says, “but two out of three is still pretty good.”
Ballroom Glitz
When you step inside The Ballroom of Sacramento, you have stepped into a bygone era. The spacious ballroom floor is roughly the size and color of a basketball court. Throughout the mirror-walled dance floor, strings of tiny lights snake up 20 feet of support beams. Fred Astaire wearing a top hat and tails would feel right at home.
Hitting Back
Hitting Back
Melissa Ausilio boxes her way to business success
By R.E. Graswich
August 2019
The thing about getting punched in the face, Melissa Ausilio says, is you either like it or you don’t.
Ausilio realized she liked it when she was 21. She was in a boxing ring, wearing boxing gloves and gear, and circling and throwing jabs at her opponent. The experience was thrilling. But a punch in the face was still a punch in the face.
“There’s no middle ground with boxing,” she says. “You learn pretty quickly whether it’s the sport for you or not.”
