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Jessica Laskey

Journalist

About This Author

Jessica Laskey is a freelance writer and professional actress who has lived and worked in Sacramento, San Francisco, Dallas, New York City and Paris. She is also the co-founder of Theater Galatea and Indomita Press.

Articles by this author

Out and About May 2025

Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of May!

Kent Lacin finds joy in many places. Behind a camera. Drawing or writing with a new fountain pen. Jamming on jazz piano. Teaching college students. Making films.

“I never felt like I worked a day in my life, I had so much fun,” he says. “I did so many wonderful things and met so many wonderful people, it was a dream.”

Lacin retired four years ago after a decades-long career as owner of Kent Lacin Media Services. But that’s a small part of his story.

Growing up in Arden Park, Lacin loved to draw and play the piano. His parents gave him a Pentax camera at age 8, and he loved that, too. But since neither parent had a background in the arts, Lacin thought of art as a hobby, not a career.

Star Turn

When the call came saying Roberto Fatal’s short film “En Memoria” had been accepted to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival out of 8,000 submissions, Fatal almost crashed the car.

Back home in Land Park, Fatal told co-writer and girlfriend Ali Meyers-Ohki. Then they called the cast and crew.

It was a dream come true for the team that brought “En Memoria” to reality.

“I’ve been in love with movies and sci-fi since I was a child,” Fatal says. “But being queer, in the closet, Latino and mixed Indigenous, I didn’t see a lot of my community in sci-fi, which scared me a little bit. I’d think, Oh, my God, I think this means we don’t make it to the future!

Born To Give

Laini Golden always wanted to help people.

As a high school student in San Antonio, she joined every service club she could find. Her youth group helped blind people shop for groceries. She played with kids at orphanages.

“I knew I wanted to help people in the community,” Golden says. “I’ve always had this desire to try to connect on whatever level.”

Golden has given back for decades. As a licensed clinical social worker in Sacramento, she’s done therapy with children in schools, hospitals and outpatient facilities. Now she works with adults to help them reconnect with their inner voice.

Experience Counts

A close-up of musician Nina Simone is captured in blue, black, gray and white acrylic paint. Her face is surrounded by a large black letter “N.” Etched into the glass frame is “WORD.”

Artist Michael Stevenson created this piece for his 2015 exhibition “Civil Rights Civil Wrongs” at University of Texas. Personal experiences were the inspiration.

“My nephews were throwing the N word around very casually,” says Stevenson, a graphic designer raised in Nashville. “It’s a hip thing to do, but once you’re starting to have kids, you think about the history of the word and how hurtful and demeaning it is. So, I took on the N word. Nina Simone fought so hard to eliminate this word. Now my N word is Nina.”