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Growing Pains
Maybe I was too harsh when I ridiculed the city for building a bicycle bridge across Interstate 5 with lousy concrete and misaligned rebar.
The bridge was a big screwup. But the city did right by residents when it told bridge contractors to jackhammer the new bridge and replace it with materials that meet spec and can stand for 75 years, as opposed to a decade or two.
The rebuilt bridge opened in December. This means the city managed to erect two bike bridges over I-5 and Riverside Boulevard in three years.
Court Jesters
I finally got around to reading a recent lawsuit about stopping the Sacramento River levee bike path. It’s the funniest thing I’ve read in awhile.
Several elements make the bike path lawsuit funny. First, it’s a CEQA suit, meaning it derives from the California Environmental Quality Act.
Being labeled a CEQA suit instantly identifies a legal complaint as unserious, filed for reasons that have nothing to do with constitutional questions, financial damages or grandma’s estate.
Pocket Life January 2026
Find out what is happening in Pocket during the month of January!
Crowd Control
I’ve never understood how a few property owners near the Sacramento River made city and state officials think public safety means keeping people off the levee parkway.
For 50 years, the safety and security argument was a smokescreen—a stratagem to give exclusive parkway access to several dozen residents and lock out everyone else.
Now the ruse is dead. Mayor Kevin McCarty and the City Council are ready to finish the paved levee bike trail that links Freeport to Downtown and the American River Parkway.
The safety and security con job was obvious from the start, dating from the late 1970s. But nobody challenged it.
Out & About December 2025
Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of December!
Pocket Life December 2025
In 2010, Pocket nonprofit ACC Senior Services took over Meals on Wheels nutritional services from Sacramento County. Since then, the program has served about 7 million meals to 4,000 seniors.
Taking advantage of our farm-adjacent community, Meals on Wheels runs a Fresh Produce Program. Last year, seniors enjoyed almost 10,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables from nearby farmers.