R.E. Graswich

Writer and Editorial Team

About This Author

R.E. Graswich is a journalist, author and media expert. His book “Vagrant Kings” is the definitive history of the Sacramento Kings basketball team. He was Special Assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, managed the Sacramento Voices program for the Maynard Institute of Journalism Education and worked for the Sacramento Bee, CBS 13 and KFBK.

Articles by this author

Take This!

At last, the wheels of justice turn for public access to the Sacramento River.

After stalling for 51 years, the city is grabbing easements via eminent domain along the Pocket levee. The process shuts down outrageous claims by property owners who think they own the river.

The eminent domain process ends a half-century fight by homesteaders near the levee to stop the city from completing the river parkway bike trail.

Dress To Kill

I’m always thinking up ways to help the Kings win. Been trying for 41 years.

Traditional strategies—smart draft picks, wise trades, astute coaching decisions, brilliant front-office moves—are the stuff of fantasy.

Now a new season arrives. Things look worse than ever.

Experience Counts

Voters get to skip the chore of picking a new City Council in November. The city election was canceled, blessedly, when all four incumbents won their seats in the June primary.

I don’t always fall for incumbents. Council shakeups can be good. But this year, after talking to some of the people who wanted to replace them, I knew incumbents were the way to go.

Several people who ran against City Council incumbents didn’t know much about city government. They didn’t know how municipal budgets work, didn’t understand the difference between what labor unions expect and what’s best for the public, didn’t grasp why zoning decisions are paramount.

Father Figure

They had a new team and needed a name. Something memorable. Something that tells a story.

They considered Solons and Senators, baseball names from the city’s past. But this team doesn’t play baseball.

This is a hurling team, ready to master an Irish game contested on soccer pitches with sticks and a ball and no gloves. Part lacrosse, part baseball, part football, part golf. Rough and tumble and exhaustive and exhilarating. The world’s fastest field sport not involving horses.

The name they chose is Kavanagh’s. Pronounced like it reads, silent g. The name arrives with serendipity and Irish luck.

One player heard about an old Irish priest who made South Sacramento his domain for 65 years. The priest ran a parish, orphanage and school on Franklin Boulevard. He became a legend for his relentless, godly work. Parishioners worshiped him. Diocesan leaders were jealous of his influence.

Signed Up

Sacramento is a foolish, stubborn place. The city spends millions on separated bicycle lanes that many cyclists hate. Yet the city won’t spend a dime on signs telling riders to keep off sidewalks when pedestrians are around.

I gave up long ago expecting innovation from City Hall. Even when I worked for Mayor Kevin Johnson, our best ideas came from elsewhere. For Kevin, elsewhere meant Mike Bloomberg of New York and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.

Kevin liked to think big. He loved the concept of “world class.” He borrowed ideas to improve public schools, solve homelessness, and fund arts and culture. Most of his ideas fizzled out by the time he left office in 2016. But at least he tried.

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