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Volume 27, iSSue 02

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ĂŶĚ ŐŝǀĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŶŽŶƉƌŽĮƚƐ ƚŚĂƚ ůŝŌ ƵƉ ůŝǀĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŐŝǀĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŶŽŶƉƌŽĮƚƐ ƚŚĂƚ ůŝŌ ƵƉ ůŝǀĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŵĂŬĞ ƚŚŝƐ ƚŚĞ ƉůĂĐĞ ǁĞ ĐĂůů ŚŽŵĞ͘

zŽƵƌ ŐŝŌ ŽŶ DĂǇ ϱƚŚ ǁŝůů ŐĞƚ Ă ďŽŽƐƚ ĨƌŽŵ ŽƵƌ /ŶĐĞŶƟǀĞ WŽŽů ĂŶĚ ŚĞůƉ ŶŽŶƉƌŽĮƚƐ ǁŝŶ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ĚŽůůĂƌƐ͕ ƚŚĂŶŬƐ ƚŽ͗

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Pesky details The Kings wolf pack—Mayor Kevin Johnson and Vivek Ranadive, of course, but even Carmichael Dave and Marcos Breton—flew to Manhattan last week for the premiere of Down in the Valley, an ESPN-produced documentary about Sacramento’s battle to keep its NBA team. By all accounts, the film is a celebration of the mayor and his heart-on-sleeve victory. That’s great. But I’d wager that Valley—and the other saving-theKings documentary, Playing To Win, which also premiered last week— overlooks a few small details. So, in the spirit of looking back: Remember that city subsidy to help pay for the Kings arena? The one city council voted for in March 2013, after less than 72 hours of public debate? The quoted number was $258 million. But did you know it will end up costing Sacramento at least $750 million, and probably more, after we pay off interest over the next three decades? Bet that amount isn’t in the documentaries. Ditto the sweeteners: As we now know, thanks to a citizen lawsuit accusing the city of fraud, Ranadive and the Kings demanded subsidies— parking spots, land, digital billboards, etc.—amounting to nearly an additional $200 million. That’s called a shakedown. Probably not in the films, either. And what about our city clerk and a judge silencing some 20,000plus citizens, who demanded a public vote on the arena subsidy? Unlikely in the flicks. Or that the Atlanta Hawks just sold for $850 million, and the L.A. Clippers for north of $2 billion last year, which now means the Kings are clearly worth more than Ranadive’s $534-million purchase price. Did Sacramento get clowned? Yeah, these pesky details would make for one Debbie Downer of a documentary. But Hollywood endings are for suckers, right?

05 06 10 12 15 20 23 27 30 31 32 34 42 45 59

STREETALK OPINION + letters SCOREKEEPER NEWS FEATURE STORY ARTS&CULTURE NIgHT&DAY DISH COOLHUNTINg STAgE FILM MUSIC + sound Advice ASK JOEY THE 420 15 MINUTES Bites is on vacation this week. coveR iLLUstRation & DesiGn BY BRian BReneMan

Kel Munger, Kate Paloy, Patti Roberts, Ann Martin Rolke, Shoka Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Associate Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designers Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Steven Chea, Evan Duran, Wes Davis, Luke Fitz, Taras Garcia, Michael Miller, Bobby Mull, Shoka, Darin Smith, Lauran Worthy

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff Writers Janelle Bitker, Raheem F. Hosseini Assistant Editor Anthony Siino Entertainment Editor Jonathan Mendick Editorial Coordinator Becca Costello Contributing Editor Cosmo Garvin Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Contributors Ngaio Bealum, Daniel Barnes, Rob Brezsny, Jim Carnes, Deena Drewis, Joey Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Becky Grunewald, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane, Meg Masterson, Garrett McCord,

—Nick Miller

nic kam@ ne w s r ev i ew . com

Chief Marketing Officer Rick Brown Advertising Manager Corey Gerhard Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Joy Webber, Kelsi White Advertising Consultants Joseph Barcelon, Meghan Bingen, Lee Craft, Teri Gorman, Dusty Hamilton, Dave Nettles, Matt Richter, Lee Roberts, Julie Sherry Senior Inside Sales Consultant Olla Ubay Sales Assistant Matt Kjar Director of Et Cetera Will Niespodzinski Custom Publications Editor Michelle Carl

Custom Publications Managing Editor Shannon Springmeyer Custom Publications Writer/Copy Editor Mike Blount Custom Publications Writer Brittany Wesely Executive Coordinator Jessica Takehara Director of First Impressions David Lindsay Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Services Assistant Larry Schubert Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Daniel Bowen, Heather Brinkley, Mike Cleary, Jack Clifford, Lydia Comer, John Cunningham, Lob Dunnica, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Garry Foster, Joanna Gonzalez-Brown, Craig Hays, Brenda Hundley, Greg Meyers, Kenneth Powell, Gilbert Quilatan, Victoria Prunty, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialist Nicole Jackson Accounts Receivable Specialist Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz

Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins 1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815 Phone (916) 498-1234 Sales Fax (916) 498-7910 Editorial Fax (916) 498-7920 Website www.newsreview.com SN&R is printed by The Paradise Post using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in SN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. SN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel. Advertising Policies All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

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CLEARING THE AIR AROUND VAPING You’ve got questions. Here are the answers. What happens when you inhale on an e-cigarette?

What is that cloud of vapor?

Is there risk for second-hand exposure?

Inhalation triggers the heating of a liquid contained in the e-cigarette. The resulting aerosol (vapor) enters your lungs.

A component of the vapor you see coming out of the mouth is the same stuff used to make “fog” at every rock concert, nightclub and theme park — propylene glycol. Unlike traditional cigarettes, which continue to burn between puffs, no “side-stream” vapor is released from the e-device. Any nonuser exposure would come from exhalation of aerosol.

One study concluded indoor e-cig use can expose bystanders to nicotine, but not to carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds — the toxic products of combustible cigarettes. Air concentrations of nicotine from cigarettes were also 10 times higher than the air concentrations of nicotine from electronic cigarettes. Another study discovered that vapor dissipated within 11 seconds on average. Conversely, cigarette smoke lingered for about 20 minutes on average, indicating that “the risk of passive ‘smoking’ exposure from e-cigarettes is modest.”

“Secondhand Exposure to Vapors From Electronic Cigarettes,” Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco “Comparison of the aerosol produced by electronic cigarettes with conventional cigarettes and the shisha,” Revue des Maladies Respiratoires (France), ScienceDirect

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE VAPING EDUCATION COUNCIL: The purpose of the VEC is to share information about vaping and electronic cigarette products with the general public, fortify advocacy throughout the industry, and share stories directly from our consumers. The vape shops represented in the directory are privately owned and operated. Please contact our members with any questions or comments, or visit any of the local shops listed at right: NOTE: Must be 18 and older and present valid identification to test any products.

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“It’s sort of crass and commercial, but I just had Chipotle and I really liked it.”

Asked at Sacramento City College:

Who makes your favorite burrito in Sacramento?

Pia Lomboy

Eli Greer

Kevin Grady

student

adjunct professor

Oscar’s [Very Mexican Food]. Definitely. With veggies, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, beans and rice. The best thing to get with it is salsa dip. And extra cheese. Yeah, extra cheese. Depending on my mood, I’ll like it either really spicy or just mildly spicy.

Edwin Jackson

student

I know it’s sort of crass and commercial, but I just had Chipotle and I really liked it. I was able to choose what I put on my burrito right there. I like the green sauce. I like the hot stuff, too, but a lot of places make it too hot. I like to be able to taste the other food.

Chris Craig

student

My favorite burrito is pretty much the chicken-and-bean one at Chipotle. Chicken, beans, rice and salsa—the medium salsa. The best thing to go with it is avocado. I love avocado and brown rice.

Missy Sales

student

The best burrito that I know of comes from my house. Ground beef, Italian sausage, all the vegetables that are supposed to go in a burrito. Get a large flour tortilla, heat it up in the oven and put it together yourself. My favorite thing to go with a burrito? Beer.

student

I’m for Oscar’s [Very Mexican Food]. I have had them recently, and they’re blowing everybody else out of the water on variety. It’s got to have shredded beef and guacamole. I cannot give up avocados whatsoever. I used to grow avocados in Montana, where I used to live. Not the best weather for it, but I could do it.

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The best burrito I’ve had was from the cafeteria here at Sac City. It was good, really good. I had salsa, cheese, cilantro rice, very light black beans and beef. The only thing that was missing was the sliced jalapeno peppers. It was really good.

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6 | SN&R | 04.30.15

K.J., Hillary, email We’ve written a lot recently about the city of Sacramento’s email policies. Earlier this year, we explained how the city clerk hopes to delete all email after two years. This would have made it impossible for, say, SN&R freelance investigative reporter Joe Rubin to request older emails pertaining to the city’s water-meter install project. If Rubin doesn’t get those emails, he doesn’t write his story—and Sacramento ratepayers don’t save $65 million. That’s why SN&R asks that the city store all emails for posterity until an independent “good government” commission can vote on a fair and practical new policy. In the meantime, as Cosmo Garvin reported last week, there are other email issues at City Hall: Mayor Kevin Johnson and his staff’s use of private email when conducting public business. This is a problem because, as Garvin noted, the city cannot store emails that do not exist on its file servers. Unfortunately, the city has no policy regarding the use of private email for government work. That’s bad news, as it allows city business to be conducted without regard for public transparency (e.g., if the mayor’s emails are on a Gmail server, as is the case, he is not bound to hand them over per the Public Records Act). Government agencies like the city of Sacramento should have control over all of their business files, including email. The city needs to stop this practice of allowing private email for public work, and should implement a policy directing staff as soon as possible. Ω

Still kill your lawn Sprinklers are running. We saw them flowing in Midtown this past weekend, watering lawns of businesses and nightclubs—and flooding sidewalks and alleyways. This is the worst drought California’s ever seen, yet property owners keep flowing those sprinklers to green their lawns. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Stop. It’s time to kill your lawn. Look, we’re not immune to the charms of a summer lawn. Everyone loves green grass, and we understand that many homeowners have made investments in landscaping that they’d prefer not to waste. But in these dry times—with a nearly nonexistent snow pack in the Sierra Nevada, depleted reservoirs, area farmers fearing for their livelihoods and Gov. Jerry Brown ordering a statewide, 25 percent cutback in urban water use—it’s hard to justify using water to maintain aesthetics. We applaud local homeowners who’ve taken the initiative to either stop watering or remove their lawns and put in drought-tolerant landscape. If you can afford it, there are ways to install a drought-resistant garden that can attract pollinators and, of course, conserve water. But not everyone can pay for those changes now. So, at the very least, we all must take a hard look at the grass on our side of the fence—and let it die. Ω

K.J. and the IRS Re “Special delivery” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R News, April 23): The blurring of lines between private and public by government officials opens the doors to jeopardizing the rights of citizens to expect privacy in their own homes. The Internal Revenue Service requires businesses to physically separate business activity from home activity. This letter of ensures accurate accounting of funds incoming and outthe week going for the purpose of paying their “fair share” of taxes to support the community. Business owners who slop over this requirement set themselves up for auditing and all the misery the IRS may desire to visit upon the errant merchant. Government heads who slop over the requirement of accountability set themselves up for all the rancor and misery the taxpaying public may desire to visit upon the errant official.

AreYou Looking for Full-Time Work?

Patricia Kelley

Fair Oaks

Sweet knowledge Re “Sugar & vice” by Mary Duan (SN&R Feature Story, April 23): Kudos, this article is a real eyeopener! Recently, the issue of sugar has become more of a concern for me in my quest to eat healthier. As I learn more from documentaries and articles like this one, I become more disturbed by the powers of big business and their influence on our government. Only through the spread and exchange of information can people become aware of the secrets that are being kept from the public! The people should be able to determine what they want to consume and ingest, but it should not be a mystery as to what is inside the things they choose. Ric Sior Auburn

Stick to the facts Re “Sugar & vice” by Mary Duan (SN&R Feature Story, April 23): The beverage industry agrees that putting clear information at consumers’ fingertips is the best way to empower Californians so they can make informed decisions. That’s why the nation’s largest beverage companies voluntarily added easy-to-read labels to the front of every can, bottle, and pack produced in support of first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. In addition, the beverage industry removed full-calorie sodas from all schools across the country and replaced them with a variety of lower-calorie and smaller-portion choices, driving a 90 percent reduction in beverage calories in schools. CalBev is committed to providing information, options and support to help consumers achieve a balanced lifestyle. Ultimately, Californians need—and want—fact-based information, not sensational safety warning labels, to make the choices BEFORE

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that are right for them and their families. Bob Achermann executive director, CalBev

BACK TO WORK 50+ at Sacramento Works can help you learn new networking strategies, target your job search, get job leads, enroll in short-term training and ﬁnd resources that can help you stay strong while you are looking for your next job.

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Climate change, why bother Re “Lets get under 350” (SN&R Editorial, April 23): What your editorial misses is that unless the rest of the world changes their ways, no matter what expense and burden you suggest and impose on us poor Californians, it won’t make a difference. The rest of world doesn’t look up to us. This Californian is so tired of carrying the burden and expense for the rest of the world. I urge rejection of Senate Bill 350. P.S. You are right to suggest that the pursuit of oil has been a bane to this country for well on 130 years, setting disastrous foreign policy decisions that end up blowing up in our faces: for example, overthrowing Iran in the ’50s and look where we are today. Michael Santos Antelope

Email your letters to sactoletters@ newsreview.com.

online buzz

On Sac cOunty ranking high in StDS:

yikes! Wrap it up kids! Heather Smith

Online Buzz contributions are not edited for grammar, spelling or clarity.

via Facebook Well, Sacramento needs to lead in the state in something, so why not?

@SacNewsReview

Steven Watanabe

via Facebook

USE CONDOMS WTF

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

Phil Thielen Jr.

via Facebook @SacNewsReview

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NIMBY, no more Environmental regulations are being misused In this week’s SN&R, we are dedicating a considerable number of recycled pages to California’s zoning and environmental regulations. Foremost are the winners of our inaugural Not in My Back Yard, or NIMBY, Awards, published in an eightpage special supplement by our independent custom publications division. Written by former Sacramento Bee reporter R. E. Graswich, the NIMBY winners illuminate how the legal system can be used to block development, and also show the dark side of California zoning and environmental regulal by Jeff VoNKaeNe tions, and the troubled path toward much-needed reform. j e ffv @n e wsr e v ie w.c o m The News & Review’s custom publications division produces mini-newspapers for nonprofits and government agencies around the country. We have produced more than 200 publications. But the NIMBY Awards issue is the first one that we have done without a client. Or to be more exact, I am the client. There’s also our cover story, “It fakes a village,” which describes in detail the trials and tribulations of the decadelong Curtis Park Village project. After long delays and heaven knows how much money in legal fees and government time, the current fight is over a gas station. I am an environmentalist. I attended the first Earth Day in 1970. I supported cap and trade. I want a carbon tax. I encouraged SMUD to increase energy costs in order to subsidize more green projects. But, as an environmentalist, I believe it is important that we reform local zoning regulations and overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act. As an environmentalist, I am ashamed that environmental regulation is preventing low-income housing from being built, is significantly increasing the cost of building in California, is allowing groups to blackmail developers into a variety of concessions and is wasting government resources to negotiate an out-of-control process. Please read our NIMBY Awards issue. While The News & entertaining at times, it painfully illustrates the need for Review’s reform. Yet, despite the obvious need and despite many independent well-thought-out reform proposals, political insiders are custom publications division produces not optimistic. Off the record, they say labor organizations mini-newspapers with a green fig leaf provided by some environmental for nonprofits groups can and will kill any significant reform in the and government backrooms of the Legislature. agencies around Well, it is time to remove the green fig leaf. We in the the country. Learn more at environmental community lose creditability when in our www.nrpubs.com. name we allow rich people to kill low-income housing projects, unions to use environmental regulations to negotiate labor contracts, and regulation to needlessly drive up Jeff vonKaenel the cost of construction. is the president, We need statewide reform, but this will only happen CEO and if more people understand the problem. The goal of the majority owner of the News & Review NIMBY Awards is to make a complex issue more undernewspapers in standable. An informed electorate can put a stop to these Sacramento, backroom legislative maneuvers. Chico and Reno. I would like to see NIMBY Awards issues throughout the state. There are worthy nominees in every community. I hope that our NIMBY Awards inspire others to run their own contests. And our custom publications division would be happy to provide assistance. Ω

8 | SN&R | 04.30.15

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The New York Times reported on a disconcerting trend this past week: Political candidates sending their A Team to run “Super PACs” in lieu of campaigns. For instance, likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush sent his longtime confidante and chief of staff to run a Super PAC on his behalf, an unprecedented move in campaign politics. Why is this worrying? Well, PACs can accept unlimited money from secret donors. It’s illegal for PACs to coordinate, even communicate, with campaigns. Yet now Bush and other candidates will have direct lines-ofcontact with Super PACs and this unlimited, secret money. Not. Good.

An agenda item at this past Tuesday’s city council meeting included a motion to approve funding for the Department of Utilities to spend no more than $200,000 on new Herman Miller furniture and more for the retrofitting and redesign of its new metering division, which supervises city water meters and collects data on use. Really, DOU? After everything we’ve been through the past six months, you need Herman Miller digs?

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Spend, spend, spend City Manager John Shirey released Sacramento’s preliminary budget this past Monday. The good news: It’s a surplus. The debatably good news: We’re spending! Proposed new expenditures include $10 million on new firehouses, $3.5 million for parks, $1.1 million for the city’s homelessness plan, $2.1 million on consultants that will brainstorm on how to get more people to move downtown and $1 million to recruit more women and minorities into the police force, plus additional money for law-enforcement sensitivity training. Zero dollars will be going to the rainy-day fund (who needs rain!). The budget, formed in large part with Mayor Kevin Johnson’s influence, still needs to be approved by council next month. Scorekeeper will give it the ol’ fine-tooth comb.

SACHISTORYMUSEUM.ORG 10 | SN&R | 04.30.15

The Sacramento Business Journal’s Sonya Sorich reported this week on two new “Breastaurant” chains, Twin Peaks and Tilted Kilt, planning to open multiple stores in the Sacramento area this year. Twin Peaks is a lumber-jill themed eatery where the women sport flannel bikini tops. Tilted Kilt is … well, you get the point. Are we really gonna go down this road, Sacramento?

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Battle for Baltimore Fellow alt-weekly photographer tackled and beaten by cops, shares photos Baltimore city police tackled and beat Baltimore City Paper Photo Editor J.M. Giordano this past photos Sunday while covering the city’s Freddie Gray by protests. “‘Giordano says he was standing next J.M. Giordano to the protester in the video, facing the police line, at about 12:30 when someone threw a rock which hit a police officer’s shield,’” wrote City Paper’s Evan Serpick. Giordano says that, next, the police mobilized. “The police line moved forward and Giordano did not move fast enough for them,” Serpick wrote. “I always move at the last second,” Giordano said. Here are some of Giordano’s photos from Baltimore during the last week, photographed at Freddie Gray protests throughout the city. Find more at www.citypaper.com. Ω

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Find more coverage on Baltimore’s Freddie Gray protests at our fellow alt-weekly’s home page, www.citypaper.com.

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Light-rail fail Sacramento activist snaps photos of two black youths’ arrests, sparks online outcry Sacramento law enforcement is under scrutiny following the rough arrest of two black adolescents at a light-rail station, photos by of which have been shared thousands of times online since Raheem Sunday night. F. Hosseini Sunday afternoon, two black male teens were arrested at the 29th Street light-rail station in Sacramento. According r a h ee mh@ newsr evie w.c om to Francine Tournour, director of the city of Sacramento’s Office of Public Safety & Accountability, the confrontation resulted after an inaccurate call to authorities. Tournour said someone called in a report of a black male in a red shirt and red hat chasing a woman with a lead pipe at a light-rail station in the unincorporated county. Security video from the Mather Field/Mills station in Rancho Cordova, where the boys boarded, show the one in red chasing his smaller friend with a stick. “If I didn’t know they were playing around,” Tournour said, she might have confused it for an attack as well. Based on the faulty information, officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and Sacramento Police Department coordinated with each other to intercept the subject when the light-rail train stopped downtown. Tournour said the red-shirted youth initially complied with officers’ commands to come with them, but then stopped cooperating. That’s when a sheriff’s deputy wrestled him to the ground. According to officers’ accounts, Tournour said, the youth’s friend ran at them “aggressively,” shouting, “Hey, that’s “He’s still a kid.” my friend.” A city police officer took him to the ground. Francine Tournour The encounter was witnessed director, Sacramento Office of Public and photographed by activist Safety & Accountability Independence Taylor. The 17-year-old happened to board the same light-rail train as the boys in Rancho Cordova. Seated in the next car, Taylor said he disembarked at the same time as the youths and watched officers confront them. Taylor wrote that the youths “just barely” got off the train when officers “engaged them and instigated them.” Taylor uploaded the images and his version of events to his Facebook page Sunday night. By Tuesday, the original post had garnered more than 1,000 likes and comments, and more than 2,000 shares. Several commenters decried what they viewed as officers wrangling minors in the same type of chokeholds that were attributed to Eric Garner’s death in New York. Tournour described the red-shirted youth as large, “but he’s still a kid.” An expanded A police spokesman said there was no indication that version of this story force was used during the incident, “with the exception of originally appeared at physically struggling with the subjects.” www.newsreview.com/ That didn’t appear to be the case to Taylor, a vocal lawsacramento/ enforcement critic who said officers tackled the youths and pageburner. put them in restrictive holds. Tournour was alerted to the incident Monday morning when she saw herself tagged in a Facebook comment, and began investigating. She said sheriff’s deputies cited and released the redshirted youth at juvenile hall on one charge of resisting arrest, while police officers released the other boy to his parents without a charge. She also said the red-shirted youth apologized to sheriff’s deputies for overreacting. Ω 12

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Feed the buzz Insiders discuss major changes coming soon to The Sacramento Bee—and whether McClatchy can stay in the print business You wouldn’t start a newspaper today. Online journalism startups, sure, those are launched all the time. But words printed on paper by Cosmo Garvin and delivered by trucks? That’s no way to break news, and increasingly readers aren’t cosmog@ ne w s re v i e w . c o m interested. So The Sacramento Bee and its parent, the McClatchy Co., have been trying to gradually phase out print—out of necessity—and rebuild as a digital-first news organization. “McClatchy has been trying to get out of the printing business for a while,” says Rick Edmonds, who writes about the newspaper industry for the Poynter Institute, an organization that provides training and research for journalists. In the next few weeks, Bee readers will really see McClatchy’s digital transition plan in action. Because The Sacramento Bee is about to get a reboot. It’s more than a redesign. According to folks inside the Bee, the print paper is going to look dramatically different. The old sections like “Sports” and “Our Region” are going to be thrown out. The paper will be smaller, and the page layout will have more graphics and photos. You might even find an opinion column taking up the entire front page (a potential treat for Marcos Breton fans). The website and mobile apps are getting an overhaul, too. In the words of one Bee employee, some readers will probably “flip out” over the changes. “No newspaper has ever been designed like this. It’s going to be a completely new concept.” But once you start re-imagining the Bee, all sorts of questions come to mind. What is a daily print newspaper good for? Assuming there are some readers who still want one, is there a business model that gives it to them? And when will the last Sacramento Bee land on the last reader’s doorstep? It’s been a rough decade for newspapers generally, including the Bee. The Sacramento-based McClatchy swallowed the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain in 2005 and has been deflating ever since. Stock prices were above $75 a share in 2005. By 2009, they hit 44 cents, and today they are bouncing around $1.50. Company revenues slid year after year. Last week, McClatchy announced that it lost $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2015. When reporting the losses in a conference call, McClatchy President Pat Talamantes underscored the need to get away from print and “hasten our digital transformation.”

The reasons for the declines are well known. The Internet has fragmented audiences. Classified-advertising revenues evaporated as soon as Craigslist came onto the scene. Display advertising—particularly from big national brands—has steadily declined. In 2005, Sacramento Bee circulation was near its peak, distributing 298,000 issues on a weekday, and 346,000 on Sunday. Last year, weekday circulation had dropped to 181,000, and 298,000 for the Sunday paper. So, for several years, the McClatchy company has been trimming, sometimes slashing. Consolidating printing operations, cutting back on distribution, selling off property, all in the name of “cutting the legacy costs of printing.” “It also means cutting newsroom staff,” notes Edmonds. Ten percent of the Sacramento Bee newsroom was in laid off in 2008. There has been a steady stream of layoffs, a few jobs at a time, since.

“ No newspaper has ever been designed like this. ” Sacramento Bee worker But even as payroll shrank and circulation fell, the Bee’s overall audience kept growing. As did online revenue. Only 34 percent of McClatchy’s revenue comes from print advertising today, while the portion of revenue from online ads and other sources is growing. Not enough to make up for the losses in print, but that’s why the company is trying to restructure. And that’s a big part of what is driving the reboot. “It’s a cost-savings, efficiency measure,” says one employee. A lot of the corporate restructuring has been invisible to readers. But they will notice the digital transition when it hits the page—as early as mid-May, according to a post by McClatchy Vice President of News Anders Gyllenhaal, in a recent post on the Poynter Institute website. Other Bee insiders cite May 12 as the big day. The Bee papers in Sacramento, Modesto and Fresno, along with the Merced Sun-Star, will be the first McClatchy papers to undergo the transformation. The changes are “the first phase in a broad evolution in how we publish,” wrote Gyllenhaal. Website users will notice more video, and Talamantes said last week that the company hopes video advertising will provide a significant revenue boost.

Will Bee readers “flip out” about the redesign? Probably. When the newspaper recently announced the elimination of box scores in the sports section, it caused a flood of angry letters and cancellations. Finding out the daily paper no longer has a sports section will be a bigger adjustment for some. “It’s obviously a risk,” said one Bee employee. “But I think there’s a point of view that, ‘At some point, this model is just not going to work any more. So let’s just do it now. Let’s get ahead of it.’” Fletcher agreed. “I think there’s an acknowledgment that we can’t stay the same and expect to thrive going forward,” he said. The changes start to address some questions that have been facing newspapers for a long time now. How should print and online work together? What do readers want from each? What is a print paper good for? Those are questions that Timi RossPoeppelman, a Sacramento State journalism lecturer and adviser to the State Hornet, has wrestled with as a teacher and as a Bee reader. “I was getting irritated, because I was getting the Bee every morning, and I had already read everything online,” she said. Gone are the days of “shovel-ware” said Ross-Poeppelman, when “you just shoveled BEFORE

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illustration by sn&r staff

One prototype of the print paper shows a more open and more graphic layout. Gyllenhaal writes: “The print edition must play to its strengths. It’s not the way to deliver breaking news, but it’s hard to beat for in-depth reading, as a once-a-day compendium of news and to provide a sense of completion readers say they crave.” Gyllenhaal also wrote that weekday papers would be reorganized into just three sections, two for smaller-market papers. That makes sense, says Edmonds. “There’s not enough advertising to produce a four- or sixsection newspaper anymore,” he explained. Bee employees with whom SN&R spoke say that readers will see a smaller newspaper, though the amount of actual news should stay about the same. Exactly what form the new sections will take is still a bit mysterious. Gyllenhaal writes about a section devoted to in-depth reporting. Bee employees variously said there might be a section devoted to opinion, or the paper might be organized into sections along the lines of “Today, Now, Tomorrow” or “Go, See, Do.” “I wouldn’t take that as gospel, some of those section titles,” said Ed Fletcher, a Bee reporter and spokesperson for the union at the paper. Though several other Bee employees were willing to talk about the changes, they asked that their names not be used. The employees also said that they were told by Bee management not to speak with SN&R. Bee spokeswoman Pam Dinsmore told SN&R that “there’s nothing to discuss” about the changes.

BEATS

Down to the flier Major changes coming to The Sacramento Bee this next month, as soon as May 12 according to some workers, will emphasize digital and mobile news over traditional print.

what was in the paper onto the website,” or vice versa. “You need unique content in both. You need to figure out what works better in print, and what works better online.” Media design consultant Mario Garcia, whom McClatchy hired to help with the new design, recently posted on his blog that newsprint is no longer for breaking news. The print paper should play more of a supporting role, “still in the show, but not the protagonist,” Garcia wrote. Edmonds agreed. “If you really can get digital mobile to be the place for breaking news, then print is more interpretive, the second-day story.” Most of the Bee employees SN&R spoke to say they are optimistic about the changes, and hope these moves will help bring stability to the newsroom. “Part of the hope is that we can pull some resources from print and reallocate them to online,” said Fletcher. And the idea of a digital transition, of getting out of the print business, raises the inevitable question: How long should Sacramento expect to have a daily newspaper? Newspapers like the Detroit Free Press and, for a time, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, cut their print editions to three days a week. In 2009, the Seattle PostIntelligencer switched to online only. Ross-Poeppelman said she thinks there will always a niche for print. “I don’t think print is going away, ever.” But then, “I

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Add a campaign letter to the petty politics that have muddied a school board race in the Twin Rivers Unified School District. Distributed by “Robla Neighbors United,” the letter endorses Basim Elkarra over Sonja Cameron for the board’s Area Five seat ahead of a May 12 vote. But Robla School Board president Craig DeLuz said he’s never heard of the group, and said two of the letter’s three signors, Walter Kawamoto and Sascha Vogt, don’t live in the Robla area. Kawamoto, TRUSD’s Area Three trustee, said he considered “Robla Neighbors United” to be the title of the letter, and that he “never once (thought that he) was part of a Robla organization.” It may seem small, but the hubbub shows that things haven’t calmed after last week’s uproar over an anti-Islamic flier impugned Elkarra’s work with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Both candidates denied any role in producing the flier, though Elkarra said he predicted someone would attempt a hit piece on him and that it would backfire. And it did. On Saturday, community members attended an Elkarrasponsored “Rally Against Hate.” Although the TRUSD school board appointed Cameron late last year to the seat left vacant by Cortez Quinn over Elkarra and 11 other candidates, two board members, Kawamoto and Michael Baker, now publicly support Elkarra. DeLuz said the five-member Robla board unanimously supports Cameron. Robla is a small K-6 district geographically overlapping part of TRUSD Area Five. (Brooke Purves)

Promise loan Sacramento earned federal “Promise Zone” status during a press conference Tuesday at the Sixth Street overpass in the downtown railyards. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designation comes with priority access to federal investments and on-loan federal employees to work on Promise Zone initiatives, which are targeted to vulnerable communities. Sacramento is one of eight new communities—and the only one in Northern California—to win the designation out of a pool of 123 applicants from 36 states. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

Remembering internment think at some point it may take a different shape. It might just be once or twice a week.” There are no near-term plans at the Bee to abandon the seven-day-a-week print model. “Reducing the number of days we provide the printed newspaper is not a part of this plan,” said Talamantes last week. “The reality is that print is still the desired medium for many customers,” added Fletcher. But he says the Bee needs to accelerate its push toward becoming a digital operation, “not just a newspaper that also has a website.” “We don’t want to get stuck providing a service for shrinking audience,” he says. “We don’t want to just do a lesser version of the same thing we’ve always done. We want to re-imagine it.” Ω

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Sixty Sac-area residents joined hundreds of others across California in a pilgrimage to one of the state’s most emotionally charged historical sites. The Manzanar War Relocation Center was the largest of 10 camps where the U.S. government detained more than 110,000 Americans and resident aliens of Japanese descent following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. According to the National Park Service, more than two-thirds of those detained were American citizens. More than 10,000 individuals were interned at Manzanar. About 600 residents from the then-town of Florin were taken to Manzanar during World War II, according to a Florin Japanese American Citizens League news release. Marielle Tsukamoto, co-president of the Florin JACL, was one of eight former detainees on the bus for the 350-mile journey from Sacramento to the historical site situated between Lone Pine and Independence. She and her family were removed from Florin in April 1942, when Tsukamoto was 5 years old, and sent to a concentration camp in Arkansas. “It was terrifying,” she said of the experience, noting the differences in food and climate—it snowed—and the lack of private baths or toilets. The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations worked with the Florin JACL to organize the first Florin Pilgrimage. (B.P.)

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ur t is C n i or l d a w l a h e e t s r cr ap w i t w e m it y ne ts s S im C s r e siden pr opo s ed a nd a a l— P ar k er o v er r ban f ee on ti l op bu deve ni t y ’s su r gas s t a u la c omm y unpopu er one v

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Next to the upper-middle-class

neighborhood of Curtis Park, a vacant 72-acre lot is springing to life. The property, alongside the Western Pacific Railroad yard near Sacramento City College, has lain dormant, even derelict, for decades. But now, there’s a plan to revitalize this piece of the city with hundreds of new homes and a shopping center. You’d think neighbors in Curtis Park would be excited. But many residents are furious with developer Paul Petrovich, the mind behind the project. Why? His plan includes a 1,000-vehicle parking lot, a Safeway and one very controversial gas station. Curtis Park resident Kathleen Ave says this new so-called Curtis Park

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Village is going to look like suburbia “jackhammered into the city.” Petrovich first introduced his plan in 2004, and ever since, residents, the city and developers have debated how this slice of Sacramento should grow. More than a decade later, some residents still maintain that Petrovich’s project, which could be approved by the Planning and Design Commission this summer, pushes the limits of taste and tact. It looks like suburbia, they say, and it sterilizes some of the charm and history of existing nearby neighborhoods, like Curtis Park and Land Park. In spite of this spirited opposition, Petrovich has pursued his vision with seemingly little interest in compromising. This debate between infill developers and residents is a conflict resurrected:

After years of recession, urban growth is again occuring within Sacramento’s city limits, rather than on suburban outskirts. The trend is sparking its share of controversy, because residents like Eric Johnson believe the infill could be carried out with more aesthetic grace.

“IT FAKES A VILLAGE” continued on page 16

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“IT FAKES A VILLAGE” continued from page 15

The 72-acre dirt lot just west of Curtis Park laid vacant, even derelict, for decades. Now, developer Paul Petrovich will build homes, a commercial center and more. Residents fear his plan is too suburban in design—and are especially worried about the 1,000 parking spots and 16-pump gas station.

“Petrovich has to have some respect for the existing atmosphere and make sure that the homes that go in have some of the feel of being in a downtown urban space, not the suburbs,” said Johnson, a local going on 18 years and the president of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. In other words, Johnson and some of his neighbors want the new homes to look more like theirs. As Sacramento State public-policy professor Robert Wassmer noted, people criticize Curtis Park Village

“Infill is much harder than greenfield development, where you build out onto farmland, because cows don’t vote, and sugar beets don’t come and protest.” Peter Detwiler Sacramento State land-use professor 16 | SN&R | 04.30.15

for its focus on automobile culture. But while walkability should be a component of any modern urban development, he says infill projects must respect the fact that we still live in a car’s world. “People don’t want to give up their cars,” Wassmer said. “We have to have parking lots, garages and gas stations.” Critics also overlook the fact that infill developments are considered an efficient way to mitigate suburban sprawl, which urban planners everywhere agree must not continue. Sprawl is associated with traffic, air pollution, climate change and other symptoms of a car-bound culture. Yet some Curtis Park residents still don’t care. They’re more concerned that Petrovich’s plan will defile a historic part of Sacramento. Ave, who’s also a lead organizer with the group Curtis Park Character Advocates, says Curtis Park Village will generate more than its share of traffic and air pollution, largely thanks to the gas station, and will derail efforts to make the city a cleaner, greener place. Nearby resident and Sacramento City College professor Bruce Pierini says that the recently finished homes along Crocker Drive (see map, page 17) lack the material character of

adjacent historic buildings—and he and others argue that this wasn’t part of the original deal. “It feels like Elk Grove. This was not what we had in mind when we first decided to support Curtis Park Village,” Pierini said. He thinks the development could’ve been so much more. “This was a blank slate, where Mr. Petrovich was building from the ground up, [and] I think this is really a missed opportunity to design something that is beautiful, cutting edge, as far as urban planning, and fits into the central city and could make us all proud.”

The opposition Residents are already moving into the new homes of Curtis Park Village and Councilman Jay Schenirer, who represents Curtis Park and also lives in the neighborhood, has been watching construction during morning walks with his dog. He says he’s pleased by the progress. “They’re very nice homes,” Schenirer says. But his opinion likely is in the minority. The homes’ architectural style is dull, drab and suburban, others argue, and they bring to a historic part of the city elements of Anywhere, USA.

In spite of these widespread—and loudly vocalized—concerns, Petrovich seems determined to get his way and advance his vision of Curtis Park Village. Several years ago, for instance, the developer reportedly threatened to build an industrialwarehouse landscape if anyone sued him over disagreements about how his project was unfurling. More recently, Petrovich has been playing hardball like someone who knows he has the upper hand. In early January, he released a bleak YouTube animation showing two versions of Curtis Park Village. One included renderings of a dodgy discount grocery store, accompanied by seedy businesses with people of questionable character milling about in the parking lot. The other was a very different companion video showing his preferred vision of Curtis Park Village: polished and cheerful, with a Safeway and a gas station and small businesses. Petrovich’s threat was that the grimmer version would become reality if opponents attempted to derail his plans. “Petrovich is saying there are basically two options: either a gas station, a Safeway and a happy, shiny development—or no gas station and a collection of fly-by-night businesses

PHOTO BY DARIN SMITH

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says this new so-called Curtis Park Village is going to look

In defense of development

like suburbia “jackhammered

If it were up to city planners and land-use analysts, Petrovich’s vision would be considered worthy. Many say it has the marks of responsible urban infill, where unoccupied real estate within the limits of an urban area is utilized for new development. Inserting so many homes and retail spaces into a vacant piece of the city means one less development of its kind on the periphery, they point out. Peter Detwiler, who teaches a course on public land use policy at Sacramento State, says suburban sprawl is a trend that must be stemmed. “Public policy makers know [suburban sprawl’s] inefficiencies from a natural-resources point of view, from an energy point of view, from a finance point of view,” he said. “We can’t keep doing it.” Infill is a ready alternative, he says. The societal benefits of infill are well understood, yet public outcry often erupts when these projects are proposed. People, Detwiler observes, tend to be leery of change—especially when it unfurls in their backyards. This peculiar phenomenon is the source of many a clever acronym, like NIMBY, for “not in my backyard”; BANANA, for “build absolutely nothing, anywhere, never again”; NOPE, for “not on planet Earth”; and CAVE People, for “citizens against virtually everything.”

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The Curtis Park Village infill project will rest just a few miles south of the central city.

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into the city.”

“Infill is much harder than greenfield development, where you build out onto farmland,” Detwiler said, “because cows don’t vote, and sugar beets don’t come and protest, but when you propose a project near an affluent, politically connected neighborhood like Curtis Park, people pay attention.” Though objections against Curtis Park Village have been vehement at the community level, fellow Sac State professor Wassmer feels the layout and location of Curtis Park Village achieves the two main goals of infill: it offsets outward suburban sprawl while bringing people into relevant proximity of a public-transit line. He points out that the plan also brings a grocery store—whether it will be a Safeway or a Grocery Outlet—within

“IT FAKES A VILLAGE” continued on page 19

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Curtis Park resident Kathleen Ave

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populated by shadowy figures,” said Johnson. His plan for a gas station is the hottest controversy. The proposed “neighborhood fuel center,” as Petrovich has euphemized it, will include 16 pumps. “It’s huge,” said Pierini. The station falls within the zoning restrictions for the project location, but its inclusion in the current plans has locals feeling tricked. “We clearly came to an agreement in 2010 with Petrovich to build a traditional neighborhood, with doorsteps facing the sidewalk, sidewalk trees, transit connections nearby and pedestrian paths and bike trails,” said Rosanna Herber, formerly the president of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. She says locals came to this verbal understanding with Petrovich at a community meeting. Not until 2014 was there any mention of a gas station, which Herber, a Curtis Park resident for 24 years, calls “mega,” like one of those large gas stations outside a Costco discount store. She says she isn’t outright opposed to all such jumbosized gas stations, but she says that it “makes no sense … to put a mega-gas station on a secondary street leading into an urban infill development.”

Petrovich, who did not respond to SN&R’s requests to speak for this story, has threatened to make his project even less palatable to opponents if they don’t back off. Can he toe the line and come out a winner?

LIGHT R

In fact, Herber says she isn’t even afraid of Petrovich’s threat of bringing in a Grocery Outlet if Safeway and the gas station get pushed off the table. “I’d rather have a Grocery Outlet and no mega-gas station than any other supermarket and a mega-gas station.” Not everyone agrees. Meg Heede has lived in Curtis Park for 35 years. She is a real estate agent, and she supports and stands by every major component of Petrovich’s vision. She says the gas station and accompanying Safeway will provide an anchor for a prosperous new business community. “Small businesses need a draw, like a supermarket,” she said. “We don’t want small businesses coming in that will be shuttered up again in a year.” Even the size of the gas station does not worry Heede. “If it has less pumps [than the proposed 16], that will mean longer lines of cars,” she said. Those cars will not only be local drivers. Gas station opponents assume that the facility will draw cars from miles away to reap offers of more affordable gas. Johnson says there is no other “Safeway Rewards” type gas station within seven miles of Curtis Park Village. The presence of the facility in the development may also affect behavior of area residents, who might have walked or cycled somewhere but may instead slip into their vehicles and go for a drive, stopping for gas along the way. In December, the Curtis Park Character Advocates dispensed questionnaires to 1,800 local homes, surveying residents about Petrovich’s plan. Eighty-two percent of the 201 respondents said they did not want the gas station. A less formal survey of several hundred attendees at a packed meeting hall in mid-January garnered similar results: Nearly everyone present said they wanted the gas station eliminated from the development plan. If the Planning and Design Commission rejects the “neighborhood fuel center” this summer, the whole plan could crumble. Safeway officials have said they won’t move in without the gas station, since it is something of a partnered operation that will offer Safeway coupon rewards for customers. What’s more, there have been rumors that other prospective businesses won’t move in without the Safeway.

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“IT FAKES A VILLAGE” continued from page 17

reach of Oak Park, long cited by social activists as an urban food desert. The design looks transit-friendly, too. Gordon Garry, research director with the Sacramento Area Coalition of Governments, says the gas station “is definitely a land use that isn’t supporting the transit investment our city has made.” But Curtis Park Village on a whole is supporting that investment, he argues. The community is just across the Western Pacific tracks from the lightrail line, and Petrovich is building a pedestrian bridge that will connect his new neighborhood to a light-rail station. These train stations and rail lines, unlike bus routes, are expensive to install. Garry says Sacramentans who live within a quarter-mile of a light-rail station use the associated rail line about seven times more frequently than the average Sacramento resident. In Curtis Park Village, more than a thousand people will be living just several minutes by foot from two light-rail stops. Even if most of those people drive to work or to the central city for dinner—and most probably will—the location of those people near the center of the city is going to have a net benefit on the environment, according

BEFORE

NEWS

Curtis Park residents Kathleen Ave and Eric Johnson say Curtis Park Village could do a better job fitting in with the surrounding neighborhoods. The homes “that go in [must] have some of the feel of being in a downtown urban space, not the suburbs,” Johnson said.

to Schenirer. He says each home being built in Curtis Park Village could mean one less home in a suburban neighborhood 10 or 15 miles from downtown. This means Petrovich is reducing Sacramento’s total “vehicle miles traveled”—an important metric for planners. Still, Garry wants to see urban infill push society toward a less automobileoriented future. “We want developments to encourage walking, biking and transit,” he said. “We want developments to encourage people to live their lives without cars.”

F E AT U R E

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Joe Devlin, another Curtis Park resident and Schenirer’s chief of staff, says neighbors can’t expect the new development to slip seamlessly into the adjacent neighborhoods. But he says the Village will be a major upgrade. “My hope is that [Curtis Park Village] will be complementary to Curtis Park,” Devlin said. “Will it look exactly like Curtis Park? No. But it’s a lot better than having a toxic rail yard.” The Petrovich-vs.-residents drama showcases how a well-to-do, educated community can be uneasy about the

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

arrival of newcomers even though they support urban infill projects. Many Curtis Park residents say they oppose suburban sprawl and support fighting climate change. But the catch is that infill has to be done right. “We need infill. We can’t just build outward,” resident Ave said, “but the format he’s proposed was bad enough when it was a strip mall—and then he throws in a gas station.” Councilman Schenirer does not think his neighbors’ expectations that Curtis Park Village’s homes should look and feel like the homes in adjacent neighborhoods built a century ago is very reasonable. He says he was recently walking his dog past the new brownstones being built at the south edge of Curtis Park Village when he saw another local standing by, watching construction work underway and shaking his head. Schenirer asked what was troubling the man. “‘These aren’t brownstones like we had when I was growing up in New York,’” he told Schenirer, who says he had nothing encouraging to tell the man. “I mean, what do you do with that [sort of statement]?” Schenirer said. In other words, so what if things today are different than yesterday? Things change, Schenirer says. “That’s the nature of life, isn’t it?” Ω

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| 04.30.15

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sit down to write this on a sofa in the common room of our hostel, the Hostel Entre Vientos (or “Hostel Between the Winds”) in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. The front wall of the room is glass, and out the window, just across the street, are the Magellan Straits, the southern passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans a couple hundred miles north of Cape Horn. A few days back, we saw dolphins dancing in the waters

at the

story and photos by sasha abramsky

glacIer’s

edge

an SN&R writer traverses Patagonia with his family to find dolphins, penguins, birds and his place at the end of the world

The writer and his family traveled to Patagonia to hike and take in natural wonders, including ice fields and glaciers.

20 | SN&R | 04.30.15

just a hundred meters or so offshore. Today, there are no dolphins, but an array of birds is swooping low over the waters. The lights have just gone out, as they do several times a week because of the winds, and the cloudless sky is the sort of pure, crystalline, blue one only gets very, very close to a pole. Come to think of it, the word “wind” really doesn’t do justice to Patagonia’s big blows. They race through the land, howling and whinnying like angered animals. They chill you to the bone and leave you gasping for breath. When you hike the volcanoes and soaring mountains of Chile’s Lake District and Patagonia, the wind can almost blow you off the trail. You huddle under layers of fleeces and waterproof jackets, your head protected

by woolen hats and hoods, and still you shiver. But, there’s a payoff. It is, surely, one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. We have been traveling now for seven weeks, the first four of which were spent in immersion Spanish classes. We have been hiking and boat riding, exploring white water rapids and lakes with so many shades of blue, and finally, glaciers and the fierce wilderness of the Torres del Paine National Park for three weeks. The Inuits are reputed to have 50 different words for “snow.” I don’t know how many words the indigenous Patagonian Tehuelche and Mapuche people had for “blue,” but I suspect it must have been a large number. The lakes contain every shade imaginable, from brilliant turquoise to teal, cerulean to jade. I don’t think I have ever seen a landscape quite as vast, as wild and as different as Torres del Paine. The park is centered around three massive stone towers, each a magnet for extreme hikers and rock-climbers. But it is far more than just a hiking mecca. Throughout the park are huge lakes, rich with mineral deposits, preternaturally vivid in their hues. They are ringed by mountains and forests, and the landscape is populated with a vast abundance of wildlife. Huge herds of guanacos—a camelid creature closely related to the alpaca—roam the lowlands, their populations kept in check by dozens of pumas. The pumas, in turn, fight for their kill with flocks of condors—birds with 12-foot wingspans that circle low overhead wherever a carcass has been left exposed. Several species of foxes wander through the forests. And, at some of the lakes, flocks of pink flamingos sun themselves. Upon arrival in Torres we realized that, unless we were to camp (in the freezing, windy conditions with two young kids in tow), or hike from one isolated mountain refugio to the next, we would have to stay in a luxury hotel. There are, it rapidly became clear, no middle-ground accommodations in Torres. It wasn’t really much of a choice. We are, unfortunately, on the wrong side of the dividing line between youth and middle age, and no longer have the

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Patagonia is known for its spectacular wildlife, including pink flamingos, alpacas, dolphins and king penguins.

energy to hike for five days straight with 60-pound bags on our backs and tired children on either side. And even if we did normally have the energy, by the time we got to Torres I had come down with a nasty back injury and could barely walk 100 meters uphill, let alone shoulder my bag over a long distance. And so, we checked into the Hotel Las Torres Patagonia, which, to my infinite gratitude, provides a raft of guided expeditions. Some involved miles of hard hiking; others involved little more than car rides and gentle strolls along lakefronts. It almost broke my heart, but I had to forgo the hard hikes. And so, on the first full day there, while my 11-year-old daughter, my 8-year-old son and my wife did a steep 12-hour hike to the Base of the Towers, I got chauffeured from one gorgeous lake and one breathtaking set of waterfalls to the next. I thought I’d sob with sadness at the missed hiking opportunity, but in fact, it was an utterly glorious day. Dozens of condors soared overhead. Guanacos popped up around every bend and on every hillock and the colors of the lakes were utterly overwhelming. Sitting for a day allowed me to heal enough so that the next day we could do a full-day exploration that culminated at the far end of the park on a boat across the Lago Grey and up close to the edge of the southern ice field, which, at more than 200 miles long, is the world’s third-largest ice sheet. Our boat set off with about 50 people on board, slowing traversing the roughly 12 miles to the edge of the Grey Glacier. As we got closer, we could see it, an eerie blue-white sheet cascading down from the icy, black-rock mountains. We could also feel it, a blast of cold whipping off of the ice. It was the opposite of being on the ¯ active lava fields of the Kılauea volcano, on Hawaii’s Big Island. There, the heat blasted off the ground with a force that almost blew one backward. Here, in

Patagonia, the cold felt like it could flash-freeze us. It was a fiercely cloudy day; but my UV-sensitive sunglasses, as we got nearer and nearer to the ice, went as dark as they could possibly get. The densely packed ice of the glacier absorbs red light, making the ice appear a strange otherworldly blue. Close-up, the glacier is huge, its jagged walls dwarfing our boat. It exhales wind and cold, as if daring humans to try to get too close. It is a landscape of giant shards and tunnels and rounded chunks of ice, sometimes looking like sponge cake, sometimes like vast corals, sometimes like huge blue ice cubes dropped into whiskey. The black-rock and ice background of the steep mountains highlight the blueness of the ice. It’s a landscape that looks as far from inhabitable earth as possible.

BEFORE

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A sensation of utter smallness. Of liberation. After three days in Torres del Paine, we took a van back to Punta Arenas, back to the city that the British Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton used as a base in 1916 during his improbable rescue effort of his stranded crew. The wind howled on the Magellan Straits. We had one thing left to do: the kids were determined to see king penguins. And so, on our last day in Patagonia, we got up early, and set off on a 12-hour ferry and van ride into the heart of Tierra del Fuego. We were as close to the South Pole as we could get without actually setting sail for the Antarctic. In the morning, we saw dolphins leaping in our ferry’s wake. After lunch, we saw huge flocks of pink flamingos, birds that allowed us to get so close

I felt lIke we could be sucked Into a voId at any moment—and that, In the ImmensIty, nobody would have notIced. It was a strangely exhIlaratIng feelIng. We spent an hour at the glacier’s edges, rounding the first section of the ice sheet and passing the dense rocks separating first from second section. The cold grew extreme as we traversed the second part of the iceberg. Sheets of drenching rain began falling and most of the passengers retreated downstairs into the covered seating area. I stayed on deck. We rounded the second set of rocks and cruised alongside the edge of the third claw of the glacier. Now the blues grew even more extreme against the blackness of the clouds. Huge, floating chunks of ice surrounded the boat. I felt like we could be sucked into a void at any moment—and that, in the immensity, nobody would have noticed. It was a strangely exhilarating feeling. STORY

we could watch them stretch their legs and momentarily walk on water as they readied themselves for flight. And finally, there was a colony of king penguins, the adults a meter high, waddling like old men and women on the Coney Island boardwalk through the grass, flopping inelegantly into the little river connecting into the Magellan Straits. Their babies were brown balls of fuzz. The sky they socialized under was the big sky at the end of the world. Silently, for an hour, we stood and watched the birds. Even my kids managed to stop talking long enough to take in the wonder. And then, with one quick farewell glance, it was time to leave. In the morning, we would start our 8,000-mile journey northward to home. A RT S & C U LT U R E

In 1977, a science-fiction space adventure with little-known actors opened in limited theaters across the United States. Star Wars was such a huge success, even on opening day, that hundreds of people stood in huge lines to watch the movie multiple times. Nearly 40 years later, fans are still waiting in line to experience the film’s universe. At the recent Star Wars Celebration VII, which took place in Anaheim, fans lined up the day before in order to get the best seats in the house for the opening ceremonies. The first person in that line, Kari Russell, 38, represented the dedication of a diehard Star Wars fan. She started her adventure more than 24 hours before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. “I got here at 8:30 this morning,” she said. “By about 10 o’clock the line was in full swing.” Say what you want about Star Wars fans, but we sure do know how to wait in line. Star Wars Celebration is a four-day convention dedicated to everything relating to a galaxy far, far away. It is hosted by LucasFilm and stocked with people who worked on the previous six films (plus the upcoming seventh), including actors, set designers and behind-the-scenes The celebrities specialists. It isn’t just about the films and panels, either. Authors of books and however, are not comics, musicians, voice actors for the animated televithe only thing sion series and more gather that makes under one roof. That is why approximately Star Wars 40,000 people attend annually, Celebration and why we are well practiced at sitting in lines. If you want worth enduring to see something good, you will

likely queue up no less than an hour to get a good seat.

lines for—it’s also about the fans.

Some of the highlights that proved to be well worth the line included a panel about an upcoming a Ralph McQuarrie art book (the late McQuarrie created concept art and many of the series’ iconic images) and a presentation hosted by Steve Sansweet, owner of the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia, who confirmed that he still pays for everything he adds to his 30,000-item-plus collection. A presentation with Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO, was another highpoint. He’s the only actor to have starred in all six Star Wars films (and possibly the seventh, we don’t know for sure yet). The celebrities and panels, however, are not the only thing that makes Star Wars Celebration worth enduring lines for—it’s also about the fans. Around every corner, you’ll find someone dressed in costume. This year there were a number of women (and a few men) dressed as “Slave Leias.” There were thousands of Storm Troopers, Imperial Officers and Darth Vaders of all different shapes and sizes. Some costumes were identical replications of what characters wore in the films. Others were humorous nods to a variety of pop culture icons including mash-ups of Muppets with Storm Troopers, Anna from Frozen as Han Solo, and Elsa as Leia. The costume mash-up has gotten so popular that the convention has an official competition now. The next Star Wars Celebration takes place July 15-17, 2016, in London, which makes for just enough time to get excited for the release of the next movie announced, Star Wars: Rogue One, set to release in December of the same year. The wait starts now.

AFTER

—Lory Gil |

04.30.15

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For the week of April 30

is Bike Month challenges local residents to ride more than 2 million miles in May. The annual Sacramento-area event is coordinated by several public agencies and nonprofit organizations. If you’re a regular rider, you might have noticed that the festivities have already started. Since April 21, “energizer stations” have been popping up along popular bike routes and trails in Davis, Elk Grove, Folsom and Sacramento featuring refreshments, giveaways and May is Bike Month info. They continue Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.—and will last through May 14. Don’t have any wheels to ride right now? One way to take care of that problem pretty quickly is by heading to the Davis Bicycle Auction this Saturday, May 2 (9 a.m. in the Pavilion Parking Structure at UC Davis; www.taps.ucdavis. edu/bicycle/auctions). Most bikes are “fixer-uppers,” according to

May

organizers, but there are plenty of shapes and sizes of bikes; all told, 400 will be bid on until they’re all sold. Other don’t-miss events include the official kickoff event on May 1 at the State Capitol’s rose garden, Yolo County’s May is Bike Month kickoff ride on May 2 (http://cycledemayo15. brownpapertickets.com), and the Capitol BikeFest on May 14 (also at the Capitol). On top of all of that, the Amgen Tour of California starts May 10 in Sacramento, so check out www.amgentourofcalifornia.com for more details on when and where to best watch some of the world’s top professional cyclists race around town. And then head to the May is Bike month website (www.mayisbikemonth.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook. com/mayisbikemonth) for more information on energizer stations, other events, to log your bike miles and for the chance to win prizes.

—Jonathan Mendick

wEEkLY PICkS

Fair Oaks Fiesta

Atari Party 2015

Saturday, May 2, through Sunday, May 3

Saturday, May 2

At the annual Fair Oaks Fiesta, residents and visitors will celebrate 120 years of interesting town history. There will be games, face painting, food trucks and music. A dunk tank will COMMUNITY give people the FESTIVAL opportunity to drop someone else into the water. Miss Fair Oaks will be formally introduced. And that’s just Saturday. Sunday brings a pancake breakfast, a run/walk and a classic car show. Free, 10 a.m. daily at Fair Oaks Village, 10219 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks; www.fairoaks chamber.com.

BEFORE

NEWS

Saturday, May 2

There’s all this talk about Oculus Rift coming out later this year, but whatever happened to the simple things in life? Sure, virtual reality is impressive, but Pong is like a metaphor for life, man. Local enthusiasts are bringing dozens of game consoles and games to the Davis Public Library for some GAMING good ol’ 1970s-style fun. Attendees will have a chance to take home an Atari 2600 and a Raspberry Pi mini-computer, among other prizes. Free, noon to 5 p.m., at the Davis Public library, 315 E 14th Street in Davis, www.newbreed software.com/atariparty/2015.

—Trina L. Drotar

Hats On for the Kids It’s been rumored that it’s not the horses that draw folks to the Kentucky Derby; hats in all styles— from fancy to bargain-basement budget, tipped just right HATS atop women’s heads—are the real draw. There’ll be plenty of Derby-worthy bonnets at this event, all while folks partake in Southern-style food and drink, view the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby, enjoy some jazz and support Lilliput Children Services. $60, 1 p.m. at Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, www.lilliput.org/derbyday.aspx.

—Trina L. Drotar

You’re Funny But You Don’t Look Jewish Saturday, May 2 If you believed everything you saw on TV, you might think everyone in comedy is Jewish. OK, there are a lot of Jewish people in comedy. But you can’t always tell who is and who isn’t Jewish just by looking at them; it’s a religion. This tour spotlights Jewish comedians with non-Israeli backCOMEDY grounds, including Italian, Indian, African-American and Vietnamese funny people. $18-$20, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom; www.yourefunny butyoudontlookjewish.com.

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Saturday, May 2, through Sunday, May 3 Although the weekend event kicks off with a Friday-night art show, Saturday and Sunday is when the real party starts with vendors, arts and crafts, and more. There’s even a lightsaber show and combat workshop SCI-FI and a cool video-game lounge. If that bores you, join the Star Trek panel discussion. $5-$10, various times at the West Sacramento Community Center, 1075 West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento; http://westsacscifi. wix.com/westsacscifi.

—Eddie Jorgensen

—Aaron Carnes

—Deena Drewis

Intergalactic Expo

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

AFTER

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See the complete list o

ongratulations to the SN&R Best of the Burbs nominees! Voting for your favorite businesses and destinations from Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Gold River, and the greater Folsom, Elk Grove and Roseville areas has begun at www.newsreview.com. Good luck!

Best of CarmiChael, fair oaks, orangevale, gold river Best breakfast or brunch Bella Bru Cafe & Catering Dianda’s Italian Bakery & Cafe Fair Oaks Coffee House & Deli Hungry Hollow Lido Cafe and Bakery Mirabelle Cafe Mighty Tavern The Village Bistro

Best Chinese Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant Green Jade Restaurant Orient Restaurant Szechuan Garden Sichuan Spice House Chinese Restaurant

Best sushi Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar Shogun Sushi Shige Sushi Silver Sake Sushimono Taka’s Sushi Yui Marlu Blue Nami Sushi & Sake House

Best pizza Mark & Monica’s Family Pizza Pasquale’s Italian Pizzeria Pizza Guys Superb Pizza Strobelli’s Pizza

Best place for a beer The Blind Pig Cedar Room Dad’s Kitchen Johnny’s Club 53 Luna Lounge Mighty Tavern Palm Street Pub & Grill San Juan Club Stirling Bridges Restaurant & Pub Tonno’s Sports Bar & Grill

Best place to hear live music The Boardwalk Corner Pocket Jan’s Lounge

Best yoga spot Aha Yoga Hot Yoga at Sunrise Lotus Garden Meditation Center Saha Wellness and Yoga Center

elk grove Best sushi Crazy Sushi Fuji Sushi Buffet Kintaro Sushi Bar Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar Satori Sushi & Teriyaki Grill Wasabi Japanese Steak House Yoshi Japanese Restaurant Osaka Sushi Japanese Restaurant Suki Sushi Sushimono

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Best spot for a cocktail Bob’s Club Brick House Restaurant & Lounge Lola’s Lounge Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar Original Pete’s Pizza Pasta Grill Silva’s Sheldon Inn Best place to get your hair lookin’ good The Blowout DQ Salon Eklips Full Service Salon Elk Grove Salon & Spa Elizabeth’s Casa Bella Salon & Spa Hair Obsession Laguna Day Spa and Salon La Posh Salon & Spa Luxi Spa & Salon Modern Beauty Nathan Michaels Salon SDBSF the Mojo Hair Lounge Studio 3 Salon True Salon and Spa Best shopping destination From the Homestead It’s a Rack Pomegranate Gifts for the Home The Red Door Antiques, Vintage & More Shoe Daca Styles for Less

Best pizza 1st Choice Pizza & Curry Fat Mike’s Pizza Lamppost Pizza New York Pizza

Voting ends june 1 24

Old Town Pizza & Tap House Original Pete’s Pizza Pasta Grill Paesanos Pizza Bell Pizza Guys

ISSUE ON STANDS JUNE 18

of nominees at www.newsreview.com

folsom, el dorado hills, ranCho Cordova Best burger Brookfields Restaurant Burger Hut Burgerocity Early Toast Restaurant & Mimosa House Famous Burgers Hop House Relish Burger Bar Samuel Horne’s Tavern Manderes The Purple Place Bar & Grill Vice Cafe

Best Indian Curry Club Indian Bistro India House Indian Spice Restaurant Mylapore Indian Cuisine Ruchi Indian Cuisine Chaatney Peacock Indian Restaurant

Best coffeehouse Amore Cafe & Bakery Bella Bru Cafe & Catering The Black Rooster Coffee Republic Cooper’s Coffee House Folsom Grind JavaMama Café Nicholson’s MusiCafe Zia’s

Best bakery The Baker’s Daughter Bakerie & Latte Chateau Arme BJ Cinnamon Great Harvest Bread Company Karen’s Bakery & Café Selland’s Market-Cafe

Best shopping destination Broadstone Marketplace El Dorado Hills Town Center Folsom Premium Outlets Historic Sutter Street Koreana Plaza Palladio at Broadstone

BEFORE

Best place to hear live music 36 Handles Pub & Eatery Folsom Hotel Saloon PowerHouse Pub The Purple Place Bar & Grill

Best of roseville, roCklin and granite Bay Best restaurant ASR Restaurant & Lounge Baagan The Chef’s Table Flame & Fire Four Sisters Cafe Hawks Restaurant La Huaca Peruvian Cuisine Mehfil Indian Restaurant Mikuni Kaizen The Monk’s Cellar Ninja Sushi and Teriyaki Source Global Tapas Restaurant Best breakfast or brunch ASR Restaurant & Lounge Chubby’s Diner Early Toast Restaurant & Mimosa House Four Sisters Cafe Grandma’s Kitchen Granite Rock Grill The Original Pancake House Pacific Street Cafe Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs Susie’s Country Oaks Cafe Venita Rhea’s Waffle Barn The Window Box Cafe Best Mexican/ Latin American Carmelita’s Mexican Restaurant Chando’s Tacos Don Quixote’s Mexican Grill

NEWS

El Azteca Taqueria Flame & Fire La Huaca Peruvian Cuisine Jalisco Grill Mas Cocina Mexicana Nela’s Mexican Restaurant Rudy’s Gourmet Mexican Cuisine Sabores Mexican Cuisine Zócalo

Best coffeehouse Bambu Desserts & Drinks Bloom Coffee & Tea Edwin’s Coffee & Tea Kona Cafe Lollicup Coffee & Tea Origin Coffee & Tea Pipeline Coffee House Shady Coffee & Tea

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Best brewery Black Vinyl Ale Project Boneshaker Community Brewery Dragas Brewing GoatHouse Brewing Co. The Monk’s Cellar Out of Bounds Brewing Company Roseville Brewing Company

Best place to get your hair lookin’ good Avalon Day Spa & Salon Backstreet Salon Crushed VLVT Envy Salon The Garage Hair & Skin Lounge Gloss Salon Salon Hermosa Shades Hair Color Bar & Salon Sola Salons Zimbali Salon and Spa Best place to shop Antique Trove Deja Vu in a Dress Consignment Boutique Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet Fountains at Roseville FreeStyle Clothing Exchange Sei Bella Boutique Westfield Galleria at Roseville YSJ Trading Co.

F E AT U R E

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Located at 601 Cannery Ave. sacramento, CA 95811 Section 8 Welcome! • SE HABLA ESPANOL • EHO&EOA

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Pick a pie cuStoM Pizza, FederaliSt Public houSe Federalist Public House’s menu boasts many specialties, but we recommend the custom option, which features a thin Neopolitan-styled crust with a choice of toppings, starting at $2 each. We went with a green-pesto sauce pizza ($7) and added a potato hash ($2), caramelized onion ($2) and fresh mozzarella ($3). The resulting pie was savory, accentuated with just the right touch of sweetness from the slowcooked onions. Paired with the pub’s simple mixed-green salad ($9), dressed in its delicious chili, fig and shallot vinaigrette; and a couple of mason jars’ worth of saison, it made for the perfect spring supper. 2009 Matsui Alley, (916) 661-6134, http://federalistpublichouse.com.

—rachel leibrock

Drink ’em if you’ve got ’em Pinner throwback iPa

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

Sweet return by Janelle bitker

Grand re-opening: Just over one year ago, a fire charred Ramiro Alarcon’s Mexican restaurant in East Sacramento, Cielito Lindo. It had been open just seven months, and it’s remained closed since the fire. Now, Alarcon plans to reopen Cielito Lindo (3672 J Street) the first week of May: May 7 or 12, he wrote to SN&R with the help of a translator. The bold, complex flavors and upscale flair will remain, but regular customers can look forward to some big changes as well. “The seating area will be much larger,” Alarcon said. “We’re adding two rooms and changing the colors. Everything is new and right now it is very pretty.” Alarcon also said he’s already applied for a license to serve beer and wine, though it hasn’t been secured

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just yet. He’s adding a happy-hour menu, and more options for vegans and vegetarians. Alarcon estimates that about 30 percent of the menu will change—after all, he’s been teaching cooking classes, catering events and picking up new ideas for a year now. Shortly before the April 2014 fire, Cielito Lindo had unveiled a breakfast menu. That won’t return, for the time being at least. Sorry, chilaquiles fans. The best news? Expect specials offered the whole month of May. Freshly pressed: A new juice bar just on the cusp of Elk Grove is, surprisingly, ignoring most juice trends. 7 Fruity (8765 Center Parkway, Suite D300) does zero bottling, stocks its shop with vintage furniture and sells hoards of desserts—macarons,

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cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake—thereby ignoring that detox mantra. Instead, 7 Fruity cold-presses tiny amounts of fruit and vegetables throughout the day and mixes them to order in customizable smoothies and juice blends. The goal is for the drink to be as fresh as possible, and it doesn’t hurt that 90 percent of the produce is organic.

—nick Miller

Cider for the win: An Auburn-based and relatively new hard cider company is getting pummeled with awards. In March, Common Cider nabbed Cider of the Year for its hibiscus saison at the New York International Beer Competition. In April, it took home five medals at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition, including a silver for its apple saison in the modern category.

Not just for shortcake StrawberrieS It’s the most wonderful time of the year—strawberries are in the markets! Large or small, these gems (primarily from SoCal right now) are worth every penny. If you can keep yourself from inhaling every last one you find, you might set some aside to use in savory dishes. Dice and toss them with feta and green onions for a quick mix-in to a grain salad; cook them down with a little vinegar and sugar to make a gastrique for grilled chicken and fish; or toss them with mangoes, chiles and black beans for a fruity salsa. Moral of the story: just eat them in everything while they’re at their best.

Sorry-not-sorry: On May 1, Old Soul at the Weatherstone will ban smoking on its popular-for-smoking patio—a move showing the company’s seriousness about its growing food program. Weatherstone recently unveiled a new food menu with some enticing options, including saucy skirt steak and pork loin sandwiches. Ω | A R T S & C U L T U R E

Oskar Blues Brewery announced its marijuana-inspired beer, Pinner Throwback IPA, last year—and every craft brew snob in America groaned. Oh, we get it: Pinner is a tiny joint, this is a low-alcohol session beer, weed is legal in Colorado—so clever! Anyway, I’ve since sampled the brew and must officially apologize: Pinner stands tall as the best session IPA you can find in Sacramento that’s not named Mini Separation (by Berryessa Brewing Co., duh). Unlike the countless thin-bodied and watereddown session brews out there, this 4.9 percent alcohol baby packs unexpectedly burly hop character with habit-forming tropical flavors. Pro tip: Oskar Blues was nice enough to print the brewed-on date underneath each can. Get them hops fresh at most stores for $8.99 per six-pack. (P.S. Stoners, there is no weed in this beer.)

—ann Martin rolke |

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Shine Sacramento

The bread, from Bella Bru Cafe, holds up well without being too tough. There are two kinds of Indian samosa available: tandoori chicken with mango chutney or 1400 e street, (916) 551-1400, www.shinesac.com vegetarian with dill raita. They’re unusual lookDinner for one: $5 - $10 ing, made as large flat triangles, and are grilled Good for: health-conscious fare, beer and wine, coffee and tea to order. Both feature a little bit of spice, but Notable dishes: samosas, turkey-cilantro sandwich, not too much. The chicken is finely minced and vegan smoothies fragrant with cumin and cloves. The vegetarian version has lots of diced potatoes, carrots and peas and goes perfectly with the fresh dill in the yogurt dip. One is plenty for a light meal. During the winter, Shine offers a daily soup, In the burgeoning arena of Sacramento although they may be discontinued for spring. coffeehouses, there are few that offer That’s unfortunate, since one special was an substantial food options to go with their exceptionally good vegan tomato bisque made award-winning brews. Unless you want with coconut milk. It was silky smooth, with caffeine overload, there’s only so long you can a little sweetness from the coconut and loads lurk over that latte. Shine Sacramento, in the of fresh cilantro. The hint of spice gave it an Mansion Flats neighborhood, offers not only Indian profile and a bit of zing. a diverse menu of food, but wine and beer for The “boards” include choices like cheese those post-caffeine hours. and meat or sweet strawberry (wheat-nut bread, Situated in a roomy corner space with lots berries, cashew-date cream and pecans). We of windows, Shine is more than just a coffee tried the hummus and veggie option, which house with eats. Its owners also hang came with carrot and cucumber slices local art and provide a stage for and freshly grilled crostini. The The poetry readings, open-mic hummus is a very smooth, music and other scheduled vegetarian pourable version with strong events. It functions as lemon and fresh cardamom a lively community samosa has lots overtones. A sprinkle of hub in an area off the of diced potatoes, red pepper flakes adds a Midtown grid. bit of heat. Food is served carrots and peas Of the salads, the from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. house blend is the better. and goes perfectly most days, then the It mixes organic greens staff takes a break with the fresh dill with sliced almonds, dried before reopening for cranberries and shavings evening events. Most in the yogurt of Parmesan with a balsamic of the baked goods are dip. vinaigrette. It’s refreshing and from the Sugar Plum Vegan well balanced and you can add Bakery and include the usual turkey to make it more substantial. array of scones, muffins and cookies. The spicy Thai salad, on the other hand, In addition, there is a stocked case of yogurt, is premade and sits in the refrigerator case. It juice and fruit. doesn’t benefit from the advance prep. The A fruit pudding made with thickening cashews turn mushy and the tofu is too cold. chia seeds is an interesting breakfast option, The soy vinaigrette is a good match, but the topped with fresh seasonal berries. Vegan chili heat can be overwhelming. smoothies make another healthy start to the For the evening hours, there is a well-edited day, combining fresh fruit with agave nectar or selection of primarily California wines and coconut milk. The strawberry-banana version is beers available. especially fresh tasting. The menu changes frequently, so be sure to Shine serves Temple coffee, but they also check the specials board and ask what’s availhave an extensive menu of loose teas in single able. The staff is uber-friendly—if sometimes and blended varieties. The Cleanse brew, a bit leisurely—and the Wi-Fi password of redolent of warm spices, is a lovely non-coffee “allonefamily” indicates the welcoming vibe. option. You can stake out a space at one of the many As lunchtime approaches, a variety of tables or chairs early in the day and stay sandwiches, salads and boards are on offer. through breakfast and lunch. It’s a delicious The turkey sandwich with cilantro pesto way to spend the day. Ω packs plenty of thick-sliced local Diestel turkey, organic Monterey Jack cheese and a well-balanced sprightly pesto of cilantro aioli.

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Chocolate rain Just in time to ruin all of our so-called summer swimsuit bodies before they even take shape, the first ever Old Sacramento Chocolate Week starts this Monday, May 4, and lasts through Sunday, May 10. The week-long celebration of chocolate, coordinated by the Old Sacramento Business Association features a variety of chocolaterelated events designed to attract people to Old Sacramento. Highlights include a chocolate-themed trivia night called Choc-la-trivia (7 p.m. on Monday, May 4, at Fat City Bar & Cafe, 1001 Front Street), a beer and chocolate pairing event (5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, at Ten22, 1022 Second Street) and an eight-stop chocolate tour ($8 for two people, 4 p.m. on Friday, May 8, starting at 1124 Second Street). Some events require advance registration but others don’t. Find out more by calling (916) 442-8575 or visiting www.oldsacramento.com.

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Apparently, there is no national chickpea month. That’s nuts, because this legume is deliciously versatile beyond hummus (see “Gonzo garbanzo cupcakes,” SN&R The V Word, April 23). Case in point: traditional Persian cookies made of roasted chickpea flour called nan-e nokhodchi. They are golden, 1-inch, clover-shaped bites, and they are delicate and powdery—so don’t grab it hard, cookie monsters—and they implode like an old Vegas casino on demolition day with sweetness

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photo courtesty of panama pottery factory

FIND OF THE WEEK

Factory direct

Spy vs. spy the SymPathizer

“The whole world is your own.” – Sri Sarada Devi (1853–1920) www.sacvrg.org

SPA YOUR MA

MOTHER’S DAY GIFT CARDS ONLINE

This debut novel takes the post-war Vietnamese diaspora as its subject and divided loyalties as its theme in a first-person story that is both darkly funny and seriously tragic. In The Sympathizer BOOK (Grove Press; $26), University of Southern California professor Viet Thanh Nguyen chronicles the story of the Captain, a half-Vietnamese spy who is airlifted with American-allied leaders from Saigon. The Captain and one of his friends make their way to Los Angeles, where his spy work continues, informing the Vietnamese government of the activities of the General, who is using a pho restaurant to raise money for a counter-rebellion. The simple reality of a nation’s former leaders working as janitors and liquor-store clerks—and still considered a threat by their victorious opponents—is stark and terrifying, but not nearly as difficult as the complete loss of trust that the Captain engineers. —Kel Munger

One truck to rule them all FantaSy Food truck Showdown The dudes behind Beers in Sac, an app that helps you find specific beers at local bars, have set out to determine which food truck—One Soul, Cali FOOd Love, Brunch Boys, Gyro Stop, Culinerdy Cruzer or Mama Kim—reigns supreme. Trucks face off Iron Chef style, creating a dish from mystery ingredients. Four rounds will take place over the next four months, with the first round kicking off at Track 7 Brewing Co. on Thursday, May 7. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., free. 826 Professor Lane, Suite 100 in Natomas; www.beersinsac.com/foodtruck.

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Park it here river city marketPlace Over the years, the sprawling McKinley Park area has been used for a plethora of gatherings including weddings, ceremonies, parties ShOppiNg and more. This Saturday it will be transformed yet again into the “River City Marketplace,” and will feature more than 100 vendors. The event will feature loads of extracurricular activities, including a dedicated interactive kids area and live music, as well as many vendors showcasing and selling their wares. 10 a.m to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 2; free. 601 Alhambra Boulevard, https://rivercity marketplace.squarespace.com. —Eddie Jorgensen

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Panama Pottery Factory Gallery Grand oPeninG Panama Pottery’s founders started making vases, urns and lamp bases back in 1913 under the leadership of Victor Axelson. For the next 15 years, Axelson ran the factory before returning to Sweden. Over the years, the factory’s endured a fire and changed owners numerous ART times. Currently, the studio is owned by David DeCamilla and comprises the Panama Artists Collective, which includes welders, gourd artists, poets and painters. Ken Knott will relate a more detailed history of Panama Pottery, the factory and the people who kept it running for more than a century at the Panama Pottery Factory Gallery grand opening event that’s scheduled to take place Saturday, May 2. The gallery is the latest addition to what has become a hub for ceramicists such as Marsha Schindler, Julia Connor, Jeff Grau, Susan Kelly-DeWitt, Arturo Singh, Glenn Takei and Sandy Whetstone, among others. Several PAC artists will open their studios and offer a peek into their creative spaces. Much of the original factory is still visible and some parts, like the beehive kilns, are still in use for special events. While exploring the factory, learn how the early ceramicists created their wares, meet the artists, and listen to music by local singer-songwriter Ryan McBride. Be sure to partake in the special Cup Half Full event. For this, $5 gets visitors a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted ceramic cup. Fill it with wine or beer—Track 7 Brewing Co. is one of the brewers scheduled to serve. 1 p.m. to 7 p.m, Saturday, May 2; free. Panama Pottery Factory, 4421 24th Street; www.panama potterysacramento.com. —Trina Drotar

STC shakes its booty 5

Best of Enemies

The Pirates of Penzance The only thing serious about Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance is director Michael by Jim Carnes Laun’s intention to do it right. Pirates is funny— laugh-out-loud, goofy funny—and Laun gets it. So, too, does the cast. The actors appear as close as family, enjoying what they’re doing together as much as the audience enjoys seeing it. The comedy is broad, but it’s also clever (thank wordsmith W. S. Gilbert for that) and it’s supported by just-right sprightly melodies courtesy of composer Arthur Sullivan.

(with the Queen herself looking down upon the stage), designed by Jarrod Bodensteiner, Renee Degarmo and Brian Watson, complete the perfectly pleasing picture. Ω

4 Dogfight the Musical Green Valley Theatre Company is Sacramento’s window into less-well-known but engaging musicals, productions that may have created a buzz in the theater world, but not so much with the general theater-going public. This time around, Green Valley introduces us to a strange, compelling and disconcerting 2012 musical adaptation of the 1991 film Dogfight, which profiles three young soldiers going off to Vietnam. Dogfight the Musical is set in 1963, when Vietnam is unknown to the public, and young men dream of coming back being hailed as heroes like their World War II fathers did. It’s the night before their deployment, and three soldiers are off to make the most of it in the streets of San Francisco. From the beginning, the musical (and movie) sets up an unsettling and distasteful plot aspect that’s both intriguing and disturbing, and ultimately shades the storyline both in credibility and in sympathy. In a nutshell, the soldiers participate in a ritual called Dogfight, where they must scour the city for the ugliest girls, bring the women to a dance, and the ugliest one is crowned Queen of the Dance. The man who brought the date wins the betting pool, and the women are none the wiser about why they were asked to the dance. Of course, not all goes according to plan, and there’s heartache, shame, love and regret. To Green Valley’s credit—through wonderfully nuanced and sympathetic performances by cast members with unmistakable talent and chemistry, a solid live orchestra, a clever minimalistic set with rolling props that seamlessly slide on and off stage, and production elements such as dramatic lighting and sounds—the production manages to overcome the plot’s weaknesses. In addition, the production does have solid musical numbers that help in the emotional transitions. The leads are heartachingly believable with strong vocal talents and layered performance, all while being in total sync with their fellow performers—most notably Jennifer Morrison as Rose and Casey Camacho as Eddie, Jonathan Reinhardt-Cranmer and Scott Scholes as army buddies, and Mariana Seda as Marcy.

FoUL

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra ventures in new directions with this show about young love interrupted by World War II, between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl. The boy’s father (a stern Chinese Nationalist) despises everything Japanese, so young son Henry (Kevin M. Lin, an actor from Seattle) hides his growing fondness for classmate Keiko (Lyra Dominguez, who brings energy and surprising insight to the role). Th 7pm; F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 5/9. $20-$23. The Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad St. in Nevada City; www.catsweb.org. J.H.

FAir

3 GooD

4 WELL-DoNE

Th, F 7pm; Th 2pm; Su 1pm. Through

5/9. $23-$35. B2 Space at B Street Theatre, 2727 B St.; (916) 443-5300, www.bstreettheatre.org. J.C.

Cloud Nine

When Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine was written and produced in the late ’70s, it was meant to titillate and shock with its overt sexual themes and language. All these years later, it still does. In a storyline that starts in British colonial Africa and ends in a London park in 1980, it presents a whole cornucopia of social, sexual and gender taboos with a comedic bent that has

The Whipping Man

SUbLiME–DoN’T MiSS

Buddy Butler directs this powerful play that takes place at the close of the Civil War in Richmond, Va., during Passover. Playwright Matthew Lopez’s award-winning story chronicles a young wounded Confederate soldier’s return home, where he finds his home destroyed and two of his newly freed slaves trying to cobble a life together amidst the ruins of the house. W, Th 6:30pm;

F 8pm; Sa 2 pm & 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 5/3. $34-$38. Pollock Stage at Wells Fargo Pavilion, 1419 H St.; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. P.R.

Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Jeff Hudson and Patti roberts.

PHoTo CoUrTESy DiNorAH & CroSSWiNDS

The Pirates of Penzance; 2 p.m. Sunday; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; $34-$38. Main Stage at Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H Street; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. Through May 17.

For those who don’t know the story—and there might be some—it’s this: Frederic (strong, pure tenor Zak Edwards) has reached his 21st year and is released from his long naval apprenticeship. His guardian Ruth (Martha Omiyo Kight, who excelled despite microphone issues opening night) misheard ship’s “pi-lot” as “pi-rot” and hooked him up with a band of soft-hearted (and soft-headed) pirates led by the Pirate King (the dashing Michael RJ Campbell). Intent upon living an honorable life, Frederic vows to bring his former felonious friends to justice. When the daughters of Major-General Stanley (Gary S. Martinez) come into view, Frederic falls instantly in love with Mabel (lovely soprano Aviva Pressman). Then, through “a most ingenious paradox,” Frederic learns he is still bound to the pirates—and that they want to take the General’s other daughters (Miranda D. Lawson, Katherine Cooper, Abbey Williams-Campbell and Courtney Shannon, who so totally inhabits her role that she is comically mesmerizing) as wives. Songs ensue: “Poor Wandering One,” “I am the Very Model of A Modern MajorGeneral” (an Elizabethan rap of sorts), “A Paradox” and “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not a Happy One” among them. And then, wouldn’t you know it, things get worked out. The choreography by Ryan Blanning, who also plays the Lieutenant; the band, led by Samuel Clein; and the Elizabethan set

Arts, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.harris center.net. P.R.

Nick Cearley charms as a struggling actor who takes a preposterously impossible job working in the basement mall of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home. This play broaches several important topics: the isolation of celebrity, the narcissism that accompanies stardom, the mark of an unhappy childhood on the adult and even the attraction between gay men and divas. Tu, W, Sa 8pm;

Th, F, Sa 7:30pm; Su 2pm. Through 5/3. $10-$15. Harris Center for the

Buyer & Cellar

PHoTo by bArry WiSDoM

This production and press photo are designed to be funny.

tongues firmly planted in cheeks.

This play by Mark St. Germain, based on the bestselling nonfiction book by Osha Gray Davidson, tells an unlikely—but true—story about the relationship between an African-American civil rights activist and a Grand Cyclops of the KKK during the desegregation of Durham, N.C., schools in 1971. James Wheatley directs the play as a series of short scenes. Th-Sa 8pm; Su 2 pm. Through 5/9. $8-$15. Celebration Arts Theatre, 4469 D St.; (916) 455-2787, www.celebrationarts.net. J.C.

Dinorah & Crosswinds will perform a tribute to Selena.

Fiesta en el parque The calendar may change every year, but celebrations always end up taking place on the weekends. This year’s Fiesta En La Calle production celebrates Cinco de Mayo with great reverence and respect for the culture. Headlining the soiree is El Chicano supported by Dinorah & Crosswinds (pictured, performing a tribute to Selena), Midnight Players and Latin Touch. The vibe at these shows is always festive and there are always many great food vendors to choose from while frolicking in the park and enjoying the splendor of a Sunday. There will also be a car show, Aztec dancers, salsa dancers and activities to keep the little ones from being restless. There are no ice chests or outside food and drink allowed at this festival this year, so come ready to spend a little cash since the concert didn’t cost you anything. All ages are welcome to attend this sixhour event. Fiesta En La Calle; noon, Sunday, May 3; free. Southside Park, 2115 Sixth Street; http://fiestaenlacalle.com.

—Patti Roberts

Dogfight the Musical ; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday; $18. Green Valley Theatre Company at the Grange Performing Arts Center, 3823 V Street; (916) 736-2664; www.greenvalleytheatre.com. Through May 17.

—Eddie Jorgensen

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5 excellent

32 | SN&R | 04.30.15

As the film opens, the Avengers—the superhero supergroup comprising Thor, Captain America, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Black Widow and for reasons still unknown, an archer—have assembled for their own victory lap, a final assault on the evil Hydra syndicate (see: The Winter Soldier; or don’t, it was lousy and life is short). Inside the Hydra compound, Tony discovers a powerful energy source, which he uses to create the artificially intelligent global defense system Ultron. Tony envisions it as the omnipresent protector that will allow the Avengers to retire from the business of world-saving, but when Ultron comes online, the robot redefines his protocol for world peace as an assault on all of mankind. Ultron is voiced by James Spader, but his theatrical personality comes straight from his creator Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Every one of the Avengers smirks and quips and mugs like they’re starring in Ocean’s 14, even as the earth is literally getting ripped apart underneath them, so it would have been nice if at least the evil robot wasn’t jokey and smug. The character of Ultron holds the germ of an interesting idea— an all-powerful manifestation of Stark’s militarism and privilege absent any of his humanity and compassion, it takes Ultron mere seconds to diagnose an extinction-level event—but interesting ideas cannot survive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and so it perishes.

Ultimately, Ultron becomes a fairly standard-issue effete and condescending Marvel villain of incomprehensible motivation, just another symptom of the victor’s malaise that permeates the film. At times, it gets downright ugly—a valid complaint about superfluous female characters in the Marvel universe turns into a leering joke. In the next scene, Black Widow tends bar for the fellas while flirting with Mark Ruffalo’s Banner (neither of their characters got a solo outing since The Avengers, so they’re paired up like extraneous characters in a fading sitcom). In the scene after that, we get a rape joke, followed by a lot of sexually charged banter about lifting Thor’s hammer. We get it, guys—you hate women. Instead of bucking the system, writer-director Joss Whedon dutifully serves up more of the same bubble-brained gibberish and wanton destruction. Whedon is pretty much locked into an overarching storyline and house style here, but in an attempt to underline the theme of teamwork, he shoots a lot of the action scenes in a single shot with the entire group fighting together onscreen. It’s an impressive use of special effects (or maybe not, I don’t even know anymore), but nothing seems tangible, and the stakes feel bizarrely low for a film where the characters are fighting over the fate of the planet.

Writer-director Joss Whedon dutifully serves up more of the same bubble-brained gibberish and wanton destruction. All that, and Age of Ultron is still a step up from 2012’s The Avengers, which was barely even a movie, just two-and-a-half hours of insipid prologue. The action here is cleaner, the motivations are clearer and it’s even kind of sort of about something, for a little while, until its quasi-topical themes of governmental overreach and drone warfare succumb to the inevitable Marvel light show. Of course, the whole point of Age of Ultron is to introduce another of the Marvel “infinity stones,” a group of mysterious gems that possess the awesome and unfathomable power to do things that we don’t need to know about for another few films. It’s the perfect crown jewel for a movie that serves as its own MacGuffin. Ω

by daniel barnes & JiM lane

The Age of Adaline

•

2508 LAND PARK DRIVE LAND PARK & BROADWAY FREE PARKING ADJACENT TO THEATRE

A young widow in 1937 (Blake Lively), through a freakish accident, ceases to age at the age of 29. After 75 years of changing identities, she falls in love, which threatens to unravel her solitary life. This might have been—and may yet prove to be—a signature role for Lively, a born star if there ever was one. But she needs a co-star who will strike romantic sparks on screen, and instead she gets Michiel Huisman—a decent enough actor, but rather scruffy and nondescript, with little screen charisma and even less chemistry with Lively. She has much better rapport with Ellen Burstyn as her elderly daughter and Harrison Ford as a former lover (and Huisman’s father). Without that made-for-each-other spark, the movie dissolves into a flaccid shaggy-dog tale shambling toward its foregone conclusion. J.L.

“ENGAGING.” - Todd McCarthy, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

FRI-TUES: 11:20AM, 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 9:45PM

“TRIUMPHANT AND HOPEFUL.” - Jan Wahl, KCBS RADIO

WOMAN IN

GOLD

WED/THUR: 12:10, 2:30, 4:50, 7:15, 9:30PM • FRI-TUES: 11:45AM, 2:15, 4:40, 7:00, 9:30PM NO MON/TUES 7:00PM

Ex Machina

Freetown

ENDS THUR., 4/30

WED/THUR: 12:15, 2:25, 4:45, 7:30, 9:40PM • NO WED 7:30PM AND THE

Clouds of Sils Maria

Little Boy

Monkey Kingdom

Another Earth Day, another Disneynature documentary, this one following a group of Sri Lankan macaques as they deal with a strict social system and defend their territory from interlopers. The macaques, a Shemp-haired species of monkey, are decidedly less adorable than the stars of last year’s Bears, and Monkey Kingdom narrator Tina Fey is a weak substitute for Bears narrator John C. Reilly. Much like Bears, the film focuses in on a struggling single mother dealing with dangers from both outside and inside her troop, but Monkey Kingdom tries too hard to manufacture a storyline. It’s never clear why we’re supposed to root for one group of monkeys to defeat another group of monkeys, except that some of the “bad” monkeys have facial scars, and facial scars equal evil. Monkey Kingdom is a passable time-passer, with lovely visuals and positive if oversimplified messages about conservation and motherhood, but nothing more. D.B.

After a drifting suburban Detroit teen sleeps with her new boyfriend, she learns that he has “passed on” to her a malevolent presence, one that will never stop its slow but deadly pursuit. In just his second feature, writer-director David Cameron Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover) produces one of the best horror films of the millennium. The story touches on themes of venereal disease, rape, contagion fears, PTSD and more, while combining cinematic influences from zombies, ghosts, slashers, J-horror, conspiracy thrillers, exorcisms, Robert Altman, teen sex comedies, apocalypses, John Carpenter, chase films and the first five minutes of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening into something deeply unsettling and nightmarishly lucid. Imagine if Texas Chainsaw Massacre-era Tobe Hooper

NEWS

ENDS THUR., 4/30

WED/THUR: 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:35PM

FOR ADVANCE TICKETS PLEASE VISIT FANDANGO.COM

In a tiny coastal California town during World War II, a boy (Jakob Salvati), bullied and put-upon for his small size, befriends the town’s only Japanese resident (CaryHiroyuki Tagawa), who is likewise persecuted. Written (poorly) by Pepe Portillo and Alejandro Monteverde (who also directs, at an excruciating crawl), the movie is a symphony of false notes. A few good actors (Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin James, Ben Chaplin, Ted Levine, Michael Rapaport) and several bad ones (to whom it would be a kindness not to name) grapple with the lines of puerile drivel they’re given to speak, with a unanimous lack of success. The movie lumbers on for 100 minutes with hardly a believable frame to show for it. Andrew Cadelago’s bright, squeaky-clean cinematography adds to the atmosphere of sugary falsehood. J.L.

It Follows

WHILE WE’RE TRUE STORY Young - Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

- Peter Debruge, VARIETY

directed a Richard Linklater rewrite of Under the Skin. A few clunky special effects and easy jump scares aside, It Follows is intelligent and terrifying, an instant genre classic. D.B.

Furious 7

BEFORE

“DELICIOUS SATIRE.”

“SOUL-SEARCHING WORK.”

Oliver Assayas directs Juliette Binoche as an insecure actress who agrees to appear in a new production of the play that made her famous, only this time in the older woman role instead of the ingénue part. Although Clouds of Sils Maria is essentially a three-woman picture, with Kristen Stewart as an overworked personal assistant and Chloe Grace Moretz as the TMZ-gen Eve to Binoche’s Margo Channing, the narrative is incredibly dense, and it takes Assayas the entire first act just to unpack it all. As Binoche and Stewart retreat to a mountain villa, the separation between performance and reality grows blurry—are they running through lines, or picking at the scab of their own older woman/ingénue dynamic? The film explores the psychology of female role-play with depth and intelligence, and the performances are outstanding—Binoche brings her expected ethereal complexity, and Stewart cuts through her aura like vinegar through grease. D.B.

Speed demon Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew (Dwayne Johnson, the late Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, et al.) are being hunted by the brother of a vanquished villain from Fast & Furious 6 (Jason Statham); they join with a shadowy government operative (Kurt Russell) to turn the tables on their pursuer. The preposterous franchise reaches an apotheosis of sorts with a delirious array of death-andphysics-defying stunts, as exciting and enjoyable as they are unbelievable and physically impossible. (On a more subdued note, similar CGI wizardry completes the performance of Walker, who died during production.) Chris Morgan’s script is pretty much beside the point, but it provides director James Wan with an efficient framework, and outlandish as it all is, the movie delivers the goods. J.L.

FRI-TUES: 12:00, 2:25, 4:50, 7:15, 9:40PM NO TUES 9:40PM

PARK 5/4 @ 7 • INDIANA JONES TEMPLE OF DOOM 6/1 TOWER CLASSICS SERIES JURASSIC TOP GUN 7/6 • BLADE RUNNER: DIRECTOR’S CUT 8/3

Into the female wild.

Amid the chaos of the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996), a group of African Mormon missionaries flees the violence in Monrovia, the capital, for the presumed safety of Freetown in neighboring Sierra Leone, crammed into a rattletrap car with a worried but good-hearted driver. Written by Melissa Leilani Larson and director Garrett Batty, the movie has laudable intentions on its side (not least a determination to counteract the lily-white image of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), but it’s limp, leaden, redundant and too-clearly hampered by a limited budget. The inexperienced cast is earnest but wooden, easily upstaged by the stark beauty of the Ghanaian countryside where the movie was filmed. J.L.

STARTS FRI., 5/1

When a Long Island computer programmer (Domhnall Gleeson, playing the same sad-sack stargazer role as he did in Frank) wins a company lottery, he gets whisked off to the remote underground research lab of Nathan (Oscar Isaac), his mysterious and obscenely rich boss. Nathan reveals that he has developed a robot capable of artificial intelligence—the curvaceous and curious Ava, played by Alicia Vikander with a huge assist from some mind-bending special effects—and that the meager programmer has been recruited to assist in the final phase of her development. Screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later…; Dredd) makes his directorial debut with this sleek sci-fi chamber play, and he exhibits the visual command of a true filmmaker, even if his storytelling gets wobbly at times. Best in show goes to Oscar Isaac, reimagining the evil scientist as a socially isolated scumbag jock, equal parts Victor Frankenstein and Frank T.J. Mackie. D.B.

“A REVELATION.” - Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA THE SALT OF THE EARTH

Salt of the Earth

This Oscar-nominated documentary charts the 40-year career of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, whose horribly beautiful black-and-white images of slave labor and genocide and exodus form a visual timeline of human suffering on the planet. The venerable German filmmaker and

F E AT U R E

STORY

documentarian Wim Wenders co-directs, along with Salgado’s son Juliano, but you get the impression that Wenders only came aboard to shape decades of disparate material into this coffee table book of a movie. After an awkward first act, The Salt of the Earth settles into a comfortable rhythm, following Salgado’s nomadic career across several continents, from the gold mine at Serra Pelada to the Kurdish refugee camps. But there are also a number of contentious family dynamics that the film sets up and then neglects to explore (at a certain point, Salgado’s wife simply disappears), and ultimately this feels more like a greatest hits collection than a unique work of art. D.B.

The Water Diviner

Woman in Gold

LIVE MUSIC. DRINKS. ART BIKES + BLUES + BREWS | MAY 14

An Australian farmer in 1919 (Russell Crowe, who also directed) travels to Turkey to retrieve the remains of his three sons, lost in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios’ script is a mix of epic events and intimate emotions, with battle scenes as indelible as anything since Saving Private Ryan. The movie deftly juggles time and place, and it might have flummoxed a fledgling director like Crowe, but he drives the proceedings with confidence, never letting the scenery or exotic locations upstage the characters—which include a grieving Turkish widow (Olga Kurylenko, exquisite), her young son (Dylan Georgiades, engaging) and a Turkish army officer (Yilmaz Erdogan, dignified). It’s an old-fashioned movie in the best sense, beautifully photographed by Andrew Lesnie. J.L.

Writer Alexi Kaye Campbell and director Simon Curtis hew closely to the facts in telling the true story of Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), who successfully petitioned the Austrian government for the return of five Gustav Klimt masterpieces stolen from her family by Adolf Hitler’s thugs. Mirren is, as always, a formidable tower of strength, as is the often-underrated Ryan Reynolds as her American attorney. Daniel Brühl, as a sympathetic Austrian journalist, matches them when he can, though his character is given short shrift in deference to Anglo-American star power (in real life, the journalist’s work was far more crucial to the outcome). It’s an immensely satisfying David-and-Goliath story, showing that sometimes the good guys win—even if it takes 70 years and the gumption of a Helen Mirren to do it. J.L.

A RT S & C U LT U R E

fli #crockerartmix crockerartmuseum.org |

AFTER

04.30.15

SN&R

Clear eyes, full control The members of Sacramento-via-Austin’s One-Eyed Doll help kickstart the rock ’n’ roll economy These days music fans are bombarded via social media and various web outlets by acts that don’t seem to have ever paid their dues. Whether this is the by Eddie Jorgensen result of nepotism, chance connections or corporate-sponsored tours, it would seem many touring acts don’t know how to do just that—tour—and build a grass-roots following organically. PHOTO COuRTESy OF STanDBy RECORDS

If you’re lucky, the band will soon sell these outfits through Hot Topic.

Catch One-Eyed Doll at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 2; at The Boardwalk, 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale. Fair Struggle, Dream In Red, Chick Habit and Promo Queen are also on the bill. Tickets are $12 and the show is all ages. For more information, visit www.oneeyed doll.com.

34 | SN&R | 04.30.15

The members of One-Eyed Doll are taking another route. After four years of playing live and releasing a roster of well-received, selfproduced records, the Sacramento-via-Austin, Texas-based duo has become something of an Internet sensation. The band launched a YouTube channel in 2010 that’s since garnered more than one million views; their video for “You’re A Vampire” alone boasts nearly half-amillion views to date. Drummer Jason Rufuss Sewell, a.k.a Junior, a Sacramento native, is certainly aware of what it means to pay one’s dues. The musician says he became disenchanted with the music industry while working at Valley Media Inc., the now-defunct music distribution hub based in Woodland. Sewell, who worked as a sales rep for the company’s internal distribution company during the late ’90s and early 2000s, says he learned the benefits of being on a smaller label and owning one’s own content. Valley Media went bankrupt in 2001, which in turn motivated Sewell to start his own recording studio, which he ran for several years. Eventually, however, the musician decided to try something new, selling his studio and house to move to Austin, where he says there was an opportunity to get more land for less money. There he started recording bands and, perhaps more importantly, met the

Austin-based songwriter Kimberly Freeman. Soon the goth-punk band One-Eyed Doll was born. The meeting wasn’t serendipitous; Sewell says he’d been searching for just the right musician with whom to work—although not initially as part of his own band—when he finally stumbled upon Freeman. “I basically scoured the Internet looking for a good band to use as a resume piece for my studio. ... I found Ghetto Princess [an Austin -based band featuring Freeman] in 2006 and that band became One-Eyed Doll,” Sewell explained during a recent tour stop from Chicago. The band has since recorded several albums and is now on tour in support of its latest, Witches, released in March on Standby Records. Sewell says he and Freeman went with a onealbum, one-year deal with Standby because the label offered them more creative control. “We have gotten offers from bigger labels, but they wanted to own our previous records which we put out, take over our website, own our trademark and more,” he says. One-Eyed Doll spends considerable time on the road and, after years of playing support slots for bands such as Otep, Wayne Static and Butcher Babies, has evolved into a veritable headliner on the club circuit. They’ve also found alternative ways to make money on the road, offering so-called “VIP packages” to fans that include a meet-and-greet and, in some cases, the chance to record background vocals with the band on its tour bus.

“ We have gotten offers from bigger labels, but they wanted to own our previous records which we put out, take over our website, own our trademark and more.” Jason Sewell drummer, One-Eyed Doll “We’ve sold out of these [packages] nearly every night,” Sewell says. And while the economy may still seem slow for other touring bands, the members of One-Eyed Doll say they make a tidy profit from merchandise sales. In addition to stickers and several T-shirt and sweatshirt options, the band also offers a unique souvenir, an $80 handcrafted magic wand made of animal bones and tusks. The price may seem hefty but, Sewell says, the band’s followers are more than willing to open their wallets. “Our fans are huge collectors and we always sell lots of merch,” he says. Further proof that all good things come to those who actually work for it. Ω

The outsider Joseph in the Well debuts: Sometimes, Joe Kye feels really American, like when he’s discussing democracy or social justice issues. He majored in American Studies at Yale University as an international student, an immigrant from Korea who settled in Seattle years earlier. Kye hopes to cast his first-ever votes in the 2016 election, and he’s very excited. Other times, Kye doesn’t feel American at all, like when he plays a show in a country bar and someone walks up to him after and says, “You play real good fiddle for an Asian fella.” This duality—the immigrant experience—is explored in Kye’s self-titled debut EP Joseph in the Well, which will be released Saturday, May 9, at Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub (2708 J Street). Other themes: universality, empowerment, questioning yourself, questioning the world. “And feeling ostracized,” Kye goes on, “but also how shared that sentiment is. I think at one point or another, everyone feels like an outsider.” It’s a little difficult to envision Kye as an outsider given his recent tidal wave of success in Sacramento’s music scene. He won this year’s Artist of the Year and New Artist awards at the Sammies. A couple of weeks later, he won Access Sacramento’s Sac Has Talent competition at the Crest Theatre. And he’s constantly collaborating with other artists: James Cavern, Musical Charis, Lindsey Pavao and even the Sacramento Ballet. The collaborations keep coming with the EP, which not only features Joseph in the Well’s drummer Andres Salazar and bassist Casey Lipka (Cave Women), but also rapper Rasar, trumpeter Anthony Coleman II, taiko drummer Jason Jong, Cory Overton of the U.S. Geological Survey, a string quartet and a children’s choir. On just six tracks, it sounds like a lot to take in—but Kye’s lush violin loops are still the clear star. It’s indie string pop—with jazz, rock, classical and world influences—and the new elements bring in such richness, texture and orchestral grandeur that you immediately must listen again and again. Even the subtle addition of Overton’s recordings for work— he keeps track of endangered birds—create an atmospheric backdrop throughout the album. Kye loops samples for a sparse, peaceful intro as well. BEFORE

NEWS

Sadly, no birds will be present at the EP release show, but you will see the string quartet, children’s choir and Rasar. After that, Kye embarks on filming his first professional music video for “Happy Song” with local photographer Nicholas Wray. “It’s taking the mundane aspects of Sacramento, the mundane environments, and then adding a whimsical, extraordinary touch to them through animation,” Kye says. The ambition continues with a national tour this summer, including a stop in Nashville with local fingerstyle guitarist Adrian Bellue. Happy anniversary: Whoa, Lipstick turns 15 years old Saturday, May 2. Shaun Slaughter’s indie and Britpop dance party still rages hard every month at Old Ironsides (1901 10th Street), and this edition should be even more delightful, with drink specials, new lighting, ticket giveaways and a live debut performance from singer-songwriter-producer Mr. Erik James (the Bell Boys) with Ira Skinner on drums. The fun starts at 9 p.m. and it’s $8 all night. —Janelle Bitker

jan el l eb @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Bring on the bevy of overhyped hard rock dudes: Faith No More’s new album Sol Invictus isn’t released until May 19, but that hasn’t stopped the band from debuting songs on its set lists. The band’s rabid fanbase and reputation for a strange, yet equally great live show earned an early sell-out for a recent stop at the Warfield in San Francisco. Sadly, the tour skipped Sacramento, but Faith No More was worth the drive. Dressed in all-white on a stage heavily adorned with flowers and white drapery, the band’s look certainly juxtaposed its sound on hard rockers like “Caffeine” and “Cuckoo For Caca.” Impressively, singer Mike Patton could still hit the high notes on more difficult songs like “Evidence,” and he also delivered a stellar performance of the Commodores classic “Easy.” It seemed like every second someone was getting tossed from the lower general admission section wearing either a tight muscle shirt or a backwards baseball cap. But of course, no Faith No More show would be complete without a bevy of goofy, overhyped dudes.

NO W P L AY ING AT T HE

E S Q U I R E I M A X T H E AT R E ®

FOR SHOWTIMES A N D T O R E S E R V E S E AT S IMAX.COM/SACRAMENTO

—Eddie Jorgensen IMAX® and IMAX® 3D are registered trademarks of IMAX Corporation.

F E AT U R E

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| A R T S & C U L T U R E IMAX-SNR-AAOU-5.93x5.67.indd 1

AFTER

| 04.30.15

SN&R

15-04-22 12:04 PM

01FRI

02SAT

Conducting from the Grave

R. Kelly

John Németh

Byron Colborn Group

The Boardwalk, 6:30 p.m., $12 Conducting from the Grave, a longtime Sacramento metal band, announced the release of its new self-titled album in 2013 MeTAl and in turn, found its dedicated fans were in full support of this venture. With the help of Kickstarter, CFTG raised more than $15,000 within one month toward the album (out now), making this the band’s first self-released work. The guys strayed from the metalcore and hardcore genres and plunged deeper into the realms of death metal with the release. After forming in 2003 and surviving various lineup changes and a semi-permanent hiatus, CFTG ascended from the dead in 2009 with the release of When Legends Become Dust on Sumerian Records. 9426 Greenback Lane, www.facebook.com/ conductingfromthegrave.

—Steph Rodriguez

Stockton Arena, 7 p.m., $69.65-$221.45 Mischief maker R. Kelly never hastens to resuscitate chivalry. He might be the filthiest, fleshiest pop star of his or any other generation, an arbiter of the feral—always thinking up unchaste new ways to get his rocks off. Raunch is the divisive crooner’s stock in trade, but Kellz also has more to offer. A messianic, preternaturally booming tenor like his only comes along once every few decades. He can sing anything, from aqueous ballads to summertime barn-burners and civil-rights spirituals. For all his dozens of hits, Kellz R&B delights in bucking the pop orthodoxy. Only he could have written the bizarrely byzantine whodunit Trapped in the Closet. 248 West Fremont Street in Stockton, www.r-kelly.com.

—M.T. Richards

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 9:30 p.m., $20 The 2014 Blues Music Awards’ Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year recipient John Németh came to Memphis by way of Boise and a layover in Oakland, where he performed with Elvin Bishop. Németh’s a crooner who blows the blues harmonica with the best. BlueS His sound and style recall the sounds of ’50s and ’60s doo-wop and soul-infused rock. He shifts gears to the swamp blues on “Country Boy.” Joe Turner, Sam Cooke, Little Walter, Marvin Gaye, Otis Rush and Roy Orbison resonate in Németh’s work. He’s a little bit Chicago blues, a little bit Memphis blues and a whole lot of original. 2708 J Street, http://johnnemeth.com.

—Trina L. Drotar

Kupros Craft House, 9:30 p.m., no cover If you’re a frequenter of Sacramento’s live jazz scene, you have definitely spotted Byron Colborn. The baritone saxophone player lends his chops to the Kyle Rowland Blues Band, the Harley White Jr. Orchestra and the Peter Petty Band. He used to collaborate with Anthony Coleman II—before Coleman moved to New York—and helped form their short-lived but lively Afro-beat ensemble Sankofa. But even more likely, you’ve seen Colborn marching the streets as the bandleader of the Element Brass Band, the New Orleans second-line style group that took home this year’s jazz Sammie. How does Colborn perform on his JAZZ own terms? I don’t actually know, but you should find out. 1217 21st Street, www.facebook.com/byroncolbornmusic.

—Janelle Bitker

ON STAGE AT THE

STATE THEATRE Sunday, May 17 at 4:00pm • $30 A Musical Tribute To The Beatles

In My Life

Friday & Saturday, May 22 & 23 7:30pm • $20

CORE Contemporary Dance CINEMA AT THE STATE Thursday, May 7 • 7 pm • $6

Citizenfour

An Interview with Edward Snowden

2015 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary

Thursday, June 4 • 7 pm • $6

Chasing Ice

Multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers through time-lapse cameras

985 Lincoln Way, Auburn • 530-885-0156 www. livefromauburn.com

36 | SN&R |

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02SAT

03SUN

05TUES

07THURS

The Killer Queens

The Beatles 1965

Helmet

Noctooa

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 10 p.m., $12

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 6:30 p.m., $8-$10

It’s no small ambition to cover legendary British rock band Queen; frontman Freddie Mercury’s voice was nothing short of epic, and the band wrote some of the most raucous, multifaceted music of its time. The Killer Queens, an all-female cover band hailing from San Jose, cleverly diverge from what makes most cover bands a snooze in that its goal isn’t to replicate the songs but to play them as they will. The five-piece puts a modern-rock spin on the oft-theatrical tendencies of the originals, ROCK and a listener less familiar with Queen’s catalog might hear them play and think, “Hey, these women make a really good rock band.” (Which they do.) 2708 J Street, www.thekillerqueens.com.

—Deena Drewis

The year 1965 was a transitional year for the Beatles. That was year they released Help and Rubber Soul. While Help was a ROCK slight improvement on the songwriting they’d been doing since the “Love Me Do” days (there were, however, some stand out tracks like “Yesterday”), Rubber Soul set the groundwork for the more experimental, psychedelic work that would later change the face of rock ’n’ roll forever. In this show, Sacramento artists will be paying tribute to this unique year in Beatle history by covering album and nonalbum tracks from ’65. Artists include David Houston, Kevin Seconds, Autumn Sky (pictured), Gabe Nelson (Bellygunner/Cake), Adrian Bourgeois, Royal Jelly and others. 2708 J Street, www.harlows.com.

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 8 p.m., $20-$22 Back in the ’90s, Helmet was a tough band for folks to pigeonhole. In an era when alternative was starting to nudge past metal, the band was as heavy as the hand of death, but also catchy and full of nuance. With short hair? Led by guitarist/ vocalist Page Hamilton, the group had a breakthrough with Meantime and “Unsung” in 1992. But it was ’94’s Betty that defined Helmet. Filled with staccato guitar riffs, odd METAL time signatures and Hamilton viscerally biting off thinkingman lyrics, the record is a testimony to uniqueness. Lately, they’ve been celebrating Betty’s 20th anniversary by playing it all the way through—plus another set of favorites. 2708 J Street, www.helmetmusic.com.

On the Y, 8 p.m., $8 Noctooa hails from the East Bay, but point of origin shouldn’t be an issue. The group’s sound is altogether timeless and sounds like it was birthed during the voyage from Mecca to Medina. If you love dark, brooding vocals DARK WAVE against the backdrop of cello, violin, didgeridoo and a flurry of fuzzy guitar, this group will deliver darkness in spades. One listen to the plodding rhythms of “Persistence” or the wondrous “Can’t Serve” from the 2013 release Adaptation should be more than enough to pry neo-folk and Nick Cave fans from their perch. Also on this all-ages bill are Aerial Ruin, Venetian Veil and Oort Cloud. 3522 Stockton Boulevard, http://noctooa.com.

—Eddie Jorgensen

—Paul Piazza

—Aaron Carnes

THURSDAY APRIL 30 TEXAS #1 BAND

LIVE MUSIC

CODY JOHNSON

WITH MICHAEL BECK BAND $10 AT THE DOOR OR ONLINE STONEYINN.COM

WEDNESDAYS KNCI 18 & OVER COLLEGE NIGHT THURSDAYS

NO COVER BANDS IN THE BACK OPEN MIC UP FRONT

May 1

BRIAN ROGERS

May 2

BILLY MANZIK

May 3

KEN KOENIG*

May 8

IN THE NO

27 BEERS ON DRAFT TRIVIA MONDAYS @ 6:30PM OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS SIGN-UPS @ 7:30PM KARAOKE THURSDAYS @ 7:30PM

STONEYS SERVES GREAT DINNERS AND SANDWICHES WEDENSDAY - SUNDAY

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NEWS

Saturday, may 9, 2015

Music and texts rich with emotional directness in a large-scale choral/orchestral tribute to three major American composers

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F E AT U R E

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Projected supertitles

Special Guest | Composer James Hopkins present at the performance

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Xavier inspires us To see Xavier in action, you’d never guess he was born with a rare congenital heart defect that leaves one side of the heart severely underdeveloped. If untreated, a child rarely survives beyond the first hours or days of life. That was Xavier’s path when an air ambulance whisked the newborn to UC Davis Children’s Hospital, where Pediatric Heart Center surgeons performed the first in a complex series of three procedures to reconstruct his tiny heart and increase blood flow to his body. With two surgeries now behind him, the bubbly toddler takes it all in stride – and greets each day with a smile that’s uniquely heartening. Xavier and other children like him inspire the UC Davis team to push the boundaries of health care every day. To learn more about Xavier’s story, and the specialty services offered at this region’s one nationally ranked comprehensive hospital for children, visit children.ucdavis.edu One team. One choice. One UC Davis.

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Tipsy Thursdays, Top 40 deejay dancing, 9pm, call for cover

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Saturday Boom, 9pm, call for cover

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Karaoke Night, 7:30pm, no cover

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Trivia Night, 6:30pm M, no cover; Open-mic night, 7:30pm W, no cover

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Reggae w/ Wokstar and guest deejays, 10pm, $5

Slapstick Vinyl Presents the Anticompetition, 7pm, call for cover

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Open mic, 8pm M; Cinco de Mayo Party w/ DJ Davie Xander, 8pm Tu, no cover

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CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE, AENIMUS, JOURNAL, FLUB; 6:30pm, $12

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CRYSTAL BOWERSOX, WHITNEY MONGÉ; 8pm, $30-$34

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COUNTRY CLUB SALOON

KMZ BAND, 9pm-1am, no cover

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One-Eyed Doll with Fair Sturggle, Dream in Red and Chick Habit 6:30pm Saturday, $12. The Boardwalk Rock

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JOHN GRUBER, 8pm, no cover

DELTA CITY RAMBLERS, PINE STREET RAMBLERS; 9pm, $5

ORANGE SCENE, ORION WALSH & THE RAMBLING HEARTS; 9pm, $5

DJ Mouf, 10pm, no cover

THE BUMPTET, 10pm, no cover

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JACKSON MICHELSON, HANNAH KILE; 9pm, no cover

CRIPPLE CREEK BAND, 9pm, no cover

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GROOVE THANG, 9pm-midnight, $5

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HARLOW’S

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THE HIDEAWAY BAR & GRILL 2565 Franklin Blvd., (916) 455-1331

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR 1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931

Trash Rock Thursdays, 9pm, no cover

GANGES RIVER BAND, DRY COUNTY DRINKERS, DUANE MARK; 9pm, $7

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Lipstick 15 Year Anniversary, 9pm, $8

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover

TAO TARIKI, MR P CHILL, MAMAKIND; 7:30pm, $7

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Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover

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Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5

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Want to be a hot show? Mail photos to Calendar Editor, SN&R, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815 or email it to sactocalendar@ newsreview.com. Be sure to include date, time, location and cost of upcoming shows.

Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul and Cornhole!, 8pm W

LIT LANTERNS, EUFLORIA, SOLDOTNA; 8:30pm, $5

Top 40, Mashups, 9pm, no cover

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Kamikaze Karaoke, 9pm M; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3

Dragalicious, 9pm, $5

The Midtown Moxies Burlesque, 8pm, $10-$15

Top 40, 9pm, no cover

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IDEATEAM, THUNDER COVER; 9pm W, no cover

That Thing on Friday, EDM, 10pm, $5

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CRIZZLY, ANTISERUM, LAXX; 9pm W, call for cover

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Hey local bands!

TRASH MAGIC, HAUTAHUAH, EL DORADO; 8pm, $7

DIVE BAR

1022 K St., (916) 737-5999

AL DI MEOLA, 7:30pm Tu, $57-$67

OLD TOWN BOYS, 9pm-1am, no cover

JONNY MOJO, 8pm, $8

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Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo, and a link to your website. Go to www.newsreview.com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

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BLIND ILLUSION, CONDEMNED, SOLANUM, JUDHEAD; 8pm, $8

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Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover; $5 after 8pm

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SPAZMATICS, 4pm, call for cover

PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30-7:30pm, no cover; MILES SCHON, 9pm, $10

SOLSA, 9pm, $12

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; HOT CITY JAZZ, 8pm, $5

MICHAEL RAY, 8pm Tu; Open-mic, 5:30pm W; BRIAN ROGERS, 9pm W, $5

DEAD DADS, CUT UP, WEEKENDER, AREA GRAY; 7pm, $6

CRISIS ARM, SCISSOR VISION; 8pm M, $7; Retrogen916 game night, 6-10pm Tu

Comedy open-mic, 8pm M; Bluebird Lounge open-mic, 5pm Tu, no cover

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

COLE SWINDELL, BRODIE STEWART BAND, TYLER RICH; 7pm, $30

CAFÉ COLONIAL

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SAUL HERNANDEZ, 7pm, $35-$70 BOATS!, SEAN GOSPEL, BAD MACHINE, CRAZY SQUEEZE; 8pm, $7

STATECYDE, UNLEASHED, WESTVILE SHINTO; 8pm, call for cover

BLANKO CANYON, UMBRELLA JIM, THE POLYMERS; 8pm, $6

LUCY’S BONES, BONEYARD RATTLERS, KARAJ LOST COAST; 8pm, $5

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I left an eight-year relationship because of physical and emotional abuse. I fell in love with someone new fairly quickly, and got engaged. My fiancé is amazing, and our time together is magical. There’s one problem: I don’t think I deserve my life with him. Sometimes it’s a fleeting thought I can talk myself out of. About once a week, it’s a feeling that lasts hours. Every one to two months, it’s something I can’t by Joey ga rcia shake for days. My fiancé tries to make me feel loved, but a s k j o e y @ne w s re v i e w . c o m gets frustrated and we end up fighting. In my last relationship, I identified as stupid, careJoey less, ugly and fat. I am still that girl. empowers singles to I think my fiancé is going to leave me stay single on for someone better when he figures Fox 40 at 9:30 a.m. on out that I’m not who he thinks I am. Tuesday, May 5. I think if I were smarter or skinnier or more successful, I wouldn’t feel this way. I want my fiancé to have a happy girl and not this pathetic teary-eyed depressed person. It’s not fair to him.

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Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review. Give your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@ newsreview.com.

The concept of fairness is introduced in preschool in an attempt to inspire sharing. But fairness doesn’t really exist. If it did, every child would begin life within the same ideal circumstances. Instead, we apply justice in order to create equity. But your dilemma is not about fairness. You’re fighting imperfection. It’s a lie that we can inoculate ourselves against abandonment by achieving perfection. Actually, it’s a lie we can achieve perfection, at least as you’ve defined it. It’s an even bigger lie that we must be perfect to be loved. Here’s the truth: The emptiness you feel cannot be healed by your man’s love. The only way to transform your mood swings is to accept them, and yourself. Selflove is the experience of embracing everything we are: the weak, insecure, troubled, fearful self and the thoughtful, appreciative, beautiful, playful, smart self. Each one of us

is a complicated mix of qualities. Life offers constant opportunities to act from our best selves, rather than from our wounds. As you have discovered, it’s really difficult sometimes. It’s interesting that the pattern of your mood swings mimics the roller coaster ride of an abusive relationship. One minute you’re up, the next minute you’re down. Sometimes it’s exhilarating and other times, it’s excruciating. It’s the same push-pull that you faced in your previous relationship, isn’t it? The problem may actually be an addiction to the adrenaline rush of emotional roller coasters. Consider this: The rush of nearly losing your man, followed by the rush of saving the relationship, produces a chemical template in your body. The more often you ride that roller coaster, the more often the body seeks to replicate the experience because it craves the chemical rush. So when your fiancé tries to placate you with the right combination of words, or by buying flowers and gifts, he inadvertently intensifies the rush. Yes, that means your brain translates his loving kindness as a reward for sliding into depression. The solution, in part, is for you to stop arguing with reality. Don’t think you deserve your man? That’s a perception rooted in fantasy. This is reality: He’s in your life. And this is a skewed perception of yourself: stupid, fat, careless, ugly. This is reality: You, like all of us on the planet, are sometimes stupid and sometimes smart, sometimes careless and sometimes careful. Your thoughts are sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful. When your thoughts are weighing you down, you are overweight. Do you understand? Healing begins with you evolving into a version of yourself that is engaged with reality. Begin now, before you wed. You deserve to enter marriage with more freedom than you are currently capable of creating. A professional counselor or psychologist can help. Ω

Meditation of the Week “As a body, everyone is single. As a soul, never,” wrote Hermann Hesse. Have you embraced the paradox of being an individual and yet, inexorably connected to all that is?

WHAT’S INSIDE: The 420 45 Capital Cannabis Map 53

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SN&R | 04.30.15

Good riddance Now that Michele Leonhart is retiring, do you have opinions on who should be the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration? —Erik Indeed I do. But first I would like to say this to Leonhart: So long, farewell and don’t let the door hit you on your disingenuous ass on the way out. Leonhart, a holdover from the Bush administration, is retiring after DEA LUM A agents were caught sleeping with Colombian prosE B IO A G by N titutes. In many cases, the women were supplied by Colombian drug cartel members. And if you think I am being unduly harsh, here is a bit of the press release a sk420@ ne wsreview.c om from Tennessee Senator Steve Cohen’s office: “It is appropriate that Michele Leonhart resign; she has not prioritized or concentrated on drugs that actually lead people to commit crimes, like heroin and methamphetamine, and she was insubordinate to the president when she criticized his acknowledgment of the fact that marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. Hopefully her successor will help lead the effort to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I, where it is currently restricted at the same level as heroin and at a higher level than more harmful drugs like cocaine.” Woo-hoo, Steve Cohen! In my opinion, she should have been let go long before this. This is the person that battled with President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder over reducing mandatory minimum I would like to say this sentencing for nonviolent crimes. This is the same to Michele Leonhart: drug person that couldn’t admit So long, farewell that crack cocaine is a more harmful drug than marijuana. and don’t let the This is the person that told a full of sheriffs that one door hit you on your room of the lowest points in her disingenuous ass on career was when the White House flew a flag made of the way out. hemp on the Fourth of July a few years back. It is way beyond time for her to have a seat. Seeing as all they do is waste money and ruin lives, I think that the DEA should be disbanded and replaced with an agency dedicated to harm reduction and social health. Of course, this has no real chance of happening, but a fella can dream. I would nominate Neill Franklin as the new head of the DEA. He is the head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and a former police officer. Maybe someone should start a petition ... How was Denver? Ngaio Bealum

is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert. Email him questions at ask420@ newsreview.com.

—Blucifer Denver was great! I was a judge at the High Times Cannabis Cup! Woot woot! I had to judge 18 different high-CBD strains. CBD-heavy strains can be hard to figure out because CBD isn’t psychoactive like THC is, but we had a great time, and smoking all those CBDs has made me want to add more CBD to my cannabis regimen. I definitely had way less anxiety, and my knees felt great! Overall, the cannabis in Denver is good, but I think commercial pressures and lack of any real momand-pop or artisanal small-batch producers creates a lack of premium “head stash” top-notch flowers, although I did smoke a Tangie and a Thunderbud Haze that were both phenomenal. Ω

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are you connected to medical marijuana?

If you’re a cannabusiness owner, patient advocate or medical professional, we want to know what you think should be covered in Capital Cannabis Guide.

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by AAROn CARnes

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Chris

Moneymaker was employed as an accountant in Tennessee. On a whim, he paid $39 to enter an online poker tournament. Although he knew a lot about the game, he had never competed professionally. Nevertheless, he won the tournament. As his award, he received no money, but rather an invitation to participate in the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Can you guess the storybook ending? The rookie triumphed over 838 pros, taking home $2.5 million. I don’t foresee anything quite as spectacular for you, Aries, but there may be similar elements in your saga. For example, a modest investment on your part could make you eligible for a chance to earn much more. Here’s another possible plot twist: You could generate luck for yourself by ramping up a skill that has until now been a hobby.

multibillion-dollar e-commerce business that has been around for almost 20 years. But it had an inauspicious beginning. The first item ever sold on the service was a broken laser pointer. Even though the laser pointer didn’t work, and the seller informed the buyer that it didn’t work, it brought in $14.83. This story might be a useful metaphor for your imminent future, Taurus. While I have faith in the vigor of the long-term trends you are or will soon be setting in motion, your initial steps may be a bit iffy.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In her

book A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman describes a medieval knight who asked his lady for a strand of her pubic hair: a symbol of her life force. The lady agreed. He placed the talisman in a locket that he wore around his neck, confident that it would protect him and consecrate him in the course of the rough adventures ahead. I recommend that you consider a similar tack in the coming weeks, Scorpio. As you head toward your turning point, arm yourself with a personal blessing from someone you love. Success is most likely if you tincture your fierce determination with magical tenderness.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

“An escalator can never break,” mused comedian Mitch Hedberg. “It can only become stairs. You should never see an ‘Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order’ sign, just ‘Escalator Is Temporarily Stairs.’” I think a similar principle applies to you, Sagittarius. If we were to try to evaluate your current situation with conventional wisdom, we might say that part of your usual array of capacities is not functioning at its usual level. But if we adopted a perspective like Hedberg’s, we could rightly say that this part of you is simply serving its purpose in a different way.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poetically

speaking, it’s time to purify your world of all insanities, profanities and inanities. It’s a perfect moment for that once-ina-blue-moon scour-a-thon, when you have a mandate to purge all clunkiness, junkiness and gunkiness from your midst. And as you flush away the unease of your hypocrisies and discrepancies, as you dispense with any tendency you might have to make way too much sense, remember that evil is allergic to laughter. Humor is one of the most effective psychospiritual cleansers ever.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’ve

got a tough assignment for you. It won’t be easy, but I think you’re ready to do a good job. Here it is: Learn to be totally at home with your body. Figure out what you need to do to feel unconditional love for your physical form. To get started on this noble and sacred task, practice feeling compassion for your so-called imperfections. I also suggest you cast a love spell on yourself every night, using a red candle, a mirror and your favorite creamy beverage. It may also help to go down to the playground and swing on the swings, make loud animal sounds or engage in unusually uninhibited sex. Do you have any other ideas?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I was in the checkout line at Whole Foods Market. The shopper ahead me had piled her groceries on the conveyor belt, and it was her turn to be rung up. “How are you doing?” she said cheerfully to the cashier, a crabbylooking hipster whom I happened to know is a Cancerian poet and lead singer in a local rock band. “Oh, I am living my dream,” he replied. I guessed he was being sarcastic, although I didn’t know for sure. In any case, I had a flash of intuition that his answer should be your mantra in the coming weeks. It’s time to redouble your commitment to living your dream! Say it 20 times in a row right now: “I am living my dream.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When

Aquarian media mogul Oprah Winfrey was born, “Oprah” was not what she was called. Her birth certificate says she is “Orpah,” a name her aunt borrowed from a character who appears in the biblical Book of Ruth. As Oprah grew up, her friends and relatives had trouble pronouncing “Orpah,” and often turned it into “Oprah.” The distorted form eventually stuck. But if I were her, I would consider revisiting that old twist sometime soon, maybe even restoring “Orpah.” For you Aquarians, it’s a favorable time to investigate original intentions or explore primal meanings or play around with the earliest archetypes.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As I awoke this

morning, I remembered the dream I’d just had. In the dream, I had written a horoscope for you. Here’s what it said: “The Kentucky Derby is a famous horse race that takes place on the first Saturday of every May. It’s called ‘The Run for the Roses’ because one of the prizes that goes to the winning horse and jockey is a garland of 554 roses. I suspect that your life may soon bring you an odd treasure like that, Leo. Will it be a good thing, or too much of a good thing? Will it be useful or just kind of weird? Beautiful or a bit ridiculous? The answers to those questions may depend in part on your willingness to adjust your expectations.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What I

propose is that you scan your memories and identify everyone who has ever tried to limit your options or dampen your enthusiasm or crush your freedom. Take a piece of paper and write down a list of the times someone insinuated that you will forever be stuck in a shrunken possibility, or made a prediction about what you will supposedly never be capable of or said you had a problem that was permanently beyond your ability to solve. Once you’ve compiled all the constricting ideas about yourself that other people have tried to saddle you with, burn that piece of paper and declare yourself exempt from their curses. In the days after you do this ritual, all of life will conspire with you to expand your freedom.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t calm

down. Don’t retreat into your sanctuary and relax into protective comfort. If you have faith and remain committed to the messy experiment you have stirred up, the stress and agitation you’re dealing with will ripen into vitality and excitement. I’m not exaggerating, my dear explorer. You’re on the verge of tapping into the catalytic beauty and rejuvenating truth that lurk beneath the frustration. You’re close to unlocking the deeper ambitions that are trapped inside the surface-level wishes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Composer

George Frideric Handel polished off his famous oratorio Messiah in a mere 24 days, and Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky produced his novel The Gambler in 26 days. On the other hand, Junot Díaz, who

BEFORE

NEWS

bRezsny

won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, needed 10 years to finish it. As for you, Libra, I think this is—and should be!—a phase more like Díaz’s than the other three creators’. Go slowly. Be super extra thorough. What you’re working on can’t be rushed.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): EBay is a

You can call Rob Brezsny for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. Touchtone phone required. Customer service (612) 373-9785. And don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at www.realastrology.com.

F E AT U R E

pHOTO BY LAuRAn fAYnE WORTHY

by ROb

For the week of April 30, 2015

STORY

Eating light Premade backpacking food is getting to be big business as more and more folks are getting out on trails. Despite the increased interest, products from many companies haven’t progressed much past high-fat, highly processed meals. To push things ahead, Kim Safdy formed a company called Outdoor Herbivore to provide no-cook backpacking meals that are free of processed foods, using organic products to create eclectic, vegetarian offerings like lemongrass Thai curry, basil walnut penne and apple quinoa oatmeal. You won’t find her products in REI—she sells directly to consumers on her website. She started Outdoor Herbivore in May 2010 in Charlotte, N.C., but was buying a lot of her products (and selling to a lot of people) right here in California—so she relocated the business. We spoke with Safdy about how she ended up in Sacramento and the secret to growing food while on the trail.

What’s the appeal of no-cook meals for hikers? People are trying to keep it simple. A stove adds weight, and you have to worry about your fuel, your pots and pans. So if you can get by with a little bowl and some cold water, it simplifies it. So they’re looking for no-cook meals. That’s actually very challenging to come up with something that tastes good. For a breakfast or a dessert, it’s pretty easy. There’s cereals and things like that you can come up with. But an actual meal, like a dinner, that’s really challenging, because it can’t be fresh.

What are some of the challenges of making these foods? A lot of the challenge is finding suppliers that supply organic, because almost everything out there is just conventional. So I know who to go to now. A lot of times the challenge may be that they’re out of stock of something, and my product relies on that particular product, so I’ve got to put it out of stock. A lot of the dried foods that I’ve found come from China, 90 percent of it. I just have a policy. Nothing against China; I just don’t trust that they take the organic certification seriously, based on what I’ve heard and what I’ve read. I don’t feel comfortable selling that to people when I can’t trace it back if something were to go wrong with a product.

To what extent are you able to locally source your ingredients? My goal is to stay within 80 percent. I have a spreadsheet so I know exactly where each product I’m buying comes from, where the origin is. I look at domestic as local. A lot of it is coming from this state alone.

A RT S & C U LT U R E

Before you started the company, what would you eat? I was basically dehydrating with a home dehydrator my own foods and concoctions and recipes. I never even bought the other products. I read the ingredients and I didn’t like what I saw. I hate to say this but I’ve never even tasted any other products out there, so I don’t even know what I’m up against. I’ve only eaten my own stuff.

How do you test your products? I come up with what I think would be a good recipe. If it tastes good at home, then I’ll say, “Let’s see how it rehydrates on the trail.” If it can rehydrate at the higher elevations—usually I try to be above 5,000 feet—and I like the flavor of it, then OK, this is a good one to put out to the public. Everything is different at higher elevations. I’m trying to get that quick rehydration time, but also try to stay within the whole foods.

How did you end up in Sacramento? I’m kind of from all over the place. My family is from Ohio. I move around a lot. That’s the best way to see this country, is to keep moving every six or seven years. I’ve never really done a lot of hiking and backpacking on this side of the country. That was kind of what prompted the relocation. The best way to do that is to live here. Also, because a lot of the food is coming from California, it wasn’t very efficient to have to transport it to North Carolina, and a lot of my customers are out here. It just made more sense. |

AFTER

I noticed something called “trail sprouts” on your site. What are those? A lot of the hikers wish they could have fresh food on the trail. … There’s very little, maybe an avocado you can have fresh. Dehydrated spinach, it’s not the same. You want something that’s living. The only thing I could think of is [that] you got to grow the food while you’re hiking. The whole idea of that is basically a sprout bag you hang on the back of your backpack. It’s made of hemp. With sprouting, you’re basically starting out with a good quality seed. You have to soak it in water overnight. You have to tell the seed, basically, “End your dormancy,” and “You’re being planted,” but really it’s going in a sprout bag. You just have to water it twice a day. Take the sprout bag and dump some, hopefully, filtered water over it. In three, four days, you’re going to have a good bag full of sprouts, so hikers have the ability to get their vitamin C. If your vitamin C levels go down, you tend to get sick.

Favorite luxury item you take on backpacking trips? Well, we do take an IPA usually. We try to find a can of IPA just to celebrate when we get to a peak. We’ll just share it. That’s pretty much the extent of it. Or an occasional book. I’ve done that, too. I’ll read at night with my headlamp in the tent. Ω Learn more about Safdy’s company, Outdoor Herbivore, at http://outdoorherbivore.com.

04.30.15

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Celebrating the y M In t o N f o s e o r e H n o ti a g ti li d r a Y k c a B

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s Y IN MB The winners!

How to get your project NI M B Y â€™ d

Top 10 CE Q A reforms

A special project of N&R Publications

The

How we did it

Y B NIMAwards The NIMBYs was produced by N&R Publications, an independent division of News & Review that produces custom mini-newspaper inserts for nonprofits and government agencies around the country. Learn more at www.nrpubs.com. This publication was produced for Sacramento News & Review President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel. For further explanation of vonKaenel’s interest in this topic, see his weekly column, Greenlight, page 8.

How to gum up a project in 7 easy steps!

Let’s say you want to build a low-income housing project …

You submit your plans to an agency

Agency evaluates the project

The agency (such as a city planning department) looks over plans for your proposed project.

OR 2a.

Agency declares project exempt

The NIMBYs

A special project of N&R Publications

ecognizing that NIMBY warriors rely on CEQA to spawn litigation when shouts fail to block an irksome construction project, N&R Publications created the Not In My Backyard Award Contest — the NIMBYs.

by R.E. Graswich

Strange

We created four special categories that best embody the “Let’s sue ’em” approach to municipal planning disagreements, and asked readers to contribute cases for consideration. Here are the categories:

Attraction

4. Intended Consequences

1. Big Switcheroo This is where the nominee files an environmental lawsuit to win some unrelated concession, which – get this – has absolutely no connection with the environment! We promised to award extra points for lawsuits that were speedily dropped once concessions were granted.

2. Lifetime Achievement Here we honor an individual who made a very good living by filing numerous NIMBY lawsuits, which in a perfect case disappear after a financial agreement has been reached (without anyone admitting any responsibility for anything).

3. Sticky Sandcastle Here’s an award for the plaintiff who makes an unfathomable legal argument that’s inevitably washed away by the tides of justice, but not before it’s gummed up a project for a year or two and devoured many thousands of dollars in legal fees.

This award goes to an individual who, amazingly enough, used the NIMBY process to accomplish something that really was in the public interest. Needless to say, the nominations poured in. We reviewed them all. To embrace the NIMBY spirit, our judges will not be publicly named, but will be referred to as “Citizens For A Better Contest.” Their methodology is ambiguous. Disclaimer: For what it’s worth, we at News & Review and/or the sponsors of the contest are not and would never imply, suggest, or even hint that NIMBY heroes are doing anything illegal or immoral. The contest’s goal is to demonstrate the opposite — to celebrate wonders of legislative intent and creative environmental litigation in the Golden State.

How an unlikely pair — CEQA and NIMBY — are coming together to stall projects, win concessions and inspire creative litigation elcome to the NIMBY Award Contest. Be warned. You have tumbled down a rabbit hole of irony and unintended consequences, wrapped in a lyrical, ambiguous public disclosure law called CEQA.

Illustration by Hayley Doshay

Agency decides to do Environmental Impact Report

This document (which can be upward of 1,000 pages) looks at things such as how many trees need to be cut down or whether cute, woodland creatures will be disrupted by your housing project. It also suggests alternatives to these environmental impacts.

OR 3a. Negative declaration Agency determines there will be no significant impact on the environment. Hooray for woodland creatures!

Public review

A draft EIR is created and made available to the public for comment. NIMBYs clamor to get their copy.

Final EIR

A final EIR addressing all comments is presented to a decision-making body (such as a city council).

Project approved

The decision-making body approves the project. Hooray for low-income housing!

NIMBYs file lawsuit

Your project - is not aesthetically pleasing - actually harms previously mentioned woodland creatures - creates noise/light/water pollution - commits any number of real or imaginary indiscretions against the environment

The birth father was Ronald Reagan. His inspiration was Richard Nixon. The goal was miles out of character for those political bedfellows: to make California a magical place where “man and nature can exist in productive harmony.” Or so Reagan’s new law demanded. NIMBY is shorthand for “Not In My Backyard.” It’s a philosophy of status quo, a notion that new ideas, progress and expansion can be stopped dead. CEQA – shorthand for California Environmental Quality Act – has become NIMBY’s bullwhip, a legislative blessing to rain litigation hell upon a construction project, from a gas station to an old folks home to a basketball arena. CEQA and NIMBY were not supposed to hook up. But they did, with an explosion of self-interest. The result inspired a colossal mess – and our contest. As bedrock utopian policy goes, CEQA has no match in California law. Argue with this, straight from Division 13, Chapter 1 of the California Public Resources Code, the mother of CEQA: “Major consideration is given to preventing environmental damage, while providing a decent home and satisfying living environment for every Californian.” CEQA’s baseline is seductively simple:

disclose and discuss the potential hazards of developments. Make life better. Do no harm. That’s all. Signed into law by Gov. Reagan in 1970, months after President Nixon authorized the National Environmental Policy Act, CEQA is memorialized by a 1,704-word preamble. Soaring and poetic, the language terrifies developers, enriches attorneys, fattens consultants, emboldens labor leaders, employs bureaucrats and numbs taxpayers to sleep.

CEQA and NIMBY were not supposed to hook up. But they did … The result inspired a colossal mess – and our contest.

Maneuvered by a tenacious NIMBY, CEQA can be an expensive delay tactic or a tool of legalized extortion and protectionism. And it’s a document that’s underscored 45 years of growth and enrichment in the nation’s most technologically creative, entrepreneurial and wealthiest state. Go figure. The land of NIMBY and CEQA is a place where opponents cry for reform, where almost everybody agrees change is needed, where envi“Strange Attraction” continued on page 4

A special project of N&R Publications

The NIMBYs

“Strange Attraction” continued from page 3

ronmentalists, union bosses, angry neighbors and fearful competitors cohabitate while pursuing concessions and project labor agreements. It’s where California politicians fear to tread. And where nobody thinks about “man and nature living in productive harmony.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Meet NIMBY’s MVP Cory Briggs didn’t win our NIMBY award contest, but he’s a champion — the unofficial king of California CEQA plaintiff attorneys. Briggs has filed more than 100 CEQA lawsuits in the past decade, including over 50 against the City of San Diego. He’s a tough opponent with no patience for developers who claim some CEQA lawsuits are extortion.

And he’ll defend NIMBYs to the death. “What developers really mean when they say that is they didn’t do a good enough job of community outreach, they just talked to city staff and the council, and that’s not good enough,” he says. “Rather than ask for a 30-day continuance and sit down and work through the issues, they say, ‘Screw it, I’ll take my chances.’ Whose fault is that?” Nor does Briggs buy the argument that city councils and county supervisors should have the final say on local construction projects. “It’s not just some guy filing a lawsuit to undercut the authority of the city council,” he says. “The authority of the state Legislature trumps that of the city council, and the Legislature wrote the rules, and we have to follow the constitution, so it’s bullshit to say we’re undercutting the authority of the city council.”

Briggs’ high profile has attracted media investigations of his business practices. The San Diego City Attorney has reviewed his work for possible conflicts of interest. And he’s been accused of hiding behind invisible clients, which really insults him. “It’s just a flat-out fucking lie,” Briggs says. “I want to get paid. I don’t file these lawsuits for any reason other than to get paid. You can’t win a lawsuit without proper standing.” He adds, “The definition of a frivolous CEQA lawsuit is a CEQA lawsuit you have to defend.” Briggs has several ideas for CEQA reform, including standard, electronic formatting and Environmental Impact Reports of 100 pages, rather than 1,500 pages. “CEQA doesn’t change, because there’s a cottage industry that’s grown up around it,” he says. “There are a lot of people who make a lot of money and go around complaining that there has to be reform. But where we are now is, nobody trusts each other enough.” He adds, “If you like $50,000 for a glorified public records request, you really don’t want CEQA reformed.”

You shouldn’t file these lawsuits just to screw things up. That’s malicious. I don’t like these mom-and-pop auto repair shops suing another auto repair shop because they’re worried about competition. That’s not right. Cory Briggs, attorney who’s filed more than 100 CEQA suits

A roadblock to e c o n o mi c g r o w t h Mark Friedman could live comfortably anywhere in the world. He chooses Sacramento. He’s an owner of the Kings with a focus on the new arena, a developer bringing new life to forgotten acreage in West Sacramento and a member of the family that owns Sacramento’s biggest tax revenue generator – Arden Fair Mall. Friedman loves his hometown. And he believes the community’s economic growth and prosperity could be improved by reforming CEQA. “It’s expanded as a tool for interfering with the duties of elected or appointed public officials on all sorts of other issues that have nothing to

do with the environment, and it’s inappropriate,” he says. Friedman believes the environmental review process has plenty of checks and balances to protect various interests in a community. The ultimate threat – a CEQA lawsuit – only invites abuse. “Think about the process you have to go through on a development project: You typically must do a full EIR, which is a very comprehensive document, then you publish it and wait for appeals. Then you have to answer and address every single one of them. Then you have to get the approval of various subcommittees of government, such as planning commissions,” he says. “And finally, you have to get the approval of the elected body, like the city council. But then, when you

Big Switcheroo or, It’s The Environment, Stupid

The NIMBYs

Illustrations by jason crosby

Winner: VillaSport Roseville, attorney Christian Marsh

A special project of N&R Publications

VillaSport filed a CEQA lawsuit against the City of Roseville for reasons that go beyond the environment – and seem to have more to do with stopping the competition. The idea was to block entitlements for a competing Roseville gym, Life Time Fitness. Marsh made heroic efforts to hook into environmental meat, but had trouble finding endangered biological resources among wet gym towels. The lawyer wrote, “A white-tailed kite, a California Fully Protected species, was observed foraging on the Project site.” Too bad such birds are common and don’t ruffle environmental feathers. VillaSport came clean on Page 7 of its petition, writing the company would be “adversely affected by the Project both financially and physically.” The candor impressed our NIMBY judges, but not the real judge, who tossed the case. Marsh did not respond to our requests for comment. (Placer County SCV0034098)

Honorable mention Committee For A Better Roseville and attorney Steven Herum, whose CEQA lawsuit in the Life Time Fitness controversy (yes, the gym generated two NIMBY actions!) focused on damaged egos suffered by committee members when they testified at Roseville City Council meetings. If there was a law against rude and indifferent politicians, the Committee For A Better Roseville might have a case. But CEQA? Please. Herum did not respond to requests for comment. (Placer County SCV0034096)

think you’re over the finish line, one unelected, private individual who may live miles from the project, has the right to come in and stop you in your tracks by filing a CEQA suit.” The easy threat of a lawsuit troubles Friedman, not just for the delays caused by a CEQA petition. It’s an affront to the democratic process. “This person gets to substitute their judgment for the collective wisdom of your community’s elected officials,” he says. Friedman would like to see the evidence requirements raised for CEQA lawsuits. And he’d like to see petitions focus on legitimate environmental issues, such as air quality, water resources and population growth. “A lot of people have a stake in protecting the status quo,” he says. “That’s why the abuse continues.”

N o r u b b e r s ta m p s Donald B. Mooney makes no apologies for filing CEQA lawsuits. His work reflects exactly what informed, engaged Californians should do, he believes. Mooney, a veteran Davis attorney and the “Lifetime Achievement” honorable mention with three suits nominated in the NIMBY award contest, believes CEQA brings a balance of power to the development process in California. That’s why CEQA exists, he says. “From the biggest state agency to the smallest public authority, CEQA has forced them to think about what they’re doing, and not just rubber stamp a project,” Mooney says. “It’s leveled the playing field and made the state better economically, and better from a healthy environment standpoint.” Mooney filed one of several CEQA suits to challenge construction of the Kings arena downtown. His petition on behalf of “Sacramento Coalition for Shared Prosperity” was denied, but the court accepted his argument that the city of Sacramento didn’t adequately address the arena’s traffic impact. “The court rejected the petition, but directed them to modify for traffic mitigation,” he says. “When there are 17,000 people in the arena and another 10,000 in the plaza outside, I think some people are going to be very surprised by what happens in terms of traffic.”

As for CEQA reform, Mooney would like to see the “administrative record” of documents become available electronically. E-documents would allow anyone to quickly check out a proposed project. “I’ve had cases where an agency turns over boxes and boxes of documents from various staff people,” he says. “There’s no way a city council member is going to read that before they vote. But if you could click on a document, everyone benefits.” CEQA suits are easy to pick on, Mooney notes, but sometimes a CEQA lawsuit is the only way neighbors can get serious attention from public officials. “CEQA is a public participation process,” he says. “It makes projects better. If you’re a moneyed interest, you have access to elected officials. If you’re not well funded, you have the courts. It’s called checks-andbalances.”

Don’t kill democracy Jennifer Lynn Hernandez was raised in a working-class home in Pittsburg, Contra Costa County, where her father toiled for U.S. Steel. The academic world beckoned the millworker’s daughter. She went to Harvard. And picked up a law degree at Stanford. Today, Hernandez is among California’s pre-eminent environmental lawyers. Working from offices

LA Lifetime Achievement or, So Many CEQA Suits, So Little Time

Winner: Attorney Ash Pirayou, for clients East Sacramento Partnership for a Livable City and Dessins LLC. Our champion was relentless in East Sacramento, using CEQA to blockade or stall two infill projects over the past year. One petition sought to stop the 336-unit McKinley Village housing development. And there was an effort to snuff a senior housing facility at 3333 I Street. Our judges were impressed by Pirayou’s NIMBY efforts. The CEQA petition warned the “massive three-story” senior center would overwhelm city infrastructure, especially sewer pipes, which couldn’t swallow the elderly effluence, “thereby creating the potential for a sewage outflow that risks the health of the community.” The lawyer insisted his client’s home would be “directly and significantly impacted by the increase in environmental impacts” caused by gray hairs. When reached to elaborate, Pirayou told us his firm’s policy is not to comment. Pirayou’s McKinley Village NIMBY suit was funded by an anonymous “grassroots organization whose purpose is to enhance the livability of East Sacramento,” which sounds nice if you already live there and don’t dream of buying a place in McKinley Village. The old folks prevailed. A judge denied both petitions. (Sacramento County 34-2014080001760 and 34-2014-80001851.)

Honorable mention Donald Mooney, a renowned Davis attorney with a trigger finger on CEQA suits, had two solid entries (some of his older work was disqualified for time reasons). He used CEQA in a failed effort to block the downtown Kings arena, and is working to prevent construction of an apartment house in El Dorado Hills. Our judges felt the NIMBY apartment battle made clever use of CEQA’s “aesthetics” category. Pleads Mooney: “The drawings were misleading and resulted in failure to disclose the full extent of the impact because the drawings depicted a four-story apartment complex while the Project approval allows for a five-story building.” The case continues. (Sacramento County 34-2014-80001879 and El Dorado County)

“Strange Attraction” continued on page 6

A special project of N&R Publications

The NIMBYs

Ambiguity provides would-be petitioners with footholds on which to build their theories. When the courts or statutes provide black-and-white answers, lawsuits do not get filed. Tina A. Thomas, attorney, warning of NIMBY abuse in 1991

SS Sticky Sandcastle or, Does Anyone Here Speak Gibberish?

Winner: Adriana Gianturco Saltonstall, etc., attorney Kelly Smith “The ‘Throwaway arena’ Is a blight fostered by the public money Thrown to corporate sport promotion. No funding is identified in the DEIR For the maintenance of demolition Of the existing arena. No timeline of its fate Is even attempted In the document.” Shakespeare? Dickinson? No, those evocative, haunting lines were straight from a CEQA lawsuit filed by Smith for 12 citizens, led by former state transportation director Gianturco Saltonstall. The suit had moments worthy of a NIMBY poetry slam. Consider: “All however are harmed by the paper blizzard environmental impact reports which ignored a potential traffic disaster on surrounding

The NIMBYs

interstate highways from cars piling up at offramps, by evading disclosure and mitigation of the amplified noise and after-game crowds that will drive them from downtown Sacramento and Old Sacramento, and harmed by the EIR’s failure to fully analyze the current Sleep Train as an alternative, an alternative lacking only ‘luxury suites’ that the NBA wants to make more money.” Whew – one sentence, ladies and gentlemen! Our judges were captivated, but the court missed the joke and tossed the case. (Sacramento County 34-2014-80001840)

Honorable Mention Donald Mooney won a strong consideration with his CEQA lawsuit against the downtown Kings arena, filed for a classically anonymous petitioner, “Sacramento Coalition for Shared Prosperity.” Mooney lost points for making legitimate arguments about traffic, but rallied with tangled logic to claim downtown wasn’t necessarily downtown. To wit: “The Project cannot qualify as a ‘Downtown arena’ until after the completion of an NBA season.” Come again?

A special project of N&R Publications

Illustrations by jason crosby

“Strange Attraction” continued from page 5

in San Francisco and Los Angeles, she’s a whirlwind advocate for CEQA reform. “CEQA makes you come in and answer something like 100 environmental impact questions,” Hernandez says. “You’ve got to come in perfect, every time. If you miss half of one, you have to go back and start all over from scratch. It’s like taking a test and getting 99.5 percent right and being told, ‘Sorry, you’re a failure.’” Hernandez has many ideas for reform, including a few that hinge on state legislators finding the courage to disagree with special-interest groups that fund political campaigns and feast on CEQA’s ambiguity. “CEQA has become the most anti-democratic law in the history of the state,” she says. “One disgruntled person can stop a project that’s been approved by your elected representatives.” Hernandez saves some venom for anonymous plaintiffs who create problems for a project, then call CEQA for redress. One Bay Area group sued over noise at a Planned Parenthood clinic — noise generated by the plaintiffs themselves. “Plaintiffs should have to say who they really are — there should be transparency as to their motives,” she says. And she believes the review process should be streamlined. Under current rules, the NIMBY process can seem perpetual. “California has the most stringent environmental status in the world,” she says. “When it comes time to build your plant, you should know that CEQA is integrated with our environmental standards and not standing alone to give somebody another chance to stop you.” Ultimately, Hernandez returns to the original intent of CEQA – a good law that allows communities and public officials to reflect on the

potential environmental problems stirred up by a prospective building project. “CEQA wasn’t designed to stop projects,” she says. “It was intended to let people consider the consequences to the environment. Nobody wants bad projects, and it’s good for us to know what we’re getting into. That’s the value of CEQA, not its ability to stop your project.”

Giving ‘Joe Blow’ a voice Kelly T. Smith didn’t stop the Kings and Sacramento from building their new downtown arena, but he got their attention. In his CEQA lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 community members, the Sacramento attorney called the arena “an enormous cavern that looks like a crushed aluminum can.” And Smith warned of the environmental consequences of riots by drunken fans — “crowds flowing onto the streets, bonfires, teargas if necessary” — which really upset some people. “Everybody was talking about that,” Smith says. “And hell no, I won’t take it back. I was in L.A. when it happened. Look at San Francisco, it’s happened there. You know it will happen here.” He adds, “I know all of my fellow catechism-teaching friends aren’t going to do that, but they’ve got to think about the tailgaters.” CEQA suits proliferate for one reason, Smith believes: “People don’t trust their government. In this country, Joe Blow has every right to go before a judge for redress.” And CEQA shouldn’t catch the blame for slowing down projects. “They should make their changes, but they’ve got to do it right. Make full disclosure. Follow the law,” he says.

The CEQA How labor gets what it wants under threat of lawsuits by R.E. Graswich

ive years ago, when the City of Sacramento seriously began to consider partnering with the Kings on a downtown arena, Mayor Kevin Johnson had a big problem. He needed organized labor’s support for the arena. But he despised the “Project Labor Agreement” that union bosses would demand in exchange for their blessing. So Johnson stayed silent about his distaste for PLAs. And when time came to start the public campaign for taxpayer participation in the arena, the mayor stood alongside his friends in labor, signaling that a PLA, which required unionized workers at the arena construction site, was a done deal.

Johnson was not the first politician to suspend his moral opposition to PLAs. Like others, he knew he had no choice. If the arena project moved forward without union support, labor leaders would file a CEQA lawsuit and delay the arena for years. “It’s straight up extortion, and everybody knows it,” says an environmental lobbyist who asked not to be named. “Labor has formed an unholy alliance with environmentalists, and they use the threat of CEQA lawsuits to get what they want. They don’t even have to file the lawsuits. The threat is understood.” And that’s not all. Labor leaders who fund campaigns for the California Legislature have made it clear that politicians should steer clear of significant CEQA reform. Labor likes having CEQA as a convenient extortion tool. “It would be great to see more independence from our elected officials in Sacramento, but I’m not overly optimistic,” says attorney Jennifer Hernandez, a CEQA expert and reform advocate.

It’s straight up extortion, and everybody knows it. This year, with 10 CEQA cases before the California Supreme Court, reform advocates are counting on the judicial branch to resolve the NIMBY wars. Reformers know nothing will happen while labor and environmentalists produce votes and dollars for the state’s elected officials.

IC Intended

Consequences or You Mean That’s What CEQA Stands For?

Winner: City of Auburn, city attorney Michael Colantuono Auburn city sued Placer County over inadequate environmental reviews of a proposed Costco store. Amazingly, the city used CEQA for all the right reasons — to examine the potential environmental

consequences of a Very Big Deal for the community. Despite a loud and steady drumbeat from locals dying to see the 148,000-foot Costco built near Auburn, the city said the county supervisors who approved Costco didn’t do their homework, especially where traffic was concerned. For once, the NIMBY spirit was properly focused. A month after the lawsuit hit, Costco packed its shopping cart and left town. (Placer County SCV0035751)

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Top 10 ways to reform CEQA

1. 2.

No anonymous CEQA lawsuits. Put your real name on your suit or stay home.

Send CEQA lawsuits straight to state appeals court. Appeals courts

End last minute “document dumps.” Shorten public input, with no

Eliminate arguments not related to the environment. Currently,

Standardize e-formats for the administrative record. No more box

would only take legit cases.

Raise bar for legal standing to file a CEQA lawsuit. Today, anyone who

files a comment during the review process can come back with a lawsuit. Plaintiffs should have legit connections to projects.

Integrate CEQA with environmental standards to eliminate “second bite of apple” lawsuits by NIMBYs. There’s plenty of opportunity to deal with real problems. Time to eliminate the extortion threat of a CEQA lawsuit.

Shorten and simplify EIRs, by 90 percent. Environmental reviews are a big

Create a special NIMBY court for CEQA lawsuits. This would keep

waste of time and paper at 1,500 pages.

last-second comments designed to slow project.

CEQA provides a scattergun approach that allows lawyers to complain about arbitrary, ambiguous, irrelevant issues, such as “aesthetics.”

loads of documents nobody bothers to read.

10.

Limit plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.

If an attorney settles a lawsuit with nine frivolous arguments and one good one, judges should reduce fees by nine-tenths.

frivolous CEQA suits from wasting Superior Court time and promote judicial expertise.

Illustration by jason crosby

A special project of N&R Publications