This weekend the Benvenuti Center opens for the grand opening gala. This project has been more than 10 years in the making and local charter school celebrities Charlie Leo and Ting Sun deserve a huge pat on the back. Natomas Charter School's Performing and Fine Arts Program has a world class theatre to call its own. Every minute of their hard work was worth it as students now have an amazing performance space and local artists will be drawn to perform in the state-of-the art theatre.
If you've got some spare change, check out the commissioned project this weekend to open the theatre with a bang.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Free movies!
It's summer in Sacramento and it's hot... well not that hot yet but you know it's coming. Rather than running your air conditioning, suffering at the office or driving around in your hot car, take a break at a free movie!
Regal Cinemas offers a Free Family Film every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am. It is really, truly free. We usually buy popcorn but you don't even have to do that! Cinemark Woodland also offers movies as part of the Summer Clubhouse series. Really and truly free.
The only downside to the movies is that there are often a ton of families and kids. Many of these folks have not taught their children movie etiquette so you may have to suffer through kid noise, adult cell phones ringing and some hollering. If you want to watch the movie, it can be distracting. If you're just looking for free AC, bring some earplugs and take a nice nap.
Regal Cinemas offers a Free Family Film every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am. It is really, truly free. We usually buy popcorn but you don't even have to do that! Cinemark Woodland also offers movies as part of the Summer Clubhouse series. Really and truly free.
The only downside to the movies is that there are often a ton of families and kids. Many of these folks have not taught their children movie etiquette so you may have to suffer through kid noise, adult cell phones ringing and some hollering. If you want to watch the movie, it can be distracting. If you're just looking for free AC, bring some earplugs and take a nice nap.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Saca continues...
Just days after CalPERS bought John Saca out of The Towers project, he is unveiling a new condo plan for downtown. According to News 10, the plan includes 320 condos at 10th and J st, across from Ceasar Chavez Park.
This part of downtown has struggled for a long time to overcome the reputation of being a little dangerous, a little dirty and very rundown. Music in the park on Fridays during the summer has drawn a bigger crowd back to the area but K St. is still dilapidated in several blocks, leaving a hole between Downtown Plaza and the Esquire. While the city succeeded in buying out the last few holdouts in 2006, not much has changed.
The new Saca project isn't on K St. or part of the K St development but it will surely feed more development in the area. Parts of J are just as patchy as K st in the immediate downtown area. Perhaps if he can make this project fly, it will be just what other developers need to get started making changed downtown.
This part of downtown has struggled for a long time to overcome the reputation of being a little dangerous, a little dirty and very rundown. Music in the park on Fridays during the summer has drawn a bigger crowd back to the area but K St. is still dilapidated in several blocks, leaving a hole between Downtown Plaza and the Esquire. While the city succeeded in buying out the last few holdouts in 2006, not much has changed.
The new Saca project isn't on K St. or part of the K St development but it will surely feed more development in the area. Parts of J are just as patchy as K st in the immediate downtown area. Perhaps if he can make this project fly, it will be just what other developers need to get started making changed downtown.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Goodbye Towers Project
A few years ago, I nearly convinced my husband that giving up $10,000 on the potential of an amazing apartment with a view of the Capitol was a brilliant idea. I rarely say it, but honey, you were right!
The hope of the idea that Sacramento would be able to build and sustain a high-rise apartment building of the caliber of The Towers Project is gone. CalPERS announced last week that they are buying Saca out of the project and going into redesign mode. It's doubtful that CalPERS will keep the original concept and many people who wanted an apartment have made the jump to the Aura building already.
So what does this mean? Is Sacramento not yet ready for such a high-brow concept? Saca was a visionary and was willing to take a leap that nobody else in Sacramento had really gone for. It was only after Saca secured funding that Aura even got started. It was amazing to hear chatter on the streets of the future of Sacramento and the rise of a new downtown. I truly enjoyed the idea that the downtown might flourish without a city-funded, taxpayer burdening arena.
I have to agree with Marcos Breton in today's Bee article. The idea of the Towers begged for us to believe that Sacramento could be so much more. I for one, can only stand by and hope that CalPERS and CIM are able to come up with a better, grander project than envisioned by Saca, one that will continue the blossoming downtown force. Please do not build us another office building that closes by 6pm and has nothing to offer the public more than 100 hours a week. We want a hotel, vibrance, restaurants, mixed-use facilities and creativity. Something to put Sacramento on the architectural map.
And to agree again with Breton... without the Maloofs.
The hope of the idea that Sacramento would be able to build and sustain a high-rise apartment building of the caliber of The Towers Project is gone. CalPERS announced last week that they are buying Saca out of the project and going into redesign mode. It's doubtful that CalPERS will keep the original concept and many people who wanted an apartment have made the jump to the Aura building already.
So what does this mean? Is Sacramento not yet ready for such a high-brow concept? Saca was a visionary and was willing to take a leap that nobody else in Sacramento had really gone for. It was only after Saca secured funding that Aura even got started. It was amazing to hear chatter on the streets of the future of Sacramento and the rise of a new downtown. I truly enjoyed the idea that the downtown might flourish without a city-funded, taxpayer burdening arena.
I have to agree with Marcos Breton in today's Bee article. The idea of the Towers begged for us to believe that Sacramento could be so much more. I for one, can only stand by and hope that CalPERS and CIM are able to come up with a better, grander project than envisioned by Saca, one that will continue the blossoming downtown force. Please do not build us another office building that closes by 6pm and has nothing to offer the public more than 100 hours a week. We want a hotel, vibrance, restaurants, mixed-use facilities and creativity. Something to put Sacramento on the architectural map.
And to agree again with Breton... without the Maloofs.
Monday, June 11, 2007
The one local political event you NEED to care about
Love him or hate him, Michael Moore has a new movie and a new agenda. Do you have health insurance? Are you sure they'd cover you in the event of a catastrophe? What about if you needed life-saving but experimental treatment? You may believe that because you have insurance, you're not one of "them". I'm sorry to say, you are one of "them". If you have to fight your insurance company, it is a long, dark and lonely road and frankly, you may be dead before you find the path that leads the right direction.
Tomorrow, Michael Moore will testify in front of the CA State Senate, followed by a rally on the west steps. If you hated Moore's other films, that's okay. You still need to see "Sicko" to truly understand the downside of our healthcare system in the USA. While insured Americans are dying, pharmaceutical companies are turning in record profits, for-profit health care is booming and people who bought and paid for insurance are being denied care.
If nothing else, Mr. Moore has brought an issue to the forefront that needs to be discussed. 47 million Americans don't have insurance at all. They at least know they'll have to fight for healthcare. But what about you?
Tomorrow, Michael Moore will testify in front of the CA State Senate, followed by a rally on the west steps. If you hated Moore's other films, that's okay. You still need to see "Sicko" to truly understand the downside of our healthcare system in the USA. While insured Americans are dying, pharmaceutical companies are turning in record profits, for-profit health care is booming and people who bought and paid for insurance are being denied care.
If nothing else, Mr. Moore has brought an issue to the forefront that needs to be discussed. 47 million Americans don't have insurance at all. They at least know they'll have to fight for healthcare. But what about you?
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Things to do in and around town this weekend
Sacramento in June is never this nice to enjoy it! So what should you be doing this weekend to celebrate the beautiful temperatures? 10 things to do in no particular order:
*Hit the NASCAR All-American Speedway at the Placer County Fairgrounds
*Visit a local farm and pick berries or apricots. My favorite is Impossible Acres but there are other choices like Pacific Star Gardens and Boa Vista Orchards.
*Take your hot dog out to a new dog park for a run in the sun. Then hit our favorite doggy wash The Wagger Day Spa for a bath.
*If you love animals but don't want to hit the dog park, visit the SPCA Doggy Dash in Land Park instead.
*Do you need your faith in education renewed? Take the kids to the Westlake Charter School International Festival. Believe in our education system again.
*Before it is unbearably hot, take a train ride on a steam engine.
*Visit the animals and the nature sanctuary at Effie Yeaw.
*Enjoy dining on a patio downtown. Choose one of the many new restaurants that suits your foodstyle and go for it. Zocalo, Mikuni, Lucca, Tapa the World and many others have great patios.
*If you like big planes, jets, airshows, tricks and worst of all, traffic, visit the Capital Airshow. If not (especially the traffic), stay far, far away from Mather.
*Last but not least, have a toast for my parents who are celebrating their 200th anniversary or something like that.
*Hit the NASCAR All-American Speedway at the Placer County Fairgrounds
*Visit a local farm and pick berries or apricots. My favorite is Impossible Acres but there are other choices like Pacific Star Gardens and Boa Vista Orchards.
*Take your hot dog out to a new dog park for a run in the sun. Then hit our favorite doggy wash The Wagger Day Spa for a bath.
*If you love animals but don't want to hit the dog park, visit the SPCA Doggy Dash in Land Park instead.
*Do you need your faith in education renewed? Take the kids to the Westlake Charter School International Festival. Believe in our education system again.
*Before it is unbearably hot, take a train ride on a steam engine.
*Visit the animals and the nature sanctuary at Effie Yeaw.
*Enjoy dining on a patio downtown. Choose one of the many new restaurants that suits your foodstyle and go for it. Zocalo, Mikuni, Lucca, Tapa the World and many others have great patios.
*If you like big planes, jets, airshows, tricks and worst of all, traffic, visit the Capital Airshow. If not (especially the traffic), stay far, far away from Mather.
*Last but not least, have a toast for my parents who are celebrating their 200th anniversary or something like that.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Sactown Magazine is all you need-
A free plug for my favorite magazine, Sactown. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you're missing out.
The latest issue was thoroughly impressive and I savored each page like a delicious piece of dark chocolate. Are you tired of the Sacramento Magazine boring version of 50 things to do in Sacramento (some of which aren't even in or close to Sacramento)? You've got to get the June/July issue of Sactown to see what there really is to do in town. I've lived here my whole life and I learned a few things! I had no idea there is still a drive-in in West Sacramento or that you could play golf after dark, for a price.
What I love most about Sactown is that it proves Sacramento is a real city. We're not just halfway between the Bay and Tahoe. There are actual things to do here, places to eat of note, people to see (check out the fashion show spread) and reasons to stick around on the weekend.
When was the last time you took a picnic to Capitol Park, McKinley Park or Land Park? Have you visited the new Aerospace Museum?
Perhaps it's time to organize a group of friends and do a progressive dinner downtown? We recently did one for a mom's night out with an international theme, visiting Tapa the World, Shanghai Garden and Crepeville. There are literally hundreds of combinations you could come up with!
My challenge to you this weekend- buy a copy of Sactown Magazine and try something in Sacramento that you haven't done before, or haven't done in a long time!
The latest issue was thoroughly impressive and I savored each page like a delicious piece of dark chocolate. Are you tired of the Sacramento Magazine boring version of 50 things to do in Sacramento (some of which aren't even in or close to Sacramento)? You've got to get the June/July issue of Sactown to see what there really is to do in town. I've lived here my whole life and I learned a few things! I had no idea there is still a drive-in in West Sacramento or that you could play golf after dark, for a price.
What I love most about Sactown is that it proves Sacramento is a real city. We're not just halfway between the Bay and Tahoe. There are actual things to do here, places to eat of note, people to see (check out the fashion show spread) and reasons to stick around on the weekend.
When was the last time you took a picnic to Capitol Park, McKinley Park or Land Park? Have you visited the new Aerospace Museum?
Perhaps it's time to organize a group of friends and do a progressive dinner downtown? We recently did one for a mom's night out with an international theme, visiting Tapa the World, Shanghai Garden and Crepeville. There are literally hundreds of combinations you could come up with!
My challenge to you this weekend- buy a copy of Sactown Magazine and try something in Sacramento that you haven't done before, or haven't done in a long time!
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