Things to do around town this weekend

Great weather this weekend, get out and explore!

If you love your pets or you're looking for a new one, don't miss the SPCA Doggy Dash! If you don't want to do the run/walk, check out Pet Fest 2008. All events take place in Land Park so remember that the I-5 closure may affect your travel.

Desperate to avoid I-5 mess if you live on the 50 corridor, how about a Renaissance Faire in Lake Tahoe! Print an online coupon to save $2 and have some fun!

Those in the 80 corridor or south of town may be interested in pick your own cherries and peaches at Impossible Acres in Davis. Or check out the Davis Farmers' Market on Saturday.

If you're in the North Sacramento area or Roseville area, check out the Maidu Interpretive Center or the Aerospace Museum of California. Also out that direction is the Magic Circle Theatre's version of Sleeping Beauty.

Important questions left unanswered in the mayoral race

The Bee took the least effective route to endorsement in the mayoral race this weekend, an absurd attempt to get the election to extend until November. Really people, what happens if we accidentally elect Muriel Strand? It's possible, with the Bee's plan, that whomever the candidate listed at the top of the ballot would be elected. We've seen voter mistakes before so why would our editorial board want to encourage it?

Perhaps it is time the Bee took a serious approach to journalism and started asking some hard hitting questions. I've been thoroughly impressed with the research and detail that Joe Sacramento has put into these questions and I strongly encourage you to email Mayor Fargo (hfargo@cityofsacramento.org) and ask her these questions yourself. A few of Joe's best and my favorites:

In the 2008 State of the City address you disagreed with the Corps of Engineers’ AE flood zone designation, and stated you felt the levees were “strong as ever” —-yet in the KCRA debate with Johnson you agreed with him that we are in fact in severe danger of catastrophic flooding, and you were working hard with agencies to bring the levees up to 100, then 200 year flood protection levels. Can you please discuss the conflict between your two statements?

When members of the Metro Chamber recently complained that you were not responsive to their emails and inquiries, your response was that your job was complicated, and that your limited staff “triaged” requests daily–a word that paints a picture of a frantic hospital emergency room. If your office is so inundated with inbound help requests and questions from folks in our city who need your help, how do you justify missing 125 days of work since Oct 2005?

The NNFF (North Natomas Financial Plan) is said to be in flux now, and residents have heard that a $36 MILLION rebate to developers is even being proposed. Residents in N Natomas are paying EXTRA for amenities and public safety measures that were promised to them in the master plan for the area. What can North Natomas residents expect in terms of your commitment in seeing these broken commitments repaired? And, is it true that a $36 MIL rebate to developers is on the table?

Summer Sanity Saver- Free movies!

Regal Cinemas offers free movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10am all summer long! They're really and truly free, though the snack bar is open so you have to resist the kids pulling on your legs begging for popcorn. We usually buy just the popcorn and make it a movie morning for $5.00. It's the best $5.00 nap you'll ever have! Available at the following Regal Theatres

Regal Natomas and Market Square Arden, Laguna Village and Olympus Point Roseville schedule:

06/17/2008-06/18/2008	Rugrats The Movie (G)
	Nancy Drew (PG)
06/24/2008-06/25/2008	Rugrats In Paris: The Movie (G)
	Shrek The Third (PG)
07/01/2008-07/02/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Flushed Away (PG)
07/08/2008-07/09/2008	Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (G)
	The Second Junglebook (PG)
07/15/2008-07/16/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Hook (PG)
07/22/2008-07/23/2008	Muppets Take Manhattan (G)
	Stuart Little (PG)
07/29/2008-07/30/2008	Everyone's Hero (G)
	Bratz (PG)
08/05/2008-08/06/2008	Adventures Of Pipi Longstocking (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/12/2008-08/13/2008	Doogal (G)
	Are We There Yet? (PG)

Things to do around town this weekend, while avoiding the Jazz Jubilee

I have a confession to make. I hate the Jubilee. Hate it with a passion. We usually try to leave town on Jubilee weekend if at all possible. So what can you do this weekend if you're stuck in town?

*For families-
Check out Garbeau's performances of Alice In Wonderland. Saturday matinees fit perfectly into the day!

Sacramento County Fair runs May 22 thru May 26th. Admission is free, parking is $8 and carnival wristbands are $20. There's farm animals, concerts, dancers and a Demolition Derby too!

*Date Night
Splurge a little and get tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Community Center. It's a date sure to impress, particularly if you lead into it with a reservation at a great restaurant. Check out Open Table to see what's available.

Phantom tickets out of your budget but you still want theatre? Try B Street's Around the World in 80 Days or Measure for Measure at UC Davis.

Save your sanity, book summer camp now!

I've been struggling to find a good, comprehensive list of summer camps in the area. I've put together one that covers lots of topics and a variety of locations and hours. I've included some sleepaway camps in the Elementary and above levels. As I come across others, I'll be adding to the list.

If you have suggestions to add, please comment!

Preschool and Kindergarten Level

Early Childhood Learning Center of Natomas - A variety of themed camps and kindergarten readiness camps.

Sacramento Zoo- Little Ducklings class for preschoolers and themed half-day kindergarten camps

Fairytale Town- Themed camps available for kids 4 and up.



Kindergarten and Elementary School Level

Sacramento Zoo- Half day and full day camps for kids through junior high

Fairytale Town- Camp available for kids up to age 10

Effie Yeaw- Nature themed camps available for kids from Kindergarten through grade 5

Sacramento Country Day School- Academic, recreation and sports camps all summer long

Discovery Museum Science Center- Science and Space camps for kids ages 7 through 11

Crocker Art Museum- Art camp and classes for kids 5 through 17

Explorit Science Center- Themed science camps for kids 5 and up

The Bounce Spot- Jumping, jumping, crafts, jumping and more for kids 3 to 12


Elementary and Middle School Camps

Hornet Sports CSUS- Variety of sports camps including football, volleyball, soccer and tennis

International Gymnastics Center- Gymnastics, field trips and more for kids 5 to 12

Peak Adventures- Outdoors, rafting and more by Associated Students of Sac State

City of Sacramento- Classes and recreation camp all summer

Sacramento Theatre Company- Theatre camp for kids in 1st through 9th grades

Walking G Ranch- Overnight horse camp for kids ages 7 through 16

CSUS Aquatic Center- Aquatics, swimming, crew, rowing, jet ski, sailing and more

Gibson Ranch Horse Camp- Horsemanship camp for kids 8 to 18

Camp Augusta- Overnight camp with a few spots left for summer for kids 8 to 16

Traffic woes again... June will be even worse than you thought!

According to the Back-Seat Driver article in the Bee, you really should just stay home the entire month of June. Take a staycation, telecommute or just crawl in bed and cry because driving anywhere will be a nightmare.

As we've previously noted, the Fix I-5 project will cause major traffic delays throughout town. You can also add to that:

*Work on the Howe Avenue Bridge, with lane closures M-F 8:30am to 4pm

*Closing West El Camino at Northgate to rebuild the bridge. Why do you care? These people will be rerouted to Arden-Garden, one of the major diversions for the I-5 project.

*Replacing the median barrier on the Cap City freeway. This is supposed to take place at night but as with any construction project, there are leftovers in the morning. There will be traffic signs, cones etc. and the lookey-loos will slow down even more.

If you don't have a plan... you'd better find one. You have 16 days!

How will you get to work?

In case you haven't noticed the big, blinking signs on local freeways, the Fix I-5 Project is about to begin. If you don't have a backup plan, you need one now.

According to the project schedule press release, beginning Friday, May 30th at 8pm, all northbound lanes of I-5 from the interchange to Richards will be closed. Yes... closed. As in, NO you can't go that way. Friday, June 13th at 8pm, the reverse will happen and all southbound lanes (except 2 lanes for J Street exiting only) will be closed.

This is going to make a major mess of downtown. Even if you usually don't drive anywhere near I-5, your routes to work will be more crowded. Please make sure you have an alternate route worked out. If you can, talk to your boss about working an alternate schedule, biking, telecommuting or simply going on vacation!

Links to help you plan your routes:

North Natomas Transportation Management Association

Sacramento Regional Transit

Fix I-5 Page

Sacramento Regional Travel 511 Info

YoloBus

Amtrak Capitol Corridor

Mayoral Debate Tonight

If you haven't made up your mind yet, watch the Mayoral debate at 6pm on Channel 10. All seven candidates have agreed to appear and participate in the debate. The debate includes viewer questions and you can still submit them online on Channel 10's website.